Energy Summary Essay Example for Free

Energy Summary Essay There are many energy sources that have been described in the recent past as being clean but the truth is that no energy source is clean as many claim. The variation of the energy sources is in their advantages and disadvantages (Raven, 2010). Whereas the disadvantages of energy source include cost, hazard potential and environmental damage, the advantages include energy safety, availability, versatility and density. Examples of energy sources include fossil fuels, solar energy, nuclear, hydropower and hydrogen fuel among others. Fossil fuels according to Raven (2009, p. 233) which is defined as â€Å"Combustible deposits in the Earth’s crust, composed of the remnants (fossil) of prehistoric organisms that existed millions of years ago†, comprise of natural gas, petroleum (oil) and coal. Of the all the energy sources used in the North America 80% is fossil fuels namely oil natural gas and coal. The energy source is nonrenewable in limited supply which is depleted by use. The natural processes responsible for the formation of fossil fuels are still in progress but it takes million of years to get substantial quantity of the energy which do not keep pace with its use. In addition the fossil fuel is only found in two continents: South America and Africa and it are only a few countries in the continents which have the fossil fuel resources. Due to the fact that most of the fossil fuels are found in developing countries, there is lack of capital to extract the resources. Hence there is need to switch to other forms of energy to provide the needed energy that has been on rise. Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel worldwide and it is found mainly in Russia, India, United States, South Africa, Germany, Australia and China which are on the northern hemisphere (Raven, 2010). The mining of coal has serious environmental impact on the environment. Environmental impact associated with the mining of coal include large open trenches and pits; exposed high cliffs of rocks; toxic and acid drainage; pollution of water bodies as well as soil erosion. Such impacts pose serious risk to human and biodiversity lives as they can lead to landslide, intoxication, habitat destruction among others. Burning of coal also affects the water and air quality which leads to sooty fallout, ocean acidification and climate change. Burning of coal which contains mercury releases the substance into the atmosphere and then to water and land thereby harm both man and wildlife. Oil and natural gas which has increasingly become important since 1930s provides about 70% of the world’s energy. It is more preferable than coal because it is cleaner, more versatile and easier to transport than coal. The environmental problems associated with the natural gas and oil is with regard to their combustion, production and transportation. Combustion of the fossil fuels emits carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which insulates the planet which prevents radiation of the heat back into the space hence global warming. Their transportation has also led to oil spill which affected economies of the many regions. The spill like the recent Gulf coast oil spill also threatens wildlife (Raven, 2010). Nuclear is another source of energy that produces 100000 times more energy per atom in nuclear reaction, than the energy available in a chemical bond between two atoms. The energy is mainly derived from uranium which is a non renewable source. Nuclear energy does not direct impact on the environment as other energy sources do but it generates radioactive waste like spent fuel (Raven, 2010). Other wastes include gases in the reactor and radioactive coolant fluids. The radioactive wastes and the spent fuel are dangerous because they are highly radioactive there by posing serious heal and environmental risks to man and the environment in general. Proper storage and measures of disposal are very fundamental to reduce such dangers. Nuclear energy also contributes to environmental pollution indirectly (Raven, 2010). From the time uranium is mined, processed and disposed, good quantity of both diesel and gasoline is used which contribute pollute the environment directly. Some wastes which result from nuclear reactions like strontium-90, krypton-85 and cesium-137 have half-life of between 30 to 90 years and will take between 300 to 600 years before they decay to a level where they are safe. On the other hand there are high-level radioactive liquid wastes which are unstable and not easy to monitor thereby making them very dangerous. Such wastes are first converted to solid state before being stored (Raven, 2010). Nuclear and utility executives have come up with a plan to promote nuclear energy and to put in place a strategy that will address the economic and safety issues associated with nuclear power. This includes a plan to build nuclear reactors that will be 10 times safer than the ones currently in use. There other energy sources which are renewable and they include solar energy, biomass energy, wind energy, hydropower, geothermal energy and tidal energy. Solar energy is derived from the sun and is perpetually available as opposed to other energy sources like uranium deposits, oil and coal which are found some particular areas (Raven, 2010). We can only run short of the solar energy when the nuclear fire of the sun burns out. Solar energy is derived when the sun’s energy is absorbed by collection device such as a plate of black metal or a panel. The unique property of the sun light, whereby it passes through transparent objects but once it hits an object it releases invisible waves of heat called infrared radiation which cannot penetrate glass, allows solar energy to heat water bodies, building and other objects. Systems have been developed and used in the industrial and building processes where solar energy is concentrated to heat liquids. Direct solar energy has been used to generate electricity by use of photovoltaic solar cells which produce electricity to the tune of 13000 MW globally. In other places well structured systems are used to generate solar thermal electric generation electricity. Energy is also derived from the sun indirectly for instance, burning of the biomass which includes organic matter like wood releases energy stored in plants during photosynthesis (Raven, 2010). Wind energy got from the wind by the use of wind turbines or windmills to generate electricity or mechanical energy is also a type of renewable energy. Streams and rivers are also dammed in order to generate hydroelectricity. The energy exists in the water because it is the energy from the sun that drives the hydrological cycles. Biomass as a source of energy is very important because it lowers the rate at which we depend on the fossil fuel and since the energy is also derived from wastes it reduces the problem of waste disposal (Raven, 2010). However, when the balance shift from food production to biomass energy production, then the food prices is likely to go up which is disadvantageous. Other sources of renewable energy are tidal energy and geothermal energy derived from changes in water level and naturally occurring heat respectively. In conclusion, the requirement of energy increases day by day therefore effort need to be put in energy conservation and development of technologies of alternative energy sources which requires less energy. It should also be the responsibility of every person and every household to economically use the available energy sources responsible so as to enhance energy savings (Light, 2003). References Light, A. (2003). Environmental Ethics: An Anthology, 1e. Retrieved 19 May 2010 from: https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/content/eBookLibrary2/content/DownloadList. aspx? assetMetaId=871324e1-b1c6-4d2d-85d0-de1f7aaf570eassetDataId=d5e53d69-8288-4946-9a9b-69a18044be6a Raven, P. (2010). Environment 7e. Retrieved 19 May 2010 from: https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/content/eBookLibrary2/content/DownloadList. aspx? assetMetaId=568808a6-a4f4-4b79-ac9c-845c0188b75aassetDataId=68c16029-cca8-4bdd-8119-68f43458e29e

Epic of Beowulf :: Epic of Beowulf Essays

As the welcoming celebration for Beowulf goes on, Unferth begins to ridicule Beowulf about his swimming competition with Breca. Unferth is jealous and feels threatened by Beowulf " for he would not allow that any other man of middle-earth should ever achieve more glory under the heavens than himself." (Norton p. 33) Unferth is a very peculiar character. Although he has committed the horrific crime of killing his brother(s), he is privileged enough to sit at the feet of the king, a very respected position. His sin,an enormous violation of the comitatus, suggests that there is something wrong in Hrothgar's kingdom and perhaps helps to foreshadow its destruction. Ultimately, it will be destroyed, as the text says, by a fire after " sword-hate between son-in-law and father-in-law to awaken after murderous rage." (Norton p. 28). Unferth tries to put Beowulf down by saying that Beowulf once risked his life for pride and foolish boast. He also points out that Breca has beaten Beowulf in the swimming and that he therefore expects him to lose the fight with Grendel as well. Unferth is arrogant, obnoxious and the only one who challenges Beowulf. However, later when Beowulf fights with Grendel's mother, Unferth lends him his sword. This can be seen as a noble gesture, and a redemption of Unferth for the way he has behaved. However, it can also provide further proof of Unferth's incompetence as a warrior. Because he is scared to fight himself, he passes on his sword to Beowulf. Beowulf answers Unferth's words of envy with his side of the story. He says that Unferth is drunk and obviously knows nothing about the competition. Continuing, Beowulf explains that he won the contest despite the heavy attack by sea-monsters. From this story, we see further proof of Beowulf's supernatural powers. The competition occurs during the winter in the freezing water, yet Beowulf is able to swim for five nights armed with a heavy sword, in full armor and mail . When the battle is over, Beowulf finds himself on the shore lying next to nine sea monsters that he killed with his sword and modestly attributes his victory to both courage and fate. His comment that, " Fate often saves an undoomed man when his courage is good" (Norton p. 34) shows his belief that 'Fate' will forever govern him and aid him as long as he is courageous.

Gender Inequality Essay

In the 21st century women are more educated and powerful than they have ever been. They are integrated into every work sector, from labour intensive jobs, middle class jobs up to the highest professional engineering, medical, legal and political positions. However, there still remain high gender inequalities within the workplace, which will be covered in this report through several articles and studies in respects to top management positions and payments imbalance. As gender inequality is not a specific event rather a continuously forming process from the beginning of the humanity until present day, and beyond that. To understand the current state of affairs we have to firstly talk about the processes which have occurred during the past. Historic context: Several studies talk about the division of labour between men and women already in the prehistory. All the evidence shows that from the very beginning, women had the simpler and easier jobs, which was manifested in fruits, eggs and berry gathering, while men had the more dangerous and intensive duties such as hunting and fishing. The subordinate role of women had already appeared in that time. According to anthropologists, the nomadic lifestyle continues as hordes’ communities, women had the role of carrying the pickings, while men were waiting for any attacks from outside the community. As women were not able to protect themselves while carrying the foods, men became the protectors of the community. Although there were some warrior women, who were called â€Å"amazons†, they still are physically weaker. As race preservation is a function of women, when they became pregnant they were not able to support both the community and their duties together, within the hordes eyes, they were considered of no significant importance and the infants and young children worsened this situation. They had to be supported (fed, protected) which slowed down the community, but in the same time until a certain age the horde had no important role for them. However the prehistoric humans had no knowledge about the biology of insemination, therefore they considered the pregnancy as a magical wonder. This is evidenced by the first artworks, for example the female statues which they highlighted the body parts referring to fertility, of which the best known is the Venus of Willendorf. Nevertheless after time they have realised that, the participation of men is also necessary to fertilization and women lost the surrounding admiration, therefore they became even more subordinated. Later in history, several communities with the emergence of the ancient slavery society and monogamy had become widespread. All the men could have only one wife yet posses several bond slaves. Women could have sexual relationship, only with their husbands. If they breached this rule it had serious consequences. Men regarded not only their slave women as their property, but also the female members of the family, over whom men controlled absolute power. In the early feudalism era, the Church had said women cannot be equal to men, as God created Adam first from his own image and only after this created Eve from the ‘rest of the materials’. Women have been created for men, and not inversely. Further more women have to consider their husbands as God. In the middle Ages children had been socially educated to respect their fathers more than their mothers. The male children, from a certain age received adult rights, to treat their mothers and sisters in the same manner as their fathers. They thought women had to been given constraints and rules, as Eve was who anathematized the humanity, so women had to be chastised for it. Men had to penalize women as a duty, even if it was associated with pain. The only rule which was accepted was that the woman could not die. In the 17th century in America, woman took taking care of their families an important responsibility. Women and men were working together on their agricultural lands. While they catered their families, they also worked on markets, where they could sell the remaining crops or some weaved clothes, thus they earned some respect. Women and men have shared not only the jobs, but also the wages. In the 18th century, as the economy has shifted from the agriculture to the industrial economy the world of home and work had got totally separated. Women were forced back to their homes and lost all their social respect. With the occurrence of industrialization, the role of women focused on the duties around the house, or they became industrial workers, for much smaller salary though, as women were treated as inferiority. The most terrible situation was in the lead industry. They have not used protective equipment; therefore lead poisoning was a very frequent workers disease. Women were afflicted by death, poisoning, paralysis; their children were still-born many times. At the beginning of the 19th century women were ignominiously exploited. Their wages were not enough even for their basic needs. A survey in 1889-93 shows that in France a workwoman received half of that wage, what a workman received for the same work hours. In 1918 women’s salary is half of the men’s in America. The women’s wages rose between 1911 and 1945, although they were less than men’s wages. At the beginning of capitalism, new work opportunities appeared. Women occupied the agriculture, the industry, the trading, the banks, the insurance companies, the offices and the freelance positions. This process accelerated the unemployment during the 1st and 2nd world war, worldwide. Emancipation in the UK: The sequences of events are roughly the same in many western countries. In some enlightened states (e. g. New-Zealand, Australia, Finland and Norway) women received franchises before the 1st world war. In other countries, struggles have started, but nowhere were as dramatic as in England. In 1903 Emmeline Pankhurst got to the edge of the movement fighting for women’s right to vote. These suffrages interrupted political meetings, chained themselves to fences and were sent to prison as they were not willing to pay any financial penalty. When the 1st world war broke out, most of the suffrages suspended the fights, and the women who filled in the jobs (instead of the fighting men) coped successfully. This allowed women voting rights from the government, by destroying the stigma surrounding women’s inequality instead of facing the movement again. After the war the US and several European countries undertook similar reforms. Another movement inspired from the UK was created called â€Å"Woman’s Lib for life† created in the US back in 1960s which spread through Europe. This ideology was called â€Å"feminism†. Feminism talks about gender equality, but also about sexual abuse, rape and abortion. Feminists succeeded to reach equal opportunities in political, legal, demographical, educational and employment rights. Nevertheless the practical applications of the laws often meet difficulties, even if their enforcements create special executive and examiner bodies. In many parts of the world, women’s most elementary rights are still missing, in many societies they cannot even choose their spouse. In present days, in the most enlightened countries such as the UK, the distance between females and males in employment decreased significantly, but still women face forms of discrimination. Present: In our days, more and more women take part in higher education. After graduation they try to find a job, build their career what they have to interrupt as their biological clocks are ticking and near their career plans they don’t want to give up building a family. During their pregnancy normally they become less capable to cater their work in full-time. After their pregnancy they have the right to take a maternity leave with the thought of they can return to their job without any discrimination. However, this is not so simple. In the 21st century as in most of the tolerant countries, as in the UK the unequal and inequitable treatment of employees on the basis of gender i. e. sex discrimination in workplace is illegal. If it can be proved by the employee, the employer could probably face a serious penalty. Discrimination can be classified in two ways. One of them is based on suffered disadvantage e. g. nequal payment, discrimination because of pregnancy or maternity leave, inequality in the scale of employment and different treatment and progress opportunities within workplace. Direct and indirect discrimination: The other classification group divides discrimination according to insulted party as an individual (direct), or a specific target group (indirect). Direct discrimination is â€Å"where an employee or prospective employee is less favourably treated because of their race, sex, marital status (including civil partnerships), religion, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, age, disability, pregnancy or maternity† (CompactLaw, 1996-2013). As it revealed from the most recent article from the Guardian about sexual discrimination â€Å"women are suffering escalating levels of illegal discrimination at work when they get pregnant, and are often made redundant while they are on maternity leave, according to a new poll. The figures show one in seven of the women surveyed had lost their job while on maternity leave; 40% said their jobs had changed by the time they returned, with half reporting a cut in hours or demotion. More than a tenth had been replaced in their jobs by the person who had covered their maternity leave† (Tracey McVeigh, 2013). Indirect discrimination is often less obvious. Sometimes, a policy, rule or practice seems fair because it applies to everyone equally, but a closer look shows that some people are being treated unfairly. This is because some people or groups of people are unable or less able to comply with the rule or are disadvantaged because of it. If this policy or practice is ‘not r easonable’, it may be indirect discrimination† (Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland 2007) One of the most famous indirect cases associated with one of the largest companies in the US being the Wal-Mart Stores. Wal-Mart had a case which started in 2000, when Betty Dukes, a Wal-Mart worker from California, claimed sex discrimination because of gender discrimination in pay and promotion policies and practices. During the negotiations almost 2000 women joined Betty, representing about 1. 5M women. On 20th of June, 2011, the Supreme Court finally closed the negotiations in Wal-Mart’s favour, as the unequal treatment was not clearly proved. On the other side employers and managers have to be very guarded and deliberate to avoid discrimination and promote equality. There are several details which have to be kept in the front view of management.

Thomas Letter A Good Teacher - 2301 Words

Svetlana Gladkaya Prof. Julie Hershenberg GOVT 2305 S74 November 20th 2014 Thomas Jefferson- A Good Teacher A good teacher represents his teaching by being a good example to others and by following his own guidelines. Likewise, politicians should also practice what they preach for the good of the society. A famous quote from The Declaration of Independence written by the politician, vice-president and after all, the third president of America, Thomas Jefferson reads â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.† Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence paved way for the freedom of America from the British and has been entitled as the most important document in the history of America. Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13th 1743 at Shadwell, Virginia at the time when America was under British Colonies in power of King George III. It was also the time whereby inequality was pronounced, and the black ma n was owned by a white man. Slavery was a day to day event. Jefferson being a white man inherited his fathers and father-in-laws slaves. There was about 200 slaves on Jefferson plantations each year. At age of 16 he went to the College of William and Marry where he studied metaphysics, mathematics, philosophy and other subjects. Jefferson was a curious student and he completed his studies in short period ofShow MoreRelatedImproving the Lives of So Many: The Invention of Sign Language823 Words   |  3 PagesEventually with the help of Thomas Gallaudet Sign Language was brought to the US and together the pair helped improve the lives of Deaf people living in the United States. Laurent Clerc was a deaf man from France born on December 26th 1785. 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