Issues Within the Discipline of Forestry
The idea of forestry in the sense that we know it today is only about four hundred years old. Forestry developed mainly out of the need for a continual supply of wood products. There were a few forest reserves for hunting or preservation in Europe, but the idea of managing a forest for a number of resources is quite new. There are four stages that almost all societies have gone through when trying to develop this idea of forestry. The first stage has to do with the unregulated abuse of forest products to be used as energy, building supplies and also to be cleared to make way for agricultural land. This creates a kind of domino effect on forests everywhere. The overexploitation of regional forests means there will be a scarcity of products that are considered valuable, which in turn leads to the abuse of more outlying forests and the overexploitation of them and so on and so forth. In the United States this stage was seen with the colonization of America. Colonization began in the eastern U.S. and as a result led to the destruction of forests there. People needed forest supplies to build their homes and farms, and when the regional forests were almost depleted they began taking resources from outlying forests (Kimmins, 1992). The U.S. prior to colonization had an estimated one billion acres of forested land. By the year 1900 that area had been reduced to 567 million acres (Berger, 1998, p.29).
After this initial stage of carelessness is recognized there is a stage of regulation in order to make certain that the forests will be maintained for resources and other values. This is the point where the idea of forestry begins. Hamish Kimmins in his book Balancing Act: Environmental Issues in Forestry states this about the second stage, "It usually involves a centralized, authoritarian, non-ecological, administrative approach based on legislation and regulation rather than on a knowledge of how forests grow, how they respond to management, and how ecosystems function" (Kimmins, 1992, p.50). This administrative approach usually ends up failing, and there is recognition that management will only work if techniques that are in tune with the ecological characteristics of the area are taken into account. This stage was evident in the United States when the U.S. Bureau of Forestry was created in 1891 (Kimmins, 1992).
The third stage is the promotion of an ecologically sound method to forestry.
Thousands upon thousands of acres are lost in forest fires every year. We always hear about the dramatic losses caused by forest fires and are often concerned by them. There are so many horrible effects from fires and most of them affect so many people. Studies have shown that out of all of the different methods to decrease fire damage, prescribed burns are the most affective. Many people would argue that they are not as affective because they cause so many health problems. Although that is a very important view and may seem valid, those health issues are not as extreme as one might think. People should look at the majority of the benefits form prescribed burns and they will see how affective and important they are. Prevention is the key to society these days and is definitely an important factor in saving lives. If more lives can be saved as well as land and wildlife, prescribed burns may be the better way to go about forest fires. Although, prescribed burns are better for the environment in order to prevent drastic forest fires, severe damage to timber and extreme death of wildlife; some people feel it affects the health of a firefighter too much and it causes too many long term effects.
These are very difficult questions for me personally to answer because I live in the Pacific Northwest, and I have seen the beauty of the old growth forests first-hand.
Smarr, Janet. “Emperor Wu”. Making of the Modern World 12. Ledden Auditorium, La Jolla, CA. 17 Feb. 2012. Lecture.
The Chinese possessed strong beliefs about astrology, so when it was prophesised that a women ruler would soon ascend the throne word quickly spread throughout the common people. It was predicted that within 30 years this woman known as ‘The Prince of Wu’ would rule over China. Whether or not Empress Wu’s rise to power was due to ‘heaven ordained fate’, she fulfilled the prophecy and became China’s first woman ruler in the 7th century. Historians, scholars and common people alike have long debated Wu’s reign. She is commonly referred to as an evil usurper due to the way she took power. However whether she fully deserves this reputation is to be examined. As the only female Chinese ruler, Wu challenged traditional gender roles and legitimized herself as a leader at a time when women were not meant for such positions. Empress Wu came to power through self-determination and a remarkable gift for politics. Once on the throne, she kept her power by all means necessary, often those means being murder and betrayal. Some of her actions were undoubtedly cruel. However once she was established as an empress conducted a mostly peaceful and prosperous reign. Empress Wu was by definition a usurper of the Chinese throne however not necessarily an evil one. She was manipulative and ruthless yet brilliant and exceptionally gifted. Her rise to power through sheer determination is to be commended despite the harsh tactics she used along the way.
However, not all women embodied to these roles. Some women sought literacy and some high ranking women were highly educated. Empress Dau was an enthusiastic scholar. She lived in a time when Confucian ideals has not yet fully taken hold, and thus, she was able to use her authority to push Daoist ideals upon Emperors Wen and Jing [7]
Once forests began to be viewed as beneficial, it opened up a whole new lifestyle. The forests and nature might have been an evil and scary place, but it was a place filled with resources and opportunity. Settlers began using trees and wood in a plethora of ways. Not only was it used for families own use, many began logging forests as a business; a very profitable business at that. Once wood started being used for beneficial purposes, a snowball effect occurred by the settlers to cut down every tree in sight and turn it into a profit.
Lü Zhi (241–180 BC), commonly known as Empress Lü and Empress Dowager Lü, was the empress consort of Emperor Gaozu (256–195 BC), the founder and first ruler of the Han Empire. The consort earned her title by bearing Liu Ying (210–188 BC), who would later become Emperor Hui of Han. As such, Lü Zhi was the first woman to assume the title Empress of China, a title for which there had been no prior precedence. The later death of her husband in 195 BC resulted in the empress holding her power as a dowager, or a widow with a title from her late husband. Since Lü Zhi did not hold formal power through an office, and instead wielded a ceremonial position in the ruling household, her ability to manipulate the court without legal ramifications was amplified, and due to both her age and her sway over the ...
Bland, J. O. P., and E. Backhouse. China Under the Empress Dowager. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1914.
Over a span of several decades, Wu Zetian inalterably changed life in China for woman as well the clergy and the poor. By doing so, she left a perpetual footprint on China’s long history that transcends the mere fact that she was the first woman to rule the “Red Dragon”.
“Never again allow any women to hold supreme power in the state. It is against the house-law of our Dynasty, and should be strictly forbidden. Be careful not to permit eunuchs to meddle in Government matters. The Ming Dynasty was brought to ruin by eunuchs, and its fate should be a warning to my people”(Haldane 259). These were the final words of the last great empress of China, Tzu Hsi. In a sense this statement was ironic. For almost 50 years this one woman ruled China with a graceful but iron fist.
Humans have been changing the Western forests' fire system since the settlement by the Europeans and now we are experiencing the consequences of those changes. During the summer of 2002, 6.9 million acres of forests was burnt up in the West (Wildland Fires, 1). This figure is two times the ten year annual average, and it does not look like next summer will be any better (Wildfire Season, 1). Foresters have been trying to restore the forests back to their original conditions by thinning and prescribed fires but have encountered countless delays. Politicians are proposing sweeping changes in bills, which have caused great controversy, in efforts to correct the problems that the Forest Service has faced in restoration projects. Are these bills necessary or is there a better solution that politicians are overlooking?
A leader’s age and generation plays a significant role in the way they communicate. When different generations come together they bring with them their own worldviews and expectations. An effective leader is able to step out of their generational preferences and customize the way they communicate to the other generations. By effectively addressing and taking advantage of those unique generational differences they can bridge the generations together to create a collaborative, innovative and exciting work environment resulting in a highly productive and performing workforce.
Prostitution is an internationally known trade. Internationally this trade can be found anywhere from Bangladesh to China. It is known to go back as far as 2400 BC. Within this historically and largely practiced trade comes several types of prostitution; Child prostitution, street, brothels, private, door knock, Citizens Band (CB) radio, individual, survival, and sex for drugs. Child prostitution is...
Wu Zetian was born in 624. Her father was one of the meritorious chancellors of the Tang Dynasty. When she was young, she read many books and received a good education from her father, which was not common among women, much less encouraged by their fathers. At the age of 14, Wu Zetian was chosen as one of the concubines of Emperor Taizong. When Emperor Taizong died in 649, his youngest son succeeded him as Emperor Gaozong. According to the custom, Wu was sent to a temple to serve as a Buddhist nun and was expected to spend rest of her life there. However, Gaozong’s admiration to Wu Zetian got her back into the palace. Wu progressively gained more and more influence over the governance of the empire by trickery throughout Emperor Gaozong's reign, and was eventually making the major decisions effectively being the queen. Taking advantage of the poor health condition of Gaozong, Wu Zetian later got into power and even went beyond Gaozong’s throne, and ruled officially under the name of her self-proclaimed "Zhou dynasty". Being the first and only empress in Chinese history, Empress Wu m...
First and foremost is the establishment of Forest Protection Schemes, which mainly aim at setting up National Parks and Forest Reserves. Although this is a very effective method it is not enough and such schemes tend to be used to justify destructive exploitation of unprotected areas of forest. Farm Forestry generally refers to the incorporation of commercial tree growing into farming systems. Farm Forestry is as effective as it is because it takes the load off old-growth forests.