Global Climate Change

Global climate change refers to "a long-term change in the Earth’s climate, or of a region on Earth." Some people may confuse global warning with climate change but "global warming refers to surface temperature increases, while climate change includes global warming and everything else that increasing greenhouse gas amounts will affect."

After many years of trying to figure out why the climate has changed so drastically over time, scientists have come up with the conclusion that "greenhouse gases released to the atmosphere by human activities are the main cause of contemporary global warming."

Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere are called greenhouse gases. The following are the main greenhouse gases that effects the earths climate: 1. Carbon dioxide 2. Methane 3. Nitrous oxide 4. Other fluorinated gases such as perfluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons that are emitted because of industrialization purposes. CO2's are a result of fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal). Methane is also a result of coal, gas, and oil. But can also be emitted through livestock and waste. Nitrous oxide and other fluorinated gases are result of industrialization.

Climate Change and the Water Industry is an article about how climate change is not only affecting weather patterns and the world's ecosystem, but also posing serious challenges to the world’s water supply. Climate change has had a negative effect on the access, quality, and scarcity of our water supply. In order to solve this problem, US water providers must "find solutions to maintain adequate levels of water supply to communities; ensure high standards of water quality in the face of droughts or flooding; and balance the need for infrastructure improvements while keeping this vital resource as affordable as possible." Intense weather patterns, for example: hurricanes, floods, and droughts has compromised water infrastructure. Some of these effects can be seen in the increase of sea levels and runoffs.

Water is essential life. We must make it priority to find a way to limit greenhouse gas emissions and conserve the water we have while also developing new water conservation strategies. We as consumers, the water utility industry, government, and businesses must do something NOW.

Guantanamo Bay

Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp, "also known as Gitmo or GTMO, is a group of high security prisons or detainee centers, run by the US Military and located in Cuba at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base." In 1970, this base was intended for Haitian and Cuban refugees. These refugees were caught trying to escape to the U.S. It was later abandoned once the U.S. Supreme Court later ruled that this was illegal.

The base was reestablished after the September 11th terrorists attacks. The detention camp presently holds people deemed "unlawful combatants". Anyone suspected of terrorism, including US citizens and people from foreign countries are held here.

A Prisoner Calls President Obama Out on Guantanamo Bay is a article about "a man held prisoner for more than a decade describes the abuse he's suffered at the hands of the present administration." This article was published yesterday (April 16, 2013) at 6:03 AM.

This man has been held prisoner at Guantanamo Bay for eleven years without any charges or even a defense trial. Even though he is said to pose no threat to the United States and has been cleared for release, he will be held indefinitely.

Thus man is undergoing painful force-feeding because he has been on a a hunger strike since February 10th. He has lost well over 30 pounds and will not eat until they restore his dignity. He described the force-feeding as very painful and degrading. They tie him to a chair two times a day and insert a tube 18 inched into his stomach, and when he begs for them to stop they refuse.

Numerous amount of human rights activists and organizations from the U.S. and other countries find this detention camp to be not only unlawful but inhumane. They are currently being held without the right to counsel and are undergoing harsh interrogation techniques, including water-boarding and other forms of torture.

 

This is one of the worse things I have ever heard. I understand the that the safety of our country is very important, but no one should have to undergo this type of treatment ever in life. President Obama has yet to close this detention center, but I have hopes that maybe one day he will.

 

 

Guantanamo Bay detention camp is located in Cuba.

 

 

International Law

International Law, unlike most other areas of law, has no defined area or governing body, but instead refers to the many and varied laws, rules and customs which govern, impact and deal with the legal interactions between different nations, their governments, businesses and organizations, to include their rights and responsibilities in these dealings.

The five most important areas of law are as follows;

International human rights law

International security law

International criminal law

International environmental law

International humanitarian law

Diplomatic law

International economic law

In this particular blog post, I plan to elaborate on the field of Environmental law. Environmental law is a body of law, which is a system of complex and interlocking statutes, common law, treaties, conventions, regulations and policies which seek to protect the natural environment which may be affected, impacted or endangered by human activities.

Environmental law is important because it protects our planet. It also gives those who put our survival in jeopardy repercussions to their actions. As time has progressed, we've learned that some of the senseless things we do and use such as, hair spray and the burning of fuels have a negative effect on our environment. Environmental laws such as the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Federal Land Policy and Management Act tries to put an end to this.

Federal Supreme Court confirms scope of 'polluter pays' principle is an article about pollution in the city of Berne (Switzerland) that was caused by landfill. This incident took place between 1962 and 1975. Unfortunately, after numerous contaminated was scares, in 2011 the Federal Supreme Court issued a clean up and allocated the cost as follows: 30% to the City of Berne, which participated in the operation and supply of the site; 60% to the landfill operator; and 10% to the current owners of the site. This ruling was influenced by the Polluter Pays Principle. The Polluter Pays Principle is a principle in international environmental law where the polluting party pays for the damage done to the natural environment. The Polluter Pays Principle is a principle in international environmental law where the polluting party pays for the damage done to the natural environment.

I agree 100% with this verdict.

Less Developed Countries

A less developed country is defined as a country with relatively low per capita income and little industrialization. Less developed countries often borrow from a number of banks worldwide.

Poorest Of The Poor: UN Releases Report On World’s 'Least Developed Countries' is a an article that was published two weeks ago. This article lists the less developed countries of 2012. There are fourty-eight countries on the list. What saddens me is that Thirty-three of these countries are located in Africa. I wasn't that surprised, but I was very unhappy to see that. The other countries are located in Asia and the Pacific Islands. This list also includes Haiti. Haiti partly blames disease/infection as the reason why they are going through hard times. The cholera epidemic killed more than 8,000 people since the January 2010 earthquake. Haiti also believes that the U.N. is not taking responsibility for the U.N. peacekeepers who started the infection.

This list was constructed by the United Nations and consists of the most impoverished and vulnerable countries. The United Nations Economic and Social Council reviews this list every three years and lists the criteria for making the list; (a) A per capita income criterion, (b) A human assets criterion, and (c) An economic vulnerability criterion.

I honestly still cannot believe that there are still less developed countries in this world, almost the same exact way I feel about homelessness in America. I don't believe that every country should be as powerful as the other, but when I see video and read articles about what's going on in other parts of the world, it makes me very angry.

In no particular order, the list is as follows;

Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sudan, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Vanuatu, Yemen and Zambia.

Exchange Rate

Exchange rate is defined as the rate at which one currency may be converted into another. The exchange rate is used when simply converting one currency to another (such as for the purposes of travel to another country), or for engaging in speculation or trading in the foreign exchange market. There are a wide variety of factors which influence the exchange rate, such as interest rates, inflation, and the state of politics and the economy in each country.

 

My last article was written on the topic of recession. During a recession, a significant decline in economic activity spreads across the economy and can last from a few months to more than a year. The article I found relative to this topic was about the recession in Greece. What I failed to mention is that Greece is not the only Europe country currently experiencing an economic crisis.

 

Cyprus is currently trying to save its banks from collapse,and claims that they are facing deep recession. Yesterday morning, (March, 25, 2013) in order to keep Cyprus in the euro zone, and restore the promise to protect bank deposits, they received a $13 billion bail-out package. (10 million in Euros) Cyprus is the fourth euro-zone country to receive a full bail-out. Greece, Ireland, and Portugal were prior.

 

According to the article Pound Euro Exchange Rate Rises After Cyprus Deal; Sterling Fails To Break Resistance Level Vs Dollar that was published this morning at 9 AM, after the Cyprus deal was made, the Euro still struggled to sustain any gains against the U.S Dollar and made widespread losses versus the majority of the major currencies. This deal has put the Euro under additional selling pressure. There was said to have been an initial sense of relief that the Cyprus deal would probably prevent an immediate collapse of the entire banking sector, but that was short-lived throughout the day. Shares in European banking sector stocks suffered a major decline.

 

It looks as if the Euro-area recession is steady declining while unemployment rises. It saddens me to see this financial crisis take place. The U.S is definitely not in an economically good place either, but the recent news articles I have read make it seem like Europe is during ten times worse.

Recession

A recession is defined as a "period between a peak and a trough, and an expansion is a period between a trough and a peak. During a recession, a significant decline in economic activity spreads across the economy and can last from a few months to more than a year." Historically, the United States have experienced many recessions, but the latest took place in 2007 to June 2009 and was referred to as The Great Recession. The Great Recession was said to be the most devastating global economic crisis since the Great Depression. "According to the National Bureau of Economic Records, December 2007 is the moment that the U.S. economy peaked, but unemployment climbed to 4.9 percent, and the recession began."

Published on March 15, 2013, Seen From Greece, Great Depression Looks Good is an article that that not only compares the tragic economic situation of Greece to that of the Great Depression the United States experience in the decade preceding World War II, but also gives a detailed report on the most recent trends of joblessness by sex and age group. According to this article, Women are more likely to be unemployed in every age group shown, and older workers are far less likely to be jobless than younger ones, and among men age 45 to 64, nearly one in six is out of work. Among men 30 to 44, the figure is one in five.

Compared to the United States during its time of the Great Depression, Greece is currently a lot worse. Some believe that the difference in the two economies when it relates to government consumption spending is one of the reasons why Greece is in a much worse predicament.

Honestly, I've never completely understood the term 'recession'. I know it has something to with a decline in the economy and I am aware that we are no longer in one, which is good to know. Whats important is how we act to avoid another recession. There have been a large number of cuts applied to the federal budget recently, and I'm afraid these cuts could put our fragile economy back into a recession.

The World Trade Organizaton

A few weeks back I posted a blog about the United Nations. This week my blog post will be about the World Trade Organization. The World Trade Organization "is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business."  

UN Can Sanction WTO Ruling is an article that was written about a week ago. This article caught my attention because it includes both the WTO and the UN. According to this article, in a World Trade Organization ruling, the United States was awarded millions of dollars from Antigua and Barbuda following the crippling of its Online Gaming Industry. Antigua and Barbuda has held meetings with the World Trade Organization's Dispute Settlement Body in hopes of support recovering lost revenue as a direct result of US sanctions affecting the local online gaming industry. Last week September during the UN General Assembly, Prime Minister Spencer called on the the United States government. The UN feels that the US and Antigua and Barbuda could quickly resolve this dispute if the US would just work with Antigua and Barbuda and hopefully reach a more decent and suitable settlement.

What throws me off about this whole article is that this is not the first dispute between the United States and Antigua and Barbuda. Prime minister Baldwin Spencer felt that the UN would succeed in handling this dispute because they succeeded before. But instead of learning and conducting business in a different manner, Antigua and Barbuda still engaged in negotiations with the United States.

Another thing I find puzzling is that the during the UN Assembly, Prime minister Spencer was quoted saying, “I call on the United States to work cooperatively with Antigua and Barbuda and other remote gaming jurisdictions to forge an enlightened, reasonable and reasoned way of addressing the regulation and licensing of remote gaming services.”

First of all, Antigua and Barbuda happens to be the only remote gaming jurisdiction that has a dispute with the US.

Terrorism

Terrorism is defined in the Code of Federal Regulations as “the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives'. Depending on the origin, terrorism can be either international or domestic. Domestic terrorism originates within the United States. International terrorism relates to the unlawful acts of terrorists that violates the United States and any other state. Terrorists related activities are usually split up into two categories, incident and prevention. A terrorist incident relates to the violent act that endangers a person’s life. Terrorist prevention is when those violent acts are intercepted (stopped) due to suspicion and investigation.

“Supreme Court blocks challenge to anti-terrorism law” is a relatively new article (so new that it was published less than an hour ago) that I found very interesting because it relates to the prevention of terrorism. According to this article, On Tuesday, the United Stated Supreme Court ruled the 9/11 anti- terrorism maybe beyond normal judicial review.  In 2008 a similar very similar case was under review. In this case Lawyers, journalists, human rights activists and others believed that government's ability to intercept international communications was unconstitutional and that it violated the fourth amendment. What I found to be furthermore interesting about this case was that, the ability of the government's intelligence wasn’t being questioned, but the ability of the plaintiff’s to find out if they were even being intercepted was up for questioning. The plaintiff’s argument was that the fear of being heard made them conduct business in an abnormal way. The United Stated Supreme Court ruled that the plaintiffs did not have proper standing to challenge this law. Justice Samuel Alito called it "hypothetical future harm." when he announced the decision.

Surprisingly I agree with the court’s decision. I understand where the plaintiffs were coming from because I am a very private person, but I believe the government should have the right to prevent terrorism in any way they feel fit to do so. Terrorism is such important issue that unfortunately it puts America’s privacy rights at stake.

The United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 after the Second World War by 51 countries committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights." The main bodies of the U.N. consists of the general assembly, the economic and social council, the security council, the trusteeship council, the secretariat, and the international court of justice. There are 193 member states apart of this organization.

 

"Women,girls increasingly victims in Afghan war, U.N. says" is a relatively new article that I found very interesting, not only because I am a female but because the U.N. thought this issue was so important, it needed to be addressed and announced publicly. According to this article, the United Nations stated that women and girls in Afghanistan have increasingly become victims of civilian casualties. Though these casualties have lowered as a whole, women victims have experienced a twenty percent increase. They are either injured or killed. To quote U.N. human rights director in Afghanistan, Georgette Gagnon, "The sad reality is that they were killed and injured while going about their daily work, their daily business." The Taliban and their insurgent groups is said to be responsible for 81 percent of all civilian casualties. The U.N. is addressing this "high human cost" and has been offering their assistance in Afghanistan since 2007. (UNAMA)

I've always been a great supporter of the United Nations. I'm all for maintaining international peace and security and I believe human rights is an important issue we should never stop fighting for. I've particularly been a fan of the U.N. because their work extends from here to the other side of the world. When you think of the U.N., you might think of peacekeeping, international security, humanitarian interventions, and economic sanctions, but they do a lot more to make the world a more suitable place to live in. The U.N. focuses on a wide range of world problems. This organization works to keep the environment healthy, and as the article shows, they promote democracy, woman’s rights and gender equality.

Democracy

A democracy “is a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.” I have always considered the United States to be a democracy, but after further research, I found out that the U.S is not a democracy, but a republic, a Federal Constitutional Republic to be more precise.” A republic is where the rule of law governs the nation. But here in the US not only does the law govern us but it also governs the government. It limits their power.” We the people of the United States have the right to vote for who we want to represent us. Thankfuly this right has progressed. Lately there have been ballots that consisted of law passing questions instead of just candidates, therefore,“the type of system we employ is a representative form of democracy” The article Democracy is Under Challenge under Zambia is about Zambia (which is located in southern Africa) experiencing a lack of democracy while gaining statehood. Zambia became independent in 1964. Unlike the United States, who gained their independence in 1776. Since Zambia is relatively new to independence there has been a major concern that their government has been manipulating power to their advantage lately, which exemplifies their undemocratic government from the past. Zambia's government have been accused of government interference and corruption, banning and blocking political events, and arresting competitive leaders. I honestly believe that most democratic countries, if not all have a treacherous government. Do I believe this right, of course not, but with that being said, there's not much we can do about it. Yes, we have the right to vote and can do things like petition and protest (just to name a few) if we have a major concern with the way things are being conducted, but overall we have a very limited say in what goes on. Over time, we as a people have gained a lot more say in how our government operates, so in the near future I am almost certain and hopeful that this trend will continue. After all, without us, there is no one to govern so why not listen to us, we are the people who have to live by these laws.

War

Now the topic of war can get a little tricky. I'm pretty much biased when it comes to war but then again I'm pretty much biased when it comes to just about everything. When it comes to war, I only support it when there is no other option. IT HAS TO BE WORTH IT. There are various reasons why states go to war. Some of those reasons being territory, economic gain, aiding an ally at war, and retaliation, just to name a few. When those reasons are childish and translates to plain bullying on an international scale, I disagree with it.

 

Take the nine year U.S. War on Iraq for instance. America decided to go to war with Iraq because they believed that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. In the article, Ten Years Since Colin Powell Presented Case for Iraq War, the article acknowledges today (February 05, 2013) being the ten year anniversary of the day former Secretary of State Colin Powell made his case to the United Nations to go to war with Iraq. With this being said, one year ago Colin Powell stated this an interview "I feel bad about any loss of life on either side of the conflict, but I think it was a justified decision based on what we knew at the time. I did it, and as I say in the book (It Worked For Me), I had to move on. I was still Secretary of State. I couldn’t go in a corner and go fetal."

 

After doing further research on the War on Iraq, I found out that yes chemical and biological weapons that had been missing for years were recovered after US troops invaded Iraq, but since we then we have not found nuclear weapons that Intel suggested we would find. In other words, Colin Powell acknowledged that he was wrong in the best way he could, because the amount of money this war cost, plus the total number of deaths not only on our end, but caused by us definitely does not say "worth it" to me.

Sovereignty

Sovereignty is the power of a state to do everything necessary to govern itself, such as making, executing, and applying laws; imposing and collecting taxes; making war and peace; and forming treaties or engaging in commerce with foreign nations. China Leader Says No Compromising Sovereignty is a relatively new article that expresses China's refusal to give up it's sovereignty. The leader of China, Xi Jinping firmly stood by China's stand on security and development interests in front of the ruling Communist Party's Politburo that consisted of 25 members. Recent territorial disputes with Japan and other neighboring countries encouraged these remarks. It was shown on television during an evening new broadcast. Having everyone see how serious you are about protecting the well being of your states power and interests, I have to say was an outstanding move. Not only does it spark an immediate respect from other states, the people of China should be very proud. China promotes peace and friendship with all neighboring countries but will not hesitate to take forceful measures if anyone challenges their country's sovereignty. I am all for sovereignty. I believe each and every state should have ultimate authority within their territorial boundaries, unless it has a very unfair inhumane government policy. Unfortunately we live in a world of separation. We have borders that separate us from one another and I believe every state has a right to determine what goes on inside its borders. Imagine if we as people had no sovereignty? What if we had no right to determine what goes on in our own life? It would suck wouldn’t it? I mean yes we pay taxes and abide by laws so we really can't do what we want, but technically we're not slaves lol. I happen to appreciate our government. We pay taxes but in return we get things like welfare and military. The freedom we have here is incomparable to other states, and to see a place like China stand so assertively on it, the more it makes me appreciate it. I would hate to lose our sovereignty, and would hate to see another place lose theirs.