It’s hard to believe that we’re just barely a third of the way through the year 2011 and already we as a human race, and as a planet, have experienced some pretty rough stuff. I feel that as long as new developments are taking place regarding our current big stories then someone (why not me) should continue passing along the information to our HC readers because I know there are those who don’t have the time to stay caught up on these on their own. The revolts in Libya are still in progress, though the problems and the solutions continue to evolve. Additionally, the drama in Japan regarding the nuclear reactors persists and the aftershocks of the disasters have started to surface. Altogether we are experiencing historic events that will forever change not only Libya and Japan, but also the whole of humanity and our world.
I found it interesting that ever since last week’s earthquake and tsunami I didn’t hear or see much news about Libya. Understandably, it seemed as though the whole world had set its entire focus on Japan, but late in the week the situation in Libya took quite a turn. A “no-fly-zone” over Libya was called for by the United Nations as a, “resolution aimed at protecting civilians.” (RTTNews) In addition “The United States, France and Britain told Libya’s leader Moammar Gadhafi to withdraw his troops.” (ajc.com) President Obama took it one step further saying, “If the Libyan leader did not stand down the United States would join other nations in launching military action against him.” (ajc.com)
According to the BBC, it wasn’t very long afterwards that Libya then, “declared a ceasefire and a halt to all military operations”, but because of Gadhafi’s reputation, “The UK, US and France say they will judge Gadhafi on his actions, not his words.” The BBC also reports word that despite all of this there continues to be “clashes between Gadhafi forces and anti-government rebels.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that, “The British Prime Minister David Cameron, one of the most enthusiastic backers of a no-fly-zone, said ‘The clock is ticking and we must be ready to act quickly,’ adding that Gadhafi must prove he was serious about a cease-fire to avoid military strikes.” Like Britain, the US has military forces in the region but, “is not going to deploy ground troops into Libya.” (ajc.com) Because of these promising developments in the middle-east you may have seen a slight dip in the price of gas, and KKTV reports that indeed, “Oil prices are tumbling after Libya’s foreign minister declared a cease-fire.” Though, there are still other factors affecting oil prices around the world including, “the continuing nuclear drama in Japan.” (csmonitor.com)
The tsunami succeeded the earthquake, and a dramatic nuclear situation has followed suit. The future implications of this problem are expected to affect the price of oil all over the world. This is because the loss of availability of nuclear energy in Japan has predicted its increase of demand for oil. You can find this discussed in greater detail at prnewswire.com. The global affects of Japan’s nuclear crisis are obviously not just fuel related. Since the clean-up of the tsunami began, the threats of nuclear radiation in Japan and all over the world have consumed the media news outlets. As of Friday WISHTV (a news outlet based in Indiana) reported that, “Radiation monitors in California detected a small amount of radioactive material that can be traced back to the tragedy in Japan. The material, detected in Sacramento, is described as a small amount… about a billion times beneath the level that would threaten public health.” Besides nuclear radiation riding the weather from Japan to other countries, fears that it may contaminate physical items that Japan produces and exports are beginning to rise as well. According to the article “U.S. Ports Watch For Radiation In Japanese Cargo” at npr.org, “Japan is one of the United States’ top trading partners”, but, “the ports nearest the damaged reactors are closed”, meaning, “anything arriving on U.S. shores is coming from farther away.” In addition to the minimal impact on Japanese exports to America, todayonline.com states that, “more than 20 years of unusually sluggish trend growth in Japanese output has sharply reduced its incremental impact on the broader global economy.” With that being said, it seems safe to say that although people should continue to be cautious, the world shouldn’t worry itself too much about the effects from Japan’s radiation. By no means does this mean we aren’t affected though.
With all of the recent interweaving of world issues it really makes me appreciate having taken the Global and International Studies class at WMU last semester. The world started to seem rather small when taking that class, but with all of the latest global events, it has really been made obvious just how connected we all are. Concerns about fuel, the fear of nuclear radiation; these issues aren’t just bad for humans, they are bad for the environment too. I have found joy in writing these articles the last few weeks because it has given me the opportunity to sit down and really educate myself about these global issues. I’ve wanted to share the information that I learn about these issues because I believe it’s important to know what is going on globally. Once you know what issues are taking place world-wide those issues can become your base for jumping into making changes that can positively affect your world.
Sources
http://www.rttnews.com/Content/MarketSensitiveNews.aspx?Id=1579284&SM=1
http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/amid-uncertainty-allies-prepare-876930.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/9429682.stm
http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/Oil_Prices_Tumble_As_Libya_Declares_Cease-Fire_118236389.html?storySection=comments
http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2011/0318/Beyond-Libya-Four-factors-affecting-oil-prices
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/oil-markets-cope-with-libya-and-japan-crises-118274484.html
http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/indiana/radiation-threat-changes-by-the-hour
http://www.npr.org/2011/03/18/134631534/u-s-ports-watch-for-radiation-in-japanese-cargo
http://www.todayonline.com/Commentary/EDC110319-0000355/Aftershocks-from-Japan
http://www.todayonline.com/Commentary/EDC110319-0000355/Aftershocks-from-Japan