Landscapes, Scale, and Government Policy
The process of landscape change have finally caught the attention of the public and governments of the United States. Now that we are equipped with the knowledge that we must at least control our effects on landscapes, we should ensure that our policies are a reflection of informed and accurate decisions. This has been proven to be very difficult, as there are many factors that must be considered when addressing landscape change including issues of spatial and temporal scales of landscape processes. This type of scale is best described as the spatial or temporal dimension of a certain process (Turner, 2000). Scales may vary, ranging from the broad temporal and spatial scale of plate tectonics to the fine scale processes of insect herbivory. Landscape change has different effects along different levels of scale, and thus, should be treated similarly as well. These varying scales must be considered when drafting the many policies that contend with the changing landscapes in order to carry out a positive effect.
Landscapes are controlled by dynamic variables across different scales that occur within the environment. Wildfires, herbivory, climate, and development, among others, all contribute to those transformations. These types of landscape disturbances can also occur across different scales, both spatial and temporal. Consider a small brush fire occurring in the backyard of a small residential neighborhood for a few hours before becoming extinguished by the local fire department. The spatial and temporal scales of this type of landscape disturbance are minimal. When compared to the Cerro Grande wildfires that occurred in New Mexico during May of 2000, the effects of the same type of disturbance are vastly different. As a result, the Cerro Grande Prescribe Fire had burned over 45,000 acres for almost 2 weeks and will have left the landscape in a dramatically different state (NPS, 2000). We can see the vastly different effects of each of the same disturbance on the landscape.
These scaling effects may be applied to other types of landscape change as well. In many studies, landscape ecologists such as Monica Turner, Dean Urban, and J.A. Wiens are including issues of scale as an integral part of their research. It is now evident that "every change in scale [brings] with it changes in patterns and processes (Wiens, 1989.)" All landscapes are dynamic including anthropogenic landscapes.
Hess, D., McKnight, T. L., & Tasa, D. (2011). McKnight's physical geography (Custom ed. for California State University, Northridge ; 2nd Calif. ed.). New York: Learning Solutions.
Long-leaf pine areas have been converted to loblolly or slash pine plantations or severely fire suppressed. Urban development was a major cause of habitat loss in the early part of this century, as was logging.
Current research is being conducted by the National Parks Service to better understand the patterns of invasive plants on the Park, including sagebrush and cheat grass. Yosemite has announced that air quality on their worst days is unlikely to improve until California State’s regulations take effect (“National Parks Service”). More eco-friendly tours and car banning could be cut down in the future to remove some of the tropospheric ozone. Fire awareness is also sweeping through Yosemite, especially in the camping areas, which would cut down wild fires and excess smoke. “In Yellowstone, fires are historically less frequent, but more intense”, this is simply not the case in Yosemite (“PBS”).
The timing of the events, shown through the documents helps uncover some of the where and whys about why the treatment of the Native Americans shaped America’s beginnings. The main timing and reason was colonization. As the European settlers began to colonize the Americas, they saw that they could use the Natives and treat them however they wanted because it was free or low-costly labor. The ill treatment of these people caused many to rebel and revolt against the colonists, or in many circumstances, it caused the Native populations to decline dramatically in numbers. This decimation of the Native American populations left small amounts of people to care for the land, shaping the United States’ environment for future generations. This is part of the reason why many Natives felt resentment to the colonists both in the present time and the future. The order that many of the events happened also affected the issues that first caused the colonization of the Americas.
Initially the Netherlands attempted to stay neutral during World War II, as it had been in the First World War, however, the Nazis still attacked. The final Nazi-free moments for the Dutch were those on May 10, 1940, the day Hitler invaded the Netherlands...
Landscape fragmentation can be characterized as a break up of a continuous landscape into more smaller, less-connected patches by roads, clearing for agriculture, commercial and residential development, and timber harvesting. Clear-cutting can break up mature, contiguous forest until the clear-cut area has regenerated to a point that it does not act as an ecological barrier to interior species or species that rely on continuous, mature forests. Much of the work that has sought to measure landscape pattern and habitat fragmentation comes out of the disciplines of conservation biology and landscape ecology (Theobald 1998). These disciplines are founded on the premise that landscape patterns strongly influence and are influenced by ecological processes (Forman and Godron 1986).
Within 1650 to 1713 the Dutch Republic underwent a formidable transformation, which changed its status as a major influence in Europe. The Dutch Republic was a political union of seven provinces that was not only an impressive banking and commercial capital, but the Dutch also had a great navy as well. Additionally, the center of flourishment in the Dutch Republic was Amsterdam, which was the foremost trading and banking center in all of Europe. The changing environment of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries forced the Dutch Republic into a position of conflict and unbalance, which proved detrimental to their country as a whole. One of the first challenges to the Dutch Republic dealt with military and how countries, such as the English, wanted to snatch the Dutch’s profitable sea trade routes for themselves. As a result of military conflicts, the Dutch Republic’s economy decreased as a whole due to the fact that wars burdened the previously flourishing trade routes and wealthy cities. Another challenge to the Dutch Republic was unity and how Dutch cities began to doubt other provinces of loyalty to one another, which destroyed most efforts of unification for retaliation against the countries attacking the Dutch. Overall, the major decline of the Dutch Republic was a great example of when one part of a nation goes down, the rest of the nation followed suit.
There is a shortage of all health care professions throughout the United States. One shortage in particular that society should be very concerned about is the shortage of Registered Nurses. Registered Nurses make up the single largest healthcare profession in the United States. A registered nurse is a vital healthcare professional that has earned a two or four year degree and has the upper-most responsibility in providing direct patient care and staff management in a hospital or other treatment facilities (Registered Nurse (RN) Degree and Career Overview., 2009). This shortage issue is imperative because RN's affect everyone sometime in their lifetime. Nurses serve groups, families and individuals to foster health and prevent disease.
A deep look into juveniles in adult prisons. Touch bases on several smaller issues that contribute to juveniles being in and effects of adult prisons. The United States Bureau of Prisons handles two hundred and thirty-nine juveniles and their average age is seventeen. Execution of juveniles, The United States is one of only six countries to execute juveniles. There are sixty-eight juveniles sitting on death row for crimes committed as juveniles. Forty-three of those inmates are minorities. People, who are too young to vote, drink alcohol, or drive are held to the same standard of responsibility as adults. In prisons, they argue that the juveniles become targets of older, more hardened criminals. Brian Stevenson, Director of the Alabama Capital Resource Center said, “We have totally given up in the idea of reform of rehabilitation for the very young. We are basically saying we will throw those kids away. Leading To Prison Juvenile Justice Bulletin Report shows that two-thirds of juveniles apprehended for violent offenses were released or put on probation. Only slightly more than one-third of youths charged with homicide was transferred to adult criminal court. Little more than one out of every one hundred New York youths arrested for muggings, beatings, rape and murder ended up in a correctional institution. Another report showed a delinquent boy has to be arrested on average thirteen times before the court will act more restrictive than probation. Laws began changing as early as 1978 in New York to try juveniles over 12 who commit violent crimes as adults did. However, even since the laws changed only twenty percent of serious offenders served any time. The decision of whether to waive a juven...
In August 2002, President Bush launched his revolutionary campaign against wildfires known as the Healthy Forest Initiative (HFI). The President’s dynamic plan centers on preventing massive forest fires by thinning the dense undergrowth and brush commonly seen in our national forests. The thinning will occur in priority areas that are in close proximity to homes and watersheds. The Healthy Forest Initiative also aims at developing a more efficient response method to disease and insect infestations that sabotage our forests. Finally, if fully enacted, the Healthy Forest Initiative would provide the loggers with what is known as “goods for services”. This will compensate the loggers for the financial burden that will surface as a result of this aggressive thinning (http://www.sierraclub. org/forests /fires/healthyforests initiative.asp). In order to promote the progress of his Healthy Forest Initiative, in 2003 President Bush announced the Healthy Forest Restoration Act. This act took the main issues discussed in the Healthy Forest Initiative a step further. Bush plans to make a collaborative effort with federal, state, tribal, and local officials to protect our woodlands against future infernos. The act also calls for more public participation in reviewing any actions taken in lieu of the Healthy Forest Initiative. Furthermore, Bush wants to restore the land that has already been destroyed by wildfires and help to recover the threatened and endangered species that were affected by the fires (http://www.
Rehabilitative treatment has not always been seen as a right for juveniles. It hasn’t even been regarded as the best possible course of action for dealing with juveniles. This paper will explore the history of the juvenile system, define what rehabilitation is, and explore the balance between the benefits of rehabilitation and the interest of public safety.
Prior to 1899, in the United States, child offenders over the age of seven were imprisoned in the same facilities as adult offenders. As a result of political and social reformers, society’s views on juvenile justice began to shift to a more sympathetic view. Beginning in 1899, individual states began to address the youth incarceration problem by establishing youth reform homes, the predecessor to juvenile dentition centers. The objective of these homes was the rehabilitation of juvenile offenders for their re-entry into society and for the greater good. However, in recent years, many have argued that juveniles charged with violent felonies ought to be treated as adults; while others argue its antithesis. In 2005, Kirk Gunderson (17) committed suicide while incarcerated in an adult jail. His mother, Vicky Gunderson, explained to a researcher on youth justice how her son was sexually assaulted and involved in physical confrontations. He was placed in confinement where he was left for two and a-half hours by himself. Once the guards came back, Kirk was found dead hanging by a blanket from a smoke detector. It is upsetting to many to read cases like Kirk’s but it poses a question; could this act of violence been avoided?
The dilemma of juvenile incarceration is a problem that thankfully has been declining, but still continues to be an ethical issue. The de-incarceration trend has coincided with a decrease in crime. It is hopeful that our nation is changing the approach to the treatment of juveniles in the criminal justice system. It means we know what to do and what is working, now just to follow through and continue the change to creating a juvenile justice system that is truly rehabilitative and gives youth tools to be able to be positive members of
There is a huge need for improvement in juvenile representation that could lead to better outcome for the entire situation as a whole. The author says “the degree of punishment should be related to the individual’s state of mind, state of development, and the state of maturity” (___, 2014, p. 1118). All 3 factors should be used in determining the punishment and imposing the sentence that should be ruled for each individual defendant. The adolescent Intervention and Diversion Program (AIDP) directed by the author, “represents teenagers ages thirteen to eighteen charged in the adult court system with misdemeanors and felonies. Specially trained lawyers work closely with trained social workers to provide legal representation and education, foster care, mental health, and policy advocacy”(_____,2014,p.1118). The goal being to expand beyond what is usually being presented in courtrooms, putting the same amount of focus on the individual and the crime. Analyzing the lifestyle of a juvenile could form answers to the questions surrounding influences and the impact the crime had on them. In the Supreme Court case of Miller v. Alabama, “the courts [were able to] recognize that adolescents are less blameworthy nor the offenses they commit because they are less capable of evaluating the possible outcomes of different courses of actions and they are more vulnerable to external
Quidditch, found in the Harry Potter series, is a competitive sport that is extremely rough, semi-contact sport played by wizards and witches. Each match is played between two teams of seven players riding flying broomsticks. The seven players include: three chasers, two beaters, one keeper, and one seeker. There are four balls that are used during each match: the Quaffle, two Bludgers, and the Golden Snitch. There are six ring-shaped goals, three on each side of the Quidditch pitch, that stand tall above the ground.