Spiritual Wellness Essay Example

Spiritual Wellness Essay What is spiritual wellness The key to my spiritual wellness consists of the following five characteristics. Family, which is an important aspect of my life. My family will always support me whether I am right or wrong. They appreciate my hard work to better myself and to better us as a family. Throughout my college journey, my family has made unlimited sacrifices to see me complete college successfully. My husband has paid a majority of our household bills as well as taken over the day to day responsibilities of our children. Without his support, I believe that the goals I have set would truly be harder to achieve. My children have been my motivation. I always want to be there for my children to express my parental love and to teach them the right ways of living. I did not want them to grow without the presence of their parents as was my case. I came from a broken home in which my father was absent until I was an adult. My mother married a man named Ron who raised me as his own since I was a small child. He was a very strict man, as I could not allow me to interact with boys. My stepfather ensured that I was forever busy as he kept me engaged in sports and extracurricular activities. With everything that he and my mother instilled in me, it laid a foundation for my future success. Spiritual health We will write a custom essay sample on Spiritual Wellness specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Spiritual Wellness specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Spiritual Wellness specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Friendship is another motivating factor that gives me enthusiasm and encouragement when I face life challenges. I respect and value my friends because they are my partners in arms in times of happiness and hardships and make my life meaningful. They give me momentum to continue the life journey whenever I feel like giving up. Since I was a young child, friendship has been a great pillar that revolves through my world. My friends have walked with me through thick and thin helping me overcome and cope with life situations. I realized that by interacting with people who have the same belief as mine I was able to succeed in many things. Such friends have my back whenever I need them and always share ideas with me. They have helped me to develop a virtue of loyalty and that is how I have been able to maintain the friendship. I can mirror myself through the help of my friends and so get challenged by the steps and choices that they make. Friendship is the most important key towards realizing my potential and making the right decisions. I learned to respect the different ideas they have and has helped me to view life from a different perspective. I have good judgment since friendship is a choice and not an optional reality. With my friends support, love, and affection I can view and establish the life structure that I would want to be in the future. Defining myself as an individual and joining a group to associate with others is the greatest step I have taken towards success. Leadership is an essential part of my life values that I treasure. Since I have a family, I want to show my children that they can look up to me for anything that they might need. I want to motivate and energize children to grow in a God fearing way. It is my responsibility to love my family and help them identify their potential by guiding and advising them to help them accomplish the best in life. Spiritual wellness examples I want my children to look up to me like my stepfather Ron did. Though he was strict, he laid a good foundation for me helping me to become a strong woman today. Being a parent has its ups and down, but I know taking responsibility of being a mother and a leader is one of the most valuable things I would have for my family and me. Security is a value that aspires to have in my life and that of my children. The values that we all have evolve, and we find ourselves maturing through some known stages of life. For us to feel that we have fulfilled both our souls and body, we need to be financially secure so that we can meet all the basic, secondary and tertiary needs. The security aspect would help me and my family to live comfortably. I have a family to take care of and for that reason security would be the most important aspect to consider. The security that I need covers a vast area including security of finance, security of my children and family is a great value since without it I cannot feel like a responsible parent and all the values I have tried to instill in my life would be lost. Security will enable me to realize my dreams, live in any location that suits and make me happy and give my family the best they would need. Striking a balance in my activities is another crucial aspect that determines my success. If I put effort into being the best parent, partner, friend and leader without striking a balance in each, I would not be able to deliver my full potential. Balancing every aspect of my life have been my dreams, and that include spending some time in my career and equally spending time with my family. Acknowledging priorities have been my greatest gifts and thats why I value family since they are my most treasurable gain, which makes me have the energy to grow intellectually and spiritually. What is a component of spiritual wellness Power is a value that I have for long considered insignificant, but it has been more prominent in my actions and decisions more than I ever imagined. I had considered this value to be irrelevant in my life, but most of the things that I do like in organizations and places of the meeting is making people recognize me and my expertise. I have noticed that I control and make people do things when I am in power and authority. The less value that I ignored seemed to take a whole toll on me since it is imminent that it is inside me; the ability to control and mobilize a crowd. I spent my life running from the value that defined the authority to me to rule and assign tasks. I focused on what mattered to me leaving what can make people realize that I am better when ruling and leaving a legacy. The aspects and art made in the revelation have made an official purpose to my life, and that is to find both career and life success. The main issue though is to find the missing pieces in my life and try to evaluate the stages of life that I must go through to have the spiritual fulfillment. I would try not to live in perfection but in acquiring knowledge and purpose of life. I would find out the value that makes me thrive in doing good and deciding to do good and not to harm others. All the aspects that I value will lead me to a spiritual fulfillment which will secure me from any disillusionment and unhappiness. I learned that the purpose of all the values is to take us through all the stages of life and it is up to us to make the right decisions on how much material recognition we will have and how much spiritual growth will be made. Our choice in occupation, life partners and friends should lead us to best rewards that would enable us to value our goals and purpose in life. The scenes that relate to me most is sharing of knowledge and values to my friends helping me to optimize on both the spiritual and material growth. I think making people aware of the plans that would improve their growth is the most recent scenes that have stricken me as important. Linking myself with individuals who recognize and respects my decisions will advance my progressions in the direction that we decide to choose.

History1 essays

History1 essays Most people in our society think of the Vietnam War as a tragedy, or a negative time in our history that was later viewed as a misstep. These comments are true and most-certainly conventional. However, does the average person realize how large of an impact it had on the men who fought? When questioned on the Vietnam War, it can be rightly assumed that many Americans would know that it lasted over a decade. Maybe even a few would know that over 14,000 U.S. troops were killed in 1968, alone, (Appy, 7). The reality is that factual information such as this can only take you so far. It is not until we feel the experience through personal accounts, do we fully understand the Vietnam War. Since the beginning of time the concept of war has had a negative connotation. Every war in United States history has been directly related to the brunt of the conflict, the front-line, the blood, the gore, and the mounting deaths. Vietnam never escaped, and will never escape from its horrifying side. Over the course of the Vietnam War nearly 45,000 men were labeled as K.I.A. (killed in action). In addition to the recorded number of deaths, tens of thousands of men are still considered to be missing in action, (Appy, 29). Today, thousands of books are filled with alleged tales of horror from the war. Among the most common were the U.S. accounts involving the resented Vietnamese villagers. We saw them. We saw people with legs hacked off... Disemboweling seemed to be a big thing. Literally pull a guys stomach open. But the sad part of it is, he doesnt die right away. Women...You know, the skys the limit. As gruesome as you can think of things to do, they would do. Schoolteachers were a favorite target, and unfortunately a lot of the schoolteachers were idealistic young women, (Santoli, 196) Individual acts of horror were incredibly common during the war for United States soldiers. Their hatred f...

Biography of Augusto Pinochet, Chiles Military Dictator

Biography of Augusto Pinochet, Chile's Military Dictator Augusto Pinochet (November 25, 1915–December 10, 2006) was an army officer and dictator of Chile from 1973 to 1990. His years in power were marked by inflation, poverty, and the ruthless repression of opposition leaders. Pinochet was involved in Operation Condor, a cooperative effort by several South American governments to remove leftist opposition leaders, often by murder. Several years after stepping down, he was charged with war crimes concerning his time as president but died in 2006 before being convicted on any charges. Fast Facts: Augusto Pinochet Known For: Dictator of ChileBorn: Nov. 25, 1915 in Valparaiso, ChileParents: Augusto Pinochet Vera, Avelina Ugarte MartinezDied: Dec. 10, 2006 in Santiago, ChileEducation: Chilean War AcademyPublished Works: The Crucial DaySpouse: Marà ­a  Lucà ­a  Hiriart  Rodrà ­guezChildren: Augusto Osvaldo, Jacqueline Marie, Lucà ­a, Marco Antonio, Marà ­a Verà ³nicaNotable Quote: Everything I did, all my actions, all of the problems I had I dedicate to God and to Chile, because I kept Chile from becoming Communist. Early Life Pinochet was born on Nov. 25, 1915, in Valparaiso, Chile to descendants of French settlers who had come to Chile more than a century before. His father was a middle-class government worker. The eldest of six children, Pinochet married Marà ­a  Lucà ­a  Hiriart  Rodrà ­guez in 1943 and they had five children. He entered Chilean War Academy when he turned 18  and graduated in four years as a sub-lieutenant. Military Career Begins Pinochet rose quickly through the ranks despite the fact that Chile was never at war during his military career. In fact, Pinochet never saw combat while he was in the military; the closest he came was as the commander of a detention camp for Chilean Communists. Pinochet lectured at the War Academy and wrote five  books on politics and warfare. By 1968, he was promoted to brigadier general. Pinochet and Allende In 1948, Pinochet met future President Salvador Allende, a young Chilean senator who was a socialist. Allende had come to visit the concentration camp then run by Pinochet, where many Chilean Communists were being held. In 1970, Allende was elected president, and he promoted Pinochet to be commander of the Santiago garrison. Over the next three years, Pinochet proved invaluable to Allende by helping put down opposition to Allende’s economic policies, which were devastating the nation’s economy. Allende promoted Pinochet to commander-in-chief of all Chilean armed forces in August 1973. The Coup of 1973 Allende, as it turned out, had made a grave mistake by putting his trust in Pinochet. With the people in the streets and the countrys economy in shambles, the military moved to take over the government. On Sept. 11, 1973, less than three weeks after he had been made the commander-in-chief, Pinochet directed his troops to take Santiago, the capital, and he ordered an airstrike on the presidential palace. Allende died defending the palace, and Pinochet was made part of a four-man ruling junta led by the commanders of the army, air force, police, and navy. Later, he seized absolute power. Operation Condor Pinochet and Chile were heavily involved in Operation Condor, a collaborative effort among the governments of Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay to control leftist dissidents such as the MIR, or Movement of the Revolutionary Left, in Bolivia, and the Tupamaros, a band of Marxist revolutionaries that operated in Uruguay. The effort consisted mainly of a series of kidnappings, disappearances, and assassinations of prominent opponents of the right-wing regimes in those countries. The Chilean DINA, a feared secret police force, was one of the driving organizations behind the operation. It is unknown how many people were killed during Operation Condor, but most of the estimates range well into the thousands. The Economy Pinochet’s team of U.S.-educated economists, who were known as â€Å"the Chicago Boys,† advocated lowering taxes, selling state-run businesses, and encouraging foreign investment. These reforms led to sustained growth, prompting the phrase â€Å"The Miracle of Chile.† However, the reforms also led to a decline in wages and a spike in unemployment, and there was a severe recession from 1980 to 1983. Steps Down In 1988, a nationwide referendum on Pinochet resulted in a majority of the people voting to deny him another term as their president. Elections were held in 1989 and the opposition candidate, Christian Democrat  Patricio Aylwin, was victorious. However, Pinochet’s supporters continued to hold enough influence in the Chilean parliament to block many proposed reforms. Pinochet remained in office until Aylwin was installed as president on March 11, 1990, although as an ex-president he remained a senator for life. He also kept his position as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Legal Troubles and Death Pinochet might have been out of the limelight, but the victims of Operation Condor did not forget about him. In October 1998, he was in the United Kingdom for medical reasons. Seizing upon his presence in a country with an extradition treaty, his opponents brought charges against him in a Spanish court in connection with the  torture  of Spanish citizens in Chile during his rule. He was charged with several counts of murder, torture, and kidnapping. The charges were dismissed in 2002 on the grounds that Pinochet, by then in his late 80s, was too unhealthy to stand trial. Further charges were brought against him in 2006, but Pinochet died on December 10 of that year in Santiago before the prosecution could proceed. Legacy   Many Chileans are divided on the topic of their former dictator. Some say they see him as a savior who rescued them from the socialist policies of Allende and who did what had to be done in a turbulent time to prevent anarchy and communism. They point to the growth of the economy under Pinochet and claim he was a patriot who loved his country. Others say he was a ruthless despot directly responsible for thousands of murders, in most cases for no more than thought crimes. They believe his economic success was not all it seemed because unemployment was high and wages were low during his rule. Regardless of these differing views, it is undeniable that Pinochet was one of the most important figures of the 20th century in South America. His involvement in Operation Condor made him the poster boy for violent dictatorship, and his actions led many in his country never to trust their government again.   Sources Dinges, John. The Condor Years: How Pinochet and His Allies Brought Terrorism to Three Continents. Paperback, Reprint edition, The New Press, June 1, 2005.ï » ¿The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica (2018). Augusto Pinochet: President of Chile.

Commercial Passenger Airline Service Industry Research Paper

Commercial Passenger Airline Service Industry - Research Paper Example Most of the small aircrafts offer exclusively business classes thereby carrying only a few people who are willing to pay a higher charge for the high quality services (Cento 11). Apparently, the demand and supply of the airline services is dependent on a number of factors. Some of these factors are positive attributes which boost the industry to become more competitive as opposed to other modes of travel. The negative factors affect the profitability index of the airlines as they record low revenue from reduced. FACTORS AFFECTING DEMAND OF AIRLINE SERVICES The airline industry goes through turbulent times while in other seasons, the business sprouts. This is due to a number of factors that affects the demand for the services of the airline industry. Some of these factors are controlled by the industry while others are not easily controlled by the industry (Shaw 34). For example, some natural factors that affect the demand for the services of the airline industry are not easily contro lled by the airline industry. Therefore, it is in the best interests of the airline industry to make sure these factors are not adversely affecting the demand for the services. The first factor that affects the airline industry is political stability. The politics in different places of the world are dependent on the political environment. Politics is an aspect that affects virtually every service and production industry (Fojt 22). This is due to the political orderliness that comes when the political environment is stable. When the political environment is stable, there is perfect supply and demand for services and products in the market. This is the same approach that is used in the airline industry. Many people would like to travel when the political environment is calm. For example, when there is political tension in a particular country, many people fear for their lives. As such they are not likely to travel to such places. This will affect the airline industry as it will strug gle with a low demand for its services (Ben-Yosef 23). Apparently, many people are not likely to travel when there is political instability in a country. In some instances, many people would prefer to postpone their vacations when there is political instability in an area. This will have direct and dire effects on the airline industry since there will be a low demand for the services and products of the airline companies (Cento 7). However, when there is political stability in most places where the industry operates, there are many people that feel the urge to travel. This will ultimately increase the demand for the services of the airline industry. Security is one factor that affects the demand for many services and products in the world. Security is an ultimate factor that affects their demand and supply for services. For example, when there is insecurity in an area, the demand and supply of services and products will be halted. In some instances, there is a curfew due to security reasons. As such, business operations are limited to the stated times. This is the same scenario that happens in the case of demand for airline services. Many people prefer secure places when they are traveling. As such, they will only consider traveling when there is steadfast security. Though airline industry tries to limit cases of insecurity, some instances are not controllable. For example, when there were terror attacks in September 11th, many people felt that the security

How accounting affect stock price Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How accounting affect stock price - Essay Example Unexpected good accounting performance has a significant effect on CEO’s pay for a short time. However, on long-term basis, the trend reverses, and the pay starts decreasing and thus the benefits accrued evens out. However, in the compensation using the stock price performance, a good stock price translates into increased CEO salary, which on the long-run maintains the rise. Accounting performance is arrived at by an aggregate evaluation of all the subunits of the firm. Acquiring all the required information in computing the aggregate departmental performance is a tedious exercise that takes quite a considerable amount of time. A poor performance in one department is likely to negatively affect the other entire firm. Thus, to ensure a high performance level, the CEO must focus on an increasing performance of all the departments of the firm. Accounting performance is very useful when issuing promotions to various departmental managers and supervisors. The best performing managers and supervisors, and the ones who have maintained an upward trend are awarded with promotions, but not the best method to use in determining a CEO’s compensation. A firm could register an upward growth for a number of years, but assume an upward diminishing growth. This phenomenon occurs when the firm achieves its maximum growth, where all resources are utilized to the optimum. At this point, the firm cannot grow anymore since all its resources are fully utilized. The growth thus becomes stagnant. A CEO who is compensated using this method will start receiving decreasing remuneration as the firm’s performance starts decreasing. In contrary to the accounting performance, the stock prices method does not reach a maximum growth level. A CEO who works hard to achieve growth of the firms’ stock prices has no limit to the level at which they can

Coastal Squeeze Of Salt Marshes Environmental Sciences Essay

Coastal Squeeze Of Salt Marshes Environmental Sciences Essay Coastal squeeze of salt marshes refers to any situation in which the coastal margin, which is the area buffering land and sea is squeezed between the fixed boundary of the land, and the rising sea level. Numerous studies regarding rising sea level exist, though there is only a select few that directly address the problem of coastal squeeze on tidal marshes. Past 200 years has seen an accelerated and unprecedented loss of natural wetlands due to direct and indirect human activity. A reported 50% or salt marshes are lost or degraded worldwide (MEA 2005, UNEP 2006). Despite ongoing restoration efforts around the world, the overall demands for more housing and associated development activities will lead to more loss of active wetlands. An increasing population, coupled with agricultural development and advances in technology have an ever greater impact on wetlands. Humans have been utilizing wetlands and their resources since the onset of organized civilization. Documented use of salt marshes for ecosystem services date back to the Neolithic in some areas (Knotterus 2005), and the origin of civilization is said to be the Mesopotamian tidal marshes, or the Fertile Crescent. (Sanlaville 2002) Nevertheless, wetlands have been undergoing mass degradation worldwide, with losses in the United States beginning with the arrival of early settlers in the late 16th century. Studies show that the United States has lost 54% of its original 87 million hectares of wetland, and that number is continually dwindling. (Tiner 1984) This loss of wetlands can only be expected to get worse with rising sea level which will drown and squeeze out many coastal marshes. Current predictions expect sea level to rise by 40cm by 2080, producing massive impacts on coastal wetland. Human Use The enclosure of coastal land, namely salt marshes, has been a way of artificially creating productive land for many centuries. Beginning with the colonization of the United States by Dutch and English settlers in the late 17th century, salt marshes were used by humans for a variety of uses, their primary use being grazing of livestock, and harvesting of salt hay to be used as livestock feed and fodder. Salt marshes during this period of time were often artificially diked, filled, planted and tilled to create an alterable and ideal landscape for agricultural use. This widespread drainage was most prevalent in the southern colonies of the United States. As the industrial revolution began in the 19th century, agriculture began to move across the US via Westward Expansion, and an increasing immigrant population and the need for urban expansion yielded a new population which had little connection to the land. In this time period, salt marshes were increasingly converted to usable space, such as housing and industrial factories. (Bromberg- Gedan Sillman 2009) The public perception of salt marshes shifted from that of a fertile agricultural land, to a menace to health and life, a trackless wasteland that must be converted to a usable landscape. In this time period, a large portion of the United States salt marshes were converted into other types of environments, often urbanized. It was not until the late 1960s that the value of salt marshes was recognized again by the United States public and governmental population, and these concerns have deepend over time as repeated environmental and economic disasters validate the predictions of the 60s and 70s. Scientific perspectives towards wetland science are shifting to contain: a wider recognition of the consequences of wetland degradation, opportunities for wetlands to deliver improvements through integrated development, a focus through the conservation movement, and more recognition of ecosystem services within policy frameworks. (Maltby, 2009) The concept of wise use of wetlands, enacted through the Ramsar Convention of 1970, was a major leap forward in the preservation of coastal wetlands, with its regulations and goals still being used in coastal policy today. (Maltby 2009) Though human society has made leaps and bounds in the preservation of salt marshes, the current rate of loss is estimated at 1-2% per year worldwide. (Butler, 2010) The diked coastal floodplain of the US is about 50,000 km in size, much of which would have been coastal wetlands, and while restoration efforts are in place, it is not enough to counteract the loss worldwide. Models suggest that future coastal wetland loss through sea level rise will reach 5-20% of current wetlands by 2080, while urban development will continue to pressure wetlands. The global biodiversity outlook suggests that this coastal squeeze may cause coastal wetland systems to be reduced to narrow fringes by 2100, or lost entirely. (Figure 1) http://www.beachapedia.org/images/d/db/Global_warming_graphic3.gif Figure 1: Anticipated future changes to salt marshes as sea level rises. (Titus 1991) The Importance of salt marshes To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of the continents for untold thousands of years, to see the running of the old eels and the young shad to sea, is to have the knowledge of things that are nearly eternal as any earthly life can be.- Rachel Carson, Under the Sea Wind, 1941 National academy of Sciences defines wetlands as: ecosystems that depend on constant or recurrent, shallow inundation or saturation at or near the surface of the substrate. The minimum essential characteristics of a wetland are recurrent, sustained inundation or saturated at or near the surface and the presence of physical, chemical, and biological features reflective of recurrent, sustained inundation or saturation. Common diagnostic features of wetlands are hydric soils, and hydrophytic vegetation. These features will not be present where specific physio-chemical, biotic, or anthropogenic factors have removed them or prevented their development. (Natural Resource Council, 1995) Technically, wetlands can occur in any area in which precipitation is larger than losses from evaporation and drainage, but are dependent on how humans choose to use them. Since the colonization of the United States, wetlands have been steadily decreasing. Wetland occur over a wide range of environments, from the arctic to the tropics, from coastal areas to secluded intercontinental areas. The total wetland area on earth has been estimated to be approximately 6% of its total land surface at a minimum, as many countries do not have comprehensive inventories of identified wetlands. (Mitsch and Gosselink, 2000) In North America, specifically the USA and Canada, there is an estimated 14.2 million hectares of wetlands (Scott and Jones 1995). The wetlands of the United States span the entire east coast, and are also incredibly extensive along the Gulf of Mexico, but less common on the steeper, rockier Pacific coast. This paper will focus on the salt marshes of the Eastern United States, namely New England. Complex interactions take place within these ecosystems, in which the biotic and abiotic world are fully linked. The interactions that take place within these environments provide the basis for the delivery of goods and services from these ecosystems. The provision of these services, however, is reliant on the maintenance and protection of these ecosystems. Benefits from ecological processes that occur in wetlands are not always obvious, and for this reason, they tend to be ignored by humans when decisions are made to alter wetlands. As stated in The Wetlands Handbook, Wetland functions are the result of ecological processes that are necessary for the self-maintenance of the ecosystems, and occur without human intervention. (Maltby 2009) Wetlands protect and maintain water quality by providing a filter for sediments and excess nutrients, essentially purifying water in connected water resources, such as oceans, lakes, and rivers, which are used by humans for recreational activities, and drinking water. Nutrients, toxins, and sediments enter the wetland environment via runoff, which in urban areas can contain very high levels of toxic materials which could contaminate the water supply, if not for filtration via marshes and wetlands. Scientists have estimated that wetlands may remove between 70% and 90% of the worlds entering nitrogen (Reilly 1991, Gilliam 1994), in addition to the removal of pathogens, toxic metals such as lead and copper, surface water pollutants, and other nutrients such as phosphorus. Salt marshes alone sequester more carbon in their soils than any other temperate biome partially due to the unique microbes that live in these environments, sequestering roughly 771 Billion tons, the same amount that i s currently in our atmosphere. In addition to this, they contribute 1% or more to the annual global loss of fixed nitrogen via microbially mediated denitrification. (Schuster Watson 2007) The hydrology of a particular wetland environment controls every factor of the ecosystem, including nutrient cycling, biogeochemical processes, species biodiversity, and filtration. (Maltby 2009) Coastal Wetlands are not only an interface between land and sea, but also an interface between groundwater, surface water, and atmospheric moisture. Wetlands process key ecosystem elements such as nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorus, and thus are the basis of ecosystem functioning and balance. It is this balance that maintains the supply of wetland products and service that are valuable to humans and other species alike. However, like many environments, this balance is fragile, and the removal or addition of one key element could alter the way the entire ecosystem functions. Salt marshes provide many valuable ecosystem services which must be preserved. (Table 1) Salt marshes act as natural filters that purify water entering the estuary (Mitsch and Gosselink 2008). As water passes through marshes, it slows due to friction of grasses. Suspended sediments are then deposited on the marsh surface, facilitating nutrient uptake, and filtering the water. This filtration is very valuable to human drinking water, as displayed In Louisiana, where treatment of wastewater attained capitalized cost savings of $785 to $15,000/acre compared to municipal treatment. (Breaux 1995) Marshes are an important storm buffer, and provide many resources such as fish, sand, gravel, hay, and shellfish to humans. Table 1 Values of ecosystem services of tidal marshes Ecosystem service Examples of human benefits Average value (Adj. 2007 $a haà ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢1 yearà ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢1) Disturbance regulation Storm protection and shoreline protection $2824 Waste treatment Nutrient removal and transformation $9565 Habitat/refugia Fish and shrimp nurseries $280 Food production Fishing, hunting, gathering, aquaculture $421 aw materials Fur trapping $136 Recreation Hunting, fishing, birdwatching $1171 TOTAL $14,397 Table 1: Estimated monetary value of ecosystem services marshes provide on an annual basis (Gedan Bromwell, 2009) Dollar values were adjusted for inflation from original data, presented in 1994 dollars (Costanza et al. 1997). The adjustment was done with the U.S. Department of Labor Inflation Calculator, which uses the Consumer Price Index to correct values through time. Please see Costanza et al. (1997) for valuation methods and note that this valuation method is not universally accepted by economists, see Bockstael et al. (2000) Coastal Squeeze in Marshes Coastal squeeze, as defined by the Environment Agency of England is The reduction of intertidal (mean low water spring tide to mean high water spring tide) habitat as a consequence of sea level rise and the action of flood defenses. If sea levels rise without flood defenses in place, the inter-tidal area is able to gradually move inland over time and there is no net loss of habitat. With defenses or other constraints present, the movement inland of the high water line is impeded, but the low waterline moves shoreward, which leads to a loss of the inter-tidal delta. (Figure 2) (Black and Veatch, 2006) It occurs when landward conversion is not able to take place. Landward conversion takes place when the lower limits of salt marsh habitats are eroded, and the eroded sediments are re-deposited further landwards. This process is often referred to as habitat rollover. http://www.eloisegroup.org/themes/climatechange/images/coastal_squeeze.jpg Figure 2: Illustration of the process of coastal squeeze due to seawalls. (Pontee 2011) Causes of Coastal Squeeze There are many different driving factors of coastal squeeze, including sea level rise, waves, storm activity, sediment supply, and sediment mobility. Coastal erosion is the main factor in coastal squeeze, as it would not be able to occur if it were not for sea level rise and the resulting need for a migration of the salt marsh landscape. Natural causes of coastal squeeze are loss of the total wetland area by coastal erosion and inundation, change in forest or beach structure via natural disasters or erosion, migration rather than overall loss, and the accretion of new beach or land. There are also a number of anthropogenic causes of erosion, which tend to be more localized than natural causes. Oftentimes, the erosion is caused by sand and gravel extraction from beaches, the construction of piers or breakwaters, which interrupt sediment transport, and the construction of floodwalls and ditches, which prevent coastal retreat. (Pontee 2011) . Examples of anthropogenic coastal defenses i nclude seawalls, which are large concrete structures, bulkheads, which are retaining walls made of wood (not only do they block landward migration, but also often release toxins into the water), and revetment, which is a sloping structure of rocks which decreases the shallow water refuge of an intertidal zone. (Butler 2007) While the width of coastal environments varies natural on an annual, or even a month to month basis, the result of anthropogenic coastal squeeze are typically long term, if restoration actions are not taken. Relation to Climate Change Climate change can affect salt marshes in a number of different ways, namely through sea level rise, particularly when sea walls prevent marsh vegetation from moving upward and inland. With predicted rates of sea level rise, coastal accretion may very well fail to keep pace with this accelerated rise if a critical threshold is crossed, and marsh vegetation is drowned. (Kirwan and Guntenspergen 2009) However, sea level rise does not always lead to the loss of marsh areas, because some marshes experience a process called vertical accretion, in which sediments accumulate vertically, helping the marsh to maintain their elevation with the respect to sea-level where the supply of sediment is sufficient. This is only possible, however, in areas in which the sediment is available. In areas where the sediment supply is more limited, marshes are more susceptible to coastal squeeze, which may lead to their eventual drowning. Vertical Accretion is not always good, however, because after a certai n height, marshes will no longer be regularly inundated by the tide, and this accretion will form a natural barrier. (Temmerman et al 2004) Rising levels of Co2 may affect salt marsh plants and limit their response to coastal squeeze, and temperature change could potentially alter the geographical distribution of salt marshes in temperate and arctic latitudes. (Chapman 1977) However, temperature may change too quickly for many marshes to migrate and adjust. Recent evidence suggests that hurricane intensity and frequency is also anticipated to increase with climate change, causing higher rates of erosion in tidal marshes, increasing the rate of coastal squeeze. (IPCC 2007) Case Studies Abbots hall: Abbots hall Farm is located within the Blackwater Estuary of Essex, England. It consists of farmland, dry grassland, salt tolerant grassland, and existing marsh areas. The main factor in the increasing problem of coastal squeeze in this area was the 3.8km of sea wall along the north bank of the Salcott Channel, a main marsh creek. The saltmarsh was on the seaward side of this wall, thus subjecting it to coastal squeeze by limiting it migration landwards. However, the Coastal Realignment project breached the wall in many areas, so as to provide area for new saltmarsh to form inland. While wall still remains at the ends of the farm as property markers, the resulting intermittent, unrestricted areas of marsh now have the potential to remain healthy and viable in the future. While this is an improvement, the Essex coastline still contains over 400 miles of sea wall, built to enclose saltings to improve grazing. Though these are not expected to be taken down in the near futur e, the loss of wetlands may prompt a dire need to do just so. (Figure 3) Figure 3: Rising seas causing a narrowing shoreline on the Blackwater Estuary, Essex (Doody, 2004) The Gulf coast Region of the United States, which includes vast marshes such as the Florida Everglades, is experiencing some of the highest wetland loss rates in the United States, largely because of human interference. The Everglades region of Florida contains a wide array of wetland environments, including sawgrass prairies, salt marshes, tree islands, and mangrove forests. The Southern Florida Project for Flood Control and Other Purposes of 1948 created many canals, floodgates, and levees to reduce flood risks to agriculture, transportation, and urban development. However, they interfered with natural hydrological processes in the area, and in return, actually reduced their natural capacity to mitigate flooding. (Robert Twilley 2007) Future Expectations and Conclusions Global climate change is expected to affect can and atmospheric circulation, sea level rise, the intensity of hurricanes, the magnitude of precipitation, and sea surface and air temperatures. (IPCC 2007) Under normal conditions, salt marshes adjust to these conditions, but under the increased pressures of population rise and urbanization, combined with the ever quickening rate of climate change, salt marshes may not be able to adapt fast enough to the changes occurring around them. The future hydrology of salt marshes will all depend on these factors. In the case of a widespread depletion of salt marshes, we can anticipate the effects to worsen globally.

The Importance of External Factors in Influencing the Conducting

The Importance of External Factors In Influencing The Conducting Of US Foreign Policy To answer the essay question, external factors are indeed important in influencing the conducting of American foreign policy, as they are for all countries. They are important because they determine the direction American foreign policy takes, and with it, can drastically alter the futures of entire countries (Iraq & Afghanistan post 9/11).This essay will devote itself to exploring and explaining how each external factor is important and influential, and proceed to back it up by providing historic and modern examples detailing its effect on US foreign policy, and the end results. These external factors that will be explored are (sequentially) strategic interests of other nations, geographically-based vulnerabilities of the USA in relation to economic and military interests and finally the successes of grass roots revolution in the Arab Spring in upending both long-standing allies and enemies, and it s effect on traditional US foreign policy stances.The first external factor is the strategic interests of both allies and enemies across the world. Due to the USA’s current position as a hyper-power with a global presence, its influence and interests often collide with those interests or spheres of influence of other nations, ranging from allies such as the United Kingdom, Israel and Poland, to long-time rivals such as the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China or find itself involved in a conflict between two different nations (such as the Falklands issue or the current Israel-Iran crisis).In such situations where the USA must interact with other involved nation-states, the USA has either attempted to compromise with the other parties involved in an attempt to reach an amicable solution or fully backed a local ally/pursued its own objectives to the detriment of local nation-states.One of the more notable examples of the first is in the long-running nego tiations with North Korea, where six-country negotiations (featuring Russia, America, China, Japan and both Koreas) have been ongoing since 2003, primarily concerning North Korea’s nuclear program but also the normalization of trade, demilitarization and normalization of diplomatic relations.In no less than six different rounds of negotiations (with a seventh one starting in 2012), the United States has sat down for talks with the isolationist North Koreans, attempting to reach an agreement to the satisfaction of all the regional powers involved, an agreement that would see international concerns over North Korea’s nuclear program addressed, as well as pave a way towards future reunification.While talks have continually broken down or bore little fruit, this is more so due to unrealistic North Korean demands and various violations than the USA negotiating under false pretenses or seeking personal advancement. The North Korean talks in particular stand as a specific cas e where the USA has and continues to work alongside regional powers for the benefit of all involved. The second approach taken by the USA is that of fully favoring one side or party in a conflict or situation (usually a long-term ally or one of more relevance) over the other side, sometimes to its own eventual detriment.A prime example of this would be the Israel-Palestine situation in the Middle East today. While the United States has several allies among the Arab nations (Jordan, the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, formerly Egypt†¦), it has always prioritized Israel as its main ally in the region, providing it with billions of dollars yearly in grants, equipping it with some of the most advanced military technology in the world and sharing intelligence since the 1950s.As a result of these incredibly close ties to the Jewish state, the United States is often viewed as responsible or linked to Israel’s actions, while at the same benefiting from its use as a local proxy . So mutually linked however are the two nation-states, that it has directly anchored the USA into the morass of the Israeli-Palestine situation, an action that has often invited Arab rage against the Americans, most infamously concerning Al Qaeda and the 9/11 attack.While pure political/strategic matters are a critical and pervasive external factor in US foreign policy, there is also a backdrop of geography-based concerns that are particularly dangerous to the US’s foreign policy aims. The first element of geographic factor is an economic concern relating the international shipping lanes such as those of the Persian Gulf, while the second element is a military one, involving the supplying of NATO military forces in the land-locked status of Afghanistan.The first element is the more globally threatening one, as shipping lanes such as those of the Panama Canal (Central America), the Horn of Africa (East Africa) and the Hormuz Straits (Persian Gulf) are economic chokepoints, im portant to not only a hyper-power as the USA but the entire world economy. They are important because they are integral waterways in the world economy, shipping massive amounts of Persian Gulf oil daily across the world to countries such as India, China and the USA (nearly 46% of the world’s seaborne petroleum is shipped through both areas together).For the US specifically however, the Persian Gulf is a life-line that cannot be severed, even for a brief period. In 2006 for example, U. S. gross oil imports from the Persian Gulf were 2. 2 million barrels per day, accounting for 17 percent of the US total net oil imports. As such, oil-client states such as India, China, America, and Britain among others have warships detailed to the regions to protect and ensure safe shipping, as well as dealing with piracy.The USA specifically maintains its 5th Fleet in the area, being responsible for the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea and the Gulfs of Aden & Oman. The second elemen t, the military one is far more US-centric, however. Ever since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, NATO forces in the country have been reliant on supply routes going through Pakistan in order to continue operating. As reported by CJ Radin, the supply route starts at the Pakistani port of Karachi, where ships dock and offload their supplies onto trucks.The trucks then drive through Pakistan and enter Afghanistan through either the Khyber Pass near Peshawar or through the Chaman crossing near Quetta. However, due to multiple incidents (the OBL Abbottabad raid, drone airstrikes killing Pakistani citizens, various cross-border raids, Pakistani covert support to Taliban cells, Taliban ambushes of supply convoys from the Pakistani border, etc†¦), the relationship between Pakistan and the USA has grown strained, first limiting and then stopping the supplies landing from Karachi.As a whole, the Pakistani route was quite crucial to the NATO military effort, being the closest and most developed friendly port/road network into Afghanistan. Without supplies, NAO faced a struggle to continue their operations against resilient Taliban cells, a struggle that was slowly relieved by the slow build up of a northern network over the course of the last four years through Russia, Turkey and various Baltic, Caucasian & Central Asian states.This network has two different routes, one starting at a Baltic port, then by rail through Russia, Kazakhstan, and then to Uzbekistan before reaching NATO, while the other brings supplies by ship or rail to a Georgian port on the Black Sea, then by rail through Georgia and Azerbaijan, by ferry across the Caspian Sea, and by rail again through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, though it is reportedly by far the most limited.Overall, nearly 35% of US supplies in April 2010, 50% in April 2011, and 55%-65% in July-Sept 2011 came from the new northern network, while other NATO forces received roughly 40% the northern network. These instances both ind icate the striking lengths that the USA is affected by such vulnerabilities, as well as how strongly they are tied to American economic and military instances. In discussing American interests in regions such as Central Asia and the Middle East, one cannot ignore the effects of the Arab Spring.While much ink has devoted to this subject since 2011, here in this essay I will only focus on its affect on traditional US foreign policy stances. To put it simply, since the Cold War, the United States has gained a habit of often backing authoritarian or despotic regimes, monarchies such as Saudi Arabia and Iran (prior to the Islamic Revolution) or strongman republics such as Yemen and Pakistan.These countries repressed their citizenry, yet as long as they were American allies, they were celebrated, or even praised as loyal and as champions of stability and good, while other authoritarian regimes received lambasting and sanctions and other punishments. While Iraq received democracy and liber ation from Saddam, while Condoleezza Rice spoke of the violence wrecked upon Hamas-ruled Gaza and Hezballoh-influenced Lebanon as the â€Å"birth pangs of a new Middle East†, it was the Arab Spring that brought forth a new Middle East.Over a dozen homegrown instances of civil resistance, of rebellion, of revolution, successful or otherwise, all attempted and/or achieved without US prompting. In Libya, in Egypt, in Tunisia, Yemen, long-standing regimes have fallen. Authentic democracies are starting to develop, democracies with no inherent ties or links to the United States, with no reason to reach out to them directly. If I can quote Noam Chomsky on one thing, it’s that the USA cannot count on these new governments to be as friendly or welcoming as their predecessors.It can’t treat these new governments as their predecessors, it can’t control their opinions on Israel or Iran, it can’t easily buy their loyalties, not as things are still unfolding. I n effect, the United States now has to come up with new policies, new strategies to deal with these countries, to decide on continuing pre-existing deals or renegotiate new ones. In conclusion, there are several very important external factors that influence how American foreign policy is conducted, and they are truly important.Learning to how to recognize and compromise in order to accept the strategic interests of other nations, how to handle the geographic limitations and vulnerabilities that often define or control the options available in a situation, and how to adapt to dealing with lesser, developing nations that while democratic are not favorable to you or your interests. Bibliography CJ Radin, 2011, Focus ‘Analysis: The US-Pakistan relationship and the critical factor of supply’ [online] 4 December. Available: Daily Mail Reporter, 2011, Focus: ‘Pakistan gives US two week ultimatum’ [online] 8 November. Available: http://www. dailymail. co. uk/news /article-2066488/Pakistan-gives-US-2-week-ultimatum-abandon-secret-airbase-closes-border. html Cox, M. and Stoke, D. , 2008, US Foreign Policy, Oxford: Oxford University Press Lansford, T. , 2003, A Bitter Harvest: US Foreign Policy & Afghanistan, Ashgate Holsti, O. , 2006, Making American Foreign Policy, Routledge DeAlkatine, N. , 2012, American Diplomacy: Interpreting the Arab Spring, Journal, Range 1996, Available from UWE Library