Impact of Human Activity on Migratory Activity

Impact of Human Activity on Migratory Activity Bird migration and the impact of human activity on migratory activity Migration is the movement made by animals between two separate locations on a regular basis for the purpose of accessing resources provided by these different sites (Alcock, 2013). [2]Migration is a common process throughout the entire animal kingdom. For example, there is the migration of the Monarch butterfly[3] across North America (Brown and Chippendale, 1974), the Atlantic salmons journey from river to ocean (Hansen, 1993), the marine turtles epic movement from feeding ground to breeding ground (Morreale et al., 1996) and finally there is our own species[4] migration across national and international borders. The focus of this discussion[5] however is the migration of Birds; most specifically looking at how, why and when they migrate and focusing on what exactly our impact as humans has on this very important phenomenon in the life cycle of many bird species.          Defining how migration first occurred   involves looking back over the history of migratory species and finding an evolutionary origin to the migratory lifestyle. In actual fact migration has evolved on several different occasions within the class Aves as shown in figure 1 which looks at the separate origins of migration within the family Turdidae[6]. The multiple evolutionary origins of migration suggest that there are numerous reasons as to why adopting a lifestyle that involves moving between different areas is advantageous to a species (Outlaw et al., 2003). With any adaptation, there must be a selection pressure forcing a species to develop a new strategy to be successful (Williams, 2008). In the case of bird migration, the seasonal variability of primary resources is a major driving factor for migrating but the changing climate conditions throughout the year is also one of the main benefits of being able to migrate [7](Alerstam, 2003). Birds can be long distance migrators, such as the Sooty shearwater, a sea bird that migrates approximately 64,000 km in 260 days with an daily travel distance of 900km (Schaffer et al., 2006). This heroic migration between North America and New Zealand is one of the largest migrations by a bird. In contrast the Spotted Owls of the Sierra Nevada have been observed to be altitude migrators, of short distance migrators, as they have a wintering site which is between 0.6-1.0 km closer to sea level than their usual nesting ground (Bias and Gutierrez, 1992). The comparisons between the journeys made by these two birds shows how two different environmental pressures can lead to the same solution. The long distance migrators[8] were driven to travel across continents due to the need to find a sustainable food source in changing seasonal conditions while the altitudinal migrators are driven to move based on climatic conditions[9] (Jenni and Kery, 2003). If migrating offers species a richer su pply of resources and a more favourable environment to survive in then why do only some species of birds migrate? As with many things in the natural world migration has its costs as well as its benefits, the costs and risks associated with migration are so high that not every species is adapted, nor needs to undertake the challenges migration creates. In order to travel such distances individuals need to be able to store resources by carrying extra weight leading up to the migration. This store must then be accessed during the flight meaning the individual must be able to alter their metabolism to store and release fats efficiently [10](Jenni and Jenni-Eiermann, 1998). Finally the risk of death during this journey is high as there many factors at play in the success of making the trip. The final aspect of migration is how species successfully manage to navigate from one location to another regardless of distance. There are three means of orientating observed in birds and they are pilotage, compass orientation and true navigation (Alcock, 2013). Pilotage is common in species such as homing pigeons where landmarks are used as navigational cues (Mehlhorn and Rehkà ¤mper, 2009). These landmarks could be environmental, such as rivers or forests but can also be artificial, in particular tall buildings and major roads. Migrating from one location to another without the use of cues requires a species to have a compass orientation and understanding of which direction it needs to travel to reach the location. An experiment done on the migratory European Robin showed that they can orientate using geomagnetic cues through a sense that is localised to the right eye (Wiltschko et al., 2002). True navigation is when a species has the ability to navigate towards the home location without any navigational cues and regardless of the direction (McFarland, 1999). [11]Having summarised the integral mechanisms behind migration I will now spend the remainder of this discussion focusing on what our impact as humans is on the migration of birds. Human interference on the animals we share the earth with is becoming an increasingly more serious problem. The effect we have on terrestrial migratory species may seem obvious as land use expands into new, wild territories but our effect on birds as they migrate through the power of flight is somewhat more complex. There are many factors that contribute to how we disrupt the migratory routes, territories and even the birds themselves. In parts of southern Europe and Northern Africa the illegal[12] shooting and netting of birds has become an increasingly popular industry. In Egypt 700km of nets are put up along the coastline designed to trap thousands of migrating passerine birds such as willow-warblers, red-backed shrikes and barn swallows all of which are illegal to catch under the national law (Salama, 2016). Recently there has been a strong push for the local authorities within Egypt to enforce the regulations that are in place as these nets are positioned to intersect with one o f the major migratory flyways from Africa to Eurasia as shown in Figure 2 where the area in question is within region 2. This area is not only targeted by nets in North Africa but many southern European countries such as France and Spain also engage in similar practices involving illegal netting.   In Italy, particularly in the Sicily region, shooting of birds is a common sport when migrators are making their journey to warmer climates in Africa. Unlike the mist netting practices, game hunting is legal to permit holders and the Italian authorities allow the 710,000 hunters to shoot 30 birds a day over a 2 month period (CABS, 2015).   A case against illegal hunting of birds has recently reached EU law regarding the trapping and commercial caging of birds in Malta. Many of the birds targeted are rare or protected species such as the endangered Pallid Harrier, the Purple heron and the Turtle dove (Raine et al., 2015). While the fight against illegal hunting and shooting o f these birds is ongoing, the effects of these activities in undoubtedly having a negative impact on their success. Migrating to breeding grounds that are better equipped with resources and protection should be an adaptation for success in these species. Instead they are being illegally hunted, trapped and shot while en route over this area resulting in a much lower number of birds successfully reaching breeding sites. Undoubtedly this seriously damages population size [13]of these European migrators and puts increasing strain on the challenging journey they make twice every year (Hirschfeld and Heyd, 2005). This particular study by Hirschfeld and Heyd (2005) reports that hunters are legally allowed to kill just 24 species of European native birds however a total of 82 different species were recorded to have been hunted that year. Despite the obvious illegal activity being done there is still a relaxed enforcement of these regulations across Europe and North Africa and widespread di sagreement around how to resolve the problems we, as humans, are causing. The current population of humans on earth is 7.5 billion with an annual growth so far, from January March 2017 is nearly 17 million (World population clock, 2017). As the global populations increase so to do food demands and a pressure to convert unused land into cropland or an expansion of existing urban regions. This unfortunately leads to widespread deforestation as the need for space increases on a daily basis (Lambin and Meyfroidt, 2011). Deforestation is threatening the ecosystem in which many migratory birds depend on. The cloud forest in Central America is under threat due to increases in forest conversion[14]. Many of the birds species in this region are altitudinal migrators and rely on the cloud forest for breeding (Cox, 2010)[15]. That is a very localised example of how deforestation is impacting migration but on a much wider scale the destruction of tropical and deciduous forests has a huge impact on birds migrating between the two tropics. The American Redstart, a smal l passerine bird, winters in the Caribbean, South America and Central America before migrating north to North America, and Canada to breed (Sherry Holmes 1997). Breeding success in these birds depends on the quality of both the wintering and breeding habitat and disruption to tropical forests in South and Central America and to deciduous forests in North America has influenced the reproductive success of breeding pairs in these regions (Norris et al., 2004). Deforestation is not the only interference to habitat we are causing, our need to continuously change landscapes so as they are better suited to our increasingly more developed societies is impacting many important habitats for migratory birds.[16] Conversion of open land [17]into man made developments can lead to many environmental disruptions. One case that I have a personal interest in[18] is the proposed development of a new dual carriageway between Belfast and Londonderry in Northern Ireland. While there is widespread agreement that the existing A6 road has seen an increase in use over the past 10 years (Johnston, 2016) the proposed route of the new road has been highly controversial. The area in question is[19]shown in Figure 3 and the proposed route passes straight through sensitive land that is used by Whooper Swans wintering in Northern Ireland. According to the RSPB Whooper Swans are an amber list species due to their small population and limited breeding areas. The swans migrate to the UK from Iceland to winter and this particular area in figure 3 is a highly important habitat for migrating pairs. The fields are flooded regularly by the bordering Lough Neagh and so are a rich feeding habitat for these migrating birds (RSPB). A number of local and national environment agencies and organisations are working with the the Department of Infrastructure to find a compromise that protects this nationally important habitat for the Whooper Swans. While the effect on these swans is yet to be seen as work on the new road is only reaching preliminary stages this year it will undoubtedly cause disruption to these wintering populations in the years to come. While deforestation and urban development is a direct way in which we are destroying habitats of migratory birds an indirect way is through climate change. It is no secret that human activity is massively contributing to the speed at which climate change is occurring and some impacts of this is loss of habitats, reduced food availability and changing season lengths disrupting migration times (Travis, 2003; Bradshaw, 2006; Crick, 2004). In the UK we are seeing a lengthening of seasons[20] meaning birds are arriving earlier and departing later (Sparks and Mason, 2004). While this can be considered a positive for UK bird numbers the migrating species arriving early could be disadvantageous to their need of resources. While the birds may be arriving early due to the changing home[21] territory climate and the extended migratory territory season, food resources often do not sync with this change in habit. What is being observed is an increasingly unsuccessful first brood of early arrivers due to the food supply, whether it is insects or berries, not being available (Harrington et al., 1999). An example of a bird effected by this is the Waxwing, a Northern European and Scandinavian passerine bird that has increasingly been migrating to the UK during winter to access food supplies. This is because with climate change there have been fewer berries in the Northern and Boreal forests forcing the Waxwing to expand their migration further to the UK (Huntley, 2008). [22] One of the most common migratory flyways is from Africa into Europe. Figure 4 shows the different routes the Montagu Harrier uses to get from the Sahel region of Africa across the mediterranean into Europe. While I have already discussed the dangers of migrating across North Africa and Southern Europe regarding hunting, it is the journey across the Sahara desert that I will now be focusing on. The Sahel region is dominated by the Sahara desert with most of the land area being dry, arid land with the outskirts and coastal regions being populated and used for agriculture (Zeng, 2003). However in the decade the Sahel region has been under drought conditions meaning a lot of the once arable, green land is under going desertification, hence why there is a popular notion that the Sahara is expanding (Foley et al., 2003). Travelling across desert is not an easy journey to make. There is limited water, food, roosting sites and the climate is hot and dry. This means that birds such as the Mon tagu harrier (figure 4) or the Garden Warbler, both of which are summer migrants in the UK and Europe, need appropriate energy stores to attempt the journey (Jenni and Jenni-Eiermann, 1998). With this area of desert land expanding it makes the already challenging journey even more demanding on energy stores and as a result many of the smaller passerine birds such as the Garden Warbler are not as successful in migrating across Africa. Most species can not attempt the crossing in still air and require prevailing winds across the desert to aid in flight [23](Barboutis et al., 2011). With climate change set to continue the drought in the Sahel region migrating across this major ecological barrier successfully will become increasingly more challenging with a lot more pressure being put on stop off sites in North Africa and Southern Europe where there is already so much competition and hunting occurring (Trierweiler et al., 2014). Stop off sites [24]are crucial to the success of long distance migrations especially when birds are flying across challenging terrain or resourceless water. These stop off sites tend to be rich habitats that are used by migrants for intensive feeding to re stock fuel supplies for the next leg of the journey (Pomeroy et al., 2006). Common stop off sites are mud flats as they are rich in resources and often have low predation risks as migrants flock together on the shore. Species like the Sandpiper use coastal mudflats as stop over sites and a study observing site selection based on disturbances, predator presence and food abundance was conducted with results showing no preference of site when there are land disturbances or predator presence. The study by Pomeroy et al, (2006) did however provide significant results on site seleciton based on food supply indicating that this is the main purpose of choosing these sites for stop over points. One of the serious impacts of climate change i s rising sea levels and so, low lying coastal areas such as mud flats will gradually becoming permanently flooded as a result (Church and White, 2006). Sadly this means that not only are destination sites being lost but so to are the stopover areas that are essential for long distance migrators. Fighting climate change is one of the biggest environmental challenges we are undertaking. One method of cutting down the global carbon emissions, in an attempt to slow down the greenhouse effect and thus climate change, is increasing the production of renewable energy (Mitchell, 1989). Renewable energy offers clean production of resources that our expanding population demands and wind energy has made significant in roads in many countries. Unfortunately for migrating birds wind turbines are a serious hazard on their already difficult journey. Off shore wind farms are frequently causing disruption to flocks of nocturnal migrators flying across the baltic sea which has a large number of wind farms. A study taking observations of the collision frequency at a german offshore wind farm recorded a total of 442 birds of 21 different species were killed due to direct collision or subsequent death from injury over a one month period (Hà ¼ppop et al., 2006). While renewable energy is an impo rtant step towards fighting climate change, wind farm locations should be planned around major migratory flyways to reduce the impact they have on bird species. It is easy to focus on how we negatively effect migrating birds but it is equally important to highlight the positives. While climate change has resulted in a change in migration times due to longer seasons it also has meant that, particularly in temperate latitudes, there has been an increase in the length of the breeding season (Sparks and Mason, 2004). Small passerine bird that migrate breed in the UK typically have two broods during the breeding season if the food availability and weather conditions are right. However the increase in length of this breeding season has seen a boost in successful 2nd broods wit   some species such as the Reed warbler having as many as 5 broods over one season (Halupka, 2008). This increased success is due to the prolonged food supply allowing the fledglings to heighten their fitness and thus increase their chance of survival to adulthood[25]. However as mentioned previously the success of the longer breeding period is dependent on the migrat ory species arriving at a peak time where resources and weather conditions are adequate to sustain a breeding population (Harrington et al., 1999). Another negative human effect, that can also be deemed a positive, is urbanisation. Many species of migratory birds require navigational cues as means of finding flyways and locations. While in a natural environment these cues can be forests, rivers or mountains, man made structures can also prove to be very useful navigation aids (Kamil and Cheng, 2001). Studies into navigation and route choice of homing pigeons has shown that they choose to follow motorways and railway lines, using entrances and exits to navigate to their home territo[26]ry (Lipp et al., 2004). Finally, the recent initiatives of environmental agencies in the UK, such as the RSPB, to get involved and interact with garden birds has seen the number of households putting out regular bird food rise dramatically (Robb et al., 2008). While supplementary feeding provides our native garden birds, such as coal tits and blue tits, a year long food supply it also provides an invaluable resource for migrating birds. One species in particular that has started to expand its migration distance to include the UK is the Blackcap. While blackcaps were a rare site in UK gardens several decades ago they are now becoming a familiar winter addition to the suburban gardens. In the 1950s ornithologists began to notice this change in migration route, instead of choosing a south westerly migration into Spain, blackcaps have evolved a successful new route into the UK (Plummer et al., 2015). As human activity continues to threaten not just the migration of birds but global biodiversity as a whole, the Blackcaps success story is a welcomed positive of our impact on the world around us. Migration is an important adaptation in the life cycle of birds and allows many species to access resources that are necessary to survival. The evolution of a migratory life style was driven by environmental selection pressures and is now being inhibited by artificial pressures. As human activity becomes increasingly more intrusive on the environment the stress on migrating birds to navigate successfully, journey across challenging conditions and to find suitable territories is becoming ever more difficult. With stricter enforcement on hunting and capturing restrictions in Europe and North Africa the major African to Eurasia flyway could become a much safer route for migrating flocks. While that is something that can be controlled, the rate of population increase of the human race is getting higher and higher and so is the demand to provide resources, both land and food, for the population. If we changed our agricultural industry so that we are producing crops at a much more efficien t rate, the need to cut down forests would lessen and in fact we would preserve rare habitats that are used not just by native species but also visiting migrators. While we are starting to make significant strides into tackling climate change by developing renewable energy sources there is still a lot of room for consideration of environmental preservation. Finally however, it is important to highlight the improvements we are making for migrating birds, while there are only a handful of positive impacts there is room to expand and create a more global effect.[27] References      Ã‚   Alcock, J. (2013). Animal behaviour. 10th ed. Sunderland, Mass.: Sinauer Associates, pp.Pg. 153-168. Alerstam, T., Hedenstrom, A. and Akesson, S. (2003). Long-distance migration: evolution and determinants. Oikos, 103(2), pp.247-260. Outlaw, D. et al., (2003). Evolution of Long-Distance Migration in and Historical Biogeography of Catharus Thrushes: A Molecular Phylogenetic Approach. The Auk, 120(2), pp.299-310. Shaffer, S. et al., (2006). Migratory shearwaters integrate oceanic resources across the Pacific Ocean in an endless summer. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103(34), pp.12799-12802 Bias, M. and Gutierrez, R. (1992). Habitat Associations of California Spotted Owls in the Central Sierra Nevada. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 56(3), p.584. Butler, C. (2003). The disproportionate effect of global warming on the arrival dates of short-distance migratory birds in North America. Ibis, 145(3), pp.484-495. Jenni, L. and Kery, M. (2003). Timing of autumn bird migration under climate change: advances in long-distance migrants, delays in short-distance migrants. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 270(1523), pp.1467-1471. Jenni, L. and Kery, M. (2003). Timing of autumn bird migration under climate change: advances in long-distance migrants, delays in short-distance migrants. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 270(1523), pp.1467-1471. Wiltschko, W., Traudt, J., Gà ¼ntà ¼rkà ¼n, O., Prior, H. and Wiltschko, R. (2002). Lateralization of magnetic compass orientation in a migratory bird. Nature, 419(6906), pp.467-470. McFarland, D. (1999). Animal behaviour. 3rd ed. Longman Scientific Technical. Mehlhorn, J. and Rehkà ¤mper, G. (2009). Neurobiology of the homing pigeon-a review. Naturwissenschaften, 96(9), pp.1011-1025. Boere, G., Galbraith, C. and Stroud, D. (2007). Waterbirds around the world. 1st ed. Edinburgh Stationery Office. CABS, (2015). [online] Available at: https://www.komitee.de/en/projects/italy [Accessed 16 Mar. 2017]. Travis, J. (2003). Climate change and habitat destruction: a deadly anthropogenic cocktail. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 270(1514), pp.467-473. Raine, A., Gauci, M. and Barbara, N. (2015). Illegal bird hunting in the Maltese Islands: an international perspective. Oryx, 50(04), pp.597-605. HIRSCHFELD, A. A. HEYD (2005): Mortality of migratory birds caused by hunting in Europe: bag statistics and proposals for the conservation of birds and animal welfare. Ber. Vogelschutz 42: 47-74 Worldometers.info. (2017). World Population Clock: 7.5 Billion People (2017) Worldometers. [online] Available at: http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/ [Accessed 16 Mar. 2017]. Lambin, E. and Meyfroidt, P. (2011). Global land use change, economic globalization, and the looming land scarcity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(9), pp.3465-3472. Cox, G. (2010). Bird Migration and Global Change. 1st ed. Washington: Island Press. Chpt 10. SHERRY, T. and HOLMES, R. (1997). American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla). The Birds of North America Online. Norris, D., Marra, P., Kyser, T., Sherry, T. and Ratcliffe, L. (2004). Tropical winter habitat limits reproductive success on the temperate breeding grounds in a migratory bird. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 271(1534), pp.59-64. BBC News. (2016). A6 upgrade: Legal challenge to road through Heaney country BBC News. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-38094217 [Accessed 16 Mar. 2017]. Hodges, Lindsay. [Photograph, 2017] Whooper Swans in Northern Ireland. JPEG file. Johnston, W. (2016). A6 Legal Challenge what now?. Word press: Northern Ireland Roads. RSPB. Campaign for Nature: A6 duelling proposals. [online] Available at: https://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/our-positions-and-campaigns/campaigning-for-nature/casework/details.aspx?id=tcm:9-229175 [Accessed 16. Mar. 2017] Bradshaw, W. (2006). CLIMATE CHANGE: Evolutionary Response to Rapid Climate Change. Science, 312(5779), pp.1477-1478. Crick, H. (2004). The impact of climate change on birds. Ibis, 146, pp.48-56. Harrington, R. et al., (1999). Climate change and trophic interactions. Trends in Ecology Evolution, 14(4), pp.146-150. Sparks, T. and Mason, C. (2004). Can we detect change in the phenology of winter migrant birds in the UK?. Ibis, 146, pp.57-60. Huntley, B. (2008). Plant species response to climate change: implications for the conservation of European birds. Ibis, 137, pp.S127-S138.   Trierweiler, C. et al., (2014). Migratory connectivity and population-specific migration routes in a long-distance migratory bird. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 281(1778), pp.20132897-20132897. Zeng, N. (2003). ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE: Drought in the Sahel. Science, 302(5647), pp.999-1000. Foley, J. et al., (2003). Regime Shifts in the Sahara and Sahel: Interactions between Ecological

Lorraine Hansberrys A Raisin In The Sun Essays -- essays papers

A Raisin in the Sun In A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry portrays obstacles that the Younger family and other African Americans had to face and over come during the post World War 2 era. Obstacles that had to be over come by the Youngers were economical, moral, social, and racist obstacles. Lorraine Hansberry, the author of the play had to face one of these as well growing up. Born in Chicago on the south side in an all black neighborhood, Lorraine Hansberry and her family had to deal with segregation. Moving to a white neighborhood in Chicago, her family had to deal with threats of violence and legal action. Her father defended the case successfully all the way to the Supreme Court.(sparknotes1) Her parents were well known in national black culture and political circles, which probably sparked her to latter become a reporter and editor for the Freedom, a black newspaper in New York from 1950-53. Hansberry relates her life situations through her play by having the Younger family deal with a similar circumstance. In the play Lena Younger or better known as mama, receives a 10,000-dollar check because her husband had past away. She decides to buy a house in Clybourne Park, which is an all white neighborhood. After finding out a black family is moving to Clybourne the so-called Organization Committee sends out a Mr. Lindner to welcome the Youngers. He d...

Original writing assignment Essay

   It was a beautiful sight, picturesque even, all around were fields of lush green grass with steep hills, deep valleys and evergreen trees. In front of him there was a lake with beautiful sparkling blue water, with beavers going about their daily business, fishes swimming and birds singing. However, as he glanced across to the other side of the lake the boy laid eyes upon an almighty cave. The water on this side of the lake was brown with dead fish floating on the surface. The banks surrounding this part of the lake were simply bare rocks threatening to crush anything with the misfortune of touching them. There were no birds singing or beavers playing. Not a single living thing dwelled on those premises and it was obvious why. Who in there right minds would rather live there than on the stunning view that was just meters from the grim scene? The boy drew his gaze away from the lake and noticed many little buildings with thatched roofs and only one floor. In front of these unusual and certainly old-fashioned buildings stood small families of people all dressed in pretty much the same way. The women wore long brown and white frilly dresses. They all looked like servants. The men also wore brown and white but these were brown tattered trousers and a white V-necked shirt. At a glance down at his attire, the boy noticed he was wearing exactly the same as the other boys that he had seen. He was tired and decided that he should get some rest; a fall from the sky into unfamiliar territory can really take it out of you. The young boy slowly advanced towards the nearest house. He was walking straight towards the 3 people stood in front of it, but the didn’t even seem to have noticed him. The boy was only 20 metres from them now but their gaze was still fixed to where he had first landed. He was now only 10 metres from them and could clearly see every single crevice on their skin. That was then he noticed the boy in front was not only dressed identically to him he was also exactly the same height and build with the same blonde hair blue eyes. He even had exactly the same horseshoe shaped birthmark on his neck. The young boy looked extremely confused and turned to the women in a desperate search for an explanation. To his horror, the woman was looking straight through him. This feeling of horror rapidly swapped itself with a feeling of utter disbelief, he recognised this women but where from. He opened is mouth to ask if she too recognised him. However, as soon as the first letter rolled of his tongue and dissipated into the air the almighty rumbling started again. This was much worse then the soft rumbling he had become accustomed to during his dreams. This was a full-blown earthquake style rumbling. The whole ground was shaking. The voices started again. He could finally make sense of the voices â€Å"Help David, the cave, help† it started of with just the women but very quickly the rest of the people joined in. He finally realised where he recognised that woman from. It was his mum, but it wasn’t. It couldn’t be it had to be a bad dream. The voices were unbelievably loud now. He could not take much more of this. David dropped to his knees willing himself to wake up. He didn’t. Of course, he didn’t: He couldn’t. There was only one thing he could do. The young boy sprinted to the cave, as soon as his size 7 shoes made contact with the cold grey stone the voices stopped, and the rumbling subsided. The inside of the cave was massive. David was standing in what seemed to be an ally. It had a grey floor and red-stone wall. In this alley of a cave ran a small, dirty brown stream. David decided to follow the stream. The silence was deafening. He was right in the centre of his worst nightmares yet the scene he was now living resembled his dreams in no way what so ever. He was expecting an increasingly loud rumble as he became ever closer to the source of all his sleepless nights. However, it was in no way at all like this. All David could hear was the ‘splat’ as his feet slapped against the wet floor. All he could do was walk straight into the caves belly, he could not go back outside, he couldn’t face the screaming. He had to sort this, now, once and for all. The relatively small walk was taking forever, a whole hour seemed to have passed as David walked through the cave however in reality it was closer to a minute. At last, the young boy had reached his destination. It certainly was not what he had expected. He was standing on a floor of grey stone. In front of him was a ring of water. Inside this ring was a small island containing one thing and one thing only; a white, round crystal. A rickety rope bridge hung loosely over the deep murky water. This was the end; he had reached the end of the cave, the end of the nightmares. It had to be something to do with that crystal, but what? David had obviously made his mind up as he cautiously walked to the bridge. He checked the ropes, it seemed secure enough but there was only one way to find out. He raised his foot and slowly but surely placed his foot on to the bridge. As soon as his foot connected with the nearly rotten wood an almightily high-pitched scream pierced through the silence, the rumbling once again shook David’s brain, and a short stab of bright light temporarily illuminated the area before subsiding into a low shimmer. The rumbling didn’t stop, it got considerably worse. The bridge was shaking; water was spraying from the stream in huge waves. He had to keep going, this torture had to end. David lunged and grabbed the crystal. A searing pain swarmed through David’s entire body. A brilliant light blinded him. Everything went white. David could no longer hear the high-pitched screams; he did not feel the ice-cold water flooding over the top of him. The rumbling stopped, so did the screaming and the crystal returned to the dull colourless state in which it started. David was nowhere to be seen.   All this happened 14 years ago. I have been all alone here ever since, still experiencing the same horrific dreams. Although now it’s all changed. You are here. The man thrust his hands forwards, palms out. There was writing burnt into the skin. Help David Our Saviour. Harry Litchfield Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Miscellaneous section.

The Possibilities of Brave New World in Our Society

The dystopian novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, displays a controlled society where people have a designated position. Everyone is conceived in test tubes and placed in different caste: Alpha, Beta, Gama, Delta, or Epsilon. The upper caste, Alpha, is intelligent and have managerial jobs, where as the lower caste, Epsilon, do the manual labor. The people within the society are conditioned to love, hate, or certain things their caste requires. For instance the Alphas are set to believe that they have the best jobs despite how much work they have, whereas the Epsilons believe their jobs are better because they have to work less than the other castes. The science and technology within Brave New World is what makes this society possible. The science and technology being invented today have the potential to make our real world society end up like the society much like in Brave New World. It all starts with the genetic modification of bacteria leading up to genetically modified humans , and then eventually having children being conceived in test tubes. All these studies, experiments, and inventions being done today are the stepping stones to a controlled society in Brave New World. Genetic modification in our world all started with the genetic modification of bacteria according to Theresa Philips of Nature Publishing Group. After bacteria has been genetically modified it lead up to yeast, insects, plants, and eventually fish. For organisms to be considered geneticallyShow MoreRelatedAldous Huxley s Brave New World1310 Words   |  6 PagesHuxley’s Brave New World is a fascinating and analytical work of fiction warning society of the possibility of a future world state eerily similar to the modern world. It could be argued by the fictional citizens and many others that the World State is in fact utopian. Constant happiness, fulfillment, and instant gratification. 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No true happiness or emotion is ever evoked. In his society, Montag becomes aware that books and other censored items exist in the world, but their presence has no impact on him until a female character enters the story. Talking one afternoon, Montag becomes interest in this female’s opinions on society. He soon concludes that the government is repressing individuality by censoring Read MoreHuxley V. Orwell1015 Words   |  5 PagesBrave New World v. 1984 June 8, 2011 It is no question that both Huxley and Orwell were displeased with our societal norms by their predictions in Brave New World and 1984. However, the two famous novels could not have differed more in their visions of tomorrow. Huxley portrays a nation of pleasure addicted, mindless beings merely existing. Orwell illustrated such a strict regime that the pursuit of knowledge would be banned and our voices would be silenced. Imagine living in a world withoutRead MoreBrave New World Discussion Questions1321 Words   |  6 PagesBrave New World Discussion Questions Question 1: Each novel immerses us, instantly, into a world that simultaneously is foreign and familiar. Establish the characteristics of the society that the author creates and analyze the intricacies (complexities) of the society being presented. In what ways is it like and unlike our own society? In Aldous Huxley’s science fiction novel Brave New World, a distinct society is illustrated. The author depicts a civilization that is specifically based on severalRead MoreWhat An Ideal Posthuman Model Of Moral Enhancement1742 Words   |  7 Pagesis a significant fear coming from the bioconservative ideology, which fears what a posthuman world could look like under a society where human enhancement is considered to be the norm. Prominent bioconservative writers like Francis Fukuyama and Richard Kass believe that a posthuman world with moral enhancement would be very much identical to the society that Aldous Huxley feared in his novel Brave New World. Kass describes the utter dehumanization moral enhancement would portray: â€Å"Homogenization, mediocrityRead MoreIndividualism And Individuality In Aldous Huxleys Brave New World1546 Words   |  7 PagesWaldo Emerson once said, â€Å"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment†. And how true that is. We learn from a young age that it is better to fit in than stand out and that if one does stand out they will be ridiculed and teased into conforming. Our society stifles individuality and hides how they truly feel in order to fit in. Not only that, but we tend to stifle emotions in our society just as much as individualism. We refuse to createRead MoreBrave New World Vs. Today Essay717 Words   |  3 Pages Close your eyes and imagine a world free of war, suffering and pain; an environment that provides all the necessary luxuries to maintain eternal happiness; one that is stable, friendly, peaceful and enjoyable. In this world, every inconvenience known to man is rid of. We are no longer affected by disease, aging, heartbreak, depression or loneliness; conformity is at hand and stability is achieved. Now envision a world where there is no love, families do not exist, humans are no longerRead MoreHow Far Have the Prophecies of Brave New World Come True?740 Words   |  3 Pagesis a pretty interesting question, because we have to persuade ourselves to think about our society today and how it has changed during the latest centuries. In my opinion are there definitely things in Brave New World that became true, but there are other things that have developed quite different then Huxley has predicted. The government has developed quite different then Huxley predicted. In Brave New World the whole system is based on a powerful and totalitarian government, which controlledRead MoreA Brave New World by Aldous Huxley1756 Words   |  7 PagesAldous Huxley is best known for his novel Brave New World, which depicts a post-industrial revolution utopia. Huxley greatly feared the ramifications to an industrialized world run by consumer capitalism, which is displayed in Brave New World. The government within the novel focuses solely on the bettering of technology and not scientific exploration and experimentation. The society’s values lie in instant gratification and constant happiness. The utopia is maintained through the means of drugs,