Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Establishment Of The Environmental Protection Agency

Zoe Brown Mrs. Helms English III Honors 7 November 2014 Establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency Environmental disasters during the 1960s in the United States had significant impacts on both the human and sea life populations. During the New York weather inversion of 1965, over 80 people died from the man-made smog over the four day period. In the Santa Barbara oil spill of 1969, over 3,700 sea birds were killed, along with countless other forms of marine life. The nuclear reactor meltdown in Idaho in 1961 was the only United States incident by that time that resulted in immediate fatalities, in which three operators were killed (â€Å"Learn the Issues†). Cleveland, Ohio’s Cuyahoga River sustained 13 reported fires, resulting in†¦show more content†¦On April 22nd, 1970, the American public gathered in the streets to celebrate clean air, water, and land. Congressmen in Washington D.C. halted their activities to be their constituents; however, the Nixon administration was laboring at what would become the capstone of environmental policy, the EPA. While Earth Day was the launch of environmentalism in the modern sense, individuals had been combating natural resource degradation for centuries. In 1849, Henry David Thoreau published a compilation of lectures, Walden, that would become the standard by which all subsequent nature writings are judged. John Muir, father of the American preservationist movement, cofounded the Sierra Club, which preserved California wild lands. Both Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt worked during their tenure as presidents to save the National Park System (â€Å"Environmentalism†). After World War II, the United States’ birthrate skyrocketed, and people found themselves living on the edge of parks and nature. The public began to question whether the government was working to preserve untouched land for future generations. When Rachel Carson published Silent Spring in 1962, the era of environmentalism was born. This movement  "demanded the state not only preserve the Earth, but act to regulate and punish those who polluted it† (Farrah). The work on the pesticide poisoning of man sparked a powerful public

Monday, December 9, 2019

The Last Thirty Years Essay Example For Students

The Last Thirty Years Essay Hi, my name is David Heard. I just turned twenty years old on February 4. I am a second generation American. My whole family is white and is originally from England. I have an older sister, Mary, who we do not see anymore, (I will get to that later), a younger brother, Adam, and both my parents. My parents and little brother live in a nice size house for the three of them. I plan to get married soon, but for now I live in a house near my parents by myself. They do not own that much land, but it is enough for my mom’s garden and for my little brother to play on. My father used to own a little ice cream and candy shop just on the outskirts of Boston. I took it over because my father does not want to work anymore. He feels that he is getting to old to be getting up before the sun rises to make candy.Exactly one month after my birthday President Lincoln was inaugurated. At the end of his inauguration speech he said, â€Å"We (the North and the South) are not enemies, but friendsà ¢â‚¬ , (Out of Many, 444). As much as I respect President Lincoln for the great man that he is I do not believe this. Things in this country are going to get worse before they get better. The population of this country has dramatically increased and this is causing more violence to occur between classes. One cannot walk down the street without seeing a fight somewhere. The country is becoming much too violent. I just hope some big war does not erupt soon. Things have changed so much since I was born and even a few years before I was born. I am a strong believer in human rights, such as humane treatment of Indians and slaves. I think that is was terrible how we, the white people, pushed the Indians off their land. My father told me that the Indian Removal Act of 1830 was a terrible time in our young country’s history. There were Five Civilized Tribes: the Cherokee, the Chickasaws, the Creeks, the Choctaws and the Seminoles. In 1830 the tribes had moved in a direction to live with the whites and adopted the ways of the white man. The Indians resisted suggestions that they should remove themselves from their own land. So, President Jackson urged the Congress to pass the Indian Removal Act, which appropriated funds for relocation, by force if necessary. Jackson sent officials to try to negotiate treaties with the Indians. Some tribes reluctantly signed and prepared to move, but not the Cherokees, who took extensive steps to adopt white ways. The Cherokees fought back by using the law. At first, it appeared they won because the Supreme Court said that legally the Cherokees could not be removed from their land. But Jackson refused to follow the ruling of the Supreme Court. The Cherokees were then forced to leave their lands and go west to Oklahoma.This was called the â€Å"Trail of Tears† because along the journey to Oklahoma more than one-quarter of the Cherokees died. The Seminole tribe took a different route then the Cherokees and they fought back. The war lasted into the 1840’s and the government just decided to give up and let them stay. My father tells me that this was a time the government is already trying to ignore and not acknowledge it as a very brutal and pointless mistake. Slavery is another event that did not exactly affect my family personally, but since I am a strong believer in human rights I hate slavery. Since we live just outside of Boston and a lot of slaves flee to Boston when they escape we used to see many ex-slaves up here. We even let some stay with us for a while when they first escaped. Then the Fugitive Slave Act was passed in 1850. This act helped slave owners greatly because even if a slave had escaped he was not safe at all up North. People that harbored slaves could also get in trouble for housing them. Even though this was in effect my family took the risk and helped slaves that had escaped. All the slaves that we have had at our house, they were all very respectful, courteous and very grateful the whole time they were here. I can honestly say that I would have been friends with most of them if they lived by me. One major case that greatly angered me was the case of Dred Scott in 1857. Dred Scott was a man that was born a slave and later sold to Dr. John Emerson, an Army physician from Missouri. Dr. Emerson had to travel and live in Illinois and Wisconsin. Abolitionists decided to sue on Dred Scott’s behalf for his freedom because he no longer lived in slave territory with his master. This case made it all the way to the Supreme Court. They ruled that Dred Scott could not sue because he was property and not a United States citizen. It was also stated by the Supreme Court that the government could not interfere with the personal arrangements of property. This is ridiculous that a living, breathing human being can be considered somebody else’s property and the government cannot interfere with this. After this point I started to realize that slavery was becoming nationalized and spreading over the entire country. .u4f6ec98557dc176b85ef745eb2807fd9 , .u4f6ec98557dc176b85ef745eb2807fd9 .postImageUrl , .u4f6ec98557dc176b85ef745eb2807fd9 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u4f6ec98557dc176b85ef745eb2807fd9 , .u4f6ec98557dc176b85ef745eb2807fd9:hover , .u4f6ec98557dc176b85ef745eb2807fd9:visited , .u4f6ec98557dc176b85ef745eb2807fd9:active { border:0!important; } .u4f6ec98557dc176b85ef745eb2807fd9 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u4f6ec98557dc176b85ef745eb2807fd9 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u4f6ec98557dc176b85ef745eb2807fd9:active , .u4f6ec98557dc176b85ef745eb2807fd9:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u4f6ec98557dc176b85ef745eb2807fd9 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u4f6ec98557dc176b85ef745eb2807fd9 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u4f6ec98557dc176b85ef745eb2807fd9 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u4f6ec98557dc176b85ef745eb2807fd9 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u4f6ec98557dc176b85ef745eb2807fd9:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u4f6ec98557dc176b85ef745eb2807fd9 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u4f6ec98557dc176b85ef745eb2807fd9 .u4f6ec98557dc176b85ef745eb2807fd9-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u4f6ec98557dc176b85ef745eb2807fd9:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Business and applied statistics research Essay My older sister Mary no longer lives around here. She lives in the Oneida Community in New York. I have heard some pretty interesting things about that place. It is a community that is comprised of around 200 people that think the framework of the world today is both unstable and inconsistent. The community is very open with one another. One of the things that make Oneida unique is that they have mutual criticism, which is when they sit a person down and tell them all the good and bad qualities about them. I guess it is supposed to make it so that nobody has any lasting problems with anybody else. They also have many sexual pa rtners, which is called complex marriage. Everybody shares with everybody, even in the bedroom. It sounds like a very peaceful place there. She has been there since the beginning in 1848. One man I greatly respect for all of his efforts is Fredrick Douglass. Frederick Douglass is an abolitionist. His main action as an abolitionist is speaking out against slavery and freedom for African-Americans. He goes on lecture tours and is known for his very inspirational speeches. I have been to one of his speeches in Boston and it really moved me. It made me realize how horrible slavery was and that no man should have to endure that kind of life. Douglass also was the editor and publisher of a newspaper called The North Star. The North Star was first published in 1847. The newspaper promoted freedom and equality. I try to read old newspapers whenever I have time. The North Star stopped publication in 1851. It was very interesting and insightful. I do not see how people can read The North Star and listen to Fredrick Douglass speak and still believe that slavery is perfectly fine. The last thirty or so years in our great developing nation have been very hectic and exciting. Our n ation is going to prosper, but I still fear something bad might happen before our country will truly prosper into a worldwide power. I hope and pray that our country can learn from its mistakes and move on to become a better nation because of them. Once people realize that our nation can be better off without slavery and the persecution of Indians, we will finally be able to treat people the way they should be treated and truly be the land of the free. No living, breathing human being should be recognized as a piece of property or pushed off of their property. As I begin to think about how our nation is developing I sometimes wonder why I have not joined my sister at the Oneida Community. They are a group of people that realizes the world is unstable and inconsistent and they are doing something about it to live a better life. I hope that in the next few years President Lincoln can change the direction that our country is going and turn us into the great country that we can be. Bibl iography:

Monday, December 2, 2019

The separation of powers and checks and balances free essay sample

Analyze how the US Constitution implements separation of powers and checks and balances. Briefly explain why the constitutional framers based the new government on these ideas. Evaluate how separation of powers and checks and balances are working out in practice today. The United States government’s Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances system is organized so that no one group or individual has enough power to dominate the country. Separation of Powers describes 3 branches of government, Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. Respectively, they make the laws, enforce the laws, and determine what laws entail and how they should be applied. The authors of the Constitution implemented this system because they had seen tyranny in previous governments throughout history. James Madison pointed out in the Federalist Papers, â€Å"ambition must be made to counter ambition† (166). One of the ideologies they were rejecting was the idea that, â€Å"political authority was based on the divine right of kings,† which meant that kings were authorized by God to rule . We will write a custom essay sample on The separation of powers and checks and balances or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Instead, the founding fathers believed in John Locke’s theory of popular sovereignty, in which the people had the right to dictate that which the government would protect and enforce. The problem with this philosophy is that it is impossible to get even a small group of people, such as the Senate, to agree on the right law or even the right interpretation of the law. This is compounded by the fact that those in power, by human nature, wish to have control. One current example of this provided in the text is that of the recent healthcare reform law. The proposed bill is still hotly debated with liberals considering the bill a basic right ensured by the constitution and the conservatives claiming â€Å"the law is unconstitutional because it effectively requires individuals to purchase something in the private marketplace† . Each side chooses to interpret the constitutionality of the law based on their own ideologies. Liberals believe the government has a responsibility to the citizens who cannot afford healthcare while conservatives believe they should protect the free market system. The problem is that the free market system not only has flaws, but it should not be the determining factor in a basic human right such as healthcare. It is easy for the branches of government to get entangled within their own system and start confusing the issues. The desire for control, power, and money has begun to overreach any real desire to even the playing field in the United States. What has become par for the course over the last 12 years is that Congress is incapable of adopting adequate legislation without gutting any proposed bill into complete ineffectiveness. But as McLennan points out, the excuse of political gridlock is an exaggeration, although it is an effective means for not really accomplishing anything of value in a nation with a dwindling middle class and a rising poverty level (163). The system was designed to counter ambition, but has instead become a means of furthering it. While the system of Checks and Balances and the Separation of Power are necessary to avoid tyranny, they are currently used in this country to widen the gap between socioeconomic classes.