Renewable Energy:
Why Cant the U.S. Be Like Norway?
Norway seems to have it right in this age of energy conservation and constant search for renewable energy. The United States, is totally caught up in the consumption of various fossil fuels such as oil and coal, which puts them in the category of one of the most pollutant countries in the world, along with China. Why does renewable energy interest me? Because if the United States were able to find a renewable resource that is very abundant in their region, costs of literally everything would steadily decrease. No longer would it cost an arm and a leg to purchase a tank of gas. Instead of costly natural gas that heats our houses in the winter, and coal that provides electricity to our cities, we could be using some kind renewable energy.
The renewable resource used in Norway is Hyrdro-electric, basically water. According to an energy summary of Norway, 99.4 % of their electricity comes from hydro power. That is literally their entire power source. That means they are super clean as far as polluting the planet. Even though a lot of the U.S. is powered by huge nuclear power plants, they have to deal with where to put the toxic bi-product.
The other nice thing about getting most of your energy from a renewable resource is that it enables Norway to sell off a large portion of their gas and oil. According to OPEC, Norway is the 3rd largest net exporter of oil, making them one of the wealthiest nations in the world.
The argument against renewable resources in the United States is that it is not cost effective, that it costs more to run than it brings in. In my opinion this argument is pathetic. The energy corporations are set in their ways and at the time being making record profits from the high price of oil. All it would take is some money to invest in technology that would make cost effective for mass population to use. The United States is full of renewable such as wind and water, sunlight, geothermal energy, all it is going to take is a little effort on our part and public awareness to make it happen.
Source:
“Energy Summary Norway.” Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum. Dec 28, 2005. Sept 24, 2007. http://www.cslforum.org/norway.htm
What’s The Deal with Bottled Water?
The issue of bottled water has ignited over the last 10 years. It seemed to become the new big thing not just throughtout the U.S. but the world due to its convenience and so called high quality, as opposed to tap water. I feel that water is a huge environmental issue because it is THE fundamental issue to sustaining life. According to the United Nations, water is a fundamental right to all citizens of earth, and this bottled water phenomenon is truly effecting the world. According to my research, bottled water is seriously effecting our environment.
The United States consumes an estimated 8 billion gallons of bottled water this year, equating to roughly $11 billion dollars in revenue. However the real statistic is the 1.5 million barrels of oil it takes to produce the plastic bottles. That oil could be used elsewhere, especially with the price of oil nowadays.
Another point is the direction the corporations are leaning toward water. According to the yearly numbers, there is a huge amount of money to be made in the water industry. Which brings us to the point of privatizing water; which would make it more feasible for the large corporations to make larger profits. Anytime large mega corporations get involved in issues like this, they seem to just see the dollar sign and will do whatever it takes to earn a buck; if that means depriving a poor malnourished child water, so be it. As I have said before water is a fundamental right, and should not be taken away to be sold for profit. Therefore I believe that the United Nations and other powerful entities should set in before its too late and regulate the amount of bottled water made so that the environment is not hurt and all the people the world have free and public access to quality water.
Sources:
Paulson, Tom. “Thirst for Bottled Water may be hurting environment.” Seattle PI. April 19, 2007. Sept 24, 2006. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/312412_botwaterweb.html
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Position Essay
Professional Sports Contracts:
Pro sports today are a growing form of entertainment, and therefore the athletes should get paid accordingly, just like Hollywood movie stars. Movies stars also provide a form of entertainment, and get paid quite well for it. In today’s society there is a growing demand for pro sports and thusly pro athletes have seen a sharp increase in salary due to the multi billion dollar TV contracts, endorsements and sponsorships, and 24 hour media coverage.
However some members of society believe athletes are financially compensated way too much. They claim that our hard earned money and time could be spent elsewhere; with your family etc. According to critics of sports, there is no reason why a person should get paid millions of dollars to play a “sport,” because sports do not positively benefit society whatsoever. The sharp increase in player salaries, which has deeply disturbed critics, is totally societal. . The key element in all of these is that the common man supports it weather he or she likes it or not through watching TV ads and buying the products.
Sponsorships and endorsements are a large reason for higher paychecks for athletes. It helps individual sport athletes more than athletes on team sports. For the individual players, the endorsements are the bulk of their income. Tiger Woods for example made $12 million in winnings and $75 million in endorsements. Other sports like tennis and auto racing also rely on sponsorships because they don’t know when their next payday is going to come. If you consistently finish in the lower half of the field, you are not going to survive in the industry very long. Sponsorships that can be seen on cars or what type of clothes you where can keep you in the game for an extended period of time.
The expanding media coverage of pro sports can be directly correlated with the rise in player salaries. The three major channels (NBC, CBS, ABC) have invested billions of dollars in various sports, ranging from golf to baseball to hockey. Cable TV is another big reason for the media coverage. ESPN is a huge reason why. ESPN was the first all sports network. It covers the widest variety of sports which helps smaller sports come to the national forefront. A person can be caught up with the day in sports by watching it for as little as 5 minutes. TV contracts tie in with pro sports contracts because the larger the TV contract, the more money and owner will receive from the league. This allows the owners and general managers to pay players a higher amount of money.
Professional athletes should get paid the amount they do because as long as people are willing to support for it, why not? The media gets on their case for making too much money; however if you turned it around and the media received the same amount there would be no complaints. Athletes are just another target of jealous citizens who instead of doing something constructive; complain about the successful. Some people just seem to have enough time on their hands to attack anything they don’t like, and that is quite saddening. Overall, pro contracts are on the rise. Despite what the critics think, they will probably continue to do so, because of both the hardcore fans support thru attending and also the unknowingly supportive fan who might not attend the games, but supports pro sports by purchasing advertised items and watching TV on a daily basis.
Pro sports today are a growing form of entertainment, and therefore the athletes should get paid accordingly, just like Hollywood movie stars. Movies stars also provide a form of entertainment, and get paid quite well for it. In today’s society there is a growing demand for pro sports and thusly pro athletes have seen a sharp increase in salary due to the multi billion dollar TV contracts, endorsements and sponsorships, and 24 hour media coverage.
However some members of society believe athletes are financially compensated way too much. They claim that our hard earned money and time could be spent elsewhere; with your family etc. According to critics of sports, there is no reason why a person should get paid millions of dollars to play a “sport,” because sports do not positively benefit society whatsoever. The sharp increase in player salaries, which has deeply disturbed critics, is totally societal. . The key element in all of these is that the common man supports it weather he or she likes it or not through watching TV ads and buying the products.
Sponsorships and endorsements are a large reason for higher paychecks for athletes. It helps individual sport athletes more than athletes on team sports. For the individual players, the endorsements are the bulk of their income. Tiger Woods for example made $12 million in winnings and $75 million in endorsements. Other sports like tennis and auto racing also rely on sponsorships because they don’t know when their next payday is going to come. If you consistently finish in the lower half of the field, you are not going to survive in the industry very long. Sponsorships that can be seen on cars or what type of clothes you where can keep you in the game for an extended period of time.
The expanding media coverage of pro sports can be directly correlated with the rise in player salaries. The three major channels (NBC, CBS, ABC) have invested billions of dollars in various sports, ranging from golf to baseball to hockey. Cable TV is another big reason for the media coverage. ESPN is a huge reason why. ESPN was the first all sports network. It covers the widest variety of sports which helps smaller sports come to the national forefront. A person can be caught up with the day in sports by watching it for as little as 5 minutes. TV contracts tie in with pro sports contracts because the larger the TV contract, the more money and owner will receive from the league. This allows the owners and general managers to pay players a higher amount of money.
Professional athletes should get paid the amount they do because as long as people are willing to support for it, why not? The media gets on their case for making too much money; however if you turned it around and the media received the same amount there would be no complaints. Athletes are just another target of jealous citizens who instead of doing something constructive; complain about the successful. Some people just seem to have enough time on their hands to attack anything they don’t like, and that is quite saddening. Overall, pro contracts are on the rise. Despite what the critics think, they will probably continue to do so, because of both the hardcore fans support thru attending and also the unknowingly supportive fan who might not attend the games, but supports pro sports by purchasing advertised items and watching TV on a daily basis.
Week 3 Questions
Shitty First Drafts
The authors writing style is quite helpful because of its personal style. She is able to get her point across because I believe that people can relate to her. She puts this very frustrating topic into terms people can understand. Just take for example her title, “Shitty First Drafts,” I don’t know how many times I have felt the same way. There has been countless times, my first draft has been like a death sentence; not wanting to continue due to it’s imperfections. She believes that the first draft of a paper is the toughest part; but it still needs to be written. All writers feel the same way, and over time and countless drafts, there will be a polished product. All drafts must start with a horrible beginning, but one needs to start somewhere. Overall Lamott was able to simplify the process of draft writing, hopefully leading to higher quality essays in the future.
Iraq Cartoon
Mr. Fiore, in creating this cartoon, is attacking the current administration on its position on Iraq and how the situation might be in the future, after a new president is elected. In this cartoon, he portrays Dick Cheney as the new president. The main point that Cheney is making throughout the cartoon, is that they are still in Iraq to protect it against Iran, who could potentially be the United States new “foe.” The argument is somewhat convincing because the administration has “flip flopped” on their reasoning for the invasion of Iraq and Fiore seems to think their new reason is because of Iran.
A person disagreeing with this cartoon might argue that this is obviously just a liberals attack on Dick Cheney for being a “war hawk.” None of the comments made by the cartoonish Cheney are truthful and reasonable; and in all a fairness are false and inaccurate. A true politician would chalk this up as just another attack at a persons character by the opposite party.
Britney Spears
This cartoon is an attack on Britney Spears. She was once an up and coming pop singing star; with the voice, looks, and wholesome image. Once she became a huge celebrity, the “lifestyle” seemed to get to her. She has been all over not only tabloids but the news, for things ranging from heavy drinking, to child endangerment. What was once a childhood icon and role model has turned into to truly a young parents worst nightmare!
The authors writing style is quite helpful because of its personal style. She is able to get her point across because I believe that people can relate to her. She puts this very frustrating topic into terms people can understand. Just take for example her title, “Shitty First Drafts,” I don’t know how many times I have felt the same way. There has been countless times, my first draft has been like a death sentence; not wanting to continue due to it’s imperfections. She believes that the first draft of a paper is the toughest part; but it still needs to be written. All writers feel the same way, and over time and countless drafts, there will be a polished product. All drafts must start with a horrible beginning, but one needs to start somewhere. Overall Lamott was able to simplify the process of draft writing, hopefully leading to higher quality essays in the future.
Iraq Cartoon
Mr. Fiore, in creating this cartoon, is attacking the current administration on its position on Iraq and how the situation might be in the future, after a new president is elected. In this cartoon, he portrays Dick Cheney as the new president. The main point that Cheney is making throughout the cartoon, is that they are still in Iraq to protect it against Iran, who could potentially be the United States new “foe.” The argument is somewhat convincing because the administration has “flip flopped” on their reasoning for the invasion of Iraq and Fiore seems to think their new reason is because of Iran.
A person disagreeing with this cartoon might argue that this is obviously just a liberals attack on Dick Cheney for being a “war hawk.” None of the comments made by the cartoonish Cheney are truthful and reasonable; and in all a fairness are false and inaccurate. A true politician would chalk this up as just another attack at a persons character by the opposite party.
Britney Spears
This cartoon is an attack on Britney Spears. She was once an up and coming pop singing star; with the voice, looks, and wholesome image. Once she became a huge celebrity, the “lifestyle” seemed to get to her. She has been all over not only tabloids but the news, for things ranging from heavy drinking, to child endangerment. What was once a childhood icon and role model has turned into to truly a young parents worst nightmare!
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Reading Responses Week 2
America, The Sexist Fascist State:
According to the author of this article, the United States has become a nation obsessed with surveillance, weather that is by video camera, paparazzi, etc.. Thousands of government workers at various agencies sit at their little desks and stare into a monitor, which provide very little real intelligence dealing with homeland security. Mark Morford feels that the world is becoming a disturbing face, where peoples personal information is being released throughout the world through various methods, such as the internet and the millions of security cameras around the world.
One of his arguments focuses on the effectiveness of security cameras. The author uses the United Kingdom as an example. The country has over 4 million CCTV cameras and do not seem to deter crime at all. There is not enough manpower to efficiently run a good surveillance unit.
Morford firmly believes that this uprising of surveillance is in fact an invasion of our privacy, but the public doesn’t seem to mind. This bothers the author, because instead of solving problems before they start, society agrees to spend millions of taxpayers dollars on technology that does not solve crime, but watches it.
This author is obviously a liberal, due to his harsh criticism of President Bush throughout the article. He states that hysteria created by “Bushco” has continued to feed the obsession with surveillance. Morford is definitely trying to persuade the audience of this article into blaming the current administration for this invasion of privacy, but stops short on coming up with one solid reason as to why.
Hog Futures:
This article has to do with the ability of higher corn prices to affect the meat industry. The author’s argument is that even with the increased corn prices in today’s marketplace, the meat industry seems unaffected. This is due to a number of reasons; the exportation of larger amounts of meat to international markets, the ability to sell their meat to large retailers for a higher price, ultimately putting the higher corn cost onto consumers of meat. These high costs also affect the workers, who are non-union. These poverty stricken workers are forced to live near meat processing plants, which tend to be located in trashy areas with bad living conditions.The author assumes one knows about the increase in corn prices last fall and what might happen.
Tom Philpott, the author of this article is trying to bring attention to this powerful industry that seems to be able to do anything it wants to both the environment and the working class population in the areas of operation. People are living in unhealthy communities and are not being just fully compensated for it. The author does do a decent job of informing a total newcomer to the meat processing industry of the atrocities being committed by these powerful corporations.
According to the author of this article, the United States has become a nation obsessed with surveillance, weather that is by video camera, paparazzi, etc.. Thousands of government workers at various agencies sit at their little desks and stare into a monitor, which provide very little real intelligence dealing with homeland security. Mark Morford feels that the world is becoming a disturbing face, where peoples personal information is being released throughout the world through various methods, such as the internet and the millions of security cameras around the world.
One of his arguments focuses on the effectiveness of security cameras. The author uses the United Kingdom as an example. The country has over 4 million CCTV cameras and do not seem to deter crime at all. There is not enough manpower to efficiently run a good surveillance unit.
Morford firmly believes that this uprising of surveillance is in fact an invasion of our privacy, but the public doesn’t seem to mind. This bothers the author, because instead of solving problems before they start, society agrees to spend millions of taxpayers dollars on technology that does not solve crime, but watches it.
This author is obviously a liberal, due to his harsh criticism of President Bush throughout the article. He states that hysteria created by “Bushco” has continued to feed the obsession with surveillance. Morford is definitely trying to persuade the audience of this article into blaming the current administration for this invasion of privacy, but stops short on coming up with one solid reason as to why.
Hog Futures:
This article has to do with the ability of higher corn prices to affect the meat industry. The author’s argument is that even with the increased corn prices in today’s marketplace, the meat industry seems unaffected. This is due to a number of reasons; the exportation of larger amounts of meat to international markets, the ability to sell their meat to large retailers for a higher price, ultimately putting the higher corn cost onto consumers of meat. These high costs also affect the workers, who are non-union. These poverty stricken workers are forced to live near meat processing plants, which tend to be located in trashy areas with bad living conditions.The author assumes one knows about the increase in corn prices last fall and what might happen.
Tom Philpott, the author of this article is trying to bring attention to this powerful industry that seems to be able to do anything it wants to both the environment and the working class population in the areas of operation. People are living in unhealthy communities and are not being just fully compensated for it. The author does do a decent job of informing a total newcomer to the meat processing industry of the atrocities being committed by these powerful corporations.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
The Challenge of Online Education
The Challenge of Online Education
Taking an online course can be a challenging task. Someone might be taking one because they have a scheduling conflict, work during the day, or just want one extra class to add the transcript. What people don’t know is how hard an online class really is; not necessarily because of the content, but because of the ability or lack there of of time management. The basic skills for a student taking an online class are time management, through discipline, and decent computer knowledge.
Time management is crucial to the success of an online class. Just because someone doesn’t have to attend class two or three times a week, doesn’t mean they are excused from class work. A person taking an online class is expected to spend multiple hours on the computer reading and submitting work as laid out by the instructor. Some people believe that even more time needs to be spent on an online class than a regular one. The ability to manage enough time in our busy lives to work on the weekly assignments is the best way to be successful in an online course.
Discipline factors in as well. When your friends want to go out, but you put off your work the entire week, you need to have the discipline to stay in for the night and finish up what was assigned.
Lastly, at least for this class, computer knowledge is required. The course work is all found online, and if someone didn’t have access to a computer, they would surly be out of luck. A good basis of skills needs to be learned before one can succeed in an online class.
Overall many contributors factor into becoming a good online student. Computer skills, time management, and discipline all play a vital role in finishing an online course with a good grade. Hopefully this essay will provide some insight into what it takes to become a good online student.
Taking an online course can be a challenging task. Someone might be taking one because they have a scheduling conflict, work during the day, or just want one extra class to add the transcript. What people don’t know is how hard an online class really is; not necessarily because of the content, but because of the ability or lack there of of time management. The basic skills for a student taking an online class are time management, through discipline, and decent computer knowledge.
Time management is crucial to the success of an online class. Just because someone doesn’t have to attend class two or three times a week, doesn’t mean they are excused from class work. A person taking an online class is expected to spend multiple hours on the computer reading and submitting work as laid out by the instructor. Some people believe that even more time needs to be spent on an online class than a regular one. The ability to manage enough time in our busy lives to work on the weekly assignments is the best way to be successful in an online course.
Discipline factors in as well. When your friends want to go out, but you put off your work the entire week, you need to have the discipline to stay in for the night and finish up what was assigned.
Lastly, at least for this class, computer knowledge is required. The course work is all found online, and if someone didn’t have access to a computer, they would surly be out of luck. A good basis of skills needs to be learned before one can succeed in an online class.
Overall many contributors factor into becoming a good online student. Computer skills, time management, and discipline all play a vital role in finishing an online course with a good grade. Hopefully this essay will provide some insight into what it takes to become a good online student.
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