California Blue Essay

The assignment this week challenged us to utilize our course objectives to address the requirements of the assignment. The objectives include how to apply the concepts of political ecology to environmental concerns, analyze the link between social, cultural, geographic, cultural, political factors, and environmental change, as well as assess methodological approaches used for research in political ecology. In addition, this assignment will discuss how reserves and national parks have been socially constructed/produced to be protected areas. Following this discussion, the conversation will include an overview of how this construction of national parks and reserves may result in the property rights reconstructing the resource into a rival good. Moreover, I will provide a brief discussion on the relationship between social construction of nature and environmental change. In conclusion, I will briefly review case studies and frameworks that are related to the conservation of biodiversity.

The concept of ecosystem-based management was established as a framework to maintain the production and consumption of natural capital, or ecosystem services. As common with all change, there has been some resistance for wildlife managers to make this shift and a lack of research at a local and national scale about the status of ecosystem services and evaluating trade-offs between multiple ecosystem services (Nicholson et al. 2009). As an inherently anthropocentric concept, it is also plagued with moral and ethical considerations derived by placing value on nature and wildlife to benefit strictly humans and as a questionable basis for conservation of those services strictly for continued delivery of benefits (Fisher 2008).

The struggle between providing for California’s burgeoning population and the corresponding increase pressure on California’s ever shrinking pristine natural wonders and natural resources has been a constant clash between the forces of big business and conservation activism. However, the outcomes of these many battles have increasingly favored the side of economics over nature. The trend that becomes clear is that the will of the businessmen have been prevailing over the concerns of the conservationists more and more. What are the forces that are pushing the pendulum closer and closer towards the desires of industry? By examining the history of this conflict between these two factions, it will become clear how one has had progressively more of an advantage over the other. Today, the main reason that industry’s goals almost always prevails over conservation’s efforts is economics and what an advantage in economics can buys one politically. Economic interests will predominately have ever-increasing priority over environmental interest as long as money is considered speech and corporations are people; therefore, the most pragmatic solution that would allot conservation groups with an equal voice in the political process with business is to call for an Article V Constitutional Convention to pass an amendment to permanently get money out of politics nationwide.

The debate over preservation and conservation of the natural resources has been going on for almost a hundred years, with little conclusion. The government of the United States, along with advocates from each state, need to reach a consensus to provide methods of conservation to the country that prevents wasteful usage of nonrenewable and natural resources and leaves wilderness for later generations to

Humanity co-exists with nature in a relationship that periodically shifts between symbiotic and parasitic. We maintain this relationship in order to survive. In exchange, we carefully monitor how our behavior alters the natural environment and affects those living within it. This responsibility is the price we pay for our species’ sentience and dominance. To help fulfill our duty, America established the 1954 Wilderness Act in hopes of becoming passive “guardians” of nature instead of encroaching “gardeners.” However, the Wilderness Act has failed. In his article, “Rethinking the Wild”, Christopher Solomon questions the effectiveness of the law and correctly concludes that, after fifty years of dormancy, mankind must take an active role in environmental protection, the role of the gardener. Though critics may argue that the passivity of the “guardian” should be maintained, realistically, little can be done to preserve the environment when we refuse to do anything. Because mankind has a greater stake in the wilderness than we realize, we must assume a proactive role in protecting the wilderness out of respect for nature and our own ethical standards.

When it comes to preserving Mother Nature, living trees should not be excluded, and should be no compromise in whether they live or die. Every breathing organism whether a tree, a bird, or a human has the right to existence. As mentioned before it is critical to protect the ecosystems through environmental preservation. The dense forests inhabited with beautiful coastal redwood trees are depleting. 2.2 million acres were once covered with trees, but today only 86,000 acres remain. The Pacific Lumber Company a logging company, poses a further threat to these Redwoods, because they own 6,000, or one fourteenth, of the remaining acreage. This does not include the the 220,000 acres of the world’s most productive timberland, which also includes old-growth redwoods . Any private company has an ethical contract to deliver profit and prevent losses to its owners and shareholders. This is the ultimate tension in this case study, because the lumber company is experiencing competing forms of obligation: deliver profit and to not cause harm to people or to the environment. The company has to abide by the law, making sure the ecosystem is safe and minimizing

Blue is the color of my eyes, tears brimming on the edge, waiting to fall.

During the late 1800s to the beginning of the 1900s advocacy for land ownership became a major issues that help shaped the United Stated environmental policy. The essay’s author recognizes transformation in the U.S environmental policy. Bissell writes, Wildlife are one example of the transition of policy formulation and the influence of culture and biological thought in the United States” (Bissell, 1998). Bissell not only explain this environmental shift but Joseph R. Desjardins provides detailed explanation in his book Environmental Ethics, he writes, “By the late nineteenth century, the United States had largely succeeded in these tasks, and most of the American landscape lay open for human use. During this period of tremendous industrial

Out of all the colors in the world, blue dominates them all. Silently, the color blue plants itself all around us, patiently waiting for us to take notice of it, and recognize its unique beauty. This color appears when we seem happy, and cheers us up when we feel down. With soft and swift movements, blue paints the sky, regardless of the fluffy clouds lazily floating by, and planes whizzing back and forth, their contrails creating secret patterns. Secretly, it drops its color into the ocean, turning it a beautiful blue, clear as crystal. Delicately, blue lases itself into a field of wild daisies, proudly standing tall, and gently waving to awed passer-by. Not only does a sapphire contain the color blue, but it also has Biblical meaning. Revelation

Day to day, we are faced with perpetual decisions based on practical criteria. They have become so engrained within our regular schedule that we may not even think about the consequences. The automatic movements that we go through each day usually don’t require a major ethical decision. However, when they do, values, world views and personal interest are all considered. The decision making process is very often initiated with a world-view, or with some sort of bias. The outcome is based on one’s understanding of the facts, or even based on one’s upbringing. Environmental ethics often come into play when considering invasive species. On a global scale, we live in a high array of technological advances in transportation. We are able to travel across vast distances that open pathways for ourselves and exotic plant hitch hikers. The more we travel, the more species we transport. The issue arises of whether or not this is a natural process in which nature should be able to take its course. When considering this, multiple perspectives are formed in the process. Some intend to take advantage of this resource, while others aim to eradicate the entire non-native population. While many people understand that an invasive species has the potential of being harmful, they still intend to let nature run its course. Therefore, it is important to understand all perspectives that factor into the decision making process

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Environmental degradation is one of the most widely discussed subjects of our generation. The media floods the masses with information concerning global warming, terrifying the public. Meanwhile, hundreds of scientific foundations are formulating solutions to the exponential depletion of our natural resources and environmental firms are working tirelessly to limit the detrimental impact humans are having on their ecosystem. Environmental policies also play an integral role in politics, each candidate having their own views on such issues as: ecosystem and waste management, endangered species and natural resource preservation. All humans, as inhabitants of earth, have a responsibility to maintain

Notably, the findings drawn from this report are not exclusive to California and can be helpful to different areas around the United States as they approach land use decisions unique to their jurisdiction. Finally, independent groups who may find this research useful include the environmentally conscious subset of California’s population and certain businesses concerned with the consumption and sustainability of California’s natural resources and the tools available to meet this issue.

One of the major issues confronting western America is that of environmental conservation and protection versus agricultural essentials and needs. This issue includes the environmentalists' fight against herbicides and pesticides, reservoirs for irrigation water, and livestock grazing on public land. The controversy that this essay confronts will be that of the desire to use public land for livestock grazing versus the importance of preserving the rangeland ecosystem. Importance is found on each side of this controversy by various groups of people. What will there be for tomorrow's generation if the ecosystems of public lands are not preserved?

Interdependence of the social, scientific, economic, and political processes involved in protecting habitats is as complex as the interdependence of the ecosystems they are intended to protect, oversimplifying these processes leaves them especially susceptible to failures within the system. The current environmental protections in our political system are dependant upon the ability and interest of a third party voicing concern for the rights of ecosystems and species that are not able to represent themselves. Additionally, policies intended to protect habitats fail to recognise the interconnectedness of other local species and conditions necessary to protect the ecological systems they are meant to protect. In a system where protection is dependant upon the ability of a specialist to identify the presence of definitive signs of species