Month: March 2020

For my issue brief, I intend to focus on the problem of how to decrease carbon dioxide emissions in Virginia, my home state. There is great exigence for discussing this issue. Universally, governing bodies are trying to keep global warming at 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius, with a favor more towards 1.5, for 2030. Keeping global warming at or below this level will help the world to avoid the worst effects of climate change.  

 

Climate change could either be considered an intentional or inadvertent cause. The disastrous affect that carbon dioxide has on our atmosphere has been known about for a long time, yet appropriate action has not been taken to contain this problem. On the other hand, this was not a result anyone intentionally set out to create. It happened as a cost of the industrial revolution and creating progress in other important areas for human life and wellbeing.  

 

I would approach my policy as either an inducement or a capacity builder. Inducements are common when trying to solve environmental issues. It would be unfair to mandate change, since that would hurt those that cannot afford it. Creating incentives will help those who can afford it to implement the necessary change. These people are often the biggest emitters anyway. Using a capacity builder strategy is also an appealing option. If I created a policy that made sustainability a topic that must be covered in school educations, this will help bring awareness to the issue, and it could help to inspire people to make change.  

I am without a doubt an optimist. Whenever I receive bad news, the first words out of my mouth are “Well at least…” As soon as I heard that classes were cancelled, I was crushed. I knew it was a possibility, and I thought I prepared myself for it, but I found myself rapidly going through the five stages of grief before finally being able to think positively. 

 

I told myself that I could make the best of the situation. I could do homework at the library, see my friends from high school, return to my dance studio, maybe make time for the gym, and I could even arrange to meet up with college friends. I was upset not to return to school, and I was daunted by the idea of trying to participate in an architecture studio online, but I thought I could make the situation work.  

 

The situation rapidly worsened. As I quickly found myself quarantined in my home, I found that all my ways to make the situation better had been taken away. Nevertheless, I was determined to find good in this situation. 

 

I know that I have a habit of seeing thing as the way I think they should be and working from there. This situation forced me to actually accept that I have limited control. I have to accept the situation for what it is and to make the most of that. And there are good things in it. 

 

Although we are practicing social distancing, communities are coming together to help each other. College students and teenagers who now find themselves at home are volunteering to babysit for those who are still at work and who need childcare. Community members are checking up on those most at risk: the elderly, those who have recently undergone surgery, and those with chronic health conditions. My friends who were dreading a week home for spring break, due to personal tensions with family members or friends, and now they have been forced to address those issues and to resolve them. Although no one is happy about this situation, we are all trying our bests to accommodate everyone in their own unique situation, and to help each other. 

 

There is no shortage of bad things to focus on right now. But maybe it is the overwhelming bad, that helps us to really appreciate the good in our lives right now. Times are tough, but so is humanity. 

I attended a public deliberation on what should happen to those imprisoned for marijuana possession should recreationally use of the drug be legalized.  

 

Their first approach involves upholding legislature of the past. In this approach, they made the case that those already convicted for marijuana charges would remain imprisoned for the remainder of their sentences. This seems to be a likely outcome considering that the United States is one of the few countries in the world that does not grant retroactive ameliorative relief. A precedent case confirming this occurred with the repeal of Prohibition. The underlying belief of this approach is that punishments exist to deter the general public from committing crimes, thus should the punishment be lifted, crime would increase.  

 

Approach number two is to update punishment to current legislation. In more simplistic terms, this means releasing those who were formally charged and imprisoned for marijuana possession. A precedent also exists for this approach. In 2014, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that the legalization of marijuana possession enabled former offenders to appeal their offenses. Since the United States court systems are already overwhelmed this should be systematically automated, meaning that former criminals would be expunged and released without necessitating bureaucratic processing. The argument for this approach is that the government would no longer have a reason to disincentivize marijuana so thus maintaining incarcerations would be at best a waste of prison space, and at worst a gross violation of the foundation of our judicial system.  

 

The third and final approach involves administering reparative justice, meaning that prisoners would not only be released, but also compensated for the punishment inflicted under these charges. Deep-seated racism was the driving factor for marijuana’s initial federal criminalization, and today the vast majority of those imprisoned for marijuana offenses are black or Latino. A precedent for this approach would be the attempted retributions made to the Japanese Americans held in internment camps. This approach is also justified by the Lockean perspective which believes that it is the responsibility of the legal system to provide, “satisfaction due to any private man, for the damage he has received.” 

 

Overall, I thought this was a very captivating subject for a public deliberation. As an increasing amount of states decriminalize and legalize the drug, it is appearing more and more likely that this will be implemented at the national level. Thus, it is important to remember those who are most deeply affected by this, and to ensure that they receive fair treatment.