The European Union Since 1981

The European Union (EU) is a unique economic and political partnership between 28 different countries. It consists of about half a billion citizens, and its combined economy represents about 20 percent of the world’s total economy (Briney, 2015). Today The European Union works as a single market, with free movement of people, goods and services from one country to another. There is a standard system of laws to be followed, and since 1999 many countries share a single currency called the Euro (Europa.eu, 2015). This essay will explore the background history of the European Union and the benefits and drawbacks of the European Union.

Professor George Frisvold develops his argument by illustrating the facts through graphs. His use of statistics supports his point that current agricultural systems are insufficient in conserving water. Because of the current climate change, water conservation has gained importance. Frisvold presents analyses of current strategies and suggests how national level changes in order to provide the change in the government’s involvement in water conservation in agriculture. The intended audience is readers that are interested in the environment, and more specifically interested or involved in the conservation of natural resources. The issue of agriculture’s involvement in the environment has many different effects. In this precis writing process

Droughts are a natural occurrence that has been around for millions of years. Droughts are unpredictable; no one can tell when they are going to take place, the severity, or how long they will last. Impacts on of a drought can send shockwaves thought the region. The economy, agriculture, the environment, and the residents of the region are all affected. (Vicente-Serrano, Beguería, & López-Moreno, 2009, p.1696)

Across the world, how one gets water is different depending on the environment and the climate someone lives in. The “intensive use of groundwater” and desalination potential and limitation, has been brought to the attention of people by Elena Lopez-Gunn and Manuel Ramón Llamas. When looking at arid or semi-arid regions, the use of groundwater can make a huge difference. This is explained through a serious tone that is supported by an abundance of facts to prove that this statistic is actually a possibility for countries around the world. “Groundwater systems globally provide 25 to 40% of the world’s drinking water and more than half of the world’s population relies on groundwater for its drinking water supply” (Lopez-Gunn and Llamas). Even though cultures are different around the world, this one type of water system is shared by many

To examine whether or not there is a link between drought and water quality types of drought had to be examined in order to choose which drought index to use. A drought is deficiency in precipitation over some period of time. Water shortages can include impacts on vegetation, animals, and/or people. For this project, The Palmer Hydrological Index was chosen because it provides numerical classifications of drought. The PHDI includes standardized calculations for each location based on temperature and precipitation variability of the specific location. This type of calculation makes the data collection and analysis easier, as impairment can be compared to a numerical value and drought is calculated specifically based on the regions temperature and precipitation variability.

HANAK, E. (2015). The Drought Is a Vital Stress Test for the Future. Environmental Forum,

As more Carbon Dioxide and fossil fuels are being released from mankind, the damaging effects will start backfiring on society. This is feared upon people who live near the coastal regions as abnormal sea levels can create devastating disasters (Allison, Basskett 2015). Not only this, droughts are becoming a problem because of climate change. This leads to people having limited water available and with dead crops that are vital to farmers. It has been estimated by the year 2030, that Australia’s soil-moisture-based drought frequency will upsurge up to 40% (Bates, Jones & Hennessy 2008). This will cause issues in water systems, farming, and the environment.

Whether in the Americas, Africa, or Asia, droughts and floods have long been part of the cycle of rural life (Hiscock 67). California, home to more than 38 million people, has just recently entered the fourth year of one of the state 's worst droughts in the past century, one that 's led to fierce wildfires, water shortages and restrictions, and potentially staggering agricultural losses. In the next few pages, we will go over the history of the drought, the issues the drought has caused, what California is doing to conserve water, and a long term possible solution to what is being called a “water crisis”.

What Charles Iceland shows is that the impacts of these droughts are profound, especially for the poor, and that many of the nations, like California, do not have proper management practices to allow for sustainable use and this lack of management puts the citizens of these nations at continued risk. Further examples are seen across the globe, and a common theme is that agricultural communities are hit hardest, and that the droughts are causing other issues, such as having an influence on military conflicts, amplifying malnourishment, and causing the increased spread of diseases (Mosbergen, 2017; “Hundreds Dying From Hunger as Severe Drought Grips Somalia” 2017; “State of Emergency in Bolivia Amid Worst Drought in 25 Years”, 2016). It is clearly evidenced from these examples, including California, that a local drought does not only impact the nation in which it occurs, as the global nature of trade allows the influences of a drought to be widespread (Koba,

Water is becoming a precious commodity around the world. “Throughout to world, water is recognized as the most fundamental and indispensable of all natural resources and it is clear that neither social and economic development, nor environmental diversity, can be sustained without water” (Ashton 1). Water is becoming scarce throughout the world. “Water scarcity is when an individual does not have access to safe affordable water to satisfy her or his needs for drinking, washing or their livelihoods…”(Rijsberman 1).

Water is the most valuable and indispensable resource for all forms of life. People need it for every activity: domestic use, agriculture and industry. Access to fresh water is regarded as a universal human right (United Nations Committee in Economics, Social and Cultural Rights, 2003). Drought has become an increasingly important problem in many parts of the world. Water scarcity is most common in arid and semiarid regions of the world, which cover one third of the Earth’s land surface (Smallwood, 2011). UNESCO and the Italian Ministry for the Environment and Territory (IMET) have launched “The Water Programme for Africa,

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

The European Union (EU) is not a typical international organization. The mix of intergovernmental and supranational institutions makes the EU a unique, distinctive political, and economic system. As Europe has spiraled from one crisis to the next, difficult discussions haves arisen about how much more power should be delegated to Brussels. Even though the EU advocates for “ever closer union”, through increased integration, states are becoming hesitant to relinquish power to the EU. This is due to the fact that state sovereignty has become threatened; it is being compromised by a combination of the lack of effective democratic institutions and the loss of states have lost control of law-making to legislation power to EU institutions. Euroenthuthiasts argue that state sovereignty is enhanced, not threatened, by reallocating power to EU institutions. However, Eurosceptics dispute that too much control has seceded to the EU making is a threat to state sovereignty. My position aligns with Eurosceptics, for the EU has weakened state sovereignty do to increased centralization of power in EU institutions that lack legitimacy. The European Project has obtained a copious amount of jurisdiction from states and eroded a basic fundamental freedom of the modern state- sovereignty. Since the EU has with goals to deepen and widen integration it’s clear that forfeiting state sovereignty will only intensify. My essay will start with a brief history of the European Union and a short

One of the main objectives of the European Union (EU) is the establishment of the internal market, which shall consist of “area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is ensured. The internal market is based upon a customs union achieved through the abolition of the imposition of customs duties and charges having an equivalent effect and the prohibition of discriminatory taxes on intra-EU imports. The internal market is enhanced by the provisions on free movement of workers, freedom of establishment, free movement of services, and free movement of capital. Whereas Articles 28 to 30 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provide for the establishment of an EU common external tariff and the elimination of customs duties, Articles 34 and 35 of the TFEU (with exceptions under Article 36) go further, and prohibit quantitative restrictions and measures having equivalent effect. Taken together, Articles 28 to 32 and 34 to 36 serve to ensure the free movement of goods within the EU and to facilitate the operation of the internal market.

The European Union is a political community constituted as an international organization whose aim is to promote integration and a common government of the European people and countries. According to the Article 3 of the European Union Treaty, Union’s aim is to promote peace, its values and the well-being of its peoples. It is based on the values of freedom, democracy, equality, law enforcement and respect for human rights and dignity.