BBC Reports on Disasters - Annotated Bibliography Example

A Report on Selected Articles

1. Keane, K. (2020, June 12). Coronavirus: Air quality improvement in most-polluted streets. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-53015092

Summary

Keane (2020) reports that while the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has put a halt to almost half of the world's activities due to lockdowns and other measures developed to curtail the infection rates, air quality is improving across the United Kingdom. It comes from a reduction of vehicle movement, which ranks among the significant causes of pollution and global warming. This outcome is due to the toxic gases that burning fuel emit into the atmosphere. Stakeholders obtained the findings from measuring air quality in some of the U.K's most polluted regions. Overall, they motivated representatives of notable environmental organizations such as Ricardo, Friends of the Earth Scotland, and government officials to call for concerted efforts to ensure that the U.K maintains the changes in air quality equitably and sustainably.

Analysis

Making policies to safeguard the environment requires a call for action by the public. However, with the many areas demanding policy formulation, it is easy to overlook and neglect the environment. This situation motivates organizations to speak on behalf of the public or the environment itself to encourage safer and environmentally sound practices. As seen in the article, the two organizations, including a public company and an NGO, used the research findings to voice their demands towards cleaner energy. This situation signaled how NGOs could serve as whistle-blowers and notify the relevant authorities or the press when a private sector actor violates the environment. Also, it indicated that they could suggest governance solutions regarding environmental matters. However, since the U.K is within the European Union, it becomes essential that any measures they choose to go by adheres to the treaties that the 28 member body enforced to handle environmental issues. Most importantly, the EU system exists alongside national governance systems on each member country, which allows for the effective and efficient formulation of policies that sit well with other member nations. With air quality being one of the most important policy areas for the EU, such findings are likely to spur policy action.

2. D’Angelo, C. (2020, June 17). Senate Passes Major Public Lands Bill. HuffPost, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/senate-great-american-outdoors-act_n_5ee2e2e8c5b67a2efedcb6e7

Summary

Writing for the Huffpost, D'Angelo (2020) reports on the Great American Outdoors Act that aims to increase maintenance measures to America's national park and permanently support the Land and Water Conservation Fund. This legislation is one that will preserve public lands, by utilizing offshore fossil-fuel revenue to create and protect parks, wildlife refuges, forests, and any other essential wildlife habitat. The act set aside 9.5 billion dollars for maintenance backlog at national parks and 900 million dollars for land and water Conservation. Mainly, citing co-sponsors of the legislation, the article explains the need for the outdoors and for conserving it for the benefit of future generations. Environmental advocates and communities, in general, welcomed this move.

Analysis

This article highlights governments' roles towards encouraging environmental conservation, while showing an interaction of trade and the environment. On the one hand, the environment serves as the recipient of all adverse effects that come with the human utilization of fossil fuels, including pollution through emissions and oil spills. This situation comes at the cost of the all-important revenue that fossil fuel and moving vehicles generate for organizations and countries enhancing their economies in the long. While such outcomes help to rise wealth and income comes, they advance environmental problems that stakeholders must aim to address at both national and local levels. However, when individuals' incomes rise, they begin to demand a cleaner and safer environment. This situation, alongside international environmental policies, helps raise a conservation and maintenance movement in independent countries. Overall, by offering part of the revenues obtained from the fossil fuel business, and pushing it into conserving wildlife, land, and water, one could presume that the United States arrived at the Environmental Kuznets Curve. It opines that economic development will first lead to environmental deterioration. However, as the economy grows and living standards rise, stakeholders will shift priority towards the natural environment.

3. BBC News. (2020, June 24). Deadly Mexico quake causes panic as buildings shake. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-53160460

Summary

The BBC (2020) reports on a fatal earthquake in Mexico on June 24, 2020. The earthquake's epicenter was in Oaxaca, where it caused massive destruction killing six people. However, its impact became felt across six states with a radius of at least 700 kilometers from the epicenter. In the tourist town of La Crucecita, it resulted in damaging at least 200 houses, indicating the economic impacts that such an earthquake and similar disasters portend. In the same vein, it destroyed 13 hospitals, and by the time of reporting, rescue workers had not yet accessed isolated villages due to the destruction. A few hours later, more than 400 aftershocks sent panic across the region with the strongest standing at a 4.6 magnitude.

Analysis

Earthquakes are events, whether human-made or natural, generate seismic waves. They arise primarily from the rapture of geological faults, although they may also stem from other events such as volcanic activity, mine blasts, or even nuclear tests. Such events have critical macroeconomic implications, and while they mainly affect the regions in which they occur, they also impact other related areas. For instance, the Mexico earthquake disaster-affected roads, hospitals, and other infrastructure, needed to push the economy forward. These direct damages to fixed assets and capital will likely have short and long-run impacts on the regions alongside the disaster's mortality and morbidity. For instance, in the short run, indirect consequences of the earthquake will reduce tourists to these regions, which lowers the revenue generated from tourism and other economic activity. Equally, the government and other bodies that help with finances will have to commit a significant amount of funds to repair the damaged infrastructure and facilities, especially on the roads and hospitals, reducing the resources that they could have channeled towards propelling the country's economy forward. While a nation's output and GDP must not necessarily be lower in the aftermath of disasters, it is agreeable that when productive capital becomes destroyed, it significantly affects GDP.

4. BBC News. (2020, July 2). Amazon fires at a 13-year high for June. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-53262565

Summary

The BBC (2020) reports a 20% rise in the Fires in Brazil's Amazon Rainforest as of June 2020. They note that the Amazon fires are likely to go past the 2019 disastrous blazes and that the virus pandemic exacerbated the problem. Overall, stakeholders presume the fires, which have become common phenomena in the Amazon rainforests, to become deliberately started by illegal loggers and farmers who want to clear land quickly for farming. The country's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) registered 2,248 fires in 2020 as opposed to 1880 in 2019. The fires continue to draw intense protests and condemnations from the public and organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund NGO, unimpressed by the Brazils' environmental policies. Jair Bolsonaro, the President of Brazil, the country that holds 60% of the Amazon rainforest, slashed funding to the environmental ministry. Such callous policies encourage a reduction in fines for environmental violators, equally drawing criticism from the international parties.

Analysis

The fires at the Amazon rainforest provides a perfect example of how tensions arise between business needs and environmental conservation goals. For instance, there is a need to enhance commerce and living standards on the one hand, whereas, on the other, there is a need to conserve the environment. However, the problem arises when stakeholders prioritize one area over another, influencing each action's sustainability. As seen, the fires are increasing due to activities intended for commerce, which in turn are depleting the rainforest. Equally, the article addresses the international community's role in ensuring that all countries adhere to internationally agreed on environmental laws and policies. Although Brazil refuses to heed calls of the international community regarding its environmental policies, the population continues to play its role in pushing for sustainable systems that can save the world's largest rainforest. Part of this pressure comes from the fact that Amazon is responsible for reducing a significant amount of CO2 from the air, and that the fires endanger specific flora and fauna alongside affecting multiple indigenous communities.

5. Scheer, R., & Moss, D. (2020, July 10). Trump Launches Environmental Rollbacks Under Cover of COVID. The Environmental Magazine,

https://emagazine.com/trump-environmental-rollbacks/

Summary

Scheer and Moss (2020), note and warn of President Trump's administration's approach towards controlling pollution. This situation arises because the government has been reducing environmental regulations' strictness since 2017, replacing most Obama-era environmental regulations. For instance, they changed the previous administration's policy on fuel economy standards for cars and trucks with weaker laws that encourage more air pollution. Many environmentalists accuse Trump's administration of freezing standards for fine particulates despite research saying that such a policy could save tens of thousands of lives a year. It also lowered restrictions on the type of effluents that firms could release into streams and wetlands. Equally, the President waived parts of the National Environmental Policy Acts to encourage infrastructure projects development. The authors note that environmentalists hope that the administration loses power in the upcoming elections while praying that the next government can undo the rollbacks.

Analysis

The United States has been a world leader in championing environmental issues globally for a long time. However, this is changing, courtesy of the Trump administration, which has rolled back on key national environmental policies and withdrawn the United States from international environmental agreements such as the Paris Accord. The article points towards a shifting position in U.S environmental policy, with the two main political parties in the U.S showing very different stances. However, from a public choice theory perspective, the administration acts as an organization with self-interests, which guides their interaction with local and international environmental policies. In this case, the government is bent towards enhancing trade, rather than caring for the environment. This situation arises because the typical ways of doing business always negatively impact the environment, whereas more restrictions limit trade and, hence, economic growth. This situation arises partly from the increasing costs needed to meet the environmental requirements of creating a commodity such as a vehicle or an infrastructure such as roads and railway lines.