Economics and Environmental Hazards Essay Example for Free

Economics and Environmental Hazards Essay In the 21st century, global warming, littering, waste, and temperature rises have been the subject of focus for many scientists. While examining the many causes of global warming, scientists found fossil fuel emissions and CO2 emissions to be a major cause. Although Earth is known as the Blue Planet for its vast water sources, much of that water is saltwater. Only 3% of the Earth is fresh water, and 70% of that is in glacial ice, unreachable by most. Thus, only 0. 5% of the Earth is made of usable freshwater. This limited amount of water is unsuitable for the world’s expanding population. Much of this water, however, can be easily conserved by switching from bottled water to tap water. Through using tap water and conserving plastic, we can save 27 times the amount of water we currently are saving, and use water sources wisely so as to not run out. Literature Review In the 1930s, the subjects of global warming, water, and lack of resources for fossil fuels became concern for Americans. The New York Times ran their first global warming article in 1929, when it first was considered a myth. Now that global warming has become a major concern for people, we realize how much we have wasted nature’s resources- especially water. Although 75% percent of the Earth is made up of water, less than 1% is drinkable and accessible by people. Countless blogs, websites, newspapers, and academic journals, such as the Journal of Dental Association (2003) and BioMed Central (2009), describe how our thoughtless actions have led to water depletion. Through processing, we waste 26 liters of water to get 1 liter of bottled water. The bottles are made in China using crude oil and transported thousands of miles on oil-eating machines, causing the ozone layer to melt. There are now seldom disputes to the existence of ozone depletion, and media uses print and internet to support the cutting down on bottled water. Bottled Water: Economics and Environmental Hazards. Thousands of years ago, water was a gift from the gods, to be saved and cherished. It allowed ancient civilizations to grow into structured societies, and gave people the ability to survive on domesticating animals and growing plants. Today, in the modern world, water is often taken for granted, and has become a daily thing of our lives. We see water fountains everywhere, and bottled water can be purchased in bulk. However, at the current rate we are using water, freshwater amounts are likely to decimate. This gift from the gods has brought environmental harm to the world and wasted the money of thousands of people. Thus, in order to protect the environment and save our own money, we must make good choices and switch from excessively using bottled water to using tap water. One of the top reasons people often buy bottled water is because of the convenience it provides (Ferrier, 2001, pp. 118-119). Easy life is what the entire economy runs on, as we have seen from the declining economy. As income lessens, people are reverting back to an older lifestyle of doing things themselves instead of purchasing services and goods. While bottled water may taste better because of chemicals that companies add in, it also costs significantly more. A New York Times reporter calculated that eight glasses of New York City tap water were about 49 cents a year, but 8 glasses of bottled water would be 2,900 times more expensive- as much as $1,400 per year. Because water is something that every household needs, it is reasonable to conclude that by switching to bottled water, families could cut their water expenses in half (Helm, 2008) and America as a whole could save. The high costs of purchasing bottled water are often due to the processing that bottled water must go through and the costs of shipping and plastic. Instead of drinking water from a local river or other water source, people choose to drink water shipped from Fiji, where extra charge is added for shipping. The plastic that is used to make the bottle also adds charge. A replacement for this kind of convenience is drinking from the bottles and then continuously refilling them to save your money and the environment. According to the Container Recycling Institute, 85% of water bottles in the United States end up in landfills (cited in Aslam, 2006). Unfortunately, plastic takes up to 1,000 years to decompose and the fuel emissions that delivery trucks emanate destroy the ozone layer. Even more smog and smoke is given off by the manufacturing plant, contributing to global warming, evaporation of our current freshwater supply, and melting/mixing of glacial freshwater and ocean water. About 70% of freshwater is in glacial ice, and as a result of temperatures rising, the freshwater melts, mixing in with saltwater and becoming undrinkable until further chemical processing. Another common myth about bottled water is that it is healthier. A study conducted by University of Birmingham researchers found that â€Å"†¦The majority of participants believed that bottled water has some health benefits but that they were not necessarily significant or superior to the benefits provided by tap water† (BioMed Central, 2009). The participants, users of the university’s sports center, stated that the health benefits of bottled water were negligible, and it was taste and convenience that truly motivated them to buy bottled water. Some research even suggests the opposite- that bottled water is less beneficial to health than tap water. While communities actively add in fluoride – a cavity fighter- to the water supply, the majority of bottled water contains little to no fluoride (Rugg-Gunn, 2003). Many large water companies currently undergo processes such as distillation and/or osmosis – both remove all fluoride from the water (American Dental Association, 2003). Since we now know that bottled water is not healthier than other water sources, we must reflect again on the numerous drawbacks of bottled water. Landfills continue to grow and grow, leading to larger emissions of ozone-depleting gases (Sarma, 2002). Birds and other small animals choke on plastic, mistaking it for food, and also die as a result. The ecosystem is dying as a result. The world works as a whole, a cycle, a circle. The consequences of our actions will always come back to bite us, or in the case of water, our posterity when they have low water supply. Conserving water today will benefit people later. In addition, as we become closer and closer to high UV radiation exposure and losing our ozone layer, scientists are frantically trying to build labs, gather money, and conduct extensive research about how to conserve the environment and water. By not procrastinating, and saving plastic and water resources now, we will save great amounts of money. The exotic island of Fiji is known for its pure, fresh, crisp water, even to Americans who live thousands of miles away. A 16 ounce bottle of Fiji water currently costs from $1. 50 to $2. 50. At a rate like that, when we are at the edge of the Great Lakes and other vast water sources, but purchase water from the other side of the world, our money is being sold away to foreign countries. Most of 2. 7 million tons of plastic used for bottling and packaging come from China (Aslam, 2006). The result is a national economic breakdown, not only in the water industry, but in all industries, since people cannot cut down on the amount of water they need to drink. It takes 63 million gallons of oil per year to manufacture water bottles (Niman, 2007). That is not only more water than Fijians themselves drink that we are buying, but also 63 million extra gallons of oil and plastic that we toss away. Ironically, one third of Fijians are in destitution and lack the amount of water they need. Because one liter of bottled water uses 26 liters of water, one kilogram of fossil fuel, and one pound of CO2 (Thangham, 2007), little is left for the Fijians in destitute. This is true for not only Fiji waters, but all waters in the world. In 2007, Fiji, one of the world’s most popular drinking water sources, became the first bottled water company to release its carbon footprint -85,396 metric tons of CO2eq (Corporate Social Responsibility, 2008). Imagine the carbon footprint total for the world, or even the United States. Perhaps American water companies have not released their carbon footprints because of how overwhelmingly large they are. If we could cut down on how much bottled and imported water we drank, we could preserve a large amount of water for the future.

Peaches Essay -- Literary Analysis, Reginald McKnight

In the story â€Å"Peaches†, Reginald McKnight introduces his main characters, one being Marcus. Marcus is a good guy, but he is described in different ways, due to his eagerness or insecurities. Throughout the work, author Reginald McKnight takes great care to illustrate situations and describe feelings and personalities that many men experience. This way, even though Marcus is having trouble controlling himself around other people and arrogant at times, he still tries to be a better person for Rita and for himself. He does this by going out of the country to experience other cultures and enhance his morals. On one level Marcus demonstrates that he is incredibly confident, but on the other level he shows signs of being insecure, manipulative, and overall an unstable man who may or may not be capable of achieving change. Marcus’ actions continually demonstrate how confident he is. Whether he is next door or across the country, Marcus always has his eyes set out for Rita. While, he claims â€Å"I have had relationships with Black women and Hispanic women, and Asian women† (75), thinking his experiences with other women instantly make him capable of understanding Rita. He is so eager to obtain her that he fails to see her as an individual. To Marcus, past experiences are enough to attain a healthy relationship. According to Marcus, he had â€Å"been through this before† (75) and told Rita she could tell him anything, thinking it had to do with a cultural gap. In fact, Marcus said to Rita, â€Å"You can tell me. I think I’d understand† (75). His confidence paired with his need for Rita’s recognition and approval makes it appear that his confidence may be only surface deep. Marcus himself is insecure, and like most guys he is constantly over thinkin... ... In creating a character so confident, insecure, manipulative, and unstable, Reginald McKnight also creates a character we can sympathize with. McKnight created a sense that Marcus was a confident individual, who set himself apart from society, but in doing so, he set himself up for failure. Where the one woman who could make all the difference began to fear him. Once that happened, everything went downhill as soon as Marcus began to dismiss Ritas response at any given point. Whether or not he was fully aware, Marcus built walls around him and avoided speaking about his personal life with any sort of depth. This, if anything, makes us aware that negative remarks and statements can lead to a very negative result. We are forced to form our own conclusion and conform to the fact that no matter how many miles away, one person may never change. Peaches Essay -- Literary Analysis, Reginald McKnight In the story â€Å"Peaches†, Reginald McKnight introduces his main characters, one being Marcus. Marcus is a good guy, but he is described in different ways, due to his eagerness or insecurities. Throughout the work, author Reginald McKnight takes great care to illustrate situations and describe feelings and personalities that many men experience. This way, even though Marcus is having trouble controlling himself around other people and arrogant at times, he still tries to be a better person for Rita and for himself. He does this by going out of the country to experience other cultures and enhance his morals. On one level Marcus demonstrates that he is incredibly confident, but on the other level he shows signs of being insecure, manipulative, and overall an unstable man who may or may not be capable of achieving change. Marcus’ actions continually demonstrate how confident he is. Whether he is next door or across the country, Marcus always has his eyes set out for Rita. While, he claims â€Å"I have had relationships with Black women and Hispanic women, and Asian women† (75), thinking his experiences with other women instantly make him capable of understanding Rita. He is so eager to obtain her that he fails to see her as an individual. To Marcus, past experiences are enough to attain a healthy relationship. According to Marcus, he had â€Å"been through this before† (75) and told Rita she could tell him anything, thinking it had to do with a cultural gap. In fact, Marcus said to Rita, â€Å"You can tell me. I think I’d understand† (75). His confidence paired with his need for Rita’s recognition and approval makes it appear that his confidence may be only surface deep. Marcus himself is insecure, and like most guys he is constantly over thinkin... ... In creating a character so confident, insecure, manipulative, and unstable, Reginald McKnight also creates a character we can sympathize with. McKnight created a sense that Marcus was a confident individual, who set himself apart from society, but in doing so, he set himself up for failure. Where the one woman who could make all the difference began to fear him. Once that happened, everything went downhill as soon as Marcus began to dismiss Ritas response at any given point. Whether or not he was fully aware, Marcus built walls around him and avoided speaking about his personal life with any sort of depth. This, if anything, makes us aware that negative remarks and statements can lead to a very negative result. We are forced to form our own conclusion and conform to the fact that no matter how many miles away, one person may never change. Peaches Essay -- Literary Analysis, Reginald McKnight In the story â€Å"Peaches†, Reginald McKnight introduces his main characters, one being Marcus. Marcus is a good guy, but he is described in different ways, due to his eagerness or insecurities. Throughout the work, author Reginald McKnight takes great care to illustrate situations and describe feelings and personalities that many men experience. This way, even though Marcus is having trouble controlling himself around other people and arrogant at times, he still tries to be a better person for Rita and for himself. He does this by going out of the country to experience other cultures and enhance his morals. On one level Marcus demonstrates that he is incredibly confident, but on the other level he shows signs of being insecure, manipulative, and overall an unstable man who may or may not be capable of achieving change. Marcus’ actions continually demonstrate how confident he is. Whether he is next door or across the country, Marcus always has his eyes set out for Rita. While, he claims â€Å"I have had relationships with Black women and Hispanic women, and Asian women† (75), thinking his experiences with other women instantly make him capable of understanding Rita. He is so eager to obtain her that he fails to see her as an individual. To Marcus, past experiences are enough to attain a healthy relationship. According to Marcus, he had â€Å"been through this before† (75) and told Rita she could tell him anything, thinking it had to do with a cultural gap. In fact, Marcus said to Rita, â€Å"You can tell me. I think I’d understand† (75). His confidence paired with his need for Rita’s recognition and approval makes it appear that his confidence may be only surface deep. Marcus himself is insecure, and like most guys he is constantly over thinkin... ... In creating a character so confident, insecure, manipulative, and unstable, Reginald McKnight also creates a character we can sympathize with. McKnight created a sense that Marcus was a confident individual, who set himself apart from society, but in doing so, he set himself up for failure. Where the one woman who could make all the difference began to fear him. Once that happened, everything went downhill as soon as Marcus began to dismiss Ritas response at any given point. Whether or not he was fully aware, Marcus built walls around him and avoided speaking about his personal life with any sort of depth. This, if anything, makes us aware that negative remarks and statements can lead to a very negative result. We are forced to form our own conclusion and conform to the fact that no matter how many miles away, one person may never change.

Make a wish foundation Essay

There is an array of things that are assessed in starting a successful business. When viewing the success of Dale Northrup who decided to open the Percy Inn in Portland, Maine, after being a critic and editor for hotels and cruise ships all over the world, it becomes very apparent that a great deal of work goes into starting a successful business. A business owner must first determine the reasons in which they want to start a business. The owner must determine what entrepreneurial characteristics they possess that will promote the success of their business. Next, a niche and market must be determined. This paper will give details of how Dale Northrup, owner and manager of Percy Inn decided to open a successful business using his entrepreneurial skills and background in the travel and lodging market to create wealth, a sense of pride, and an attractive venture to investors. When Dale decided to open the Percy Inn, he had to consider several reasons to take the risk as an entrepreneur. Like many entrepreneurs, Dale probably thought the top advantages to starting Percy Inn was the flexibility, freedom, and better income along with pride of ownership, retention of control, and the retention of ownership. Dale Northrup traveled all over the world and wrote 23,000 hotel reviews for travel agent hotel guides in 70 countries (Percy, About the Inn), so he is truly an expert on the travel and lodge industry. Being given the opportunity to use his expertise in the industry and own the famous Percy Inn located in Portland, Maine, Dale has a huge sense of pride for his ownership and management. Dale also has other lodging options that include his cottage on the Southern Maine coast as well as chic condominiums overlooking Biscayne Bay in South Florida (Percy, Home of the Percy Inn). Dale is able to provide various levels of comfort to various markets of people in multiple locations with the use of his niche for travel and lodging and history of Portland. As Dale continues to manage these amazing inns in great locations, he assumes all the risk and is allowed to be very innovative in how he accommodates his traveling guests and tenants, which allows him the privilege to be independent and flexible as he faces many challenges. He also is able to retain control and profits to increase his financial success. Dale can have the satisfaction of owning a business that he is very proud of and keep the profits to himself minus his taxes and expenses, which is a great advantage of being an entrepreneur. Even with Dale’s expertise in travel and lodging and his success in his business at Percy Inn, he possesses several other entrepreneurial characteristics that are imperative to being an excellent business owner. According to the author Marce in Chapter 7 about Small Business and Entrepreneurship, a few characteristics of entrepreneurs include vision, self-reliance, energy, confidence, tolerance of uncertainty, and tolerance of failure ( Marce, pg 102). The characteristics that Dale Northrup seem to possess especially are vision, confidence, and self-reliance. Dale had several years of personal and professional experience in lodging, but it was his vision that enabled him to create an urban inn after he renovated a house from the year 1830 that was built in Maine, ten years after it became a state(Northrup). He was very confident in his expertise in travel and lodge and history of Portland in order to create an inn that would appeal to many people all while he pursued a great business venture that he was passionate about. He also took his business a step further by opening more inns in other locations besides the main inn in Portland, which shows that he is very confident that his vision will be to the satisfaction of many people all over the world. His ability to manage inns and maintain a vision that is selective and targets a certain type of market shows that he is very reliable. Dale is responsible for permits, staffing his inns, maintain his investor relations, and any liabilities that impact him personally and financially in dealing with the business operations. A good time for some families is a trip to Disney World, a cruise, weekend getaway, a tour of France , or even a trip to a local beach. No matter what a person or family enjoys there is something out there for them to take part in. Dale Northrup has an inn which is probably very appealing to a market that is fond of New England history and wants to enjoy the luxury of a home away from home whether it is for a day trip or extended stay. A market niche tends to be attractive to a certain segment of people and not have as many competitors. Dale definitely has a niche in the market because he has a great deal of experience and is also providing an inn that is different from many other because of the historical New England influence. The niche works in Dale’s favor and does not limit him because he caters to other markets  and taste by having other inns that are more appropriate to their locations and other people’s interest ( Marce, pg 106). If Dale is able to have three inns in different locations that are all very successful and able to use his expertise in the desires of people in lodging, he should not have any problems with being successful and able to target various markets even if he gains more competitors or ever feels that he wants to change his niche or target market. Changing his niche and vision to cater to more people could actually be of great benefit to him in the future, but probably is not necessary since he has something unique in its class already. Percy Inn is very impressive to investors and probably had an extensive business plan. Business plans usually cover everything from the vision of a business to the marketing to the financial analysis of the business. If Dale presented the business plan to me, as an investor I would be most interested in the potential customers, profitability, operating procedures, and financial data. If I would take the risk of investing in a business that I was not familiar with I would definitely be interested in the market of people that services would be provided to because that would be an indicator of how profitable the business would be. I would also need a clear understanding of operating procedures such as how would the inn be ran and operated in terms of personnel and tending to guests as well as how inns at other locations owned by Dale would be operated when he is not able to be on site. Last, but certainly not least, the financial data is very important. The financial data is important because it will reveal how much money is necessary to invest to start the business as well as how much is needed to maintain and operate the business over the tenure of the business. It is imperative that an investor is aware of what market the business they invest in will target and what financial future the business has to return the money invested and become profitable. Since Dale is the owner and manager of the inns, he is a sole proprietor of the business. Being a sole proprietor gives Dale the advantage of ease of formation, retaining profits and control, and pride of ownership. Because Dale is a sole proprietor he does not have to file as many forms or pay the fees associated with partnerships and corporations. Dale is in full control  of the business and therefore he manages everything and assumes all liability. Dale is able to benefit from all the profits of the business since he manages everything and assumes all risk and liability. If Dale ever considered switching to a partnership or corporation he would be able to limit some of his risk and duties, which could increase or decrease the income. If Dale was not the sole owner, he could limit his liabilities because if the company goes bankrupt, the stockholders would have personal asset protection. There would be permeance, allowing Dale’s business consider to thrive even if he withdraws or dies because the corporation could continue if stockholders want the business to continue. Switching to a corporation could also help ale to make more money since corporations and partnerships are usually larger than sole proprietorships because there are larger teams of people which allow more diversity amongst ideas to expand because they can use specialized management by hiring qualified people to help grow the company. (Marce,pg 89) In conclusion, Dale Northrup is a sole proprietor with a distinctive entrepreneurial profile. He has taken a risk to start a business with a vision of his own to target various people from all over to visit his inns in different locations. He is being recognized for his great inn and the service provided and is able to enjoy freedom, flexibility, and the retention of profits. I would recommend that Dale looks for ways to increase his market share since he has a unique business. If his market share increases, it could lead to more income and opportunities. Second, if the business continues to thrive and Dale wants to expand, he may want to at least expand to a partnership with someone who shares his similar vision to share responsibility with and continue the business in the case that he can no longer own and manage the business. Last, it would be in the best interest of Dale to maintain very accurate financial information to watch for trends and perform analysis comparable to other companies to look for ways to improve his business and win against competitors. Works Cited Kelly, Marce, and James McGowen. â€Å"Small Business and Entrepreneurship.† _BUSN 5_. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2013. Pages 89-112 Print. Northrup, Dale. â€Å"Home of the Percy Inn.† _Home of the Percy Inn_. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2013.

Is Capital Punishment Ever Morally or Ethically Permissible

Capital punishment is never morally justified, and feminist, progressive and socialist ethics would always consider the social and family environment that produced the criminal in the first place, including poverty, racism, segregation or other types of oppression. It would also examine ways that society could be reformed on restricted in ways that would reduce oppression, such as ending the ghettoization of minorities or the extreme inequality between rich and poor in the United States. Indeed, inequality is more extreme in the U.S, than any other Western nation, the prison population is larger and the social safety net much weaker. These conditions have worsened during the present recession, particularly for blacks and Hispanics. Among Western nations, only the U.S. still practices capital punishment even though there was a moratorium in 1967-77 because of Supreme Court rulings. Feminist ethics would also emphasize caring, community, empathy and interpersonal relationships instead of morality based on following rules and regulations (Volbrect 17). Their response to the death penalty as well as war and other forms of public or state-sanctioned violence would therefore be pacifist, and demand social, economic and cultural change rather than punishment of perpetrators. There were fifty-two executions in the United States in 2009 and forty-six in 2010, with over 3,000 people waiting on death row for their sentences to be carried out. In most cases these never will beShow MoreRelatedMoral Consequences Of The Death Penalty1623 Words   |  7 Pagestopics in the United States. Currently, there are 31 states where capital punishment is legal. As of April 2016, there have been 1,431 executions in the United States, but the number of executions in recent years has been steadily decreasing (Timmons 2017). The death penalty can be put up for moral debate, and one can ask oneself whether the death penalty is ever morally permissible. There are some pros and cons to having capital punishment. For example, deterrence and prevention are good reasons to haveRead MorePros And Cons Of Capital Punishment1608 Words   |  7 Pagestopics in the United States. Currently, there are 31 states where capital punishment is legal. As of April 2016, there have been 1,431 e xecutions in the United States, but the number of executions in recent years has been steadily decreasing (Timmons 2017). The death penalty can be put up for moral debate, and one can ask oneself whether the death penalty is ever morally permissible. There are some pros and cons to having capital punishment. 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