Author Archives: Sam Sun

Struggle and Unionization Among Migrant Farmworkers

Posted on by
2

In Viramontes’ Under the Feet of Jesus, the difficult life of the main characters takes place against the greater backdrop of the struggle among migrant farmworkers for legal protections, safe working conditions, and fair pay. As I read the book, I was reminded of details from a history class I took last spring that explored the awakening of political awareness among different ethnic groups during the civil rights era.

Although people of Hispanic descent have been present in the American Southwest since before California became a state, the arrival of large numbers of Mexican immigrants began in the early years of the Second World War, when the Bracero program was hatched. Conceived as a guest worker program during a period of growing agricultural demand, the idea was to bring in farm laborers during the harvest season who would then return to their native land in the off season. While it was in effect, the Bracero program was interrupted at regular intervals by deportation actions such as “Operation Wetback” in 1954. Nonetheless, by the time this legal framework ended in 1964, over 4.5 million guestworkers had entered the country at one point or another.

Continue reading →

Darwin’s Population Limits

Posted on by
3

One of the key arguments that Darwin makes in his On the Origin of Species concerns the Struggle for Existence. Individuals are constantly locked in competition, whether with other members of the same species, different species that may occupy the same or similar ecological niche, or environmental factors. Those organisms that survive then reproduce and pass their traits onto the next generation. Those that do not win out die, and if this concept is applied to entire species, it may result in extinction due to a failure to adapt to changing conditions.

The most important aspect of the struggle involves the environmental limits that all organisms must face. These restrictions, which encompasses resources such as food, predator and parasite interactions, and climate, drive natural selection. Without these forces at work, Darwin’s theory would not stand. Since abundance reduces conflict while scarcity leads to competition, nature provides the pressure that fuels the engine of evolution.

Continue reading →

Nature’s Influence on Man

Posted on by
1

American colonists arriving in these shores brought with them ideas of individual liberty and the natural right of property. If you worked hard and put in the time, the thinking goes, you were entitled to the fruits of your own labor. Crevecoeur sketches a convincing tableau that incorporates these philosophies into 18th century life in the New World. Instead of being given dominion over untamed land, the early settlers had to work to push back the woods and make the soil productive. At the same time, however, they were influenced by their surroundings to the point that even man’s basic humanity was at risk. Unlike the earlier Rowlandson, who writes of her stoic stand against wilderness that is enabled by the grace of God, Crevecoeur’s letters suggest that man’s interaction with nature works both ways.

Continue reading →

An Ad for Natural Gas

Posted on by
Reply

Big oil has a problem. The industry suffers from a bad reputation even as their product remains in high demand as fuel for modern life. Headline-dominating environmental disasters have included the grounding of the Exxon Valdez, rupture of Alaskan pipelines, and most recently, the Deepwater Horizon debacle that spilled nearly five million barrels of crude into the Gulf of Mexico. In light of this negative publicity, how do petroleum companies manage public opinion to keep the majority of Americans on their side?

The answer is millions in ad spending every year.

Continue reading →