Environmental Policy

The environment that we live in today is constantly changing. Natural and unnatural causes affect our short and long term experience of living. We live in our environment and it has been proven that we must take care of it (i.e. not extinguishing our resources or over polluting) in order to survive. We exist in the natural chain that is our ecosystem. Therefore, environmental policy is a very important in the bureaucracy of our government.

Environmental policy is also one of the hardest policies to establish a permanent or clear solution that works in favor of everyone. Everyone is affected by the environment because we live in our surroundings –our environment. More importantly, it affects our businesses. There is the business of agriculture, corporations or companies that sell the food, and consumers. Thus, interest group politics comes into play. Delegates in congress that sit on various committees usually must appease their clients to maintain potential voters. Usually, in interest politics two equally influential groups conflict leading to a compromise. Then, there is majoritarian politics involving a congressional vote on the issue. Due to the increased awareness of environmental issues the popularity has, as well, increased, which would place delegates in a horrible position if they were to be on the wrong side of a passed environmental bill. Finally, there is entrepreneurial politics. This consists of a large corporation suing the government or a committee. Overall, there is no real resolve in environmental policy just gradual reductions and mutual agreements on conditional terms; ergo there is no concise identification of environmental problems.

The aim of any environmental policy is to identify a concrete problem and have a clear plan, but that is not always the case. Science plays a key role in politics and vice-versa. But the issue, such as global warming, is one that is skeptical amongst scientist, which would be skeptical amongst politicians. If science does not have a translucent perspective on the problem, then how could politicians rally for a complete solution? There will be conflicting beliefs and sides. But there is certainty in environmental policy.

The only solution is the public’s willingness to change. People rally for the environment to be salvaged for years to come, but they do not want to give up their lifestyles. For example, gas companies hike gas taxes to discourage driving and decrease air pollution, but there is only profit to gain for them and money for us to lose.

Darfur Deception

There is a deception about the genocide taking place in Darfur. According to David Reef, “in order to get people to care, they have to oversimplify.” In other words, activists groups, such as Save Darfur have oversimplified the incident that occurs in Darfur. The deception comes down to money. Activism is usually not a desirable job because the money is scarce. To the many various activists groups out there, a heated competition for donations exists. Also, there is a difference in opinion on the incident in Darfur. American activist groups, the US Holocaust Museum, and the US Congress believe that genocide exists in Darfur. The European Union and other prominent activist groups say otherwise. The media is a major influence in how we view the world, so we must take care to understand our world and view it the correct way-the way it is originally presented.

Battling abortion

Evangelicals tend to use the same argument to defend their stance on pro-life on the case of abortion. They use the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” or they parallel an abortion with the genocide of the Jewish people in Germany, according to Garry Wills. As well, the church has no means of referring to scripture because abortion was not issue addressed in the bible. Even the pope agreed that the case of abortion should be left to the laws of nature. In other words, science and reasoning should be satisfactory methods in justifying abortion. Although, the evangelicals cannot stand to hear what scientists, philosophers, or doctors have to say about abortion. According to Garry Wills, the evangelicals say “The experts have only secular expertise, not religious conviction.” I find that to be a horrible excuse for being able to state opinions on the matter of abortion.

Protest

This protest of about thirty-thousand people in the streets of San Francisco has sparked numerous marches in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Seattle, and New York. I find this interesting because it is band of so many different types of people. Just goes to show that indignation on a serious matter, the war in Iraq, can unite all peoples. Also, on a few signs read “Drop Tuition Not Bombs”, and “Wall Street Gets Rich, Iraqis and GI’s Die.” The public demands that our government take initiative to reform our country and to stop making every issue a business deal. I believe that our war in Iraq was bound to happen even if “September 11, 2001” did not occur. The incident just pushed the date earlier. The objective was to fight terrorism, to find weapons of mass destruction, Saddam Hussein, reform the government, and import foreign oil. From the beginning, there was no clear objective.

Education is light

Jowhar, Somalia is a nation rampant with disease, famine, flood, starvation, and civil war. During these events of hardships, the literacy rate has plummeted, which allows for lack of education amongst the majority of Jowhar’s inhabitants. Abdulkhadir Wasuge is a source of inspiration in these times of hardship. He is responsible for starting up a school and teaching. It is especially hard for younger generations to learn at time where survival is the top priority. Wasuge believes “Education is the light”, and it has been seen this way throughout mankind’s existence. He hopes to educate future generations to either get away from civil war or to help solve his nation’s conflicts with education. Wasuge states “I’ve lived with a handicap myself…Lack of education is just another handicap”, that younger generations must struggle, but eventually will overcome.

Muslim Tradition

In the Muslim Tradtion or according to the Koran, homosexuality is prohibited. The punishment can range from a long sentence to imprisonment or death. A boy and his friend were offered a ride back to their house by an unknown eighteen year old male. At first the ride seems safe, but when the driver passes the two boys' house the problems begin to emerge. The two boys are taken to the outskirts of the city and are encountered by two of the assailants friends. Both boys were raped. They reported this crime, but both boys were sentenced to fifteen years of imprisonment for performing homosexual acts. I don't see the reasoning or justice in that.

Aruba

X-ray Vision:
Aruba is a crazy place. Aruba is a democratic country with a democratic system without political parties. Aruba is a very clean country and, virtually does not have poverty. The island is 19 miles long and 6 miles wide. There was no sales tax before 2006 and there is universal health care. The country is so small that there is only a reserve military for extraneous circumstances. There is a governor, a prime minister, and a deputy prime minister of Aruba. Currently, Aruba is a commonwealth of the Netherlands, so its political roots come from the Netherlands. There is education is financed by the governement, except for private schools and is offered at all levels.