Presentation

New and old Concepts

This article talks about economy and the affects that it can have. It talks about the battle between agrarianism and industrialism. While some support for the continuation of industrialization other want to keep to the roots of agrarianism. In history Enlightened thinkers such as Montesquieu and Harrington believed that agrarianism was the better choice where as James Madison and Alexander Hamilton sided with Locke in that people had the right to thrive and succeed in life and economically by industrial means if it was what they so desired. Apart from economy the environment would also be affected by the industrial or agrarian choice of people. The author of the article felt that the best way for the environment to not be negatively affected or harmed was for the mass to educated about the effects. By allowing them to understand the consequences decisions could be made to prevent destruction of environment and boost economy.  

Indigenous resistance

The article talked about how the aboriginal people were treated unfairly and forced to change their way of life. They were pushed off of their land by the whites and forced to live in certain areas as so that the whites would concentrate them in small areas using the rest of the land for themselves. The natives were also put into schools in order to "civilize" them and make them more alike to the whites. The schools were to draw the natives from their native tongue and way of life. This was slowly making the original way of life for the natives a thing of the past that would forgotten and no longer used. 

meatrixs

The meatrix is a cartoon video that portrays to the audience the ways of mass farming and the things that are not seen in the public's eyes.  It talks about the mistreatment of animals and the inhumane practices that are taken to increase profit regardless of various downsides including danger to humans including spread of e.coli. My hometown is mostly farmland for tobacco and beans but if chicken or livestock farms make their way there it ruin the area. It could contaminate water and create a stench that could overtake the entire town. 

biotechnology

Advancement and changes in the development of food has created debates over what is now healthy and ethical and what is not.  Now that genetically modified foods are allowing for larger amounts of food to be grown more easily. Even though genetically modified foods allow for crops or livestock to be larger than normal or more fruitful there are some downsides with which people strongly disagree with. some see it has unhealthy due to the amounts of hormones put into foods or inhumane in the way it is gone about. Either way arguments have come from both sides. Arguments have to be clear and use ideas and facts that will appeal to all of their readers avoiding the possibility of alienating anyone group. Their facts need to come from sources that the audience will understand. In general not alienate anyone and have everyone to be able to at least somewhat understand your point in order for your argument to be effective.      

Fracking

            The Process of fracking or hydro-fracturing to retrieve oil and natural gas is a process that is popping up all over the United States that proves to be a successful alternative to normal drilling.  Even being so successful in retrieving the oil and natural gas it does come with complications that may be enough to get the fairly new process banned within the United States Borders.  If studies continue to prove the relationship between fracking and water contamination more and more states may ban the process.  

            Studies done by the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, have been able to link the process of fracking to water contamination in wells and underground aquifers. “In a first, federal environment officials today scientifically linked underground water pollution with hydraulic fracturing, concluding that contaminants found in central Wyoming were likely caused by the gas drilling process” (Lustgarten and Kusnetz).   In Wyoming ground water contamination near fracking site was concluded to be due to the fracking. Several of the compounds found in the contaminated water were proved to be used in drilling process.  The debate is that the contamination is not from the drilling with their argument being that the fluids are forced down below water sources with precautions set up to keep them from rising back up.

            If hydraulic fracturing is proved across the board to be the reasoning for water contamination then it will be a known threat and will be likely banned all together. The research continues to try and prove whether or not the fracking process is an actual threat to our water resources or not.   With some information being inconclusive as to where the point of contamination actually is hydro fracturing continues to be practiced in some states and will continue until more conclusive research actually emerges.    

artifact

                      The Picture is of NCSU campus in 1968. Visible in the picture is the various changes in and around campus. The addition of buildings and changing of others also affects and alters the landscape that it is on as well as the land around it. The expansion of campus and Raleigh itself  has taken over the majority of the land changing the environment to the extent that it is almost unrecognizable. This change has made this picture and Environmental History artifact, by looking at this picture we can look back and see the environmental change in our area.