Should Recycling Be Mandatory?

Is recycling really going green with the environment? Or is recycling just a way to go for green material known as dollars? Recycling is a method in which materials that are not used anymore by people are processed in order to transform them in useful products. In the recent years, recycling has caused a lot of controversies whether if it is a good way to go green and help planet’s health or if it is just a big misconception driven by the media and the government. Some experts in the issue affirm that this practice is still running because recycling was transformed into a political issue that helps government and environmentalists to win money and create jobs. Many people, politicians and non-profit organizations support recycling, generally based on misconceptions; while there are other people that do not support it based on facts. Recycling should not be mandatory because it is very expensive, it will not save the planet’s environment and it does not save natural resources. Recycling is a method that appeared as a solution for the problems that environmentalists were having with landfill’s capacity and contamination of garbage around 1980’s. According to Christopher Douglass (2003), dramatic predictions of landfill closings created a crisis mentality in America. He also informs that the in 1988 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported to Congress that â€Å"one-third of all landfills in the United States would close by 1994 and that by 2008 nearly 80 percent of landfills would be shut down† (Douglass, 2003). The situation that the EPA presented to the Congress in 1988 seemed to be disastrous; but fortunately those predictions were all wrong. The problem with these predictions was that the government and environmentalists turned on red lights in order to solve this issue in a positive way that could help the planet’s environment. As a result, state and local governments had the idea of implementing a method that was supposed to reduce garbage, pollution and save resources: the government implemented recycling. Forty-four states established recycling goals in the late 1980’s (Douglass, 2003). Recycling seemed to be a great process that was supposed to save resources, clean the environment and also make money. Local governments had the idea of making money by selling recovered household waste. The process of recycling, as explained by the government, looked like a miraculous way in which all problems of garbage would be solved and that not enough with it, it will also make money for the government. Recycling was a great Idea; it was the hope of the government and also for the citizens of the United States. â€Å"The recycling movement was amazing and successful at motivating action. In 1989 most Americans chose the environment as their top priority for more government spending, ahead of even crime and health care, according to a National Opinion Research Center poll† (Douglass, 2003). The only problem with this movement was that its foundational notions were, in large part, misconceptions. Despite what the EPA said, there was no landfill crisis in the 1980’s. The new landfills opening in the 1990s were much larger in order to offset the high fixed costs of the new rules and today; landfill capacity is more than adequate (Douglass, 2003). The beginning of this custom that is still practiced in our city is based in misconceptions and myths. On the other hand, many environmentalists and experts on the issue affirm that recycling is still a great process that contributes to conserve the planet’s environment and to save money. Many non-profit organizations and even schools interested in the wellness of the community, such as Joy Christian School, supports recycling and make ads in order to persuade people to recycle for a healthier world. According to the National Recycling Coalition (NRC), well-run recycling programs cost less to operate than waste collection, landfilling, and incineration. They also argue that the more people recycle, the cheaper it gets (Recycling Benefits, 2010). Organizations that support recycling usually discuss that recycling is not a waste of money and that sometimes it helps to save and earn more money. According to the NRC recycling creates 1. 1 million U. S. jobs. For every job collecting recyclables, there are 26 jobs in processing the materials and manufacturing them into new products (Recycling Benefits, 2010). Even thought these facts seem to be a very good support for recycling, they are not. According to Douglass (2003), â€Å"the cost of collecting and sorting recyclables has exceeded their market prices in most parts of America, forcing most recycling programs to operate at a deficit†. It is more expensive to collect a ton of recyclables that a ton of landfill garbage. Many local government have been in the necessity of cancelling their recycling programs because after all, those programs always end operating at a deficit. In addition, councilman Paul Thurman of Chillicothe, Ohio, a city that dropped its recycling program because of its high cost and little profit said, â€Å"To me, it's [the recycling program] just a waste of tax money† (as cited in Douglass, 2003). Recycling also creates many jobs, just as the NRC said, but the problem is that in many cases the local governments do not have the enough money to pay for all those new jobs created by recycling; and that is another reason why recycling programs usually operate at a deficit. Recycling is a very expensive method. Recycling is not the solution to save natural resources; actually, in some cases it is responsible for wasting more resources. The idea that recycling will save all natural resources of the earth is just a myth; truly, in some cases the recycling processes waste more resources than the manufacturing process. Making recyclables generates waste. According to Peter Werbe (2003), all the water bottles are supposed to be recycled; but truly, just the ones with the number 1 or 2 printed at the bottom of the bottle can be recycled. He also states that recycling these bottles are only slightly better than letting them go into a landfill. Actually, he is being generous because if people compute the energy needed to ship a leftover designer water bottle to China along with millions of others to be reprocessed, manufactured into a new item, then shipped back to the U. S. , transported to a mall, purchased, used, and finally landfilled; maybe it would be worse to recycle (Werbe, 2003). Even one of the best examples that environmentalist use to persuade people to recycle has had problems with the environment. Recycling water bottles does not always helps the environment or saves recourses; actually, sometimes it produces more pollution due to the energy used to transport the bottles and process them. Recycling sometimes could be even harmful than beneficial. In addition, there is another factor to consider when people think about saving resources: the scarcity. Yet there is no environmental reason to recycle trash because resources are not scarce. For example, another example that environmentalist usually use trying to persuade people to recycle is paper. They argue that if people ecycle paper sheets or newsprint, the beautiful trees that maintain our jungles and landscapes gorgeous will be saved instead of converted into newsprint; but the reality is that those arguments are false. In fact, much newsprint comes from trees grown for that specific purpose (Bandow, 2006). Considering this factor, when people recycle paper they are not saving our beautiful landscapes, they are just saving tr ees that were planted for that specific purpose and also saving the money of the big companies that need to plant trees in order to produce paper to sell. Another reason of why recycling should not be mandatory is because garbage is not harmful for people and recycling not always protects ecosystems. People should know one extremely important thing; folks recycle because they think it is a good thing to do, but what is the real point of being a green person? Are people really saving the world’s health by recycling stuff? The truth is that garbage will not damage the society and recycling is not the miraculous method that will save the ecosystems in the earth. As time goes by through the past of the years, garbage accumulates, but also disappears thanks to they new technologies created in order to have a solution for garbage problems. The arguments that establish that our garbage will bury us and that it will also poison us are completely false. According to Daniel K. Benjamin (2006), since the 1980s, people repeatedly have claimed that the United States faces a landfill crisis. The United States today has more landfill capacity than ever before. In 2001, the nation's landfills could accommodate 18 years' worth of rubbish, an amount 25 percent greater than a decade before. Nowadays is pretty clear that we are not going to be full of garbage in the future. The myths that stated that in a few years there would be no more landfill spaces for garbage in the United States were completely false, but the good new is that nowadays the mentioned misconception is completely denied. In addition, there were many people who argued that the garbage sent to landfills could produce deaths in the country. They think that the toxic substances produces by the garbage could reach cities and cause dangerous diseases to people. Again the good new is that they were wrong. According to Benjamin (2006), the Environmental Protection Agency itself acknowledges that the risks to humans from modern landfills are virtually nonexistent: Modern landfills can be expected to cause 5. 7 cancer-related deaths over the next 300 years. To put this in perspective, cancer kills over 560,000 people every year in the United States. In a few words, there is technically no risk for humans to die because of the accumulation of toxic substances produced by the trash that is in landfills. In addition, it is interesting to know how garbage and not going green sometimes deal with different kind of subjects that apparently people did not have idea about before. Recycling is a process that in a good point of views cuts pollution but that is not always. Recycling can reduce pollution but when is time to recycle things it produces almost the same pollution it prevented before. So what is it the point of recycle? The EPA has examined both virgin paper processing and recycled paper processing for toxic substances and found that toxins often are more prevalent in the recycling processes (Benjamin, 2006). People should know that in occasions recycling produces more pollution than the ones that it is supposed to save. If people think that recycling is supposed to save the environment, how can it cause more pollution than the normal garbage process? The answer again is misconceptions. Finally, recycling needs more money than people think. When we hear recycling, one of the first words that come to our mind right away is save; save money, save resources, save the world. All this since there is too many people who assume that recycling is a right thing to do. Experts have been doing research about recycling and its expenses, is it really worth to invest those big amounts of money in just going green? We all would like to have a yes answer to that question; unfortunately we obtain a different answer, an opposing one. The reality is that collecting recyclable items is more expensive than collecting just garbage to landfills. John Tierney (2006), a staff writer for the New York Times Magazine, points out that â€Å"collecting a ton of recyclable items is three times more expensive than collecting a ton of garbage because the crews pick up less material at each stop. For every ton of glass, plastic and metal that the truck delivers to a private recycler, the city currently spends $200 more than it would spend to bury the material in a landfill†. All of this because when people want to recycle they have to separate all stuff depending on how is it classified. It takes a lot of time to classify, but also transport to go back and forward for each thing. Instead if people collect all the garbage at once, they would save time and money, but also carbon dioxide would be less produced by the trucks used to pick up the garbage. It is unbelievable the amount of money that is invested on recycling. All green products are more expensive than products that are not recycled, and that is because it costs too much to recycle. Another important fact is that recycling programs usually operate in a deficit. According to Douglass (2003), â€Å"the cost of collecting recyclables is about $139 per ton for programs that recycle old newsprint and magazines. The cost of sorting these recyclables averages $86 per ton, and the benefits from avoiding land-filling fees is typically $27 per ton, for a net cost of $198 per ton. The majority of recyclables collected yield less than $198 per ton at 1998 prices†. This is a great problem. How does recycling is supposed to be mandatory if recycling programs usually operate in a deficit? It is very difficult for local government to maintain these recycling programs because sometimes the local budget is limited and waste money in a program that operates in a deficit is a very bad idea. For example, in 1998 Chillicothe, Ohio dropped its $220,00 recycling program because the money that the government was investing in recycling could be better used in more important city needs, such as a new aerial ladder truck for their fire department. Accordant to this problem, Chillicothe councilman Paul Thurman said, â€Å"To me, it's [the recycling program] just a waste of tax money† (as cited in Douglass, 2003). The government of that city has already the experience needed to know the truth about recycling programs and the only cause that they produce: waste of money. Recycling seems to be useful just for people who still believe all the myths about it and have not yet discovered the truth about this method. Nowadays, recycling should not be mandatory because it is very expensive, and in the big majority of the occasions the recycling programs operate in a deficit that produces financial problems in local governments. In addition, the myth about landfill spaces is completely false because nowadays there are a lot of landfills with great technology that eliminates the risk of poison people because of the garbage. Finally, it is proved that recycling does not always save resources and in some cases, it wastes more energy or water than the normal garbage process. The question now is: how can such a wasteful practice persist? John Tierney (2006) answered this question concluding that; â€Å"this practice persists by turning garbage into a political issue, where environmentalists have created jobs for themselves as lawyers, lobbyists, researchers, educators and moral guardians. Environmentalists may enuinely believe they're helping the Earth, but they have been hurting the common good while profiting personally†. Tierney provide a great response for such a controversial question. The politicians who feel pressure by environmentalists are the ones who still support recycling in order to maintain their good political status. On the other hand, environmentalist may think that they are really helping the health of the world, but something that is really truth is that they are being directly be neficiated because of the continuity of recycling. Do they really want to go green or do they prefer to go for the green material named dollars? The real intention of environmentalists is something that only they know. People may feel confortable with recycling because they could think that they are helping; and if they feel good about themselves they are free to continue with this wasteful practice, but the government should reveal the truth about recycling in order to clarify the misconceptions about this topic. If after that people still want to recycle they are still free to do so. As Tierney (2006) states, â€Å"it is time for an environmental reformation, in which lawmakers change public policy to reflect the wastefulness of recycling†. All the citizens that trust in recycling have the right to know the real situation that involves their â€Å"miraculous† method and to clarify their misconceptions. After people know the real pros and cons about recycling it would be very easy for the majority to know if recycling should be mandatory or not.

Chinese Automobile Industry in Egypt Essay

Introduction There are many aspects regarding the Chinese automobile industry in Egypt regarding how it mirrors on customer satisfaction, despite common believes China has been producing cars before the Koreans for almost over 50 years. The very first Chinese car was a poor copy of what European, American and Japanese manufacturers produce. It wasn’t designed with the anxiety of comfort, security nor style; it was more like wheeled boxes made of light steel, with a primitive petrol engine. After 20 years, Chinese automobile industry has finally become one of largest market in automobile market. The major advantage that Chinese cars have is its low pricing compared to other cars from western auto giants such as Germany and France, which is a satisfactory advantage to most of the Egyptians. – Besides the fact that Chinese cars are of lower prices, there are other factors that consumers look for in a car; this research measures weather Chinese cars meets the customers perceived values of satisfaction regarding performance and design or not. Foreign car manufacturers may not think that china would create any threat to their automobile industry. However, the great prospective of the Chinese car maker cannot be taken lightly. It is the time for Chinese companies to support for more future challenges and take hold of a bigger share in the global market. Consumers in Egypt are very diverse; some base their perceptions regarding products on prior experience, delivering value expected and/or through overall performance. Those creates a huge conflict of interests between personal perceptions in the Egyptian market where some perceive Chinese cars as a low quality product with a cheap price tag, and others perceive them as economic high quality vehicles. – In 2004 China generated 5 million from car sales, coming third after America which generated 17 million and Japan with 5. 9 million. This shows that the Americans and the Japanese are considered to be of a high quality regarding safety, durability, resale price, and comfort which is what most Egyptian customers look for in a car. However, according to David Thomas [1] â€Å"China is going to become the second-largest market in the world sometime over the next two or three years,† [2] he also said â€Å"China is developing in very similar ways (to the developed markets), but doing it so much quicker,† [3] enunciating on the statement â€Å"so much quicker. †[4] Theoretical framework: 2. 1) Defining Customer satisfaction: Customer satisfaction is an evaluation of how goods and services provided by an organization to meet or to exceed the customer’s expectation and it may be measured directly by survey and expressed as a percentage. Customer satisfaction is a vague and conceptual, and the tangible appearance of the state of satisfaction will differ from individual to individual and good or service to good and service. In a competitive market, where companies compete for customers, customer satisfaction is perceived as a key differentiator and increasingly become a key element of business strategy now days. 2. 1. 1) variables effecting Customer satisfaction is:- There are various elements effecting customer satisfaction starting with product quality to after sales services. This requires the organization and even third-party service firms to work as a whole to ensure that the customers are getting what they want and more â€Å"serving the customer†. Customer Satisfaction has backgrounds in two ideas about quality; gap-based view of quality, which has to do with delighting the customers rather than just satisfying them, and conformance to a standard or specification, which has to do with minimize production errors and monitoring the quality of delivery. The best method is to take a section of customers and to try to ask them about their experiences over a certain period of time; however, this only shows the regular view and will oversight any key limits that are important from operational view. Understanding the link between consumer’s information search behavior and customer satisfaction shows a better over view of what should be done to meet what the customers want. Findings suggest that the three types of consumer as defined by whether and how they search for information (passive, rational-active, and relational-dependent). [5]. Each type of customer has a different way of perceiving satisfaction. – Customer satisfaction is a key element in competitive advantage since that a satisfied customer means: 1- Long-term relationship (repeat sale). 2- Good advertising (word of mouth). 3- Customer loyalty. 4- Obtaining new customers (followers). 5- Increase in market share. The relationship marketing is one of the most important tends in the marketing due to the importance of repeat business. Relationship marketing mainly focuses on developing trust and loyalty between the customer and the supplier. Establishing and maintaining loyal base of customers is a major key to a fast growing organization. – Customer satisfaction and attractiveness are linked together. In order to accomplish customer satisfaction accurately; some variables should be recognized. There are several factors that are applicable to automobiles by which consumers look for which, product quality, services, engine performance, design, and accessories. On the other hand, most customers are keen to buy a car including all these features with reasonable pricing. However, it’s difficult to obtain high quality with low price, as it’s said, â€Å"Better price for better quality† [6], which indicates that the more the customer pays, the higher the quality. Another variable hovering over customer satisfaction is customer’s retention. This aim is achieved when the customer is convinced with the performance of the car brand he chose to the point of repurchase. No business can exist without any customers and it’s important for the business to work closely with the customers to make sure that they are satisfied and their needs are met. Companies form a close working relation with their clients; so customer relation is important. Measuring the customer satisfaction is obviously to measure the quality and the performance of the good or service that the company provides. The objective is to determine how well the good or the service to achieves the purpose or the need for which it is purchased. Understanding, meeting, and exceeding customer expectations are fundamental in creating customer satisfaction. The customer relationship is a distinctive aspect of the relationship marketing. – Through analyzing several articles, we’ve found a relation between the customer satisfactions, needs and perceived value with the quality and price of the car’s characteristics, expectations and the company’s relationship value. There is a weak relation between all the independent variables, when the customer expectations are not met when buying a car with low prices. – Thus, it varies from a car’s characteristics to meet the customer’s needs but still with high or moderate prices, also, there is a strong relation between customers’ perceived value and the company’s s relationship value. Where, if the company wants their customers to remain satisfied, they must do a direct relation with them, for an example, making more events, doing the customer’s evaluation from time to time, and create a bond between the customer with hisher car, where heshe can appreciate more the price she/he paid, besides, the relationship between the company and the customers can be sometimes deceiving, where the customer can pay no attention to the bad characteristics or quality in hisher, just because of the great relation and its service quality of the company. The customer satisfaction is a very important element to have a successful business and in order to maintain that companies have to be able to cope with the change in the environment around its business, which has to do with understanding customer preferences. Also expanding the business won’t be attainable if you don’t have a satisfied customer base and that the company must be customer oriented instead of being manufacturing oriented. In the automobile industry the purchase intentions are moving towards cars which have a low gasoline consumption rate, so the industry must take the buyers behavior in consideration. – There are a lot of fields which create and retain customer satisfaction; in order to retain customer satisfaction all the products/services offered to the costumers should be matching the customers’ perceived value. – There are also factors that affect customer satisfaction such as the economic performance, for example when the financial crisis occurred, customers started focusing on products and alternatives to brands they used to purchase with lower prices. This economic draw back affected sellers’ attitudes pessimistically which reflected negatively their relationship with the consumers; however, there were sellers who were trying to grab customer’s attention through creating a strong relationship with them. – Another point to know the importance of the customer satisfaction to maintain business excellence, a seller who creates a good relationship with his consumers and offer them more than they expect is always a seller who maintains and sustains his business excellence, because the more the customer is satisfied the more he buys and create a positive word of mouth. 2. 2) Defining the product performance: Associating between the observed and currant performance of a product, and its predicted use and efficiency has generally been the known definition for customer satisfaction. Lately companies of different fields have learned and understood the importance of such matters due to the fierce competition. Consumers have grown to be more sophisticated, more skeptics and are constantly looking for the most efficient, and the most convenient products that would satisfy their needs and wants. 2. 2. 1) Variables affecting the car’s performance: There are several variables that affect the car’s performance, beginning with the car’s engine performance, which is the main image of the car that varies in the gas consumption, how much fuel did the engine burn? Also sometimes customers’ satisfaction relies on the speed of the car, and how far can it speed up in no time. Moreover, there are several variables that represent each other in a way that the car’s quality stands for its stability, durability, and the safety features. Which are the most important variables that can affect the customer’s satisfaction that every person is looking for safety that represent the stability and low possibility of any accident accuracy? Furthermore, the design of the car is related to the stability by which, the more aero-dynamic is the design the less air force that face the front of the car, that lead to a less fuel consumption, more stability, and of course more speed. Finally, the car accessories are sometimes very expensive that can cause a low customer satisfaction, and lack in buying the car. 2. 2. 2) Defining personal experience: – Experience is being an active participant in an event or an activity which leads to a growth in one’s skills or knowledge. Where the customer can perceive a certain product wither it’s going to meet or exceed his expectations or not, through the interaction with similar products or services. 2. 2. 3) Personal experiences related to the Chinese automobile industry: – When a consumer purchases any car, a certain image or knowledge goes through his mind. This image and knowledge becomes a standard for the consumer while comparing his/her car to any other alternative, because this is his/her experience with the product so in order for him/her to know what’s best and what’s worse he/she compares the alternative’s features to his/her own product’s features such as: performance of the engine, safety features, durability and stability, car quality, fuel consumption, accessories and design of the car. – Consumers differ in their way of thinking and the bases behind their decisions, that is why Chinese car manufacturers should put in mind that a consumer who buys their product is driven to this purchase through his/her perception, and because not every consumer has the same perception about Chinese cars, Chinese car manufacturers should build a positive and strong perception with the automobile consumers about their products, as a consumer maybe more interested in the car’s safety features rather than the price or cost efficiency and vice versa. 2. 3) factors affecting the overall customer satisfaction through cars performance: – Chinese automobile manufacturer should consider their image according to the consumer’s personal experience where the consumer perceive and compare the coming alternative with their own previous experiences related to the car they owned or would like to buy. – In order to meet the customer satisfaction, car makers should provide many researches on the need and wants of the customer by which every customers’ needs change in a certain period of time. – Customers have their own perception in each car brand and its performance, where customers’ needs vary from one to the other regarding the characteristics they look for in a car, thus car manufacturers provide several models in order to meet each segment’s needs. – As Chinese automobile industry has enlarged its market share all over the world, they should put in mind that consumer will always compare their products in order to make the purchase decision, that can always be affected by the performance of their previous car, where the Chinese automakers should exceed or meet the consumer’s expectation in order to start a preferable image and reputation especially when it comes to the quality and durability of their product as it’s known as a poor product in these terms particularly compared with their competitors. Conclusion: – Studies have shown that the relation between product performance and post experience has an effect on the overall satisfaction factors. This study will further more elaborate where the Chinese car manufacturers stand in the Egyptian market regarding all aspects of performance, image, and price. This research will also cross reference the Chinese automobile industry with other automobile industries. This will show if there is any positive or negative relationship between the customer satisfactions versus car performance and previous experience concerning the Chinese automobile industry.

HR Proposal -Edit Chapter 2& 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

HR Proposal -Edit Chapter 2& 3 - Essay Example This section comprises of mainly four basic steps which are involved in the process of data collection. In most cases, the type of methodology used in a study is determined by the particular type of research being undertaken. The availability of relevant resources and time also play a contributory role to the methodology used. Methodology helps to organize, represent, and analyze data and information in a bid to answer the research questions of the study. The following are the basic steps involved in this section of methodology: A research design is a conceptual structure, outline or blueprint of what the researcher would do in the study by following proper guidelines that are meant to obtain data that can be used to solve the research problem or answer the research question. Research design represents the entire structure and working framework of the research which makes it possible and valid to draw more general conclusions from the study (Oppenheim, 1992). It works as the bonding element that holds other elements and parts of research together to give a perfect blend of conclusions and consequences of research. The researcher used mainly primary data collection method in order to provide reliable results. The research has been designed in a descriptive manner which is meant to count representative samples and make inferences about the whole population. The method used in the study involves gathering data from the selected participants using questionnaires and an analysis of this data is descriptive in na ture since it shows the subjective views of an individual. This design would certainly reach the desired goals in that the participants would be employees in HR related departments but working for organisations that deal with IT. Quantitative data collection techniques will be employed in this study and it will include mainly primary data through the use of questionnaires. Basically, quantitative data is any

Jet Blue - Strategic Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jet Blue - Strategic Management - Assignment Example Jet Blue embarked on an ambitious expansion plan, adding new planes and routes much faster than it added passengers. With the added capacity for more passengers, but customer base falling due to competition, Jet Blue started to face its most crucial problems. The profits started declining until in 2006 Jet Blue reported its first ever loss. Jet Blue could not utilize its planes to full capacity to meet the increasing fuel charges. Till now, Jet Blue hasn't been able to recover fully although the company is profitable again. (Press Release - Jet Blue, 2006) (Kahn, 2004) The shareholders of a company want higher returns on the shares in the form of dividends and value of the share. On the other hand, a community does care what returns the shareholders get. They want the company to conduct a business that either gives a positive return to the community or does not hinder the community in either way. To balance between these two, a company must realize that most of the shareholders are a part of the community; hence they would want the well being of the community as well as their own interests in the company. Therefore a company should concentrate more on the needs of the community which eventually would be in the best interests of the shareholders as well. 2 - Getting loyal customers to put out a phone "request for proposal" soliciting competitors' bids - This is ethical since you don't your the customers actually don't need the bids, therefore, this practice is not encouraged. 5 - Buying competitors' products and taking them apart - after buying something, it becomes your property (unless stated otherwise) therefore taking it apart to analyze is okay. 2 - Hiring management consultants who have worked for competitors - consultants are not your employees thus this practice is not appropriate since it would be unethical if consultants give some information about the competition   

Legalization of Marijuana (medicinal purposes only) Research Paper

Legalization of Marijuana (medicinal purposes only) - Research Paper Example For instance, in â€Å"Drugs: The Facts About Marijuana,† Ted Gottfried claims that â€Å"cannabis was used during the last half of the nineteenth century to treat gout, migraine headaches, rheumatism, hysteria, depression, loss of appetite, childbirth pains, and many other conditions† (11). During this time in history, marijuana was used extensively for its medicinal purposes. It was much beneficial but lacked consistency and standardization in the drug’s strength. Hence, slowly, the use of the drug for medicinal purposes declined. By the mid 1960’s, marijuana became the most abused illegal drug of the country. In the 1969 concert famously known as Woodstock, the use and abuse of marijuana created an outrage. Thus, from the 1970’s onwards, marijuana was not only illegal but was a serious crime against the law. Central to this debate today is whether to legalize its use or not and if to legalize, the limitations to be imposed. In religious, politica l and economic scenes, proponents have mainly based their arguments on the plant’s medicinal benefits while opponents cite issues to do with crime rate and health consequences e.g. brain damage among others. For instance, in 1996, the state of California legalized the use of marijuana in medical institutions for the relief of certain problems such as nausea and migraines. Contrary to this is the harm that marijuana legalization would entail. Thus, majority of the U.S. are against its legalization. In Ian Thomson’s â€Å"Inhaling: The Changing Significations of Marijuana in Hegemonic and Subcultural Discourses, from Antiquity Through its Prohibition,† he claims that the use of marijuana â€Å"had cost U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Douglas Ginsburg, a seat on the bench in 1987, a fact undoubtedly not lost on fast-rising political star Bi11 Clinton. He suggestively pointed out that similar use during the 1988 campaign by Bruce Babbit and Al Gore did no harm to their political careers† (3). The current American President, Barrack Obama, also admitted to have used it rather frequently in his early years. However, Obama, unlike Ginsburg, made it clear in numerous occasions that he is against marijuana legalisation but claimed that new ways need to be formulated. Kayla Morgan elucidates this in a work entitled â€Å"Legalizing Marijuana,† by saying that raids and prosecution of marijuana users would no longer be necessary (7). Nevertheless, the debate still remains open to question. The legalization of marijuana can be seen from two general perspectives, that is, from its advantages and disadvantages. Marijuana legalisation, being a controversial issue across the world, has both its pros and cons but in essence, its pros far outweigh its cons. It is important to appreciate that other people’s views are necessary in developing landmark legislations. This calls for the need to look keenly into the moral and economic issues that s urround marijuana use, whether it be for medicinal use or as a normal recreational drug. It is also quite necessary to dig deeper into the reasons as to why this issue is controversial, as well as the possible reasons people fight for its prohibition; one being its moral implications. In â€Å"Legalizing Marijuana,† Kayla Morgan states, â€Å"Legalizing marijuana is a moral issue for people on both sides of the debate† (10). These people argue that legalizing marijuana is morally wrong not because of its health or economic basis but because it manipulates

Bioacoustics Monitoring Contributes to an Understanding of Climate Essay

Bioacoustics Monitoring Contributes to an Understanding of Climate Change - Essay Example The high levels of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) yielded from the continuous combustion of fossil fuels is considered one of the major impacts of climate change on ocean acidification. This huge change contributes to diminishing the absorption of sound. Since half of the total percentage of CO2 caused by the consumption is absorbed by oceans, the percentage of acid in the ocean has increased causing the pH level of oceans to drop (Orr et al., 2005). According to the authors, the diminishing of sound absorption has impact on underwater animals’ behavior and will lead to some of these animals adapting new behaviors. However, these adjustments can be harmful to some and beneficial to others. According to the others, the reduction of sound absorption leads to sound travelling longer distances, which can result to a noisy environment for underwater species. This can lead to the extinction of some species which cannot obtain food in the noisy environment. Also, marine animals such as wheels will have to adjust their frequency, take more time and use more sound to communicate with each other. On the other hand, it would be beneficial for wheel to maintain communication with each other in further distance since sound travels faster and further. However, other studies disagree that the increasing in ocean acidification will cause measurable changes in underwater animals’ behaviors, claiming that these studies need to be tested. Unlike oceans, the impact of climate change on freshwater cannot be easily predicated for many reasons. One of these reason is that fishes in freshwater are ectotherms. Hence, the effect of climate change can vary between species. Another reason according to Hobday and Lough is that freshwater systems, unlike oceans, do not follow under the Global Climate Models because of their small sizes. Animals have established ways of

What Makes for a Good Cut Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

What Makes for a Good Cut - Essay Example The example shown on the film pertains to the film â€Å"Jaws† where editing made the shark scenes more realistic and believable, and it elicited fear from the audience because the scenes were cut just in the right places where the fake shark wouldn’t be seen as a fake one but a real one. Another thing the editor considers is the shot which is being used. A good editor knows when a long shot or a close-up would be appropriate, or whether the focus on one actor or the other would be better enhanced. Melodramas made ample use of the close-ups during the early years of film, and this practice has been adapted to focus on the element of emotions up to now. There is also the aspect of the fluid movement. The editor is concerned with the fluidity of movement from one scene to the next. In old films as well as in recent ones, there are scenes where a long shot is made which cuts to a next frame which utilizes a much closer shot. The fluid movement from one frame to the next is the handiwork of the editor and the almost invisible cut in between determines how skillfully the editor performs his craft. A good editor also knows how to maximize the use of sounds and images to get the film’s message across. During early times, films were used for purposes of propaganda and in influencing people. Whether it is suspense, action, comedy, drama, an erotic film or a horror flick, the editor knows the exact sound and image to show the audience so that they are moved to respond in a certain way.