Quiz 4

1) Umut Uras. “Turkey turning Hagia Sophia back into mosque divides social media.” Al Jazeera. July 11, 2020, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/07/turkey-turning-hagia-sophia-mosque-divides-social-media-200711104417533.html

Who really cares what they’re saying on social media. The real issue is the converting a world monument and iconic place into a religious place of worship. This debate had already taken place many years ago so why does Erewhon feel we need to go back-and-forth. Originally the Byzantine Empire built the church in as a cathedral in Constantinople in 537 A.D.  It was the largest church in the eastern Roman Empire for many years. It functioned as a church for almost 1000 years until it fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. After the conquest of Constantinople, the Turkish eventually converted it to a Muslim mosque. If the recent decisions materialize it will be a very sad day for the world since not everyone will get to enjoy this world’s gem. 

The issue is far greater than social media. Sure it is today’s way of expressing yourself, however, it does very little actual impact on governmental decisions. I would suggest that everyone who has an opinion on social media not just say their opinion but actually act on it. Putting words into action is in the real way to in act change. This is the only way we can revert certain decisions that have been made. 

 

2) Anne Mawathe. “Coronavirus: Why Africans should take part in vaccine trials.” BBC. May 18, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-52678741

 

Apparently, the Corona virus vaccine trial on Africans controversy began in April of 2020, but it seems to have been a strict over reaction to an idiotic statement. The controversy was sparked by two French doctors while they discussed a vaccine trial that was occurring in Europe and Australia. The trial was looking into whether a tuberculosis vaccine would work against the corona virus. The comment made by one of the French doctors was insensitive but I have a feeling he meant well. His comment, although inappropriate, was meant to address the little resources some parts of Africa have. It is well documented that after a vaccine is created, it often ends up in wealthier countries who are willing to pay for it. Some parts of Africa also lack the capital investment, which makes the advancement in medicine difficult. Many of their own doctors seek careers elsewhere taking there wealth of knowledge with them. It would be good if the World Health Organization (WHO) created an avenue for investment in Africa. 

 

It’s very true that African people have been used in the past on experimental drugs and in some cases causing serious side affects or disabilities. Even though the comments were insensitive, they may not have been as derogatory as everyone assumed. 

 

3) Ganesh Chakravarthi. “Is it Time to Embrace the Anthropocene? The Anthropocene requires that humanity take responsibility for preserving the earth and its species.” The Diplomat. February 11, 2020. https://thediplomat.com/2020/02/is-it-time-to-embrace-the-anthropocene/

 

It is time for us to embrace Anthropocene. As the article says it will take hundreds of years to revert any damage to the earth so we have to act now. The current state of our planet did not happen overnight. We have been burning fossil fuels for over 200 years, particularly, since the industrial revolution. It took hundreds of years if not thousands to get to where we are. Some of the carbon emissions damage, however, has occurred in the last 200 years. If we embrace and truly learn about Anthropocene we can begin to change human behavior. It will be very difficult to change peoples habits if we don’t embrace Anthropocene and make everyone aware of the movement. We saw a real change in the environment when Canada created the emissions and fossil fuels act. Within a couple of decades we notably saw a difference in the ozone. 

 

If we had remained hunters and gatherers and lived off the land we probably would not be facing this epic destruction of the earth. We need to rally around this movement and let it be known if we are to save our planet.