Rabaul Essay Response

Rabaul Essay Response Rabaul Essay Response ESSAY RESPONSE TO PRACTICE ESSAY Like many places of human settlement, the site of Rabaul (see Fig. 4) is subject to volcanic hazard. This hazard, a consequence of plate subduction processes involving the Pacific and Australian Plate (see Fig. 8) have been responsible for developing the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea. The area has a geological history of violent eruptions where Simpson Harbour itself is an explosion crater, or caldera (see Fig. 3) and 500 people died in the 1937 eruption. As a consequence of vulcanism, humans benefit from the provision of a safe harbour as well as the potential for fertile soils to develop for farming. Whilst there are benefits gained from the volcanic activity on Rabaul, activity on the 20th September 1994 (see Fig. 10) resulted in significant social, economic and environmental upheaval. Currently, both Tavurvur and Vulcan are active and producing ash to a depth of 75 metres over the township. Appropriate mitigation by authorities must ensure that potentially dangerous hazards to people are avoided. A decision on whether to abandon or re-establish Rabaul will need to consider balancing the risk to residents with the economic and social upheavals that could result. The explosive eruption of magma, ash, gas and rocks had a significant environmental and socio-economic impact on the Rabaul area. Due to the prevailing South to Southeast winds, ash up to 75 centimetres in depth as well as poisonous gas affected the Rabaul area when Vulcan and Tavuruur erupted explosively (see Fig. 7 & 10). Whilst farmlands to the south [evidenced in the 3-D aspect sketch by Mr Raward] avoided the ash and gas due to the wind direction, had the eruption occurred between November and April, this highly acidic material may well have destroyed these farmlands. The risk of lahar and subsequent flooding is ever present if rain is added to this ash. Collapse of buildings has already occurred as a result of ash build up. The harbour also suffered sedimentation loads from the ash (see Fig. 5). This has a significant impact on the island’s capacity to trade and move its farm stock. Coupled with this impact is the possibility that further destruction of low-lying a reas could occur if tsunami activity is present. There is evidence in Figure 10 that â€Å"tidal waves† have entered the town. Although it is not clear as to what is meant by this, it may well be the flooding from sedimentation in the harbour, local rivers, or even tsunami activity from offshore tremors. Loss of viable farmland, landlessness, job loss, looting of local businesses and the cost to rebuild are just some of the socio-economic impacts of such a disaster. A decision to re-site Rabaul to the western end of New Britain minimises risk to residents but will have a significant impact socially and economically on the community. Residents will face inevitable debt, farmers and the community will have to rebuild their lives in a new place, resulting in significant economic and social stress for the people of Rabaul. International aid cannot be guaranteed so costs could become extreme. Without a protected harbour, the settlement will have limited ability to trade and move produce. Nevertheless, safety of residents can be guaranteed as this area is not volcanic. Re-establishment of damaged sections of Rabaul will result in less socio economic upheaval than a proposal to re-site. Nevertheless, residents will face a greater risk if they remain in Rabaul, as the volcano is in an active phase. A proposal to re-establish is socially sustainable given that it contains safe guards including interest free loans and

A Selection of Quotes by Julius Kambarage Nyerere

A Selection of Quotes by Julius Kambarage Nyerere Julius Kambarage Nyerere was a well-known politician and activist who served as the president of Tanzania from 1964 to 1985. Though a controversial individual, his efforts as a politician resulted in his status of being the Father of the Nation. He died at the age of 77 in 1999. Quotes In Tanganyika we believe that only evil, Godless men would make the color of a mans skin the criteria for granting him civil rights. The African is not Communistic in his thinking; he is, if I may coin an expression, communitary. Having come into contact with a civilization which has over-emphasized the freedom of the individual, we are in fact faced with one of the big problems of Africa in the modern world. Our problem is just this: how to get the benefits of European society, benefits that have been brought about by an organization based upon the individual, and yet retain Africans own structure of society in which the individual is a member of a kind of fellowship. We, in Africa, have no more need of being converted to socialism than we have of being taught democracy. Both are rooted in our past, in the traditional society which produced us. No nation has the right to make decisions for another nation; no people for another people. In Tanzania, it was more than one hundred tribal units which lost their freedom; it was one nation that regained it. If a door is shut, attempts should be made to open it; if it is ajar, it should be pushed until it is wide open. In neither case should the door be blown up at the expense of those inside. You dont have to be a Communist to see that China has a lot to teach us in development. The fact that they have a different political system than ours has nothing to do with it. [A] man is developing himself when he grows, or earns, enough to provide decent conditions for himself and his family; he is not being developed if someone gives him these things. ...intellectuals have a special contribution to make to the development of our nation, and to Africa. And I am asking that their knowledge, and the greater understanding that they should possess, should be used for the benefit of the society of which we are all members. If real development is to take place, the people have to be involved. We can try to cut ourselves from our fellows on the basis of the education we have had; we can try to carve our for ourselves an unfair share of the wealth of the society. But the cost to us, as well as to our fellow citizens, will be very high. It will be high not only in terms of satisfactions forgone, but also in terms of our own security and well-being. To measure a countrys wealth by its gross national product is to measure things, not satisfactions. Capitalism is very dynamic. It is a fighting system. Each capitalist enterprise survives by successfully fighting other capitalist enterprises. Capitalism means that the masses will work, and a few people, who may not labor at all, will benefit from that work. The few will sit down to a banquet, and the masses will eat whatever is left over. We spoke and acted as if, given the opportunity for self-government, we would quickly create utopias. Instead injustice, even tyranny, is rampant.