Economics School-Based Assessment Essay Example for Free

Economics School-Based Assessment Essay Introduction LIME, an acronym for Landline, Internet, Mobile, Entertainment, is owned by the British based Cable Wireless Communications. The company formed from the integrated businesses of Cable Wireless in the Caribbean which adopted the LIME name on 3rd of November 2008. With people spending a lot of time accomplishing tasks and doing researches, the internet has becomevery important to individuals nowadays. Without the internet some individuals think that they cannot survive because of how it is used to provide a variety of information and communication facilities in order to get the work done quickly and/or enjoy one’s self with family and friends. People are becoming very lazy and find it difficult to open a book to find information, so instead they use the internet to gather the information quickly. Businesses also use the internet to do market researches and many other activities. The internet has basically any and every thing. More than 50% of homes in Jamaica has internet and for those that cannot afford the internet, the Government has provided facilities to them. With people wanting to send or receive emails, use search engine to gather information, looking for hobby or interest on the web.I have decided to do an investigationof the Internet Service industry within Jamaica with reference specifically to LIME . Acknowledgement I would like to thank everyone who would have contributed to the completion of this School-Based Assessment. First of all I would like to thank God firstly for the opportunity to do such a project and also for the wisdom, strength and understanding to complete this assignment. Other people who I would like to thank are: My Economics teacher for her constant advices and willingness to help. All those who answered the questionnaires distributed. My family for helping and supporting me during the execution of this project. Objectives of research The aims of this investigation are: 1. To establish the type of relationship there is between price and quantity demanded for internet service at LIME. 2. To examine of the principal factors affecting the demand of LIME and Flow 3. To examine the price elasticity of demand of internet service at LIME and Flow 4. To determine whose internet service can mainly be found in form 5 of the St. Martins secondary school. 5. To briefly examinethe market structure for internet service in Jamaica. 6. To briefly examine the market conditions affecting the supply of internet service at LIME and Flow in Jamaica. Methodology:The SBA was conducted in my community. Primary Sources: 1. Questionnaire: Twenty questionnaires were shared out to students in form 5 of the St. Martin’s secondary school. 2. Interview:The managers of LIME and Karib Cable were interviewed to obtain information such as how they attract customers to their business. Secondary Sources: 1. Textbooks: Economics textbooks were used to have a clear understanding of the Laws of Demand and Supply. 2. Internet: The websites listed in the bibliography were used to further clarify economic concepts to enhance the school-based assessment. 20 questionnaires were given to the students of form 5 in the Community of. Two interviews were conducted with the managers of LIME and Flow outlets inOchi rios. The internet service industry in Jamaica is one of an Oligopoly market structure. Thus, there are only a few large firms, Homogeneous or differentiated products, imperfect knowledge of the market, they are price makers with price rigidity and also have many buyers. As such, there are little competition levels which ideally lead to the producers satisfaction and welfare. After the data were collected from the questionnaire, I discovered that all the participants were between the ages of 16-17. The study as shown that LIME’s internet service was the most  demanded internet service in Guys hill. Question 1 )10 of the students who were given questionnaires had access to the internet at their homes. This may due to the addiction to social networking or the need of having the internet to gather information. Since the internet is the quickest way of gathering information and communicating with others the demand for internet would be high. Question 2: In question (2) 60% of the students said that they have LIME’s internet service while 40% have Flow internet service. The fact that more students preferred LIME’s internet service shows that some method of attracting customers that Flow is lacking. Based on the supply information gained from the interviews, these methods include the sponsoring of events and other methods. Effective use of these methods can increase the demand for internet, lower production cost, will result in a decrease cost price and lead to an extension of demand, all of which increases a firm’s profits. Question 3: The question â€Å"Who pays for the internet you have access to† was asked in question 3. Majority (80%) of the students said that they parents pays for the internet while the other 20% said that their grandparents pays for the internet. This shows that even students may have the desire and the willingness to pay for the internet service; they are not backed by t he ability to pay for it. Question 4: All (20) of the students said that the person who pays for the internet at their home currently has a job. This shows that persons who have jobs are the ones who have ability to pay for internet service at their homes. Question 5: In relation to question 5 responses, 16 of the persons who pay for the internet are full-time employees while the other 4 are part-time. The 16 full-time employees who might be eligible for benefitshave LIME’s internet service and this might be so maybe because of personal preference and wanting top quality service. Question 6: 16 students said that the person who pays for their internet occupational classification is white collar while the other 4 said its blue collar.The 4 blue collar workers internet service provider is Flow, which shows that people who receive less income prefers Karib Cables internet service maybe because of the price of the service. Question 7: In relation to question 8, 18 of the students use the internet mostly for social networking while the other 2 uses it for information. Sites like facebook  and twitter are social networking sites that enable users to communicate with each other by posting information, comments, messages, images, ect and these sites have become the most popular website on the internet. So therefore students may have a deep desire to have internet service to use these sites. Question 8: According to question 7 90% of the students use the internet on a daily basis. Based on the questionnaire this is due to addiction to social networking by these students. The other 10% uses it weekly and this is due to the need of gathering information. Question 9: In question 9 the question was asked â€Å"What is the main factor of choosing your internet service provider?† Many factors affect the demand for a specific internet service such as preference, price of the internet and advertisement. 60% of the students said that it’s because of preference while the other 40% said that it’s because of price of the internet service. This may be so because people may have a greater liking for a certain internet service because of its reliability. No onewants to be experiencing difficulties with the internet while surfing. Question 10: 8 persons said that they pay a price range of $800-$1000 while12 persons said that they pay from $1300-$1500 According to the information on the questionnaires the 12 persons who pays at the price range of $1300-$1500 internet service provider is Lime, which shows that flows rates are a little cheaper than LIME’s rates. Question 11: All of the students internet speed is 1 megabyte per sec. Although LIME and flow provides 4mbps, which is a lot faster than 1mbps shows that people only have the ability to pay for 1mbps a month. Question 12: According to question 12, 60% of these students don’t experience any problems at times, while the other 40% experiences problems. The 60% of students who don’t experience any problems internet service provider is LIME. This means that even though LIME’s rates are a little more expensive, they provide better service than Flow and that is why LIME attracts more customers to their services. The fact that LIME’s internet service is more expensive may due to the cost of production. Question 13: 6 of the students who experience problems said that they experience slow internet at times, while the other 2 students said that at times they don’t have internet at times. Question 14: In relation to question 14 these problems were experienced daily by 25% of these student, 25% weekly and 50% of the students who experience problems experiences monthly. Question 15: The question â€Å"If the price for your internet was $1000 a month for 1MBPS (Mega Bytes per Second), you would purchase â€Å"20% of the students said that they would purchase 2mbps at $1500 per month. This shows that persons have the desire and willingness to purchase 2mbps but they don’t have the ability to do so. Question 16: 50 % of the students showed willingness to purchase 2mbps at $1500 per month. As price increases from $1500 to $2000 for 2mbps, the quantity demanded decreased thus, the law of demand stands (as prices increase, demand decreases). The P.E.D was calculated as -0.15, indicating price inelasticity. As the price increases from $1500to $2000, demand also decreases and the Law of demand is also obeyed. The P.E.D. in this case was -0.3, thus indicating in another price inelasticity. Findings 1. There is a negative relationship between the prices of internet service and the quantity demanded. This simply means as price increases, quantity demanded decreases and as price decreases, the quantity demanded increases. 2. The principal factor affecting for internet service is one’s preference. 3. Internet service is price inelastic, therefore the quantity demanded is unresponsive to changes in price. 4. The existence of foreign firms (LIME) in the local economy can create good competition and result in higher consumer satisfaction. Recommendations Both LIME and Flow can endeavor into improving in the following areas if they haven’t already done so in order to boost sales and have a better competitive stance: Flow should use suggestion boxes to get feedback from customers about problems they face. Increase advertising to make the customers to have a greater liking for their internet service since preference is the factor affecting demand. The government should open up the market for internet service further. This would add to competition. Competition would lower prices and also keep money in the country since LIME is owned by the British base money is most likely exported out of the country. Sponsor more events that are taken place in the country. Sell 2MBPS at cheaper rates since more people are demanding 2MBPS. Conclusion In this investigation between LIME and Flow, I have come to realize the major role that economics plays in the operation of a business. It was deduced that LIME is a better internet service provider than Flow since bigger consumer market and their customers experience no problems. Bibliography Book: Websites: http://www.time4lime.com/vc/internet.jsp http://www.Flow.com

Public Policies Used To Solve Market Failure Economics Essay

Public Policies Used To Solve Market Failure Economics Essay Market is defined as a group of buyers and sellers of a particular good or service. There are many different types of markets such as stock market, currency market and more. Market is efficient when the market is perfectly competitive. If a market is not perfectly competitive, the market failure will occur. Market failure also occurs when the allocation of resources in a free market is inefficient. Market failure occurs when the market is not in perfectly competitive. There are many reasons to cause market failure. The main causes of market failure are: a) Negative Externalities Externalities are defined as the uncompensated impact of one persons actions on the well-being of a bystander. Negative externality such as the effect of environmental pollution can cause the marginal social cost(MSC) of production to exceed the marginal private cost(MPC) according to the diagram below: In the process of production, the firms will cause the pollution of the environment. The pollution is bad for public health so that the marginal social cost(MSC) is exceed the marginal private cost(MPC). The optimum of production is at Qs, MSB is equal to MSB. The firms will produce goods at Qp, where MPB is equal to MPC. The excess of production not only does not promote the public welfare but also causes more pollutions to the environment. As a result, the market will go inefficient. b) Positive Externalities The positive externalities such as the provision of education and healthcare can cause the marginal social benefit(MSB) of consumption to exceed the marginal private benefit(MPB) according to the diagram below: In a free market, the consumption will be at Qp where the private benefit equals to the private cost. However, this is socially inefficient because the social benefit is exceed to the social cost. Therefore, that is under-consumption(Qs-Qp) of the positive externality. The social efficiency will occur at Qs where the social cost equals social benefit. c)Merit and Demerit goods Merit good is a good that people do not realise its true benefit such as the people underestimate the benefit of education. The examples of merit goods are education and healthcare. These goods usually have positive externalities. Therefore, there will be a under-consumption of merit goods in a free market. Demerit good is a good that people do not realise the costs of doing something such as smoking and drugs. These goods usually have negative externalities. Therefore, there will be over-consumption of demerit goods in a free market. d)Public goods The private sectors in free markets cannot profitable supply to consumers public goods that are needed to meet peoples demand. So that the public goods are generally provided by government. e)Monopoly Power Market that controlled by monopoly can cause under-production and higher prices than would exist under condition of competition. f)Factor immobility Factor immobility will cause unemployment hence productive inefficiency. When market fails, the market will fall into position of inefficiency. It may cause unfair distribution of income and property to the public. Many firms increase the quantity of goods supplied in order to earn more profit. It may cause the pollution in the environment as the firms are not willing to protect the environment whenever they produce goods. Besides that, unemployment will occur because of the exclusion of labor by the machines when the firms are able to improve the productivity. There will be also an undersupply of public goods. The private sectors are not willing to produce public goods as the consumers do not need to pay for these goods so that they will not earn profit from providing the public goods. To address these public issues, the government will execute some policies to solve the market failure such as imposing taxes on negative externalities. In the diagram above, the marginal social cost(MSC) of production will exceed to the marginal private cost(MPC). The government imposed the taxes to the sellers and the imposition of taxes will increase the production cost of the sellers. Then, the supply curve(PMC) will shift to the left. The quantity of production will decrease from Qp to Qs where the optimum output is and the social welfare will be maximized. New Mexico Legislature is supposed to increase the state cigarette tax from 75 cents to $1.66 per pack this year. The purpose of imposing the tax is to reduce the tobacca use and save lives. The increasing of tax will discourage people from smoking. Increasing the cigarette tax is one of the most effective ways to reduce smoking, especially among kids. From the diagram above, the production of tobacca of marginal social cost(MSC) is exceed to the marginal private cost(MPC) and the output of tobacca of the sellers is at Qp. New Mexico Legislature imposed the cigarette tax to the output of tobacca of sellers. So that, the supply curve(S=PMC) of tobacca will shift to right. The output of tobacca will decrease from Qp to Qs as the tobacca tax will increase the cost of production of tobacca. As a result, the supply curve of tobacca will move to left and equals to marginal social cost(MSC). At this moment, the optimum output of tobacca is at Qs. The imposition of cigarette tax will reduce the output of tobacca and discourage people from smoking. Taxes on negative externalities will raise the revenue for the government and reduce the pollution of environment. The second policy that can overcome the market failure is to provide subsidy on positive externalities. The government provides subsidy to the firms to pay part of cost for them to encourage more production. From the diagram above, the production of marginal social benefit(MSB) is exceed to the marginal private benefit(MPB). The government provided subsidy(P2-P1) to the firm to decrease their cost of production. As a result, the firm will increase the output from Qp to Qs. Then, the social welfare will be maximized. For example, Malaysia government plans to provide a subsidy of RM30bil to enhance primary and secondary school education nationwide which is one of the plans of Budget 2010. From the diagram above, when our government provides a subsidy of RM30bil on education, the operating cost of school will decrease. Then, the school will have enough capital to build more facilities and provide more educational plans from Qp to Qs for the students. The students will get more benefit from studying. At this moment, the social welfare will keep increasing till the marginal social benefit(MSB) equals to marginal social cost(MSC). The third policy is to change the property right. This will happen when the government gives the property rights to certain people such as the fishermen could be given the property rights to a river. When negative externalities occurred, the owners of property could sue a company who caused damage or pollution such as the fishermen can sue a chemical factory which polluted the river. It may charge some social costs to the chemical factory. The government pursued this policy to reduce the pollution of environment so that the negative externalities could be eliminated. In addition, the government will also impose the laws and regulation to prohibit the unhealthy behaviour of people such as legalizing the age for smoking and banning on drunk driving. The laws and regulations must be simple and easy to understand to the public. Due to a reducing in negative externalities, the marginal social cost will decrease. So that, imposing the laws and regulations is also a policy to overcome the market failure. For example, in New Zealand, it is illegal to sell tobaccos and cigarettes to person aged uner 18. It is also illegal for a person over 18 to give a person under 18 cigarettes or tobaccos in a public place. Another example is sales of tobacco to person aged under 18 are illegal in all Australian states. The purpose of legalizing the smoking by both governments is to reduce the consumption of tobaccos. It may help to decrease the negative externalities for improving efficiency of the market. Finally, the other policy is to give the pollution permit. The government can give a pollution permit to a firm to limit his output. The more the firm produce, the more polluted the environment is. Therefore, the marginal social cost will keep increasing and market failure will occur. The government will give the pollution permit to the firm such as limiting the firm to produce only 100 units carbon dioxide per year. As a result, there is an incentive to pollute less and the negative externalities will be eliminated. Conclusion The public policies implemented by the government can successfully solve the market failure. The main causes of market failure is the externality. It can divide into negative externality and positive externality. Government will impose the tax to the firms to decrease their output as every unit of good they produce will cause the pollution of environment. The implimentation of this public policy can reduce the pollution of environment but also to eliminate the negative externalities for efficient market. Secondly, the government will also provide subsidy to the firms. With this policy, the production cost of the firms will decrease and their output will increase. The market will be efficient as the subsidy on positive externalities forces the marginal social cost equals to the marginal social benefit. Thirdly, the government will implement the policy of changing the property rights. By giving the property rights, the owner of the property can sue a company which caused pollution to their property such as the lands. It may help to reduce the pollution of the environment and eliminate the negative externalities. So that, the market failure can be overcome. The government will also impose the laws and regulations to prohibit people from the unhealthy behaviour such as smoking and taking drug. The implementation of this policy can effectively increase the social benefit. So that, the market failure will turn into an efficient market. Lastly, the government will also give the pollution permit to the firm. This policy can limit the output of carbon dioxide of the firm. It can reduce the negative externality of air pollution. As a result, the market will be efficient by reducing the negative externalities. For archieving an efficient market, the government will implement the public policies when market failure occurred although the government needs to spend a high cost on them.

Tragically Inane: The Cherry Orchard And Six Characters Essay -- essay

The deconstruction of the conventions of the theatre in Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard predicts the more radical obliteration presented later by Pirandello in Six Characters in Search of an Author. The seed of this attack on convention by Chekhov are the inherent flaws of all the characters in The Cherry Orchard. The lack of any character with which to identify or understand creates a portrait much closer to reality than the staged drama of Ibsen or other playwrights who came before. In recognizing the intrinsic flaws of its characters, we can see how Chekhov shows us that reality is subjective, reality is not simple, linear, or clean, and that the real benefit of theater is to show this inane, subjective reality.There are essentially three flaws that permeate over the characters of The Cherry Orchard. The obvious first flaw is nostalgia. Madame Ranevsky is obviously the main character in this group, as she is really in charge of her family, and her inability to move on with the present is so striking in comparison with what the audience so desperately wants her to do. To her, everything is in the past - even the present. She can't get past the days of her childhood or the disasters six years previous. Even when she is forced to face reality - that the orchard has been sold - it seems like an event in the past. It has been inevitable from the beginning, and so even as it happens, the events are old news. A wonderful example of Madame Ranevsky's nostalgic focus appears as her last substantive line in the play: "One last look... Our dear mother used to walk up and down this room." Madame Ranevsky sees the past, present, and future as the past only.Gayef, Simon-Pitschik, and Firs are the other characters that complete this group fixated on the past. Their versions of the past differ slightly, but that is almost all of the difference between their individual versions of the flaw. Essentially, Gayef is a benign, ineffectual man, and so his past is consistent with that. Firs and Pitschik both have an aggravated sense of the beauty of the past. Firs sees being a peasant as a wholly beneficial experience - at least in the past. Pitschik seems generally confused about what is happening and what has happened, while still being obsessively nostalgic.The reason why this nostalgia can be compared to a tragic flaw is that it causes the characters it a... ...ant these inanities of life are to Chekhov's play is the action of the play. Nothing that happens on stage changes the situation of the characters in it one bit. None of the really important events occur on stage. The selling of the orchard, the chopping down of the orchard; all of it happens offstage. This tells the audience that the important part of The Cherry Orchard (and by extension, plays in general) is the human interaction. The plot means nothing in comparison with the specific traits and flaws given each character. That is what truly makes the play great. It is reality; everyone talks, no one listens, and no one changes.Chekhov has predated Pirandello in this technique that rips down conventions of the theatre. He paves the way for Pirandello to present Six Characters in Search of an Author. The father merely expresses what the audience knows, at least subconsciously, while watching The Cherry Orchard. The action the audience is forced to recognize in Six Characters is subtly broached in Chekhov's play. It is discussion, and it is real discussion. People are different, and people are unpredictable. Reality is tragically inane, and that is what the theatre shows best. Tragically Inane: The Cherry Orchard And Six Characters Essay -- essay The deconstruction of the conventions of the theatre in Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard predicts the more radical obliteration presented later by Pirandello in Six Characters in Search of an Author. The seed of this attack on convention by Chekhov are the inherent flaws of all the characters in The Cherry Orchard. The lack of any character with which to identify or understand creates a portrait much closer to reality than the staged drama of Ibsen or other playwrights who came before. In recognizing the intrinsic flaws of its characters, we can see how Chekhov shows us that reality is subjective, reality is not simple, linear, or clean, and that the real benefit of theater is to show this inane, subjective reality.There are essentially three flaws that permeate over the characters of The Cherry Orchard. The obvious first flaw is nostalgia. Madame Ranevsky is obviously the main character in this group, as she is really in charge of her family, and her inability to move on with the present is so striking in comparison with what the audience so desperately wants her to do. To her, everything is in the past - even the present. She can't get past the days of her childhood or the disasters six years previous. Even when she is forced to face reality - that the orchard has been sold - it seems like an event in the past. It has been inevitable from the beginning, and so even as it happens, the events are old news. A wonderful example of Madame Ranevsky's nostalgic focus appears as her last substantive line in the play: "One last look... Our dear mother used to walk up and down this room." Madame Ranevsky sees the past, present, and future as the past only.Gayef, Simon-Pitschik, and Firs are the other characters that complete this group fixated on the past. Their versions of the past differ slightly, but that is almost all of the difference between their individual versions of the flaw. Essentially, Gayef is a benign, ineffectual man, and so his past is consistent with that. Firs and Pitschik both have an aggravated sense of the beauty of the past. Firs sees being a peasant as a wholly beneficial experience - at least in the past. Pitschik seems generally confused about what is happening and what has happened, while still being obsessively nostalgic.The reason why this nostalgia can be compared to a tragic flaw is that it causes the characters it a... ...ant these inanities of life are to Chekhov's play is the action of the play. Nothing that happens on stage changes the situation of the characters in it one bit. None of the really important events occur on stage. The selling of the orchard, the chopping down of the orchard; all of it happens offstage. This tells the audience that the important part of The Cherry Orchard (and by extension, plays in general) is the human interaction. The plot means nothing in comparison with the specific traits and flaws given each character. That is what truly makes the play great. It is reality; everyone talks, no one listens, and no one changes.Chekhov has predated Pirandello in this technique that rips down conventions of the theatre. He paves the way for Pirandello to present Six Characters in Search of an Author. The father merely expresses what the audience knows, at least subconsciously, while watching The Cherry Orchard. The action the audience is forced to recognize in Six Characters is subtly broached in Chekhov's play. It is discussion, and it is real discussion. People are different, and people are unpredictable. Reality is tragically inane, and that is what the theatre shows best.

Mexico Essays -- Geography Mexico Mexican History Essays

Mexico   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Southward from its 1,500 mile long border with the United States lies the Estados Unidos Mexicanos. A country with slightly more than 750,000 square miles in area, Mexico has a vast array of mineral resources, limited agricultural land, and a rapidly growing population. These factors are the basis for many of the country's present problems as well as opportunities for future development. The nation is struggling to modernize its economy. With more than 80 million people in the mid-1980s, Mexico's overall population density exceeds 110 per square mile. More than half of its inhabitants live in the country's central core, while the arid north and the tropical south are sparsely settled.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The stereotype of Mexico is that it is a country with a population consisting mainly of subsistence farmers has little validity. Petroleum and tourism dominate the economy, and industrialization is increasing in many parts of the nation. Internal migration from the countryside has caused urban centers to grow dramatically: more than two thirds of all Mexicans now live in cities. Mexico City, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 16 million people, is the largest city in the world. While still low by United States standards, the nation's gross national product per capita rose significantly during the 1970s. Despite impressive social and economic gains, since 1981 Mexico has been wracked by severe inflation and an enormous foreign debt brought on in large part by precipitous declines in the value of petroleum products.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Geologically, Mexico is located in one of the Earth's most dynamic areas. It is a part of the "Ring of Fire," a region around the Pacific Ocean highlighted by active volcanism and frequent seismic activity. Within the context of plate tectonics, a theory developed to explain the creation of major landform features around the world, Mexico is situated on the western, or leading, edge of the huge North American Plate. Its interaction with the Pacific, Cocos, and Caribbean plates has given rise over geologic time to the Earth- building processes that created most of Mexico. Towering peaks, like Citlaltepetl at some 18,000 feet, are extremely young in geologic terms and are examples of the volcanic forces that built much of central Mexico. The spectacular eruption of the volcano Chinchon in 1981 w... ...ch of central and southern Mexico and had established their capital at Tula in the Mesa Central. They also built the city of Teotihuacan near present-day Mexico City. At about the same time, the Zapotecs controlled the Oaxaca Valley and parts of the Southern Highlands. The cities they built at Mitla and Monte Alban remain, though they were taken over by the Mixtecs prior to the arrival of the Spanish. When the Spanish arrived in central Mexico, the Aztecs controlled most of the Mesa Central through a state tribute system that extracted taxes and political servility from conquered tribal groups. The Aztecs migrated into the Mesa Central from the north and fulfilled a tribal prophesy by establishing a city where an eagle with a snake in its beak rested on a cactus. This became the national symbol of Mexico and adorns the country's flag and official seal. The Aztecs founded the city of Tenochtitlan in the early 1300s, and it became the capital of their empire. The Tlaxcalans to the east, the Tarascans on the west, and the Chichimecs in the north were outside the Aztec domain and frequently warred with them. The nation's name derives from the Aztecs' war god, Mexitli.

Global Warming Essays -- Environment Global Warming Climate Change

Global Warming Climate change is neither new nor unusual. Throughout the history of the earth, the average surface temperature, climate and greenhouse gas concentrations have changed, sometimes gradually other times quite sharply. During the past 10,000 years the earth has been in an interglacial period with a fairly stable climate, surface temperature, and greenhouse gas concentration1. The problem that has arisen in recent times is when scientists analyze the past 150 years, especially the last 50. Scientists have found an increased greenhouse gas concentration, making the 20th century the hottest in the last 10,000 years. Although the earth has undergone periodic changes known as global cooling and global warming, today’s global warming is unique, due to human influences. The greenhouse effect is essentially gasses in the atmosphere trapping heat, rather like a car window does in the summer. The major heat trapping gasses found in the atmosphere are; CO2 and water vapor- which are found in large quantity, 03(ozone), ch4(methane), and N2O(nitrous oxide)-which are better heat trappers but found in smaller quantity, CFC’s and PFC’s- which are very potent and destroy ozone. The rapid elevation of these gasses in the past fifty years have been the cause for concern of scientists calling it a global warming problem. Global warming is a natural process as well as a human assisted process. Solar flares and sunspots along with natural elevation of greenhouse gasses due to volcanic activety are the natural causes for global warming. Dr. Judy Lean, a leading astrophysicist, looked at global warming trends from 1860 to the present day. Her research has found from 1860 to 1970, global warming was largely due to natural sources. But from 1970 to the present natural sources accounted for only one-third the increase while human influence accounted for the remaining two-thirds of the increased greenhouse effect. The increase in greenhouse gasses from human sources comes from a variety of things. Elevated Co2 levels, which have been increasing at a rate of 0.5% per year, largely come from the burning of fossil fuels(70-75%), especially coal. Deforestation and plant burning account for the remainder. Increased Methane and Nitrous oxide in the atmosphere are mostly due to agriculture; rice patties, cattle, termites and decomposition of dead... ...ns in order to stop the increase. In order to slow the increase, the efficient use of fossil fuels must be adapted. Natural gas gives off very little co2 and methane if burned properly. Deforestation must also be stopped in order to give natural co2 scrubbers, plants, a chance to aid in the process. Governmental programs have also been implemented. A carbon tax has been considered along with the passing of the 1990 Clean Air Act, aimed at lowering emissions and cleaning air pollution. On a world wide scale, the Kyoto Accord in 1997, in which 159 nations agreed to work together to decrease Co2 emissions by 5.5% by 2012. The United States agreed, since it accounts for 25% of the worlds total emissions by 1990 figures, to cut its emissions by 7%. Global warming is still a major issue in world and U.S. politics. Conservatives argue for more market-orientated solutions, resulting in the imposition of taxes, resulting in higher prices for environment polluting goods. Liberals on the other hand advocate stiffer industry regulation and more direct controls. Any action taken, whatever the ideology, can only help to solve an increasing problem but at what cost to the consumer?

Environmental Revolution

The Next Step Broad Social Change Through Personal Commitment Introduction In the last thirty years, America has witnessed an environmental revolution. New laws like the 1963 Clean Air Act and the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act forged new ground in political environmentalism. Social phenomena like Earth Day, organized by Dennis Hayes in 1970, and the beginning of large-scale recycling, marked by Oregon's 1972 Bottle Bill, have help change the way Americans think about the environment. As we approach the third millennium, however, we must reconsider our place on the planet and reflect on our efforts and progress towards a sustainable society. As global warming becomes a scientific reality, natural disasters make monthly appearances in the headlines, and communities continue to find their ground-water contaminated by industrial and nuclear waste, we must ask ourselves: are we doing enough? The environmental movement in the past has largely been a social and political phenomenon. While many of us recycle (yet still only 35 percent of us) and take dead batteries to our town's Hazardous Waste Day, most Americans have not made the environment a personal issue. Very few of us have taken the kind of personal life-changing steps that are necessary to create an environmentally sustainable society. It is simply naive to believe that America's present rates of consumption, waste production, and environmental contamination are sustainable. The kind of social change required can only happen when we as individuals embrace the effort in our everyday lives. Only then will corporate America and the government realize that they too must change to maintain their customer base and public support. This kind of personal commitment to change would also create a new social ethic based on the environment under which people and companies who do not care for the earth would be held socially and financially responsible. In six parts, this article will re-examine our place in the environmental movement and investigate exactly what changes we can make in our personal lives to bring about positive change. These areas are transportation, energy, recycling and waste management, toxins and pollution, food, and water. Some of the changes discussed will require sacrifice. But, more important, these changes will often simplify our lives, bring our families and communities closer together, and help us to better understand, revere, and coexist with the world upon which each of us is directly dependent. Transportation The invention of the automobile is one of history's greatest environmental disasters. The automobile decentralized our society. People with cars moved out of the city and drove to work from their suburban homes. Before the automobile, agriculture was local. Food was grown by farmers living in what was soon to be the suburbs, and delivered fresh to markets in the cities. Because of the short distance food had to travel, farmers didn't need to add preservatives or other additives to maintain freshness. Clearly, the automobile, like other harmful inventions, makes our lives easier in many ways, but how often do we consider the environment when weighing these benefits? Fossil fuels account for the automobile's most significant effect on the environment. Not only are the emissions from cars and trucks toxic to every air-breathing organism, but every step of the fossil fuel process, from extraction to disposal, is bad for the environment. According to the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), millions of gallons of untreated water contaminated by the drilling processes are dumped into waterways and oceans annually. Once extracted, fossil fuels are frequently refined on site, burying 179 million tons of toxic waste annually. During transport, an average of 1 million gallons of oil is spilled into the ocean each month. Upon arrival, fossil fuels are usually burned in automobiles or power plants. The average coal-burning power plant burns about 10,000 tons of coal in a single day. With even a low estimate of five per cent waste, that leaves 500 tons of toxic waste produced each day by a single power plant. If used in cars, oil must be refined further, wasting more energy and creating more toxic waste before drivers purchase it. The combustion engines used in cars and trucks emit toxic gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect and acid rain, deplete the ozone layer, and create more than 50% of the smog producing toxins that city-dwellers breathe every day. Even if we disregard the environmental damage caused by fossil fuels, we should recognize that, as a non-renewable energy source, the earth's reserves will eventually run out. Hundreds of millions of years of organic decomposition will be wiped out in a single century. Conservative estimates say we have 30 to 50 years left of oil use. With more and more developing nations rapidly increasing their use of fossil fuels, and the continuing growth rate of fossil fuel use at four times the population growth, our time with fossil fuels could be significantly less. Just imagine the economic and political upheaval a major oil shortage would cause. Simply put, the country that depends on fossil fuels the least will be the most likely to survive the economic strife and wars resulting from global depletion. Fossil fuel consumption is deeply entrenched in the American mode of life. We rely on automobiles for almost all of our transportation needs, enjoy motor boats and jet skis on our vacations, and use gas-burning engines in most of the tools we use in the yard. (Although electricity is another major consumer source of fossil fuel consumption, that will be discussed in the Energy section. Yet we can make numerous changes in our lifestyle that will significantly decrease our personal consumption of fossil fuels. Let's return to America's biggest weakness: the automobile. Simply not driving is the best and most obvious solution to the problem of automobiles. Americans have gotten used to their cars and seldom walk or bicycle even short distances. Gym class became a federal requirement in the 1930s because students were being driven or riding busses to school instead of walking. Americans have also become significantly more overweight since we started driving. Consider your Saturday errands around town. Most errands we make are to destinations less than a few miles away and frequently involve dropping off or picking up something small. These kinds of errands can just as easily be accomplished by walking or bicycling. Your body will thank you, and so will the environment. Public transport, if available, is also a great way to stay out of the car. Consider an area's public transportation system in choosing a place to live, as some cities have significantly better systems than others. When your destination is too far to walk or bicycle, there are still numerous ways to minimize the use of automobiles. If you drive to work, find other people at your company or other companies near you that live in your town and start a carpool. Even carpooling once in a while makes a difference, so don't get discouraged by occasional scheduling conflicts or other obstacles. When running errands, plan ahead to consolidate them into one trip and consider the most efficient route. If possible, park in a central location and walk to multiple destinations. Ask a neighbor or friend if they need to go out (everybody has to go to the grocery store, for example), and share a ride. For every ride you share, the fuel consumption and emissions for that trip are cut in half. There are also many ways that your driving habits effect the fuel efficiency of your car. Try to avoid fast accelerations, for instance. They use significantly more fuel than gradual accelerations. Likewise, avoid driving at excessive speeds. Every car engine has an RPM (revolutions per minute) at which optimal fuel economy is achieved; you'll find it in your car's manual. Check your tachometer and try to maintain that RPM while driving. Minimizing the work-load on your car is another way to increase fuel economy. Remove any unnecessary heavy objects from the car, and avoid using the air conditioner when possible. Finally, turn off your engine if you expect to be idle for even a short while. Starting a modern fuel-injected car uses less gas than idling for 30 seconds. Did you know that warming up your car by letting it idle in the driveway in cold weather actually causes engine damage? This is also when your car's emissions are at their worst. The best and fastest way to heat up a car is by driving it. When it's time to buy a new car, there are many ecological alternatives to the gas guzzling beasts typically driven by Americans. Many compact cars on the market today achieve stunning fuel economy. The four-wheel-drive trucks so popular in today's market get comparatively bad gas mileage and usually carry one person over a paved road. Buy the smallest car you can, and don't buy a larger car for infrequent needs-consider buying a used trailer for infrequent cargo hauls. If you've been putting off the purchase of a motorcycle as whimsical, think again. Many motorcycles (and scooters in particular) achieve significantly better fuel economy compared to even the most fuel-efficient cars, resulting in less over-all consumption and emissions. Maintenance is the final step in minimizing the environmental impact of automobiles. Modern cars have very sophisticated emissions systems and engines that must be finely tuned to achieve maximum efficiency. Regular check-ups for your car will protect your investment and ensure the car is in its best possible working order. The longer you keep your car, the more value from it you receive and the less waste is created and energy spent in the production of a new car. If you have to commute to work every day, consider an electric car. Electric cars have come a long way in price, distance and efficiency, and will soon be available from large manufacturers like Ford and Toyota. Several small companies around the country convert small gas powered cars and trucks to electric, zero-emissions vehicles and sell them for slightly more than a gas-powered car. As electric cars become more common and are manufactured on a large scale, their prices will drop significantly. Many hobbyists, with no prior automotive or electrical expertise, have created their own electric cars from their used gas-powered vehicles. Check your local library for one of the many conversion guides available. Today's electric cars take about four hours to charge, plugged into a standard outlet, and can go anywhere from 50 to 200 miles on a single charge. While you wouldn't want to take an electric car across the country (though this has been done), their distance per charge is plenty for a typical commuter to get to work and back. Most electric car owners keep a gas-powered car around for longer trips. Owners of electric cars generally find the increase in their electric bill minimal compared to the amount they save in gasoline. While electric cars create no emissions themselves, and create almost no waste (even the batteries are recyclable), the electric company is still burning fossil fuels to create the electricity needed to charge the car. Nevertheless, electric companies are capable of converting fossil fuels to energy much more efficiently and with fewer emissions than a gas-powered car. Electric cars also leave room for improvement in any method of large-scale energy production, such as biomass, hydro, and solar (see the Energy section). This section has focused primarily on cars, but Americans also use many other gas-powered engines. The small engines in motor boats and lawn equipment do not have to meet the emissions standards of cars, and thus, emit far more toxins into the air. Consider using a quiet, powerless mulching mower on your lawn if you have one, and an electric weed whacker rather than one that is gas powered. If you enjoy the water, consider learning to sail rather than motoring. Motorized water vehicles not only emit air pollution, they also pollute the water, contribute to sound pollution, and injure fish and other animals in the water. Energy in the Home Automobiles are not the only consumers of fossil fuels or sources of air pollution stemming from our personal lives. According to the EPA, furnaces, hot water heaters, and other fossil fuel burning appliances in American homes produce 20% of all U. S. carbon dioxide, 26% of sulfur dioxide, and 15% of nitrogen oxide emissions, the leading causes of acid rain and global warming. Note that these figures do not take into consideration the power our homes draw from fossil fuel-burning power plants. By making our homes as energy-efficient as possible and minimizing our personal use of electricity, we can significantly reduce our personal impact on the environment. The main sources of power consumption in our homes are the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Maintaining, repairing, or upgrading these systems will not only save us money, but also reduce the amount of energy needed to run our homes on a day-to-day basis. The EPA's Energy Star Homes program brings environmentally aware developers and manufacturers together to build homes that are better insulated and utilize 90% efficiency or better HVAC systems. If you are looking to build a new home, call their toll-free hotline, (888) STAR-YES, for literature, or save paper and visit their Internet site at www. epa. gov for more information. Unfortunately, building new homes is not an environmentally sound thing to do. New homes require previously undeveloped land or disposal of the property's old construction. Further, new wood and materials must be used unless costly measures are taken to restore materials from an old construction. Beyond environmentally unsound, new construction is many times more expensive and time-consuming than renovation and repair of most existing houses. Even if your house is too costly to upgrade, consider buying an already renovated house or one easily renovated before building new construction. A furnace using heating oil, natural gas, or electricity heats most American homes. Still others use a wood or pellet stove. Of these, electricity is by far the least efficient. One truth of energy conservation is that electricity should not be used to produce heat, whether in a stove, water heater, or central heating. The exception to this is the microwave, which is the most efficient way to heat small amounts of food. Edward Harland's book, ECO~RENOVATION: the ecological home improvement guide, an excellent resource for anyone interested in environmental renovations, provides this revealing chart: Fuel Kg of CO2 Emitted per Useful Kilowatt Delivered (approx. ) Gas 0. 7 Oil 0. 5 Coal 0. 40 Electricity 0. 83 As you can see, electricity is more than twice as polluting as a coal burning furnace. Electricity is even worse if you take into consideration the amount of energy created by nuclear power, which creates nuclear waste instead of carbon dioxide (CO2). There is also a significant amount of energy wasted in cooling power plants and lost in the power grid, which further degrades electricity's viability as an environmentally sound energy source. As the chart shows, natural gas, or methane, is the cleanest burning fuel. While most of the natural gas used in America is drawn from non-renewable reserves, it can be produced renewably through biomass production, a method currently used by China. Methane is produced in massive quantities by decaying waste and agricultural operations, so much that methane is one of the most serious greenhouse gasses. If methane could be captured from these sources, we would be slowing the greenhouse effect and using clean-burning renewable fuel at the same time. For these reasons, if you have an aging or inefficient oil burning furnace, consider converting to an efficient natural gas furnace. Wood or pellet stoves still fuel many homes in America. Wood, if used wisely, is a renewable and relatively clean-burning fuel. While burning wood does produce CO and CO2, new technology allows wood stoves to reuse unspent output by re-burning it before emission. Pellet stoves, quickly replacing log-burning stoves, use pressed recycled paper and wood pulp that look like rabbit pellets. Pellets, while more expensive, are more efficient to burn and take up less space during storage. Before investing in a wood stove, however, be sure to investigate which brands are most efficient and emit the least gases and particulate. Also, wood stoves must be used carefully and maintained properly to avoid inefficient operation, excessive emissions, and leakage of carbon monoxide into the home. The best way to minimize the amount of fuel-produced heat your home requires is to insulate it properly. Insulation is the most important factor in the amount of energy required to heat your home. Consider a hypothetical home with 100% perfect insulation. This home would need to be heated only once, and never again. This puts into perspective the idea that we only need to heat our homes as much as heat escapes to the outside. Most houses in America are poorly insulated at best; only one in four houses have insulated walls. Consider the fuel savings if you increased your home's insulation quality by even 20%, which in many cases is a realistic goal. Initially, insulation costs time and money, but it pays for itself quickly in reduced fuel costs and a warmer, more comfortable home. Unfortunately, the finer points of insulating a home are beyond the scope of this article. An excellent resource on maximizing your home's insulation is Home Insulation by Harry Yost. Your local library should have, if not this book, several books on insulation that will at least get you started. Beyond updating your furnace and insulating your home, consider your personal use of heat in the home. The average American household's temperature during the winter is slowly rising because of increasingly sedentary lifestyles and lighter dress. The healthier we eat and the more exercise we get, the more internal heat our bodies will produce. The more above the outside temperature a home is heated, the less efficient its heating system becomes. If we simply wear more clothes, we will need substantially less heat. Wearing sweaters and slippers, eating nutritious food, and getting plenty of exercise are simple but frequently overlooked ways we can reduce our heating energy needs. Next to furnaces and stoves, the air conditioner is the second most energy-hungry appliance in American homes. Unfortunately, air conditioners rely on lots of electricity, the most polluting form of energy available. The use of air conditioners should be avoided at all costs. If you live in a climate with extreme heat, consider your air conditioner and its placement carefully. The EPA has outlined efficiency standards for most household appliances, air conditioners included. Make sure, if you buy an air conditioner, that it has the EPA's Energy Star mark of approval. This does not mean that the air conditioner is good for the environment, but that it uses its electricity efficiently instead of wasting it as many older models do. If you must have an air conditioner, purchase a small, efficient model and place it in a small, closed-off room where you spend most of your time. Make sure this room does not contain any heat-producing appliances like a washing machine or clothes dryer, and that sunlight does not enter through windows. Under these conditions, air conditioning can be relatively efficient and economical. Central air conditioning, on the other hand, is extremely inefficient and usually goes largely unused. Outside of heating and air conditioning, almost all of the energy used in our homes is electricity. Many Americans take electricity for granted, leaving unused lights and appliances on without thinking. A simple awareness in turning things off can greatly reduce our electric bills. Further, choices can be made in the kinds of lights and appliances we use, and whether they need to be used at all. As for lights, there are several high-efficiency bulbs on the market that, for slightly more money than a typical light bulb, can get by on a fraction of the electricity. Fluorescent lights, for instance, are five times more efficient than incandescent (typical) lights. Standard incandescent light bulbs use electricity to heat a filament that glows to create light, whereas fluorescent lights send very rapid and brief charges of electricity through a filament. The days of flickering long tube fluorescent lights are over. According to Edward Harland, new Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs) flicker at more than 20,000 cycles per second (compared to 60 in tube lights), are 30% more energy efficient than tube lights, and come on almost instantly. These lights, while more expensive, will significantly reduce your electricity bill and last five to ten times longer than standard light bulbs. Before even turning on the lights, make the best possible use of natural light in your home. Place your reading chair by a sunny window instead of in a corner facing out a window. Consider adding skylights to your home. These can create a surprising amount of natural light during the day, and contribute to your house's heat during the winter. Mirrors strategically placed on walls can also make better use of light and heat from the sun coming in through the windows. Use only what electric lighting is necessary: low-wattage task lights for individual applications instead of high power lights to illuminate a large area. If you must use outdoor lights, consider purchasing a motion detector that will turn the light on and off only when it senses movement. When purchasing appliances, check to see that they are EPA Energy Star approved. These appliances use energy more efficiently than others. Most refrigerators, for instance, have compressors at their base which produce significant heat and cause the refrigerator to work against itself. During fair weather, consider drying clothes on a line outside instead of using a dryer, which inefficiently uses electricity to heat cold wet clothes. Your clothes will last longer, and you'll see the difference in your electric bill. When undressing at night, ask yourself whether your pants can be worn again before washing. Americans, in particular, tend to balk at this sort of a suggestion. Allowing ourselves to think logically beyond social qualms and customs will allow each of our personal environmental movements to transcend many of our unsustainable habits. If you work in an office or at home, chances are your clothes aren't that dirty at the end of the day. You'll be surprised at the decrease in your weekly laundry load. The last big source of energy consumption in our homes is our favorite appliance of all. The average American household television is on 7 hours and 20 minutes per day, and 98% of all households have at least one television. At 170 watts per hour, that comes to 452,965 watt hours (or 453 kilowatt hours) of television use per year in an average household using one 25†³ television. Look at the breakdown of your electricity bill to put this number into perspective. You'll see that America could save a lot of electricity and money by simply turning off the television. Instead, we can read a book, go for a walk or hike, work in a garden, or talk or play a game with our families. Quite simply, the less television we watch, the richer our lives will be, the less we will spend on electricity, and the more we will be doing for the environment. All of the information in this section has focussed on minimizing the use of energy in the home. Imagine if you could use electricity in your home without burning any fossil fuels and without any monthly electric bills. This is not only possible, but a reality for thousands of Americans. With one initial investment in a photovoltaic system (silicon cells that convert the sun's light into electricity), you can end your dependence on polluting power companies and begin a new life of clean energy self-sufficiency. You can get started with a simple photovoltaic setup for a single zone of your home for less than one thousand dollars, or go all out with a top-of-the-line fully self-sufficient photovoltaic power center for about $13,000. If these prices sound high, consider the savings. If your monthly electric bill is $100, a top-of-the-line system that requires only a moderate degree of energy efficiency would be paid for in less than eleven years. And there is a whole spectrum of cheaper systems that can easily power a typical home. For less than four thousand dollars (paying for itself in about 3 years) the Real Goods Trading Corporation sells a system â€Å"designed to handle all the lighting, entertainment, and small kitchen appliances for a modest, energy-conserving household of one to four people in a full-time home. † This description is taken from the Real Goods Solar Living Source Book, 9th Edition. This seven hundred page tome covers everything from taking care of the land to water conservation and every alternative form of energy from solar to hydro to wind. It is a must-have for anyone who wants to live lightly on the earth, and is available at most major book stores and libraries. Recycling and Waste Management There is no environmentally sound method of dealing with the 200 million tons of municipal solid waste produced in America each year. There are many things we can do, however, to minimize, if not eliminate, our personal 4 1/2lb-a-day contribution to that figure. The now ubiquitous threesome, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, still defines what we all must do to bring our personal trash production down to a sustainable level. With the media and certain high-positioned nay-sayers claiming that recycling is worse for the environment than it is good for it, and laws making recycling just another stupid rule rather than a social imperative, perhaps a redux of America's trash situation is called for. Households and other residences produce 100 of the 200 million tons of annually produced garbage in the United States. Most of that goes to land-fills, where it is covered up (if not purposefully sealed to prevent leakage) and starved of the oxygen needed for biodegradation. Here is just a taste of some garbage statistics from Geoffrey C. Saign's well-researched book, Green Essentials: More than 1/2 of U. S. landfills have closed in the past 10 years, and nearly 1/2 of the remaining 5,800 landfills do not meet federal or state standards for human health and environmental protection. More landfills are being closed as they fail to meet 1993 and 1994 guidelines and as communities resist allowing new landfills in their area; 22 states will run out of landfill capacity within 10 years or less. The nation's 10 largest cities use a land area for their garbage that is larger than the state of Indiana. And this is just landfills. Incineration is quickly becoming the chosen method of dealing with garbage. Incineration actually concentrates the toxicity of garbage by mixing volatile chemicals at high temperatures and reducing its harmless biomass content. Approximately 1/4 of the ashes produced in a typical incinerator escape into the atmosphere, where they combine with the toxic gases emitted to cause acid rain, smog, and global warming. The remaining ashes are highly toxic and dumped in landfills or stored in toxic waste facilities. A few states mix this ash with pavement, where it will slowly decompose and leach into the ground. The simple fact is that most of this waste could be recycled or composted instead of burned or buried. Green Essentials offers this breakdown of garbage ingredients by weight: Ingredient % by weight Alternative disposal methods available Paper and paperboard 34% Recyclable Yard trimmings 20% Compostable Plastic 9% Recyclable Food waste 9% Compostable Metals 8% Recyclable Glass 7% Recyclable Wood 4% Compostable, can be used as fuel Rubber and leather 3% Recyclable (tires) Textiles 2% Donate Other 4% As this chart displays, 58% (not counting the 3% for rubber and leather) of our garbage is recyclable; 33% of the remainder could be composted. That means that 91% of all the garbage produced in this country (that's about 182 million tons annually) could be kept out of incinerators and landfills. Even a fraction of this ideal estimate would have a profound impact on the environment. Despite the amazing potential for waste reduction that recycling makes possible, The New York Times joined the media's misinformed recycling myth extravaganza in their June 30th, 1996 article, â€Å"Recycling is Garbage. From the beginning, pessimists and special-interest industries have spread incorrect â€Å"myths† about recycling. These claims frequently charge (among other things) that landfill space is abundant and cheap; there is no market for recycled goods; and recycling doesn't pay for itself. Consider the facts on these three points: Landfill space has become a precious commodity in the U. S. , with many states paying to export trash to other states or countries. Recall Geoffrey Saign's statement that â€Å"22 states will run out of landfill capacity within 10 years or less. The market for recycled goods, while fluctuating like any burgeoning market, has increased with the amount of recycled goods available to create a powerful new industry. According to the Environmental Defense Fund, â€Å"U. S. pulp paper manufacturers have voluntarily built or expanded more than 45 recycled paper mills in the 1990's, and are projected to spend more than $10 billion on such facilities by the end of the decade. † To argue that recycling doesn't pay for itself is like arguing that landfills and incinerators don't pay for themselves-of course they don't. Recycling plants, even in the industry's infancy, cost about as much to operate as conventional disposal methods, but are considerably more environmentally sound (costing less when environmental damage and cleanup costs are considered) and reduce pollution from manufacturing and mining for new production. Recycling is an easy thing to do, and good habit to get into as many towns and cities are requiring their citizens to recycle by law or charging by the pound for non-recycled garbage. First, find out what your town recycles by calling your local waste management facility. If your town or city doesn't recycle or recycles only a few materials, consider getting a â€Å"recycling-only† dump permit for a near-by pro-recycling town or city. Next, reorganize your home's main trash area to include receptacles for all the different materials you will recycle. Food containers like tin cans and bottles should be rinsed to keep your recycling receptacles from smelling. You'll be amazed at the decrease in waste the next time you take out the trash. If we make a commitment to recycle our garbage, we must support the effort on the other end by buying recycled goods. Many products' packaging claims â€Å"100% recyclable. † This is good, but keep in mind that it doesn't mean the material is recycled. Look for the percentage of â€Å"post-consumer waste† to tell you if it is and how much of is recycled. Recycled products like paper and cardboard have come a long way in quality and price. Seventh Generation, a producer of a full line of 100% recycled and earth-friendly household products, posts a convincing advertisement on the side of their bathroom tissue packages: If every household in the U. S. eplaced just one 4-pack of 430 sheet virgin fiber bathroom tissues with 100% recycled ones, we could save 1 million trees, 4. 1 million cubic feet of landfill space (equal to 4,618 full garbage trucks), and 427 million gallons of water (a years supply for 12,300 families of four). About 33% of the garbage we produce, like food scraps and yard trimmings, can be composted. Composting is nature's answer to garbage control, converting organic waste back into the soil it came from. While many people compost to create nutrient-rich soil for their garden, you don't have to be a gardener to compost your organic waste. You should cover your compost pile, but not suffocate it. The organic waste needs plenty of oxygen to feed the microbes that decompose the matter. You can build a box for your compost, or buy one pre-made at your local garden shop. Look for an organic gardening book at your library for instructions on building a

Jane Eyre: Feminism

Feminism: Jane Eyre Unveiled Brittney Christensen English 153 Shona Harrison November 15th, 2012 â€Å"Feminism: The advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social and economic equality to men, statuses and classes. † The novel Jane Eyre greatly depicts many forms of feminism throughout, and is an eye opener as to how much time have changed and in a sense stayed the same since the Victorian Era. The thought of being exposed to such standards and conditions at such a young age onward outlines the realest forms of commitment to independence and dignity.Jane is a victim of feminism in the instance that she is subjected to the power of men and also plays the role of a feminist role model shown by multiple examples throughout the novel, whether referring to relationships or to personal attributes. The comparing and contrasting between the other characters and characteristics of the novel also unveil forms of feminism and feministic senses. The word â€Å"fem inist† or â€Å"feminism† is a very obscured word, with many different points of views considering their meanings. In the terms of feminist, â€Å"a doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men. And reference to Jane Eyre, Jane only hopes for equality between men and women, herself in particular, obviously due to the specific situations and circumstances she is exposed to. Jane proposed her acts upon facing women’s rights and equality by enforcing her words and good deeds, proving her lack of ignorance and retaliation. Jane represents a feminist in the Victorian Era, and mainly targeted at younger readers, preferably female considering the context, with the purpose to help the young females learn about maturity, growing up in the world, and the possible variety of obstacles that they may be faced with.With that said, Jane’s actions and words throughout the novel decipher her life and her experiences are what b uilt her courage and strength as a woman. Jane Eyre is proof that love and affection are two things that cannot be bought and that that her courageousness will not be underestimated. Rochester tries to persuade Jane into falling for him by offering her luxurious stones and lavish pieces of clothing. â€Å"Glad was I to get him out of the silk warehouse, and then out of a jeweler’s shop: the more he bought me, the more my cheek burned with a sense of annoyance and degradation. † (Bronte, Page 229).Jane is getting the feeling of aggravation towards Rochester’s offerings in a sense that she does not need nor want such things and refuses to become exposed to the world of the materialistic lifestyle. Her hesitation towards marriage is also expressed in her statement, providing evidence that she does not feel the need to go to these extremes and expenses when it comes to marriage. â€Å"Marriage: the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law. † Nowhere does it state that the experience as a whole has to be lavish, proving Jane’s point of view.Jane, as a feminist believes that everything and everyone can be beautiful without the extent of needing a man and the accommodations and luxuries one has to offer. Jane, being exposed to independence at such a young age gave her the leverage and confidence she needed to stand up for herself and express her view of women’s equality through her eyes. She comes to the consensus about her values and duties of herself as an individual when states, â€Å"I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will keep the law given by God; sanctioned by man.I will hold to the principles received by me when I was sane, and not mad – as I am now. † (Bronte, page 270). This quotation depicts and unveils Jane’s powerful feelings towards how she sees herself and what her morals are versus what they should be. Jane believes to be â€Å"mad†, which refers to the fact that it is somewhat insane that she can love Rochester when he is married to Bertha Mason, someone completely opposite to Jane. Because of Rochester’s argument for her to be with him, Jane’s statement also shows that her realization that Rochester has strong feelings towards her regardless of his current relationship status with Bertha Mason.Jane fears that if she is to lose anything important in her life then that will result in losing Rochester, despite the aspect of negotiating her own feelings. Jane refrains from going with Rochester after this confrontation†¦ â€Å"’You will not come? – You will not be my comforter, my rescuer? – My deep love, my wild woe, my frantic prayer, are all nothing to you? ’ What unutterable pathos was in his voice! How hard it was to reiterate firmly, ‘I am going. â⠂¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬  Jane realizes Rochester’s true love for her, but also realizes that they are not meant to be, or so she thinks.In this instance, Jane is letting feelings between herself and another man jeopardize her life, which goes against her beliefs as well as a woman, although her rejection provides proof that she loves herself more, therefore showing her independence and pride in being a female. â€Å" I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will; which I now exert to leave you. † (Bronte, Page 216). Jane represents many things throughout the novel, mainly her strong feminist side is most relevant until closer to the end part of the novel, where she seems to let â€Å"love† get the best of her.Jane has found herself to fall deeply for Rochester despite her beliefs, she has resisted and now sees him for his true self, money aside. With that said, Jane herself, had not a clue that she would soon be facing some inheritan ce, â€Å"My uncle I had heard was dead – my only relative; ever since being made aware of his existence I had cherished the hope of one day seeing him: now, I never should. And then this money came only to me: not to a rejoicing family, and me but to my isolated self. It was a grand boon doubtless; and independence would be glorious – yes, I felt that – that thought swelled my heart. Jane inherited twenty thousand pounds and now felt as though her and Rochester were socially and economically equal, putting her at ease in a sense referring to her standards. Although Jane’s decision may come across somewhat hypocritical, she still stays true to herself and her feminist ways when she stands up to St. John, the clergyman that provides Jane with a place to stay. St. John is also in love with Jane and wants to be with her, but she does not feel the same way, â€Å"You have hitherto been my adopted brother: I, your adopted sister; let us continue as such: you and I had better not marry. (Bronte 345) Jane is trying to be nice about breaking the news to St. John to show her caring side as a woman, but St. John did not agree with this confrontation, â€Å"I must seek another interest in life to replace the one lost: is not the occupation he now offers me truly the most glorious man can adopt or God assign? It is not, by its noble cares and sublime results, the one best calculated to fill the void left by uptorn affections and demolished hopes? † (Bronte 344) This is one of St. John’s methods as to keeping Jane in his life, by bringing god into the equation, by insinuating that God does not agree with her and that St.John should have her for himself, which Jane really does not agree with, being as she believes in religion separately aside from her feminism beliefs. In a sense St. John’s statement about God made Jane think about how married life actually will be and the possibility of her lack of enjoyment due to the fac t that a label may disrupt the actual love. Despite St. John’s feelings, Jane knows where he heart is and stays true to her own feelings, showing her independence as a female. In terms of women’s and men’s rights, views on the issue can arise in a variety of opinions due to the difference in peoples views.The two main men characters in the novel, Rochester and St. John really enhanced Jane’s inner feminist by each pulling out specific traits in her that portrayed what she really believed in and what it takes to alter them; traits such as independence and personal strength as a woman, providing a learning experience from experiences. Jane grows to be able to form her own opinions and stand up for what is right in her eyes while still staying true to her beliefs as a feminist. Jane Eyre not only sets goals for herself, but also for other females, being such a great role model proven through her life choices and acts of strength. If I told anything, my tale would be such as must necessarily make a profound impression on the mind of my hearer: and that mind, yet from its sufferings too prone to gloom, needed not to deeper shade of the supernatural. I kept these things, then, and pondered them in my heart. † (Bronte 381) This really summarizes Jane’s journey from a girl to a woman, and is an inspiring and knowledgeable story. Work Cited Bronte, Charlotee. Jane Eyre. New York: W. W . Norton & Company, Inc. 2001. Eagleton, Terry. â€Å"Jane Eyre’s Power Struggles. † Myths of Power: A Marxist Study of Bronte.Totawa, NJ: Barnes and Noble Bookes, 1975. Rpt. In Bronte 491-496. Web. 14 Nov. 2012. â€Å"Feminism. † Collins English Dictionary. 2009. William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd 1979, 1986. Web. 14 Nov 2012. Roberts, M. J. D. â€Å"Feminism and the State in Later Victorian England. † The Historical Journal, Cambridge University Press. MLA Online Book. Vol. 28, No 1. pp. 85-110. Mar. 1995. Web. 15 Nov. 201 2. Garton, Stephen. â€Å"The Scales of Suffering: Love, Death and Victorian Masculinity. †, Taylor & Francis Ltd. MLA Online Article. Vol. 27, No. 1. (Jan. 2002), pp. 40-58. Web. 15 Nov. 2012.