Questions 1

Agriculture is very important to the existence and survival of human beings. In developing countries majority of farmers face a lot of challenges. Subsistence farmers are the most hit by the effects of climate change .In order for farmers to be sustainable, they have to grow enough food that will ensure security against climate change. They also have to balance farming and taking care of the environment that will serve them in the future. Semi-arid areas in Africa have been impacted more by climate change. Subsistence farmers depended entirely on their land and sell surplus crops  (Excellent Development, 2009).

Population growth increases pressure on land and surplus land is constantly used for farming. The semi-arid farmers have to fight climate change and soil erosion. They have mitigated soil erosion by terracing their lands. Terraces have made their land flat, preserving both soil that would have been washed away by soil erosion and water. Terraces also reduce the speed of water from by an estimated 40% to 59%.Terraces are created by subsistence farmers through self-help groups. The group dig more than 10kilometers terraces. The terraces have enabled preservation of fertile soil and water and (Excellent Development, 2009).

After digging terraces, they conserve water in seasonal river bed. This done by sand dams. Sand dams are constructed from rivers themselves. Sand dams retain water during dry seasons. A sands dam is constructed along the river bed. This allows trapping of water by concentration of sand up stream of the river. Water accumulates beneath the sand and can be accessed by digging through the sand (Excellent Development, 2009).

Trees are the third step that help subsistence farmers to preserve water. Roots hold together soil and increases their water retention ability. The coverage from leaves reduces soil temperature therefore significantly reducing the evaporating rate of moisture from the soil. Trees through evapotranspiration of leaves have increased precipitation. Birds, insects and wind that come as a result of the presence of vegetation have spread vegetation to other areas that were once dry. This has greatly reduced the effects of climate change (Excellent Development, 2009)

Question 2

If I was to select a green job, I would consider being an energy efficiency analyst. An energy efficiency analyst can fit into any cooperate setting that is business, organization or a small enterprise. The occupation falls under the category of energy auditors. The main functions are to carry out an energy audit of constructions, procedures and other systems. The job also evaluates upgrades and recommends where necessary (Staff, 2013).

Generally energy audit is meant to ensure that energy is utilized efficiently and that there is no wastage. Such a career can assist in ushering and favoring green energy which is more environmental friendly and is more renewable. Also, this care is favorable because the main drivers of climate change is the energy sector. The use of fossil fuel has contributed largely to the emission of green houses to the atmosphere. Therefore this career can play a major role in ensuring climate change is reduced by a great percentage (Staff, 2013).

Energy efficiency analyst role is to determine the usefulness or feasibly of any energy saving approaches taken. The career provides useful knowledge that elaborates on some of the ways energy can be sustained through various systematic processes. Energy efficiency analyst examines new equipment and ensures that they have the specifications necessary for saving energy. If equipment do not meet the required needs, it is the work of the energy efficient analyst to recommend techniques that can be used to save energy. Therefore this career promote sustainably and reduces pressure on non-renewable sources of energy (Staff, 2013).

References

Excellent Development (2009) Sustainable Farming .thisisexcellent

Retrieved from: https://www.petersons.com/articles/graduate-degrees/green-jobs-sustainable-development

Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3spV2s_14Fc

Staff.P. (2013).Environmental Jobs: Green Jobs in Sustainable Development.

Contents

Abstract. 2

Introduction. 3

Background of the Problem.. 3

Significance of the Study. 4

Purpose and Scope of the Study. 5

Literature Review.. 6

Plastic Grocery Bags and Environmental Effects. 6

Plastic Bags Pollution in Kuwait 8

The Uses of Plastic Bags and Causes of Environmental Pollution. 9

Methodology. 10

Research Design. 10

Subject’s Selection. 11

Procedures. 11

Data Collection. 12

Data Analysis. 12

Instrumentation. 13

Ethical Consideration. 13

Errors and Limitations. 14

Results. 15

Discussion. 19

Conclusion and Recommendations. 21

Plastic Grocery Bags in Kuwait: Environmental Impact

Effects of Hurricane on North American Birds

Introduction                                                                                                                                     

Hurricanes are described as the large and swirling storms. These storms are suspected to produce winds at a speed of more than 120 kilometers per hour. Compared to the fastest animal in the world, cheater, the hurricanes can move faster on the land more than this great animal. The winds formed by these hurricanes can be able to destroy trees and buildings which stand in their way. Hurricanes usually form over the waters of the oceans and at times they can attack the lands. When such a hurricane reaches the lands, the waters of the oceans are pushed to the land forming a wall of water which is called a surging storm. The storm surge and the heavy rains can cause flooding as a result of the hurricane (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2013). Once such a storm falls over the lands or the oceans, the weather specialists measure the intensity and they can be able to predict the next fall and be prepared to reduce the effects and the damages that might be caused by the hurricane. Typically, there are at least five categories and types of hurricanes and which come in a different level of destructions according to their intensity. The lowest is at the level of 120 kilometers and above while the highest has an intensity and speed of more than 250 kilometers per hour. 

Implications of the hurricanes

Catastrophes to the environment are specifically of great interest to the conservationist and also the biologists since they have adverse effects on the environment and the small population such as the birds and other population of living things. These interests stem out of the fact that these effects of the catastrophes to the environment could lead to the extension of many young and small populations in the world and especially in North America where hurricanes are prone to occur (Anderegg et al., 2013). More interest is likely to occur given the increase in losses and the fragmentation of the habitats in many parts of the world, especially where species exist in smaller numbers in the isolated parts of the world. Survival of these small populations is crucial but the occurrence of these catastrophes increases the chances for the lack of survival of these species.  

The birds of the air and hurricanes have always been in co-existence through a life and death struggle every year. Survival for the birds has never been easy whether they are the shorebirds, migratory birds, or the birds that spend most of their times in the water in the open. North America is the breeding ground for the migratory birds and they move to their winter homes in the tropics to seek shelter (Rojas‐Sandoval et al., 2014). This is considered the most powerful, dangerous and disastrous type of storms to ever be recorded and which have an impact on the birds as they fly away in the eastern, through Florida and through Louisiana, Alabama, Texas and Mississippi in the central.

            There has been researching on how the migratory birds use the stopover mode of shielding from the storms at the northern coast at the Gulf of Mexico in order to watch the effects and the pattern of the birds in relation to the storms. This is a way of looking into the specific spots where the birds make stop over’s and the route to the tropics and how the recent storms are affecting and causing the change to the bird's movement. Annually, the drought and hurricanes wreak havoc on the life of humanity and property all around the world but in the North America, the birds are the most affected due to their coincidence in time with the hurricanes which take away thousands of lives (Chesser et al., 2013). The habitats and the populations of the birds are being destroyed by the hurricanes and this seems to not reduce in the coming years.

Over the past five years, the hurricanes have been responsible for many deaths and destruction of property in especially major towns in the North America. In the year, 2017, Florida experienced flooding, destruction of property and numerous deaths as the floods swept away almost every part of the town. Research indicates that migratory birds that are located over 100 kilometers far away from the hurricanes paths are experiencing a reduction in the population on a long-term basis. Over the past five years, though there have been deaths, these birds have been increasing throughout as a way of getting a rebound from the effects of the destruction of the forests.  Research also indicates that there could be more losses of at least 15 percent every time the rain falls and causes the destruction of property (Thorne et al., 2012). This study shows that if a hurricane or even drought affects an area, the migratory birds whether they stay in the breeding grounds in the north or move to the south, this is a strong determinant of the survivability of the migratory birds.

Birds according to the research are very influential to the lives of humans. The birds can be used to offer advanced knowledge of the ecosystem type of changes that might occur and affect the human life and also give more information on the actions of humans in relation to the changes in climate. Migratory birds have the capability of sensing danger which comes with the hurricanes or the storms. Such information is used wisely as this could mean the extinction of these species. Research shows that birds can be able to hear the infrasounds and are very sensitive to the barometric pressure so this shows that they can be able to identify when the storm is on its way especially when it is as big and destructive as the hurricane. When a powerful hurricane approaches, the birds have options such as the move to the south, stay but seek some shelter or dive into the storm. When a storm is on its way, the birds change their behavior according to their parameters just according to the seasons. For example, the white-throated birds are also the migratory songbirds and when a large storm comes in the spring or autumnal migration times, they start migrating sooner before the storm (Chesser et al., 2013). Research also indicates that the birds speed up their calendar in the autumnal migratory times of departure according to the fall of the barometric pressures whereas they can delay the migratory during the spring due to the fall in barometric pressures. 

Hurricanes have very devastating effects on the lives of birds and they cause the number of the migratory birds to reduce significantly over the years. On the Barbuda which is one of the most affected islands in the world by the hurricane Irma, the ornithologists speculate the fate of the rare warbler which is only left with a population of about 1000 birds as of 2017. One of the North America’s scarce species of songbird is also causing fear to the ornithologists who think that the bird is on the verge of being wiped out the face of the earth. There is also a worrying factor to the birds of the Caribbean species which have also been affected heavily by the hurricanes (Horowitz et al., 2014). Currently, the affected areas continue to look for more survivors from the hurricanes and flooding while some are waiting to hear the fate of the precious migratory birds that thrive in the areas affected.

Even if the individual species survive the storm, the likelihood of survival in the future is still uncertain especially after the source of their food has been destroyed. The flowers have been destroyed in Florida, and the gulf coast and the hummingbirds which thrive in this locations have been left searching for food but seems futile (Hass et al., 2012). The flooded leaf-litter has become problematic for the birds which live on the ground scavenging for food on the floor of the forests. The reduction in the number could expose the small populations of the birds to the capacity of lack of breeding and this could have adverse effects on the life and survival of these genes.

Since time in history, the hurricanes have not been kind even to the wildlife. Some species have completely become extinct especially after being pummeled by the large hurricanes. For example, in Hawaii, a certain species of the thrust known as the kama’o has become extinct especially due to the hurricane that affected this region in the past several years (Chesser et al., 2013). On the islands of Bahamas, the hurricanes were less than 3 meters and the storm that occurred in this region caused the extinction of the anole lizards. The conditions of the hurricanes have become a wait for it and see kind of game in most regions in northern America. A rather less tragic implication of the hurricanes is the displacements of the birds. When the birds are trapped in the middle of the hurricane eye, they seek for refuge through continuously flying around the eye as a way of reducing the impact to be experienced. As the storm moves across the coast, the birds are already exhausted and they eventually fall on the solid hard grounds where they are already displaced from their normal habitats and grounds for feeding (Anderegg et al., 2013). Luckily, the birders are always on the look for these birds which have been affected by the hurricane such as the tropicbirds, shearwaters, frigate birds, boobies, and the petrels which are all oceanic birds and also some of the tropic birds.

In 2012, sandy was approximately 1,000 miles wide and wings that spread more than 90 miles per hour as she was approaching the New Jersey coast. Most of the migratory birds usually weigh less than or a few ounces for the smaller birds. Considering the intense collision of the tiny birds and the heavy winds, the birds of migratory were disturbed by the wind. The effects on the birds varied according to the species. During every rainfall, millions of birds are taken away from North America, flying into the south or the southeast over the large masses of water towards the tropics. Some of the birds can be able to fly directly to South America without any stopovers such as the sandpipers and warblers. Others such as the Bicknell’s fly directly in the Caribbean island (Chesser et al., 2013). Once they are out into the open large masses of water, these birds are prone to be overcome by the storm and eventually falling into the water where they die of drowning. The hurricanes that make the landfalls through the Atlantic shorelines leave the areas at the coast and swarm the already exhausted birds which have been pushed to the north by the winds. These might be the lucky ones since much more perish while at the offshore.

During the time the hurricane is sweeping the north all the way from Florida and eventually weakened, there are numerous birds which are left lying on the ground as a result. For example, a black-capped petrel was picked up in Georgia in a parking lot after being swept away by the hurricane. Black-capped petrels are usually located in the high nests of the mountains in the remote areas of Cuba and Hispaniola. When the breeding season starts, they nest at night while resting at the seas during the day. These birds are only seen and experienced once there is a hurricane meaning that they are most affected since they only appear during such times (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2013). Over the years, these birds have been swept far from their natural habitats by the hurricane and this indicates the high level of destruction caused in their homes. Following the major storms, in the year 2012, Aquidneck Island was found to have the storm blown birds. This happened in October when birds specifically the pelicans were swept by the storm in the state park. In 2011, the southern species such as the black swimmers and the sandwich terns were found in a number of locations in the south (Neria & Shultz, 2012).

Hurricane winds, wave action, and the wind are in most cases assumed to have an effect on the bird’s mortality directly though it has been a challenging task document. The migratory birds with their benefit of flying can be able to evade the ravage of the hurricane as long as they have the capacity of sensing the direction and effects of the storms. The strong winds and the rains together can be able to bring an end to the existence of a particular species of birds. The high winds on their own can be able to cause the death of the migratory birds through the debris, falling trees, or in the water after being forced into the water where they eventually drew (Chesser et al., 2013). For example, the bird’s populations in South Carolina except for the roosting pelicans and some water birds moved away from a storm that was on its way to destroy them by seeking shelter on the ground or escaping the path of the hurricane. During that time, some of the Puerto Rican species of birds were killed as a result of the storm.

Geographical distribution change

The storms have been named to be responsible for the change in the movement of animals and the birds. The birds are practically the most affected as they are displaced from their natural habitats which are some on the trees and some on the land. During the hurricanes, most of the birds that thrive on the surface of the earth seek refuge on the ground and despite the strength of the hurricane is too much; the birds will stay on the ground without moving. Severe storms are brought to the land from the North Atlantic and they come with an influx of powerful lapwings which blows from Europe into North America. The seabirds are blown into the inland and those that occupy the southern shores are blown northwards according to the movement of the storm (Anderegg et al., 2013). This occurs on the east coast of North America where the birds are displaced by the heavy storms up to the north away from the natural range of the birds. Although some of these birds will eventually leave and go back to their homes, many are left dead on the ground and this indicates that the mortality rate of the birds is very high. Documentation of the migratory birds has shown how the birds are being carried away by the hurricane.

The birds also experience the effects of losing the foliage distribution and the vegetation structure which affects certain species of the migratory birds. The loss of the tall canopy trees largely explains the absence of the white and black Warblers from one region to the other as an effect of the hurricane. The high trees also suffered some level of destruction such as the loss of the twigs and branches which is home to some of the birds (Horowitz et al., 2014). The extensive damage by the hurricane on the mimosaceous species of trees in the low pasture, lowland shade coffee, and the ruinate scrub during the dry limestone has probably had an effect on the decline of the wintering migrant warblers which pecks insects from the leaves of these trees. 

It is a general rule among the North American birds which are traveling long distance to migrate earlier before the storm comes while those that are moving a short distance move after the long distance birds. The timing of the sandy which is late for falling means that it is a lesser damaging effect to the long distance migrating birds since if it occurred earlier, then there would be more damages for the birds (Neria & Shultz, 2012). In the late October when the sandy was headed for Cuba through Jamaica, the majority of the migrants would have similarly completed the long distance journey safely. This means that there were fewer birds killed in the waters while many were killed in the lands. A displacement of the different kinds of birds mainly involved the flocks of the brant species.

Conclusion

Much needs to be done as a nation to ensure that the high level of hurricane effects do not affect humans and the birds at large and when it happens it is the responsibility of the nation to take care of the survivors. Research needs to be done in order to reduce the effects of the hurricane and also be well advanced in identifying signs of the catastrophe (Woodrey et al., 2012). The storm affects all kinds of living things and the nonliving things. It is upon humanity to see to it that the migratory birds do not become extinct since this will be a disaster for the environment. An environment that does not have birds is just the same as an environment which is nonexistence.

References                   

Anderegg, W. R., Kane, J. M., & Anderegg, L. D. (2013). Consequences of widespread tree mortality triggered by drought and temperature stress. Nature Climate Change, 3(1), 30-36.

Chesser, R. T., Banks, R. C., Barker, F. K., Cicero, C., Dunn, J. L., Kratter, A. W., ... & Stotz, D. F. (2013). Fifty-fourth supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union check-list of North American birds. The Auk, 130(3), 558-572.

Hass, T., Hyman, J., & Semmens, B. X. (2012). Climate change, heightened hurricane activity, and extinction risk for an endangered tropical seabird, the black-capped petrel Pterodroma hasitata. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 454, 251-261.

Horowitz, A. J., Elrick, K. A., Smith, J. J., & Stephens, V. C. (2014). The effects of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee on the bed sediment geochemistry of US Atlantic coastal rivers. Hydrological Processes, 28(3), 1250-1259.

Imberman, S. A., Kugler, A. D., & Sacerdote, B. I. (2012). Katrina's children: Evidence on the structure of peer effects from hurricane evacuees. The American Economic Review, 102(5), 2048-2082.

Kaufman, W., & Kaufman, S. R. (2013). Invasive plants: guide to identification and the impacts and control of common North American species. Stackpole Books.

    Neria, Y., & Shultz, J. M. (2012). Mental health effects of Hurricane Sandy: Characteristics, potential aftermath, and response. Jama, 308(24), 2571-2572.

Rojas‐Sandoval, J., Meléndez‐Ackerman, E. J., Fumero‐Cabán, J., García‐Bermúdez, M. A., Sustache, J., Aragón, S., ... & Fernández, D. S. (2014). Effects of hurricane disturbance and feral goat herbivory on the structure of a Caribbean dry forest. Journal of vegetation science, 25(4), 1069-1077.

Thorne, K. M., Takekawa, J. Y., & Elliott-Fisk, D. L. (2012). Ecological effects of climate change on salt marsh wildlife: a case study from a highly urbanized estuary. Journal of Coastal Research, 28(6), 1477-1487.

Woodrey, M. S., Rush, S. A., Cherry, J. A., Nuse, B. L., Cooper, R. J., & Lehmicke, A. J. J. (2012). Understanding the potential impacts of global climate change on marsh birds in the Gulf of Mexico region. Wetlands, 32(1), 35-49.

 Generally, countries which are rich in resources have done more poorly than countries without resources. They have developed more slowly and with greater inequality which is a contradiction of what is expected. There are a lot of reasons and much academic debate about the causes for and exceptions to the various outcomes. Most of the people believe the resource curse is not global or inevitable but is more likely to affect certain countries or regional areas.

By being totally dependent on oil, Angola’s economy exposed itself to dangerous price fluctuations. Unpredictable prices make economic planning very difficult and in Angola have resulted to excessive borrowing. Unfortunately, oil producing countries have access to more credit due to the availability of future oil earnings as collateral on loans. This credit money can end up supporting wars. This was the method Angola ruling popular Movement for Liberation of Angola was able to finance war. In the long the economy is drugged down (Alexander, Gilbert, Betzing, , Steyn, & Institute for Democracy in Africa,2010).

In most of the African countries, the political and economic systems are unequal. In Angola, this imbalance resulted from the abundance of oil. The systems creates wealthy people who exist beside abject poverty. The rich are able to isolate the poor from political power. Data that tries to quantify the extent of these inequalities is rare as leaders tend to cover up corruption and mismanagement of resources within the Angola (Alexander, Gilbert, Betzing, Steyn, & Institute for Democracy in Africa, 2010).

Oil profits in Angola led to promotion and strengthening of unrestricted neo patrimonial style of leadership which led to loss of accountability. Profits from oil gives leaders power to subvert justice and to deny the people their right to an equal share of the profits made. The elites add on to their wealth using other investments that increase their influence and power. Therefore, oil leads to a concentration of political power in the hands of leaders and elites who are only concerned with their own survival. In both Angola and Gabon, the elites used their wealth from oil rents to gain favor and support from various people who would in turn protect them from their powerful rival counterparts. This involved military, politicians, officers, judges and rich businessmen .However, during periods of instability such as elections, the disbursement of aids would be done equally to reach the poor people. Though it failed to rich the extreme poor people in isolated areas. Favors from the elites took different forms such as selective awarding of licenses to business owners, jobs, payment of government loans and free fuel and water for a selected few. The expensive Trans Gabonese railway is an example of such a favor. The railway was identified as a form of neo patrimonialism after it was diverted to president Batekes’ tribe. Having bought the major key players, the elites would then proceed with impunity to do as they liked in Angola as few could challenge their positions both in political and military spheres. The existence of vast oil reserves and revenues remove accountability between state and society (Alexander, Gilbert, Betzing, Steyn, & Institute for Democracy in Africa, 2010).

The ability of governments to depend on oil rents rather than tax has led to corruption and oppression. The leaders of Angola get their wealth from the oil industry and not from the Angolans whose interests they are supposed to safeguard. Taxations plays a key role in constructing robust, accountable countries. Generally, rents are not the underlying problem but to a degree, they accelerate corruption and lack of transparency in the country (Fabrizio, & International Monetary Fund, 2015).

The presence of vast natural resources revenues can cause harm to other sectors of the economy, particularly industries that rely on exports, by causing inflation and shuffling labor and capital from non-resource sector to the resource sector. This is normally known as the Dutch disease. While exchange rate and inflation can cause damage to large areas of the economy within a number of years, their impact can be protracted for decades. This has been well documented in Angola as the agricultural sector declined due to the fact that the farmers could not afford to import fertilizers from other countries due to the exchange rate. This caused other sectors of the economy to shrink.

Economic diversity may be delayed as other sectors of the economy are neglected to focus on limited natural resources. Diversifications that occur are often projects which are related to the natural resource. The projects are often mismanaged. However, even when leaders try to diversify the economy, it is made difficult by resource extractive companies and industries which outcompete other industries from different sectors .This is known as comparative advantage. Angola leads in the export of crude oil which is the its main revenue earner .The over dependence on oil has discouraged Gabon to make long term investments in infrastructure that would let the economy diversify to and grow in other sectors  (Sachs, Stieglitz, & Humphreys, 2007).

Dependence on oil in Angola has become a major challenge due to the fluctuation of oil prices. In 2015, the country’s budget was reduced by 25%.In a country where the government is the main source of employment and finances, such reductions are devastating to the whole economy. When national assembly approved the budget cut, revenue from oil related exports dropped to 50%.Falling of the price of oil has resulted to mounting inflation linked to the worsening of the currency and the fact that Angola relies heavily on imported goods.

Angola policy makers are well aware their economy’s vulnerability to the international market. Indeed, during the country’s previous economic recession following price fall in 2008, questions were asked on how the government uses the country’s vast oil income. Efforts made in the macroeconomic stability were seen late in the year 2012 where inflation dropped to a single numeral. Angola made enormous stocks of foreign exchange to protect the country’s economy against the future expected volatile in income. In a country where the oil makes up 95% of the export and 75% of the financial revenue, mitigations focused on  protecting the economy’s vulnerability to volatile product prices can only be part of a the solution  (Fabrizio, & International Monetary Fund, 2015).

A Part from International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank reports, there has been very minimum independent monitoring of Angola’s budgets and expenditure program. Civil societies and the national assembly in Angola are very weak and cannot carry out their mandate. These bodies lead to lack of accountability and transparency by leaders and companies responsible of overseeing equitable distribution of wealth. Another issue that has not been addressed by the civil society in the context of transparency is cost in the oil industries. The IMF noted that Angola’s share of each barrel is around 50% with the rest going to foreign companies. But the World Bank estimates that the government takes the share that belongs to Angola and its people from each barrel. However no civil society has not bothered to investigate this problem (Fabrizio, & International Monetary Fund, 2015).

Recommendations

In countries such as Angola that depend solely on oil export, economic policy –making should be guided by flexible medium budgets planning that will provide for immediate non-oil budget losses. In addition, the predicted oil prices should also be included in the budget (Sachs, Stieglitz, & Humphreys, 2007).

The government of Angola should strengthen their management of public finances through transparency and accountability that will see introduction of clear bidding exercises for contracts. The government should also adopt adjustable policies when in debt and in matters concerning international; reserves and foreign exchange (Sachs, Stieglitz, & Humphreys, 2007).

In a country such as Angola with meagre social services and infrastructure, it is not wise to save money generated from vast oil exports in sovereign wealth funds. Using the oil revenue to finance recurring expenditure is also not a good option. The best option is to increase availability of domestic capital by investing in various investments (Sachs, Stieglitz, & Humphreys, 2007).

Lastly, macroeconomics done through cautious policies can help diversify the economy. The government should come up with  the right mixture of economic policies .the polices  will then enable further growth and strengthening of a dynamic economy  through the creation of attractive institutional ,legal and regulatory environments (Sachs, Stieglitz, & Humphreys, 2007).

Conclusion

Angola faces major macroeconomic problems which include management of its oil revenues before it declines in production and at the same time ensure both sustainability in their budgets and long term debts. Another challenge is to increase the competitiveness of its economy through diversification and to create non-oil and non-extractive parts of the economy but also strengthen its institutions and political leadership that will be accountable and transparent.

References

Fabrizio, S., & International Monetary Fund. (2015). Angola: Technical assistant report - Angola - fuel price subsidy reform the way forward.

Sachs, J., Stieglitz, J. E., & Humphreys, M. (2007). Escaping the resource curse. New York: Columbia University Press.

Alexander, K., Gilbert, S., Betzing, C., Steyn, J., & Institute for Democracy in Africa. (2010). Oil and governance: A case study of Chad, Angola, Gabon and Sao Tome é Principe. Pretoria: Idasa.

Climate changed is caused by humans

Introduction

 Evidence that the onset of climate change originate from human activities is quite compelling even though some people argue against this. Changes in climate have been recorded in various scientific findings and have largely been attributing from greenhouse gases.  Since 1977, the earth temperatures have been recorded as rising and such changes cannot occur if burning of oil and coal does not lead to gaseous emissions. Any argument to try and explain the cause of global warming without the impact of human activities on the atmosphere cannot be sustained amidst the available evidence.

Many scientists have in over a hundred countries have gathered sufficient evidence that point to the conclusion that humans are the major cause of climate change. Many people recognize that climate change is real but are not sure what the cause is and how it happens. The surface of the earth has undergone record warming over the past century and more so in the current century (Union of Concerned Scientists, 1). Since 1977, the temperatures of the earth surface have increased more than the recorded average in 20^th century so that 16 out of the 17 years with the highest temperatures have been in record since 2001 (Mann, 2).  In fact, 2016 was recorded as the year in which temperatures were the highest in history.  It has also been recorded that were it not for burning of oil and coal, it is highly unlikely that 13 of the 15 years with highest temperatures would not have occurred (Mann, 5). Any farmer can attest to the fact that there has been an alteration of climate natural patterns, which has affected their planting and harvesting operations.

The carbon dioxide concentration in the earth’s atmosphere together with other gases such as nitrous oxide and methane has risen unprecedentedly over the past century. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere especially during the industrial periods has been shown to have increased by 40 percent. The primary culprits for this concentration levels are emissions from fossil fuels and the secondary cause is increased changes in land use (IPCC, 11). Most of these points to increased human activities on earth as population increases and pressure to produce more manufactured and agricultural products increase.  This means that human activities are resulting to more greenhouse gases being added into the atmosphere when burning fossil fuels to meet their needs.  The evidence suggest that once human burns materials that are carbon-based , carbon dioxide gas is emitted as has been shown by research since 1900s (IPCC, 12).  The basic account of what human beings burn and the amount of the gas emitted from various data collected since 1970s goes a long way to prove this assertion. In addition, the measure of amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere and the one trapped in ice indicates that the emission is increasing at a rate higher than what had been recorded in pre-1950 periods (IPCC, 13).

Moreover, a chemical analysis of earth’s atmosphere shows that the additional carbon dioxide amount is emanating from increased burning of fossil fuels.  This has also been confirmed by various monitoring efforts aimed at observing the climate conditions. When other factors which are capable of affecting climate such as ocean cycles and the sun, there is a strong indication that emissions from human activities are largely contributing to the climate change (IPCC, 14). Production in agriculture alone can also be an indication of the impact of human activities. The sectors has experienced a myriad of changes across the world with increased temperatures leading to extreme drought while in other areas, increase in rain downpour has led to destruction of farm produce.

 For the earth to continue sustaining life the temperatures have to be appropriate and this is maintained by atmospheric greenhouse gases. The role of the gas is to form a blanket which prevents the radiation of sun’s energy into space and hence, maintaining the temperatures of the earth.  When human activities increase the amount of greenhouse gases into this atmosphere, less of energy is lost. However, scientist have observed that there is a slow decline in amount of heat radiated back while there is no much change in amount of energy from the sun (Union of Concerned Scientists,1).  The result is that more sun energy is being retained inside the earth’s atmosphere and this can only occur due to greenhouse gases.  Scientists have used various advances in technology like satellites to observe such effects where they have collected numerous data and analysed.  They have also performed experiments and compared simulations between human and natural aspects using computers.  Through such experiments a consensus has been reached by considering past evidence and making individual conclusions (NASA, 1).  

Conclusion

Evidence of effect of human activities on climate change has been proved by different scientific research. While some people may refer to such experiments as an indication of weakness, logics would points otherwise. Even if they doubt the experiments, the aforesaid evidence gives a clear indication of human activities as the main culprits.

Works cited

Mann, Michael E., et al. "The likelihood of recent record warmth." Scientific reports 6 (2016): srep19831.

NASA.Climate change: How do we know? 1. Available at: https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/

Solar Energy

Question one

Solar energy refers to the power from sun’s radiation which is harnessed and converted to electricity using solar panels. Solar energy can be used to dry clothes or preserve food, water heating, and manufacture of salt and generation of electricity using solar cells. When a transfer fluid is heated by solar panels, it can be used to run generators proving that solar energy can also be used to perform complex tasks (Sukhatme & Nayak, 2008).

 Question 2

In 1839 Alexander Edmond Becquerel discovered photovoltaic effect that can convert solar energy into electricity. According to alexander’s analogy, when rays from the sun come into contact with photovoltaic material, electricity is produced .However, progressive research in the field proved that photovoltaic effect was not enough to generate electricity from the sun. In 1941, over 100 years after Alexander, Russell ohl came up with the solar cell . This came after the invention of the transmitter. (Perlin, 2013).

 Question 3

This is how sunlight can be converted into solar energy:

A photovoltaic cell or a solar cell consists of two layers of a semiconductor material made of silicon crystals .Silicons are not good conductors of electricity but when impurities are added to silicon in a process known as doping, electric currents are generated (Hantula, 2010).

The bottom layer of the solar cells is coated with boron to form a positive charge while the upper layer is coated with phosphorus to make a negative charge. The surface between the two semiconductors is called the P-N junction which allows for movement of the electric field generated (Hantula, 2010).

When the sunlight come into contact with the solar cells, it loosens the electrons in the two semi-conductor layers. The electrons try to flow from the positive layer to the negative layer but are prevented by the P-N surface which exists between the layers (Hantula, 2010).

 There is an external circuit made of thin wires which provides a pathway through which the electrons flow. The thin wire run through the positive layer and the negative layer. The external circuits enables the user of the solar panel to get electricity (Hantula, 2010).

Question 4

There are two types of solar energy that converts sunlight into electricity: photovoltaic solar energy and solar thermal energy .Photovoltaic technology uses solar panels to change light from the sun directly into power by use of silicon semiconductors. Solar thermal, on the other hand, converts heat from the sun into mechanical energy which is further converted into electricity. The electricity resulting from solar thermal is called solar power (In Reinders, In Verlinden, In Sark, & In Freundlich, 2017).

Photovoltaic solar energy converts light into electricity. For this to happen light excites electrons on the outer surface of the semiconductors which are then converted into an electric current that can be connected to a power grid (Sukhatme & Nayak, 2008).

Solar thermal technology uses heat from the sun directly. The temperature in a solar thermal panel is usually below 100degrees Celsius. Solar thermal can be installed in homes for heating water and in industries. Solar thermal panel collectors are made of a flat, dark and wide surface to maximize the absorption of sun’s rays and an insulation that prevents heat collected from escaping thus creating a greenhouse effect. They operate at an average temperature of 70degree Celsius.

 Concentrate solar energy power is a type of solar thermal energy. Collectors use the heat from the sun to heat gas or oil .The heated gas or oil transfers heat to water. Heated water turns to steam which then turn turbines thus generating electricity (Sukhatme & Nayak, 2008).

Question 5

Solar energy does not emit harmful gases into the environment and is renewable .Solar energy is cheaper compared to other energy sources such as fuels and gases. Hydroelectricity is also clean energy but it relies on fossil fuels to run turbines which contribute to global warming. Solar panels can be placed in unproductive land therefore they do not take up a lot of space (Sukhatme & Nayak, 2008)

Equipments used to harness solar energy are easy to maintain. They only need occasional cleanliness and checking for repairs. Solar panel manufacturers give a warrant of 20-25 years. Inverters in solar panels, are the only parts that need changing after every 5-10 years. Therefore, after buying the solar panels, it is very easy to maintain them (Sukhatme & Nayak, 2008).

Though solar panels are expensive and rely heavily on the weather, the technology is being improved daily so that it can become more popular and meet the energy demands of the world which are increasing by the day and exhausting fossil fuels (Sukhatme & Nayak, 2008).

QUESTION 6

Japan, China, USA, Germany and France are among the countries ranked highest in the use of solar energy. Though solar energy is available everywhere in the globe, solar energy is not reliable in some places. Areas like the North Pole cannot harness solar energy. Places that are suitable for the collection of solar energy and conversion into electricity are warm areas .Germany is the leading country in the use of solar power. Solar energy covers a total of 3% of the total consumption.One of the strategies Germany has put in place to promote the use of solar energy in their country is lowering of their tariffs to compete with other sources of electricity such as hydroelectricity. In the United States, the use of solar energy increased due to leasing of solar panels at affordable prices (Findley, 2010).

REFERENCES

Findley, D. S. (2010). Solar power for your home. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Hantula, R. (2010). How do solar panels work? New York, NY: Chelsea Clubhouse

In Reinders, A., In Verlinden, P., In Sark, W. ., & In Freundlich, A. (2017). Photovoltaic solar energy: From fundamentals to applications.

Perlin, J. (2013). Let it shine: The 6,000-year story of solar energy. Novato, California: New World Library.

Sukhatme, S. P., & Nayak, J. K. (2008). Solar energy: Principles of thermal collection and storage. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill.

Pollution in Gwinnett County Georgia

Marmins, David J. Georgia Nuisance Law. , 2011. Print.

This book focuses on the impact of water pollution in Gwinnett, whereby it looks at the laws put in place in order to protect water from being polluted. It majorly focuses on the Metropolitan River Protection Act, which states that, any land disturbing activities which affect the natural flow of a source of water, thus increasing water pollution should not be tolerated. The local government of Georgia has therefore implemented laws which are aimed at protecting land and sources of water within their locality from either loose construction, or construction of floodways without a permit, “Local governing authorities in Georgia have also adopted ordinances designed to protect the land and waterways… (Marmins, 154)”       

Graphiq. “Gwinnet County, GA: Enviromental Health Statistics.” Health Grove. Retrieved from: http://environmental-health.healthgrove.com/l/508/Gwinnett-County-GA

When heavy metals are exposed to the environment, they tend to have adverse effects on human beings. When heavy metals which include: mercury, lead, and arsenic are exposed in high doses, they may become toxic to human beings, “heavy metals, such as lead, arsenic, and mercury, can be toxic to humans depending on the dose, route of exposure, and physical characteristics of the person… (n.p)” These metals occur naturally in the earth’s crust, however, they are usually exposed to the ground through industrial activities, such as smelting, vehicle emissions, manufacturing and mining. Due to the release of these metals in higher doses onto the environment, this has led to increasing trepidations about the exposure of toxins in sources of water, and the soil. This paper has consequently carried out an analysis on the levels of heavy metal pollution in Gwinnett County.         

Gwinnet County, Georgia. “Gwinnett County, Georgia Health Index” Sperling Best Places. 2017. Print. Retrieved from: http://www.bestplaces.net/health/county/georgia/gwinnett.

 Air quality in Gwinnet is at its worst, measuring 48 on a scale to 100. The higher the measurement the better, however, the condition in Gwinnett has been attributed to the hazardous air pollutants in the country. This paper conducted an analysis of the prevalence of diseases in Gwinnett, where it was discovered the residents of the country are very likely to be infected by respiratory illnesses and cancer. Similarly, the quality of water in Gwinnet falls at 40 on a scale of 100, hence showing how water pollution in Gwitten is very high, “This analysis models respiratory illness and cancer risk down to the zip code level, providing better detail and insight than the previous analysis based solely on results from air monitoring... (n.p)” Industries in the county have violated the clean water act, thus releasing factory effluents into water sources without proper treatment of the water.           

Charles, Duhigg. “Clean Water Laws are Neglected, at a Cost in Suffering:” The New York Times. Print 2009.

In Georgia, the Clean Water Act has been neglected, a factor which has led to the pollution of water. Water in the region has been polluted with heavy metals such as nickel, lead and mercury, thus causing painful rushes when one takes a bath. The pollution of water in the region has become very critical, to the point where tooth enamel is being eaten away by the polluted water, “Tests show that their tap water contains arsenic, barium, lead, manganese and other chemicals at concentrations federal regulators say could contribute to cancer and damage the kidneys… (Charles, n.p)” Coal companies in the area have also violated the law, thus releasing chemicals into water sources. Pollution of water in all parts of Georgia including Gwitten has become normal, whereby industries which release chemicals into water sources are not punished.   

Suh, Helen H., et al. "Chemical Properties of Air Pollutants and Cause-Specific Hospital Admissions among the Elderly in Atlanta, Georgia." Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 119, no. 10, Oct. 2011, pp. 1421-1428. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1289/ehp.10O2646.    

Health risks are majorly influenced by the release of huge particles of chemicals into the air, which results in the pollution of the air. This article reviewed whether daily hospital admissions are affected by chemical pollution properties in the air. In so doing, a method was formulated to conduct the study, “We categorized pollutants by chemical properties and examined their impacts on the odds of daily hospital admissions… (Suh, 36)” The data was then collected and analysed in two stages, thus coming up with an accurate figure. The study was based on the day’s admission, where the effect of the damage of ozone layer was also studied, thus understanding the pollutants on human beings and on the environment.    

Sowah, Robert A., et al. "Isolating the Impact of Septic Systems on Fecal Pollution in Streams of Suburban Watersheds in Georgia, United States." Water Research, vol. 108, 01 Jan. 2017, pp. 330-338. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.watres.2016.11.007.

Water pollution has been on the rise in Georgia, whereby septic tanks have been connected with water sources. This paper therefore conducted a study on the impact of septic systems on microbial water quality.  Different methods were consequently used in the study and they included monitoring of bacteroidales, “In this study multiple approaches including targeted sampling and monitoring of host-specific Bacteroidales markers were used to identify the impact of septic systems… (Sowah, 33)”  The study concluded that bacteroidales yields associated with human beings was higher in density watersheds as compared those in low density areas.     

Zanobetti, Antonella and Joel Schwartz. "The Effect of Fine and Coarse Particulate Air Pollution on Mortality: A National Analysis." Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 117, no. 6, June 2009, pp. 898-903. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1289/ehp.0800108.

This paper focuses on the effect of air pollution on death rates, “we conducted a national, multicity time-series study of the acute effect of PM2.5 and PM coarse on the increased risk of death for all causes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and respiratory mortality… (Zanobetti & Joel, 16)” The study, therefore conducted the research in order to understand the prevalence of stroke, and respiratory deaths, where it was discovered that respiratory deaths increase after two days. The research finally concluded that the effects of air pollution were higher in spring.     

Borowy, J. "Phosphorus Removal Mechanisms at the Yellow River Sweetwater Creek Water Reclamation Facility, Gwinnett County, Georgia. Master's Thesis." 1994.

This article examined the capabilities of the “Yellow River Sweetwater Creek Water Reclamation Facility in Gwinnett County, Georgia, in the process of removing phosphorus biologically… (Borowy, 23)”. The locations where phosphorus would be removed were investigated in through sampling of events, whereas in pilot studies, waste was exposed to different conditions, thus promoting biological phosphorus release and uptake. At the time of the experimentation, the plant analysis during the period of experimentation proved that a half of plant phosphorus removal as accompanied biologically through the amalgamation of phosphorus during growth, in microbial cells.      

Work Cited

Marmins, David J. Georgia Nuisance Law. , 2011. Print.

Graphiq. “Gwinnet County, GA: Enviromental Health Statistics.” Health Grove. Retrieved from: http://environmental-health.healthgrove.com/l/508/Gwinnett-County-GA

Gwinnet County, Georgia. “Gwinnett County, Georgia Health Index” Sperling Best Places. 2017. Print. Retrieved from: http://www.bestplaces.net/health/county/georgia/gwinnett.

Charles, Duhigg. “Clean Water Laws are Neglected, at a Cost in Suffering:” The New York Times. Print 2009.

Suh, Helen H., et al. "Chemical Properties of Air Pollutants and Cause-Specific Hospital Admissions among the Elderly in Atlanta, Georgia." Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 119, no. 10, Oct. 2011, pp. 1421-1428. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1289/ehp.10O2646.   

Sowah, Robert A., et al. "Isolating the Impact of Septic Systems on Fecal Pollution in Streams of Suburban Watersheds in Georgia, United States." Water Research, vol. 108, 01 Jan. 2017, pp. 330-338. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.watres.2016.11.007.

Zanobetti, Antonella and Joel Schwartz. "The Effect of Fine and Coarse Particulate Air Pollution on Mortality: A National Analysis." Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 117, no. 6, June 2009, pp. 898-903. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1289/ehp.0800108.

Borowy, J. "Phosphorus Removal Mechanisms at the Yellow River Sweetwater Creek Water Reclamation Facility, Gwinnett County, Georgia. Master's Thesis." 1994.

Environmental Law

Safe drinking water as well as sanitation are vital for distinguished and healthy life. However, one out of ten individuals in America, still lacks contact safe water which deprives them their basic right. The persistence of water issues has mainly been influenced by the development of manufacturing companies which in turn affects health. In addition, climatic change and demographics increase are most potent to impact more individuals in the near future is proper mechanisms are not put in place. SDWA is an American federal law that guards public drinking water supply nationally (EPA, 2017). Under the law, EPA is involved in setting standards for superiority of drinking water and operates with its partners in applying different financial and technical initiatives to ensure safety (EPA, 2017).

The mechanisms that my client can employ in order to influence the regulatory procedure is to ensure that EPA makes a regulatory determination. When a determination is being made by EPA preliminary regulatory is made that offers an opportunity to acquire comments from the public. The client should therefore, demonstrate the adverse effect that the proposal and the chemical has on individual’s health. In addition, the chemical should have the chance of getting in contact with the water systems. These criteria should be made in order for the regulatory to be administered in order to determine the effects of the chemicals on water safety and individual’s health. For the chemical given that it has adverse reproductive effects the MCLG is grounded on the orientation dose (EPA, 2017). The reference dose refers to the projected chemical amount that an individual can be exposed to everyday that is not expected to result in any adverse health impact over the lifespan (EPA, 2017).

References

EPA. (2017). Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/sdwa

EPA. (2017). How EPA Regulates Drinking Water Contaminants. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/dwregdev/how-epa-regulates-drinking-water-contaminants

Econometrics Regression Paper: Carbon Emission and Economic Development

Introduction

Energy is not just a keystone of economic growth, but it is also a critical strategic resource for every nation. Globally, in the mechanization stage, it is apparent that energy plays a huge role in the contemporary economy today. The last few decades have acquired high achievements in economic growth and rapid development of energy consumption globally. For instance, America, Europe, and China are categorized to be the utmost consumers which have attributed to an economic growth of about 3.5 up to 24 percent in the last 20 or so years (Hossain, 2012). However, the increased energy utilization has brought about the drastic increment in carbon emissions with further increases in the global warming rate thus creating a necessity to develop the economy while controlling carbon emissions. The higher the economic growth the higher the carbon emissions.

Literature Review

Carbon emissions have for the longest period been accounted as a critical force in polluting the environment. Pollution is among the most pressing economic as well as social issues today based on the level of its implications to productivity. However, despite the advancement of technology, carbon emissions remains very high annually which creates a rather disturbing impression. It is saddening, to note that there are no other energy alternatives that have the capability of replacing fossil fuel (Hossain, 2012). Most countries are currently engaged in the quest of reducing the emission rate by attempting to promote the use of energy efficient resources. In this context when the GDP of any state is high, this means that the carbon emission rate is low. The renewable, energy efficient and environmentally friendly options are currently available but they are characterized by high prices (Knight and Schor, 2014). It is, therefore, believed that such options are only adopted by wealthy individuals based on their understanding of the associated cost efficiency and environmental protection. The relationship amid carbon emissions and economic growth creates three major independent variables which are urban population, trade including both imports and exports and GDP per capita. Based on data acquired from a state level, it has been established by several studies that there is a strong and desirable relationship amid carbon emissions and economic growth. In that with an increase of economic growth by a single percent the rate of emissions rises by about 1.2 percent (Mercan and Karakaya, 2015).

Data

Dependent Variables

In assessing the effects of economic growth the dependent variables that were utilized in this study are energy consumption and carbon emission per capita. The measure is only effective when utilized on a national basis which created the necessity to incorporate exports and imports variables. From the findings, it is obvious that the higher the carbon energy utilization in a given country the higher the general rate of emissions and the higher the pollution while economic growth increases positively.

Independent Variables

The three identified independent variables are GDP, Urban population and Trade per capita which were measured in 2005 the United States dollars. The utilized data are acquired from the existing studies which align with the study’s findings. In addition, trade data both for the import and export as the GDP percentage were also incorporated along with the populace of the urban area.

Model

An empirical model was utilized in order to create a long term association amid carbon emissions, consumption of energy, economic development, and popularization in the urban sectors. The utilized linear logarithmic is as follows.

CO2= β0+β1 EC+ β2 GDP

In that Coz represent the carbon emissions per capita, while EC depicts Energy consumption in ever per capita and UP represent the urban population. The utilized parameters β0, β1, and β2 are a representation of the long term carbon emission elasticity respectively.

Conceptual Framework

The use of fossil fuel as the major energy generator is increasing globally especially in the recent years. While it remains absolute that fossil burning is associated with the highest carbon emissions that directly pollutes the surrounding it has been empirically and conceptually shown that the rise in the consumption of energy leads to increased economic operations and growth. It can thus be expected that increased economic growth levels and energy utilization hold a positive implication on the emission of carbon only in the short run.  Thus, this creates the equation b1 > 0 and b2 >0. Globalization results in increased goods movement with creative energy utilization which is a major pollution source.

Results

The research demonstrates the existence of s positive relation amid economic growth and all the emissions measures which include utilization and emission.  Both relationships are important statistically where b ≥ 0.001. In the utilized model economic growth coefficient is a positive one. This, therefore, shows that the acquired results are as per the expectations for the populace with a high income which seems to be utilizing the energy efficient resources, unlike the poor populace which cannot afford the options leading to increased energy emissions. In general, the findings created several conclusions. First, economic development holds a steady, positive and important association with carbon based consumption and emissions and second economic growth holds an authoritative impact of carbon emission.

Conclusion

The paper attempted to establish empirically and conceptually, the dynamic association and economic growth and carbon emissions in relation to energy consumption in the contemporary period. Based on the increasing carbon effects on the surrounding it is evident that the use of technological and intentional options might not be adequate. In this context, in order to acquire radical reductions, there is a necessity to address the growing carbon energy demand in avoiding negative climatic changes.

References

Hossain, S. (2012). An Econometric Analysis for CO2 Emissions, Energy Consumption, Economic Growth, Foreign Trade and Urbanization of Japan. DOI:10.4236/lce.2012.323013. Retrieved from https://file.scirp.org/Html/4-2900110_25022.htm

Kyle W. Knight and Juliet B. Schor. (2014). Economic Growth and Climate Change: A Cross-National Analysis of Territorial and Consumption-Based Carbon Emissions in High-Income Countries. 3722-3731; doi:10.3390/su6063722 Retrieved from http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/6/6/3722/htm

Mercan, M and Karakaya, E. (2015). Energy Consumption, Economic Growth and Carbon Emission: Dynamic Panel Cointegration Analysis for Selected OECD Countries. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(15)00572-9. Retrieved from http://ac.els-cdn.com/S2212567115005729/1-s2.0-S2212567115005729-main.pdf?_tid=91a98076-76a0-11e7-82ac-00000aacb35e&acdnat=1501581951_5fb357cb5853851e1111845e5725e8f9

Climatic Change

Question 1

There is a need for agrarians and conservationists to work in collaboration not just to meet the increasing food demand and quality but also to enhance the use of land and increase diversity. It is apparent that millions of individuals globally live in unpleasing poverty and hunger. The only approach through which the misery can be alleviated is through agricultural development. The collaboration of agrarians and conservationists necessities careful accounts so that sustainability threats can be avoided (Wendell, 2002). It is my belief that the both parties can work together in increasing wellness in the global context. In that land will be taken care off, while quality, diversity and quantity increases. Increased food generation, quality and land conservation for the existence of beings and animals is required globally. The collaboration will, therefore, seek to increase production and health developments.

Question 2

Jonathan Foley is California Academies of Sciences executive director which is particularly known as the green museum. Foley focuses on research particularly sustainability and the manner in which global agriculture affects climatic changes. In the recent, he authored an article about the strategies that can be used in fighting science and winning. The selected recommendation is the use of resources with more efficiency. Given that there are already strategies for lowering environmental harms on the ordinary farmers there is a need to structure resources use (Charles, 2014). The green revolution is mainly grounded on ensuring that water and land are used efficiently (Foley, 2014). This is through promoting organic farming which lowers the use of chemicals and water. This results in soil quality development and water conservation for other uses (Gerken, 2014).

Question 3

Intellectual and skillful leadership is required in dealing with climatic changes issues. Authoritarian leadership might not work. Individuals should be involved in policy development for efficiency to be acquired. I believe that leaders can bring changes in individual’s behavioral choices through policies. In that, they should focus on creating policies that seek to lower environmental impacts on food security and conserve land. Individual’s behaviors are shaped by the existing leadership. Angela Merkel a German Chancellor is a leader who is currently dealing with the environmental crisis. The leader is currently encouraging the use of renewable and nuclear energy (CRP, 2016). Through this, she seeks to promote the conservation of natural resources and environmental effects.

References

Charles D. (2014). Less Nutritious Grans May Be In Our Future. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/05/08/310473928/less-nutritious-grains-may-be-in-our-future

CRP. (2016). Top leaders fighting the climate crisis. Retrieved from https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/three-top-world-leaders-fighting-climate-change

Foley, J. (2014). A Five Step Plan to Feed the World. Retrieved from http://www.nationalgeographic.com/foodfeatures/feeding-9-billion/

Gerken, J. (2014). Climate Change Is A Growing National Security Concern, Say Retired Military Leaders. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/14/climate-change-national-security_n_5323148.html

Wendell, B. (2002). Conservationist and Agrarian. Pdf.

 Catholic Church and environmental conservation

Some catholic religious practices and teachings enshrined in their doctrines and books of laws have championed environmental protection to a reasonable extent. Activities such as protection of shrines as sacred prayer places and abstaining from meat on Fridays are primary examples (In Bauch, 2013). The following are picture books addressing the Catholics perception on the theme Environment.

Long, J. A. (2008). The big picture book of environments. Crows Nest, N.S.W: Allen & Unwin.

Long Albert John is a professor, a paleontologist at Flinders University in southern Australia and proficient author with high reputation in writing popular science book, and as well. He is a highly experienced and a top publishing influencer, addressing people in writing conferences in the major cities across the world. He has written many top-selling books on different worldwide platforms such as the reputable book selling e-commerce platform Amazon. Therefore, the above information about the author makes the book more credible and authentic for the theme in question.

Besides, on the central theme of discussion, the book itself explores the theme of the environment with well-choreographed and sequential pictures that show the teaching and intervention made by different sacred groups Catholic Church inclusive towards environmental conservation or protection. The book deliberates explicitly on the effective doctrinal practices such as protection of sacred groves (Kmiec, & In Adler, 2015). The Catholic all over the world has segregated some natural, serene places that they consider sacred and holy. The places, which are always in forested lands and plantations, are set aside for rituals and places of prayer. Consequently, the believers dearly cherish these natural places and therefore protect them. By so doing, they protect natural habitats since for a variety of species as the books explores in details. The biophysical environmental that include the biota and the biota in the ecosystem are protected from extinction as well as the food relationships that the food chains and the food webs.

In addition, the book also explores an in-depth relationship of the religion’s periodic practices such as abstaining from taking meat on Fridays. The practice is environmental protection oriented and has a long-term effect on one of the most harmful environmental threats and challenge called the climate change (Kmiec, & In Adler, 2015). Low intake of meat, means dwindling of environmental pollutants that emanate from slaughterhouses and that is the cow dung smell, and GHG called methane. Methane is dangerous GHG capable of increasing the global atmospheric temperature with a greater margin or degree. Hence the religious practice of abstaining meets on particular days hence to mitigate and control climate change.

Moreover, the picture book was published in the recent years with of the most reputable publisher crows net publishers know for their exemplary work in book publishing and editing. The book was published in 2008, hence embeds some of the most current and trending valid and reliable information on religion contribution to environment protection.

Marian E Crowe                             

Crowe, M. E. (2007). Aiming  Heaven, getting the earth: The English Catholic novel today. Lanham, MD [u.a.: Lexington Books.

Lexington Books is one of the leading, highly commercialized, and reputable publishers across the globe. The publishing group is an independent corporation that was founded since 1949. The company has quite a big number of imprints and offer journal and scholarly for academic market together with trade books. The many years of experience in the field of publishing as well as exemplary, the company displays makes the novel reliable for further research on topic Catholicism and environmental protection. The information about Catholicism facts, doctrines geared towards environmental protection on this story is real time since the book was published in the recent past.

The book addresses and validates the centrality of the Catholic novel; it explores the vitality of various contemporary, traditional English practices that were undertaken in the past and were imported and ought to be emulated. Marian analyses the critical contribution of Catholic novelists such as David Lodge, Piers Paul Reed, Alice Thomas and Sara Maitland. Furthermore, she deliberates mostly on their activism and good ideas and perception on environmental protection, the book also elaborates their contribution on effective on environmental stewardship.

One of the primary tools of environmental protection is the awareness creation, this is the process of enlightening people, and developing right attitude, and behavior towards the environment, which is what is referred to as environmental education. The five pillars of environmental education that are awareness creation change of attitude, participation in environmental activities, having knowledge on the environment as well as developing skills to conserve the environment. The above principles are known as the Tbilisi Declaration of 1977. As the novel posits some of the above fundamental principles of environmental education is enshrined in the doctrine of Catholicism such as passing down nature knowledge to their children (In Spring & UNESCO, 2009).

The directive of teaching Catholic children on matters concerning nature as well as inculcating and building the love of nature in them is a perfect way of environmental stewardship. Good environmental education both from educational program and from religious teaching like in the case of Catholic is a vital weapon in the environment protection. The practices, doctrine and spiritual perspective of teaching on environmental matters change the notion, the attitude, and then the behavior towards the environment to become good stewards of the environment.

Apart from the context, the novel is valid and reliable since the novelist is one of the most experienced and learned professionals in the field of religion book. The book is written with immense professional prowess and in-depth knowledge, alongside insightful stories that bring the theme more clearly to the readership. Owing to this, the prowess of novel writing and the vast experience the novelist behold after writing a record number of high selling books across the world on religion primarily Catholic makes the work authentic and reliable. Therefore, the story embedded in this book give one insightful idea and knowledge on how the Catholic as a religious following their practices, teachings, and laws have put in the effort to conserve the environment.                                    

Haan, B..., & Mierau, K. (2014). Microhistory and the picaresque novel: The first exploration into commensurable perspectives. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

The two authors, Haan and Mierau, are prominent people in the field of religion writing especially in Catholicism. The team Ben a contingent of Doctors of Philosophy from the same university but different interrelated faculties makes the team one of its kind. Haan is a professional researcher and a staff member in the university whereas Mierau Konstantin is as assistant professor European literature and culture Spanish at the University, in the Department of European culture and language. The two has years experience of their jobs and there with Mierau being prominent matters of religion aspect. The above qualities and the experiences the authors behold in their careers accolade this book the credibility to be used in the research of the theme of discussion.

The novel entitled Microhistory and the picaresque novel: The first exploration into commensurable perspectives, is a very paramount book to be used in this studies and study since it proves more relevance to the topic of study. In more explicit version, the novel insightfully elaborates the fundamental pillars of the Catholic religion all the way from the doctrines, practices as well as the milestone contribution the religion has put in place in various sectors environment being inclusive  (Hill, 2008). One of the undying messages in the novel involves the moral standards and values that govern the entire belief highlighting responsibility as a moral value. Explicitly, the Catholic religion highly values morality in maintaining purity and the tradition of the faith.

On the religion perspective about the environment, they regard environmental protection as a moral issue and that the mandate to protect the environment is a divine directive. They believe that it is the duty of the people to take care of the environment since the scriptures say, “The earth and all that is in it are God’s creation and as that it holds belongs to the Lord.” Therefore, the religion believes and teaching the followers that in response to the incredible gifts God has bequeathed the humanity the only appreciation towards the same is in offering protection to God's creations. Some of the naturals give highlighted by the religion entail nourishment from the sea, fruits from the land, life-sustaining waters and free air (Hill, 2008). 

In line with the deliberation of the contents of this book, the Catholic Church under their leadership of Pope and assisted by a council of bishops have developed an environmental justice program that deliberates moral perspective and discuss on some of the environmental key questions and provide solutions where necessary as a religion. The environmental justice program also known as EJP initiated by the in the religion’s governance structure called the Department of Justice, Peace, and Human development is mandated with one essential duty to the Catholic believers (In Spring & UNESCO, 2009). The program that majorly deals with believers capacity building is mandated to motivate and educate members of the religion, the Catholic church to respect and revere God’s creation. Furthermore, the program is also charged with a duty to encourage the Catholics to address the environmental issues deliberately, and problem as a way of helping the poor and the vulnerable since environmental adversely affect the valuable and the poor.

The notion has been perpetually addressing by Catholic leaders over the years with the most distinctive one being in the World Peace Day message in 1990. The book also explore the significant of the essential contribution of the religion on environmental stewardship in the form of insightful stories hence this makes the book key and appropriate in the study of the topic in question.

In addition, the novel is one of the most recent publications on Catholicism and environment, hence the research and the details discussed or the themes in each story is real time and updated. Moreover, one of the leading publishers on t Globe publishes the novel hence authentic and reliable.

In conclusion, environmental stewardship is essential since the fight backs or the detrimental consequences that come to a result of mismanagement and mishandling of environment are fatal, unbearable, and irreversible. Therefore, the Catholics contribution in environmental protection is spectacular.

Reference list

In Bauch, P. A. (2013). Catholic schools the public interest: Past, present, and future directions.   

In Spring, U. O., & UNESCO. (2009). International Security, Peace, Development, and Environment. Oxford: EOLSS Publishers.

Kmiec, D. W., & In Adler, G. J. J. (2015). Secularism, Catholicism, and the future of public life: A dialogue with Ambassador Douglas W. Kmiec.

Hill, B. (2008). The ongoing renewal of Catholicism. Winona, MN: Saint Mary's Press.                          

Carya, Oak and Acer Trees

Carya “Hickory”, Quercus “Oak" and Acer “Maple" woods are of much importance in regard to biological research. Carya also known as Hickory is a tree that   falls in the walnut or jaglandaceae family (Hoadley, 2000).  The  abundance of  hickories  is  particularly present  in the  united  states  Eastern half  and has the  history  of  prolonged  living  that may  attain the  age  of 500 years.  The highest percentage   of hickory wood is utilized for products where strangeness, durability, flexibility and hardness are a necessity.  The wood creates an excellent fuel also despite the fact that its firmness can be sustained for a long period.  Carya  is a species  term  that  comes  from the Latin term that  means  covered  with short but  dense  hairs which refers  to the  underside  of the  species  leaves. In addition it is also referred to as white wood based on the wood’s light color (Hoadley, 2000).

Oak is a tree from quercus genus that belongs to Beech Fagaceae family.  Oak wood contains a density of approximately 0.75 cubic grams which creates high strength as well as hardness (Hoadley, 2000).  The wood is usually resistant to fungal and insects due to its high content of Tannin. The wood also holds appealing marking grains particularly when sawn quarterly. The wood holds Hewn from green firewood that produces radical planks (Paul, 2001). Today  the  wood is  mostly utilized  in creating  furniture’s,  timber  building  framing , flooring  and  production  of veneer (Paul, 2001).

On the other hand, Acer is shrubs genus that are popularly regarded as maple which has approximately 128 different species (Paul, 2001).  The trees produces valuable timber specifically sugar maple and sycamore maple.  Sugar maple is a wood that is also known as hard maple.  Maple   wood  is  additionally utilized  in wooden bats for  baseball  manufacturing  though not  often based  on the  tendency  of the  wood  to  shatter after breaking (Wood, 1995).  The grading of the wood is grounded on aesthetic and physical features which is also utilized as a decorative wood (Paul, 2001).

References

Hoadley, R. B. (2000). Understanding wood: A craftsman's guide to wood technology. Newtown, Conn: Taunton Press.

Paul, J. B. (2001). An ordinary of arms: Contained in the public register of all arms and bearings in Scotland. Baltimore, Md: Reprinted for Clearview Co. by Genealogical Pub. Co.

Wood. (1995). Newtown, Conn: Taunton Press.