Blog 2 - Rabbit-Proof Fence

1. In chapter 3, the Aborigine people face many injustices as the European settlers come in and begin to take over. Three major injustices suffered include:
     1) Brothers who were caught spearing a sheep were taken in to be sentenced by the Englishmen, who had claimed the sheep and the hunting ground as their own. The brothers were unfairly tried and then "shoved roughly, their legs in irons, into a boat and sailed down the river, out to the open sea. They were never seen again. Hundreds of others followed them, bound in chains, across the waters into the unknown."
     This quote demonstrates the violation of the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights point number nine, the freedom from arbitrary arrest and exile. The brothers were taken away from their homes, sent off to sea never to be seen again, solely because the white men did not want to share their hunting ground; hunting ground that was never theirs to begin with. The English settlers simply came in, took their land, and then exiled the Aborigine people for hypocritical reasons, unfairly exiling them for acting in a way in which they always had, by hunting to stay alive in an area that had previously been fair game.
     2) "[T]hey were forbidden to dance and sing, unless commanded by government officials...The important dates on their seasonal calendars would be forgotten."
     This instance violates point number eighteen, freedom of belief and religion. The English settlers came in and suppressed Aborigine culture. They were forbidden to perform rituals and ceremonies unless told to do so. Their religious and cultural holidays were taken away, and they were expected to forget their old beliefs and ways of life and to conform into a part of white society.
     3) "'Black servants, I find...are very serviceable in this colony; on them we eventually depend for labour, as we can never afford to pay English servants the high wages they expect, besides feeding them so well. The black fellows receive little more than rice -- their simple diet.'"
     I believe that this is a violation of point number two, freedom from discrimination, as well as number six, right to recognition as a person before the law. "Blacks" were discriminated against and categorized as lower than white men. They were not treated fairly as human beings and were treated like animals. They were brought in as servants to white men because in the eyes of these men, blacks did not need to be paid as much or fed as well. They were treated as lesser human beings and expected to do the work of the English settlers without complaints.

2. The "civilizing" of Australia mirrors that of the United States in many ways. The first and most obvious example would have to be colonization of both territories, with Europeans moving in and attempting to either drive natives off of their land and/or to spread their own cultural values on to the natives in order to wipe out traditional values of the area. Another example comes from the idea of "Manifest Destiny" that was common among most Europeans moving into colonies in the United States. They felt that eventual conquest of territory spanning across the entire North American continent by European settlers was inevitable, and as a result the settlers continued to drive westward. This also related to Australian "civilization" because in both circumstances, settlers moved in and continued to push natives out of their homes in order to establish their own colonial empires. Natives in both countries were abused and treated as lesser human beings, simply because they were viewed by "civilized" settlers as barbaric and uneducated, when in reality, they were just different.

3. I believe that the actions of the government were absolutely not justified in relocating children of mixed descent. Not only were several of the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights points violated, but the extremes taken to do so were also incredibly harsh. The relocation tore families apart and deprived mixed descent children of their native culture and of the right to learn about their heritage. They were placed into families who did not necessarily love them and may have abused them. These families typically sought only to "civilize" the children in order to breed the Aborigine gene out of them. The government program forever scarred these children and has made it difficult for them to live their lives normally to this day. Visions of the past haunt them into adulthood, and that can never be taken back. Everyone deserves a chance to live their lives according to their own beliefs and wants, and for that the government has zero justification in depriving the Lost Generation of these rights.

Blog 1 - Invasive Species

          Cane toads are a venomous species native to the Americas. They are relatively large in size, as far as toads go, and have the typical characteristic of warty skin. In an attempt to reduce the large population of beetles destroying sugarcane plants, cane toads were introduced to Australia in the 1930s. The attempt was unsuccessful, and the cane toads quickly reproduced, spread, and were labeled as an invasive species, with no natural predators to keep their numbers in check.

          In 1935, the cane toads were released on sugarcane plantations in north Queensland. Since then, the toads have spread all over northeastern Australia, and their numbers have increased from the original 3,000 to the present day several millions.

          Cane toads are causing problems for Australians not only due to their great numbers but also because they are poisonous. Native species as well as pets die from eating them or their eggs, and they can also poison humans. Native species that do not try to eat them are often consumed by the cane toads, causing a large reduction in the number of several species.

          To try to fix problems, Australians have attempted many methods. They may freeze them, pour chemicals on them, or even hit them with golf clubs. Recently, however, scientists have come up with a new proposal that will eventually cause the species to die out without actually killing any toads. Scientists would inject a gene into the cane toads that would make it so that they could only reproduce to form male toads. Without any females to mate with, the species would eventually stop growing, and the remaining cane toads would eventually die out completely.

          In America, the wild boar has proved to be a pesky invasive species. They were introduced in the 1500s from Eurasia as a means of obtaining food. They threaten landowners and farmers, as well as hunters, because they root and wallow, causing erosion among river banks and streams. These activities also cause damage to property and livestock, breaking through fences to consume feed meant for domestic and farm animals. They eat up crops and even pose as predators to livestock and small animals. To fix this problem, there are hunting and trapping programs, many asking for wild boar to be shot at first sight. It may not be the most conventional method, but it is currently one of the few methods being taken.

          Invasive species are something we should be concerned with because they are threats to many habitats and the native species living there. Many native species have become extinct due to the introduction of invasive species in their environments, something so easily avoided. Our issues with invasive species in the United States are similar to those in Australia (rabbits and cane toads) because both countries have had to take extreme measures to fight the problem and have both suffered declines in the number of native species living in the area that the invasive species had been introduced in, and both countries have had to take extreme measures to attempt to correct the problem of these pests.

Blog 2 - Coral Bleaching

Video #1.
1. When a coral larvae settles and grows, it is called a polyp. Small algae, or zooxanthellae, enter the polyp and multiply, converting sunlight into food. When the polyp grows and multiplies to form a colony, we consider it to be coral.
2. Coral are sensitive to change, such as an increase in the temperature.
3. If the temperature of the water increases, the coral can become stressed. The zooxanthellae will then leave, and the coral loses both its color and main food source.
4. Scientists think that coral bleaching is occuring more now than ever due to climate change, especially due to polution.
5. We can reduce our impact on the environment and climate change by turning off unused appliances, not driving places unless it is necessary, and reusing/recycling.


Video #2.
1. How many species?
     Fish: 1500
     Hard Coral: 360
     Sea Birds: 22
     Shore Birds: 32
2. Climate change is responsible for warming our oceans.
3. Icreased flooding affect the reefs and the fish that birds that live there because fish move to cooler waters offshore, resulting in less food for sea birds.
4. Three more ways we can help reduce climate change are drying clothes on the line, donating rather than sending old things to landfills, and buy environmentally sustainable products.


Videos #3 and 4.
1. Two advantages to using this kind of media: grabs kids' attention by using a cartoon; simplifies the information to make it easier to understand.
  Two disadvantages: jokes about the problem, making it seem less serious; only appeals to young children, who do not have long enough attention spans to take it all in.
2. More beneficial videos for...
  Adults from Australia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv7oOgwFNy0&feature=related
I think this video is more geared towards adults, and would help those living in Australia to learn exactly what is going on in the Great Barrier Reef, and why they should take part in helping to stop it, by showing them the severe damage taking place to part of their pride and joy as Australians.
  Foreigners not from Australia: http://www.youtube.com/user/GBRclimatechange#p/u/5/RFdSbyPzucw 
I think this would be a more beneficial video for people who do not live in Australia because I am sure that they don't care as much about the effects that climate change is having on the Reef. However, they would probably care about saving both money and energy, to benefit not only themselves and their wallets, but also to help save the environment that is close by them, which they can physically see changing.
  Tourists visiting the Great Barrier Reef: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5VBc5ZE_dg&feature=related
I think that this video will help tourists to the Reef to realize that the entire Great Barrier Reef is being affected by coral bleaching. After seeing how amazing the Reef is, they will want to preserve it, especially because the video discusses how it may take decades to restore the Reef, and tourists would most likely want to be able to take part in this experience again, or to have their children or grandchildren be able to see the wonder, giving them motives to maintain the Reef.

Blog 1 - The Great Barrier Reef

1. The Great Barrier Reef is considered the "largest living structure on earth".
2. Coral extracts calcium carbonate from the ocean to make solid tentacles.
3. Red algae impacts the structure of the coral by acting like glue, "cementing fragments of shell, sand, and coral with sheets of calcium carbonate".
4. The Great Barrier Reef became a national park in the year 1975.
5. About 33% of the Great Barrier Reef is protected from fishing.
6. Scientists believe that the current reef is about 20,000 years old, but that the ancient reef is half a million years old.