Deforestation Resulting from European Shipbuilding
Historical texts have documented the countless technologies, ideas, diseases, plants and animals the European ships delivered around the world during the Age of Exploration. However, these texts fail to include one key cargo item: deforestation. European shipbuilding triggered an epidemic of forest depletion that gradually spread to the lands they encountered. Beginning in the early fourteenth century, wood fueled the increased production of exploratory sea vessels. The loss of trees coincided with the rapid rate of shipbuilding. Eventually, Europeans exploited their timber reserves to such an extreme that they began looking elsewhere for wood, including colonies in North America and Southeast Asia. With newfound resources, the European shipbuilding machine churned on, yet before long deforestation also became an issue in the colonial areas. Although shipbuilding played an integral role in a period of European advancement, it devastated not only the European environment but the forests of other continents as well.
Prior to the Age of Exploration, hardwood trees blanketed all of Europe to form a forest giOB47;comparable in size to the Amazon Basin” (David Morse). Forest density was intense, such that “scattered clearings must have appeared like islets in an ocean of green” (Morse).
Nevertheless, as humans discovered the value of wood as fuel for warmth, deforestation followed close behind. The progression of human technologies presented more uses for timber. Eventually, wood became a staple in a wide range of manufacturing processes, among them shipbuilding. The production of sea vessels put extreme pressure on the oldest and largest trees in European forests; the massive tree trunks that were years in the making were also the best suited for the immense hulls of open sea ships. For every ship built, the environment lost some of its oldest flora members, who were unfortunately also the hardest to replace.
Shipbuilding was also closely intertwined with another forest consuming industry: metallurgy, especially iron production. Iron comprised the weaponry and structural support aboard many sea vessels. Because the production of iron required high temperatures, the demand for firewood grew to almost insatiable proportions. Thus, the amount of timber invested in shipbuilding included more than just the lumber for the hulls. As David Morse points out, the trend in metallurgy history dictated that “wherever ironmaking took over . . . it did away with the forest” (Morse). In effect, shipbuilding and its association with iron production impacted the forest landscape two-fold.
The Logging Industry vs. The Old Growth Forests of the Pacific Northwest and the Northern Spotted Owl.
1.) As a whole, the entry of the Europeans into the Asian sea trading network had relatively little effect on the entire system. The entry of the Europeans into the network led to the establishment of new trade routes in the Indian Ocean to the southern Atlantic near the Cape of Good Hope. In water, the Europeans were superior militarily, but on land against fortified Asian settlements, the Asians far surpassed the Europeans technologically. The only superior items that the Europeans had were small, fast sea vessels such as caravels, clocks, and weaponry. This situation of inferiority led to the Europeans’ plan of adaptation to the Asian network instead of trying to control it. Although the Europeans had little to offer, the agricultural items introduced such as crops first cultivated in the Americas proved to be very sustainable and led to large amounts of population growth, but the growing numbers eventually led to the spread of epidemic diseases that ultimately ravaged both Asian and European populations.
Before it became the “New World,” as it was titled by Europeans, the Americas were vastly more populous than has been previously thought- possibly upwards of 18 million. “High Counters” and “Low Counters”, whose names are associated with their predicted population counts, argue whether or not this is in fact the case. The argument has strong implications on the history of the Americas before the Europeans. In Charles C. Mann’s 2002 article for the Atlantic magazine titled 1491, he proposes that, based on the suggestions of the high counters, that the Amazon rain forest’s fascinating landscape is an artificial creation of a massive society prior to Columbus’ arrival.
In the mid and late of the 15th Century, Europe attained control over the globe’s wind patterns and ocean currents and started creating a European-based...
b) Logging has impacted this special ecosystem. There are trees that are hundreds of years old and their timber is being pushed to be sold for high prices. After World War 2 the Australian economy was booming and timber was in demand. A number of timber mills where made near the Daintree for the purpose of cutting down the forest for the use in infra...
Beowulf exhibits many obvious heroic qualities, such as his strength and confidence in battle. These along with more subtle diplomatic actions serve to define him as both a great warrior and leader.
Smith, Jillian R. "Shipbuilding and the English International Timber Trade." DigitalCommons @University of Nebraska - Lincoln (2009): 89-92.
Once forests began to be viewed as beneficial, it opened up a whole new lifestyle. The forests and nature might have been an evil and scary place, but it was a place filled with resources and opportunity. Settlers began using trees and wood in a plethora of ways. Not only was it used for families own use, many began logging forests as a business; a very profitable business at that. Once wood started being used for beneficial purposes, a snowball effect occurred by the settlers to cut down every tree in sight and turn it into a profit.
Education is the foundation of American society. It empowers the youth of America to become the successful leaders this country needs for the future. Education has been one of America’s top priorities since 1965, when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was passed. Now, education is controlled by the No Child Left Behind Act, which was launched in January 8, 2002. This act was passed with intentions from the government to provide Americans with a more superior education system. However, The No Child Left Behind Act carried many flaws which were left unseen to a vast majority of the public. This act limited American students by not allowing them to demonstrate their full academic potentials while proceeding in school. While the act was still fairly fresh, there was already evidence to prove that it had already gotten off to a bad beginning. For the crucial math and science courses, statistics showed minimal improvements which had begun around the time period in which the No Child Left Behind Act was passed. The act was also supported by a number of educators who voiced themselves by testifying against having the right to teach at their own free will. Teachers across America claimed that because of this new act, they felt a constant heaviness upon their shoulders from the state government to “Teach the test.”
Taking wood from rainforests and old-growth forests is detrimental to the environment and society. However, it is possible for us to have sustainable wood if we make an effort.
... ready to take on the role of a militaristic Spartan. The tactics they used to take on the Persians were practiced and perfected over years of experience and training. This helped them hold their position for the expansive period of time that they did. This quote from N. S. Gill’s article Battle of Thermopylae states “Spartan King Leonidas was general in charge of the Greek forces that tried to restrain the vast Persian army, to delay them . . . Leonidas may have hoped to block them long enough that Xerxes would have to sail away for food and water”. This quote is saying that Leonidas had not hoped to defeat the Persians but only to hold them off until reinforcements arrived to join the war.
Technology has facilitated the transportation of a mass of people from one part of the world to another. This massive human travel, either it be the exploration, colonization, or trade of the early European nations or the contemporary infrastructure of trade, tourism, or globalization, has impacted the environment and the humans involved. This paper focuses on the era of European expansion to examine the effect of human travel on the environment and humans. The Europeans were not only responsible for the actual exploitation of natural resources in the places they discovered, but they also took diseases, new technologies, and non-native plant and animal species which had a tremendous impact on the native human population as well as the environment.
In conclusion, the initial intentions of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) were to close the achievement gap between low achieving students and schools and their counterparts; but have fallen short in many important aspects along the way. Teachers have become de-sensitized to the reasons they initially desired to be educators and have lost their vision of how to implement instruction due to standards of NCLB and the consequences for not meeting those mandated goals. Likewise, students must perform, many times, above their level in order to be labeled “adequate” by the federal government and their schools. In some cases, there is a disproportionate burden placed on schools, teachers, and students, all for the sake of what is federally deemed as average achievement.
Beowulf fulfills this by an epic tradition of dying while fighting. While this may detract from Beowulf's invincibility claims, fate has it that all are destined to die. Beowulf’s funeral included “buried torques in the barrow and jewels and trove of such things,” signifying his death had great traditional power. Death is only a portion of being a hero. The willingness to die for his people signifies courage as well. After Beowulf delivers the “deadly wound,” and is a near death, he goes on delivering a monologue showcasing his feats. This heroic scene embodies his willingness to fight for the Danes with his life at
Once again, multiple examples had to be given to describe one legendary character. Beowulf is not a pragmatic hero; he is the hero that everyone yearns to be but always falls short. The ultimate hero—Beowulf—is a person who falls into each category of heroism: merciful, courageous, honest, strong, confident, intelligent. If a person in the modern world can slide into at least one genre of heroic deeds, then they have made amazing progress in the rat race. And that’s all people can count in the