What are the effects of illegal logging, mining, and farming on the indigenous tribes in the Amazon and how can public policy help to address these consequences?

I found my sources by searching for articles using key words like illegal mining, logging, and farming in the Amazon, respectively. I then searched for effects of illegal mining, logging, and farming on the amazon. I tried searching first for the causes of these illegal activities to get a better understanding of why they occur/what influences them. I then searched for the effects they have on the Amazon because indigenous communities live in and survive off of the Amazon, meaning in the end, they are the ones who immediately suffer the consequences. I was able to find many sources that talk about and link these effects to indigenous communities. My sources include newspaper articles from The New York Times and The Guardian, a report from Humans Rights Watch, and a YouTube video of an interview with an illegal logger.

My newspaper article, In the Amazon, Fires Steal Breath, but Smoke Smells of Money, talks about the increase in fires that are raging in the Amazon, which are intentionally started by ranch owners. It’s the fastest, and illegal, way to transform large parts of the Amazon into fields fit for grazing. It also talks about how, ever since Brazil’s president has been in office, he’s prioritized economic development over environmental concerns. Many ranch owners and farmers have seen this as encouragement to burn down more of the Amazon. This source will help my audience understand why people burn down the rainforest.

Another source I will be using, Illegal Mining, ‘Worse Than at Any Other Time,’ Threatens Amazon, Study Finds, talks about how the surge in gold prices has led to an epidemic of illegal gold mining in the Amazon, threatening indigenous territories. A study by a group of environmental organizations analyzed data from six Amazon countries and identified 2,312 illegal mining sites. They have caused the rivers to be contaminated with mercury. These toxic pollutants seep into the earth contaminating plants, animals and people. Aside from polluting, these illegal miners are getting close to uncontacted tribes which poses a mortal threat to them in terms of illness. This source will help me explain the causes behind  illegal gold mining in the Amazon as well as how it affects indigenous communities, including the bigger risks it poses to uncontacted tribes.

I am unsure about using this article, Amazon Deforestation in Brazil Rose Sharply on Bolsonaro’s Watch, because it doesn’t really give me any specific details about any public policies. It does talk about how president Bolsonaro (of Brazil) has had his government ‘scale back efforts’ in fighting against illegal mining, logging and farming by cutting down funding for government agencies that have been tasked with enforcing environmental laws and regulations. He’s been outspoken about the importance of economic development and how conservation policies are just getting in the way of it. He fully supports the mining and agriculture industries and their expansion into protected reserves, including indigenous lands.

I still need to research a bit more on public policies that are meant to protect the Amazon and indigenous lands as well as helping to fight against these illegal activities. Also, ways they can improve and be more effective.

Bibliography

Clifford, Krauss. “In the Amazon, Fires Steal Breath, but Smoke Smells of Money.” The New York Times, 2 Nov. 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/02/world/americas/brazil-amazon-fires-cowboys.html

Darlington, Shasta. “Illegal Mining, ‘Worse Than at Any Other Time,’ Threatens Amazon, Study Finds.” The New York Times, 10 Dec. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/12/10/world/americas/amazon-illegal-mining.html.

Londoño, Ernesto, and Letícia Casado. “Amazon Deforestation in Brazil Rose Sharply on Bolsonaro’s Watch.” The New York Times, 18 Nov. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/11/18/world/americas/brazil-amazon-deforestation.html.

Muñoz Acebes, César, et al. “Rainforest Mafias.” Human Rights Watch, 27 May 2020, www.hrw.org/report/2019/09/17/rainforest-mafias/how-violence-and-impunity-fuel-deforestation-brazils-amazon.

Phillips, Dom. “Goldmining having big impact on indigenous Amazon communities.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 07 Oct. 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/07/goldmining-having-big-impact-on-indigenous-amazon-communities.

“Why I illegally cut down trees in the Amazon rainforest | Interview with a Brazilian illegal logger.” YouTube, uploaded by The Telegraph, 2 Dec. 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zITRFwiBE38&t=187s.

How do social, political, and economic factors influence the conditions of American women in the workplace?

The United States had come a long way since The Equal Pay Act in 1963 when President John F. Kennedy signed the Fair Labor Standards Act, which abolishes wage disparities based on sex. Through my investigation, I have found good sources that have helped me understand this social issue more politically and economically. The First Source I read was “Equal Pay an Introductory Guide.” I thought this source was an excellent introduction to my essay because it helps me introduce relevant topics related to this social issue. This source touches diverse topics such as the government’s role on equal remuneration and the institutions and procedures to enforce the law. This first source was first published in 2013 by the International Labour Organization. In my next source, I decided to go with a source that carries this problem to the present and the challenge of equal pay in the labor market. This source is called “Women, Work, and Inequality.” and is a Scholarly source that carries many editors responsible for the publication of this book, such as the support of the library Congress Cataloging for publication data on women, work and inequality. My third scholarly source is title “Promoting Equity Gender-Neutral Job Evaluation For Equal Pay.” In this book published by the International Labour Organization, the author reflects on the causes of wage discrimination and the principles of pay equity. This source helped me better understand how the scope of the principle of pay equity works and its impact on an organization’s reputation. The source I discarded while looking in my research was “The Unions and the fight for inequality.” This book’s content gives me a lot of detail on feminist history, and I think that is why I discard this topic from the others. I didn’t want to make this essay too personal by talking about the idea of women as housewives and the long fight for feminism during the past years, reason enough to decided not to include this book. While an article I have been considering to include in my essay is a short video from Youtube about a topic that recently caught my attention, this video explains women’s soccer equal pay fight. The title of this video is “Why it’s impossible to give the USWNT equal pay.” This short clip shows the player’s prominence and willingness to change, expressing their frustration by seeing the huge compensation gap that receives the World Cup participants, a pool of 400$ million for a team of 32 men, while only 30$ million for a 24 women’s teams. I have been focusing more on my scholarly sources than my web sources; I have focused on the details about the past Instead of the present. For now, to the first draft, I would look up more recent sources that would help understand this issue, like how much during this pandemic time, the pay gap has been increasing. How much money do men that work from home compares to women that do the same? 

Bibliography:

Oelz, Martin, Shauna Olney, and Manuela Tomei. Equal Pay: An Introductory Guide. Geneva: International Labour Office, 2013. Print.

Chicha, Marie-Thérèse. Promoting Equity Gender-Neutral Job Evaluation for Equal Pay : a Step-by-Step Guide . Geneva: International Labour Office, 2008. Print.

Closing the Gap : Equal Pay for Women Workers : Hearing before the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, United States Senate, One Hundred Tenth Congress, First Session, on Examining Closing the Gap Relating to Equal Pay for Women Workers, April 12, 2007. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2009. Print.

Gregory, Jeanne, Rosemary Sales, and Ariane Hegewisch. Women, Work and Inequality: The Challenge of Equal Pay in a Deregulated Labour Market. New York: Palgrave Macmillan Limited, 1999. Web.