Post Katrina - Video Documentary and the End.

During our last class we got a sneak peak of the upcoming video documentary on the rebuilding efforts in New Orleans. I thought that the parts of the video that were shown were very interesting. I wish we had more time to watch the video in its entirety.

One part that i found disturbing was the amount of tour buses that passed through the areas that were hardest hit where individuals were attempting to rebuild. First of all, if you are going to tour this area i don't understand how people can sit on a bus and just watch as these people stare back with almost nothing (no home, no possessions) and then go home to the safety of their hotel and sleep. What kind of moral responsibility do these tourists have. I personally have not done anything to help with the rebuilding efforts so perhaps I'm in no position to speak but i just think its wrong that this is allowed to go on. The second question I had is who is profiting from this. Do these tour companies make a significant amount of money, and does a portion of that get recycled in to the rebuilding efforts? Something tells me it doesn't.

Another interesting part was during a town council meeting. It seemed like certain prominent members were trying to feed the local residents a pile of crap. Hopefully they have a better place to turn for advice of how to rebuild and establish a thriving community. During another section we saw how a women was interesting in building a (i believe some sort of coffee pub/restaurant?) and wanted to have all the produce grown locally, turning a significant portion of land into a farming area. I wasn't sure what her motivations were but clearly they were not in harmony with the local residents. During another seen one person was asked what this part of the city needed to complete the rebuilding stage and to develop. The answer was to build a quilty school. I think that local governments need to be involved with this process to ensure that these schools are built

Finally i found it interesting that after hurricane Besty the city prepared the levies to withstand significant amounts of strom surge and damage. Now after hurricane Katrina these same efforts are being taken and engineers are claiming that these levies will survive future storms when completed in the future. I think these claims are misleading, something that brought over confidence to citizens during Katrina.

Over all i thought the video offered a good look into the post Katrina years and way of life in New Orleans.

This is the last post for this blog. It's been a great seminar: Thanks to Prof Svenson for all of his contributions and efforts that went into building the course and thanks to everyone for a great class.

Grassy Narrows

I thought our presenters and the guest lecturer really provided an interesting seminar. I found it very interesting to listen to Alex speak and to hear of his time spent at Grassy Narrows. Some of the people who live there had spent the majority of their lives speaking out against the logging industry that was destroying their land. Even when the road blockade began the logging companies just found a new path to exploit their land.

Another interesting point that was raised was the relationship that those people at Grassy had with the land itself. Nature and the forest was the mother, they viewed the land much differently that a person living in a city or of a different culture might. This relationship is unique and somthing that i think everyone could learn from. One of the main principles was to maintain the land for 7 generations in the future. The reasoning behind this that nobody will be alive to know anyone 7 generations in the future, basically saying that we need to build for future generations that we will never get to meet.

One of the children that Alex met was not exposed to television, and preferred to spend time playing in the woods, and with nature. I think all children enjoy spending time outside, but its a matter that is based upon their parents activity. Parents now plop their children in front of television sets to act as a supervising power. Others are afraid to let their children go play outside in the woods and restrict their access to whenever it is convient for them. I think this was even apparent in Grassy when new generations of children had lost interest in playing outdoors in the forest.

Overall i think we have a lot to learn from these different cultures and if we adopt some of the principles that they preach we could create positive change in our own backyards.

Is there enough water for everyone?

I found this weeks presentation to be extremely interesting. The control for water will soon become the most one of the most pressing needs for states to control. The privatization of water directly leads to inequality as those who can not afford to pay for it will no longer have access to clean water. In third world countries where government supervision is minimal the quality of water will not be regulated leading to further disease. I really enjoyed this weeks documentary film which outlined future of water reserves, and the quality of water that is being provided in the global south.

I also enjoyed the interviews conducted with Maude Barlow who wrote Blue Gold, and other books about the status of water in the world. She argues that transnational corporations are plotting to control the world's dwindling water supply, and that when privatized water rates will soar making it unaffordable to the vast majority of people. (Exactly what we saw in the video documentary)

Even if water is not completely privatized, semi-privatization -- or the creation of public private partnerships (P3's) -- can lead to disaster. This removes direct government oversight, and offshoots responsibility onto the private sector meaning that there is less direct accountability for the public. When left to the private company to manage water facilities there is a tendency for cutting costs, downsizing etc.. in order to save money. This can result in disaster. (See Walkerton Water Crisis)

I think that we need to be careful when attempting to privatize the distribution of water. It seems like an essential need that everyone should have access too. I liked how there is currently movement to include in the UNDHR a clause stating that water is an essential necessity for everyone. (Food is currently included) I highly doubt that this will happen, mainly because of global corporate capitalism and the domination of neoliberalism in international poltics.

Climate Change

This weeks seminar, and presentation were very interesting for me. I enjoy many outdoor activities, all of which are impacted by climate change. I thought the presentation was very informative, and the choice of video was excellent. Its obvious that climate change in occurring. I always wonder how some people choose to argue against it. Almost every chart/graph i have seen indicates that change is happening whether we are getting warmer or colder. I thought the video documentary an Inconvenient Truth really summed up how increased temperature are a result of humans.

One startling fact that i took away from the video was after the glaciers melted in North America to form one giant lake (now the great lakes region) and the impact that had on the ocean currents after the St. Lawrence Burst, ultimately causing an ice age in Europe. It makes me wonder what happens when the ice on Greenland or the Arctic melts, and how this will effect the ocean currents, and climate. Will there be another ice age? Another thing i took away from this is the spread of new insects and pests that have serious effects on the environment. I know there are new insects that feast on trees, and now mosquitoes can climb to new heights because of increased temperature.

The inequality of climate change is something that i never really thought of. People who live in Asia, Africa, and Latin America face more serious and frequent effects of global climate change. Floods, droughts, and new diseases disproportionately affect those who are poor, and live in the global south. It seems that no change will come about until every nation recognizes the need to change for the better. We have the resources to make this change, we just need the collective will to do so. Until there is that urgency to reverse climate change i doubt anything will really happen.

Diaster Vulnerbiity

This weeks presentation was great. Seeing what happened in New Orleans from people who have actually visited made the presentation that much more enjoyable. I thought the video was great, it really showed the whole time line and powerfulness of the storm. I did not realize that there was still so much work to be done in New Orleans. This reinforces the inequality that exists in that region. It makes you wonder if the Hurricane had hit a rich neighborhood if the cleanup would take so long.

Another question i had is why the levies were not built stronger to begin with. It seems as if everyone knew the flood could happen if a powerful storm came by. It makes me wonder why they didn't build up the levies earlier in order to prevent certain disaster. This probably has to do with the people living in the disaster area. Again race, ethnicity and socio-economic status may be the reason nothing was done.

I found the article to be very interesting this week. The Social Vulnerability Index seems like a very useful tool for understanding where disaster vulnerability is likely. Areas with lower vulnerability scores tend to be occupied by wealthy, highly educated white people. Areas of high vulnerability tend to be occupied by lower social classes. Another fact i did not know was that some of the most vulnerable areas in New Orleans were build on flood plains. It seems as these people had nowhere else to settle and got one of the worse spots. I don't understand how the government can sit back and just watch as these individuals suffer. More definitely needs to be done to rebuild New Orleans, and to make sure that this type of disaster wont happen again.

Factory Farming

This week presentation was great. I knew of the harmful effects of factory farming but not to the extent that takes place in the United States. Hog farming produced so much waste that it could be smelt from 3000 feet above in an airplane. Seeing the video where farmers use an irrigation system to spread the liquid waste was disgusting. Because of the risk of hurricanes and heavy rainfall the waste could spill over into nearby watersheds destroying it. Animals, fish and humans developed a disease that was a result of the waste.

What can be done? I liked how the presentation offered some suggestions. The complicity of this problem offers little hope. Millions of people rely on factory farming for beef, pork and eggs, because of this it seems doubtful that anything will be done. I feel like even regulations or moving the industry would do nothing except move the problem to a new area. Individuals basically need to demand on an aggregate level for change in the industry.

The Meatrix was a funny little film that really portrayed the problems associated with factory farming. I thought it was a great selection for the presentation. I live on a farm in an area where there are lots of cattle but i don't notice the factory aspect of it. The farmers in my area let their cows roam free (at least on their property), and I’ve defentailly had a few chickens range into my yard over the years. We buy beef from friends, usually a quarter or half cow. I think this example offers some hope as not all farmers are bad, just ones who operate large scale operations and treat their animals poorly, as well as disrespect the environment. Hopefully we can find a solution to this problem.

Environmental Health

I found Susan's story to be inspiring. Her dedication and will was impressive during her quest to show the use of pesticides and other dangerous chemicals banned in Canada. I think we need more activists to speak out like her to bring about positive change in Canada. I have always heard of the dangers of using and being exposed to pesticides but until Susan's presentation i was unaware just how dangerous these chemicals are.

After the video we watched i wondered why more studies have not been done to see the effects of pesticides used on large plantations and the relationship to the health of the villagers. Even in the study done in the documentary the researcher funded her own work and was told to use a specific title of 'environmental research' so that the local people did not get frightened. Her results were alarming, and showed that the effects of pesticide use on children living nearby. Their development skills were seriously effected, i found this distributing. I hope that more studies are able to prove the effects and see that pesticides are banned completely.

Lack of scientific and medical certainty is one of the main reasons pesticides are still used. Studies like in the video we watched are taken less serious because they are not accepted as scientific. More research must be done in this area. Everyday hygienic products like deodorant, makeup, lotions and shampoos have been linked to cancer, but do not get studied. This relates back to corporate power. Companies do not wish to fund these studies, and show serious resistance to any new studies as they profit immensely from both the products themselves and cancer treatments.