Payatas Dump Essay

968 words - 4 pages

A piece of trash floats by like a tumbleweed in the hot and humid climate of the Philippines. “With small bare hands, they [the children] break light bulbs and pull the coiled copper from the bottoms.” (Lo) If you were a child born in the slums of the Philippines, this is how life would be like. These children have to be scavengers and find materials that they can sell to earn money. In the example above, the children find trash with copper and sell them for around $7. The contemporary industrial phenomenon where this takes place is the Payatas Dump. It is apparent that the Payatas is a hazardous and filthy junkyard; it has both negative and positive impacts on its inhabitants, and it can be ...view middle of the document...

This represents that this issue is not only country-wide, but also worldwide (Overdorf). Although the dump seems like it only has negative benefits on society, there are also positives.
This junkyard has affected the people living in the slums both positively and negatively. One way it has impacted them antagonistically is that they are exposed to harmful toxins when they for example, getting copper ready to sell (as mentioned in the introduction). The paupers that live near the dump make money by scavenging through the dump and finding anything that could be valuable, like copper. They then burn the copper which causes them to inhale harmful toxins, even the smallest children! CBS News says “the trash pickers’ bodies can quickly lose their resistance to the toxic effects of the smoldering copper”, which means that their health will be affected greatly (Lo). In contrast, the Payatas also affects its inhabitants positively. As mentioned before, the reason people migrated towards the dump was because they were able have a better living here than what they had before. On a different note, effort has been made and many changes have taken place to try to help the Payatas become more eco-friendly. As pronounced by the Government of Quezon City:
“Payatas is now green [...] its residents enjoy a park, where the old dumpsite used to be [...] There is a composting plant, greenhouses, plant nurseries” (The Payatas Dumpsite).
The Payatas has changed from a harmful and disgusting dump to many structures (ex. greenhouse) that can help the environment and the people around it. Overall, the Payatas has its benefits and disadvantages to its society.
There are many aspects in which this contemporary phenomenon can connect to that of the time of industrialization. One way in which it connects is how the hygiene was horrible and disease was easily spread....

Psychological Egoism Theory Essay

2240 words - 9 pages The theory of psychological egoism is indeed plausible. The meaning of plausible in the context of this paper refers to the validity or the conceivability of the theory in question, to explain the nature and motivation of human behavior (Hinman, 2007). Human actions are motivated by the satisfaction obtained after completing a task that they are involved in. For example, Mother Teresa was satisfied by her benevolent actions and

How Celtic Folkore has Influenced My Family

1587 words - 6 pages Every family has a unique background that influences the way they live and interact with other people. My parents, who emigrated from Ireland to the States with my three brothers in 1989, brought over their own Celtic folklore and traditions that have helped shaped the way our family operates and lives. One aspect of folklore that has helped shape my family dynamic is the Celtic cross—both its background and what role it has played in our lives

Julia Margaret Cameron

1406 words - 6 pages At a time when women were looked upon as being homemakers, wives, mothers and such the late 1850's presented a change in pace for one woman in specific. Photography was discovered in 1826 and soon after the phenomenon of photography was being experimented with and in turn brought new and different ways of photo taking not only as documenting real time, but also conceptualizing a scene in which an image would be taken. Julia Margaret Cameron will

Evaluation of School Improvement

1403 words - 6 pages The evaluation process should be progressive to incorporate overall planning, implement changes, which contribute to success. In order to focus on school climate and norms, the evaluation design must include the students, instructions, and outcomes to improve communication and building-level concerns to be address in this response. School Climate and Social Norms The school principal, other staff leaders, and personnel set the tone and the

Case Study: The Benefits of Animal Testing

1757 words - 7 pages Nine year old Amy has already had a rough start in life. She was born with an abnormal heart that hinders her everyday activities. Amy is unable to keep up with kids her own age because she often tires out easily. As a consequence, she has very little friends and is often alone. Amy is forced to take different medications everyday just to survive. Amy’s life consists of medicine, doctors, and constant hospital visits. However, Amy is due for a

Myth and Magic: Realism in "One Hundred Years of Solitude"

1531 words - 6 pages “He enjoyed his grandmother's unique way of telling stories. No matter how fantastic or improbable her statements, she always delivered them as if they were the irrefutable truth” (Wikipedia, 2011). Experiences are particular instances of one personally encountering or undergoing something and in these moments of time life changes for the best or the worst and memories are formed. These recollections such as riding your first bicycle, going to

Adiponectin: a Novel Indicator of Malnutrition and Inflammation in Hemodialysis Patients

2384 words - 10 pages Objective Protein-Energy malnutrition (PEM) and inflammation are common and overlapping conditions in hemodialysis patients which are associated with increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Adiponectin is an adipocytokine which is exclusively produced by adipose tissue. Few studies in hemodialysis patients have demonstrated that serum levels of adiponectin were significantly higher in malnourished patients compared to well-nourished ones. The

The Congo Free State: A Legacy of Apathy, Exploitation and Brutality

2298 words - 9 pages Between 1885 and 1908, Belgium’s Leopold II ruled Congo, a region in central Africa, as his personal colony, exploiting the resources and inhabitants for his own gain. Leopold allowed and encouraged Europeans and other Westerners to enter Congo and set up companies whose primary purpose was to gather rubber, which was abundant but difficult to get to in the Congo, using the Congolese as the laborers for the Europeans. Rubber gathering in Congo

Selective Exposition in The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson

1073 words - 4 pages Usually when someone hears the word “lottery” the first thing that comes to mind is a large sum of cash that people compete against highly impractical odds to win. Shirley Jackson’s story The Lottery might imply a similar conception based on the title alone, but the story is filled with unknowns never revealing exactly when and where the story takes place, or why the lottery exists; even what the lottery is isn’t revealed until the very end. Yet

Lightning

1857 words - 7 pages INTRODUCTION I remember when I was a young child; I would always be scared whenever there was a severe storm outside that included thunder and lightning. This was especially true in the hours of darkness, when you could really see the lightning. As I grew older this so-called fear of lightning turned into a fascination for this weather phenomena. One of my most vivid memories of lightning as a young man was when I was flying to Florida, the

Maryland's Ecology and Environment

1130 words - 5 pages Maryland is the 42nd largest state, making it one of the smaller states in America. It is located in the South Atlantic region on the United States eastern seaboard. Prince George's is one of twenty four counties in Maryland. It is also the geographic center of the state. Maryland has a varied climate. The state is home to a variety of different ecosystems. This is also true of Maryland’s environment, which has the Atlantic Ocean on

When The Bubble Burst Essay

1539 words - 6 pages By the time I arrived state side from my second tour in the Middle East the housing bubble had already burst. I noticed a drastic change in the way that many of my friends and family were living. Several of my friends that worked in real estate had sold their boats and seconds houses. My own stock portfolio had lost a third of its value. My sister and her husband had defaulted on their home mortgage leaving them scrambling for a place to live. I

Phase Diagram Essay

4456 words - 18 pages Introduction: Chemical equilibrium is a crucial topic in Chemistry. To represent and model equilibrium, the thermodynamic concept of Free energy is usually used. For a multi-component system the Gibbs free energy is a function of Pressure, Temperature and quantity (mass, moles) of each component. If one of these parameters is changed, a state change to a more energetically favorable state will occur. This state has the lowest free energy

Revolutionary Work Of Art Essay

1890 words - 8 pages Walter Benjamin emphasizes in his essay, “The Work of Art in the Age of its Technological Reproducibility” that technology used to make an artwork has changed the way it was received, and its “aura”. Aura represents the originality and authenticity of a work of art that has not been reproduced. The Sistine Chapel in the Vatican is an example of a work that has been and truly a beacon of art. It has brought a benefit and enlightenment to the art

Enlightenment Thought In New Zealand Schools

1594 words - 6 pages In this essay I will be looking at how the political and intellectual ideas of the enlightenment have shaped New Zealand Education. I will also be discussing the perennial tension of local control versus central control of education, and how this has been affected by the political and intellectual ideas of the enlightenment. The enlightenment was an intellectual movement, which beginnings of were marked by the Glorious Revolution in Britain