The Cost of Human Rights

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The effect of Saudi Arabia's Oil Industry on HR

November 23, 2022

A gas flare at a processing plant in Shaybah, Saudi Arabia. Leaders have pledged to cut back on methane emissions. Credit... Simon Dawson/Bloomberg This last week many developing and developed nations met and made agreements regarding climate change and the creation of funds for developing nations and COP 27. While progress has been made in terms of international climate agreements, some nations still have their own agenda when it comes to the fossil fuel industry. Saudi Arabia, in particular, has been continuing to develop their energy industries and infrastructure. Not only have they been putting money into their oil industry, but they have also been installing renewable energy technologies all over the country. They are attempting to decrease the amount of oil they use inside their own country which seems like a noble goal, but in reality is aimed at growing their oil economy and exports. Saudi Arabia is increasing their own use of renewable energy with the purpose of decreasing

Disagreement at COP 27

November 18, 2022

This past week the United Nations Climate Change Conference known as COP 27 has been taking place. This year's climate summit is taking place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The summit entails a group of negotiators representing over 200 nations discussing actions that need to be taken on a global scale to combat climate change. Last years COP 26 took place in Glasgow, Scotland. The result from that conference was fairly positive. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has done research which came to the conclusion that emissions must fall by about 45% by the end of the decade in order to meet the 1.5 degree warming target, which was first brought up at the 2015 Paris Climate agreement. At the Glasgow conference nations agreed to limit their emissions by about half by the end of the decade in order to meet this goal. The conference this year so far has been difficult in terms of coming to compromises on goals. There is increasing tension between developing nations and developed n

Deforestation in the Amazon

November 11, 2022

Deforested area in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory, located in the Brazilian states of Roraima and Amazonas, in June 2021. © 2021 Gabriel Chaim The Amazon Rainforest in Brazil and other neighboring South American countries is one of the most important forests in the world. Not only is it home to some of earth's most biodiversity, but the forest is important because of its oxygen production. It has been called the lungs of the earth for this very reason. The Amazon rainforest is also home to numerous indigenous tribes, whose lifestyle depends on the forest. A major problem that the amazon is facing, and has been facing for years, is deforestation. On October 30th 2022 Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was elected President of Brazil. Part of his campaign was on protecting the Amazon including stopping deforestation and protecting indigenous uses of the rainforest. He restated these goals in his first public statement as president. While this is a positive step, the previous administrati

Fires in the Arctic

November 04, 2022

A forest fire outside the village of Berdigestyakh, just below the Arctic Circle, in July last year. Credit... Dimitar Dilkoff/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Scientists have proven that one of the major changes that goes along with climate change is the general increase in temperatures across the world, while not every region faces this burden equally, increasing temperatures can have drastic impacts on communities. One area that has been facing the consequences of warming temperatures is the Siberian states of Russia. According to a study cited in the New York Times , from 1982 to 2020, 23 million acres of Siberia had burned. Out of this total, almost half occurred in 2019 and 2020. Since then this total has increased as in the month of July fires burnt over 10,400 square miles. Lightning storms and strong winds have only worsened the conditions of the fire and have been blowing smoke as far north as the arctic circle. While lightning storms and wind certainl

The other end of the spectrum: Drought

October 27, 2022

Jeff Robertson / AP To those who have been paying attention, this summer has been an example of the weather extremes that we are and will continue to experience in the face of climate change. I have mentioned in previous posts about the extreme flooding that many nations have been facing, which has imposed major health concerns on the people living in those areas. In particular, it has been affecting the less economically stable communities as they have less access to health care and other resources to help them in these times of emergency. On the other end of this spectrum of impacts of climate change, other areas of the world are facing major droughts, which is yet another way that people’s health is being threatened. One area that is facing a drought is in the Mississippi river in the United States. The Mississippi river is a major water system in the United States and over a third of rainwater in the US ends up in the Mississippi River. Drought in the Upper Mississippi basins has c

More Flooding?! Nigeria Edition

October 21, 2022

Photo via Associated Press A trend that I wouldn't have predicted when starting this blog, appears to be emerging. Yet another nation is dealing with the consequences of climate change in terms of floods. Nigeria is following in the footsteps of Pakistan, Italy, Puerto Rico, and areas of the United States among other nations across the world. Nigeria is prone to minor flooding on an annual basis but this year the flooding has greatly exceeded that with some of the worst flooding seen in decades. The flooding which began earlier this month hasn killed at least 603, injured more than 2,400, and displaced more than 1.4 million people according to an article by the New York Times. Furthermore, 27 of Nigeria's 36 states have been affected, and approximately 200,000 homes have been partly or completely destroyed in addition to the destruction of farmlands and other infrastructure. The economy depends a large amount on agriculture so the flooding and destruction of agricultural zones

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