Research Prospectus and Bibliography

How much do you know about the rainforest? There are numerous undiscovered secrets hidden in the quickly disappearing forests around the world. Many of the pharmaceuticals we use everyday originate from deep in the green forests. The rainforests we know today are being destroyed at a devastating rate due to many different causes. These causes are well known, and have been studied deeply. There are many organizations out there trying to slow down or even prevent the destruction, but it is very hard to do considering all the controversy over land, money, and power. The underlying issue today is that there are very valuable resources in the rainforest that are being destroyed. If we can somehow stop or at least halt the destruction we may be able to find more plant species that can help cure many diseases that are devastating people worldwide. The other side of the issue is trying to help the poverty stricken countries that house most of our rainforests. To help these countries we are developing areas for tourism, and for job development, but to do this we must first destroy vast areas of the rainforest.
The development is currently causing more problems than it is solving. These countries allow richer countries to come in and develop so that their debt will be relinquished, however developing some of these areas may displace many families. Many of these people become shifted cultivators. These are peasants that move into the rainforest and establish small-scale farms. There is also displacement of the indigenous tribes that have lived off the land for hundreds of years. If we continue to hurt the people that know the forest, and know some of its well kept secrets, we will forever lose knowledge that could be useful on a global scale. The developers are trying to help bring poverty stricken nations jobs and recognition, but the money that is brought in often times does not make it to the people whom need it the most. The debt burden is one of the biggest reasons for development of these areas. The debt burden refers to the financially poorer countries that must make money by allowing the larger, more powerful countries to come in and exploit the natural resources of the land (Rainforest).
There are many statistics that show how little we know about the rainforest, but also how much it has given us. 25% of western pharmaceuticals are derived from rainforest ingredients. This 25% comes from less than 1% of the tropical trees and plants that have been tested in the rainforest. This statistic shows that the plant species that live in the rainforest are crucial to human lifestyle and survival. As we cut short the lifetime for the rainforest, we may just be cutting our time short also (Taylor).

Bibliography

Newman, Eric B. "Earth's Vanishing Medicine Cabinet." American Journal of Law & Medicine 20.4 (1994): 479-502. Web. 31 Jan 2010. .

"Rainforest Destruction." Save the Rainforest. 2005. savetherainforest.org, Web. 31 Jan 2010. http://www.savetherainforest.org/savetherainforest_015.htm

Taylor, Leslie. "The Disappearing Rainforest." Rainforest Facts. 31 Jan 2010. Raintree Nutrition, Inc., Web. 31 Jan 2010. .

"Saving Rainforests from Planters." Journal of Tropical Medicinial Plants 9.2 (2009): 418. Web. 31 Jan 2010. .

a forest returns

I thought the movie was very interesting. I did not know very much about the history of the Wayne National Forest. I found it refreshing because it was a success story instead of a devastating story. It was nice to see something re-grow and bring jobs and happiness to the area. It was also nice to see something the government did help people rather than hurt people. After reading Lost Mountain, I find myself thinking about our corrupt government a lot, but this movie was nice because it reassured me that not everything the government does is bad.

I also enjoyed the movie because it was about the area I live in. It was nice to learn about the history of where I live. I liked learning about the iron furnaces because I have seen a few of them, and heard about them, but the movie put all the information I previously had together. The history of the area makes more sense to me now than it did before.

Maywhoor and more rainforest research

David Maywhoor’s presentation really opened my eyes to the way so many things are related to the forests. I thought it was very interesting when he told us about how most of our projects related to the forest in one way or another. Some things, such as nuclear power, I didn’t see the relation to the forest until he brought it up. During his presentation, I found myself thinking about the way I was raised. My father owns a lumber yard, and we use a wood burning stove to heat our house. I never thought of the environmental impact my family has on the forests. We cut down trees from our own small “forest” we have behind our house and use that wood, but we also plant trees all the time around our property line and in the woods. I didn’t really think about what we can do to help our small woods stay safe for the animals that live in it. David reassured me that my family can help out even if it is just in our backyard, we can do our part to help even when we are using the trees as the main way we heat the house.

While continuing my research about the rainforest, I came across some disturbing facts. One of those is that the rainforest used to cover 14% of the earth’s surface, but now only covers 6%. Research shows that at the rate we consume the rainforest it could be completing gone within the next forty years. This rate is 1.5 acres per second. Another fact I found was that in the next 25 years, nearly half of our plant and animal species will be extinct or in severe danger of becoming extinct. These figures really struck me because in my lifetime I could see the rainforest become a part of the past. I never thought it would happen so quickly.

Something else that really caught my eye was this: 25% of western pharmaceuticals are derived from rainforest ingredients. This 25% comes from less than 1% of the tropical trees and plants that have been tested in the rainforest. This is alarming. It really makes me think about all the other cures that could be hidden in the rainforest that we are destroying so very quickly.

starting research into rainforest destruction

To start of my search I googled environmental issues. As I read through some sites the issue I kept seeing was that of rainforest destruction. As I started looking into this I came across the top five causes of destruction. These are development and overconsumption, colonialism, exploitation by industrialized countries, the debt burden of the poorer countries that the rainforest are often in, and the role of poverty and overpopulation. I am getting this information off of a website made by an organization that is out to save the rainforests. This website holds the rich industrialized countries responsible because of their “unrestrained development and the excessive consumption habits.” (http://www.savetherainforest.org/savetherainforest_015.htm)
This website explains what all of these causes are. The push for development in these third world countries as caused shifted cultivators. These are peasants that move into the rainforest and establish small-scale farms. Most of these people have been displaced by government coming in and developing their land. Some of the development is focused on tourism, which means developing large areas for hotels and airports. Colonialism refers to the rich countries taking over the poorer countries and taking advantage of their natural resources and interrupting the way the land has been taken care of for thousands of years before. This is really a main cause for displacing the many indigenous tribes that have lived on the land. This exploitation can be blamed on “corruption in government” according to this site. The debt burden refers to the financially poorer countries that must make money by allowing the larger, more powerful countries to come in and exploit the natural resources of the land. Many countries allow this because they have to repay huge debts to the richer countries. Poverty plays a huge rule because the richer countries that come in to help with develop the land, but this doesn’t end up helping the people that need it the most. If often times forces them into more debt.
As I continue researching these problems, I’m finding it hard to pinpoint a specific government organization responsible. I would like to use this problem for my paper, but I’m not sure how to find more information about the exact people responsible. There are many sites telling me the cause of the problem, but no sites that really tell me the sources of the causes. I’m not sure where else to look. Any ideas are welcomed!

LM part 3

According to Wendell Berry, the rational mind is focused mainly on survival by any means possible. It is very straightforward and focuses on making money in this case. It solves problems in an analytical manner, using only the facts. The sympathetic mind thinks about all sides. It thinks about how its decisions will affect the people involved. It comes to conclusions after finding the most honest and well supported claims. Reece uses his sympathetic mind all throughout the book. In the chapter “September 2004”, he uses his sympathetic mind when imaging the mountain side before and after the mining. He looks over the mountain and all he sees is grey fields and wastelands. The rational mind would have just seen it for what it is, a wasteland, but Reece thinks about how it was before and is able to look beyond the obvious and think about how it will grow back eventually as a grassy area that will be pretty again. He understands that the coal needed to come out, and he looks pass the money made from the coal to think about how to make the land beautiful again. He also uses his sympathetic mind when talking about creation and evolution. He talks about each topic while giving his opinion. He allows himself to come to his own conclusion and allows the reader to make his or her own conclusion based on information from both arguments. He doesn’t just suggest one side to be true without explaining why the other side could also be true.

Reece says, “It has been well documented, most recently by psychiatrist Peter C. Whybrow, that while Americans are four times more affluent than during the 60’s, we have shown no measurable gains in happiness. In fact the opposite is true: We are more depressed, more medicated, more frazzled than at any other time in our short history.(pg 241)” I think Reece includes this to show us that we may have more material things, and we may be more advanced but we are not making our lives any better in terms of making ourselves happier. I think he would say that we need to be more in touch with nature and the free things in life. This would make for a happier life. We wouldn’t worry so much about what is on TV, or what new thing we need, we would just be able to relax and reconnect with ourselves. I think it is important for people to take time away from our busy lives to just take a walk, relax, and enjoy nature because it is a very soothing thing that people take for granted, and I think Reece would agree with me.

Flow

Flow was a very interesting film about places all over the world that are in need of clean drinking water. It shares information about how large companies such as Pepsi, Coca-cola, and Nestle open plants in areas that have clean water such as rivers, streams, and lakes and take that water to bottle and sell. I did not realize how much these plants hurt the environment they are in. They take the water from the people in the towns and bottle it. Then they turn around and sell the bottled water to the people. This water does not initially belong to them, and that is where the controversy lies. They take the water that isn’t just theirs and ruin the streams and rivers in those areas leaving the citizens with unsanitary drinking water. Another interesting fact I learned in the movie was that people that live in poverty that get their water out of taps set miles from their homes actually pay more for their water than we (that can afford it) pay in the US. These places didn’t always have to pay for their water, and it was clean then. Now that the water has been “claimed” was large companies they can no longer afford to buy the clean water from the taps and they must go straight to the rivers and get their water. These rivers are very polluted and in some areas children will die before the age of 5 because the drinking water is so polluted.

I found the film very interesting and very motivating. Many of these towns have taken the bottling companies to court and have won their trials. Not all of them win, but some do. These people that fight the courts are just regular people of the towns that ban together to fight what it wrongfully being taken from their towns. It just goes to show that small groups of people can make a difference.

Lost Mountain Part 2

As I continue reading, I find myself starting to get more angry about this problem of mountain top removal. Reece does a great job throughout the book appealing to the readers emotions, but I feel like it is getting harder and harder for me to look at both sides of the arguement. I never completely agreed with the way they are mining, but I did still understand that we need coal and we will continue to use coal so it has to be mined. Now I'm just angry with the coal companies. The stories Reece tells in the second part of the book are really moving to me. The way these people are willing to fight for their rights are humans is very empowering. Sure it has its discouraging factors because they aren't winning battles, but it makes me wonder what we could do to help. Before I wasn't sure that they would care what I thought about this issue, but now I wish that I could go there and help them.

While reading Jack Spadaro's story, I was reminded of how hard it really is to fight these issues. The government basically runs these companies, so who are you supposed to get help from when you can't get help from the law. It was really an eye opener to read his story about losing his job, and the vicious circle of people who would do anything to protect the coal companies and make some extra money(as if they need it). It really brings into perspective how hard it has been and will continue to be for the Kentuckians to fight for better water and better living conditions because the government is so corrupt. These people are going to continue to be ignored and mistreated until enough people get involved in public offices to fight it from the inside.