Research Analysis: Land Grabbing

According to the International Water Management Institute environmental research organisation global water stress is increasing, and a third of all people face some sort of water scarcity. Where demand exceeds supply and no effective management operates, there will be conflicts between the various players involved.

This review focuses on the Hornbook’s chapter 10, which is about the constitutional limitations in land use controls. Specifically, this covers the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment which states that “nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation ,“ the Fourteenth Amendment which extends the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment to the states and prohibits the state from violating the individual 's rights of due process and equal protection, the First Amendment’s freedom of expression and religion, and the related land use planning cases.

The taking of land refers “to government seizure, regulation, or intrusion on private property for which the owner is entitled to compensations under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution” (Halbert, Terry, Inguilli, & Elaine, 2012). There is also regulatory takings, which is the “newly enforceable restrictions on the use of ones property, such as a newly adopted restrictions on building in certain areas of wetlands.” (Halbert, Terry, Inguilli, & Elaine, 2012). All over the world governments take private land from its owners to benefit the public. In the United States it is called emanated domain, and has been a controversial issue till this day. By evaluating the case of Lucas V South Carolina Coastal Council of 1992 and evaluating the two types of regulatory action that automatically trigger compensation as takings; the dissent object to the takings approach laid out by the majority in this case; cities ability to take private property and transfer it to private developers for the sake of economic revitalization; the ethical issues surrounding the principle of using eminent domain to take away the property ownership rights of individuals; and the feeling I would have if the government was to take my land.

inhabitance of certain areas. And the process alone is wasting a lot more water than the process

Water, like food, is a necessity for human life that is used for many purposes such as agricultural, industrial, and domestic systems. While water is a common element around the world not all of it is clean and able to be consumed or used by humans. With only a percentage of the world’s water being clean and the use of water increasing, the availability of water around the world has become a common issue in the developing and even the developed world. This may be a smaller problem in areas close to clean water sources compared to areas far from a clean water source but, the availability of water is not strictly based on location, it also depends on the specific political and social needs and issues of the area as well. These all become issues that must be accounted for when deciphering whether water is a basic human right or a commodity and what action must be taken to aid the developing water systems in community’s that lack them.

From the 1400s and 1620 the Spanish and Portuguese’s treated the Native Americans and slaves inhumanly. They had no respect them and didn’t see them as people. The French respected the Native Americans as allies, however they mistreated the slaves.

Naomi Klein begins her discussion of indigenous rights in the modern capitalist world by sharing a short anecdote that followed the respected canadian native leader, Arthur Manuel, through a meeting with a powerful international crediting agency. Despite having amassed a considerable debt owed to the First Nations due to years of extracting valuable resources from the native’s land, Canada was still awarded with a AAA credit rating. The Canadian government is not just exploiting the property of native people for the material resource, but is also leveraging the land for loans and investment. Manuel intended to have this massive liability recognized by S&P, but the legal proof and documentation of indigenous land rights did not matter. The Canadian government seemed to be above answering to these indigenous rights, or according to Naomi Klein, “First Nations did not have the power to enforce their rights” (Klein, 2014, pg. 813).

One statement can be seen as the premise for National Geographic’s Water: Global Challenges & Policy of Freshwater Use (2013): “Water is life” (p.8). The book discusses how access to clean freshwater is not only essential to our survival, but shows it is also a contested resource. With much freshwater being unavailable due to location, sustainable water management decisions are an important part of supporting regions across the globe. National Geographic’s book elaborates on multiple freshwater issues and highlights how important water is to our survival. Providing regional, water-related examples of conflict, critical challenges, mitigation efforts, and economic importance it reveals many common themes regarding freshwater and its global importance.

Before the broadcast of Super Bowl LI, there rumors circulating online that Lady Gaga’s Halftime Show performance was going to carry a huge political statement. What the people got, however, was a very politically tame show on the surface. The message may not have been very apparent to some viewers at first, but it was very present in the undertones. Specifically, the message carries itself the most in her choice to perform the song “This Land is Your Land” by Woodie Guthrie.

The American classic, “This Land is Your Land”, is a timeless piece of art that resembles a patriotic statement in the eyes of several Americans. The writer himself, Woody Guthrie, created this folk song reflecting the importance of beauty in America and his vexation towards those who are unwilling to share it. This tune is also known as an alternative tune and Marxist response Irving Berlin’s well known National Anthem, “God Bless America”. His interpretation and skill in music led many Americans to

Cartel Land, released in 2015 by Matthew Heineman, captures the movement of citizen resistance in response to Mexican drug cartel crime. The documentary’s central figures are a Mexican self-defense group called the Autodefensas and a paramilitary group called the Arizona Border Recon. The film tells a story about the complex morality of the drug war.

Many countries are also highly dependent on water that originates outside their borders; the water diversion provided by dams for countries that are downstream exacerbates an already serious problem. The diversion of river systems is an area of international concern, the nature and extent of such interdependency is already extensive: 145 countries share over 261 international river basin. As demand increases, and as indigenous sources of water become fully utilized or exhausted, the only alternatives are likely to be international (Dolatyar, 2006). Ironically, the very solution of one country's scarcity, plunges another into water shortage, this is the reason why water security is one of the most crucial foreign policy considerations of a globally connected economic and political atmosphere.

Water is the main source of life on the Earth. It is vital for normal existence and functioning of organisms. Earth is sometimes called “water planet.” But, in fact, the number of freshwater is limited. “Only about 2 percent of the planet's water is fresh.” (How much water is there on Earth?) This water is not enough even to meet daily needs of mankind. According to World Health Organization, “a lack of water to meet daily needs is a reality today for one in three people around the world.” (2009) In the Middle East the situation is especially hard. This region is thought to be one of the droughtiest places in the world, most of it’s territory is deserted. Freshwater accounts to 1 percent of the world’s supplies, while the population comes

Another great use for drones in field of land development is for conceptual site plans. Too often we find ourselves trying to decipher a pixelated Google Earth map that hasn’t been updated in the last couple of years. This is especially handy when looking at redeveloping sites, since there is often not much original design information available from the seller or local jurisdictions. The two images below are aerial shots taken above the same site. The image on the left is from Google Earth, and the image on the right is from a drone with a 12 MP camera. It is much easier to spot the true current condition of the lot from the drone image, and from that we can get a better understanding of

Water is a human right, not a commodity. It is the essence of life, sustaining every living being on the planet. Without it we would have no plants, no animals, no people. However, while water consumption doubles every twenty years our water sources are being depleted, polluted and exploited by multinational corporations. Water privatization has been promoted by corporations and international lending institutions as the solution to the global water crises but the only one’s who benefit from water privatization are investors and international banks. The essential dilemma of privatization is that the profit interests of private water utilities ultimately jeopardizes the safeguarding of the human right to water. Access to clean, sufficient