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Emily A. Ison
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- About Me:
- Welcome to the insightful and thoughtfully developed webpage of Emily Ison; A first year transfer student at UDC seeking a degree in Respiratory Therapy.
It’s a quick jump between the relation of an individual’s lung health and the health of our planet since oxygen and external processes needed for breathing and metabolic processes are fairly important to the survival of our species. Given my endeavors to assist people with such an important aspect of their life, it should be obvious that the environment is a topic that means quite a bit to me as it impacts both my future career and personal survival. In this webpage, I will be laying out the argument between international economic and industrial benefits versus the preservation of land and resources for the endangered species that we share our planet with. This is a topic that each and every person on earth is faced with every day, whether we know it or not, but rarely pauses to reflect upon our individual impact. I will share my perspective through the use of case studies, facts regarding impact and benefits, historical data, future projections and possible steps towards compromise between the modern comforts of man without destroying the world that surrounds us. It is my main goal to persuade you, the reader, that this is in fact an important cause while refraining from the use of bias, hearsay or opinions. I do hope that you enjoy the content and walk away inspired to put your impact on reversing the damage that has already been done!
- My Home Country:
- USA
- Organizing an Earth Day Event This Year?
- No - But I'd like to participate
- My Environmental Interest(s) (Climate Change, Solid Waste, etc.):
- Endangered Species, Renewable Energy Sources, Habitat Protection.
Emily A. Ison's Photos
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Emily A. Ison's Blog
Citations for content conveyed on this website:
Works Cited
Cox-Foster, Diana and Van Engelsdorp, Dennis. “Solving the Mystery of the Vanishing Bees.” Scientific
American 31 March 2009. 11 June 2009
< http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=saving-the-honeybee >.
“On Thin Ice: Canada’s Commercial Seal Hunt.” 20 Oct 2006. Online video clip. Youtube. 29 May 2009
< http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeYPM8ncsR8 >.
“Potential Socio-economic Implications of Adding Porbeagle Shark to the List of Wildlife Spe… Continue
Cox-Foster, Diana and Van Engelsdorp, Dennis. “Solving the Mystery of the Vanishing Bees.” Scientific
American 31 March 2009. 11 June 2009
< http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=saving-the-honeybee >.
“On Thin Ice: Canada’s Commercial Seal Hunt.” 20 Oct 2006. Online video clip. Youtube. 29 May 2009
< http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeYPM8ncsR8 >.
“Potential Socio-economic Implications of Adding Porbeagle Shark to the List of Wildlife Spe… Continue
Posted on July 8, 2009 at 8:30pm —
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“As a general thing, an individual who is neat in his person is neat in his morals.”
- Henry Wheeler Shaw
Anyone that is introduced to a short article titled, “The Decline of Neatness” by a well-accomplished gentleman by the name of Norman Cousins, will quickly chuckle at the windstorm of memories that flood in of their family growing up as a prime example of this decline. This fascinating article delivers a well-spoken account of what most mothers attempt to instill in their children, the importance of neatness and the problem of it becoming obsolete. Sometimes even the most basic of concepts can slip past us until someone such as Mr. Cousins clearly lays out the information and states the obvious. “Disheveled is in fashion; neatness is obsolete” (Cousins 78) is the hallmark statement of the article that propels the reader into self-inquiry. A person will hold plenty of opinions on this argument, but the root of the question is whether a conforming of our society or a simple comfort of ease causes the decline.
An early memory that many children can recite of their childhood are the days of humorous attempts of civility by their parents before they beat them into submission and brought about the days of ‘just get it done’. Imagine the scene: a very well meaning mother attempts to add some ‘class’ to the nightly dinner time routine. All are gathered around the beautifully set dining room table, a fine cherry table covered in a tea stained lace that forces the color of the dishware jump out at you. Properly placed forks and knives taunt you with their cryptic meaning and folded napkins beg you to not destroy the pristine harmony of their shape. Classical music plays in the background through a dated set of speakers off in the next room. Rambunctious pre-teen girls, being just that, roll their eyes at the attempt at dinner etiquette but quickly sit down thanks to the aroma of the sizzling dinner in the next room. After Fifteen minutes of solid nagging, the father and brother finally join everyone else at the table and all told to lower their heads so that one of them can be pegged with the duty of leading the rest in saying Grace. Up until this point, the mother was probably quite proud and giddy at the level of charm and grace that her dinner is serving up on the side. Then reality started to kick in. One of the pre-teen girls quickly begins to play with her food and kick her sister’s leg, as the pesky youngest child is expected to do. The sister begins to tweak her aim for the peas that will inevitably end up flying someone’s head. The brother continues to read the comics that are far more interesting than the impending doom of meatloaf or burnt lasagna. The father manages to stealthily wander off again to take care of something ‘really quick’, but more than likely ends up in front of the Television, enamored in whatever random show happens to be on at the time. That bruised but not defeated mother holds steady and uses her superpower-like abilities to wrangle them all back in and return to the proper table manners that she tried to maintain – elbows off the table and feet on the floor! In a classic mutiny style revolt with the mother, everyone would push for an end to the manner-friendly dinners that were accompanied by classical music, brushing it off as a joke and the mother simply being ‘cute’ and trying to be far more fancy than any of them wanted to be.
In the example above of the well-meaning mother lost in the abyss of raising a rambunctious family in today’s society, are the family members acting in such a manner because most of their peers are acting in such a manner? Alternatively, are those family members acting that way due to the ease of misbehaving and the comfort of throwing manners and etiquette out the window? I have to argue that it is a combination of both. Society’s rules of today and the conformity that forms from these rules allow for such laziness and vulgar displays. There are always exceptions to the rule, such as the mother attempting to maintain a certain grace, but as we often see in the every day, the masses win out and often defeat even the most passionate of people.
Judging by the extraordinary decline that neatness has seen throughout the past century, one can argue that neatness is a prime candidate for the Endangered Species list, alongside the Blue Whale and African Elephant. Coincidentally, the reality of endangered species in itself is direct consequence of the decline of neatness.
Through corporate corruption, man’s wasting of vital resources, pollution, social stigmas towards environmentalists, irresponsible hunting, brutal pet trade practices and a multitude of other actions, we are now in a time where the our children may only see animals that we currently take for granted in a zoo or text book. The main facets of neatness being appearance, behavior and language are all at risk with the current state of human interrelation with the environment. Our relationship with mother nature is in severe need of therapy due to how abusive the relationship has become – the lack of respect, the all out violence on her and the parallels of rape that we introduce through claiming habitats as our own. Our language revolving around the environment is speckled with ignorance and ‘big money’ marketing terms such as “Green” and “Organic” or derogatory statements upon those that try to help as “dirty hippies” or “lefty scum”. Appearances clearly mean nothing to man as a standard of neatness as clearly expressed through the ease in which one can toss a piece of trash on the ground while a proper receptacle is just inches away or the simple choice that major corporations can make to destroy an entire habitat to build an cash producing eyesore. Continuing in this direction will have far more repercussions than a minor rule breakage of neatness such as inappropriate dress at a dinner out on the town. This decent from neatness could bring a complete destruction of ecosystem and eventually humankind - all in the name of making a few dollars. In fact, it is important to view the relationship between the two as noted by Professor Compton Bourne, during a presentation at a 2007 conference on the Environment in which he pointed out that economic growth depends just as much on the environment as it does on the industry itself (Bourne 1). When weighting the preservation of land for endangered species against the capitalist needs of our country, it reveals the harm we are introducing to our delicate ecosystems and reinforces the fact that we need to look towards earth-friendly countries for guidance on sustainable living before this harm becomes permanent.
While the imagery shown above ranges from inspirational to gut wrenching and shocking, it’s very important for each and every person to understand the reality of what we’re putting our neighboring species through in the name of Capitalism. It’s very easy to separate our every day actions from the consequences that subsequently follow down the line, and ignorance will only perpetuate that problem. Look closely at the imagery of the beached Grey Whale in the 8th photograph; remember that whale the next time you have your car idling next to a gas pump for a fill-up because it died through our pursuit for oil. And while you’re at it, take a close look at the owl in the 12th photo, because at this rate the logging industry will make it so that photos are all that we have. Are you supporting this industry in its efforts? If displays of baby seals having a large blunt object thrown at its delicate skull or a gentle sea turtle being hoisted into a boat to be torn apart for human consumption, resist the urge to look away, take that disgust and use it to help the creatures that are being victimized by our excess.
On Thin Ice: Canada's Commercial Seal Hunt
Shocking imagery and horrifying images of cruelty only begins to tell the tale of the now famous annual seal hunt that takes place in Canada. What you see next in this video presented by the Humane Society is a telling account of what takes place on the ice during this race to capitalize on the gathering of seals so that each ship can leave with a bounty of furs that will soon adorn the shoulders of those that can afford the hearty price tag. Much like the fierce battle going on between environmentalists and Loggers in British Columbia, we are seeing a huge clash over the battle of the Seal hunt, to the point of violence and sabotage. The Humane Society has put star power to use, such as Paul McCartney, to bring awareness of the brutal practice to the public that was once ignorant. As you can see in the video, they specifically target the pups that have not event mastered the art of swimming, so they are without a way to even escape. Hopefully we can duplicate the outrage that produced bans in the 1980’s so that the young seals can be safe in their habitat once again.
Spotted Owl "Logging to Extinction" Press Conference:
It is been estimated that the logging industry will have caused the extinction of the Northern Spotted Owl in British Columbia by the year 2012 according to a paper discussed by Devon Page in the video above. There has been an ongoing battle between the industry and the environmentalists concerned with the livelihood of the spotted owl for decades and it is fiercely continuing because of the high profits and number of jobs held within the industry. Here we have an industry that literally removes the habitat and uses it for human consumption, yet at the same time provides many jobs, economic gains for the country and a product that is used quite heavily. Logging plants throughout the area surrounding the habitat in question has revealed the culprits directly behind the depletion of the habitat, and battle lines are being drawn in the courts. A major problem occurring during the fight with the Logging industry appears to be the financial drain on the environmentalists as they can’t keep up with the spending that the industry can afford to put out. It is hoped that the compromise that kept the fight at bay during the past few years will re-emerge and we find a way in which to continue logging at limit and maintain the precious habitat of the Northern Spotted Owl.
Shark Fin Soup Cruelty - News Report:
In this video clip of a news broadcast from ABC, we delve directly into the practice of shark fishing for the popular product of Shark Fin Soup as it is occurring in Australia. It is very common for the fishing boats seeking out sharks for this purpose to over-fish beyond sustainability and perform “Finning” which is the process in which they catch the shark, slice off the fins and promptly roll the remaining and still alive body of the shark back into the ocean for a slow and painful death. As noted in the video, conservation is becoming a hot topic in Australia, which is the last remaining habitat for a number of the world’s threatened shark species. A growing demand for the soup in Asia is forcing the government to discuss the need for protections and a new licensure for targeting sharks. Very few people in the United states are aware of the practices associated with Shark fishing, however, all of us will suffer from the results should it go on unregulated. Scientific data reveals that Coral Sea and Barrier Reef waters are still at healthy levels, but this will only continue through government conservation efforts and universal reduction in products created through such practices.