Thermoplastic vs. Thermoset Resins (Composites)

Thermoplastic  polymer  resins are extremely common, and we come in contact with thermoplastic resins constantly. Thermoplastic resins are most commonly unreinforced, meaning, the resin is formed into shapes and have no reinforcement providing strength. Examples of common thermoplastic resins used today, and products manufactured by them include: PET  - Water and soda bottlesPolypropylene - Packaging containersPolycarbonate - Safety glass lensesPBT - Childrens toysVinyl - Window framesPolyethylene  - Grocery bagsPVC - PipingPEI - Airplane armrestsNylon  - Footwear Many thermoplastic products use short discontinuous fibers as a reinforcement. Most commonly fiberglass, but  carbon fiber  too. This increases the  mechanical properties  and is technically considered a fiber reinforced composite, however, the strength is not nearly as comparable to continuous fiber reinforced composites. In general, FRP composites refers to the use of reinforcing fibers with a length of 1/4 or greater. Recently, thermoplastic resins have been used with  continuous fiber  creating structural composite products. There are a few distinct advantages and disadvantages thermoplastic composites have against thermoset composites.​ Advantages of Thermoplastic Composites There are two major advantages of thermoplastic composites. The first is that many thermoplastic resins have an increased impact resistance of comparable thermoset composites. In some instances, the difference is as high as 10 times the impact resistance. The other major advantage of thermoplastic composites is the ability reform. See, raw thermoplastic composites, at room temperature, are in a solid state. When heat and pressure impregnate a reinforcing fiber, a  physical change  occurs; not a chemical reaction as with a thermoset. This allows thermoplastic composites to be reformed and reshaped. For example, a pultruded thermoplastic composite rod could be heated and remolded to have a curvature. This is not possible with thermosetting resins. This also allows for the recycling of the thermoplastic composite at end of life. (In theory, not yet commercial). Properties and Benefits of Thermoset Resins Traditional Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites, or FRP Composites for short, use a thermosetting resin as the matrix, which holds the structural fiber firmly in place. Common thermosetting resin includes: Polyester ResinVinyl Ester ResinEpoxyPhenolicUrethane The most common thermosetting resin used today is a polyester resin, followed by vinyl ester and epoxy. Thermosetting resins are popular because of uncured, at room temperature, they are in a liquid state. This allows for convenient impregnation of reinforcing fibers such as fiberglass, carbon fiber, or Kevlar. As mentioned, a room temperature liquid resin is easy to work with. Laminators can easily remove all air during manufacturing, and it also allows the ability to rapidly manufacture products using a vacuum or positive pressure pump. (Closed Molds Manufacturing) Beyond ease of manufacturing, thermosetting resins can exhibit excellent properties at a low raw material cost. Properties of thermoset resins include: Excellent resistance to solvents and corrosivesResistance to heat and high temperatureFatigue strengthTailored elasticityExcellent adhesionExcellent finishing (polishing, painting, etc.) In a thermoset resin, the raw uncured resin molecules are crossed linked through a catalytic chemical reaction. Through this chemical reaction, most often exothermic, the resin creates extremely strong bonds with one another, and the resin changes state from a liquid to a solid. A thermosetting resin, once catalyzed, it can not be reversed or reformed. Meaning, once a thermoset composite is formed, it cannot be remolded or reshaped. Because of this, the recycling of thermoset composites is extremely difficult. The thermoset resin itself is not recyclable, however, there are a few new companies who have successfully removed the resin through pyrolization and are able to reclaim the reinforcing fiber. Disadvantages of Thermoplastics Because thermoplastic resin is naturally in a solid state, it is much more difficult to impersonate reinforcing fiber. The resin must be heated to the melting point, and pressure is required to impregnate fibers, and the composite must then be cooled under this pressure. This is complex and far different from traditional thermoset composite manufacturing. Special tooling, technique, and equipment must be used, many of which are expensive. This is the major disadvantage of thermoplastic composites. Advances in thermoset and thermoplastic technology are happening constantly. There is a place and a use for both, and the future of composites does not favor one over the other.

The Ethical Teachings Of Judaism - 1390 Words

Environmental ethics is the attempt to define a system of values to guide humans in the way that they treat the natural world. In Judaism, humankind are viewed as having an extremely significant relationship with the environment and Jews believe that God created the earth and everyone on it. Therefore because of this, it is important as adherents of Judaism to take care of the environment and use God’s creation sustainably. The midrash states that once the world is destroyed the damage is irreparable. It is therefore our responsibility to prevent this from happening by following the ethical teachings that Judaism provides. Judaism effectively provides a number of ways to teach adherents ethical guidance towards the environment to prevent harm, which can be seen through the sacred Jewish texts and its ethical teachings. Jewish texts are the sources of Jewish teachings and significant in their understanding of what is ethical, as the writings are designed to guide adherents thro ugh their lives in accordance with God’s wishes. Sources include biblical, rabbinic, liturgical, mystical and commentator sources. Judaism is a religious tradition that effectively demonstrates ethical teachings and adherents are guided to live ecological lifestyles in accordance to these ethical teachings, which also help to respond to current environmental issues. In Genesis 1:26, humans were given the authority to â€Å"rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over allShow MoreRelatedEssay on The Core Ethical Teachings of Judaism529 Words   |  3 PagesThe core ethical teachings of Judaism are the Commandments of the Torah, the Prophetic Vision and the Book of Proverbs. These ethical teachings are all ultimately derived from the Jewish Bible or Tanakh. The importance of these teachings are to provide Jewish adherents with informed moral choices. One of the most important ethical issues that a Jewish adherent may face is pollution, decisions must be made in favor of methods that involve less rather than greater destruction to the earth because accordingRead MoreJudaism : The Dynamic Nature Of Judaism957 Words   |  4 PagesJudaism The dynamic nature of Judaism offers a successful living religion as a result of its strongly withheld characteristics. Through essential characteristics such as central beliefs, sacred texts, writings, ethical teachings and rituals and ceremonies, Judaism offers a dynamic nature and liveable religion that connects an individual and society with its roots. The way this living religion advances and grows is because of its dynamic characteristics as a whole. Importantly, these characteristicsRead MoreEssay about Jewish Sexual Ethics1295 Words   |  6 PagesSexual ethics provide a framework for Jewish conduct so that the tradition may continue in stability and morality Evaluate the accuracy of this statement. Sexual Ethics are integral to Judaism because they provided direct guidance on how to behave morally and in accordance with the Torah and God. Although, over many years Jews were suffering from persecution, they are currently showing stability which can be attributed to the framework that is outlined through the strong ethics that theyRead MoreJudaism Essay943 Words   |  4 Pagesrise to Judaism after the destruction of the temple and the exile of Judah in 586 BC. The term Jew, in its biblical use, is almost exclusively postexilic. The Jewish religion of the biblical period evolved through such historical stages as the intertestamental, rabbinic, and medieval to the modern period of the nineteenth century with Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Judaism. Along the way Jewish religion took on new teachings and practices. But with the lengthy development of Judaism and itsRead MoreEssay on Comparison of Judaism and Islam1508 Words   |  7 PagesComparison of Judaism and Islam Because of the history of political and religious warfare that has separated them, the underlying unity of Judaism, and Islam is seldom recognized except by scholars. Yet these two great world religions have the same origins, the same central belief in monotheism, and to a large extent the same genealogical and scriptural authorities. It is in a greater sense a tale of two sons or two brothes. It is not surprising that these religions should share a commonRead MoreThe Middle East: The Birthplace of Three Major World Religions834 Words   |  4 PagesEast. Those religions are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Although on the surface, these three religions seem quite unrelated, they are actually intricately bound together and very similar. No matter how different the practices and beliefs of Jews, Christians, and Muslims may seem, these three religions are similar because they all began in the same region and built upon similar beliefs. Since the Middle East is the birthplace of thre e related major world religions: Judaism, Christianity, and IslamRead MoreJudaism Significant Person: Isaiah 20/20914 Words   |  4 Pagesperson ‘Isaiah’, explain the contribution to the development and expression of Judaism and analyse the impact of this person on Judaism. The prophet Isaiah played an important role in the development and expression of Judaism as a dynamic, living religion through the impact of his works. The impact of Isaiah is evident in both the development and expression of Judaism both in his time and in modern society, as his teachings, for the Jewish people, prove to be relevant to the times. Considered amongRead MoreThe Wolf Shall Lie With Lamb And Leopard With The Kid1369 Words   |  6 Pageswithout violence that is attributed to the ethical values of Judaism. Upon further research including an ethnographic study it was clear that followers of Judaism truly value the culture of non-violence. It is these ethics and values within the Judaistic tradition for the development of non-violence that are invaluable for contemporary society as they help to create a safer civilisation. Firstly, the Torah or Hebrew bible has many different examples and teachings on violence, non-violence, punishmentRead MoreThe Issue Of Abortion : Comparative Views1393 Words   |  6 PagesThe Issue of Abortion: Comparative Views in Judaism and Islam In our present day, physicians and patients alike have concentrated on establishing a set of universal standards to guide clinical decision making. However, these standards ignore the critical role of religion in dealing with such bioethical issues. As abortion continues to turn into a more prominent topic of discussion and debate, it is critical for us to understand these religious belief systems in order to cross over value conflictsRead MoreWomen And The Jewish Religion979 Words   |  4 Pagesspecific role it allows them to carry out specific duties and obligations. Each religion has a certain way they perceive and treat certain people. It can be based on class, intelligence or even gender. Gender plays a big part in how a society is run. Judaism is one religion where â€Å"it believes, and continues to maintain, that within its religious life men and women have distinct and differentiated roles (Sacks, 1978).† Sacks explains, â€Å"that human freedom extends to the fre edom to choose our commitments

Are Liberty and Equality Compatible Free Essays

string(25) " us in any way possible\." â€Å"Two Concepts of Liberty† defined the distinction between positive liberty and negative liberty. He defined positive liberty as the ability to fulfill one own potential. This Is typified by the phrase â€Å"l am my own master†. We will write a custom essay sample on Are Liberty and Equality Compatible? or any similar topic only for you Order Now For example, if I really want to become an economist, then I would be positively free if not discouraged. Negative liberty is defined as â€Å"freedom from external constraint†. The Implications of Positive and Negative Liberty A sketch by Eddie Izard entitled â€Å"Cake or death†4 offers to people exactly that. We might think that be fully free but even the most ardent of fitness fanatics would of course pick cake. Alternatively, a feared, violent and ruthless highwayman offering you â€Å"your money or your Life†5 may illustrate the point. Assuming that we know the highwayman not to be bluffing, not even Scrooge himself would keep his money. Whilst the above two examples are possible to envisage, It Is clear that they are not part of your average society and a more realistic example may be prudent. Many prostitutes can and do hate their jobs, however, they often have no alternative to it, even when not forced to do so. There are several reasons why a prostitute would continue to remain in the trade. A study by London South Bank University identified 9 barriers to exist including drug addiction, lack of education and social stigma. The implications are that we are sometimes faced with decisions where there is only one legalistic possible option. Indeed, a determinist would go as far to argue that we are faced all the time with decisions where there is only one possible outcome and we do not have free will at all and everything is – in principle – predicable. It is clear that we cannot mean free to mean negatively free. However, the argument that freedom Is possible becomes much less tenuous when one considers being positively free. It Is defined as the ability to maximize one’s potential, given the current state of resources available to people. â€Å"Positive liberty Is the possibility of acting ? or the fact of acting ? in such a way as to take control of one’s life and realize one’s fundamental teacher, then he would be positively free if he is able to realism his aims. In short, he is able to maximize his potential. A misconception of Equality Some of the more pedantic among us could argue that equality is possible. Certainly in areas such as mathematics this is true. A simple example such as 8 +7=1 5 shows that equality can exist. However, it is very clear that this is not what one means by equality in this sense. Many would assume that perhaps equality should be defined then as the equal allocation of resources. However, in the context of animal ethics, Peter Singer argued that it this kind of equality is impossible and should not be defined as such; it seems impractical and perhaps immoral for this to be the case. â€Å"Humans have interests in mountain-climbing and skiing, in seeing the world and sampling different cultures. Cows like lush pasture and shelter from harsh weather. Hence to deny humans the right to travel from outside Devon would be to restrict their rights significantly; it would not be a significant restriction for the rights of cows. â€Å"8 However, to avoid complications, we shall not concern ourselves with the epic of equality between animals and humans. Despite this, it can still be applied in the context of between Just humans. For example, it is impractical or pointless to grant women the right to prostate examinations or to equally allocate cricket bats among footballers and cricketers alike. A critique of Singer’s claim above could be done by using the following simple example. Imagine two people, Sam and Simon. Sam inherited a large estate, and is very wealthy, despite a lack of talent, determination or ambition. Alternatively, Simon despite being talented and ambitious received a poor quality of education and comes from a low income family. Although Singer has debunked the argument that equality means the equal allocation of resources, to many this would still seem unfair. However, Singer offers a counter proposal where the impetus of his argument is equal consideration. This is a broadly abstract term but can be applied to many contemporary and relevant examples. For example, laws regarding maternity and paternity leave or resolving conflict between settlers to an area and to indigenous people. Most significantly, Singer’s example could be applied in the context of macroeconomics, in that whilst equality is not honeymoon with social mobility and meritocracy, it can work in close conjunction with the two. State of Nature Before examining the compatibility of the two in a society, it seems prudent to examine whether the two can be compatible without a society, in a State of Nature and synonymous to many as a dyspepsia. A state of nature is a hypothetical thought experiment designed to investigate what a pre-societal life would be like for people. In his Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes posited the claim that, â€Å"a free man is he that in those things which by his strength and wit he is able to do is not hindered to do what e hath the will to do†9, alluding to liberty in its negative sense. He argued, that in the state of nature, liberty did not exist, because actions were hindered by fear of death and fear of the power of others. Despite saying that freedom can only truly exist under a sovereign, Hobbes alludes to liberty in the negative sense. Indeed, others have interpreted his works for people However, people are free in that they interpretation of his own work seems desperately counter intuitive. However, Hobbes has only discussed how we are not free in the negative sense. However, this may not be the case for positive freedom. We are free to maximize our potential. There is no State or Government to restrict us in any way possible. You read "Are Liberty and Equality Compatible?" in category "Papers" Hobbes also comments that men are by nature equal in their powers, as even â€Å"the weakest has strength enough to kill the strongest, either by secret machination, or by confederacy with others, that are in the same danger as himself. 10 One can therefore conclude that humans are free and equal in a State of Nature, an abstract thought experiment. However, this is neither desirable nor permanent. It is a poor quality of freedom and equality in that the standard. In a State of Nature being free and equal means that we are free and equal to be violent against each other and live the â€Å"solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short life†1 1 that Hobbes so described. Bringing abstract theory into reality We can establish that these two arguments so that liberty and equality are theoretically possible, however, the question is now is whether these arguments have practical implications. However, what does it mean to be human? Humans are naturally social beings with our own societal friendships, families and relationships. As Hummed pointed out, social contract theory is an unhelpful fiction, because social organization is natural for us is natural. Indeed, a very clear example would be that we all grow up, learn values, language and develop knowledge through parenting, and through social interaction and as a result through discipline, leadership and rules. Therefore, a state of nature must be fiction. Furthermore, equality is referred to as equal consideration, however in a State of Nature, there is no government present to â€Å"equally consider†. Therefore, one has to revert to the equal allocation of resources, and Hobbes argues that reso urces are shared equally, in that people have roughly the same amount of intelligence, muscle and weaponry. However, the equal allocation of resources is something this thesis is trying to revert from. A Utopia? There are three branches of ethics, utilitarianism, deontological and virtue. And in all three of them liberty and equality are highly desirable. For example, given that Utilitarianism has its definition coined as â€Å"the maximum amount of happiness for the maximum amount of people†13, and one does not need to Justify for the purposes of this essay that liberty and equality are most often highly desirable in society. It would therefore seem prudent to examine a utilitarianism society, and examine whether liberty and equality may be possible. In Aloud Huxley â€Å"Brave New World†, a caste system is depicted with the inhabitants ranked from alpha through to epsilon. 14 Despite height, appearance and Jobs available being dependent on what class one is, each person is conditioned before birth (though that is an inappropriate word to use) and each class is perfectly content to remain in their class and does not aspire to be of any other class. Many would repulsed by this state – and whilst it seems desperately counter-intuitive, both freedom and equality can be obtained. Indeed, some would consider the caste system to be not far short of slavery, omitting clearly not very equal. However, equality as equal consideration is allowed for, each individual conditioned with their happiness being viewed in the same equal extent that they are positively free and are able to maximize their potential in their designated class. 15 It seems then that in this example, liberty and equality are compatible. Whilst this fictitious society leaves a lot to be desired, it may be useful to have a look at how this society was reached and see if this can be paralleled in reality. The logical conclusion of capitalism There may be faults with the feasibility of a utopia as well. Huxley assumes that Brave New World is the logical end of capitalism. All activity is aimed at continued consumption, for example the slogan of â€Å"ending is better than mending†16. All obstacles to consumption are removed. Mass production, God and individualism are institutionalized. In order to maintain this freedom, the means of production must be controlled. Utopia translates from Greek meaning â€Å"no place†. 17 Essentially, it means that it does not exist. While there are certainly parallels with society, this is not how capitalism will end, and this is for four interlinked reasons. Firstly, the notion of illogical mass production of humans is deeply concerning and a vital premise to the Huxley argument. One can quite reasonably assert the claim that this will never happen. Secondly, there is a lack of relationships, in the book the notion of family and parenthood is treated with shock and disdain, and as a result society is equal for the reasons given above. However, the notion of family and parenthood does exist, and this can have drastic consequences for the logical conclusion of capitalism. With nepotism and the accumulation of capital there is a case that there is a shift to patrimonial capitalism. However, this will be discussed in more detail later. But most importantly, the logical conclusion to capitalism does not take into consideration how human beings are not always rational. Long before the term behavioral economics was coined, Huxley assumed that â€Å"Homo Economics†18 would prevail. However, people do not always make decisions that maximize their welfare. A very simple argument will show this point to be correct; this is known as the Gambler’s Fallacy. 19 When at a roulette table, people will often assume that if at a table, the roulette wheel has shown to be the color red the previous six times, then it is more likely to e on the seventh spin. However, a simple math experiment with a roulette wheel or a computer will show this to be incorrect, and statistical theory on independence provides the reasoning behind this. Even it were rational to Join this kind of society, the likelihood of this happening is not secure. A Thought Experiment With the exception of a conclusion, the rest of this thesis, will analyses and evaluate reasons why freedom and equality may not be practical in society today. A fully free state shall be assumed, and the question will be posed asking if equality can be produced as a by- product alongside. Finally, the thesis will question the aforementioned assumption in two different ways. The Assumption of a Fully Free State To many this seems like capitalism. However, capitalism is far too broad and can name suggests implies that the state is involved and does not prohibit freedom. Laissez-fairer capitalism might be more prudent as a result. We shall now assume that a fully free state but be one determined by market forces, determined by supply and demand in order for me to be positively free and maximize citizen’s potential. The First Reason – How Liberty Upsets Patterns This heading is not original, it is on page 160 of Robert Nicks book â€Å"Anarchy State ND Utopia†, the heading alludes to an often quoted example of a successful basketball called player Wilt Chamberlain, which is pertinent. In this world, everyone earns exactly the same salary and money is distributed evenly. At each home game, he receives 25 cents from every person playing the game. To the customers, this seems reasonable – he is very good at basketball. If one million watch him play during the season, Chamberlain has $250,000. He has more money than someone else. 20 Let us extend the analogy further so that everyone else earns a sum of $25,000 a year. It seems that although Chamberlain may have more money than everyone else it is not a problem, because this equality can include a meritocracy and equality is defined as equal consideration. This might seem Justified because of marginal productivity theory; some would say that Chamberlain works harder and is more productive so he should receive more money than anyone else. However, there are two issues with this theory. The first is that the facts do not support it. As the recession went on bankers such as Fred Goodwin continued to receive bonuses, despite bringing banks to their knees. Even though they were worse than useless, hey were still receiving money despite having a negative marginal productivity theory. Despite The Royal Bank of Scotland (RUBS) going bankrupt, Fred Goodwin receives a IEEE,OHO pension from RUBS. 21 Secondly, despite Wilt Chamberlain earning ten times more than everyone else is it true that he works ten times harder in order to achieve his wealth? The answer is most likely no. In essence there is a sense of disproportion to the extent of the meritocracy. There is a clear opportunity cost; no one was forced to watch him play basketball. They could have spent their money on everything as mundane from tea bags to headphones. This presents some issues, he now has far more money than anyone else does, and this to many seems unequal. In the I-J, the staggering sums of money that footballers earn is a proponent in an argument for inequality- how can It be fair that Wayne Rooney earns more in one week than the average person earns in 10 years? But this is unequal. The Second Reason – Rent Seeking Economies It is necessary to delineate between two different types of economy, wealth generating and rent seeking. Wealth generating refers to ways of earning money whilst increasing the output of the economy at the same time. A quintessential example would be innovation such as Tyson vacuum cleaners. Rent seeking is defined as â€Å"when a company, organization or individual uses their resources to obtain an economic gain from others without reciprocating any of the benefits back into society through wealth creation. â€Å"22 Here, a useful example would be through a usefully entitled â€Å"The Locust and the Bee†. 23 Here, the locust is analogous to the rent seeking economy and the bee the wealth generating economy. The economist Joseph Zeitgeist has argued that rent-seeking is a large contributor to income inequality in the United States through lobbying for government policies hat let the wealthy and powerful get income, not as a reward for creating wealth, but by grabbing a larger share of the wealth that would otherwise have been produced without their effort. As Paul Grumman points out, most of the richest 1% in the world are generally not the innovators such as Bill Gates or Mark Suckering, but generally those with a much lower marginal productivity, such as Fred Goodwin or C. Douglas McMillan. Furthermore, despite these low marginal productivities, their income, (in America at least) has increased as seen in the graph below. The Third Reason – The Fall of The American Dream? As Josef Zeitgeist points out, Paul Ryan made a speech saying that despite the US Gin coefficient rising, what is really the most significant is equality of opportunity. 24 The question, is can there be equality of opportunity. It is true that the â€Å"Rags to Riches† story as examples well documented across the world with everyone from Will. . Am to Opera Winfred, but as Zeitgeist asserts, the reason they are so well documented is because they are so rare. Given that, the question is do we always have to have an inequality of opportunity, and the answer to that is yes. The first premise that all else rests on is that equality of opportunity must rest on not only a good but equal education. Given that equal opportunity largely manifests itself in a meritocracy. The seco nd premise of the argument is that having an equal education is unattainable. Even if private schools were completely abolished, if money was spent on students exactly proportional to their needs and the best teachers were distributed around the country exactly proportional to where they should be then equality of opportunity may not work for one key reason – chaos theory. The tiniest of changes in an education can lead to drastic consequences, for example, a certain book could be pivotal in attending a place at a prestigious university. Moreover, despite a standardized education, differences in education at home are beyond the state’s control. The First Critique Of The Assumption However, Zeitgeist says, â€Å"Markets don’t exist in a vacuum†25. Indeed, they must be shaped, mainly through the laws of that country. In the USA in the government gave holders of derivatives priority over bankruptcy. This was seen in its bail out of insurer Alga to the tune of $1 ban. This creates a â€Å"heads I win, tails you lose† situation. The first reason why laissez-fairer capitalism does not work is because the way that the market exists is though legislature which undermines what laissez-fairer capitalism sets out to achieve. The Second Critique of the Assumption- The Growth of Capital in the 21st Century The idea that inherited wealth will always grow faster than earned wealth is the main impetus of Thomas Picket’s book â€Å"Capital in the 21st Century’. Pickett argues that as captures in the expression r g, where r is the rate of return to wealth and g is the economic growth rate. Other things being equal, faster economic growth will monish the importance of wealth in a society, whereas slower growth will increase it. However, there are no natural forces pushing against the steady concentration of wealth. Only a burst of rapid growth (from technological progress or rising population) or government intervention can be counted on to keep economies from returning to the â€Å"patrimonial capitalism†. Furthermore, demographics can influence this point. Writes Pickett, â€Å"Consider a world in which each couple has ten children, it is better as a general rule to not count on too much on inherited wealth, because the Emily wealth will divide by ten with each new generation. In such a society the people will have wealth diminished by 10 each generation. 26 Therefore, given that fertility rates are falling all over the world, this means that wealth will be more concentrated in the future. Regardless of the graph below, some people having more money than others can still be equal, and feel that Pickett makes a generalization as a result. However, he argues that people having more money often leads to a fall in social mobility and as a result, increased inequality of opportunity. There is now a event to patrimonial capitalism which is known more informally as crony capitalism. Given how equality is defined as equal consideration and social mobility is key, he argues that not only do some people have more money than others but social mobility is at an all time low. 27 Conclusion It seems that practically, in some form of Utopia akin to â€Å"A Brave New World† or in a State of Nature, the two may both be possible. However, in feasible ideologies, there are impossible. This is because how in a free society, issues. However, the link between equality being defined as equal consideration and equality as the equal allocation of resources is tenuous. The argument of chaos theory may be weak, as people may still be free in that they can maximize their positive liberty in that they can still maximize their potential. Chaos theory only affects the extent to which potential can be reached – not the other way around. In order for this thesis to be stronger, the link between the two warrants further exploration. Perhaps an exploration of Aristotle opinion on equality might be useful to unpick what equality means, as it depends how we look at equality. â€Å"Justice is equality, but only for equals, ND Justice is inequality, but only for those who are unequal†28. This needs further exploration. It seems that practically, in some form of Utopia akin to â€Å"A Brave New World† or in a State of Nature, the two may both be possible. However, in feasible ideologies, these are unlikely. This is because how in a free society, issues. However, the arguments mainly take the form of an inductive argument as shown below. 1. This example (from Nonionic) shows that under a certain societal ideology the two are incompatible, 2. This example (from Pickett) shows the same 3. Therefore, the two are incompatible This is akin to â€Å"Black Swan Theory’, identified by Massif Tale. If one sees a series of the case. Critically, its implications are that no one argument, shows the two to be inversely proportional to each other – for example, as you have more freedom, you get less equality. Whilst the arguments themselves do not prove that as the two are incompatible, they very much support the arguments. Perhaps further discourse is needed to prove – through a deductive argument – that the two are incompatible. Although the simple fact that social mobility is falling, especially as countries become ore and more privatized, implies that the two cannot work together. However, there is a dim ray of hope, as many of the arguments offer suggestions to solutions to solve these problems. Pickett himself proposes a progressive income tax of up to 80% and a global wealth tax of 2%. Furthermore, a 100% inheritance tax is something that others have suggested. 29 On the other hand, these suggestions are highly controversial and are unlikely to be enforced. Whilst, the two are compatible theoretically, on the current trajectory of society, it seems hugely unlikely that liberty will occur in society in the future. How to cite Are Liberty and Equality Compatible?, Papers

The Secret Life of Bees Essay Sample free essay sample

In the movie â€Å"The Secret Life of Bees† directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood an of import thought was maternity. It was the strongest thought in the movie and can be described as the linkage of the narrative. It showed you the effects of guilt and the importance of love and place. Lily Owens was the character that most strongly connected to this thought. Ocular and unwritten characteristics such as costume. music. and camera motion help us understand the thought of maternity throughout the movie. The first clip the subject of the importance of maternity was portrayed was in the gap scenes of the movie when Lilt by chance shot her female parent. The unwritten technique of duologue efficaciously combined with the ocular shootings to assist me understand a small of how Lily’s female parent couldn’t be at that place for her as she was excessively weak to stand up to her hubby T. We will write a custom essay sample on The Secret Life of Bees Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Ray. We hear the statement between Lily’s female parent and her male parent taking to her female parent naming out â€Å"Lily! † This usage of duologue made me understand the thought that Lily’s female parent was in problem and a victim-therefore. non able to decently protect her girl. Another ocular technique used that helped me to understand Lily’s loss and feeling of heartache and self-blame at losing her female parent which lasted through her childhood was the usage of subdued lighting and close-up shootings in the scene instantly after her mother’s decease. The deficiency of fussing love and protection for Lily resulted her being in a modus operandi of maltreatment from her male parent T. Ray. Lily did see fussing love from other of import people in her life. The first individual who showed her this was her nanny. Rosaleen. A scene in which this mothering love became evident was after Lily had been harshly punished by her male parent when he erroneously believed her dark visit to see her mother’s properties was in order to run into a male child. It was her birthday and Rosaleen had baked a bar. Several camera shootings showed how Rosaleen was taking the function of Lily’s female parent and standing up to T. Ray on Lily’s beha lf. A combination of ocular and unwritten techniques helped stress this thought. Lily besides found fostering fussing love in the sanctuary of the Boatwright home-particularly from the materfamilias of the Boatwright place. August. A scene which showed this motherly love in action was August was learning Lily about the bees. â€Å"†¦women make the best apiarists. because they have a particular ability built into them to love animals that biting. It comes from old ages of loving kids and hubbies. † The bee that August was speaking about symbolized Lily’s female parent as she had endured many old ages of T. Ray. In decision I have stated that an of import thought was maternity and maternally love in the movie â€Å"The Secret Life of Bees† directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. I have outlined how unwritten and ocular techniques were used to do me understand this thought in relation to Lily’s coming-of-age.

Automotive Industry in the United States

Abstract The main purpose of operating any business entity is to generate profit. As a matter of fact, expanding the revenue base and maximizing profits are key concerns of any business enterprise located in a competitive business environment.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Automotive Industry in the United States specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This implies that business organizations should create competitive advantages by developing viable marketplace strategies. The latter is necessary in order to outwit the stiff market competition. Hence, there is need to formulate a management process which is well structured in tandem with the market demands of an organization’s products. An attractive framework has been offered by Michael Porter in this analysis. From the Porter’s Five Forces framework, it is possible for business enterprises to survive and remain profitable even in highly competitive mar kets. For example, management teams in business organizations should not ignore to identify and manage the impacts of substitute products in the market. Any form of a substitute good or service is a real threat to the operations and sustained profitability of a firm. This analysis relates the Porter’s Five Forces framework with the growth prospects of the automotive industry in the United States. Introduction to the Auto Industry A number of factors have generally influenced the transformation of the automotive industry. For instance, manufacturing and assembling vehicle components, changes in the marketing of automotive products, development of supply chain, assembling practices, market fluctuation of fuel prices, development of infrastructures and the overall business structure of the industry have immensely evolved operations in the sector (Samuelson Marks, 2012).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Historical records attest to the fact that the invention and innovation of engines marked the humble beginning of the development of automotive industry. This early development was particularly agitated by the emergence of new forms of transporting energy. For instance, gasoline was used during the 19th century as an important source of energy. Hence, it experienced high demand in different locations. Therefore, new methods of transporting the product were necessary. Steam was also a crucial medium for fueling engines during the century. After the full development phase of various sources of energy, initial automobile firms began to take shape. It can be recalled that the earliest motor vehicle companies were established after full discovery of oil and gas resources. The development of other vital motor vehicle components such as the steering wheel and floor-mounted accelerators followed later towards the late 19th century and early 20th century (Sie miatycki, 2012). As a result, the automotive industry experienced rapid development in terms of both manufacturing technology and the speed of assembling parts. Contemporary vehicles have been made lighter, more fuel efficient, and simpler to use. Nonetheless, it is crucial to mention that the automotive industry is an equal opportunity employer in the United States and other manufacturing countries. In spite of the recent 2007/2008 global economic recession, the future outlook of the industry is still impressive.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Automotive Industry in the United States specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A considerable share of the market may not be guaranteed when substitute products enter the market. On the same note, it is inevitable for other competing firms to enter the same market. Managements in organizations should factor such risks when running their firms. Rivalry experienced from other c ompetitors can only be curtailed if thorough strategic planning is put in place. In regards to the buyers’ bargaining power, it is crucial to provide customers with a competitive pricing model that is more favorable than that of the immediate market rivals. Besides, the bargaining power of suppliers is fundamental because they are part and parcel of the profit optimization plan of a business enterprise. Industry Definition The automotive industry in America is specifically concerned with both manufacturing and marketing of various types of vehicles. In the course of this core function, the industry also designs the automobile products according to the tastes and preferences of the targeted market. Hence, this calls for continuous Research and Development (RD) in the sector (Siemiatycki, 2012). Both the local and overseas markets are supplied with motor vehicles manufactured from the US automotive industry. Statistical financial records indicate that over 70 million pieces of motor vehicles were manufactured during the 2008 fiscal year. These entailed both light and heavy commercial vehicles. Over the same period, the sales volume for brand new motor vehicles was about 80 million. However, the onset of the global credit crunch in 2007/2008 affected the buying power of customers and equally led to high cost of raw materials. Consequently, the industry was compelled to undergo pricing pressure for its products. As it stands now, intense external competition is a major threat to the industry.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In other words, private vehicle usage has declined considerably as part of cost cutting measures by consumers. Industry Profile Consolidations of the American automotive industry as well as the size and growth rate define the industry profile of the automotive sector in the United States. In addition, three leading manufacturers of light commercial vehicles (trucks) have punctuated the international investment portfolio of the automotive industry in the United States (Uzwyshyn, 2012). Individual companies within the industry are also experiencing significant employment shifts especially when some workers are compelled by situations to change their states of residence. The industry is also a key contributor to labor relations organizations and health insurance schemes (Siemiatycki, 2012). Industry Structure The equipment, parts and motor vehicle departments employ more than one million American citizens besides expatriates. Ever since Chrysler, Ford and General Motors diversified the ir production segments in the market, significant shifts in the industry structure have been recorded. For example, importation and local production of cars by other overseas firms were a common experience since the early beginning of the New Millennium. It is evident that the three main manufacturers diverted their attention in manufacturing light trucks instead of saloon cars (Uzwyshyn, 2012). The foreign manufacturers are a real sourceof competition for Ford, GM and Chrysler motor companies. Due to the desire to restructure the local automotive industry in the US, these firms have already shed off 700, 000 employees. On the other hand, foreign firms have hired close to 400,000 workers in order to meet their production demand. Future Outlook Data obtained from the CAR group indicate that the growth in the sale of motor vehicles will still stagnate in the near future until negative economic effects are phased out completely (McAlinden Chen, 2012). Hence, the future depicts a slow recovery rate of the automotive industry in the US. Even if the US economy begins to perform strongly, the record pent-up demand will be the main driving force in the growth of sales. However, this scenario will only be possible with new vehicles and not used machines. The industry is also expected to recover to the level it was immediately before credit crunch began in 2007. Nonetheless, the same level of recovery might not be attained in automotive employment (Gao, Hensley Zielke, 2014). After scrutinizing the US automotive industry, economic experts argue that this sector of the economy might not experience robust growth in the next few years. Nonetheless, the growth initiatives that have been put in place by the federal government are highly likely to accelerate growth in this industry. If the current innovations are effective enough, then the industry may begin to recover gradually from the year 2016. The double-digit growth in terms of sales may take quite a long time before it is realized. However, there is some hope that the industry will begin to gain momentum by increasing revenue base from 2016 onwards as shown in the graph below. Source: CAR Porter’s Five Forces Strategy Analysis as it applies to the Auto Industry Bargaining Power of Buyers It is critical for the automotive industry to establish a cordial relationship with consumers of its products. The decline of the buying power of consumers may spell doom to the industry (Mucheru, Mwangi, Mandere, Bichanga Gongera, 2014). In other words, the sector players should make sure that buyers receive the best bargain in the market. The latter should have a sensible and favorable power to bargain products manufactured by the industry. Since the automotive products are relatively standardized, consumers tend to control more power when it comes to making buying decisions. In addition, the competing brands within the same industry creates an impressive playground for consumers to bargain which pro ducts to buy and at what price. Nevertheless, the low production ratio compared to the high number of buyers will obviously make the industry relatively powerful (Porter, 2008). Bargaining Power of Suppliers The industry wields more power than suppliers in this case study. There are strong-willed buyers in the industry who are in a position to champion for their tastes and preferences when dealing with suppliers. This favors the industry players (Porter, 2008). Since major proliferation of automobile firms is absent, buyers will remain powerful at the detriment of suppliers. About 90 percent of value shipment in the US is held by the main automotive firms. Besides, backward integration occurrence will be the main source of power for the industry. Eventually, suppliers will experience a weak bargaining power (Uzwyshyn, 2012). Competitive Rivalry in the Industry Both the US and global automotive markets experience stiff rivalry. Chrysler, Ford and General Motors have apparently sought other external opportunities to sell their products instead of relying on local consumers. These firms have opted to globalize their competition arena as other foreign players take charge of the US market. Poor engagement of these firms in the US markets has led into slow growth of the automotive industry in the wider North American region (Uzwyshyn, 2012). It is apparent that the three rivals have decided to adopt a non-aggressive method of competing at the local market. Threat of New Entrants There are significant entry barriers into this manufacturing sector. The minimum amount of capital required to initiate an automotive firm is quite large. Hence, the latter is a major prohibitive factor. As a new entrant into the industry, specialized automotive manufacturing facilities are required. Nevertheless, old players in the industry are keenly expanding their operations through strategic partnerships (Uzwyshyn, 2012). The significant setbacks to venture into this sector have enhance d the profitability of existing firms in the industry owing to lack of perfect competition. The global markets have provided a lot of success to most automotive firms. Threat of Substitutes Although there are substitutes to automobiles in the United States, the impacts have not been felt. As much as the American population may opt to travel using airplanes, trains or ships, none of these modes of transport is universally convenient like motor vehicles. The latter offers the best independence and utility for most travelers within the US borders (Uzwyshyn, 2012). Additional time may be required when travelling using trains and ships. Nonetheless, trains and ships are relatively cost effective and may provide a better substitute for travelers who are not in a hurry. A high elasticity of demand is common with substitute automobiles such as airplanes and trains especially in regards to price factor. Conclusion In spite of profitability, the automotive industry in the United States still faces numerous operational challenges. The aforementioned challenges in this industry can be effectively addressed using the Porter’s Five Forces framework. As already discussed in the paper, the threat of new entrants is apparently the main advantage of the existing automotive firms in the US. Several barriers hinder new entrants into this industry and continue to guarantee high profitability for old firms. In addition, substitutes in this industry do not pose any substantial effects as discussed in the paper. However, the bargaining power of customers and competitive rivalry are major issues that still impede the operations of firms in this industry. References Gao, P., Hensley, R., Zielke, A. (2014). A road map to the future for the auto industry. Mckinsey Quarterly, 1 (4), 42-53. McAlinden, S.P. Chen, Y. (2012). After the Bailout: Future Prospects for the U.S. Auto Industry. Retrieved from https://www.cargroup.org/ Mucheru, C.M., Mwangi, S., Mandere, E.N., Bichanga, J.M . Gongera, E. G. (2014). The Application of Porter’s Five Forces Model on Organization Performance. European Journal of Business and Management, 6(16), 75-86. Porter, M. E. (2008). The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy. Harvard Business Review, 86(1), 78-93. Samuelson, W. Marks, S. (2012). Managerial economics. New Jersey, US: John Wiley Sons, Inc. Siemiatycki, E. (2012). Forced to Concede: Permanent Restructuring and Labour’s Place in the North American Auto Industry. Antipode, 44(2), 453-473. Uzwyshyn, R. (2012). The US Auto Industry in 2013: Five Forces to Consider. Automotive Industries, 192(11), 221-223. This essay on Automotive Industry in the United States was written and submitted by user Mekh1 to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Methanol A Future Fuel essays

Methanol A Future Fuel essays This section is about methanol fuel cells for our future. Since I have done this research I have never realized how important future fuels are. Methanol is a liquid fuel made form natural gas or renewable biomass resources. Methanol is the leading candidate to provide the hydrogen necessary to power fuel cell vehicles. The commercialization of methanol-powered fuel cells will offer practical, affordable, long-range electric vehicles with zero or near zero emissions while retaining the convenience of a liquid fuel. By 2004 they say or even sooner, fuel cells operating on methanol will power a variety of cars and buses in the U.S and worldwide.( www.mehanol.org) Methanol is predoninantly produced by steam reforming of natural gas to dcreate a sythesis gas, which is then dfed into a reactor vessel in the presence of a catalyst to produce methanol and water vapor. Although a variety of feedstocks other than natural gas can and have been used, todays economics favor natural gas. Synthesis gas refers to combination of carbon monoxide and hydrogen while a large amount of synthesis gas us used to make methanol, most synthesis gas is used to make ammonia. As a result, most methanol plants are adjacent o or are part of ammonia plants. The gas fed into another reactor vessel under high temperatures and pressures, where monoxide and hydrogen are came in the presence of a catalyst to produce methanol. Finally, the reactor product is distilled to purify and separate the methanol from the reactor effluent. (wwwadfc.nrel.gov.) (Washington, D.C., January 28) A study by the environmental engineering firm Malcolm Pirnie, Inc. finds far fewer environmental threats from using methanol in fuel cell vehicles, compared to gasoline's use for internal combustion engines. In addition, a video presentation on methanol and the environment produced by the Public Interest Video Network will be premiered at "Th ...

Summar of the Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Summar of the - Essay Example Bi-directional case studies were conducted to assess the impact at back end and at the clients end. This paper does not limit its research to one area, rather it is based on the study of the content assessment, the technology incorporated and the algorithm used towards the data collection techniques. The categorized usage of blogs has seen implementation from the main leads of the industry. One similar example of its categorized usage came about from Microsoft when they implemented MSDN. The core function of this blog was to provide the technical platform of the users and the players associated. This was one of the broad line major approaches undertaken in recent years towards overall expansion of the blogging field. Apart from this other major efforts and seminars conducted towards further expansion of this field came about in 2008, 2009 in the form of TREC conference. The purpose of this entire activity is to bring uniformity and more effective outlook to the usage of blogs. The broad sectoring would allow for a more active and interactive outlook of the blogging entity making it useful towards different clients. Organizing the blogs can help the companies in many ways. This in turn would allow the companies working according to the needs of the clients. Through the desired segmentation and organization of the data and information of the blog websites that are spread all over, the companies and their targeting approach will allow for promoting their ideas at the right place. In other words, it would enable them reaching to the right kind of clients at the right time and in the right manner. This is the core idea proposed by the research paper at hand. Critical decisions can be made with regard to the areas of investment and the areas of clients requirements fulfillment. Undertaking this task would bring along number of

Motivation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Motivation - Essay Example GE as a company has been focused on HR and committed to its employees in many ways which go beyond the norms of reward management as compared to other companies. It has an innovative way of rewarding employees who uphold the values considered important by GE and this has given the company the respect and admiration of many business gurus (Demos, 2006). While the rewards for working at GE are many, the reward selection process uses a ranking system which punishes those employees who do not make the reward cut by termination. This has also caused some controversy as it can be seen as negative to the concepts of motivation but the overall effect of GE’s motivation techniques has been very positive and is well regarded by industry experts. Even though management and the rules applicable to motivating people change day to day as discoveries are made in the field (Beardwell &Holden, 1997). As early as the 1930s, GE was focused motivation for labour and had created profit based employee bonuses as well as pension plans. It is difficult to find companies which have innovated to such an extent that their name becomes associated with certain management practices. The vast majority of organizations will fade into history without establishing any leadership in management innovations but GE holds the unique position of not only having an established name, they have been the leaders in employee motivation for the better part of their existence (Colvin, 2006). The CEO of Ogilvy & Mather, Shelly Lazarus has been on the GE board for the past five years. She says that the process of rewarding employees begins as soon as the recruitment process is started. Even being offered a position at GE is a cause for celebration for a person since GE develops leaders who are groomed to take up positions at the head of the company (Colvin, 2006). I agree with this concept and the idea of evaluating employees for rewards as soon as they are recruited goes a long way towards

No topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

No topic - Essay Example Further, John is found to have a good knowledge of the issue of locally grown and ecologically grown products. In the case of the former, he explains his concerns over the use of pesticides in products that are locally produced and also tries to compare it with the latter in terms of a number of issues such as refrigeration, pesticide use, irradiation, antibiotics etc. further, his extensive use of results from various research studies clearly highlights the depth of knowledge and insight that the writer possess in the subject. John starts the discussion with the simple expression – ‘who wants to pesticide residue?’. By doing so, he has also taken into account the issue of resources such as oil and also the time gap between production and supply to the department store. The central point of the discussion does however not limit itself to the issue of pesticides alone. Additionally, it also tries to convince the user that another aspect that consumers look for when buying the product is the value for ‘taste’. John has clearly put forward his findings of food being ecologically rich but deprived of essential taste on account of being refrigerated and transported across long distances. John has further appealed to the audience to not judge ecologically grown products on the basis of the process that they undergo during production, but to also think move ahead from thinking from a consumer perspective to a more closer look from the health aspect. He argues that despite the high preference for the way products are grown, it is also important to consider its freshness and the extent to which it works well for the body upon consumption. John has clearly pointed out the difficult position faced by huge departmental chains such as Wal-Mart that has been facing a backlash since its decision to offer a higher proportion of organic products. John uses the information obtained from several researchers such as Joan

Carbon credit

Carbon credit Carbon credits is a mechanism adopted by national and international governments to mitigate the effects of Green House Gases(GHGs). One Carbon Credit is equal to one ton of Carbon. Greenhouse Gases are capped and markets are used to regulate the emissions from the sources. The idea is to allow market mechanisms to drive industrial and commercial processes in the direction of low Greenhouse Gases(GHGs). These mitigation projects generate credits, which can be traded in the international markets for monetary benefits. There are also many companies that sell carbon credits to commercial and individual customers who are interested in lowering their carbon footprint on a voluntary basis. These carbon offsetters purchase the credits from an investment fund or a carbon development company that has aggregated the credits from individual projects. The quality of the credits is based in part on the validation process and sophistication of the fund or development company that acted as the sponsor to the carbon project. This is reflected in their price; voluntary units typically have less value than the units sold through the rigorously-validated Clean Development Mechanism. Background Fossil Fuels are the major source of Greehouse Gas Emissions. Industries such as Power, Textile, Fertilizer use fossil fuels for their high volumes of operations. The major greenhouse gases emitted by these industries are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), etc, all of which increase the atmospheres ability to trap infrared energy and thus affect the climate. The increasing awareness about the environmental degradation gave rise to the concept called Carbon Credit. The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has observed that: Policies that provide a real or implicit price of carbon could create incentives for producers and consumers to significantly invest in low-GHG products, technologies and processes. Such policies could include economic instruments, government funding and regulation, while noting that a tradable permit system is one of the policy instruments that has been shown to be environmentally effective in the industrial sector, as long as there are reasonable levels of predictability over the initial allocation mechanism and price. The mechanism was formalized in the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement between more than 170 countries, and the market mechanisms were agreed through the subsequent Accords. Emission Allowances The Protocol agreed caps or quotas on the maximum amount of Greenhouse gases for developed and developing countries. In turn these countries set quotas on the emissions of installations run by local business and other organizations, generically termed operators. Countries manage this through their own national registries, which are required to be validated and monitored for compliance by the UNFCCC. Each operator has an allowance of credits, where each unit gives the owner the right to emit one metric tonne of carbon dioxide or other equivalent greenhouse gas. Operators that have not used up their quotas can sell their unused allowances as carbon credits, while businesses that are about to exceed their quotas can buy the extra allowances as credits, privately or on the open market. As demand for energy grows over time, the total emissions must still stay within the cap, but it allows industry some flexibility and predictability in its planning to accommodate this. By permitting allowances to be bought and sold, an operator can seek out the most cost-effective way of reducing its emissions, either by investing in cleaner machinery and practices or by purchasing emissions from another operator who already has excess capacity. Since 2005, the Kyoto mechanism has been adopted for CO2 trading by all the countries within the European Union under its European Trading Scheme (EU ETS) with the European Commission as its validating authority. From 2008, EU participants must link with the other developed countries who ratified the protocol, and trade the six most significant anthropogenic greenhouse gases. In the United States, which has not ratified Kyoto, and Australia, whose ratification came into force in March 2008, similar schemes are being considered. Kyotos Flexible Mechanisms A credit can be an emissions allowance which was originally allocated or auctioned by the national administrators of a cap-and-trade program, or it can be an offset of emissions. Such offsetting and mitigating activities can occur in any developing country which has ratified the Kyoto Protocol, and has a national agreement in place to validate its carbon project through one of the UNFCCCs approved mechanisms. Once approved, these units are termed Certified Emission Reductions, or CERs. The Protocol allows these projects to be constructed and credited in advance of the Kyoto trading period. The Kyoto Protocol provides for three mechanisms that enable countries or operators in developed countries to acquire greenhouse gas reduction credit. Under Joint Implementation (JI) a developed country with relatively high costs of domestic greenhouse reduction would set up a project in another developed country. Under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) a developed country can sponsor a greenhouse gas reduction project in a developing country where the cost of greenhouse gas reduction project activities is usually much lower, but the atmospheric effect is globally equivalent. The developed country would be given credits for meeting its emission reduction targets, while the developing country would receive the capital investment and clean technology or beneficial change in land use. Under International Emissions Trading (IET) countries can trade in the international carbon credit market to cover their shortfall in allowances. Countries with surplus credits can sell them to countries with capped emission commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. These carbon projects can be created by a national government or by an operator within the country. Emission Markets One allowance or CER is considered equivalent to one metric tonne of CO2 emissions. These allowances can be sold privately or in the international market at the prevailing market price. Each international transfer is validated by the UNFCCC. Climate exchanges have been established to provide a spot market in allowances, as well as futures and options market to help discover a market price and maintain liquidity. Carbon prices are normally quoted in Euros per tonne of carbon dioxide or its equivalent (CO2e). Other greenhouse gasses can also be traded, but are quoted as standard multiples of carbon dioxide with respect to their global warming potential. These features reduce the quotas financial impact on business, while ensuring that the quotas are met at a national and international level. Many companies now engage in emissions abatement, offsetting, and sequestration programs to generate credits that can be sold on one of the exchanges. Managing emissions is one of the fastest-growing segments in financial services in the City of London with a market now worth about â‚ ¬30 billion, but which could grow to â‚ ¬1 trillion within a decade. Louis Redshaw, head of environmental markets at Barclays Capital predicts that Carbon will be the worlds biggest commodity market, and it could become the worlds biggest market overall. Setting A Market Price For Carbon Energy usage and emissions should be kept under constant check else they will only rise over time. Hence the number of companies needing to buy credits will increase over the period of time. This Supply-Demand for credits will determine the price of the Carbon which will in turn encourage companies to go cleaner. An individual allowance, such as a Kyoto Assigned Amount Unit (AAU) or its near-equivalent European Union Allowance (EUA), may have a different market value to an offset such as a CER. This is due to the lack of a developed secondary market for CERs, a lack of homogeneity between projects which causes difficulty in pricing. Additionally, offsets generated by a carbon project under the Clean Development Mechanism are potentially limited in value because operators in the EU ETS are restricted as to what percentage of their allowance can be met through these flexible mechanisms. Raising the price of carbon will achieve four goals. First, it will provide signals to consumers about what goods and services are high-carbon ones and should therefore be used more sparingly. Second, it will provide signals to producers about which inputs use more carbon (such as coal and oil) and which use less or none (such as natural gas or nuclear power), thereby inducing firms to substitute low-carbon inputs. Third, it will give market incentives for inventors and innovators to develop and introduce low-carbon products and processes that can replace the current generation of technologies. Fourth, and most important, a high carbon price will economize on the information that is required to do all three of these tasks. Through the market mechanism, a high carbon price will raise the price of products according to their carbon content Criticisms Environmental restrictions and activities have been imposed on businesses through regulation. Many are uneasy with this approach to managing emissions. The Kyoto mechanism is the only internationally-agreed mechanism for regulating carbon credit activities, and, crucially, includes checks for additionality and overall effectiveness. Its supporting organisation, the UNFCCC, is the only organisation with a global mandate on the overall effectiveness of emission control systems, although enforcement of decisions relies on national co-operation. The Kyoto trading period only applies for five years between 2008 and 2012. The first phase of the EU ETS system started before then, and is expected to continue in a third phase afterwards, and may co-ordinate with whatever is internationally-agreed at but there is general uncertainty as to what will be agreed in Post-Kyoto Protocol negotiations on greenhouse gas emissions. As business investment often operates over decades, this adds risk and uncertainty to their plans. As several countries responsible for a large proportion of global emissions (notably USA, Australia, China) have avoided mand atory caps, this also means that businesses in capped countries may perceive themselves to be working at a competitive disadvantage against those in uncapped countries as they are now paying for their carbon costs directly. A key concept behind the cap and trade system is that national quotas should be chosen to represent genuine and meaningful reductions in national output of emissions. Not only does this ensure that overall emissions are reduced but also that the costs of emissions trading are carried fairly across all parties to the trading system. However, governments of capped countries may seek to unilaterally weaken their commitments, as evidenced by the 2006 and 2007 National Allocation Plans for several countries in the EU ETS, which were submitted late and then were initially rejected by the European Commission for being too lax. A question has been raised over the grandfathering of allowances. Countries within the EU ETS have granted their incumbent businesses most or all of their allowances for free. This can sometimes be perceived as a protectionist obstacle to new entrants into their markets. There have also been accusations of power generators getting a windfall profit by passing on these emissions charges to their customers. As the EU ETS moves into its second phase and joins up with Kyoto, it seems likely that these problems will be reduced as more allowances will be auctioned. Establishing a meaningful offset project is complex: voluntary offsetting activities outside the CDM mechanism are effectively unregulated and there have been criticisms of offsetting in these unregulated activities. This particularly applies to some voluntary corporate schemes in uncapped countries and for some personal carbon offsetting schemes. There have also been concerns raised over the validation of CDM credits. One concern has related to the accurate assessment of additionality. Others relate to the effort and time taken to get a project approved. Questions may also be raised about the validation of the effectiveness of some projects; it appears that many projects do not achieve the expected benefit after they have been audited, and the CDM board can only approve a lower amount of CER credits. For example, it may take longer to roll out a project than originally planned, or an afforestation project may be reduced by disease or fire. For these reasons some countries place additional restrictions on their local implementations and will not allow credits for some types of carbon sink activity, such as forestry or land use projects. Carbon Tax Carbon tax is a form of pollution tax. It levies a fee on the production, distribution or use of fossil fuels based on how much carbon their combustion emits. The government sets a price per ton on carbon. Carbon tax also makes alternative energy more cost-competitive with cheaper, polluting fuels like coal, natural gas and oil. Carbon tax is based on the economic principle of negative externalities. Externalities are costs or benefits generated by the production of goods and services. Negative externalities are costs that are not paid for. When utilities, businesses or homeowners consume fossil fuels, they create pollution that has a societal cost; everyone suffers from the effects of pollution. Proponents of a carbon tax believe that the price of fossil fuels should account for these societal costs. Benefits The primary purpose of carbon tax is to lower greenhouse-gas emissions. The tax charges a fee on fossil fuels based on how much carbon they emit when burned (more on that later). So in order to reduce the fees, utilities, business and individuals attempt to use less energy derived from fossil fuels. An individual might switch to public transportation and replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). A business might increase energy efficiency by installing new appliances or updating heating and cooling systems. And since carbon tax sets a definite price on carbon, there is a guaranteed return on expensive efficiency investments. Carbon tax also encourages alternative energy by making it cost-competitive with cheaper fuels. A tax on a plentiful and inexpensive fuel like coal raises its per British Thermal Unit (Btu) price to one comparable with cleaner forms of power. A Btu is a standard measure of heat energy used in industry. The money that is raised by carbon tax can help subsidize environmental programs or be issued as a rebate. Many fans of carbon tax believe in progressive tax-shifting. This would mean that some of the tax burden would shift away from federal income tax and state sales tax. Economists like carbon tax for its predictability. The price of carbon under cap-and-trade schemes can fluctuate with weather and changing economic conditions. This is because cap-and-trade schemes set a definite limit on emissions, not a definite price on carbon. Carbon tax is stable. Businesses and utilities would know the price of carbon and where it was headed. They could then invest in alternative energy and increased energy efficiency based on that knowledge. Its also easier for people to understand carbon tax. The Logistics of Carbon Tax The carbon content of oil, coal and gas varies. Proponents of a carbon tax want to encourage the use of efficient fuels. If all fuel types were taxed equally by weight or volume, there would be no incentive to use cleaner sources like natural gas over dirtier, cheaper ones like coal. To fairly reflect carbon content, the tax has to be based on Btu heat units something standardized and quantifiable instead of unrelated units like weight or volume. Each fuel variety also has its own carbon content. Bituminous coal, for instance, contains considerably more carbon than lignite coal. Residual fuel oil contains more carbon than gasoline. Every fuel variety needs to have its own rate based on its Btu heat content. Carbon tax can be levied at different points of production and consumption. Some taxes target the top of the supply chain the transaction between producers like coal mines and oil wellheads and suppliers like coal shippers and oil refiners. Some taxes affect distributors the oil companies and utilities. And other taxes charge consumers directly through electric bills. Different carbon taxes, both real and theoretical, support varying points of implementation. The only carbon tax in the United States, a municipal tax in Boulder, Colo., taxes the consumers homeowners and businesses. People in Boulder pay a fee based on the number of kilowatt hours of electricity they use. Like Boulder, Sweden also taxes the consumption end. The national carbon tax charges homeowners a full rate and halves it for industry. Utilities are not charged at all. Since the majority of Swedish power consumption goes to heat, and because the tax exempts renewable energy sources like those derived from plants, the biofuel industry has blossomed since 1991. Even though the tax is toward the top end, companies can, and probably will, pass on some of the cost to consumers by charging more for energy. Its easier to tax consumption than production. Consumers are more willing to pay the extra $16 a year for a carbon tax. Producers are usually not. Taxes on production can also be economically disruptive and make domestic energy more expensive than foreign imports. Thats why existing carbon taxes target consumers, or, in the case of Quebec, energy and oil companies. Carbon tax has a patchy history around the world. Its widely accepted only in Northern Europe Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden all tax carbon in some form. Carbon Tax Vs Carbon Credit Carbon Tax is better alternative than Carbon Credit mainly because of the following six reasons Energy Prices are easily predictable by the mechanism of tax than by the mechanism of Cap and Trade. The high volatility of the carbon credits that are generated by the mechanism of Cap and Trade has consistently discouraged energy efficient schemes. Tax system can be quickly implemented than Cap and Trade. Since the environment is getting polluted at a faster rate, it is high time that necessary actions are taken quickly and efficiently. Tax system Carbon taxes are transparent and easily understandable, making them more likely to garner public support than complex Cap and Trade. Carbon taxes cannot be easily manipulated and hence cannot be easily exploited whereas the complexity of Cap and Trade always provides room for exploitation for special interests Carbon taxes address emissions of carbon from every sector, whereas some cap-and-trade systems discussed to date have only targeted the electricity industry. Carbon tax revenues would most likely be returned to the public through dividends or progressive tax-shifting, while the costs of cap-and-trade systems are likely to become a hidden tax as dollars flow to market participants, lawyers and consultants. Carbon Taxes Will Lend Predictability to Energy Prices. With carbon taxes ramped up through a multi-year phase-in, future energy and power prices can be predicted with a reasonable degree of confidence well ahead of time. This will make it possible for literally millions of energy-critical decisions — from the design of new electricity generating plants to the purchase of the family car to the materials used in commercial airframes — to be made with full cognizance of carbon-appropriate price signals. In contrast, a cap-and-trade program will worsen the volatility of energy prices since the price of carbon allowances will fluctuate as weather and economic factors affect the demand for energy. The vaunted advantage of cap-and-trade — that future levels of carbon emissions can be known ahead of time — is mostly notional. And even certainty in future emission levels is of questionable value, since there is no agreed-upon trajectory of emissions for achieving climate stability and preventing disaster. Carbon Taxes Will Provide Quicker Results. The taxes themselves can be designed and adopted quickly and fairly. Cap-and-trade systems, by contrast, are highly complex and will take years to develop and implement. Disruptive issues must be addressed intellectually and resolved politically; the proper level of the cap, timing, allowance allocations, certification procedures, standards for use of offsets, penalties, regional conflicts, the inevitable requests for exceptions by affected parties and a myriad of other complex issues must all be resolved before cap-and-trade systems can be implemented. During this time, polluters will continue to emit carbon with no cost consequences. Carbon Taxes Are Transparent and Are Easier to Understand than Cap-and-Trade. A carbon tax is transparent and easy to understand; the government simply imposes a tax per ton of carbon emitted, which is easily translated into a tax per kWh of electricity, gallon of gasoline or therm of natural gas. By contrast, the prices for carbon set under a cap-and-trade system will vary with market fluctuations and be impossible even for big to predict. A cap-and-trade system will require a complex and difficult to understand market structure in order to balance the many competing interests and ensure that the trading system minimizes distortions and maximizes real carbon reductions. A Carbon Taxs Simplicity prevents it Against Incentives and Potential for vested interests that Will Accompany Cap-and-Trade. In contrast to the simple and straightforward process of implementing a carbon tax, the protracted negotiations necessary to implement a cap-and-trade system will provide constant opportunities for the fossil fuel industry and other invested parties to shape a system that maximizes their financial self-interests as opposed to an economically efficient system that maximizes societal well-being. If allowances are allocated based on some type of baseline reflecting past pollution (which has been the practice with NOx and SO2trading programs), rather than being auctioned, polluters will have perverse incentives to maximize emissions before the cap-and-trade system goes into effect in order to â€Å"earn† those pollution rights. Carbon Taxes Address All Sectors and Activities Producing Carbon Emissions. Carbon taxes target carbon emissions in all sectors — energy, industry and transportation — whereas at least some cap-and-trade proposals are limited to the electric industry. It would be unwise to ignore the non-electricity sectors that account for more than 50% of CO2 emissions. Carbon Taxes Can Produce a Far More Equitable Result than Cap-and-Trade. As discussed in our Issue Paper, Managing the Impacts, carbon tax revenues can be returned through dividends or can be used to fund progressive tax-shifting to reduce regressive sales taxes. The costs of cap-and-trade systems, both implementation and the costs incurred as more expensive technologies replace older and less expensive coal-fired combustion, are far more likely to be imposed upon consumers with less possibility of rebating or tax-shifting. Moreover, because cap-and-trade relies on market participants to determine a fair price for carbon allowances on an ongoing basis, the complications involved are severe with economists, lawyers and politicians getting involved constantly.

Miss Brill, by Katherine Mansfield :: Miss Brill Essays

Question 1 â€Å"Miss Brill† by Katherine Mansfield tells a story of a lonely, English lady in France. Miss Brill is a quiet person who believes herself to be important. The whole afternoon at the gardens, Miss Brill does not converse with anyone, nor does anyone show any inclination to talk with her. She merely watches others and listens to their conversations. This provides her with a sense of companionship; she feels as if she is a part of other people’s lives. Miss Brill is also slightly self-conceited. She believes that she is so important that people would notice if she ever missed a Sunday at the park. It does not occur to her that other people may not want her to be there. Miss Brill is very observant of what happens around her. However, she is not in tune with her own self. She has a disillusioned view of herself. She does not admit her feelings of dejection at the end. She seems not even to notice her sorrow. Miss Brill is concerned merely with the external events, and not with internal emotions. Furthermore, Miss Brill is proud. She has been very open about her thoughts. However, after the comments from the young lovers, her thoughts are silenced. She is too proud to admit her sorrow and dejection; she haughtily refuses to acknowledge that she is not important. Question 2 Miss Brill is English. She conducts a class of â€Å"English pupils† (100). She teaches English to students in France. The story is set in France, in the Jardins Publiques. The setting is important because it further illustrates how Miss Brill is out of place in her society. She is a foreigner in a strange land. Question 3 Miss Brill is advanced in years. She has been coming weekly to the gardens for â€Å"‘a long time’† (100). Furthermore, the two young lovers describe her as an â€Å"‘an old thing†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (100). Miss Brill is without any relatives or close friends. She has no acquaintances to converse with. Therefore, she treats her fur as if it were a pet. Her fur is a â€Å"dear little thing† (98) with eyes and a tail. She sometimes feels like â€Å"stroking† it (98). Miss Brill’s loneliness causes her to listen in on conversations. This is her only means of achieving a sense of companionship. She feels that for a moment she is â€Å"sitting in other people’s lives just for a minute† (98). Aside from that, she is part of no one’s life.

Discussing the importance of partnerships in a child care setting

A practitioners job is not only to ensure the safety of the children and to plan structured day to day activities but also to ensure that various partnerships and created within the child care setting. â€Å"Professional relationships are absolutely vital to the smooth running of an early years setting.† Early Years Foundation Level 4, Unit 5 (Respecting each other) – Professional relationships page 69.Depending on the child care environment practitioners can work with one or two assistants depending on the age group and adult to child ratio. Maintaining a happy and trusted partnership within in a team in a classroom can then benefit ways the classroom run and undertake various tasks together.Knowing your teams strengths and having trust in each other not only encourages mirror behaviour with children in the child care setting but allows practitioners and assistants to develop further in current or new skills. â€Å"In order to build on your relationship with others it 's important that you respect and value your own strengths, skills and knowledge as well as recognising the contribution made by other.† Early Years Foundation Level 4 Unit 5 (Respecting each other) – Professional relationships page 69.For some children then partnership they create with a practitioner could be one of the main interactions they have with an adult through the day. i.e. focusing on child who spend alot of time with maids or nanny's.Having good partnerships with collegues allows a practitioner to establish a  good and effective working relationship to ensure that everyone works together as part of a team. This is to essentially benefit the children.As well as a good partnership with collegues adults need to interact well with children in the environment as well. Practitioners should involve children in decisions â€Å"Ask them what they would like to do, listen to their ideas and incorporate as many of these ideas as possible into your daily routine.â₠¬  Early Years Foundation Level 4 Unit 10 (Supporting every child) – Working together page 127. Incorporating a child's ideas help build a partnership, loyalty and trust between them and the practitioner. â€Å"By involving the children in all stages of planning you will ensure that they feel valued, that their opinions and ideas are relevant and, most importantly, you will ensure that the activities you provide are meaningful and interesting to the children.† Early Years Foundation Level 4 – Unit 10 (Supporting every child) – Working together page 127.A practitioner will try and create a secure attatchment between them and the children. Even with all the observation no-one will know a child better than their own parents. Creating a bond with parents is essential upon the first meeting. If a practitioner creates a relationship with a child's parents it can portray a sense of trust to the child. If parents have a positive attitude towards the practitioner , assistants and the child care setting this can only be a positive for the child to observe and therefore for the child to possibly mirror.A secure attatchment is essential in any child care setting however a practitioner needs to be able to reassure parents/carers that although their child may have a secure attatchment to a member in the class or have a key person. Their child will still always be encourages to socialise with friends, play independatly and generally become a member of the classroom as a whole. This is to ensure that parents dont start to panic that their child is becoming dependant on one key person.All children at any age specifically babies and early years children rely on the continuity of a special relationship between the practitioner and the child. They are the foundations of mental and physical development. Therefore practitioners should continuously ensure that every child feels loved, valued, cared for and thought about. â€Å"A part of the role of the e ffective practitioner is to bring together their commitments of respect and working with parents as partners, in order to reinforce positive relationships with all the children in their care.† Early Years Foundation Level 4 Unit 8 Key person ( Shared care) page 101.Working with a group of children and their parents it's important to acknowledge that every family is unique. This could depend on numerous things i.e culture, language barrier, nationality a child's upbringing and their personal environment.â€Å"Although practitioners may be experts in the field of children's learning and development they must remember that parents are experts on their own child.† (Unit 6, Repeating diversity, page 75)Effective communication is extremely essential in a child care setting with the children, the team of practitioners and also importantly the parents. Unfortunately there will be some things that parents miss out on when they entrust a practitioner to take care of their child. It's important to make them feel as involved in any activity or achievement their child may have been involved in.When language barriers occur or not being in contact with a parent. A practitioner needs to find another way of relaying information.Many child care settings use weekly communication books to pass on important information, or even if the child may have received a sticker to attach that in the communication book. According to the age of the child this could allow for the child to explain their personal achievement thus making it that more personal.Although communication diaries have advantages, it's important for a practitioner to keep balance with written communication and talking face to  face. Practitioners should try and retain any relationships they have with parents allowing them to feel a sense of comfort that you are flexible plus there as and when needed, for any type of discussion they may want to have, in case they have any questions or concerns. (REVISE)â₠¬ It is important for Early Years practitioners and parents to both realise the importance of learning from one another. Each holds vital information, knowledge and expertise which, if shared can contribute to and enhance a child's learning and development.† (Unit 6, learning together, page 82)Working with early years children a practitioner may not only work with assistants and parents / carers but practitioners may also work in partnership with other professionals.All children have various day to day home lives, it's paramount to try and adopt any routine to a child's (child) care setting where possible, creating this continuity will promote a child to feel safe, valued and secure.

Free Essays on Trung Sisters

During the 1,000 years under Chinese control, the Vietnamese people engaged in a continual struggle against their ruler. In 3 BC, a large amount of Chinese mandarins invaded Nam Viet, taking over land and farms previously owned by Vietnamese people. The Chinese also made demands to the Viet people in the form of high tributary payments. They monopolized the production of salt and iron for their personal gains. They also forced assimilation of its culture throughout the population. Various members of the Vietnamese aristocracy often led the struggles. The skirmishes between the Chinese authority and Vietnamese people occurred mainly in the outer Tonking provinces. Two women, Trung Trac and Trung Nhi, led one of these uprisings in 39 AD. In 36 AD, Su Ting (To Dinh) replaced Tich Quang, as governor of Giao Chi was significantly dishonest and greedy. In "Dong Quan Han Ky", the author wrote: "His eyes widened at the sight of money." These Hans demanded bribes, levied unreasonable taxation on salt and handicraft products. They also taxed the local people for fishing from the rivers. They oppressed the Vietnamese people, their children and families. Both the peasant and Au Lac gentry’s classes deeply resented the colonialist government. King Hung Vuong came from Me-linh (present time, Ha Tay Vinh Phu provinces). Although he worked for the Hans, he continued to maintain his personal affection for his country people. It was due to his patriotism that he gained the love and trust of the common people. His wife, Man Thien was equally committed to the same affection and purpose towards the people. They had two daughters, Trung Trac and Trung Nhi. These young women grew up witnessing the cruel Chinese treatment of the Vietnamese people. Their compassion for the people fueled their deep-seated hatred of the Chinese. They spent their time studying the art of warfare, weaponry and fighting skills. Chu Dien, located next to the town of Me-linh... Free Essays on Trung Sisters Free Essays on Trung Sisters During the 1,000 years under Chinese control, the Vietnamese people engaged in a continual struggle against their ruler. In 3 BC, a large amount of Chinese mandarins invaded Nam Viet, taking over land and farms previously owned by Vietnamese people. The Chinese also made demands to the Viet people in the form of high tributary payments. They monopolized the production of salt and iron for their personal gains. They also forced assimilation of its culture throughout the population. Various members of the Vietnamese aristocracy often led the struggles. The skirmishes between the Chinese authority and Vietnamese people occurred mainly in the outer Tonking provinces. Two women, Trung Trac and Trung Nhi, led one of these uprisings in 39 AD. In 36 AD, Su Ting (To Dinh) replaced Tich Quang, as governor of Giao Chi was significantly dishonest and greedy. In "Dong Quan Han Ky", the author wrote: "His eyes widened at the sight of money." These Hans demanded bribes, levied unreasonable taxation on salt and handicraft products. They also taxed the local people for fishing from the rivers. They oppressed the Vietnamese people, their children and families. Both the peasant and Au Lac gentry’s classes deeply resented the colonialist government. King Hung Vuong came from Me-linh (present time, Ha Tay Vinh Phu provinces). Although he worked for the Hans, he continued to maintain his personal affection for his country people. It was due to his patriotism that he gained the love and trust of the common people. His wife, Man Thien was equally committed to the same affection and purpose towards the people. They had two daughters, Trung Trac and Trung Nhi. These young women grew up witnessing the cruel Chinese treatment of the Vietnamese people. Their compassion for the people fueled their deep-seated hatred of the Chinese. They spent their time studying the art of warfare, weaponry and fighting skills. Chu Dien, located next to the town of Me-linh...

Concept of Sustainable Buildings in the Modern Day Building Industry

Concept of Sustainable Buildings in the Modern Day Building Industry Introduction Over the years, building designs have been changing in an effort to address diverse social, economic, and environmental needs. For instance, the 20th century was characterized by the advent of the skyscraper, in which the steel framing technology was exploited in a bid to surmount the shortage of real estate in different cities in the United States (U.S. Department of energy 2008).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Concept of Sustainable Buildings in the Modern Day Building Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More All of a sudden, the booming real estate market gave rise to other problems such as congestion and pollution that we now have to contend with. As a result, the modern day building industry seems to have ushered in a new era of change whereby the main goal is to ensure that we reduce as much as possible the various forms of footprint including carbon, energy, as well as environmental foo tprint of both residential and commercial buildings (U.S Department of energy 2008). At the same time, there is a dire need to conserve and optimize scarce resources such as energy, water, land, and clean air. In an attempt to surmount these challenges, players in the building industry are now banking on transformative technologies. For this reason, developers, designers and owners are on the lookout for new ways to reduce the environmental consequences and operating costs of buildings and at the same time, ensure that such buildings appeal to the occupants. This is what has given rise to the concept of sustainable buildings. A sustainable building refers to a structure that has been constructed in a resource-efficient and environmentally responsible manner. Such practices should be implemented in the entire lifecycle of the building beginning with siting, designing, and the actual construction. The same practices should also be utilized when maintaining, renovating, or demolishing such a building (EPA, n.d.). For proper coordination of all these activities, there is need for the various professionals involved to cooperate at the various stages of the project. These professionals include the design team, engineers, architects, and the client (EPA, n. d.).Advertising Looking for research paper on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The practice of sustainable/green building is an expansion of and a complement to the conventional design of buildings that appears to emphasize more on utility, economy, comfort, and durability (Mumovic Santamouris, 2009). Even with the constant development in new technologies aimed at complementing the existing practices, sustainable buildings are designed in such a manner as to reduce the possible overall impact that such buildings could have on the built environment, the natural environment, as well as on human health. This can be achieved by e nsuring that such resources as water and energy have been utilized efficiently. Another way of achieving sustainability is by improving employee productivity and ensuring that the health of the occupant of such buildings is protected. Also, there is need to reduce pollution, waste, and environmental degradation (Mumovic Santamouris, 2009). Sustainability involves the ability to fulfill the needs of the current generation while still ensuring that the needs of future generations have not been compromised (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2010). A report released by the U.S. General Services Administration in 2009 reveals that it would cost less to design, construct, operate, and maintain a sustainable building compared to a conventional building. Moreover, such buildings are also characterized by excellent energy performance. Moreover, occupants of such buildings expressed a lot of satisfaction in terms of the overall construction of the building, in comparison with their count erparts who occupied the conventional commercial buildings. Why we need to promote the concept of sustainable buildings Statistics show that today, the amount of energy consumed by the over 4.7 million commercial buildings and more than 114 million households in the United States is more than that which is consumed by the industry sectors.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Concept of Sustainable Buildings in the Modern Day Building Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In this case, the combined energy consumption by commercial and residential buildings in the United States is estimated at approximately 40 percent of the entire energy consumption in the country (U.S. Department of energy 2008). As such, the social, environmental, and financial benefits associated with the integration of renewable energy technologies, energy-efficient products and designs into both residential and commercial buildings are very evident. Nevertheless, up till now, in spite of increased consumer awareness on the benefits and significance of minimizing overall energy emission and consumption, Ellington 2004), there appears to be a very low uptake of the sustainable building concept. In the past few centuries, people who were interested in utilizing the earth’s resources to the fullest to support its progress and development were rarely questioned but in the 21st century, we continue to witness a significant and remarkable shift towards a more accountable approach. For instance, it is slowly dawning on developers, land owners, governments, the private sector, engineers and the general public that the earth’s resources are dwindling fast and for this reason, it is becoming increasingly important that all the parties involved make a concerted effort to ensuring that they preserve the environment so that future generations may also get a share of what mother nature has to offer. In addition, th ese parties are now fully aware of the importance of striking a balance between the environment, and their social and economic wellbeing for increased sustainability (Barr, 2004). That is why we are slowly witnessing a mushrooming of sustainable residential and commercial buildings that have been constructed in an eco-friendly manner. Even so, there is still need to create more awareness on the potential benefits of sustainable buildings if at all we are to witness profound improvements in the management of scarce natural resources and the associated negative effects once these resources are depleted.Advertising Looking for research paper on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As such, by embracing social, economically and environmentallys of renewable sources of energy that can be adopted in a sustainable building include solar power and wind power. The use of renewable sources of energy would therefore result in a major reduction in potential environmental impact on such buildings. In a bid to conserve energy, sustainable buildings should be constructed such that it is easily to identify and implement the various energy saving measures. Energy retrofits are by far more expensive compared to conservation and as such, a lot of effort should be dedicated to ensuring that we conserve energy. One of the strategies of ensuring that we have reduced our energy usage is by targeting those items that consume a lot of energy in the building (Allen Iano, 2008). For example, in a hotel, space conditioning (that is, cooling and heating) has been noted to utilize the most amount of energy. Therefore, in trying to conserve the energy consumption pattern of a hotel, a lot of efforts should be made to ensure that there is no heat transfer that takes place within the building. Other effective strategies that can also be adopted include decreasing infiltration, improving windows, insulating ductwork and exterior partitions, as well as retrofitting lighting fixtures. Another strategy that if implemented can lower costs is to ensure that during off peak times, electricity usage has been shifted (Allen Iano, 2008). The users of a sustainable building should form the habit of always saving energy. There is not much investment that goes into conservation measures and as such, they should be utilized more often. In terms of reducing operating costs, conservation measures have also proved to be the most cost-effective. Materials efficiency Certain building materials are considered as being sustainable. They include such renewable materials as straw, and bamboo, recycled metal, dimension stone, lumber obtained from certified forests, and recycled metals. O ther non-toxic, renewable, recyclable, and/or reusable materials that can also qualify as sustainable building materials include sheep wool, linoleum, truss, compressed earth block, baked earth, sand stone, flax linen, cork, wood fiber plates, and expanded clay grains, among others (EPA, n. d.). Other materials on the suggestion list of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for inclusion as sustainable building materials include foundry sand, coal combustion products, and demolition debris (EPA, n. d.). It is also recommended that building materials be extracted and produced closer to the site of the building as a way of reducing energy that would be expended upon their transit. Whenever possible, it is also recommended that the manufacturing of building material should take place off-site, after which they should then be delivered on-site. This is aimed at increasing benefits of off-site production, including reduction of recycling, reduced waste, less dust and noise, and high quality elements. Waste reduction Sustainable building is committed to ensuring that there is a drastic reduction in the wastage of building materials, energy, and water, among other vital resources. In addition, it is also important to ensure that water is not wasted when undertaking construction. Engineers involved in the construction stage of a sustainable building should ensure that they minimize the volume of materials that end up in landfills (Allen Iano, 2008). This way, it becomes easier to reduce the amount of materials in the landfill. Once the useful life of a building is over, most of them are demolished and the ensuing waste finds its way into landfills. Though deconstruction, such waste could be harvested and reclaimed to form useful building material (EPA, n. d.). We can also reduce wastes by extending the useful life of a building. Water Efficiency The concept of sustainable building is also concerned with activities aimed at ensuring that the protection of the qual ity of water is assured, and that the consumption of water has been minimized. One of the fundamental aspects of water consumption is that in certain areas, the supplying aquifer may not be able to sustain demand for water because its ability to self-replenish is slower (Mumovic Santamouris, 2009). For this reason, the personnel involved in the maintenance of such buildings should ensure that the water collected on-site has been put to good use by re-using it whenever possible. Protecting and conserving water in a building can be ensured by installing a dual plumbing design. This way, the occupants of a sustainable building can be assured throughout its entire lifetime. As a result, it becomes easier to recycle the water used to flush toilets, thereby ensuring water conservation. The use of water conserving fixtures like low-flow shower heads and ultra-low flush toilets can also help to reduce waste-water (Mumovic Santamouris, 2009). Also, the non-sewage water could also be put to better use, like for irrigation purposes instead of just letting it go to waste. This way, we can be able to reduce the demand for water from the local aquifer. Water conservation In order to minimize the overall water usage, efforts should be made to prevent pipes from leaking as this amount to wastage. How water pipes can also be insulated, and water meters installed. Water meters enable the collection of data on the consumption patterns of water. This way, one can easily establish specific water reductions goals with the intention of estimating the success of water conservation. Collecting rain water can also help to supplement piped water. In case the plumbing system within the building is leaking, it may result in over 10 dumping of water. In order to reduce such leaks, a concerted effort should be made to ensure that there is proper and regular maintenance of the plumbing system (Yan Stellios, 2006). Use should b made of low flow fixtures for they have that they are easy to install, not to mention that they are also cost comparable. The production of hot water should take place closer to the points of usage. This avoids wasting a lot of water and energy used to heat this water. One can save a lot of energy and water by increasing installing recirculating and pipe insulation units. Conclusion Sustainable buildings have gained a lot of popularity in recent years as it is starting to slowly dawn on us that our natural resources are dwindling very fast. For this reason, we need to ensure that we conserve energy, materials, and other resources such as water by adopting efficient and effective building principles. The main motivating factor for sustainable buildings is to ensure that the economic, social, and environmental concerns of a building are addressed. As such, sustainability buildings aim to ensure that the environmental impact of buildings is reduced as much as possible. Sustainable buildings often refer to those structures that have been designed in a resource-efficient and environmentally responsible manner. Such practices should be implemented in the entire lifecycle of the building starting with the basic step of site selection whereby the site selected for constructing the building should be environmentally friendly. Some of the common techniques applied in the design of sustainable buildings include proper site selection, optimizing the use of energy, use of environmentally friendly materials, improved indoor environmental quality, optimizing maintenance and operational activities, and improving the quality of the indoor environment. The entire building design should also emphasize on achieving an economic, social, and environmental balance. The same goes for the actual operation and construction. In addition, the maintenance, renovation or demolition of such a building should also follow these practices. The various professionals involved in the construction of a building need to cooperate so that all these activities can be properly coordinated. Reference List Allen, E, Iano, J. (2008). Fundamentals of building construction: materials and  methods. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley Sons Inc. Barr, S. (2004). Are we all environmentalists now? Rhetoric and reality in environmental  Action. Geoforum, 35, 231-249. California Sustainability Alliance (2011). Green Buildings. Retrieved from http://sustainca.org/programs/green_buildings_challenges Chang, K. (2000). Scientists Watch Cities Make Their Own Weather. Retrieved from http://nytimes.com/. EPA. (n.d.). What is a green building: Fundamental Principles of Green Building and Sustainable Site Design. Retrieved from http://epa.gov/statelocalclimate/documents/pdf/12_8_what_is_green_GGGC.pdf Ellington, M. (2004). Energy hogs a new advertising campaign raises consumer awareness on saving energy. Retrieved from eere.energy.gov/state_energy_program/update/printer_friendly.cfm?volume=51 Mumovic, D., Santamouris, M. (2009). An Integrated Approach to En ergy, Health and  Operational Performance. London: Earthscan U.S Department of energy. (2008). Energy Efficiency Trends in Residential and Commercial Buildings. Retrieved from http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/corporate/bt_stateindustry.pdf U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2009). Green Building Basic Information. Retrieved from epa.gov/greenbuilding/pubs/about.htm U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.(2010). Why build green? Retrieved from epa.gov/greenbuilding/pubs/whybuild.htm Yan, J., Stellios, P. (2006). Design for Sustainability. Beijing: China Architecture and Building Press.