During the spring break I took a little time out to spend some quality time with my children, I also caught up on some tv and had some fabulous traybakes delivered that were absolutely amazing. You may be wondering why I am telling you this. Sometimes it is good to take some time out, to take stock and not to constantly pressurise ourselves to get everything done. I went out for a few nice long walks just to be in the moment and not think about what was waiting for me at home, sometimes we need a little headspace just to clear the cobwebs away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This weeks readings<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n This week\u2019s readings were very poignant for me, I am an activist ambassador for my work and I am always looking at how we can improve conditions and situations for animals, the planet and people. As a person I have always looked into both sides of a story and tried not to bring bias into any situation. The same goes with university work for my degree, whether it be weekly readings or research for an essay. However, I can\u2019t help but wonder after doing the readings this week if that sometimes in history too much is centred on the good things that come from a situation and not enough is focussed on the bad. For example, my first year at university we did a lot of work on the industrial revolution and how it took the world into modern times with steam powered machines, railways and so on. Yes, this all very true, but my question would then be at what cost did this happen? Malm\u2019s blog talks about the British empire and the extraction of coal from coal mines in India. Where the workers were exploited, had to work in horrific conditions and also the damage to the planet at the same time.[1]<\/a> Was this necessary? No, was this about profit? Yes, some of it was. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Whales and seals<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The section in the article by Emily O\u2019Gorman and Andrea Gaynor about the killing of seals reminded me of the shipping port in Dundee.[2]<\/a> The Whaling and seal industry was huge in Dundee from the mid eighteenth century and through the nineteenth century. The oil from the animals were used in various ways and so were other parts of the animals.[3]<\/a> However, there was also a huge demand for baby seals due to the fine hair of their coat and the oil from them was more sought after.[4]<\/a> Was it necessary to kill thousands of baby seals for this? Was it also necessary for many of the whale species and seals to be nearly extinct due to the amount of hunting that was going on? My answer is no, there is a large difference between necessity and greed and I do think that in this case it turned from the former to the latter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n [1]<\/a> Andreas Malm, \u2018Who lit this fire? Approaching the History of the Fossil Economy\u2019 Blog: 2017 <https:\/\/www.versobooks.com\/blogs\/3438-who-lit-this-fire-approaching-the-history-of-the-fossil-economy<\/a>> [accessed 3 April 2021].<\/p>\n\n\n\n [2]<\/a> Emily O\u2019Gorman, and Andrea Gaynor. \u2018More-Than-Human Histories\u2019, in Environmental History<\/em>, 25:4 (October 2020), pp. 711\u201335, p. 720.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [3]<\/a> Friends of Dundee City Archives, The Dundee Whaling Industry 1756-1920<\/em> (2011), <FDCA – Dundee Whaling Industry<\/a>> [accessed 3 April 2021].<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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