A River Runs Through Us
1. “The Anacostia River is a metaphor for the way poor people and minorities are treated” (Hoover). In 1994, the Anacostia River was fourth on the list of American Rivers' “Most Endangered Rivers” (Rynor). Since the late 19 th century the water quality in this river has slowly declined with the onset of urbanization and industrialization and the pollution that accompanies this growth. The Anacostia is severely polluted with “sediment, nutrients, pathogens, toxins, and trash” (“Cleaning”). And it is no coincidence that the river runs through some of Washington D.C.'s poorest communities in the south-eastern sections of the city.
2. Environmental injustice has been an ongoing battle that continues to plague many lower class, high minority communities. Environmental injustices occur when “low-income communities and communities of color bear a disproportionate burden of the nation's pollution problems” (Bullard 15). Three of every five African Americans live in communities with abandoned toxic waste sites (Bullard “Toxic”). In a 1991 report Greenpeace explained that, “being poor in America means breathing foul air, working filthy jobs, and living next to toxic waste landfills and incinerators” (Novotny 13).
3. In Washington, D.C. much of the pollution plaguing the Anacostia River is caused by trash, raw sewage and runoff from the city streets in the river's drainage area, or watershed. When the District's sewage system exceeds capacity due to heavy rains, the runoff is dumped into the Anacostia River (“Cleaning”). Between 75 and 90 percent of the pollution is caused by runoff from areas of Washington, D.C. with heavy pavement, roads, and parking lots, which produce runof...
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Loeb, Vernon. “Currents of Change.” The Washington Post 01 Dec 1996: B01. LexisNexis. Aladin. Gelman Library, Washington, D.C. 25 Feb 2003 < http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document >.
Novotny, Patrick. Where We Live, Work and Play . Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 2000.
Raynor, Joyce. “Bill Norton Would Fund Grass-Roots River Cleanups.” The Washington Post 3 Mar. 1994: J3. Lexis-Nexis. Aladin. Gelman Library, Washington, D.C. 25 Feb. 2003.
Ruffins, Paul. “Talking Trash.” Washington City Paper 26 Jan. 2001. 25 Feb. 2003. <http:// www.washingtoncitypaper.com >.
Spencer, Duncan. “Caucus Rallies for Anacostia.” The Washington Post 8 Jan 2003: Pg.23. LexisNexis. Gelman Library, Washington, D.C. 30 March 2003 <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document>.
This ad is directed to many people in the Chesapeake Bay region because there are tons of pollution each year that are destroying the nation’s largest estuary, or part of a body of water where the fresh and salt water mix, and are also killing the Bay’s crabs, oysters, and fish, which is a huge industry in the area and also something the state of Maryland is known nationally for (Environment, p. 8). Pollution is destroying the Chesapeake Bay every single day, however now people are taking steps in the right direction to fix this problem but many people fear that time has run out.
Generations of native people in Canada have faced suffering and cultural loss as a result of European colonization of their land. Government legislation has impacted the lives of five generations of First Nations people and as a result the fifth generation (from 1980 to present) is working to recover from their crippled cultural identity (Deiter-McArthur 379-380). This current generation is living with the fallout of previous government policies and societal prejudices that linger from four generations previous. Unrepentant, Canada’s ‘Genocide’, and Saskatchewan’s Indian People – Five Generations highlight issues that negatively influence First Nations people. The fifth generation of native people struggle against tremendous adversity in regard to assimilation, integration, separation, and recovering their cultural identity with inadequate assistance from our great nation.
Fly fishing is not what this story is all about, although it might seem so at first. Neither is it about religion, even though the father’s first line is: "In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing." Yes, these two things are themes that run through the story and add to its power. But there is so much more. It depicts a place of beauty, history, myth, and mystery, it is a triangle of earth in Montana where the writer grew up. And it captures a space of time in the not-so-distant past with a sensitivity that is both witty and poetic. Robert Redford loved this story and turned it into a handsome movie. Read it yourself or watch the movie, and you will learn something about fly fishing, but you wil...
Tolvanen, A. (1992). The rise of Native Self-determination and the crisis of the Canadian Political Regime. Culture, Volume XII (No. 1), 63-77.
Native Americans have suffered from one of America’s most profound ironies. The American Indians that held the lands of the Western Hemisphere for thousands of years have fallen victim to some of the worst environmental pollution. The degradation of their surrounding lands has either pushed them out of their homes, made their people sick, or more susceptible to disease. If toxic waste is being strategically placed near homes of Native Americans and other minority groups, then the government industry and military are committing a direct offense against environmental justice. Productions of capitalism and militarism are deteriorating the lands of American Indians and this ultimately is environmental racism.
As a conclusion summary to the ideas that were represented in this essay, the aboriginals in Canada were and are still are to certain degree victims of a predigest government.
Genocide, assimilation, and segregation-- these are all forms of cultural and ethnic cleansing that we as Canadians do not necessarily associate with what it means to be a Canadian, rather they are terms that we associate with occurrences in distant, dangerous and abysmal places (Fleras, 2012; p. 10). However, these terms are evidently applicable to the treatment of Aboriginals during the time of European colonization of Canada. Genocide is considered to “be the most serious of punishable crimes under international law…” (Fleras, 2010; p. 11); unfortunately, genocide has been inflicted upon Aboriginals in numerous forms as they suffered a loss of cultural identity through European-colonization. Assimilation has also affected Aboriginals as through the use of residential schools, Aboriginal children were taken from their families and forced to learn the dominant white way of life and abandon their culture (Fleras, 2010; p.13). Segregation of Aboriginals has also occurred, as reserves are restricted purely for individuals with Indian citizenship, hence keeping Aboriginals separate from the dominant culture (Fleras, 2010; p. 15). There is a lack of awareness on the horrendous and disgusting treatment of the original Canadian settlers, Aboriginals, which can be partially attributed to a narrative that has helped create the image of what it means to be a Canadian, a narrative that has provided the belief that white Europeans were the first to settle on Canadian land and has painted a picture of white settlers struggling to survive on their discovered Canadian land. This narrative has been termed the ‘frontier narrative’, and it truly has shaped Aboriginals lives in Canada. This paper will provide first and foremost a clear definition o...
...tool of the Canadian Federal Government to extinguish Indian land rights (Stout and Kipling, 2003:38).
Throughout Canadian history, there has always been one group of people who have always been dealt the worst hand. The Native Canadians have been oppressed and forced into assimilation it the Canadian culture for hundreds of years. Through out time, Canada has changed the way they treat the natives. However, the Canadian Government has not been effective at improving the position of Native Canadians. Those who survived Canadian residential schools, lived on Native reserves or have been involved in any Native affairs issue is proof that Canada has not been improving the position of Native Canadians.
---. “The Clean Water Act—Is it Successfully Reducing Water Pollution?- Final Draft.” UTSA: WRC 1023, 11 Apr 2014. Print.
It wasn’t until a study called Toxic Waste and Race done by the Church of Christ in 1987 showed that the most significant factor is deciding a location of a hazardous waste facility was racial did the movement gain momentum. While there are many debate on what environmental justice is, most would say the first significant documentation of it was when the Principles of Environmental Justice was written, signed, and sent to DC to be reviewed in the 1990’s. Various community leaders from churches to council members to school teachers came together at the National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit and made a point in showing that the citizens are not happy with how their environment has been handled and the ideals that legislation has come to fruition under. Ideals such as fairness when making policy, responsible use of renewable resources, balanced relations with native americans, use of military force on peoples, and mitigation for victims domestically and abroad are only a few controversial topics they
This means freedom from pollution, and dumping sites, access to clean water, and air quality, and freedom from environmental hazards, such as chemical toxins, industrial pollution, solid waste disposal and noise. Studies have shown that the social distribution of pollution suggest that poor households with low income, minorities, and poor African Americans in the United States are most affected by the environmental quality issues, (1) and “concerns about the environmental inequality led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency for Environmental Justice in 1992.” (1) The EPA is responsible for distributing and regulating the risks. (2) Since environmental Justice concerns where people work, live and play, it is also important for these people to be included in the decision making process.
"Water Pollution." Current Issues: Macmillan Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 5 May 2014.
I had the pleasure of kayaking about fifteen miles of the Arkansas river, in Colorado, this summer. Flowing from its headwaters near Buena Vista, the Arkansas is a virgin river. Only a trickle during the winter, "The Ark," is reborn every spring with the life bearing waters of fresh mountain snow melt. The greening of river valleys throughout Colorado occurs during the month of June, and traveling from the east I realized how vital the snowmelt waters are to life in the western United States. Without water, something which we take for granted even in brutal summers, life in the west is a struggle.
Kegley, Charles W., and Eugene R. Wittkopf. World Politics Trend and Transformation. New York: St. Martin's, 1981. Print.