Earth Day

Assignment:
Part 1:  Bibliographic annotation for.

American Masters, A fierce Green fire.  Use the internet, and cite the source.  Summarize. In a paragraph format.  MLA format, but you don't have to reverse indent if you don't like.

Part 2:  2 more sources about some aspect of the Environmental movement that 'speaks to you.'  This could be managing fisheries for recreation, saving the whales, etc., clean air, clean water, solar power, nuclear power, clean coal.  I don't really care, but don't be contrarian for contrarians sake.  Look for something good about the Planet,  and dig in. 

Cite the sources, summarize, in MLA format.

Write a statement of purpose about what you would like to see done about the issue you have researched, and WHY.

Part 1:
American Masters, A fierce Green fire.

Kitchell , Mark. "Watch film: A Fierce Green Fire." PBS. PBS, 22 Apr. 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/a-fierce-green-fire/watch-the-film/2924/>.

This article by Mark Kitchell covers environmental factors such as The Conservation Movement, Pollution and Cleanup, Greenpeace, Global Resources, and Climate Change. This video covers each of these topics in Acts I-V, describing how they have contributed to where the world stands in environmental conservation today. This video covers the span of 50 years from the first environmental activism events beginning in the 1960's to present day occurrences. Throughout the video multiple narrators such as Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Ashley Judd, Van Jones, and Isabel Allende discuss topics such as the Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Sea Shepard, and the Amazon Rainforest. This film was actually inspired by a book by the same title written by Phillip Shabecoff, an environmental journalist. Overall, this article is a great source of information on how people are reacting and have been reacting to pollution in our environment. 

Part 2:

1.
Vidal, John. "This could be the year we start to save, not slaughter, the shark." The Observer. Guardian News and Media, 12 Jan. 2014. Web. 3 May 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jan/11/shark-finning-in-decline-in-far-east>.

This article explains recent reactions to the gruesome act of shark finning. As shark finning has grown in awareness, many countries such as China, Europe and the US has taken actions as to banning the finning of sharks and the production of shark fin soup. What many people did not know a couple years ago is the large affect that sharks have on the environment. Being top down predators, sharks directly affect the food chain and all other organisms in the ocean. With the decline in the shark count, researchers have found that other ocean animals would most likely follow. In the past China had not been a fan of the idea of banning their delicate shark fin soup. Recently, world renowned basketball player, Yao Ming, showed his support for the cause and told the public that "when the buying stops, the killing can too." Along with efforts such as these are the developing of marine reserves and sanctuaries around the world. Some of these places specifically include locations in Great Britain, the Maldives, Mexico and Honduras. As China has recently stepped up to join the campaigning against shark finning, a realization has occurred that China may be the first big step towards reducing problems with climate change, overfishing, pollution, and conservation. 

I believe that the banning of shark finning should be a main priority among all countries. This is a situation that will greatly impact the future of every country and we need to take advantage of it now. I am very happy to hear that China is beginning to realize that the rapid decline in the shark population is not healthy to our ecosystems but I wish that this would be taken into account in other countries as well. 

2.
Innis , Michelle . "Australian Catch-and-Kill Shark Policy, Meant to Reassure, Horrifies Some ." The New York Times 3 Feb. 2014: A8. Print.

This article tells about a recent law put in place in Western Australia called "catch-and-kill." Over the past three years there have been 7 fatal shark attacks and the Australian government felt that something needed to be done about it. Although the government expected to have a positive reaction from beach goers and other water activity lovers, many conservationists have a negative response to the new law. As sharks have been in decline of the past years, many do not realize the serious affect that the rapid decline in population has on the ecosystem. The law specifically targets the larger sharks that can be found in Australian waters such as the bull shark, the tiger shark and the white shark. In the past long nets have been set up along popular beaches, protecting swimmers from the harm of sharks. These nets have had a controversial response though because they often catch other smaller marine organisms. This situation continues to be debated because the government feels the safety of the public is their greatest priority. 

I feel that no shark should ever be killed for any reason. As human beings we take risks by putting ourselves in harmful situations and any activity that takes place in or around the ocean is risky. We have to accept that anything can happen while in the ocean whether its natural disaster related or a natural predator instinct.