Deforestation Essays (952 words) - Ecosystems,

Deforestation Deforestation When the Portuguese landed in Brazil 500 years ago the sight that greeted them was of a huge rain forest, which then ran along much of Brazils Atlantic coast. In more recent times, there has been an outcry over the destruction of the much larger Amazon forest. But its devastation is nothing compared to Brazils Atlantic forest. About 86% of Brazils Amazon forest is still intact but only about 7% of the Atlantic forest remains. In this paper, I will explain why the Atlantic forest was destroyed, why deforestation happens, and the effects of rain forest destruction and the effect it is having on the Earth. Much of the Atlantic forest was destroyed to make way for farmers to plant sugar, coffee, and other crops, and later for growing cities like Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Between 1990 and 1995, 1.2 million acres were destroyed (Reid, 2000). Clearance for living space, commercial logging, for farming, roads and railways, forest fires, and mining and drilling are all connected with deforestation. People have been living in and around tropical rain forests for tens of thousands of years, taking what they needed from the wealth of natural resources available without compromising their environment. However, in the last 200 years populations have expanded, requiring more and more space for housing and farming. For example, Costa Rica has a population of over 3 million people, heavily concentrated in the Central Valley. Well over one-half of the national population lives in this area, which represents only 5% of the countrys land area, and almost one-half of the population is considered to live in urban areas. The population growth rate is relatively high and if it continues at the present rate, the population will double in only 28 years (Hecht, 1989). Commercial logging can occur selectively, where only the economically valu able species are cut or by clear cutting, where all the trees are cut. Commercial logging uses heavy machinery, such as bulldozers, road graders, and log skidders, to remove cut trees and build roads. Another cause of deforestation is known as shifting cultivating. Indigenous people have farmed the rain forest, cutting down trees to allow cultivation of crops and grazing space for animals, and moving on when the soil becomes less fertile. This is no threat to the forests; provided that used areas are left to regenerate for long periods before repeating the process. Problems arise when the land is not allowed time to recover, and intensive farming results in irreversible soil degradation. This is what is happening now due to the needs of growing population. Some sources identify shifting cultivation as the cause of 70 % of the deforestation in Africa. As with shifting cultivation, if logging is carried out in a controlled way it can be implemented with only minor disturbances to the environment. It is when the cutting of trees exceeds tree production that logging becomes a problem. Before mechanical logging took over from the use of handsaws, axes, and animal power, it could be argued that the timber trade posed little threat to tropical rain forests, but with the arrival of chainsaws, tractors, roads and railways had a much greater impact. Previously inaccessible areas have now become prime targets for commercial logging companies, and poor management has led to major losses. Other factors such as cutting trees for charcoal, and clearance for mining and the extraction of oil are considered less damaging than shifting cultivation and commercial logging, but still pose a threat the rain forests. Once cleared of trees, the rain forest topsoil, which can take thousands of years to accumulate, can be eroded in a relatively short amount of time. This makes the land unstable, and can lead to disastrous flooding since there is no soil to soak up the rain. Forest clearance also leaves humans without food and shelter, and leads to the disappearance of ways of life, which have been unchanged for thousands of years. However, the most damaging effect of forest clearance is its impact on the climate of the planet. We have all heard of global warming and the greenhouse effect, which is caused by carbon dioxide build up in the atmosphere. Trees and other green plants absorb carbon dioxide

The Things They Carried Rhetorical Analysis Essay Essays

The Things They Carried Rhetorical Analysis Essay Essays The Things They Carried Rhetorical Analysis Essay Paper The Things They Carried Rhetorical Analysis Essay Paper Essay Topic: The Things They Carried The Things They Carried Rhetorical Analysis Essay In The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, O’Brien uses many short stories to describe his experience in Vietnam. The story that captured many aspects of writing was â€Å"How to Tell a True War Story† because it acts as a guide to writing a true story. O’Brien uses many different rhetorical strategies, narrative techniques, and establishes a theme in this story to help develop his characters and story line. Tim O’Brien uses several rhetorical strategies in this story. A strategy that is easily found in the story is imagery. He uses a lot of sensory details to help the reader know what it feels like in a certain situation. â€Å"Except for the laughter things were quiet,† (67) and â€Å"You hear stuff nobody should ever hear,† (69) are some quotes that describes the sounds the soldiers are hearing. O’Brien uses sight as a big component for setting up the setting and describing what the soldiers saw. â€Å"A handsome kid, really. Sharp grey eyes, lean and narrow-waisted†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (67), â€Å"A deep pinkish red spilled out on the river, which moved with no sound†¦(68). Another rhetorical strategy that O’Brien uses is motif. The motif that he uses is â€Å"†¦true war story†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He uses this phrase throughout the story to help the reader understand how to write a story. â€Å"A true war story is never moral. †(65). This quote is basically saying that a true war story tells it how it is; it doesn’t try to make things easier for the reader to digest. â€Å"You can tell a true war story if it embarrasses you. (65) This quote is saying if you don’t want the offensive words or phrases then you don’t want the truth of the story. â€Å"In many cases a true war story cannot be believed. †(68) The last strategy that O’Brien uses in this story is irony. There are many places in this story when O’Brien’s ideas contradict themselves. Whe n Curt Lemon dies, O’Brien describes it as beautiful. â€Å"†¦when he died it was almost beautiful, the way the sunlight came around him and lifted him up†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (67) Most people wouldn’t associate death with beauty, especially the way the Curt Lemon died. Another place where he displays irony is in the beginning of the story he says that Curt Lemon died when he was playing a game with Rat Kiley but later on, after he’s given some advice on how to write a true war story, he tells the reader how Curt Lemon actually died. This is ironic because he is giving advice on how to write a story but he didn’t take his own advice. The last place of irony is when O’Brien says that this story was actually a love story. When most people think of death and war they think of sadness and tragedy. And these war stories, according to O’Brien, were love stories. Tim O’Brien uses two narrative techniques in â€Å"How to Tell a True War Story†. First he splits the story into three different sections. The first part being Rat Kiley writing his letter to Curt Lemon’s sister about the relationship they had. The next section is describing the correct way of writing a â€Å"true war story†. And the last is O’Brien looking back on stories and his story telling techniques. O’Brien separates the story into three different parts to give the reader an example of a story that is â€Å"true†. The next section would about the truth about writing a true story and the last section is his personal reflection on the whole situation. The other narrative technique is that O’Brien retells certain events. He retells how Curt Lemon died, he retells Mitchell Sanders telling a story, and he retells how women react when you tell them stories about the war. Tim O’Brien retells stories and events to make his own story more believable. O’Brien gives the main character his own name and naming all of the other soldiers which makes it difficult to label the book as fact or fiction. The theme of â€Å"How to Tell a True War Story† is that everything is not what it seems. The truth is often ugly. When most people want to tell a story about war they will try to sugar coat it so the reader or listener will understand it better. But to truly understand something you need to get the full aspect of it. O’Brien gives many ideas as to ways to tell whether a story is true but most people don’t want to hear it or even understand. That is why some storytellers don’t tell the whole truth when writing, to make their work more appealing. The real purpose of stories is to relate the truth of experience, not to create false emotions in their audiences. â€Å"How to Tell a True War Story† has aspects that help the story become more connect. O’Brien uses many rhetorical strategies like irony, imagery, and motifs that get the reader thinking. Imagery helps develop the setting and the characters. Motifs helped tie the whole story together, and irony brings an unexpected twist to the story. He also retells events and splits the story into three sections. And he reveals the overall theme of the story which is the truth may be ugly but it needs to be known.

Ethical sourcing in retail industries and the problem of sweat shop Essay

Ethical sourcing in retail industries and the problem of sweat shop labour - Essay Example Only with the consumer’s strong convictions can this movement be taken ahead and for this communication of ethical issues including their damaging contribution to environment needs to be highlighted. The expansion of civilizations has been largely based on trading practices. Trade and Commerce have been drivers of extension of territorial forays in the past and, in modern days, with the royalty become defunct, even extinct in some cases, the role has been ably taken over by large companies, the Multinationals. The twin objectives of war for territorial gains of the former kingdoms and the present day Multinational remain the same; expansion of markets to cater to larger populations and obtaining cheap labour for work from the new territories. Whereas formerly they made use of slave labour, often not caring about their survival, today they pay subsistence or even less for running their factories and establishments. All the high talk of Human Rights is meant for conference tables and for the populations of the victors and not the vanquished. In the present context the Multinational need to expand their markets and in search for consumers globally they are attracted by the huge populations of the developing or the under-developed world. They take advantage by offering them the goods that they have developed for their own affluent populations. However where they face the possibility of lower sales due to the high prices they tend to manufacture their products locally for local sales at lower prices compared to their home markets. The other angle to the story is that when they face competition from their rivals who are as big and as powerful, they need to lower prices to face such competition. The obvious way out is again to manufacture their products in the underdeveloped or developing markets at lesser cost and consequently be able to lower prices to their home markets. With the demise of colonialism democracy became the chosen form of governance, barring