It Is Written

In this essay, I will argue that the pursuit of Solar Radiation Management (SRM), a form of geoengineering proposed to combat climate change, is unethical and should be avoided. To support my argument, I’ll reference Gardiner’s “Geoengineering and Moral Schizophrenia,” Horton & Kieth’s “Solar Geoengineering and Obligations to the Global Poor,” and Chelsea Harvey’s “Geoengineering Is Not a Quick Fix for the Climate Crisis.” First, I’ll introduce Gardiner’s piece, particularly focusing on the concepts of “moral schizophrenia” and ethical shortsightedness. Her work will be foundational for the next part of my essay where I introduce Horton and Kieth’s essay; I’ll dismantle their arguments in favor of SRM and accept their challenge to “demonstrate that SRM would violate principles of global… justice.” Having introduced the philosophical texts, I’ll use Harvey’s piece to explain the hazards of SRM to aid in my discourse. By critically analyzing the arguments in favor of SRM, I’ll sho...

      The exact milieu in which the Soviet Union began its terminal spiral is subject to debate. In this essay, I will argue that the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union began with Mikhail Gorbachev’s rise to the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party in 1985. I’ll defend my argument in two main parts of this paper: First, I’ll provide background information, describing the Soviet Union that Gorbachev inherited. Then, I’ll present and explicate which policies and ideological reforms Gorbachev precipitated that ensured the demise of the Soviet Union. Finally, I’ll address counter-arguments to my claim that support other milieus as the beginning of the end of the Union, particularly the era of Stalinism and the period under Brezhnev in the mid-1970s.      In 1985, Gorbachev became the General Secretary of the Communist Party leading the Soviet Union. The Union Gorbachev was left was much like the Union his predecessors led; it was a ...

  In 2020, the Willamette National Forest experienced three major wildfires that, combined, burned more than 170,000 acres of national forest land (“2020 Willamette”). Oregon is no stranger to wildfires, observing them nearly every summer, making headlines, and oftentimes with smoke lingering over homes and cities. While wildfires have always been a part of nature, it is difficult to argue that humans have played no role in their increasing prevalence over the last few decades. A history of fire suppression and human-accelerated climate change have worked together synergistically to the detriment of forest land (Abatzoglou et al. 2016). In this paper, I’ll explore the anthropogenic influence on wildfire regimes in the Willamette Valley.  The Willamette Valley can be characterized as having high severity, infrequent burns, especially when juxtaposed with eastern/southern Oregon, areas which tend to have high frequency but low severity burns (Reilly et al. 2022). Burn severity, ...