How Historical Events Lead to Extreme Weather - Research Paper Example

? How Historical Events Lead to Extreme Weather [Sur Today attitudes towards people with different beliefs are now transformed, but the aftermath of the historical injustices committed these indigenous communities still remain the same. The past affects the present, and the past influences all people in good or bad ways. Our family history has some effect on our lives. We learn about our culture from our family, and this is further enhanced when one goes to school. In the same way, the current weather has a great link with the events that happened long time ago, in the history of the world. This paper seeks to discuss how different historical events have contributed to the uneven extreme weather that is experienced in different parts of the world today. The first example that can prove this is the agrarian revolution that took place from the 1600s. This was a time when agriculture was getting a new face, and all businesses were revolving around agriculture1. New farming technologies had been invented, and every farmer wanted to part of the invention. It was a great revolution that affected almost all fields of life. Agricultural production increased, and there was a need to develop other sectors of the economy so that the excess food could not be a waste2. People developed the food processing industries so that food would be processed, preserved and exported to other areas, for sale. As a result, the transport industry was also developed, so that transportation from farms to factories and from the factories to the market would be easy3. By the year 1940, agriculture had taken a completely different turn4. People had graduated from simple farming to tractors and other technologies like the seed drill. Improved fertilizers were produced, which contributed greatly to agricultural production. As all this was taking place, there was a lot of pollution that was un-noticed. All the industries that were coming up were hurting the ozone layer5. They were major air and water pollutants, and this has contributed to the adverse weather changes that the world is currently experiencing. In the modern world, many scholars have been forced to set down for long hours, just to discuss about the climate changes. There are extreme weather changes, which are affecting various parts of the world. All these can be linked to the agrarian revolution in one way or another. For example, when industries were releasing carbon emissions uncontrollably, into the atmosphere, they led into the destruction of the ozone layer6. This is clear evidence that the current world is suffering a great deal because of the mistakes and events that that happened many years ago in the world’s history. Industrialization is another thing that has had very adverse effects on the weather, and climate. The first phase of industrialization was marked by a lot of changes in the world of business. The production and manufacturing industry, the processing industry, and other service industries were affected. Factories were being constructed at a very fast rate. Many products were being manufactured, and there was a need for a lot of fuel to facilitate all these processes. Electricity as scarce, and expensive to produce, as a result, many people used coal and wood as a source of fuel. Many trees were cut down in search of fuel and wood for manufacturing different items. This was one of those ties when the world experienced the highest ate of deforestation. Many trees were cut down, and a lot of initial forested and was left bare. This has had a very negative effect on weather, even up to today. One of the most important functions that trees play is that they absorb carbon dioxide from the environment, and release oxygen. Carbon dioxide cannot be absorbed from the atmosphere if trees are not available. The historical mass cutting of trees has led to a considerably low number of trees, which means that enough carbon dioxide cannot be absorbed from the environment. High concentrations of carbon dioxide lead to global warming. Global warming is responsible for the many adverse weather effects that are being experienced in different parts of the world. These include effects like rising alternating global temperatures, which can either be very cold, or extremely hot. Some places in the world, which have had predictable weather changes, for a long time, have started being very unpredictable. This means that farmers, and other people that depend on the weather, like tourists, cannot be able to plan well for their activities. Social Consequences of Residing Schools A great deal of individuals, in Canada, believes that many of the social problems the indigenous communities encounter in the present day are largely related or connected to the residential school structure and the assimilation policies. Matthew Coon Come, ex- national chair of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) who went to residential schools, in Quebec and Ontario, for nine years, contends that physical and psychological cruelty was one of the main setbacks of the residential school. The experiences, in these schools, left long lasting and even permanent scars on some of the former students7. Experiences like this lead to depression, a condition that can, in turn, lead to social problems like alcohol and drug abuse, family violence, and even suicide. Few experts see many negative long-term effects of the residential schools experience8. The short term effects of residential school experiences were separation from the community and family, prohibition against speaking aboriginal languages, exposure to negative views about aboriginal culture, harsh conditions, physical and sex abuse9. These escalated into long term effects like poor self-esteem, lack of positive role models, loss of parenting skills, inability to speak own language, loss of culture and identity, separation from the community and family, and feelings of being unloved and uncared for10. Historical Imperialism and Civil Strife Historical imperialism can affect the long-term stability of a region or country11. In a democratic society, people have the option to exercise their right to freedom by organizing a protest, writing letters or contacting the media. This is not the same if a group does not have this privilege and may end up resorting to unconventional ways to seek redress. This was the case in March 1990 when armed members of the Mohawk community in Canada barricaded a road and sized the land surrounding Oka town, Quebec12. This was a protest to save their ancestral land, which had been set aside for the establishment of a golf course yet they have not been consulted on the matter before the aforesaid plans. They claimed that they had owned this land ever since 1917, but records show that the land had been given to the Roman Catholic Sulpician, in 1718, by the King of France, a claim the Mohawk refuted profusely stating categorically that they will never gave up their title to it. The government, through the office of Native Claims, had denied this, in 1986, on technical grounds, but the Mohawk still maintained it was their right. The mayor of Oka called in the police on July 11 to maintain law and order by stopping the barricades, but this proved difficult. In the weeks that followed, Aboriginal groups from across North America joined the Mohawk on the barricades and caused enormous traffic jams13. Reinforcement was brought in but could not control the situation. There were other acts of solidarity that took place across Canada. On August 14 on the same year, the premier of Quebec Robert Bourassa invoked the National Defense Act, which allowed him to deploy the military for the purpose of maintaining law and order within a week, Troops arrived, and nine days later, the Mohawk negotiated a settlement14. The golf course expansion was cancelled, and the federal government bought several chunks of land for Mohawk. Nevertheless, the original land claim dispute has never been restored. Conclusion This paper has explored social problems that have roots in past policies towards First Nations peoples. It indicates that ignoring unresolved conflict can lead to civil strife. Highlighted also in the paper is how contemporary societies were affected by historical imperialism and the response to the legacies of historical globalization. Most people agree that some people suffered as a result of historical globalization while some conclude that we should reject globalization all together, as a result. Others think people can learn from their experiences without meting out pain on innocent and helpless people as was done in the past. Bibliography Abu-Lughod, Janet. Before European Hegemony. New York, Oxford university Press. 1989. Print. Chandler, Michael, and Christopher Lalonde. 2008. “Cultural Continuity as a Hedge against Suicide in Canada’s First Nation.” Transcultural Psychiatry 35 (2): 463-478. Davis, Mike. (n.d.). Late Victorian holocausts, New York, Vesso. Print. Diamond, Jared M. 2006. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail Or Succeed. New York: Penguin Books. Eliassen, Merdith. 2009. “The History of Canada.” Encyclopedia of Influences of History, 635-678. Ottawa: Sage Publications. Foster, J. Class Struggle and the Industrial Revolution. (1974), accessed 5 March 2013 http://libcom.org/files/0416841007.pdf Francis, Jones. 2009. Journeys: A History of Canada. Oxford, UK: Nelson Education. Hoppe, Hans-Hermann. A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism. Las Vegas, Kluwer academic. (1989). accessed 5 March 2013 http://mises.org/etexts/SocCap.pdf Klein, Naomi. The Shock Doctrine, New York, Henry holt and Company. 2010. Print. Olutayo, Akinpelu and Omobowale, Ayonkule. Capitalism, Globalization and the Underdevelopment Process in Africa: History in Perpetuity. Africa Development, Vol. XXXII, No. 2, 2007, pp. 97–112. Paul Rossenberg, “Birth Certificates and Unconsious Racism,” http://aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/05/20115131246772677 (accessed June 1st, 2012) Read More