Dresden+D.+-+FP+-+FA10

=**ENVIRONMENT .** **Final Project**=


 * === ** Respect of the Environment/Lack of space in Japan (Asia) ** ===
 * ===**Water Shortage/Pollution Crisis in Kenya (Africa)**===
 * ===**Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Costa Rica (Latin America)**===
 * ===**Conflict of Water in Egypt (The Middle East)**===

"The human experience, no matter where you live, is relatively the same."
_ _ _ When comparing the four countries chosen—Japan, Kenya, Costa Rica, and Egypt—//this statement is invalid.// There is just too much diversity amongst the humans in these countries for them to even relate to one another. And even though the overall issue is the way humans handle the environment, each country’s problem is unique and different to the one before. _ _ _ Most Japanese people live humane, average lives on the developed island nation. However, because it is an island, there has always been an issue over limited space. From the beginning, the Japanese are taught to conserve space and must adapt what they have. For example, the Japanese use extremely small plots for graves. Japan is covered with accommodations such as this. As blogger Laurent soon discovered, you have to adapt your everyday lifestyle around your environment. Even from an artistic P.O.V., the Japanese way-of-thought and perspective on the world around them uses free space to their advantage. Though some Japanese admire the space they have, others scorn the space they lack. Many Japanese secretly despise Tokyo and its crowdedness. Unfortunately, ‘breathable’ cities are more expensive to live in, and they have no choice but to stay in large cities. Along with this overpopulation comes pollution that affects the environment negatively. Thankfully, the Japanese are generally very appreciative of the environment around them, and take care of it well. _ _ _ Switching over to Kenya, one can see that the water shortage and pollution is a very different issue that threatens lives. The Climate is rapidly changing, becoming hotter and drier every year. Kenyans have no choice but to drink whatever they find, no matter how unsanitary. To make matters worse, if it rains, it comes in such a deluge that it washes the crops away. The ‘water tower’ trees that normally save them—and store water for them throughout the year, too—are slowly dwindling away due to the unbearable climate. Desperate, neighboring African tribes often attack with automatic rifles, and steal from one another. This shows what the environment can drive humans to. But is the environment to blame, or the humans that make it that way? Some more factors contributing to the issue include corrupt control of water, disease outbreaks, and revolution. When the environment doesn’t meet their needs, the citizens take the matter into their own hands. _ _ _ With Costa Rica, a similarly disastrous problem is occurring. Costa Rica is infamous for its mass deforestation. Photos of the mountains show the vast expanse of barren wasteland that was once a great, thriving forest. Many thriving countries such as the U.S. buy the precious lumber, and demand more. Because there are no general laws protecting the environment, the country’s forest cover has been reduced to nearly a quarter, compared to 99% in the beginning. The devastating affects include land erosion, flooding, desertification, sedimentation, loss of wildlife, and the obvious demolition of the forests’ resources. This issue doesn’t affect man as directly as Japan or Kenya’s problems may, but it still destroys the environment in a terrible way. _ _ _ Now, the conflict of water in the Middle East is a simple, yet difficult issue to handle. Egypt, the country that thinks it owns the Nile River, is on the brink of an all out Water War. With the Nile already becoming dry, the thought of sharing it with the upriver countries enrages Egyptians. But many other countries in the Middle East have a need for water as well. Is Egypt being greedy, or just feeling threatened in the environment they were given? These ‘wars’ have been going on for decades, but no solution has been made yet.

Works Cited