Contemporary Issues
Environmental threats
Overpopulation
Every 20 minutes, the world adds another 3,500 human lives but loses one or more entire species of animal or plant life - at least 27,000 species per year. ZGP July 1999
World population growth peaked at about two percent per year in the early 1960s. Latest population figures indicate that the rate of growth has slowed to 1.33 percent annually, equivalent to 78 million people a year. UNFPA 1999
The highest world population growth rate was 2.04 percent in the late 1960's. This year, it is about 1.31 percent. NY Times
World population growth is equivalent to around three babies every second. UNFPA '99
New inhabitants add the equivalent of a city the size of San Francisco to world population every three day
The world population is growing fast and the effects of this are
 food shortages
 exhaustion of farm land and soil erosion
 insufficient power supplies
 social un-rest and war
 immense pressure on welfare system and national benefits
 crime due to lack of space and jobs
The world in the future will be able to support less NOT more people this is due to carefully farmed areas losing there top-soil (the cause is over farming), but the world needs more and not less food so larger fields are required but these large fields allow soil and wind erosion to happen more quickly. Fertilisers only speed up this erosion e.g. America (Arizona) land is useless and dusty because of the chemicals poisoning the land. Also in places such as Egypt where the water supply is irrigated from underground water supplies, the water contains mineral salts, which will slowly poison the land.
We can say that overpopulation can effect the police in a dramatic way, as the ratio between a police officer and the public is increasing. This can effect the police officers productivity and effectiveness in dealing with crime. We can say that Public services in general are under-funded, this in part can be blamed on the amount of people not paying tax (asylum seeker's, unemployed, O.A.P's). I.e. as science grows so do length of years people live as dose the funding which is required to keep these people (pension, benefits) which could be spent on Public services.
The Police Federation's research found:
London has 25,121 officers, one for every 290 ...
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...that “any conclusion upon the safety of introducing genetically modified materials into the UK is premature, as there is insufficient evidence to inform the decision-making process at present.”
There are concerned that consumption of the maize will lead to an increased resistance to antibiotics in human and animal populations. The testing carried out on GM foods is inadequate. Quite often the testing is carried out by the companies themselves that seek to benefit financially from the product.
Releasing genetically modified organisms into the environment represents 'genetic pollution'. There are long held concerns about the transfer from genetically engineered crop plants to wild relatives to create 'superweeds', which could out-compete and disrupt the natural biodiversity of an area.
Many GM crops are also able to crossbreed with neighbouring crops. Government research concluded that crossbreeding would be “inevitable”.
Critics argue that we do not know enough about the way genes operate and interact to be sure of what the outcome of any modification will be. They worry that the alterations could accidentally lead to substances that are poisonous or trigger allergies.
After suffering the overwhelming ferociousness and inhumanity of being a slave for over two decades , a black man by the name of Fredrick Douglass fled from enslavement and began to make a concerted effort to advance himself as a human being. Combating many obstacles and resisting numerous temptations, Douglass worked assiduously to develop into a knowledgeable gentleman rather than the involuntary alternative of being an unenlightened slave. In doing so, Douglass successfully immerged as one of the Civil War era’s most prominent antislavery orators. From his first major public speech at the age of 23, Douglass became widely renowned as a premier spokesperson for Black slaves and the movement for the abolition of slavery. In one of Douglass’ most distinguished speeches, “The Meaning of July 4th for the Negro,” he uses the intermittent occasion of speaking on behalf of African Americans to a multitude of White Americans to outline arguments against slavery. In that very speech, Douglass made it clear that, like countless African Americans during this time period,
In conclusion, Frederick Douglass was a huge influence on the United States of America in 1852. He opened the eyes of those who heard what he had to say. Whether those individuals agreed with him or not, his speech continues to be popular and important. He mentioned facts that were disturbing, but at the same time, demonstrated amazing thoughts. If people in 1852 thought the same way as Frederick Douglass did, the country would have been better off. Americans’ independence, slavery, the Revolution, and his own life experience helped caused his speech to come out the way that it did. The “Fourth of July Oration” will forever be a commendable model that explained someone’s affection and engagement towards the freedom of individuals.
As the story begins, the narrator's compliance with her role as a submissive woman is easily seen. She states, "John laughs at me, but one expects that in marriage" (Gilman 577). These words clearly illustrate the male's position of power in a marriage t...
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story, The Yellow Wallpaper, portrays the life and mind of a woman suffering from post-partum depression in the late eighteenth century. Gilman uses setting to strengthen the impact of her story by allowing the distant country mansion symbolize the loneliness of her narrator, Jane. Gilman also uses flat characters to enhance the depth of Jane’s thoughts; however, Gilman’s use of narrative technique impacts her story the most. In The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses interior monologue to add impact to Jane’s progression into insanity, to add insight into the relationships in the story, and to increase the depth of Jane’s connection with the yellow wallpaper it self.
The article “WHERE IS YOU MOTHER, A woman’s fight to keep her child”, by Rachel Aviv seeks to address some of the issues faced by child care agencies and the court system. The story takes places on December 5, 2005 a young boy was taken from his apartment in Huntington Beach, California and placed into foster care. His mother, Niveen Ismail, had left him home alone because she didn’t want to miss another day at work. Ms. Ismail stated that “her workload was too heavy, and that on the day she left [her son] alone she had reached a 'breaking point” (Aviv, 2013). With few friends and no relatives in the United States, Ms. Ismail found herself in a difficult situation.
Frederick Douglass among his well-known speeches is “What to the slave it the fourth of july”.He had been invited to speak about what the Fourth of July means for America's black population and while the first part of his speech praises what the founding fathers did for this country, his speech soon develops into a condemnation of the attitude of American society toward slavery. Which ended in Sir Frederick douglass
She is unable to openly share her thoughts and feeling with anyone. All choices are made for her; relinquished of all responsibilities. This imposed solitude leaves the narrator with absolutely nothing to occupy her time. She begins to manifest her imprisonment through hallucinations in the wallpaper she was forced to surround herself in. Eventually, the narrator believes she sees a woman trapped in the dreaded wallpaper. Companionship was denied, even though it was something the narrator asked for throughout the story. The woman in the wallpaper became a companion as the narrator stated, “…I wasn’t alone, a bit.” referring to her time spent alone in the bedroom (Gilman 385). The wallpaper is perceived as a cage and the act of tearing it down represented the narrator freeing herself. John saw what his wife had done to the wallpaper and questioned her about it. She replied with, “I’ve got out at last, in spite of you and Jane. And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back!” (Gilman 387). This statement signifies how torturous John’s choices for his wife must have
The narrator studies the wallpaper, watching how its colors change from sun up to sun down. It is only a matter of time for her to start seeing images behind its pattern. Once she starts seeing a woman in the walls, her mentality towards everything, even her husband and sister-in-law, starts changing. For example, she now thinks that they are the ones acting different, “he seems very queer sometimes, and even Jennie has an inexplicable look” (Gilman 84). At the end of the story, she finally has a mental breakdown. She fights to get the woman out of the walls, tearing off the paper and all. This woman in the walls seems to resemble the narrator, trapped, alone, and watching everything that goes on. The narrator even notes that she is freed from the walls saying, “I wonder if they all come out of the wallpaper as I did?” (Gilman 88). Freedom is a reoccurring theme throughout this story. It is the narrator trying to have her own mental and physical freedom, but she is held back by John. Finally, her tearing the wallpaper off, trying to catch the woman in it, and feeling the satisfaction is what really frees her in her own way. She no longer hides these thoughts from John. She shows them to him with no problem at all and in fact, is proud to show him. “’I’ve got out at last… in spite of you and Jane. And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back!’” (Gilman 89). There are
Her environment feels to her very much like a prison with her husband merely pushing aside her feelings of distaste, believing that giving in and listening to her desires will only worsen her condition. When the narrator wishes for the walls to be fixed, her husband refuses, stating “nothing was worse for a nervous patient than to give way to such fancies. After the wall-paper was changed it would be the heavy bedstead, and then the barred windows, and then that gate at the head of the stairs, and so on” (Gilman 3). The narrator feels entrapped by the house’s bars and gates, but her husband in no way gives her feelings consideration and he refuses to change her environment, therefore keeping her imprisoned within the house, the gilded cage, and her mind. Although the house illustrates feminist views a great deal, the greatest setting to emphasize those views is the wallpaper in the bedroom; “At night in any kind of light, in twilight, candlelight, lamplight, and worst of all by moonlight, it becomes bars!” (Gilman 7). The pattern and the paper itself restrains her, although not physically like the bars on the windows or the gates on the doors, the wallpaper represents a psychological restraint, a mental prison. All of her thoughts are devoted entirely to the paper; she is obsessed with it, unable
Throughout American history, Americans have had many issues, whether it had to do with gaining independence from Britain, or even claiming the rights for African Americans to have equality. With both of these issues came either a significant document by Thomas Jefferson, which is called the Declaration of Independence, or an effective speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, which is called I Have a Dream. Both of these event changers appealed to Americans in a way that had a huge impact on history. The Declaration of Independence gave Americans the freedom to do what they believe. The I Have a Dream speech envisions that later Africans Americans will have equal rights. Therefore, this important document and speech have many similarities and
In the "The Yellow Wallpaper," Charlotte Perkins Gilman describes her postpartum depression through the character of Jane. Jane was locked up for bed rest and was not able to go outside to help alleviate her nervous condition. Jane develops an attachment to the wallpaper and discovers a woman in the wallpaper. This shows that her physical treatment is only leading her to madness. The background of postpartum depression can be summarized by the symptoms of postpartum depression, the current treatment, and its prevention. Many people ask themselves what happens if postpartum depression gets really bad or what increases their chances. Jane's treatment can show what can happen if it is not treated correctly. If Jane would have had different treatment, then she would not have gone insane.
On the other hand, women have proven that they can perform firefighting work, including nearly all of the physical work, as effectively as men. They have not disrupted the bonding and mutual dependence required for a firefighting unit to work effectively and professionally. While women have overcome these objections to prove that they could perform firefighting work, women nonetheless continue to face indirect forms of discrimination. While women may find it easier than men to get a job as a firefighter because of their higher test scores, they continue to face subtle forms of resentment and discrimination. As a result, discourages larger numbers of women from entering the field. This causes some to develop stress and give up on their desire to take firefighting up as a career.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech “I Have a Dream” and Frederick Douglass speech are similar and different by how they approach the subject and their tone of voice. The history of King and Douglass show how they became civil leaders of their times. The video on King’s speech show how many people came to listen and how King handle himself during the speech.
Genetically modified foods could cross-pollinate with other plants and create an entirely new species. In addition, there is the danger of biotech-resistant weeds and insects evolving. GMO’s have the potential to alter ecosystems in significant ways. Companies are currently engineering salmon, tilapia, carp, and other fish to promote faster growth or to provide resistance to certain diseases. Aquaculture farms are located in oceans and other bodies of water and the fish escape the nets regularly, ecologists worry that genetically modified fish could breed with natural fish.
In the mid 1970's, cities began to have women applying for firefighter positions and by the late 1970's, cities began hiring women as firefighters. This was only a small victory for women. Dealing with the men in a male dominant department would be an even bigger struggle for women. (Seattle)