Exercise #3: Connecting Past and Present
Instructions
For Exercise #3, you will make connections between what you have learned in the course about the past and what is happening today through contemporary media.
- Find two recent media items thematically connected in some way to two of the three topics covered in Unit 3: conservation, parks, and urbanization. For each of these, post a paragraph of three to five sentences, connecting the media story to what you learned, or were challenged to consider, from the resources in Unit 3. Provide the web link to the article in each post.
- These postings may be informal but should be grammatically correct. You should be respectful of other students’ opinions, but that does not mean you must agree with their ideas.
- Post your response by clicking ‘Add Submission’ below.
- Then post two separate comments responding to any other student’s posts.
- Please note, you should write and edit your submission in a separate file then copy and paste it into the submission box. Once submitted to the HIST 3991 trubox site, you will not be able to edit your post.
Are you a student of HIST 3991? Click here to add a submission to this assignment.
Submissions
Excercise 3: Connecting Past and Present
August 20, 2024 By: Jiaqi(Ryan)Shi
About Urbanization https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/2024/03/forever-chemicals-landfills-threaten-environmental-justice-communities The article tells the story of the presence of “forever chemicals” (PFAS) found in many abandoned landfills in the United States. This “forever chemical” seriously contaminates nearby groundwater and drinking water and affects about 13 million people within a mile of the area, significantly increasing their risk of cancer. Because of the location of the landfill, the vast majority of people affected are people of color and low-income people. As Steinberg points out, reforms to the urban environment brought about by rapid urbanization often ignore deeper structural inequalities. This article proves that landfills protect urban sanitation while…
Connecting Past and Present
August 13, 2024 By: Sam Al-Alimi
‘Cutting the heck’ out of Canada’s boreal forest has put caribou at risk | CBC News A new study finds that more than 14 million hectares of boreal forests have been cut just in Ontario and Quebec between 1976 and 2020. Personally, that number shocked me because it is in only two provinces and second. While more scientific methods of logging have been introduced and forest regrowth is happening, the study says that the newly grown trees don’t have lichen which is the main food source for caribous. The conservation of forests is not just about trees, but also about…
Yongsan in Transition: Balancing Urbanization and Conservation
July 11, 2024 By: Jinsu Kim
Conservation: https://www.jeonmae.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=958133 ( “Yongsan US military base returns to the citizens.”) The recent opening of the Yongsan Children’s Garden, as reported in May 2023, connects to themes of conservation and public access to green spaces. While this development aims to provide much-needed recreational areas for children in the heart of Seoul, it also raises questions about environmental stewardship. Environmental groups have criticized the rushed opening, citing concerns about potential soil contamination from the former military base that has not been fully assessed or remediated. This situation echoes historical tensions between development and conservation, reminding us of Pinchot’s principles of conservation…
Connecting Past and Present
July 7, 2024 By: Heather Prohaska
Parks https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/bc-joffre-lakes-park-closure-dates My perspective on parks changed when I read Unit 3, Topic 2, The Parks Movement. Once again, learning about what happened in history is disturbing. First Nation peoples were pushed off the land so paying tourists could visit nature. The article above talks about how Joffre Park now works closely with the local Nations, N’quatqua and Lil’wat, allowing their people time in the mountains to rekindle knowledge for the youth and harvest things like herbs for medicine and mushrooms during peak times. The park is closed for portions of the summer to allow this to happen. I fully…
Exercise #3: Connecting Past and Present
May 3, 2024 By: Britnie Hearsey
Urbanization: I chose this article because I reside on Vancouver Island, where we face many of the same problems as Vancouver. The island is becoming populated at a rate our structures and resources cannot keep up with. My local municipality placed us on water restrictions at the beginning of May. This article discusses the increasing frequency and intensity of heatwaves in Vancouver, British Columbia, due to climate change. It highlights the challenges urban areas face in managing extreme heat events and the need for proactive urban planning and adaptation strategies to mitigate their impact on public health and infrastructure. This…