Acid Rain And North America Essays - Environmental Chemistry

Acid Rain And North America In the past century, one of the greatest threats to North America's aquatic ecosystem has been the widespread acidification of hundreds of thousands of waterways. Acid rain has effected plant and animal life within aquatic ecosystems, as well as microbiologic activity by affecting the rates of decomposition and the accumulation of organic matter. What causes this poisonous rain, and what can be done to improve North America's water quality and prevent future catastrophes? To answer these questions, we must first examine the cause and formation of acid rain, as well as understand ways to decrease or prevent its formation. Formation of acid rain. Acid deposition, more commonly known as acid rain, occurs when emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) react in the atmosphere with water, oxygen, and oxidants to form acidic compounds. This mixture forms a mild solution of sulfuric and nitric acid which then falls to the earth in either wet (rain, snow, sleet or fog) or dry (gas and particles) form. Approximately one-half of the atmosphere's acidity falls back to earth through dry deposition in the form of particles and gases, and are then spread hundreds of miles by winds where they settle on surfaces of buildings, cars, homes, and trees. When acid rain falls, the dry deposited gases and particles are sometimes washed from buildings, trees and other surfaces making the runoff water combine with the acid rain more acidic than the falling acid rain alone. This new combination is referred to as acid deposition. The runoff water is then transported by strong prevailing winds and public sewer systems into lakes and streams. Although some natural sources such as volcanic eruptions, fire and lightening contribute to the emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere, more than 90% is the result of human activies such as coal burning, smelting of metals such as zinc, nickel and copper, and the burning of oil, coal and gas in power plants and automobiles. When does rain become acidic? Scientists determine whether rain or lake water is acidic by measuring its pH (the measure of acidity or alkalinity of a solution on a scale of 0 to 14). A value of 7 is considered neutral, whereas values less than 7 are acidic and values over 7 are alkaline or basic. A change of one unit on the pH scale represents a factor of ten in acidity; for example, a solution with a pH of five is ten times as acid as one with a pH of six (Somerville, 1996, p.174). Normal or clean rainfall--without pollutants--is slighty acidic due to carbon dioxide, a natural gas in the air that dissolves in water to form weak carbonic acid. But rain, snow, or other moisture is not called "acid rain" until it has a pH value below 5.6 (Gay, 1992, p.44). Rainfall in eastern North America is often acidic with a pH of 4 to 5. Why is North America greatly at risk? Acid rain is more common in the Eastern U.S. and Canada than in the Western U.S. because emissions rise high into the atmosphere and are carried by prevailing winds from the west, falling out with precipitation in the east. Some areas in the U.S. where acid rain is most common include the New York Adirondacks, mid-Appalachian highlands, and the upper Midwest. Canada shows an even greater threat with half of its acid deposition caused by a large amount of metal smelting industries in Ontario and the other half attributed to pollution from combustion in U.S. factories in Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Missouri, West Virginia, and Tennessee. Most lakes have a pH between 6 and 8; however, some are naturally acidic even without the effects of acid rain. Lakes and streams become acidic (pH value goes down) when the water itself and its surrounding soil cannot buffer, or shield, the acid rain enough to balance its pH level. In areas such as the northeastern United States and parts of Canada where soil buffering is poor, many lakes now have a pH value of less than 5. One of the most acidic lakes reported is Little Echo Pond in Franklin, New York, which has a pH of only 4.2. In New York's Adirondack region, acid deposition has affected hundreds of lakes and thousands of miles of headwater streams, while 300,000 lakes in eastern Canada are now vulnerable to acid deposition. How does Acid Rain effect Aquatic Ecosystems? As lakes and streams become more acidic, the amount of fish, aquatic plants and

How to Avoid Sexist or Gendered Language

How to Avoid Sexist or Gendered Language How to Avoid Sexist or Gendered Language It was once, as James Brown sang, a man’s world. But things have changed. Women have fought against discrimination and taken their rightful place in politics, academia, business, and many other areas of life. But old attitudes live on in language. As such, we have to be careful about our word choice so that we don’t accidentally exclude or insult anyone based on sexist or gendered language. Here are some things to watch out for. Misogynistic Language It should hopefully go without saying, but some terms are inherently sexist. It would be unusual to use these in academic or formal writing, so we won’t dwell on them for too long. But in case you’re not sure, referring to Boudica as â€Å"some old hag who fought the Romans† will not win you high marks for a history essay. And not just because it’s too informal. Not a lady to mess with unless you like being run down in a chariot. Now we’ve got that out of the way, let’s look at some trickier cases of sexist and gendered language, including pronouns and generalizations. Gendered Pronouns and Words The most common problem we see, especially in academic writing, is use of gendered language. Pronouns are a great example, since the male pronouns â€Å"he† and â€Å"his† were often used to refer to any non-specific person in the past. As such, you might find sentences like this in older books: How someone solves a problem may depend on his past experience. However, the author is not discussing an actual, specific man in this case. They are just referring to a person in general, so using â€Å"his† excludes anyone who doesn’t identify as a â€Å"he.† It would be better, then, to use â€Å"his or her,† the singular â€Å"they,† or plural terms: How people solve problems may depend on their past experiences. In this sentence, we avoid gendered language, making it more inclusive. Similar problems pop up with other terms, especially those that include the word â€Å"man.† Usually, these can be avoided by picking a different word. Instead of â€Å"policeman,† for example, you could say â€Å"police officer.† And instead of â€Å"mankind,† you could say â€Å"humanity.† This doesn’t work for every word, though! The term â€Å"manhole,† for example, is still widely used. You can call it a personhole if you like, but we dont recommend it. Subtly Sexist or Gendered Language Similar issues can arise with how we describe people of different genders. A classic example is the word â€Å"bossy,† which tends to be applied to women more than men (who are instead more usually described as â€Å"assertive†). It can be a good idea, then, to think about the descriptive terms we use when writing about people. Ask yourself, â€Å"Would I use this word if the person was a different gender?† This will help you catch subtly sexist or gendered language that you might not usually be conscious of using. Avoiding Generalizations As well as being careful about picking your words, take care not to make hasty generalizations based on sex or gender. These could be sweeping statements about a whole gender (e.g., â€Å"All men are lazy†). But they can also be stated less clearly. For instance, we might say the following of someone: Despite being a man, Daniel is not lazy. In this case, the main clause â€Å"Daniel is not lazy† is fine. But by framing it in terms of â€Å"being a man,† we imply that all (or most) men are lazy. Likewise, look out for positive stereotypes, such as: Rachel will be a good instructor because women are naturally nurturing. Here, the idea of women being â€Å"nurturing† is presented as a positive. But the idea of women as â€Å"maternal† or â€Å"nurturing† may imply other negative stereotypes (e.g., that women can’t be tough or logical). As such, we should avoid such generalizations even if they’re meant to be positive! It is much better in most cases to discuss people as individuals than representatives of a gender. And if you need any help coming up with alternatives to gendered language in your writing, it never hurts to have a professional proofreader check your documents.

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Case study - Essay Example o 600,000 sterling pounds, adding this amount to the working capital of 180,000 pounds amounts to an initial cost of 780,000 pounds. The overheads have been adjusted from the previous 47,000 pounds to 30,000 pounds in a year. Question One b i) Pay back Year Cash flow ? (?000) Cum. CF ? (?000) 0 (600) (600) 1 147,000 (453) 2 157,000 (296) 3 157,000 (139) 4 187,000 48 5 187,000 23 3 years and (139/ 187) x 12 3 years and 8.9 months ii) Net Present Value Year Cash flow ? DF 12% PV ? 0 -600,000 1.000 -600,000 1 147,000 0.893 131,271 2 157,000 0.797 125,129 3 157,000 0.712 111,784 4 187,000 0.636 118,932 5 187,000 0.567 106,029 The net present value is -6,855 pounds. Question One C Using NPV to make decisions regarding the investment of a project is advantageous in that the NPV takes into consideration the time value of money and gives priority to the risks that will be involved as well as the profitability of the project. A negative NPV implies zero returns therefore I would advice the ma nagers to reject the project. Question Two Whenever a bank is granting or making a loan facility to a client, a number of factors are considered by the authorizing persons. These are the factors that do determine whether the client is eligible to receive the loan or not. Factors sometimes do vary depending on whether the client is a person or a business. The bank looks at the credit history of the borrower. The history of the client’s credit situation is based on the score or the rating that is mostly done by agencies, for instance, Transition. The credit score that a client is awarded determines the eligibility to receive the loan facility. The bank acquires the commercial credit report from an agency on the company’s credit history. The reports normally comprise of the payment history information, past credit scores and information on the public filings done (Crawford 2013). Existence or occurrence of negative information from the report for instance late payments or tax liens outstanding degrades the company credit score. The most obvious response from thee bank is seeking an explanation from the company regarding the occurrence. The advice given to the company is to review a copy of the report, after requesting it from the agency responsible. This gives the company the opportunity to correct any discrepancies that exist. The business credit reports are bases on the tax allegiance (Crawford 2013). The bank also looks at the financial position of the company. The bank normally request to be provided with the latest statements that justify the working capital. Working capital ranges from the current assets to first hand cash to the availability of finances to pay the current debts without affecting the normal running of a business. Working capital defines what is left after deducting all the current liabilities. When the working capital is inadequate, the Implication of the assumptions to be made is that the firm or business is facing the risk o f collapsing. The consequence of this is facing a rejection on the

The various theoretical approaches to Employment Relations all fail to Essay

The various theoretical approaches to Employment Relations all fail to provide an adequate explanatory framework for the development and practise found within this function of management. Discuss - Essay Example (Dodge, 1997) These companies do not discover these characteristics on a resume, so they employ behavior-based interviews as well ad in depth interviews of their pertinent candidates. Southwest gathers a group of job candidates in a room and observes how they interact. They ask them questions that will reveal personality traits. (Woog, 1998) Consistent feedback is a key element in keeping employees stuck to their respective jobs. This feedback should go both ways and recommends that managers ask employees open-ended questions to provide an opportunity to express their opinions. Employees today will change jobs many times during their careers. These workers are continuous learners and they keep pace with change, take responsibility for their own careers and are committed to the company’s success. (Nink, 2006) Talent management is a function of HR that needs identification of true talent and retaining of employees who work within their instinctive levels, let alone show prowess which is best suited for meeting the desired needs of the HR function. The role of the government in such an exercise is all the more significant since it has to realize that its role is significant right from the onset. The relationship between the organization and the government is one of a symbiotic one since the organization has to recog nize the talent pool which is available and the government needs to make viable conditions for them to exist and work in the best manner possible. (Bell, 2001) The role of HR thus is to liaison these activities in the best interests of the organization as well as the linkage that it has with the government. This helps the overall mission and vision basis of the organization and helps develop the objectives on a long term basis more than anything else. The need is to realize that talent management can truly play a pivotal role

Computer Motherboard (Descriptive) Essay Example for Free

Computer Motherboard (Descriptive) Essay Motherboard Motherboard acts like the arteries of a human taking the blood all over allowing the blood to travel. It has many line-like structures that are like the veins and the arteries. These lines are the wires mounted on the motherboard that keep thousandths or even millions of connection. Motherboard is a small yet powerful device inside the computer system. The motherboard has three cards on it. First, the graphics card, it is like the eyes of the computer, it acts like the eye that saw and reflects images to the screen. Second, the sound card it is the mouth of the computer, it sends sound to the speaker, it shouts what the computer says. And the third, the modem, the nose of the computer. It sniffs messages from the wires coming from the telephone lines. If there’s a blood, there’s also the heart. The processor of the computer acts as the heart of the computer. It has a square-shaped chip that has many pins. It sits on the motherboard controlling all the cards including the motherboard. It controls, allows, and restricts information that is being disseminated into the system like the heart. It also has a heat sink and a fan keeping the processor cool. To be able to complete the system, it also has the brain. Hard disk serves as the brain of the computer. It is rectangular in shape. Inside it, there’s a mirror-like disk where all the information are stored. The disk spin at greater speed, depending on the information /data is being written into the disk. Motherboard is also consists of chips, transistors, and capacitors. It is the other component of the motherboard that acts like the organs of the system. These chips may be small as a grain of rice and bigger as a coin. Transistor is a small, black in color and rectangular in shape. It is sometimes recognizable because of its three metal legs attached on it. Transistors is consists of thousand or even million of IC (Integrated Circuit) packed in one part. And the capacitors are like tanks attached in the motherboard. It varies in size; it may be small, medium or large depending on the voltage and its capacitance. Motherboard is consists of millions of chips, transistors and IC’s. It acts like the body of the computer. Without it, the computer will not work. It is like the trunk of a tree. It is an amazing thing that has millions of wires attached in a small board. It is powerful and fundamental part that the computer will not work without it. Reference: * Motherboard. Retrieved from http://www. en. wikipedia. org/wiki/motherboard

Overpopulation, Population Control and Public Policy Essay -- Explorat

Overpopulation, Population Control and Public Policy The population explosion in the last one hundred years is a well-documented, and well-examined subject matter. All sorts of agencies have devoted time and resources to studying, problematizing, and strategizing in order to deal with the threat of overpopulation. Diverse groups, including the United Nations, have developed plans to encourage population control and decreased fertility rates. I will not go into the specifics of these plans here, as I will be examining them in detail in my presentation next week. However, I will say that population control in Third World nations have become an essential component of public policy, and have taken on many forms around the world. However, it seems possible that we are all jumping the gun. What if the population explosion is a self-correcting problem? There is some evidence that global fertility rates are naturally declining, even in areas without family planning and population control. Could the improved health and education in many countri es be achieving this goal without specific population control measures? Or else, are changes in the environment simply lowering human’s fertility? In addition, some people argue that it doesn’t matter how whether the population is exploding. There are those proponents of the â€Å"tech-fix,† who believe that human ingenuity is capable of dealing with any human population, and therefore the population explosion is not a problem. Malthusians are faced with many opponents in the modern day, and it does not seem to be likely that experts will reach a consensus on the danger of population growth any time through. However, I am not sure that this should put an end to the notion of family planning and popul... ...gnificantly positive benefits around the world. First, it may be able to slow the spread of AIDS and other STDs by spreading knowledge and condoms to places where the AIDS virus is prevalent. In addition, birth control and family planning is a key element in the improvement and increase in women’s rights. I do believe that a women’s right to reproductive freedom was a monumental victory for the feminist movement here in America. In addition, the benefits of birth control to women’s physical health are also very important. The decrease in number of pregnancies, and the increase in time between births are important in making childbirth safer and healthier for women. Population control may be useless and unnecessary when it comes to actually addressing the â€Å"population explosion,† but it produces positive side-benefits that may be as important as its primary objective.

Response to Beauty and the Beast

In every culture and throughout every generation the presence of fairytales and folklore has been evident, because just as each culture has its own morals and manners, so does every culture need its own fairytales to represent what is important to those people at that time in that place.While there are many fairytales told to children around the world every year, there are none so famous as Beauty and the Beast by Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont, a story in which a young maiden who is kind-hearted and loving to her father learns to love and appreciate a Beast, looking beyond his appearance to his soul.This fairytale represents a great deal of the important morals and values that are important to every generation, especially during the time it was written. The basic belief in goodness, faithfulness to one’s family, and the ability to love someone for who there are and not what they are becomes the themes of this fairytale, and the interpretation of its meaning becomes apparen t through analyzation of the characters and their actions. Fairytales can tell us a great deal about the time and place in which it was developed.Beauty and the Beast was written in 1756 by a French writer living in England and was based upon a folktale that was well-known at the time. The author wrote it to be included in a book for use by governesses when teaching their young female scholars â€Å"of quality†, and therefore by analyzing it the audience can learn about the types of lessons that would have been taught to young girls. All of the major characteristics expected of young women are embodied by the character of Beauty: selflessness, studiousness, a love of reading, hard-working, and devoted to her father and family.Young girls would have been able to look up to a character like Beauty, and society would have encouraged girls to be like her. The main character, after all, is faithful to God, obedient to her father, and compassionate to her family despite the fact he r sister’s are selfish and jealous. She works hard even when her father loses their fortune and she is forced to run a household without luxury. The story also stresses the importance of keeping one’s promises.In the one instance where Beauty does not keep her promise to return to the Beast in one week she is overcome with guilt and runs back to him, to find that he is nearly dead because of loneliness for her. When she does the right thing and keeps her word, she is rewarded with the Beast becoming a prince who gives her his kingdom. During a time and in a place where a girl’s formal education was more geared towards rearing them to be good daughters, wives, and mothers than scholars, these traits would have resonated with the girls who were looking for heroes to mirror themselves after.Like any good fairytale, Beauty and the Beast involves romance. Each generation loves romance and loves the thought of falling in love and of a young woman meeting her prince. I n this particular fairy tale, that is slightly different because the love interest isn’t a handsome prince at first, but a Beast. At first the Beast appears to be kind: caring for he father when he ends up stranded at the castle, leaving him food, and providing a place for his horse to stay. Yet, when the father picks a rose for his daughter Beauty we see the angry, frightening side of the Beast.With Beauty, however, we only see the caring side during their long conversation every night at 9 o’clock, when he would join her for a meal. Beauty describes him as being â€Å"kind and good, and that is sufficient†. Every night he would ask her to marry him, having fallen completely in love with her for her beauty and her kindness of heart. When Beauty decides to marry him for his goodness and is able to overlook his appearance and his lack of sense, Beast turns into a handsome prince and Beauty is given a kingdom to rule next to him.This romantic aspect of the story h as drawn in many fans, but it also conveys an important message to those who read it and use it as a moral allegory. The story is meant to show that it is not what is on the outside that counts, but what is on the inside. This theme is one of the oldest and most cliched, but it is a lesson that was thought to be important to young people hundreds of years ago, as well as today. Literature from this period and of this type is known for its symbolism and this demands interpretation to understand how it all fits together.The first object that requires a deeper look is the rose, which becomes the thing that creates the entire storyline. When Beauty’s father leaves and he asks his daughter what she wants him to bring back, she asks simply for a rose. When her father takes the rose from the Beast’s garden he is confronted by the Beast, who says that he loves his roses more dearly than anything, and that in payment he demands either the father’s life or one of his daug hters.Of course, Beauty submits herself to whatever fate she will have at the Beast’s hands, but what is interesting about the rose is that she becomes, in a way, the Beast’s most prized possession, much like the rose itself. At the end of the fairytale the two greedy sisters are turned into statues by the fairy, who says they will remain that way until they repent of their wrongs and so they can always see Beauty’s joy.The morals of the time would have taught young women to not be selfish, and that being that way would turn them into bitter old women, just as the sisters are turned into statues. The fairytale of Beauty and the Beast is one that is widely known and loved. Movies, books, and cartoons have all been made based on it, and in terms of literature, it holds up as a story that is beautiful and that would have been used to teach morals and values to generations of young women.While times change and the definition of womanhood changes with it, the values taught within Beauty and the Beast are not all to be disregarded. The idea that we can fall in love with someone for who they are and not how they look is one that still resonates, and the ability to be the best we can be and do what is right is also a value that everyone should embody. This story was meant as a moral allegory to young women and children, and today it still stands up as a fairytale to be told through the ages.