Today, We Are More Concerned With Our Environment Than Ever Before. Si

Today, we are more concerned with our environment than ever before. Similarly, it is my belief that we are more knowledgeable about our earth's environment than did previous generations. I do not believe it would be an understatement to say that the planet earth is in serious jeopardy--from the shrinking rain forests, to the polluting of the oceans and land, to the ozone layer problem. Nevertheless, for purposes of this discussion, it is my intent to focus on pesticides as one particularly rampant source of environmental problems. I particularly favor this subject, because I know that we as Americans can do much to prevent the deleterious impact which pesticides are having upon our environment. This is not some abstract notion that many people have regarding the ozone layer. For example, in one's own backyard or garden, there is much one can do in this respect. Opposition by environmentalists to pesticide use in general and to certain groups of compounds in particular has grown in recent years, based on the contention that pesticides present a threat to the environment and to health. First aroused by the book "Silent Spring" (1952) by Rachel Carson, the anti-pesticide movement has had a substantial influence both in the U.S. Congress and in several state legislatures. As a result, severely restrictive legislation has banned the use of many pesticides and restricted use of several others. Also, costly and complicated legislation requirements have been imposed on new compounds. Pesticide legislation has significantly hampered research and development in the field. The average cost and lead-time needed to recover, research and market a new pesticide has increased from $2 million dollars and four years in the 1950's to nearly $20 million dollars and ten year s in the 1970's. In recent years, more new pesticides have been banned than have had continued effective use, and there has been a reduction in the number of chemistry companies producing pesticides since the restrictions took effect. Environmentalists, scientists, and workers in the pesticide industry have also contented that some pesticide compounds are hazardous to human health. Workers in factories that produce some of these compounds have, in the process of bringing legal suits against some manufacturers, received financial compensation for illnesses allegedly caused by exposure to these chemicals. Agricultural workers have also brought suits, claiming that they have suffered physical damage as a result of pesticide exposure. Some pesticide chemicals -- recently DBCP, which effects the production of sperm-- have had their manufacturing severely restricted. Long range potential dangers of pesticides in the body are also beginning to concern experts. In 1989, controversy arose over safe pesticide levels for children. While the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) claimed that the U.S. food supplies were safe, the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) produced a study claiming that the safety standards used by the EPA were based on adult diet and physiologies. Some other problems have been attracting public attention. Certain pesticides are lethal to bees, and it is estimated that heavy pesticide use, especially in areas that depend on bees to pollinate crops, have caused substantial reduction in local hive populations. Finally, it has been suggested that the build up of non-degradable pesticides in the soil and in food chain may be more hazardous, in the long run, than these immediate problems. At this point, however, even the claims made against DDT -- which was banned in the United States because of its supposed deleterious effects and its bioconcentration in the food chain -- are still denied by many experts. (Baker, pp. 11-13) Frankly, I am more concerned about the solutions than I am with the causes. Clearly exposure to limits of pesticides in food, and in particular, produce, needs to be given further attention. It was not so long ago when President Clinton and Al Gore first took office, and they both voiced their commitment to the environment. Unfortunately, fruits and vegetables, especially throughout the United States and in particular, California, are exposed to heavy concentrations of pesticides, which inevitably ends up in the food chain, and as well things which people themselves ingest. It seems as if every where you look, there they are: stirring about in your kitchen, hanging in the hallway, and

Essay about Thirteen Colonies and New England

Essay about Thirteen Colonies and New England Essay about Thirteen Colonies and New England 5. Chapter 1: New World Beginnings: 33,000 B.C.-A.D. 1769 A. True-False: Where the statement is true, circle T; where it is false, circle F. 1. T F The geography of the North American continent was fundamentally shaped by the glaciers of the Great Ice Age. 6. 2. T F North America was first settled by people who came by boat across the waters of the Pacific Strait from Japan to Alaska. The early Indian civilizations of Mexico & Peru were built on the economic foundations of cattle & wheat growing. Most North American Indians lived in small, seminomadic agricultural & hunting communities. Many Indian cultures like the Iroquois traced descent through the female line. No Europeans had ever set foot on the American continents prior to Columbus’s arrival in 1492. A primary motive for the European voyages of discovery was the desire to find a less expensive route to Asian goods & markets. 8. 8. T F The beginnings of African slavery developed in response to the Spanish conquest of the Americas. Columbus immediately recognized in 1492 that he had come across new continents previously unknown to Europeans. The greatest effec t of the European intrusion on the Indians of the Americas was to increase the Indian population through intermarriage with the whites. Spanish gold & silver from the Americas fueled inflation & economic growth in Europe. The Spanish conquistadores had little to do with the native peoples of Mexico & refused to intermarry with them. The Spanish were able to defeat the Aztecs because they came from a more sophisticated, urban civilization. Spain expanded its empire into Florida & New Mexico partly to block French & English intrusions. The Spanish empire in the new world was larger, richer, & longer-lasting than that of the English. 9. Among the most important American Indian products to spread to the Old World were a. animals such as buffalo & horses. b. technologies such as the compass & the wheel. c. economic systems such as plantation agriculture & livestock raising. d. foodstuffs such as maize, beans, & tomatoes. The primary staples of Indian agriculture were a. potatoes, beets, & sugar cane. b. rice, manioc, & peanuts. c. maize, beans, & squash. d. wheat, oats, & barley. The number of Indians in North America at the time of Columbus arrived was approximately a. one million. b. four million. c. twenty million. d. two hundred & fifty million. Before Columbus arrived, the only Europeans to have visited North America, temporarily, were a. the Greeks. b. the Irish. c. the Norse. d. the Italians. The Portuguese were the first to enter the slave trade & establish large-scale plantations using slave labor in a. West Africa. b. the Atlantic sugar islands. c. the West Indies. d. Brazil. 3. T F 4. 5. 6. T T T F F F 7. 7. T F 9. T F 10. 11. 12. T T T F F F 13. T F 14. T F 10. Much of the impetus for Spanish exploration

Discuss the concept of the sustainable development and the component Essay

Discuss the concept of the sustainable development and the component of a sustainable development approach to environmental policy - Essay Example anagement need to go together and are not mutually exclusive (Pezzey, 1992).It has become widely accepted that development strategies of countries aimed at economic growth and poverty alleviation need to consider the state of the natural resources in these nations also since future growth depends on this. The concept of sustainable development has gained particular importance due to the growing concern on climate change and associated environmental issues all over the world. Consequently, sustainable development has become an integral part if the environmental policy of governments and businesses. In this essay, the concept of sustainable development, its importance and guiding principles as well as the component of sustainable development approach to environment policy are discussed. This essay is organized as follows. Section 2 discusses the context of sustainable development, section 3 discusses the guiding principles and importance of sustainable development, Section 4 discusses the sustainable development approach to environmental policy in detail. Section 5 concludes the essay. The selfish man made activities without considering the environmental impact has been an issue of great concern from the ancient days. This has been worsened by rapid industrial development, population growth and technological innovations (Liu, 2002). The main consequences of the industrial development included resource depleting, energy intensive and pollutant generating activities and redistribution of important substances in natural environment like carbon, sulphur, heavy metals and chlorine generated by fossil fuel burning, underground mines and thermal process respectively. The main greenhouse gases are water vapour, CO2, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and halocarbons (IPCC,2007a).Among these, though water vapour is the main contributor to greenhouse gas effect, , the rise in water vapour is not directly a man made activity (IPCC, 2007a). Rise in CO2, which contributes

Benefit Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Benefit Plan - Assignment Example They should have completed 1000 hours of service with the company which usually occurs around one year after joining the company to be eligible for the benefits. The basic benefit plan of Blue Rose includes Retirement plans and Life Insurance plans. Senior engineers and the management staff get paid vacations and sick leave. All employees are entitled to get basic benefits like workers compensation and Federal Family and Medical Leave. FICA taxes will be deducted from every employee’s salary. The normal retirement age is 65. The benefit is determined based on the annual compensation package. Normal retirement rate benefit will be equivalent to 10% of the actual compensation earned by the employee annually. Pension benefits can be gained from the date of completing service. This is applicable to voluntary retirement, employment termination and quitting due to disability. The company requires every employee who had completed a year with them to contribute 10% of their salary towards life insurance. The company gives coverage up to 10 times the actual amount stored in the employee’s insurance account in cases of medical emergencies, death or disability. They employees who had completed 5 years of working in Blue Rose are eligible to take a loan on their insurance savings. Senior engineers and management staff who have completed 8 years in Blue Rose and are permanent employees of the company can get paid leave up to 15 days a year for vacation or medical emergencies. They are also entitled to get travel allowance for in-country vacations and free accommodation in company guest houses in certain locations. The benefits given by Blue Rose are quite lenient considering the size and profit of the company. But, certain basic additions like medical and dental coverage and paid sick leave for all employees are required. The junior employees will benefit a lot from such plans. 1. A basic

Adult Education in the 21st Century Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Adult Education in the 21st Century - Essay Example Many theories have been put forward on how adults learn in the 21st century resulting to different propositions in this issue. One of the many theories proposed is Malcolm Knowles’ theory of andragogy that has gained acceptance based on recognition. This theory has been accepted without careful consideration of its propositions. Though widely accepted, there have been debates about this theory’s classification. People have not been able to define this theory according to its work (is it an adult learning theory, a teaching theory, a philosophical theory or all of these) because it may serve different purposes. Adult learning process is a bit different from child education, and it would encompass issues such as the purpose of learning. This process would also require that those being taught choose how they want the process to be done. This would not be the case when dealing with school going children. This write up looks on how adult learning is done in the 21st century. Knowles defines andragogy as â€Å"the art and science of teaching adults.† In his efforts to work on this theory, he gave four assumptions upon which adult learning would be based. According to Knowles, adult learning is based on the following assumptions. The first assumption is that teachers are responsible for helping adults to move from reliance and become independent.The other assumption is that learners are believed to see education as a way to increase their competence. Thirdly, Knowles makes an assumption that learners will be willing to learn to aim that the knowledge attained would enable them solve real-life problems. The other assumption is that adults have are experienced, and this would facilitate the learning process. Later, Knowles together with Holton and Swanson added two assumptions on adult learning. The first one was that adults knew the reason that made them learn at that age. The final assumption in this area is that self esteem is a motivator for adul t education. One concept in this theory is that adult learning has been compared to a contract that requires at least two parties. The teacher and the learner negotiate on the outcome of the learning process that is yet to be implemented. Negotiations on how the outcome will be achieved are also done by these two parties. This corporation of the teacher and the learner in formulating strategies together is the foundation upon which andragogy is based. Therefore, andragogy provide insights on the learning process and is considered an approach to adult education and development (St. Clair, 2002). Transformational and relative learning Adult learning process applies a process called situated learning which tackles activities that are familiar to the learner. Here, the adult students learn through immersion in activities that concern their discipline of study. For instance, engineering and political science students would be required to examine the content and structure of governmental websites. This would enable them study the weaknesses and strengths of government resources that are provided online (Sholes, 2003). Situated learning will aim to achieve various aspects on adults taking learning lessons. Present the students with situations that would reflect the way they will apply the knowledge they have acquired in real life situations. For example, this would be in problem solving in their discipline of work. It will also provide numerous roles and multiple perspectives, support working together in construction of knowledge and admission to expert performances. Constructive- development learning The other theory applied in adult learning is constructive- development theory that encompasses adult growth and the learning proc

Reflective Essay of the Family

Reflective Essay of the Family Write a short autobiographical piece relating to the theories and concepts discussed in the first half of the course. How might parts of your own or your familys life observe, illuminate or be illuminated by the theories and concepts discussed in weeks 1-5 of the course? I was born in Italy and resided there till the age of twenty-eight. I lived in a regional town of around forty-thousand inhabitants with limited cultural opportunities. I studied for a baccalaureate in business and entered the working environment as a news cameraman. In Italy, this would be the equivalent of a blue-collar worker. After having been working for ten years I moved to London and commenced employment as a sales and account manager in I.T. This job required intellectual application to office administration and high degrees of interpersonal relations, combined with knowledge of the product and its application within the marketplace. My increased earnings allowed me to purchase a home for the first time. Access to cultural opportunities in London has broadened my knowledge and understanding of the arts. London has allowed me to realise my potential to become a professional and commence this process by undertaking a history degree. My experience of London has been one of inqui ry and integration within a tolerant and multicultural environment. I will now seek to observe and to illuminate by application to my life some of the concepts and theories discussed in the first half of the course. Conventional wisdom has redefined the social structure of society by cataloguing the population into three classes: the rich, the middle class and the poor. This is very likely to represent the current classification in Italy. Therefore, the distribution of income is the main factor why classes still exist through the buying and selling of labour.[1] In Italy, I would have been classified as being a member of the poor class. Italy is characterised by a stark division between highly industrialised districts and underdeveloped areas of peasant farming. However, it is not always the case that farmers are positioned in a lower economic class than those of white-collar workers. For instance, and from my own experience, Italian farmers may be economically better-off than public servants because of the potential to sell their produce in their ow n shops and to secure a higher income. Accordingly, their economic capital is directly converted in the form of property rights and tangible assets such as houses and cars. [2] By relocating to London my observable classification within a conventional understanding of class remained unchanged because I could only sell my skills and labour. Now applying Bourdieus frameworks for class in Italy, I would have been considered as having a low economic capital. However, Bourdieus concept of cultural and social capitals applied to my employment as a news cameraman demonstrates an enrichment of both those capitals due to the enlargement of my social contacts. It could be claimed that I had found the perfect fit and I was floating like a fish in water: my habitus, made up of layering built up by experiences grounded in my body and mind, had met a social world of which it is the product,[3] therefore, I was experiencing the world pleasantly and I was in my comfort zone. Being a newcomer in London brought about the experience of a downward shift on all my capitals. Work, education and social networks had to be rebuilt. When someone steps out of the comfort zone it is likely to resemble a fish out of water, a suffused sense of inadequacy.[4] The new environment has offered me opportunities to improve my education and expand my social contacts. Bourdieu suggests that it is under conditions of hysteresis[5] when you are a fish out of water that great changes can occur. The hysteresis effect might provide an explanation of how I can make sense of my new environment based on my habitus, and on my capacity to decode parallels between the previous context and the new one. The seven classes of the Great British Class Survey of 2013 are built upon the development of certain sectors of economic activity, such as the technical middle class and the new affluent workers.[6] In Italy I would have been included in the traditional working class. Using the Survey Calculator twice and ending up in two different classes, it was evident that I provided the same social and cultural capitals and only modified my income. Firstly, when I used to work as an account manager, I was assigned to the group of Established middle class, secondly, now that I am a student, I fall within the Traditional working class. Mike Savage, one of the promoters and researchers of the survey, in his BBC Radio 4 interview, has stated that the study has moved away from the occupational classes.[7] This would not be the case, in fact as the results of my two surveys demonstrate, it does not take into consideration cultural and social capitals. I also agree with Colin Mills, lecturer in sociol ogy at Nuffield College Oxford, that the nature of the BBC sample is somewhat flawed: the 160.000 respondents of the online survey are most likely to be more educated and in highly paid jobs, whereas the respondents of the face-to-face research of 1000 people are more varied and allowed to build more classes[8]. It can be claimed that the findings of the BBC survey come from the information provided by the smaller research, hence the internet survey plays almost no role in defining these categories and the class I fall in. It can be clearly observed that, by applying class theories to my own life, only one class theory demonstrates any depth of analysis with regards to social and cultural aspects, namely the one developed by Bourdieu. By moving from Italy to London, my class has shifted upwards in all my three capitals. References [1] https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/ch01.htm#007 [accessed on 20th January 2017] [2] Pierre, Bourdieu, The Forms of Capital, in John Richardson (ed.), Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education, (New York, 1986),p.243 [3] Pierre, Bourdieu and LoiÃÅ'ˆc J. D., Wacquant, An invitation to reflexive sociology, (Cambridge, 1992),p.127 [4] Diane, Reay, Gill, Crozier and John, Clayton, (2010) Fitting in or standing out: working-class students in UK higher education, British Educational Research Journal 32(1),p.11 [5] Pierre, Bourdieu, Outline of a theory of practice, trans. Richard Nice, (Cambridge, 1977),p.78 [6] Mike, Savage et al., A new model of social class? Findings from the BBCs Great British Class Survey experiment, Sociology 47(2), p. 230 [7] http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07gg1kb [8] Ibid.

Asian Financial Crisis Essay -- business economics

In the summer of 1997, an economic and currency crisis rocked the Asian markets. One by one, Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Korea and Japan saw their economies crash in the wake of heavy foreign investment. An economic boom had made the region an attractive investment opportunity for much of the 1990s. By 1997, however, domestic production and development had stalled, and foreign investors grew nervous. A divestment run on the Thai baht triggered the crash. Large corporations, extremely dependent upon the confidence of foreign investors failed to meet debt obligations and began to fail throughout Southeast Asia. Currencies throughout the region faltered and nosedived from their mid-1990s positions of stability. The causes of the Asian economic crisis are varied. Lax oversight of corporations had ramifications in economic downturns that were not a concern in the mid-90s boom. Macroeconomic policies of the southeast Asian countries made their economies vulnerab le to the uncertain confidence of their foreign investors. Despite this, Corsetti, Pesenti and Roubini (1998) make the point that, ?market overreaction and herding caused the plunge of exchange rates, asset prices and economic activity to be more severe than warranted by the initial weak economic conditions.? Much of the crisis that began in 1997 has roots that go back further to the area?s economic growth that started in the early 1990s.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although many economists consider the Asian economic collapse to have begun in Thailand, conditions throughout the region meant that other countries? economies were destabilized to the extent that they quickly followed Thailand.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the early 1990s, growth in Southeast Asia attracted much foreign capital. However, by 1995 and 1996, Thailand?s current account deficit had grown (from 5.7% in ?93 to 8.5% in ?96 [Pesenti et al., 1998]). When domestic production slowed, this account imbalance represented an even greater percentage, when compared to GDP. Much of the instability in Thailand?s economy was brought about by heavy short-term borrowing that required stringent debt maintenance. A boom in real estate and the Thai stock market attracted foreign speculation that could not be sustained in the face of investor doubts. The Thai government attempted to shore up shaky investor confidence by officially backing the financial in... ...r 1997 are from the Economist Intelligence Unit Country Report, 2nd quarter 1998. Table 2. Non-Performing Loans (as proportion of total lending in 1996) Korea   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  8% Thailand   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  13% Indonesia   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  13% Hong Kong   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3% Malaysia   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  10% China   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  14% Philippines   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  14% Taiwan   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  4% Singapore   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  4% Source: 1997 BIS Annual Report; Jardine Fleming. Table 3. Debt Service plus Short-Term Debt, World Bank Data (% of foreign reserves ). 1990   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1991  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1992  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1993   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1994   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1995   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1996 Korea   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  127.4   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  125.9   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  110.4   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  105.7   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  84.9   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  204.9   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  243.3 Indonesia   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  282.9   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  278.8   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  292.0   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  284.8   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  278.0   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  309.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  294.2 Malaysia   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  64.0  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  45.9   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  45.6   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  42.4   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  48.7   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  55.9   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  69.3 Philippines   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  867.6   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  257.0   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  217.1   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  212.6   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  172.0   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  166.6   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  137.1 Thailand   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  102.4   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  99.3   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  101.3   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  120.3   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  126.6   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  138.1   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  122.6 Hong Kong   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  30.5   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  26.9   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  22.8   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  20.6   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  22.0   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  16.8 China   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  55.3   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  43.7   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  108.6   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  113.7   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  54.1   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  49.6   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  38.5 Taiwan   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  23.9   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  22.3   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  23.1   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  25.2   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  23.7   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  24.2