Deforestation Resulting from European Shipbuilding
Historical texts have documented the countless technologies, ideas, diseases, plants and animals the European ships delivered around the world during the Age of Exploration. However, these texts fail to include one key cargo item: deforestation. European shipbuilding triggered an epidemic of forest depletion that gradually spread to the lands they encountered. Beginning in the early fourteenth century, wood fueled the increased production of exploratory sea vessels. The loss of trees coincided with the rapid rate of shipbuilding. Eventually, Europeans exploited their timber reserves to such an extreme that they began looking elsewhere for wood, including colonies in North America and Southeast Asia. With newfound resources, the European shipbuilding machine churned on, yet before long deforestation also became an issue in the colonial areas. Although shipbuilding played an integral role in a period of European advancement, it devastated not only the European environment but the forests of other continents as well.
Prior to the Age of Exploration, hardwood trees blanketed all of Europe to form a forest giOB47;comparable in size to the Amazon Basin” (David Morse). Forest density was intense, such that “scattered clearings must have appeared like islets in an ocean of green” (Morse).
Nevertheless, as humans discovered the value of wood as fuel for warmth, deforestation followed close behind. The progression of human technologies presented more uses for timber. Eventually, wood became a staple in a wide range of manufacturing processes, among them shipbuilding. The production of sea vessels put extreme pressure on the oldest and largest trees in European forests; the massive tree trunks that were years in the making were also the best suited for the immense hulls of open sea ships. For every ship built, the environment lost some of its oldest flora members, who were unfortunately also the hardest to replace.
Shipbuilding was also closely intertwined with another forest consuming industry: metallurgy, especially iron production. Iron comprised the weaponry and structural support aboard many sea vessels. Because the production of iron required high temperatures, the demand for firewood grew to almost insatiable proportions. Thus, the amount of timber invested in shipbuilding included more than just the lumber for the hulls. As David Morse points out, the trend in metallurgy history dictated that “wherever ironmaking took over . . . it did away with the forest” (Morse). In effect, shipbuilding and its association with iron production impacted the forest landscape two-fold.
The Logging Industry vs. The Old Growth Forests of the Pacific Northwest and the Northern Spotted Owl.
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Beowulf exhibits many obvious heroic qualities, such as his strength and confidence in battle. These along with more subtle diplomatic actions serve to define him as both a great warrior and leader.
Smith, Jillian R. "Shipbuilding and the English International Timber Trade." DigitalCommons @University of Nebraska - Lincoln (2009): 89-92.
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Education is the foundation of American society. It empowers the youth of America to become the successful leaders this country needs for the future. Education has been one of America’s top priorities since 1965, when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was passed. Now, education is controlled by the No Child Left Behind Act, which was launched in January 8, 2002. This act was passed with intentions from the government to provide Americans with a more superior education system. However, The No Child Left Behind Act carried many flaws which were left unseen to a vast majority of the public. This act limited American students by not allowing them to demonstrate their full academic potentials while proceeding in school. While the act was still fairly fresh, there was already evidence to prove that it had already gotten off to a bad beginning. For the crucial math and science courses, statistics showed minimal improvements which had begun around the time period in which the No Child Left Behind Act was passed. The act was also supported by a number of educators who voiced themselves by testifying against having the right to teach at their own free will. Teachers across America claimed that because of this new act, they felt a constant heaviness upon their shoulders from the state government to “Teach the test.”
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... ready to take on the role of a militaristic Spartan. The tactics they used to take on the Persians were practiced and perfected over years of experience and training. This helped them hold their position for the expansive period of time that they did. This quote from N. S. Gill’s article Battle of Thermopylae states “Spartan King Leonidas was general in charge of the Greek forces that tried to restrain the vast Persian army, to delay them . . . Leonidas may have hoped to block them long enough that Xerxes would have to sail away for food and water”. This quote is saying that Leonidas had not hoped to defeat the Persians but only to hold them off until reinforcements arrived to join the war.