MHE512 Disaster Relief Module 2 SLP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

MHE512 Disaster Relief Module 2 SLP - Essay Example This state of affairs culminated in the impeachment and subsequent resignation of President Joseph Estrada in 2002, a popular figure for the masses. Succeeding him was then Vice President Gloria Arroyo who was subjected to questions of legitimacy and yearly impeachment complaints until she was officially elected in the 2004 national presidential race. The impeachment did not stop and became an annual affair with complainants rushing to be the first to file. Military and police authorities are also embroiled in the political struggle and many of them have attempted to overthrow the civilian government. (Balisacan, 2004) Corruption is also rampant in the poverty-stricken rural regions as political leaders swindle local public treasury coffers. Many projects are padded and made to appear very expensive when there was minimal expense or no projects at all implemented. Transparency International, an agency devoted to rooting out corruption, conducted a Corruption Perceptions Index for 99 countries and found that in a scale of 1 (high perception of corruption) to 10 (low corruption perception), the Philippine respondents ranked 3.6 in the index. 72% of the sampled population also believes that public officials are inherently corrupt. Philippines ranked as the 55th least corrupt out of the 99 countries surveyed. Nepotism is also very rampant and many positions in the government are filled with relatives and political allies. Patronage politics is extremely prevalent as patrons are important support systems during elections. Thus, one can find many positions in the government occupied by sons, campaign managers and other supporters. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is even guilty when he appointed his son, a Congressman, in charge of the National Disaster Council. (Benson, 2005) Economic Philippine economy is an example of a mixed economy as the formerly agrarian country is now experiencing milestones in industrialization. The Republic of the Philippines is now a major exporter of garments, semi-conductors, pharmaceutical products and electronic devices and equipment. Mining is also a big industry as the country is endowed with rich minerals and other natural resources. Many Filipinos are now working abroad as nurses, engineers and household assistants. Their remittances are now the single largest contributor in the economy spurring growth and investment. (Benson, 2005) There is an imbalance of imports and exports with the former outweighing the other. Heavy reliance on imports is also increasing the exposure of the economy to international downturns. With the global recession, the Philippine peso devaluated leading to a multiple-fold increase in international currency debts and shrinking of capital value. Heavy reliance in remittances has proven to be catastrophic as the global recession forced many countries to stop construction developments and send home its international workforce, majority of which are Filipinos. Many expatriates now in the Philippines find themselves with no income opportunities and a depleted savings account. (UNICEF, 2005) Health Since 23% of the population is below the poverty line, many areas in the Philippines

Loss of Biodiversity Due to Pollution Research Paper

Loss of Biodiversity Due to Pollution - Research Paper Example The Gulf of Mexico is opulent in biodiversity and exceptional habitats, and hosts the solitary recognized nesting shoreline of Kemp’s Ridley, the world’s rare sea turtle. It has an interesting circulation array which stretches it organic and socioeconomic significance; water from the Caribbean come into commencing the south over the Yucatan Channel amid Cuba and Mexico and, after warming up in the basin, goes out over the northern Florida Canal amid the United States and Cuba to produce the Gulf River in the North Atlantic that assists to standardize the macroclimate of the western Europe. Creeks and bays are public along Gulf seashores with other reefs, sea grasses, and coastal wetlands, principally Spartina alterniflora, usual in the north, and certain oyster’s ridges, native to national sea greenswards, and mangrove forests in the south. Off shore, coral ridges are conjoint in several areas in the southern Gulf, alongside northwest Cuba, beside Florida Keys, and one district off Texas. Creatures that call Gulf of Mexico home vary from infinitesimal to gigantic. (Day, 2013). Gulf Oil Spill Gulf oil spill is acknowledged as the nastiest spill in the account of United States. Inhabitants from the Gulf of Mexico echo that, tallies of fish, mantra rays, sharks, dolphins and sea turtles are escaping the spirals of oil and cleaners to the trivial waters off the coasts of Alabama and Florida. Marine biologists suggest that these animals feel the adjustment in water chemistry and attempt to drip the polluted water dead zones by swimming in the direction of the oxygen rich shallows (National Research Council, 2012). Immediate Impact Under normal Gulf season, death is expected during laying and nesting period (Marion, 2011). The oil spills instantaneously endangered brown pelican, the egrets, the laughing gulls and other shore and migrant birds, beached with greased fuzz as they strained to rear their young nestlings. Their fledglings faced and still face an indeterminate future, as they begin their expedition on infested water. Dead and vanishing sea creatures still attempt to leak from the oxygen depreciated water, because of methane gas from the oil, which depletes oxygen at a very high speed, as illustrated in the pictures below (Benn & Bolton, 2011). Physical Effects Physical effects comprise of demise by asphyxia, with oil hindering air openings or gills. By numbing sensual organs, oil upsets creatures’ ability to discover food or sense predators. Many birds and other inhabitants succumbed to death as a consequence of hypothermia, bec ause oil led to lessening of the protecting effect of plumages and fur. Since the oil spill, crabs have been documented hiking out of water, as a toxic gleam approaches the shoreline. During morning hours, they are observed floating stomach up in the water, in a bid to get more oxygen. Nevertheless, the air they inhale is loaded with chemicals blowing up from the water (National Research Council, 2012). Impact of the oil spill on coral reefs presents unique physical conditions. This is because healthy coral reefs are amongst the most organically assorted and economically treasured ecologies on earth, providing vital ecosystem services. They are a foundation of nourishment for millions, guard seashores from storms and corrosion, offer habitation, procreating and nursery lands for economically essential fish species, offer businesses and revenue to local economies from angling, leisure, and tourism, are a basis of treatments, and hotspots for aquatic multiplicity. Immediate spill resu lted to death of some corals, leading to subsequent smothering and sinking of them. Over time, reduction of photosynthesis, development and reproduction has been documented. Regardless of this, the extent of coral reef damage unswervingly attributable to the Gulf Spill has remained unusually minor (Marion, 2011). Toxic effects Skin ulcerations, destruction to the spleen, liver, lungs and