Current coal burning policy in U.S.A Essay Example for Free

Current coal burning policy in U.S.A Essay Coal is the largest power producer in America. Recently, the International Energy Agency said that until the year 2030, it will remain to be the worlds largest source of power. However, we have to face the consequences of using coal, because of all fuels; it produces the most carbon dioxide, the number one cause of global warming. Research has shown that American coal burning power plants produce up to two billion tons of carbon dioxide per year. (Nao Nakanishi, 2008) Coal is produced from fossil fuels, which come from plants that decayed millions of years ago. When these fossils are burnt, carbon, nitrous oxide, methane and fluorocarbons are emitted. Carbon combines with oxygen when it is released to the atmosphere, to form carbon dioxide. In the atmosphere, carbon dioxide, together with the other gases like nitrous oxide, methane and fluorocarbons form the green house gases. Carbon dioxide forms 76% of the total green house gases. These gases hang in the atmosphere, such that when the sun’s rays hit the earth and reflect back, some are unable to pass through the green house gases. These rays remain in the atmosphere and cause the earth to be 33 degrees Celsius warmer than it should be. The change in the climate causes global warming. The effects of global warming are evident today; increase in diseases like malaria, drought, increased floods to mention just a few. (Hopwood N. etal, 2008) Questions like why coal has to be used as the major electricity producer world wide have been asked many times. The most common answer to this question is that it is found in abundance and is a reliable source of electricity. In addition, it is quite affordable and above all cheapest to produce. However, its demand has become more than its supply so the manufacturers will have too continue manufacturing more of the product. Besides the facts that it has become the back bone of Americas economy, in that if the coal industry failed, there would be a power shortage in the other industries. This explains that economic factors have resulted to coal being a cause for global warming. The diagram below shows the consumption of coal, and the predictions for the future years. (Fueling the future, 2000) It is very sad to know that the American courts have denied the common citizen his right to file for charges against the polluters. This decision has been based on the fact that the common citizen is not harmed by the core emissions to the extent that the harm caused provides sufficient ground for them to file charges. This incident happened a few years ago ion Alabama, where core mines are found. Such an incident is enough proof that even the authorities are now involved in the corruption that comes with core mining. The politicians have not also been left out in the contribution of coal as a cause of global warming. The Bush’s government was a big supporter of coal production. Obama’s government too has not done much to support the use of an alternate source of energy that is not so hazardous. Even after the historic spill of the coal ash in Tennessee, the coal industry has continued to receive support from the members of the Obama government, who have said that they intend to maintain coal as the major source of energy all over America. The government can come up with other ways of producing electricity like the wind power, the hydro electric power or the solar energy. (Power Stephen etal, 2009). Coal mining imposes threats to human life, at both the external and the internal level. At the internal level, coal affects the health of the workers at the mine fields. They breathe the gas when they are mining, and this can lead to serious problems like diseases such as black chest, which is caused by accumulation of the gases on the chest of the miners. The external effects of global warming due to the coal pollution can be seen in the increased environmental degradation. For example, the open pit method of mining the coal leads to land degradation. There are also the deformities that are seen in children born by mothers who were exposed to the gases found in coal. For example, there is mercury, which may cause the children born to be deformed, or may cause them death. The Tennessee coal ash spill, which occurred late, last year shows the ignorance being displayed by the coal manufacturers. More than fifteen homes were destroyed, while the ones that were nearby were exposed to very hazardous conditions. Studies by scientists showed that the ashes contained heavy metals like lead, arenic among others; which could cause neurological problems and diseases like cancer. The ash spill made brought back a debate that had died a few years ago, whether the government should declare the ash from coal as a toxic and hazardous substance. Officials from the coal mining company said that the ash was ’clean coal’. However, environmentalist are warning that there is nothing as clean coal, which is true because if the ash was clean, then they would not be storing it in the first place, but would be releasing it to the atmosphere. (Shaila Dewan, 12/25/2008). The history of coal The first ever coal to be mined in America was in 1748, and it weighed 50 tons, but today, more than one billion tonnes are produced every year. In 1762, people whom settled in the Wyoming Valley discovered the deposits of coal. By then, Pennsylvania was a flat, moist but hot plain and was mostly covered in swamps. It was estimated that 16 billion tons of coal lied beneath the service, and an estimated 7. 5 billion tons of the coal could be mined. In 1768, the coal was first mined, and the mine was located near Pittston. Between 1776 and 1780, the coal that was discovered at the Wilkes- Berre area was mined. It was then used as an industrial product in 1788, to heat the metals that were used to make iron nails. After the first mining and use of coal in the industries, other uses were also discovered. From then, coal became a major boost to the industrial revolution, and it continues to be used in the industries up to date. A total of 38 states have coal deposits and each has been mined one time or another. Coal mining is one of the reasons for the development of these states since the early 1800s. The uses of coal have improved as the years pass. At first, coal was used for the manufacture of the gas lights. In the 1950s, illuminating gas that was commonly used in Britain was also made from coal. In general, coal was in the past used for the steam engines, as a domestic heat provide and as a fuel for rail roads. Efforts to stop global warming by coal There are environmentalists such as Al Gore, have tried to come up with solutions to reduce global warming by coal. There are such as the use of alternative sources of energy like the solar and the wind power, which do not contribute to global warming. They have argued that the energy sources would be important in the conservation of the environment and the effect of global warming would definitely decrease. There is also the on going research on how the coal gases can be cleaned before they are released to the atmosphere to reduce the level of pollution that they cause. President Obama has supported this move, saying that since he supports the use of coal as the major source of electricity for all of America, then clean coal, free from any toxins would be a good idea to reduce global warming. Review of the research This research has been done through the use of secondary sources. The sources are reliable, some of them on statistical data. However, more research needs to be done on the use of coal as the major source of electricity in America. There, is a need to join the environmentalists in the campaign against the use of coal, and to come up with other methods that are friendlier to the environment. We all have a role to play in the reducing the effects of global warming. Works cited 1) Beacon Theater, January 15, 2004, Al Gore Speaks on Global Warming and the Environment, New York, retrieved on 1/27/2009 from: http://civic. moveon. org/gore3//speech. html 2) Dewan Shaila, 12/25/2008, Tennessee coal ash spill revives issue of its hazards: Herald tribune Retrieved on 1/27/2009 from http://www. iht. com/articles/2008/12/25/america/25sludge. php? page=1 3) District 1 Coal Mine Safety and Health History of Anthracite Coal Mining: United States department of labor, retrieved on 1/27/2009 from http://www. msha. gov/district/dist_01/history/history. htm 4) Fueling the future: American gas foundation, 2000, retrieved on 1/27/2009 from: http://www. fuelingthefuture. org/contents/Graphs. asp 5) History of core use: fossil oils. org 14/19/2004, retrieved on 1/27/2009 from http://www. bydesign. com/fossilfuels/links/index. html 6) Hopwood Nick, Cohen Jordan, (2008), Green house gases and society, retrieved on 1/27/2009 from http://www. umich. edu/~gs265/society/greenhouse. htm 7) John Stuart Richards, 2002, Early Coal Mining in the Anthracite Region, New York, Arcadia Publishing, 2002 8) Kutcha David, 2003, Pennsylvania coal mine history, retrieved on 1/27/1009 from http://www. tccweb. org/penncoal. htm 9) Nakanishi Nao, 11/14/2008. Coal to remain worlds top power source: Energy plan USA, Research and comment, retrieved on 1/27/2009 from: http://www. reuters. com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE4AD3CQ20081114? sp=true

What Are The Main Contrasts To Be Found In Portugal? :: essays research papers fc

What Are The Main Contrasts To Be Found in Portugal?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When answering a question such as this, one must primarily begin by pointing out that not only does Portugal have a great many contrasts within its land, but also that it contrasts greatly with the other Mediterranean countries. Portugal is not to be considered by any means as Spain's poor neighbour, nor should a shadow be cast over it by such a formidable nation. Portugal has a great deal to offer any visitor, it is not merely a tourist's paradise, yet this is regrettably how it is viewed by a large number of individuals. One must also not forget Portugal's history of being, in days gone by, one of the greater maritime nations, one of the more advanced exploring countries of Europe. Whilst Spain was occupied with discovering the Indias and consequently the Americas, Portugal was itself busy exploring Africa and making its own invaluable discoveries, although these are for the most part overlooked.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Being situated on the westernmost edge of Europe and the Iberian Peninsula, Portugal enjoys a relative privacy and independence from the rest of Mediterranean countries. Bordering on Spain on two sides and the sea on the others, the nation as naturally turned towards the sea, from which it draws both its strength and wealth and turned its back on its greatest rival, Spain. Due to its constant waves of invasion throughout the ages, Portugal is a vastly diverse land, not only in geographical terms but also in terms of heritage. It is true to say that Portugal does share a number of similarities with Spain, but it is by no means identical. Rather it is a nation which blends Moorish influences, British tradition and Mediterranean culture to form a truly unique land of peoples.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When considering the diversity of a country such as Portugal, the mention of which immediately conjures up a melange of images from North African to Western European, from hot and balmy weather to snow capped mountains, one must really begin by describing the two principle factors, those of climate and geography, which themselves are interwoven. These in turn have a great effect on and to a certain extent bring about other differences which can be noted within the narrow confines of this nation, such as those of vegetation, economy and landscape.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On examining Portugal in terms of contrasting regions or areas, one must obviously have a starting point and that is generally considered to be a comparison between north and south, the River Tagus (Tejo) being the dividing line. However, Portugal can naturally be divided into three great natural

Retelling Is Not the Same as Recalling

This article is talking about recalling is more accuracy on Information and details. However it's different from retelling. Retelling is more focus on the speaker's goals, the audience, and the social context more generally. It has explained that retelling the story facts are much better that elaboration of the story. However, the new memory would Incomplete or distorted our old memory. Hence, It decreases the accuracy of our memory. Retelling can be linked to memory errors observed In domains such as flashbulb memories and eyewitness testimony.Flashbulb memory explained that why we could remember something very well. It's because flashbulb memory a clear memory of an emotion significant moment or event and location. Therefore, very could remember what we were doing and where we were accuracy. We could only remember well for the facts of the event, but not all the details. When the times pass longer, it would replace by the new memory too, to reduce the accuracy of memory. I would li ke to introduce to my friends or parent that our memory is not accuracy for something that we not always recall. It's hard to remember all the details andInformation of the events. Mostly, we could retell the facts of the story or events. It Is because our new memory replaced our old memory. That's why It would affect our accuracy of memory. There are also so many things could affect our memory. Such as, environment, internal state, consciousness, encoding and rehearsing. Those facts would affect the accuracy and how well we could remember for the detail. Personal Reaction This article let me understand that why something we could memorize so well and we would never forget that and something we could only remember the facts but not the details.It's because of our recalling and retelling of emotion and location. We could only remember the facts but not all the details. However, when something that we didn't recall a lot It may replace by the new memory and it would mess up our real m emory. I'm agreeing with this article, because something that we recall well Is depends on our memory. How done some facts affect our memory and accuracy of memory. Sometime, we may Just remember the mall story of the even. It's because some information may replace by the new memory but our brain will use those new memory to make sense of it.Hence, it will affect the accuracy memory. There were some experiences showed in the article, recalling the fact is much better than recalling the details. I think it's because different people have different quality of memorization, some people are good at retelling information. As I remember during our class, you have talked a lot about memory and it is a huge topic. As I remember, during the class, we have talked a lot about memory. There are a lot of facts could affect out memory. They are link to this article. Such as, explicit memory, implicit memory, context-dependent memory and state dependent memory.They are some information we have dis cussed during the class which Is connect with this article. After I read this article, I know more about how recalling affects our memory accuracy and why we can't remember well for some detail except some condition (ex: flashbulb memory). Retelling Is Not the Same as Recalling By checking This article is talking about recalling is more accuracy on information and details. Memory would incomplete or distorted our old memory. Hence, it decreases the accuracy of our memory. Retelling can be linked to memory errors observed in information of the events.Mostly, we could retell the facts of the story or events. It is because our new memory replaced our old memory. That's why it would affect our we didn't recall a lot it may replace by the new memory and it would mess up our real memory. I'm agreeing with this article, because something that we recall well is memory. Sometime, we may Just remember the main story of the even. It's because information we have discussed during the class whic h is connect with this article. After I read this article, I know more about how recalling affects our memory accuracy and why we can't remember well for some detail except some condition (ex: flashbulb

The Aging Memory A Research on Working Memory and Recall...

The aging memory: short-term memory and recall performance differences found in age groups. 1. Introduction The following research proposal aims to continue to further the discussion and study into human memory. However, specifically more into the difference that can be found between age groups in terms of short-term memory and recall performance. Motivation to undertake in such a study can be said to expand on the existing knowledge as well as to close any gaps due to lack of insight and testing in specific areas – short-term memory and recall performance. Another reason as to why this topic is being researched is to further my own interest within this specialised area of memory as well as cognitive neuroscience in psychology.†¦show more content†¦Short-term or working memory is another term that is important to define. Working memory is a limited amount of information for a limited amount of time that can be processed whilst stimuli is present. (Banich Compton, 2011). It is the temporary storage of information currently being received (Kaczmarzyk, 2013). The term working memory will be used to refer to short-term memory hereafter. Another concept to take into account is ‘recall’ and that is the recollection or retrieval of information that has been previously processed (Dumas Hartman, 2003). An example to explain this concept would be the recalling of a word that a student has learnt for a spelling test. It is now possible to continue further discussion on this topic as key concepts have been clarified. There has been a vast amount of study into working memory. Working memory is said to hold at least 7 items for a time span of 10 to 15 seconds at times it can hold and recall information for 1 minute (Fine, 2008). According to Banich and Compton (2011), working memory consists of a number of information-processing systems such as; visual, auditory as well as verbal operations. 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