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.

Literature Review of Pain Assessment Tools

Literature Review of Pain Assessment Tools Introduction This essay will identify the issue of poorly addressed acute pain in hospitalized patients and critically compare and discusses a range of pain assessment tools referring to contemporary research literature and practice guidelines for patients who are able to self describe their pain and who are unable to self describe their pain due to verbal communication barriers, critical illness or delirium/dementia. Main Body According to the International Association for the Study of Pain, pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience arising from actual or potential tissue damage (1). Clinically, â€Å"Pain is whatever the experiencing person says it is, existing whenever he/she says it does† (McCaffery, 1968). The temporal profile classification is most commonly used to classify pain.This broad classification of pain duration is often used to better understand the biopsychosocial aspects that may be important when conducting assessment and treatment. For example, many times chronic pain is a result of unresolved acute pain episodes, resulting in accumulative biopsychosocial effects such as prolonged physical reconditioning, anxiety, and stress. It is obvious that this type of time categorization information can be extremely helpful in directing specific treatment approaches to the type of pain that is being evaluated (Gatchel Oordt, 2003). Acute pain is usually indicative of tissue damage and is characterized by momentary intense noxious sensations (i.e., nociception). It serves as an important biological signal of potential tissue/ physical harm. Some anxiety may initially be precipitated, but prolonged physical and emotional distress usually is not. Indeed, anxiety, if mild, can be quite adaptive in that it stimulates behaviors needed for recovery, such as the seeking of medical attention, rest, and removal from the potentially harmful situation. As the nociception decreases, acute pain usually subsides. Unlike acute pain, chronic pain persists. Chronic pain is traditionally defined as pain that lasts 6 months or longer, well past the normal healing period one would expect for its protective biological function. Arthritis, back injuries, and cancer can produce chronic-pain syndromes and, as the pain persists, it is often accompanied by emotional distress, such as depression, anger, and frustration. Such pain can also often significantly interfere with activities of daily living. There is much more health care utilization in an attempt to find some relief from the pain symptoms, and the pain has a tendency to become a preoccupation of an individuals everyday living. According to Buckley (2000) nurses are the primary group of health care professionals responsible for the ongoing assessment and monitoring of patients to ensure that pain is effectively and appropriately managed and that patients and families are informed of the consequences of acute pain. Assessment of pain can be a simple and straightforward task when dealing with acute pain and pain as a symptom of trauma or disease. Assessment of location and intensity of pain often sufà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ces in clinical practice. However, other important aspects of acute pain, in addition to pain intensity at rest, need to be deà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ned and measured when clinical trials of acute pain treatment are planned. If not, meaningless data and false conclusions may result. The 5 key components: Words, Intensity, Location, Duration, Aggravating factors pain assessment are incorporated into the process. Objective data are collected by using one of the pain assessment tools which are specià ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ c to s pecial types of pain. The main issues in choosing the tool are its reliability and its validity. Moreover, the tool must be clear and, therefore, easily understood by the client, and require little effort from the client and the nurse. According to Husband (2001) to measure the pain severity or intensity, several scales can be used such as a numeric rating scale (NRS), the visual analog scale (VAS), observation scales with indicators of pain, and even creative depictions of pain intensity with scale using a pain thermometer. The numeric rating scale allows patients to rate their pain on and 11-point scale of 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain imaginable). The majority of patients, even older adults can use this scale. The thermometer scale may be useful in the elderly, according to Rakel and Herr (2004). It shows a picture of a thermometer arranged on a background with a vertical word scale. Finally categoric scales use verbal descriptors to quantify the level of pain and those scales have been validated and are considered to be reliable. Chronic pain has a major impact on physical, emotional, and cognitive function, on social and family life, and on the ability to work and secure an income. Meaningful assessment of long-lasting pain is therefore a more demanding task than assessing acute pain. This is true both in clinical practice and when conducting trials of management of long-lasting pain. A comprehensive assessment of any chronic complex pain condition requires documenting (i) pain history, (ii) physical examination, and (iii) specià ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ c diagnostic tests. Chronic pain assessment tools are the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), which assesses pain severity and the degree of interference with function, using 0 – 10 NRS, and the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) and the short-form MPQ (SF-MPQ) evaluate sensory, affective–emotional, evaluative, and temporal aspects of the patient’s pain condition. Pain assessment in older adults can be challenging and very difficult in some situations (Rakel Herr, 2004). When the patient cannot report his/her subjective pain experience, proxy measurements of pain must be used, such as pain behaviours and reactions that may indicate that the person is suffering painful experiences. Besides communication difà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ culties caused by language problems, patients in the extremes of age, and critically ill patients in the intensive care setting, are common assessment problems. Older patients may prefer to use alternate means to express their pain through the use of word descriptors that best characterize the pain, such as aching, hurting, and soreness (Herr Garand, 2001). Significant challenges occur when assessing patients who are unable to communicate verbally, in writing, or by gestures, or when they are cognitively impaired. Pain assessment should be ongoing at regular intervals, individualised and documented clearly to facilitate treatment and communication among health care clinicians. Conclusion In conclusion, adequate assessment of pain, using validated tools appropriate to the population or individual, is an essential prerequisite of successful pain management. It has been shown in many countries that inadequate pain assessment is common, with resultant failings in management of pain. Inadequate pain control can prolong the recovery period, increase length of stay, and increase overall health care costs ( Shang Gan, 2003) Only by regularly assessing and measuring pain, as routinely as the other vital signs, can we hope to make pain visible enough to those caring for patients and thus improve management. This is especially true for the patients that anaesthetists care for every day, those with acute pain after surgery, trauma, and in the intensive care unit.

Images and Imagery in Shakespeares Macbeth :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Imagery consists of the use of symbols to convey an idea or to create a specific atmosphere. Shakespeare uses imagery in Macbeth often; pathetic fallacy, blood, tailoring and sleep are examples of this. His use of these tools in the play is to demonstrate the sadness of Scotland at what has been done, the guilt of the characters and to symbolises premonition of events. Pathetic fallacy is a tool of imagery that is used in Macbeth to convey nature's response to the unnatural events that occur. Most of the scenes in which some kind of ill-doing is taking place is set at night or in darkness of some kind. Macbeth's murder of Duncan happens at night, and it triggers a response of outrage and grief in the land. Nature's troubled actions show us this; as Lennox tells Macbeth just before Duncan is found dead, "The night has been unruly; where we lay, or chimneys were blown down ... lamentings head i' the air ... some say the ear was feverous and did shake." (II (iii) L59) Another good example of imagery used is blood. It is used to convey guilt, murder, betrayal, treachery and evil. Macbeth, directly after his murder of Duncan, is concerned about the blood on his hands , and states that no amount of water will wash the blood away, signifying the guilt in his heart. Lady Macbeth, however, states "A little water cleans us of this deed" (II (ii) L97). It is ironic that later on in the play Lady Macbeth sleepwalks and dry-washes her hands, ands says "What! Will these hands ne'er be clean?" (V (i) L38) -- guilt at what she has done surfaces in her sleep where none was felt before, and the reverse is true for Macbeth. The use of tailoring to convey the idea that something is not suited or not belonging to someone that has been acquired by them is used often in Macbeth. Macbeth himself uses the tailoring image in saying "The Thane of Cawdor lives: why do you dress me in borrow'd robes?" (I (ii) L109) when told by Ross that Duncan has given him the title Thane of Cawdor. This gives the impression that his newly acquired title does not fit him -- much like a garment belonging to another person. Angus states, "Now does he feel his title Hang loose about him, like a giant's robe

The Tragic Irony of Fahrenheit 451 :: Fahrenheit 451 Essays

The Tragic Irony of Fahrenheit 451 " 'Happiness is important. Fun is everything. And yet I kept sitting there saying to myself, I'm not happy, I'm not happy.' " (70). Fahrenheit 451 is one of the most famous of Ray Bradbury's novels. Originally published in 1953, it portrays a futuristic world in the midst of a nuclear war. The totalitarian government of this future forbids its people to read books or take part in any activity which promotes individual thought. The law against reading books is presumably fairly new, and the task of destroying the books falls to the "firemen." One of these firemen is Guy Montag, the main character of the book. Montag and his crew raid homes, burning any books they find before a crowd of onlookers. Regardless of this, happiness is of central importance in this future world. Unfortunately, Montag is unhappy with his life for most of the book. Montag's unhappiness is ironic until his self-awareness turns it tragic. The ideal of this future man is to be happy. That is all that is wanted. This idea can be exemplified by the following quotes: " 'Happiness is important. Fun is everything" (70). " 'What do we want in this country, above all? People want to be happy, isn't that right? Haven't you heard about it all your life? I want to be happy, people say. Well, aren't they? Don't we keep them moving, don't we give them fun? That's all we live for, isn't it? For pleasure, for titillation?' " (65). " 'We have mobilized a million men. Quick victory is ours if the war comes . . . .' 'Ten million men mobilized, but say one million. It's happier.' " (91). As you can see, the people of this world only want to be happy. They don't care about anything else, such as politics or the economy. They only want to be happy. At the beginning of the book, Montag appears happy. He is seen burning a house and is thoroughly enjoying himself. At one point, he thinks, "It was a pleasure to burn" (19). A little later, he thinks "he would feel the fiery smile still gripped by his face muscles, in the dark" (19). It seems now that he is completely happy with his life. After the house is burned, Montag begins to walk home and is met by a young girl named Clarisse McClellan.

Essay --

The 1980’s The decade of the 1980’s is universally known for its brightly colored leggings, and teased hair. However, most of us tend forget the events that inspired these widely recognized trends. Political power, economic instability, and Sequins, lace, and tutu’s are merely an illusion of what the eighties were truly about. The social and economic events of the 1980’s had a severe impact on the fashion choices of American women during this time. The political events in America throughout the eighties will always be remembered when saying one simple, yet extremely packed name, Ronald Reagan. In 1981 Reagan was elected with one of the countries highest overall acceptance rates. Reagan was a former Hollywood actor his charisma and optimistic style wore off on people and America loved him. "We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we may always be free." [at the D-Day Commemoration in Normandy] Reagan had a direct, to the point that republicans loved and democrats respected. With Reagans election came promises of a bright future for the US, like tax cuts and lower spending. "[G]overnment's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." [Reagan speaking about the White House Conference on Small Business] However after a short time, military spending began to rise, causing cuts from j obs and some tax increases. These and other choices Ronald Reagan made in office became known as â€Å"Reaganomics.† The culture was also changing throughout this time as well, a slang term known as the â€Å"yuppie† was born. This term was commonly used to describe a baby boomer, with a college education, well p... ...ng a statement wherever they went and the designers of today are still trying to accentuate the body and broadcast sexuality. Ad campaign designs were changed extraordinarily during the 1980’s by adopting the idea that pitching a product with a glamorous woman, home, or family would create the need for consumers to buy a good or service solely for the purpose of have having a better lifestyle. This advertising idea traveled through the last few decades and is still present in the American society today. The beliefs of the eighties were invigorating and gave adolescences the choice to be whatever they wanted to be. Whether that was a pop-icon, an inventor, or a politician, the 1980’s was a time of empowerment and optimism. These principals are still taught to young people in our society today preaching the values of self-worth and perseverance to follow their dreams.

Marketing Changes Your Brain

The reason why I chose the topic for my final paper â€Å"Marketing Changes Your Brain† is because we are constantly surrounded by advertisements on a daily basis to where the government is basically brain washing us from birth to be consumers in this capitalistic society. Also this topic reminds me of one of my favorite professors, Dry. Choc who teaches Sociology at San Diego State University. His lectures were always life changing, and I could tell in the conviction of his voice that he is strongly assassinate about his profession and loves teaching undergrads.One of the main topics of the semester was about consumerism and how it affects us every single day. Statistics show that the average American will come across 5000 different types of advertisements a day (Lecture, Choc). There are millions of ways we come in contact through ads these days including, commercials, posters, covers on food, and etc. What I basically learned in this class was that we should be more aware o f what it meaner to be consumers of Capitalism and to realize how much we have been exploited to be constant consumers.The reason many of us fall for advertisements we see is because many of these companies purposely make their commercials activate a part of the brain's reward/pleasure center. The pleasure center is made up of nucleus acumen's and ventral testament area which the brain receives dopamine (Plotting, Summoning). This reward/pleasure is closely associated when individuals do pleasurable things such eating favorite foods, watching movies, sex, and drugs (Plotting, Summoning).In the module 9 critical thinking, the article explains how the consumption Coca Cola will activate the reward/pleasure center which is another example of why many Americans are addicted to it. It is ironic that Americans in recently years have put so Running head Much money into preventing obesity and childhood obesity yet our government doesn't put any effort into reducing the number of ads we see from these soda companies. Another interesting point that the critical thinking article shows is how smell and auditory senses also have to do with marketing and how we consciously don't even realize it.I can relate myself as when I'm near In-n-Out burger and I can smell the burgers and suddenly want a craving for it. The textbook calls this Subliminal Message where it meaner that our perception is below an absolute threshold where there is less than 50% of it being realized (Plotting, Summoning). Another subliminal message can also be auditory as the text book gives an example of how playing French music will result in people purchasing more French Wine. Subliminal messages can be seen at every store at the mall, such as Hollister.Walk into a Hollister and you will notice how it Just smells like a concreted perfume pit and the ambient lights. However the greatest influences to our brains is culture, another point which Dry. Choc has always brought up in lectures. Advertisement have been a dominant influence in our culture and it is unfortunate that many Americans do not even realize how much our brain is being influenced. Not even Just as adults, advertisements can capture someone at any age. Despite these, I urge many people to make more wiser choices such eating balanced,

Digital India Essay

Digital India is a programme to transform India into digital empowered society and knowledge economy. Even though India is known as a powerhouse of software, the availability of electronics government services to citizens is still comparatively low. So this programme has been started by our prime minister Sri Narendra Modi on August 7,2014 to sensitize all ministries to this vast programme touching every corner of the government .This programme has been envisaged by Department of Electronics and Information Technology . The National e-Governance Plan approved in 2006 has made a steady progress through Mission Mode Projects and Core ICT Infrastructure, but greater thrust is required to ensure effective progress in electronics manufacturing and e-Governance in the country. The Digital India vision provides the intensified impetus for further momentum and progress for this initiative and this would promote inclusive growth that covers electronic services, products, devices, manufacturing and job opportunities. India in the 21st Century must strive to meet the aspirations of its citizens where government and its services reach the doorsteps of citizens and contribute towards a long-lasting positive impact. AIM OF DIGITAL INDIA PROGRAMME The vision of Digital India aims to transform the country into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. The programme will be implemented in phases from the current year till 2018. The Digital India is transformational in nature and would ensure that Government services are available to citizens electronically. It would also bring in public accountability through mandated delivery of governments services electronically. A Unique ID e-Pramaan based on authentic and standard based interoperable and integrated government applications and data basis. The vision areas of Digital India are of follows†¦. Infrastructure as Utility to Every Citizen High speed internet as a core utility shall be made available in all Gram Panchayats. Cradle to grave digital identity –unique, lifelong, online and authenticable. Mobile phone and Bank account would enable participation in digital and financial space at individual level. Easy access to a common service centre within their locality. Shareable private space on a public  cloud. Safe and secure Cyber-space in the country. Governance and services on Demand Seamlessly integrated across departments or jurisdictions to prove easy and a single window access to all persons. Government services available in real time from online and mobile platforms. All citizen entitlements to be available on the Cloud to ensure easy access. Government services digitally transforms for improving easy of doing business. Making financial transactions above a threshold, electronics and cashless. Leveraging GIS for decision support systems and development. Digital Empowerment of Citizens Universal digital literacy. All digital resources universally accessible. All Government documents/certificates to be available on the available on the Cloud. Availability of digital resources/services in Indian languages. Collaborative digital platforms for participative governance. Portability of all entitlements for individuals through the Cloud SCOPE OF DIGITAL INDIA The overall scope of this programme is: To prepare India for a knowledge future. On being transformative that is to realize IT (Indian Talent) + IT (Information Technology)=IT (India Tomorrow). Making technology central to enabling change. On being an Umbrella Programme-covering many departments. CONCLUSION The Digital India Programme will pull together many existing schemes which would be restructured and re-focused and implemented in a synchronized manner. The common branding of the programmes as Digital India highlights their transformative impact.