Cut Off, Louisiana is a small Cajun town set along the southern length of Bayou Lafourche. It is about as far south as one can go in Louisiana. Circa 1850s, this quaint bayou community prospered on the rich natural resources including shrimping and fishing, which became a way of life. Living off the land is a unique feature which defines the typical Cajun mentality. Growing up, I considered it to be paradise, with little interest in life outside of Cut Off. We are isolated as the name suggests, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Isolation, however, led to some degree of ignorance and unawareness. Twenty miles inshore and surrounded by water, Cut Off is a sport fishing capital of the south. I remember crossing Little Lake early one morning in mid May 2010. It was a sunny day perfect for fishing. The water was unusually clear and I noticed pieces of debris suspended a few inches below the surface. After closer inspection, I had no idea what this substance was. At this point the BP oil spill had not yet become the epic disaster that would eventually be realized. But it was coming like it or not. And it was sooner than expected as I …show more content…
My home town of Cut Off was in for a change. Culturally unique ways of life would never be the same. As a result of the spill numerous commercial fishing businesses which had been in operation for many generations came to a tragic end. To make matters worse, the BP settlement money failed to adequately compensate the very people that were most affected. This largely was a result of the fact that most of the locals operated as cash businesses, which led to underestimating tax liability (for obvious reasons). Ignorance and unawareness allowed for shaky tax practices, and whether ethical or not, it resulted in under compensation since the settlement calculation was based on tax returns. But what is adequate compensation for losing one's
On March 27, 1989 the supertanker Exxon Valdez ran ashore in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling approximately 11 million gallons of crude oil. The oil soon spread into the waters of south-central Alaska from the sound of Kodiak Island to the Kenai Peninsula (refer to Figure 1 for a map of the area). Almost immediately, news media arrived at the site reporting images of oil-stained beaches and wildlife to the masses. News coverage centered around the environmental devastation which would result from the spill. The coverage, for the most part, reinforced stereotypes of Alaska, as a pristine wilderness and Exxon as a greedy, irresponsible oil company. These images stressed the negative consequences of the spills and ignored ...
In 2010, there was a huge oil spill near the Gulf of Mexico that we now know as the BP Oil Spill today. The Spill sent about 170 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The spill killed 11 men aboard the deep-water Horizon. The BP Oil Spill impacted the environment very negatively. There were different types of environmental impact as a result of the Oil Spill, but the two that grabbed my attention the most are the Polluted Air and the Contaminated Food Chain. The first impact that grabbed my attention was the Polluted Air. Because of the Oil Spill, the air around the surroundings neighborhoods was polluted. All the lightest chemicals in the oil that had spill evaporated within hours of the incidence forming air pollution particles. These particles that are in the air poses significant threats to the human health from being inhaled. The chemical found in the particles that was formed is known as Volatile, which has been known to cause respiratory irritation and central nervous system depression (Solomon & Janssen, 2010). The second impact that grabbed my attention was the contamination of the food chain, specifically the food chain of sea animals that lives near the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists found traces of oil in zooplanktons; this could only mean that the sea creature has had contact with the spilled oil. According to the Staff at Houston Business Journal (2012), “Baby fish and shrimp feed on the tiny, drifting zooplankton, and then introduce contamination and pollution to the larger sea creatures in the food web.” With these findings, it isn’t going to take long before the baby fishes become grown and caught by fishermen and before we know it, it’s on our dinner plate. And here we are eating fishes w...
In America, knives, forks, and spoons are necessary tools people have in order to function properly everyday. Without cutlery, people would continue to eat with their dirty, bacteria covered hands, slurping and licking their way through their meals. People would drink bowls of hot soup, maul steak like a feral dog stealing his first bone in weeks, and scoop large chunks of ice cream with frostbitten fingers. Like most individuals in the world, I never put too much thought into how important a spoon was until I needed it. I especially did not care where my family’s flatware came from or how they were created, as long as it was in the cabinet when I wanted to grab a quick bite to eat. Unfortunately, no one cares about a spoon, a fork, or
This is not the first time that BP is at fault. They have had criminal convictions in places such as Endicott Bay in Alaska, Texas City and Prudhoe Bay. Jeanne Pascal was a part of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and was assigned to watch over BP. Pascal was watching over companies such as BP that were facing debarment. Under her watch, BP was charged with four federal crimes. Over the past twelve years, Pascal’s seen BP patterns as misconducts. She attempted to warn the government about BP’s safety and environmental issues that would most likely lead to another disaster. While she was watching over BP, the company misinformed and misled her about things that resulted to the felonies that they have committed. Sensing that some things were not right about the company, she presented a case of their unsafe working environments.
The definition of grit is simple; it means being passionate about long term goals, and showing stamina to pursue them, but should students in public schools have a class dedicated to a grit-focused curriculum? This has become a major topic of discussion among teachers and mentors. Angela Duckworth, a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, claims grit is not a fixed quality but one that can be developed. Many disagree with her statement. Grit is something everyone all have within themselves, but some just do not utilize this characteristic as often or as well as others. Grit is a puzzling concept. Duckworth has had an obsession with grit for over a decade. Her obsession started when she visited West Point,
...oot causes of the oil spill. From claim information, BP demonstrates that it paid approximately 11 billion dollars to individuals and businesses who survived the disaster. BP lost its agreement with the EPA in 2010 after the oil spill but it retained the agreement in 2014 by resolving all debarment and suspension matter. From all these activities, BP demonstrates its efforts to repair the reputational damages.
Do you comprehend what “glittering generalities” is? Glittering generalities is a vague word or phrase used to evoke positive feelings rather than to convey information to others. The type of advertisement EvoShield is using is glittering generalities. It’s a black background with a yellow EvoShield logo in the middle and right under it in capital white letters it states ¨Protective Gear For Elite Performance.” EvoShield used that advertisement to convince customers that their product is the best product out and they should buy it. “Protective Gear For Elite Performance” states that EvoShield’s gear/equipment will improve performance and limit errors that you or other equipment will commit.
“Man masters nature not by force but by understanding. This is why science has succeeded where magic failed: because it has looked for no spell to cast over nature”. From the beginning of time man and nature has been in conflict with one another because, as a whole, there is no cooperating. Each one tirelessly wants its way. The Man is fighting for dominance and nature w never yielding its authority. In American Literature, many authors illustrate this theme in their writing. Specifically the writers Jack London in The Law Of Life, Stephen Crane The Open Boat and Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Fin. Each explores the relationship between humans and nature but with slightly different methods. Mark Twain uses nature in a realistic way, Jack London in a naturalistic way and Stephen Crane constitutes a combination of both.
Have you ever felt stuck? Wherever you are, it’s the absolute last place you want to be. In the book Into the Wild, Chris McCandless feels stuck just like the average everyday person may feel. Chris finds his escape plan to the situation and feels he will free himself by going off to the wild. I agree with the author that Chris McCandless wasn’t a crazy person, a sociopath, or an outcast because he got along with many people very well, but he did seem somewhat incompetent, even though he survived for quite some time.
There comes a time in someone’s life when they must get a job to support themselves or their family. For those who don’t have a college degree, a minimum wage job is the way to go. A federal minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly compensation that employers may legally pay to workers. However if minimum wage is so low that someone can barely make an income, to support themselves or a family. Minimum wage is based on federal decisions. Some states minimum wage is more than the next. For example Florida’s is $7. 79 while Connecticut’s is $8.25 per hour. Georgia has the lowest minimum wage which is $5.15. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. Minimum wage should be increased because poverty will be reduced, it will be good for economic recovery, and provide more for families. However minimum wage raises are opposed by those who believe it will create more unemployment.
Inequality and prejudice has been around for as long as the country has been founded. Beginning as a social construct, arbitrary differences, be it sexual orientation, age, and or handicapped status, have been pointed out and discriminated against. Many advocate for stricter guidelines to be placed on new laws that might seem offense and or discriminatory. This is referred to as Strict Scrutiny and it is deemed as a necessity by some in order to remain a progressive society. This means that before a law can be made it must undergo carefully inspection by the Supreme Court. (180-181) I believe that this argument does have merit and should be the standard for these types of laws, as well as in general.
Every day, more and more attempts of banning books and taking away the rights of our First Amendment get violated. The challenging of a book is the attempt to remove or restrict materials, and the banning is the removal of these materials. I believe that books should not be banned for these reasons.
During the first century of rulings within the Supreme Court, it was apparent that oral arguments had evoked a potent effect on the courts overall decision making process. Within today’s modern day society oral arguments continue to maintain their effect over the decisions of the court. There are several legal scholars who argue for the opposite effect. This effect establishes that oral arguments no longer have the same impact on the court because individual Justices have strong attitudes about personal policy preferences. However, oral arguments help Justices gather information not presented in the briefs and further aids them in utilizing those proceedings to raise questions about personal policy preferences. In addition, oral arguments serve
What makes a good person good? According to WikiHow, "We should learn to define our own morals ourselves. One of the simplest ways to do so is to love others, and treat them as you would like to be treated. Try to think of others before yourself. Even doing small things daily will greatly enrich and improve your life, and the lives of others around you." This quote shows us what we need to do in order to be what society thinks as, “good". In order to be a good person, you have to do good and moral things in your society consistently. However people might think that by doing one good thing once in a while will automatically make you a “good person”, but in reality it doesn’t.
Secondarily, smoking cigarettes give the people some unique sensation and pleasure to the body that makes them keep wanting more. There are many people argued that cigarette smoking is helpful to people and that those also have the advantages for smoking it. Cigarette contains some substance that made people feel good because it stimulates their mood and help them relax. Boughton proclaims in her article “Smoking” that “... nicotine can act as either a stimulant or tranquilizer, which explains why some people report that smoking gives them energy and stimulates their mental activity, while others note that smoking relieves anxiety and relaxes them” (2090). So, people are craving for cigarettes because it has something to offer for their body. It contains an ingredient in it that help them be calm and away from any kinds of stress and emotional problems.