Picture: To the left, we see the affects a dust bowl can have on what was a once fully functioning farm.
Summary: Although many other environmental events are more commonly related to the fleeing of refugees, one thing many people forget about are the ever-expanding deserts, falling water tables, toxic waste and radiation are also forcing people from their native lands.
The Sahara Desert is just one example of desert's expanding in every directions. The Sahara is forcing many to flee towards the Mediterranean Sea. Even worse, the desert is also forcing farmers in Nigeria into one of the last farmable areas, which just so happens to be very small. A surprising statistic says that,"A 2006 U.N. conference on desertification in Tunisia projected that by 2020, up to 60 million people could migrate from sub-Saharan Africa to North Africa and Europe."
Africa is not the only area affected by this startling trend, though. People from all over the world, including Mexico, Brazil and Iran, are also being forced to fled. One of the most affected areas, though, is China. This country is expected to suffer from a dust bowl of the same magnitude that occurred in the United States, although instead of 2 million Americans being affected, 10 million Chinese citizens will be forced from their homes.
On top of this massive problem, there seems to also be a case of water depletion all around the world. Some villages in India have even been abandoned due to a lack of water! And on top of that, toxic and nuclear waste is everywhere, posing serious health risks to those who live around it.
These problems are making refugees migrate to North American and Europe, adding to the immigration problem. With all of these problems, the article finally finishes with asking a simple question. Why are we focusing on keeping immigrants out rather than fixing the problem that is driving them across the border?
Opinion/Reflection: I find this entire article very worrying! First of all, I feel really bad for those who are forced from their homes due to no fault of their own. They aren't the ones not taking proper care of their nuclear and toxic waste, and I wish I knew a way to at least help these people in some way. I'm also surprised that these kinds of events are not reported as much as they deserve to be. I know that I probably wouldn't have heard about this situation if it wasn't for this article.
Questions: 1.) Why do you think these dust bowls aren't reported as much in the news?
2.) How would you react if you were forced from your home one day due to toxic waste?
3.) How do you think we could help those that are affected by the water shortage?
Answer one of the provided questions. Q: How would you react if you were forced from your home one day due to toxic waste? A: Honestly I would be horrified to be forced from my home by a toxic waste issue. It is one ting to have to evacuate your home because of a flood, tornado, or something like that, (not that I would want to have to leave my home for any reason) but it is another thing altogether to be forced to evacuate your home basically because someone was to lazy to make sure that their toxic waste was safely contained. That being said I acknowledge that accidents happen and sometimes toxic waste is released into the environment. Either way, I (probably like everyone else in the world) would not be happy to have to leave my home. It is vary sad to know that many people are constantly forced to evacuate their homes for various reasons from natural disasters to toxic waste problems. Homes are very important to people no matter where you live. They provide shelter and just a place to go to whenever you want. to eat, to sleep. A home is very important and it is a very sad thing when someone has to leave their home for any reason.
ReplyDeleteAnswer a question. Question- How do you think we could help those affected by the water shortage? Answer- I think that we could help these people just by giving transporting them some water. Weather flew in by a plane or brought in by tanker trucks it doesnt matter. Just as long as they get some water. Obviously this plan wouldnt be too productive on a larger scale, but it could at least help them to not die of dehydration. Another solution is for them just to leave. If their home is uninhabittable, then why try to live there. If you are missing the basic human necessities to live, then you shouldnt be living there in the first place! The best solution would be for these people to places with water so they dont die.
ReplyDeleteI am quite saddened with the devastation that these disasters have caused all over the world. I happen to know firsthand about the horrific chain of events that can result from a dust bowl tragedy. I had to read The Grapes of Wrath for English. The book tells the story of a family who were affected by the southern United States dust bowl in the 1930’s. However while reading I never stopped to think about the fact that devastating events like these are still occurring all over the world today. Thought my entire lifetime I have heard an infinite number of news stories about drought, famine, dustbowls, water shortage, and there effects on dry regions in Africa and the Middle East. However now that I’ve learned about their effects on China I feel even more saddened. For China already has such a large population and a dust bowl taking away crops could not be good at all; however, I’ve never really heard stories on the news about this specifically happening in China.
ReplyDeleteEven though I’ve heard so many stories on the news about dustbowl related disasters I’ve never heard anything on the news about issues concerning toxic and nuclear waste. I think that these issues are also extremely devastating and therefore I think need to be talked about A LOT more on the news. This fact in itself that the world seems to refuse to consider the significance of these disasters is devastating in itself.
2.) How would you react if you were forced from your home one day due to toxic waste?
First of all I would always try to stay away from any area that I believe could be affected by these disasters. But even in doing so with the increasing amount of nuclear and toxic waste being created all over the world more and more areas are forced to be put under these conditions. If I happened to live in one of areas and was forced out of my home I would be personally devastated. For no one wants to be deliberately forced out of the place that they know and love more than any other place in the world. A home is a person’s sanctuary, a shelter from the outside world, and being forced to leave that place without warning would honestly be horrible. I especially am attached strongly to my home and struggle to ever see myself leave, and I think that I specifically would struggle greater with the loss of my home than most people would. In retrospect it may not be as bad knowing of the disaster pending in the area. After reading The Grapes of Wrath I now know how being forced to leave your home can affect your life in the long run. Being forced to go to a new place that perhaps you’ve never lived in before unexpectedly could bring much more challenges then you thought. One thing that would really make me angry is the fact that so much of the world would never know of my story because of the failure by news corporations to report it. That in itself may end up to be more bothersome then being forced to leave in the first place.