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 sacrificing the health of the low-income class.

About Conservation

https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/study-says-harvesting-trees-is-damaging-boreal-forest-in-quebec-ontario/

This report talked about the trees being cut down in northern Quebec. It describes the damage that cutting down trees has caused to the local ecological diversity. And Caribou are decreasing due to logging indusry in this area while hunting caribou is one of the main resource for indigenous peoples. This means that cutting down trees affects the survival of indigenous peoples. But it is worth to notice that the article also mentioned that an entrepreneur in the logging industry claimed that “commercial logging is an important source of income for indigenous peoples”. This undoubtedly proves that what Pinchot believes “For the longer-term benefit” is not enough to design the conservational plan. We need to find a new balance between protecting interests and protecting culture.

2 Comments

  1. I thought your summary on the report about trees being cut down in norther Quebec was a really good point. Logging is causing serious problems for both the environment and the livelihoods of Indigenous peoples who rely on caribou. While yes logging provides income, it’s clear that there needs to be a better balance between economic interests and preserving the culture and resources of local communities.

  2. I think your comment about balancing interests and culture is interesting. In reality, it usually seems that the only protected interests are the economic ones. In our readings, Gillis and Roach mentioned that Sifton was interested in the growing popularity of scientific forestry in the U.S. However, it frequently seems that scientific principles are ignored when economically inconvenient. Long-term planning often falls by the wayside of the next quarterly earnings report.

    Reference:
    Gillis, Peter R., and Thomas R. Roach. “The American Influence on Conservation in Canada, 1899–1911.” Journal of Forest History 30, no. 4 (1986): 160–174.

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