Ozone Layer Essays - Gases, Greenhouse Gases, Ultraviolet Radiation

Ozone Layer Ozone derives from the greek word ozein which means to smell. It was first discovered in 1839 by Christian Friedrick Schonbein who noticed it because of its distinctive acrid smell. He discovered this at the University of Basel in Switzerland. Ozone is merely oxygen, but not the type we breath. Ozone, O3 has three compounds while oxygen has only two. Ozone is reac- tive, meaning it does not stay still, and wants to go back to its original state, with two compounds, O2. This is why ozone isharmful. Ozone always wants to let go of its third compound, and if this compound reacts with other substances, it could be damaging, especially to humans. When discussing with the ozone layer, one should know the four major atmosphere levels on earth. The troposphere which is between zero and fifteen kilometers in altitude and has tempera- ture ranges from two hundred to two hundred ninety kelvins. The second is the stratosphere which ranges from fifteen to approxi- mately fifty kilometers in altitude and has temperature ranges from two hundred to two hundred fifty kelvins. The third level in the atmosphere is mesosphere. This level ranges from fifty to eighty-five kilometers in altitude and has temperature rangesbetween one hundred eighty and two hundred fifty kelvins. Finally, the thermosphere is the final level in the atmosphere. It's range is eighty-five to one hundred forty kilometers and also temperatures as high as four hundred sixty kelvins. Society has been widely addressed with the many problems that we are having in our environment today. A major problem is that of CFCs. CFC stands for Chlorofluorocarbons which are found in many of the aerosol spray cans. In December of 1973, Rowland and Molina discovered that CFCs can destroy the ozone in the stratosphere. In June 1975, the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC) sued the Consumers Product Safety Commission for a band of CFCs used in aerosol spray cans. United States's fifth largest manufacturers of aerosol sprays announced that they will reduce the amount of CFCs used in there products. But as things started to get better, The Consumer Product Safety Commission rejected NRDC's law suit in July stating that there was insufficient evidence towards the amount of harm the CFCs were doing to the ozone layer. On September 1976, a report was released which re-enforced Rowland and Molina's hypothesis, but also stated that the govern- ment action on CFC regulations should be postponed. This report also stated that the CFCs can initiate climatic changes and contribute to the warming of the earth's atmosphere, i.e., the greenhouse effect. May 1977, several government agencies announced joint plans to limit, but not eliminate uses of CFCs in aerosol spray cans. But on February of the following year, the government decided to postpone the regulations on CFCs used in refrigeration, air conditioning, solvents, and other industrial processes. With all the new regulations taking affect and being postponed, nothing was getting accomplished, but finally, on October 1978, aerosols where banned in the United States. August of 1981, satellite pictures showed that over one percent of the ozone was lost due to CFCs. Then, in October of 1984, research groups found a forty percent loss of ozone over Antarctica. In August of 1985, satellite photos confirmed the existence of an ozone hole over Antarctica. Even though many were trying to reduce the amount of CFCs in their products, there were still some out there who wanted to make the fast buck. February 1988, three US senators asked Du Pont to stop making CFCs but the chairman denied the requested. Three weeks later, the chairman agrees to ease manufacturing of chemicals, but only when substitutes were available. Eight in a million of the widely scattered molecules are ozone in our atmosphere--this is what is responsible for the rising of temperature. Ozone takes in ultra-violet rays when they come from the sun and converts the radiation to heat and chemical energy. The ozone layer also seals earth from the many of the other powerful radiation rays that the sun gives off. Splitting of oxygen molecules depends upon the intense radiation, therefore, the greatest ozone production is over the tropics. The ozone is dangerous to us because is causes many types of skin cancer such as malignant melanoma--a very deadly cancer which causes death to forty percent of all recorded cases of cancer. Many people predict that the ozone layer would cause thirty thousand skin cancers just in the United States alone, and over five hundred-thousand world wide. Cancer, though, is only one of the few

The Hourglass Technique

The Hourglass Technique Most of us during school and then in our careers have to write research papers and reports and analyze. Some of us go on to write journal articles or textbooks, nonfiction books, or even novels as freelancers. At some point, we have to take a subject, narrow it to a related topic, decide on a thesis to express our idea, and write an organized text to communicate that idea or plot and its conclusions and deliver a well-received document.The problem is that too often we get lost in the process and end up straying off topic or have trouble connecting our ideas or forming a clear thesis from the topic and then an argument strategy that relates to that topic and its thesis. Why does that happen? Because we have so many ideas about our topic or so many argument points, we simply have too many cooks in the kitchen to suggest a simple metaphor.What is the solution then? Is there a clearly stated technique we can apply that keeps us from saying too much or not being focused in a paper? Yes, t here is. Its a technique I used when I taught research paper and students told me they were panicked about writing a longer paper on one topic. They wanted to write a good paper, but got lost in the process. Its the Hourglass Technique of Writing. It is really simple and actually derived from the concept of outlining, but more visual and interactive in nature (which helps a lot of writers arrange their thinking as they plan a paper).We all know what an hourglass is – two connected glass bulbs with sand that slowly flows from the top bulb to the bottom bulb through a narrow passage that connects the two. A 3-minute egg timer is a good example. The sand at the top flows through the narrow passageway into the bottom bulb until 3 minutes are up. Then we simply turn the hourglass upside down to restart the timing process again.Lets consider the image of the hourglass and think about how a broad subject for writing must narrow to become a focused topic. Then that topic needs to nar row further still to become a precise thesis statement. At that point, were at the narrow connection where the two bulbs of the hourglass meet. Using this image, we can move from the broad to the focused idea and develop a precise and significant thesis that relates back to the original topic we had when we started and produces a precisely related thesis statement. That statement becomes the precise question or hypothesis we then use to develop arguments and the discussion and work toward a logical conclusion. This downward selective narrowing process can look something like this: Main Subject narrowed to your Topic; then your Topic narrowed further downward to a Working Thesis, and finally, that Working Thesis narrowed to your focused Thesis Statement at the narrowest point in your writing hourglass.This is the first step – narrowing our ideas, so we can see the direction we want to take for the whole paper. We create our thesis statement from the too broad a subject that in trigued us in the first place and left us with too many ideas and confusion about how to proceed to narrow our thinking.So whats next? Well, we simply move to the bottom part of the hourglass – the lower bulb. Our thesis statement now becomes a new topic for developing 3-4 main argument points related to our main thesis. All these main argument points derive from and relate back to your main thesis and from there back to your original topic and overall discipline or genre needed for your work. However, we have narrowed our thinking, so each argument point is carefully set apart and becomes its own hourglass that narrows to a sub-thesis and then expands to produce related detail to argue that sub-thesis. Indeed, we can go through the same exact thinking process as we did with the major thesis statement and develop each argument points expanded detail and that support.Thus, when we have finished the journey from the top of the hourglass to the bottom, we have expanded our think ing from an original broad subject to a thesis statement and then from that statement to 3-4 main argument points. We then develop each argument point as its own hourglass to find our sub-arguments and their support. In effect, what you have is the reverse of the first narrowing process: You use your main Thesis Statement to determine your first main Argument to support it. Then you determine an Argument Thesis from which you develop Sub-Arguments and then expand those to Argument Support to deliver your details and thinking for each Sub-Argument.Each argument in your paper can go through the same hourglass process where the argument becomes a sub-topic and then is narrowed to produced a sub-thesis statement and then expanded (just like an hourglass at the bottom) to gather support, illustrations, and explanations. All of these relate back directly to your main thesis statement and your original topic and genre.Try the concept. Draw a group of hourglasses on a piece of paper and use them as separate thinking tools to help you narrow a topic visually and then expand the thesis youve discovered into main arguments that repeat the same process. You can even stack the hourglasses if you want to make the thinking process on your topic a bit more complex. Narrow each main argument into its own thesis and then expand it to contain its own argument and supporting evidence.By segmenting your thinking, youll be more precise, yet more abstract in your thinking, and definitely more creative. Youll find your thinking will be better organized and yet integrated and connected. It works. I use the concept all the time in different writing genres. Eventually, it becomes second nature and one of your key writing tools.

How to Pronounce oi in the French Language

How to Pronounce oi in the French Language If one of the first French words you learned was  au revoir, then you already know how to pronounce the oi combination in other words. This is a vowel pairing that is used frequently in the French language and a quick lesson will help you pronounce it with ease. How to Pronounce oi in French The letters oi in French  are pronounced [wa]. The A takes on the regular French A sound. This is often considered one of the signature sounds of the French language and the foundation for French accents. Beyond  au  revoir, you likely learned to say oi in  trois  (three) when learning to count. Its also found in other basic vocabulary lessons, such as  la  voiture  (car),  une  poire  (pear), and  des  devoirs  (homework). Practice Your oi Pronunciation   To really hone your pronunciation of oi, here are a few more words to practice. Try to pronounce each on your own prior to clicking on the word to hear the correct pronunciation.   As you work your way through the list, you should hear that signature [wa] sound. Quite often, the letter following oi is either silent or softer than it may be in other words. au revoir  (good-bye)boire  (drink)dà ©boà ®ter  (to disconnect)le  doigt  (finger)à ©loigner  (to move away)une  framboise  (raspberry)loin (de)  (far from)Mademoiselle  (Miss)la  toilette  (toilet, bathroom)

Annotated bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Annotated Bibliography Example Over 1000 samples were drawn from the population under study, this being a reasonable and practical sample size for such a study. Culture is found to impact the reward preferences, such impacts not being straight forward though. The study also reveals that reward preferences may not be impacted by cultural influences alone. It is instead influenced also be factors such as economic conditions among other contextual factors. The research was conducted using data drawn from one industry alone as opposed to several industries. There is a chance that other industries could reveal different results. Also, the countries featured in the sample share certain cultural characteristics which could lead to results only practical to countries with the same characteristics. It is also noted that the results may also have been affected by the difference in importance in the various cultural dimensions. Reward variance could have been impacted by organizational factors including the size of the organization and ownership. It is important to take culture into consideration when determining the reward schemes or strategies to apply for an organization’s workforce. In addition, other factors must be taken into consideration given that it is not only culture that influences these preferences. Understanding people’s culture in a multinational environment is greatly important to the human resource manager and to the reader. The reader gets to appreciate Hofstede’s framework as it provides practical contributions with respect to culture. The reader realizes the importance of culture as a factor in rewarding employees especially when dealing with multinational companies and organizations that are served by people from of different cultural backgrounds. The audience furthermore gets to appreciate how much employee preferences affect reward management at the international

Personal Perception of Organized Crime Paper Essay

Personal Perception of Organized Crime Paper - Essay Example Militias in Somalia which are fighting the interim government in Somalia. This type of crime is well organized such that it may involve various associations of persons such as police, politicians, business people and criminals which are formed for the purposes of generating profits. In addition, view organized crime as one of the social vices that thrives well in an enabling environment, violating human rights and hence should be discouraged at all costs. To my view, organized crime is common in urban areas but as its structure advances, it encroaches the rural areas, for instance, the 'mungiki sect' in Kenya which is well established and organized both in the rural and urban areas of the country. The definitions presented in the readings acknowledge similar organized crime activities as the ones in my perception with an exception of illegal prostitution. Both my perceptions and the definitions given concur with the unique factor about organized crime i.e. it is 'organized' or 'controlled' in the manner of their operation. Both the definitions and my perception are of the view that, organized crime flourishes through provision/supply of services and goods that command a high demand in the society. Both perceive attainment of power and profits some of the goals of the syndicated crime. The definitions in the readings recognize that organized crime operates as ongoing enterprises which work rationally so as to generate profits by pursuing illegal activities. These enterprises insure their survival through the application of force or threats, and by corrupting public officials so as to secure a degree of protection against law enforcement. The definitions in the readings acknowledge illegal prostitution as one of the organized crime activities. These definitions acknowledges that the organized crime may entail legal acts; and that the organization may take hierarchical order with positions in the chain of command and the positions involving operational specialization being assigned on the grounds of either friendship, kinship or rational assignment based on skills(Sullivan, 2002). The definitions acknowledge attainment of pride and protection as being additional goals of the organized crime. The definitions acknowledge that members of an organized crime association who actively pursue its goals and to maintain the integral of the enterprise assume permanency. To maintain the discipline or to achieve the ends, members express and exercise willingness to use or engage in bribery and/or corruption. The definitions also note that membership of the organized crime enterprises is restricted and that nonmembers might be involved usually on an emergency/contingency basis. According to the definition of organized crime by Abadinski (1990), as quoted by Lunde (2004), "There are explicit rules, oral or written, which are enforced by sanctions that include murder (p.6). The definitions also note that the structure of an organized/syndicated crime relies on its particular illegal activity. According to Best and Luckenbill, as quoted by Lyman and Gary (2004), 'despite syndicated crime being highly organized, a particular syndicate involved in illegal trafficking of drugs will have a d ifferent structure as compared to a syndicated crime engaging in illegal prostitut

Essay example --

Many people, especially women, are plagued with fat storage in their lower bodies including their hips and thighs. Spot reduction isn't possible, and to reduce this dreaded jiggle, you must lose fat from your entire body through diet, cardio and strength training. (See References 1) A daily workout plan can keep you on track, and ensure that you're putting in the work required to reach your goal. Cardio On Most Days Cardio burns calories that can help you lose weight from your entire body including from your wobbly bits. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults do at least 150 minutes of moderate cardio a week. (See References 2) You can accumulate this by scheduling a 30-minute cardio session on five days of the week. Focus on leg-intense cardio that engages your hips and thighs. Go ice skating, jog, walk briskly, take a kickboxing or step-aerobics class, or use a stair climber or an elliptical machine. Strength Training Twice a Week Muscle tissue burn more calories than fat even when you're resting. (See References 3) To stimulate muscle tissue as y...

Border Patrol in Arizona

Alexa Ibarra English 102 Mrs. Nowotny-Young April 7th, 2010 What can we do to mitigate the affects of drug smuggling in Arizona? According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy there were 5,225 juvenile and 24,145 adult drug arrests in Arizona during 2006. The state of Arizona is a state of high intensity drug trafficking, which has therefore lead Arizona to be a state of great danger. The crime dealt with locals, the location of how easily accessible the border is and the networking that has become so large and causes immense crime in Arizona.What can be done to mitigate the affects of drug smuggling in Arizona? For those who are neighbors to the border, they are very influenced by the drugs, crime and risk their lives daily because of the positioning of their home. For most who live near the border it is a matter of culture and heritage. Payan demonstrates a â€Å"birds eye view† and how officials disregard the opinions and thoughts of those who live in the bordering areas. Apparently, they believe that the government should come up with a new approach, which could provide citizens with more privacy and more security in their neighborhoods due to high crime.Another big problem is that because these areas by the borders are so poor, locals feel pressured to become involved in these illicit activities in the drug smuggling business. The newspaper article by Eckholm demonstrates specific drug smuggling in Sells, Arizona. Tribes in Sells have been feeling as though they are being put in the middle, and that security is not strong enough too protect them from the dangers of drug smugglers. Residents of neighborhoods of bordering towns of Mexico those who believe that security in bordering towns must be more secure and refined.The purpose of the article is to give readers a taste of how it is to live in such an area, and that residents are in great danger because of the drug smuggling corruption. Many residents are often times afraid to leave their h omes because of the violence and mischief they deal with at nighttime when serious crime is done. Many think this is unfair due to the government’s lack of support to the locals, which would benefit them and put them in less harm and danger. â€Å"The smuggling of people and drugs across their backyards is something residents here have dealt with for decades.But, they say the killing of Krentz cements a disturbing evolution that began a few years ago – illegal border activity has gone from irritating to deadly dangerous. †(Mccombs 1) the killing of Robert Krentz 58 was killed by a suspected illegal immigrant. Most residents here say they believe the killer was a Mexican drug smuggler. â€Å"Many blame the U. S. government for ignoring their warnings about the increased criminal activity and for failing to protect them. The Krentz family says it holds no malice toward Mexican people. They say political forces in U. S and Mexico are accountable for the death. (Mc Comb 1) Arizona shares a 370-mile border with Mexico. This border area, a large portion of which is open and sparsely populated, cannot be continuously monitored by border enforcement agencies and is used extensively by drug trafficking organizations to smuggle illicit drugs into the United States. Significant quantities of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana are smuggled from Mexico into Arizona. Federal-wide Drug Seizure System data indicate that Arizona ranked second in the country behind Texas in the total quantity of illicit drugs seized in 2002.Arizona is a national-level distribution center for illicit drugs, largely due to its multifaceted transportation infrastructure. Drug traffickers commonly use private vehicles and commercial trucks to smuggle illicit drugs into and through the state. Couriers traveling aboard commercial aircraft, commercial buses, and passenger railcars and package delivery services also are used by traffickers, but to a lesser extent. DTOs and criminal groups generally use Interstates 8, 10, 17, 19, and 40 as well as U. S. Highways 85 and 86 as primary routes for transporting drugs throughout Arizona and from Arizona to other regions of the country.Interstate 8 extends from San Diego through Yuma and terminates at I-10, approximately midway between Phoenix and Tucson. Interstate 10 spans the entire country, connecting Arizona, particularly Phoenix and Tucson, with the West Coast at Los Angeles and the East Coast at Jacksonville, Florida. Interstate 17 connects Phoenix to Flagstaff and provides access to eastern and western states via I-40. Interstate 19 connects Nogales on the U. S. -Mexico border with I-10 at Tucson. Interstate 40 originates at I-15 in Barstow, California, passes through Arizona, and terminates at Wilmington, North Carolina.US 85 begin at the U. S. -Mexico border and ends in the Phoenix metropolitan area. US 86 split from US 85 and extend eastward to Tucson. The Obama administration would like to in vest in an â€Å"invisible fence† which would take up to 672 million dollars in costs to create. The Bush administration launched the project in 2005 to help secure the border against illegal immigrants, drug smugglers and other intruders. It was conceived as another layer of protection, in addition to thousands of Border Patrol agents and 650 miles of real fences.The system was supposed to let a small number of dispatchers watch the border on a computer monitor, zoom in with cameras to see people crossing and decide whether to send Border Patrol agents to the scene. Although there are sensors, cameras and radar at many points along the border, they are not connected to cover large expanses. Originally, the virtual fence was supposed to be completed by 2011 but due to technical problems it has been changed to 2014. â€Å"Among other things, the radar system had trouble distinguishing between vegetation and people when it was windy.Also, the satellite communication system too k too long to relay information in the field to a command center. By the time an operator moved a camera to take a closer look at a spot, whatever had raised suspicion was gone. † (Billeaud 1) The technical issues that follow the virtual fence, along with funding problems keep delaying the creation of the virtual fence. According to Jorg Raab he explains that networking can often lead to crime. Networking is being negatively used for drug trade and putting many people in danger because of it.Raab focus is directed to those who view networking as a negative action, and believes that these networks should be confronted if western democracies wish to deal with terrorism, drug smuggling and manifolds pathologies that confront failed states. The Minutemen group has been created through a voluntary group, which is dedicated to preventing illegal crossings of the Unites States border. Arguing that the government is insufficiently concerned with securing the U. S. border they have org anized several state chapters, with the intention of providing law enforcement agencies with evidence of immigration law violations.Minutemen are a positive volunteer group but because they are risking their lives with no pay this puts the minutemen at very low numbered group members. The drug smuggling problem has become huge in Arizona. Whether it may affecting the locals, its relative closeness and easily navigable location or that networks have completely taken over the streets drug smuggling is something important and extremely important to understand in order to affectively change it. Some believe that the key to keeping danger away is to focus less on illegal immigration and focus more on drug traffickers who are creating danger to citizens of the border.The Obama administration is hoping to assess an invisible fence, which would keep illegal immigration and drug smuggling out of the United States, but with funding this, may take years to process. The minutemen system has bee n effective but the fact that it is voluntary puts the volunteers in dangerous situations, which can be misleading. Overall the drug smuggling problem in Arizona has brought much crime and danger to citizens and must be taken care of before drug smugglers expand and put more neighborhoods at harm. Works Cited Billeaud, Jacques. â€Å"Invisible fence at U. S. -Mexico border in real trouble. † The Commercial Appeal.N. p. , Jan. -Feb. 2010. Web. 7 Apr. 2010. Eckholm, Erik. â€Å"In Drug War, Tribe Feels Invaded By Both Sides. † The New York Times 24 Jan. 2010: n. pag. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. McCombs, Brady. â€Å"Chiricahua neighbors fearful as never before. † Arizona Daily Star 3 Apr. 2010: n. pag. AZstarnet. Web. 7 Apr. 2010. Payan, Tony. The three U. S. -Mexico border wars: drugs, immigration, and Homeland Security. Westport: Praeger Security International, 2006. N. Print. Raab, Jorg, and H Brinton Milward. â€Å"Dark Networks as Problems. † Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 13. 4 (2003): 413-439. Web. 14 Mar. 2010.