Environmental Quality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Environmental Quality - Essay Example te continues to warm, there will be important ramifications for our planet’s ecosystems, human health, agricultural production, precipitation and glacial retreat. While unanimity on the causes of global warming does not exist, there are arguably many causes of this phenomenon, both natural and human made. For some, global warming has been going on for centuries and is a natural property of the earth. Natural causes of global warming include methane gas which is released from the earth’s arctic tundra and wetlands. As a greenhouse gas, methane traps heat in the atmosphere of the earth. As the effects of global warming are being witnessed across the planet, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is acting to address this important issue. The following will explore climate change and global warming and demonstrate how the EPA is working to combat this important challenge (BBC, 2002). From a human-made perspective, there are many things that we humans do that contribute to global warming. The EPA states that the greenhouse effect is caused by the presence in the earth’s atmosphere of certain gases which transmit energy to the surface of the Earth and temporarily absorb heat, which retards the loss of energy to space. The greenhouse effect is caused by the emission of greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are an important cause of global warming and in the United States about 40% of all carbon dioxide emissions are the result of burning fossil fuels to generate electricity. Accordingly coal is accounts for approximately 93% of all emissions for the purpose of electricity generations. Power plants emit carbon dioxide as does the burning of coal. Carbon dioxide is also emitted from cars and the burning of gasoline to fuel our cars. Accordingly, the United States of America is the largest global consumer of oil, consuming 20 .4 million barrels per day. It is estimated that 33% of all US carbon dioxide

Free

Freedom of Speech vs. Censorship Essay Adopted in 1791, the First Amendment, states â€Å"Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.† (Pilon) The freedom of speech documented in the First Amendment is not only a constitutional protection but also an inevitable part of democratic government and independence, which are essential values in society. â€Å"Censorship,† according to Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, â€Å"is an almost irresistible impulse when you know you are right† (Sunstein). That is why the American citizen’s right to free speech should be held as the highest virtue and any censorship of freedom of speech should not be allowed, however, should be respected. Freedom of speech is essential part of democratic government because the only way truth can emerge when there is an open competition of ideas. However, there is a strong support of censorship when people start mentioning extremely offensive opinions. Should the freedom of speech be limited in this case? The answer is â€Å"No†. â€Å"If liberty means anything at all,† writes George Orwell, â€Å"it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.† (Cox) If we want to enjoy the freedom fully, the full protection should be given to the freedom of speech; there are no compromises about it. Freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment is not just a right, which can be declared or abolished. According to the â€Å"liberty theory,† proposed by some lega l scholars, freedom of speech is an essential part of the liberty of every person who pursues an individual self-determination and self-realization (Cox). Thus, freedom of speech is also a global right one that permits freedom of personal development and self-expression. Another theoretical ground to support the freedom of speech is called â€Å"tolerance theory.† It holds that the ability to teach and promote tolerance is one of the most important assets of freedom of speech (Cox). From this perspective, freedom of speech itself excludes any type of intolerance, which sometimes appears in a threatening form (religious intolerance, racial intolerance). The â€Å"tolerance theory† implies self-restraint, which is the only appropriate response to any ideas, even those that we may personally may dislike or hate. The â€Å"tolerance theory† provides a broader context for exercising tolerance in a conflict-ridden democratic society. Furthermore, in legal practice there are certain restrictions on freedom of speech imposed by the Supreme Court. They define a few categories of speech, which are considered not to be fully protected by the First Amendment. These categories include defamation, advocacy of imminent illegal conduct, obscenity and, fraudulent misrepresentation (Farber). However, if the speech does not fall within one of these categories, there are no grounds for the government to argue that freedom of speech should be restricted because of its harmful content. One of the common bases for partial censorship is proof that the freedom of speech causes imminent illegal action. The Supreme Court has already drawn a careful line between general abstract theories and political dissent on one hand and particular illegal acts incitement on the other. This line is drawn by definition of â€Å"clear and present danger† test (Farber). The government cannot sue the speaker on the basis of its tendency or possibly illegal conduct incitement. Before any speech is punished on the grounds of incitement, there is an obligatory three-part criterion that should be met. First, the speech must directly incite lawless action. Second, the context of speech must imply imminent breaking of the law, rather than call for illegal conduct at some indefinite future time. At last, there should be a strong intention to produce such conduct (Farber). Such â€Å"clear and present danger† test determines the level of probability of threat imposed by the speech in question. However, the evil, which the government tries to prevent by outlawing the advocacy, does not outweigh the harm of outlawing the free speech. Only when the imposed danger becomes evident, the freedom of speech may be questioned. We must be aware that the price for preventing several cases of the openly declared illegal conduct may be paid by restriction of one of the most essential rights that constitute freedom for the entire nation. For the wellbeing and public safety, the Supreme Court has imposed certain regulations on the freedom of speech not because of its content, but because of the time, place and, manner the speech is being expressed (Farber). The court pointed out in Snyder v. Phelps (2011) that one way to ascertain whether a restriction is content-based versus content-neutral is to consider if the speaker had deliver a different message under exactly the same circumstances (Supreme Court of the United States). However, these rules do not limit the actual freedom of speech and are not even upheld, if there is no public need for this. However, concerning the content-neutral regulation, it raises many controversial issues. The content-neutral regulation requires a very careful distinction and therefore may sometimes be misinterpreted. There is a raising concern that such regulation may weaken people’s right to participate, especially if the government puts too many restrictions on how the ideas should be voiced. Thus, by analyzing the current issues concerning the First Amendment right to free speech in the United States, I wanted to show the perspective of outlawing this right, and the negative aspects t hat such outlawing may involve. Freedom of speech has served a crucial role for the right to dissent and for the entire principle of democracy in our society. This law was developed during the course of American history and only after numerous struggles it was achieved. The evolution of this law is still in progress however, the limitation of the basic right to free speech may as well limit our freedom and democracy, therefore should be respected and protected. Works Cited Cox, A. A Freedom of Expression. Cambridge: Harvard University, 1981. Print. The Declaration fo Independence and the Consitituion fo the United States. The Declaration fo Independence and the Consitituion fo the United States. By Roger Pilon. N.p.: Cato Institute, 2000. 1-10. Print. Farber, D. The First Amendment. New York: Foundation Press, 1998. Print. Sunstein, C. Democracy and the Prolem of Free Speech. New York: Free Press, 1993. Print. United States v. Kozminski 487 U.S. 931 (1988). U.S. Supreme Court, n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/487/931/. United States. Supreme Court. Supreme Court of the United States of America. Supreme Court of the United States of America, Oct. 2010. Web. 1 May 2013. http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/09-751.pdf.

Martin Luther King :: essays research papers

April 12, 2005   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to Lewis, Martin Luther King, JR’s goals and tactics can be divided into two periods, before Selma and after. The first period is distinguished by a decade of pioneering protest tactics in use to accomplish conventional citizenship rights for Afro-Americans. The second, less than three tumultuous years, was a time of nontraditional tactics in search of progressively more fundamental goals for the larger society. The first was moderately triumphant, but its accomplishment highlighted what yet lingered to be done before the poor, the powerless, and the racially disadvantaged could begin to attain equality of opportunity in America (Lewis, 245).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second period was distinct by comparative disappointment, and its heritage was the foresight of political power and economic welfare upon the poor, the powerless, and the racially disadvantaged. In the first period, King and his allies brought about the beginning of the violated community. In the second, the distant prospect of their adored society disappeared at Memphis. The magnitude of the decade ending with Selma was in the extensive repercussion of the protest (Lewis, 245).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Martin Luther King, JR was chosen as leader for the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) over many other civil rights activists. Not only was he probably the best person to lead their boycott, but he was the person â€Å"best suited to become the leader of the larger struggle for racial rights† (Lewis, 246) . For the Montgomery’s Afro-Americans, in order to resist successfully, it must be nonviolent and passive.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1956, King, along with several allies, entered a public bus in front of his house. It was the start of community harmony. Inspired by King’s personal courage, despite â€Å"jeopardized jobs, intimidation by the Ku Klux Klan, and harassment by the police and bombsâ€Å" (Lewis, 246). A city regulation was called upon to ban organized taxi transport of bus boycotters. With money raised in the vicinity and from gradually increasing donations from national labor, libertarian, and religious organizations, the MIA bought many vehicles. The city wanted and got an accusation of King and more than eight other MIA members for planning to intervene with standard business activity. Sentencing by the Montgomery court and appeal to the federal courts followed. Just as MIA leaders awaited the expected unfavorable decision from the municipal court on November 13, â€Å"the U.S. Supreme Court decreed Alabama’s state and local laws enforcing segregation on buses unconstitutional† (Lewis, 246) .

Saving a Friend from Suicide Essay -- Personal Narrative Essays

Saving a Life My stomach weakens with a thought that something is wrong, what would be the answer I could have never been ready for. I call my best friend late one night, for some reason she is the only person’s voice I wanted to hear, the only person who I wanted to tell me that everything will be okay. She answer’s the phone and tells me she loves me, as I hear the tears leak through, I ask her what is wrong. The flood gates open with only the horrid words â€Å"I can’t do this anymore†. My heart races as I tell her that I am on my way, what I was about to see will never leave my thoughts. As I arrived at her apartment she didn’t answer the door, I just went in. I walked down the hall way into her bedroom where she had pills and a beer and a list wrote out to make sure this would be her last recipe, a recipe of death. All I could do was yell, â€Å"What the hell are you thinking, he is not worth your life!† I started grabbing the pills, putting them back in a container and taking the beer. I hid the pills in my purse and went to get water. I begged with her to drink the water and remind... Saving a Friend from Suicide Essay -- Personal Narrative Essays Saving a Life My stomach weakens with a thought that something is wrong, what would be the answer I could have never been ready for. I call my best friend late one night, for some reason she is the only person’s voice I wanted to hear, the only person who I wanted to tell me that everything will be okay. She answer’s the phone and tells me she loves me, as I hear the tears leak through, I ask her what is wrong. The flood gates open with only the horrid words â€Å"I can’t do this anymore†. My heart races as I tell her that I am on my way, what I was about to see will never leave my thoughts. As I arrived at her apartment she didn’t answer the door, I just went in. I walked down the hall way into her bedroom where she had pills and a beer and a list wrote out to make sure this would be her last recipe, a recipe of death. All I could do was yell, â€Å"What the hell are you thinking, he is not worth your life!† I started grabbing the pills, putting them back in a container and taking the beer. I hid the pills in my purse and went to get water. I begged with her to drink the water and remind...

Ikea’s Global Sourcing Challenge: Indian Rugs and Child Labor Essay

IKEA is a Swedish company producing home furnishing products at low prices. The company was founded in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad and kept growing tremendously from 2 stores in 1964 to 114 stores in 1994. It’s very useful to mention the ikea’s vision that says â€Å"Creating a better life for the many people† for understanding the deep credo of saving cost among all the departments of IKEA, everything that IKEA does has the aim of reducing price to the customer. Besides its success stories, the company has faced environmental and social issues. The environmental issue of Formaldehyde was solved but sales dropped by 20% in Denmark. In 1992, the company got the same issue, which cost IKEA around $7 million. IKEA learned a lesson; publicity can bring a big loss in sales, not considering the damage to the brand image. In the spring of 1995, another film is threaten to be shown on German television about children working at looms at Rangan Exports, an Indian company used by IKEA, and the producer then invited IKEA to send someone to take part in a live discussion during the program. These events urged the company to consider environmental and social issues more seriously. It is very important to focus to the long term contract that IKEA establishes with its suppliers, in fact they promote â€Å"to develop long-term business partners†, and they also say â€Å"†¦ We are in this for the long run† always with the aim of reducing cost and creating a faithful relationship. On the process of globalization, IKEA needs to get the cheapest suppliers and therefore goes to countries that offer cheap labor. When IKEA set its suppliers in these countries, it could not avoid these problems. The fact that IKEA does not have its own manufacturing facilities; instead it uses subcontracted manufacturers all over the world for supplies makes it more complex and difficult to keep track of the company’s suppliers and subsuppliers (almost 2300 suppliers in 70 countries and a range of 11200 products). It is even more difficult to keep track of children working in homes where whole families worked on looms from the subsuppliers’ level. The best strategy is to avoid social and environmental issues right from the beginning as when these issues emerge, they immediately affect the products’ sales tremendously. To avoid this threat of loss in profit, IKEA may consider withdrawing from India. However, if IKEA withdraws from India market, it will lose a big opportunity of cheap labor and put the company at disadvantage position as other competitors accessing the same opportunities to compete for lower product prices. IKEA therefore should not look for a new business opportunity by leaving India but keep up with the trend and get ahead of the issue and its rivals. Some people may argue that if the company is actively involved with the issue, it may have a drop in profit compared to its competitors. The threat may be true in the short term also because of the clause of cancellation of the contract. However, IKEA can turn the threat into a big opportunity in the long term by actively involving and publicizing its achievement whit the website and display advertising in the stores to let customers appreciate the effort ,as done before with the forest issue. The strict partnership with all suppliers doesn’t permit IKEA to abandon one of his supplier when problems occur, the supply network will be scared from the behavior of the company when an help is needed; in fact IKEA says that â€Å"We do not buy from our suppliers. We buy unused production capacity† in this way we can observe that the suppliers depends from IKEA. To go or not to go to the show? If the show ensure IKEA the possibility of speaking freely and to defend itself, so to be able to speak and give further explanation of the problem, they should go; if the show doesn’t ensure any freedom of speaking and the show will be only a â€Å"public pillory†, IKEA should not go and do a press conference the day after, where it will explain deeply the press release and all the intention of IKEA for the future. For this complex situation, it is recommended that IKEA should join the program. The company had gained already some positive achievements to the child labor issue since the problem was first raised by Swedish television. IKEA could discuss the information it had collected so far from UNICEF, Swedish Save the Children and the ILO and show it had the same attitude as the director of the documentary film as well as reaching the same goals of deleting child labor. It could show its appreciation to the director for helping spot the child labor at the company’s manufacturer and emphasizing that the company is going to analyze the case more deeply. IKEA possibly mentions its spirit of not avoiding mistakes to search for creative solutions. Moreover with a carefully considered plan, participating in the television program would help save the brand and image. After the television program, IKEA needs to come up with a solution for the case and the long-term strategy to deal with child labor issue, and admitting that the clause of the contract was too strict, and it would be better to establish a plan (3-5 years) for the future with those countries. Barner should make a trip to Rangan Exports and investigate the case entirely and get in touch with the reality of the facts. All the children working there should be collected and offered education opportunities (Corporate Social Responsibility, Citizenship of the company). The company needs to create its own children budget to help children found working. By this way, IKEA could continue its relationship with its suppliers (most of them are in developing countries), calling for the cooperation from suppliers to allow IKEA’s professional random inspection. Working with Rugmark is another good option if IKEA can make sure the child labor problem is under control. Because IKEA does not have its own manufacturers and gets its supplies from other suppliers, it is challenging for IKEA’s ability to manage and control the whole production process. Unless IKEA can be sure that there’s no child labor in the company, it is encouraged to allow Rugmark to monitor the use of child labor on IKEA’s behalf. If IKEA follows the steps explained above, it will improve its level of social responsibility and sustainability. The company could advance itself to the even higher level, an interactive level, by executing more assertive and precise plans. The interactive level promises a long-term advantage in brand image and profit as done before with the â€Å"going green† program. As child labor is considered â€Å"Indian culture†, it requires a lot of time, energy and finance to make progress. The company needs to work tightly with UNICEF, NGOs, and Save the Children Alliance to learn from each other. In India, because of economic initiatives, families send children to work. Therefore, to help improve the situation, IKEA need to fund a budget in the need of education for those families. Besides, the company should lobby to coerce the government to get involved more actively in the process. In the long run, family income boosting plans need to be implemented to obtain a better standard living for Indian families as poverty is the root of the problem.

Free Essays on Ethnic Cleansing

Jon Giraudo Ethnic Cleansing Ethnic cleansing is a term that most people in the United States find unfamiliar. This seems a bit odd, being that ethnic cleansing is the way in which we acquired this fine nation from the natives that had been living here for who knows how long. While researching this topic, three definitions seemed to stand out in best describing this atrocity. Ethnical cleansing: 1) â€Å"is the systematic removal of a group of people identified by ethnicity from a certain area. This may be done through genocide (killing) or forced migration,† 2) â€Å"the removal or extermination of a racial or cultural group,† and 3) â€Å"the mass expulsion and killing of one ethnic or religious group in an area by another ethnic or religious group in that area.† It is safe to say that the term ethnic cleansing is a euphemism. It is euphemistic because the term cleansing implies something good. Murdering of women and children, or the act of genocide does not sound like a righteo us act of cleansing. This paper is not a cry out for the loss of the Native American people’s land, but to illustrate the fact that ethnic cleansing is not merely limited to everywhere in the world except the United States. It is true that there is a constant battle that certain ethnic groups must fight in countries such as Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, Yugoslavia, and several others, but northern Americans are no strangers to this battle. The act of ‘population removal’ has been happening since the beginning of time, however, the following pages will be used to give an account of the situations contained in United States history. The Trail of Tears illustrates ways in which the North American legal system has been known to systematically violate their own laws in the expropriation of Indian land. In the early nineteenth century powerful Indian nations, including the Creeks, Cherokee and Chickasaw, constructed elaborate constitutions and c... Free Essays on Ethnic Cleansing Free Essays on Ethnic Cleansing Jon Giraudo Ethnic Cleansing Ethnic cleansing is a term that most people in the United States find unfamiliar. This seems a bit odd, being that ethnic cleansing is the way in which we acquired this fine nation from the natives that had been living here for who knows how long. While researching this topic, three definitions seemed to stand out in best describing this atrocity. Ethnical cleansing: 1) â€Å"is the systematic removal of a group of people identified by ethnicity from a certain area. This may be done through genocide (killing) or forced migration,† 2) â€Å"the removal or extermination of a racial or cultural group,† and 3) â€Å"the mass expulsion and killing of one ethnic or religious group in an area by another ethnic or religious group in that area.† It is safe to say that the term ethnic cleansing is a euphemism. It is euphemistic because the term cleansing implies something good. Murdering of women and children, or the act of genocide does not sound like a righteo us act of cleansing. This paper is not a cry out for the loss of the Native American people’s land, but to illustrate the fact that ethnic cleansing is not merely limited to everywhere in the world except the United States. It is true that there is a constant battle that certain ethnic groups must fight in countries such as Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, Yugoslavia, and several others, but northern Americans are no strangers to this battle. The act of ‘population removal’ has been happening since the beginning of time, however, the following pages will be used to give an account of the situations contained in United States history. The Trail of Tears illustrates ways in which the North American legal system has been known to systematically violate their own laws in the expropriation of Indian land. In the early nineteenth century powerful Indian nations, including the Creeks, Cherokee and Chickasaw, constructed elaborate constitutions and c...

Essay on California or Oregon

Essay on California or Oregon Essay on California or Oregon Arlene Sage David Sours Language Arts 29 April 2014 California or Oregon If you are looking for great climate, awesome nightlife, and a high end lifestyle, then San Diego County is the place for you. If four seasons, the great outdoors, and a more moderate living is more your thing, then Jackson County may just be the place for you. Sunshine, sunshine, sunshine!!!!! That’s what you get in San Diego County†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 300 days on average as a matter of fact! Although the average daily temperature most of the year is a beautiful 71 degrees, the winter temperatures can possibly dip to a chilling 58 degrees. With weather like that, it makes it easy to enjoy the vast array of things to do year round in San Diego County. San Diego County offers every kind of activity imaginable; amusement park attractions, unlimited outdoor recreation, sightseeing tours, top rated restaurants, a thriving arts and culture community, 70 miles of beaches, countless parks and gardens, and a variety of spas. You can find all these things at www.meetmeinsandiego.com. To enjoy all the amenities San Diego County has to offer though, you’ll need to take advantage of the lower unemployment rate of 6.9% and the higher average income of $64,000 (www.researchstlouisfed.org). Depending on what your career or occupation may be, the drive time to work may be a bit longer than expected, averaging at 25 minutes, but just think of the beautiful scenery you get on your way! Summer, winter, spring and fall†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.Jackson County has them all! Summer time average temperature is 73.3 degrees while average winter temperature is about 36.8 according to www.jackson.or.us. Even though there is lots to do in Jackson County, the winter driving conditions make enjoying a lot of these activities challenging. Summertime activities include boating and fishing on many of the beautiful lakes and rivers, and camping at one of more than 250 camping sites. The popularity of these campgrounds is enhanced by all the attractions available to campers, including beaches, boating, full-service marinas, nature trails, golf and more that are only minutes away from the campgrounds, according to â€Å"What to do in Jackson County†. More summer activities include music at the Britt Festival, sightseeing around the many National Parks, and enjoying the numerous historical sites that Jackson County has to offer. Winter activities are a bit more limited to skiing, snowboarding, snow shoeing, sledding, and the good old fashioned â€Å"building snowmen in your own front yard†. Life in Oregon is a bit more laid back and slower paced, including the economy. Unfortunately the unemployment rate is hovering at 10%