Argust, M. A. (2020, November 10). Service Members Extol Value of Public Lands and Rivers. The Pew Charitable Trusts. https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2020/11/10/service-members-extol-value-of-public-lands-and-rivers

This article couldn’t have been written at a better time. As veteran day approaches, in a time like right now, nature’s public reserved spaces are crucial to our veterans and their families to heal and reflect. A big thank you to our country service members, legislators can honor their services by designating wilderness in Colorado, California, Oregon, and Washington and rivers in New Mexico as wild and scenic. Listening to the veteran’s stories, wild lands and rivers are the medicine to help them heal and return to their normal lives. Not only is it important to preserve these lands for natural resources, but it’s important to preserve these lands for its beauty and peacefulness.

This article talks about how the grassland and rivers in California could be in danger due to human resources. It starts by showing how grassland, forests, and rivers support wildlife and the $92 billion recreation economy. It can all change due to the threats of resource extraction and road development. This is important not only because it means that we will be wasting tons of money but also it will lead to a decrease in biodiversity since the animals would have to find a new habitat. The article brings up how we need headwaters of rivers and aquifers that will provide the water for humans and wildlife.

This article is related to environmental science because it shows the importance of public land use. It shows how humans destroy habitats for wildlife to help their needs. It is valuable to see the importance of public land use because if it’s not talked about as much as it should be, we could put these species in danger. Not only that but also we will lead the state to just waste money. The cities around us need to know why building roads and houses will not always be the best idea. California should see how we could help public land use and not destroy wildlife.

This article talks about how there was a bill brought to California, Colorado, and Washington. It was said that  “the legislation would add 1.3 million acres of wilderness across the West”.This would be lenient for Trump because he works on developing public land and oil as well. Public land use is currently talked about because of Trump’s new plan to open more land to have more areas for other specific things. This implies that there would be more challenges for the community to help out the environment as a whole.

This is an important article because it talks about how more land does not mean it is always a good idea. It constructs the source of environmental science and how we need to help our air quality and living conditions as a whole. The land is managed for recreation, wildlife, and soil and water quality, but closed to mining and development. The work being done on land causes damages in California and making more acres would ruin what we have now. I agree that the bill did harm, as well as helped out people with their daily needs.

This article talks about how the BLM plan will bring more problems to California. Trump is ready to have more sections of land to get more oil. He is disregarding the fact that oil and gas spills can create huge problems. Trump and his administration need to see how more oil will contaminate the air and horrible for not only humans but also wildlife. Instead of opening acres of land, they need to realize we need to let the land be.

The community is trying to bring a message out for public land use but it’s kind of hard when Trump is ignorant when it comes to climate and wildlife. The BLM plan is producing more oil and gas leaks which overall impact more problems to California. I think with enough representatives in the community who care about environmental justice can help the climate from having drastic changes. 

Akwiri, Joseph. “Kenya’s First Crude Oil Export Sparks Demands over Revenue Sharing.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 26 September 2020 www.reuters.com/article/us-kenya-oil/kenyas-first-crude-oil-export-sparks-demands-over-revenue-sharing-idUSKCN1VG1FQ

Kenya began exporting crude oil after the discovery of oil deposits in the impoverished region of Turkana. Although it will be some time before large scale commercial production happens, the export marks the start of a new era for the residents of Turkana, and to some degree, the whole of Kenya. The President signed a law to regulate oil production and provide a framework for how the revenue will be split between the local communities, the Kenyan federal government, and the companies drilling this oil. International corporations that are based in other countries are the ones producing this oil, but say that this will create many jobs across Kenya going forward. The region is incredibly poor, and local leaders made powerful speeches to ask the government to follow its promises about payment.  

This story is one that is being told across the developing world. Many pre-industrialized countries are sitting on large amounts of natural resources that are incredibly economically profitable. Africa, for example, is incredibly rich in minerals. But with billions of dollars worth of resources in developing countries, it remains to be seen how much of this profit will go to the local communities. It’s important that these gains are shared in ways that can help the people whose lands these resources are found on. It shows how the use of the environment can be a catalyst for economic growth, which is especially beneficial for impoverished regions. But it also raises the question: how do we weigh environmental protection with developing countries’ ability to grow their economy? Would it be right for the international community to place a moratorium on fossil fuel extraction at the expense of developing nation’s economies? Rising emissions are inherent in the “T-shirt phase” of economic development, which is key for these countries to become industrialized and reap the associated benefits. While I think the demonization of fossil fuels is largely justified given the trends we’ve seen with climate change, it’s important to see the nuance. These resources can really grow the economy, which for citizens of developing countries means much more than the abstract yearly figure I associate with economic performance. I think that protecting the environment is really important, but so is ameliorating the extreme poverty that 36% of the world lives in. Luckily, it’s not an either-or choice. It’s just about finding the right policy balance.

Canada, Parks. “Parks Canada to Create Expert Panel to Advise on a Long-Term Framework for How Visitors Will Get around the Bow Valley and Experience Banff National Park.” Canada.ca, Government of Canada, 3 November 2020, www.canada.ca/en/parks-canada/news/2020/11/parks-canada-to-create-expert-panel-to-advise-on-a-long-term-framework-for-how-visitors-will-get-around-the-bow-valley-and-experience-banff-nationa.html. 

The Canadian agency responsible for national parks, “Parks Canada,” has announced the creation of a new board of experts to develop a sustainable future for Banff. The agency announced on its website that the move was to promote ecological integrity and continue Banff’s tradition of environmental stewardship. The panel’s main focus will be on developing infrastructure to maximize ease of movement around the park with minimal disruption for the ecosystem. It says this will greatly increase the quality of the visitor experience, and a “long term framework” will provide Canadians with opportunities to access the valley. They will work with indigenous peoples and the public to guide their deliberations. 

The article is an example of how government agencies can work towards environmental goals in a way that is sustainable for both the environment and visitors. The value in such an approach is obvious. The more interesting take away from the article is the employment of some misdirectional language. The article was posted by Parks Canada on their website, and they make it seem like the board is being assembled to further ecological integrity. But when you look past the language, it’s clear that the board is being assembled to increase the amount of visitors to the park. The panel is supposed to develop new technologies and transportation modes that give people multiple easy ways to move around the park, hence increasing the capacity of the park and improving the visiting experience. Now, this isn’t inherently a bad thing, but it’s certainly not a move to further preservation efforts. It makes me nervous to think that policies that could hurt the environment could be disguised in some linguistic Trojan Horse. Especially with environmental matters, we need to be critical.

“Contrary to Greek Commitment, Turkey Restarts Offshore Oil Exploration.” World Oil – Upstream News, www.worldoil.com/news/2020/8/7/contrary-to-greek-commitment-turkey-restarts-offshore-oil-exploration. 

Turkey has recently sent drilling rigs to explore oil reserves in Mediterranean waters right off the coast of the smaller Greek island of Kastellorizo, fueling tensions between the two NATO members. The Turkish government has thrown away Greece’s claim to the waters, which is backed by the United Nations Law of the Sea. Turkey declared that its exclusive economic zone will not be limited to only a couple of miles off the coast. They followed the statement by claiming these waters fall under their “rightful” jurisdiction, and said they will begin surveying the seabed for energy reserves. Greece responded to Ankara’s rhetoric by threatening war, a worrying development for the future of the region. Although German Chancellor Angela Merkel attempted to mediate, Turkey has resumed its surveying activities. 

Yet another example of how the environment can alter international relations, the conflict between Turkey and Greece is a worrying development for the future of Eurasia. And as resources continue to decline, the races to utilize them will only grow in intensity. Wealth is alluring to national leaders, and can that lead to serious international conflict. Jurisdictional problems complicate matters, and with limited enforcement power and clear guidelines from the UN, it can turn ugly. The ease with which Turkey has declared the United Nations Law of the Seas null is a scary prospect for the future resource conflicts that are inevitable. It turns the situation into one that is either determined by cooperation or power and force. For example, the control of a water supply essential to the food of a billion people as water declines between India and Pakistan is shaping a growing conflict in Jammu and Kashmir. As resources continue to decline and countries become more desperate to hold them, it’s more important than ever to develop clear guidelines that would resolve such issues. The way countries across the globe choose to utilize these resources will ultimately affect the environment. Drilling in the Mediteranean could cause oil spills, and will further the supply of oil, contribute to cheap prices, distract from investment in green technology, and lead to more CO2 in the atmosphere.

Turrentine, Jeff. “Jair Bolsonaro to a Horrified World Community: ‘The Amazon Is Brazil’s, Not Yours.’” NRDC, 2 Oct. 2020, www.nrdc.org/onearth/jair-bolsonaro-horrified-world-community-amazon-brazils-not-yours 

Brazilian President Jair Boslnaro’s pro-deforestation position has contributed to the proliferation of fires in the Amazon. One of his platforms in his campaign for the presidency was to continue to increase the deforestation of the Amazon for economic growth. The policy position has defined his response to the burning of the world’s largest rainforest. He refused to take G7 money offered to fight the fires and largely ignored them as hundreds of thousands of acres burned. The large fires that sparked an international outcry in 2019, and still continue to ravage parts of the rainforest, were sparked by cattle ranchers who deliberately set smaller fires to expand the grazing area for their cattle. It is suspected that these ranchers felt emboldened by the rhetoric of their president, and his continued inaction.  

This is yet another example of the power a politician can have in shaping environmental policy, no matter how unqualified that politician is or nonsensical that view may be. The Amazon is incredibly important not only for its biodiversity, or the indigenous tribes that inhabit it, but the global ecosystem. It raises the question: what commitment does a sovereign country have to the global environment? One would certainly argue that a moral commitment to reasonably protect the environment exists, but the question remains about what legal framework can enforce such a commitment. Going forward, we are sure to see the exploitation of resources and the natural world for economic gain in public land use and general policy. It’s important to be thinking about potential solutions to avoid environmental damage such as this. Possible solutions could include developing more robust UN law regarding environmental stewardship, more intergovernmental agreements such as the Paris Climate Accords, or establishing a separate IGO for the environment. 

Horton, Chris. “Beijing Zeroes In on Energy Potential of South China Sea.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 28 September 2020 www.nytimes.com/2014/10/29/business/energy-environment/beijing-zeroes-in-on-energy-potential-of-south-china-sea.html. 

China’s expansionist policy into the South China Sea has not only been driven by strategic purposes, but the energy potential of the area. Researchers revealed that the South China Sea has tons of oil and natural gas under its waters, and recent moves by Beijing reveal China is interested in utilizing them. A drilling rig was sent into Vietnamese waters to explore and possibly drill for these gas reserves, which sparked condemnation from those who claim the resources fall under Vietnamese jurisdiction. Given the high rates of air pollution, China wants to increase its percentage of gas usage — gas that the South China Sea could supply. Investment in new technology to dig and drill in deep waters has also been increasing, which has accelerated the Chinese government’s path to exploiting these resources on a large scale across the sea.  

The article serves as a reminder of the resource wars that will surely be exacerbated in the remainder of the century. As resources become more scarce, competition for natural materials, whether that’s oil or water, will surely increase. For the remainder of the century, geopolitics will influence the environment, and the environment will influence geopolitics. For example, China expanding into the South China Sea for strategic military purposes (geopolitics) will allow them to drill this oil and construct artificial islands, both of which will alter the environment. The inverse relationship holds true too. The discovery of new resources can lead to competition between sovereign states competing to take advantage of those shared resources. And many other environmental matters will affect geopolitics. Aridification will make more and more areas unfarmable, which for developing countries will mean uninhabitable, causing mass migration. Climate change won’t destroy everything in some fiery ball, but it will be one of the (if not the) greatest geopolitical crises of this century.

Associated Press. “California Governor Calls for Protecting 30% of State Land.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2020, www.latimes.com/environment/story/2020-10-07/california-governor-calls-for-protecting-30-of-state-land.

This article by the Los Angeles Times summarizes the governor of California’s response to the wildfires scorching the state. Governor Newsom has taken action by signing an executive order that works to preserve 30% of California’s land. On this land he has stated that preservation practices will take place such as the restoration of wetlands, new and innovative farming practices, and better forest management among many others. Newsom believes that it is California’s job to take this step and lead other states and countries to join the motive for a cleaner and safer environment. Therefore, to the happiness of most environmental groups as well as the criticism of other officials including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief, he has showcased supreme environmental leadership.

This article illustrates environmental science because it clearly is taking into consideration beliefs that were originated from environmental scientists such as  John Muir, the father of preservation. Personally, this article makes me really proud to be from California because this is the kind of mindset and progressiveness that our whole world needs to take on. Furthermore, I am fascinated by the fact that our current leadership and the policies California is enforcing have come full circle to complete the hopes that John Muir had for our world, with some obvious alterations. The idea that we have returned to the founders of preservation is promising to me because if we can start over with these values that John Muir presented, then there could be some hope for the health of our future environment.