Greenhouse Essays (759 words) - Climate Change, Greenhouse Gases

Greenhouse The Greenhouse Effect The greenhouse effect is an increase in the atmospheric temperature caused by increasing amounts of greenhouse gases. These gases act as a heat blanket insulating the Earth's surface absorbing and trapping heat radiation which normally escapes from the earth. They include carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, CFC's, and other halocarbons. The earth's atmosphere goes through two processes constantly. Global cooling is the first process. This process uses the clouds which cover 60% of the earth's surface to reflect 30% of the solar radiation. It also uses a sulfate haze, which is formed by sulfur dioxide from industrial sources that enter the atmosphere and react with compounds to form a high-level aerosol. These cool the atmosphere by blocking us from direct contact with the sun. The reflection of the sunlight is referred to as planetary albedo and contributes to the overall cooling. The second is the warming process. This is when light energy comes through the atmosphere and is absorbed by Earth and transformed to heat energy at the planet's surface. The infrared heat energy then radiates upward into space. There the greenhouse gases found naturally in the troposphere absorb some of the infrared radiation. The gases insulate the Earth, but do eventually allow the heat to escape. Without these greenhouse gases the earth would be would 33 C colder. Global temperature is a balance of the effects of the factors leading to global cooling, and warming. Unfortunately, increased emissions of greenhouse gases increase the warming process. For example, every kilogram of fossil fuels burned equals 3 kilograms of carbon dioxide ( the mass triples because each carbon atom in fuel bond to two oxygen atoms, in the course of burning, and forms C02. ) 6 billion tons of fossil fuel carbon are burned each year adding 18 billion tons of C02 to the atmosphere. This has increase the carbon dioxide concentrations by 25% and has cause temperatures to increase more than 0.7 C over the last hundred years. We hope that the forests will act as a sink for carbon dioxide but instead they are a net source. This is because the forests are being cut and burned adding 1 to 2 billion tons annually to the 6 billion tons of carbon already from industrial processes. Fortunately, the top 300 meters of oceans absorb most of the carbon dioxide emitted by burning fossil fuels. Other factors are known to increase the greenhouse effect. These factor are water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, CFC's and other halocarbons. Water vapor is also a major factor in what has been called the supergreenhouse effect in the tropical Pacific ocean. Water vapor traps energy that has been radiated back to the atmosphere. The high concentration of H2O vapor contributes significantly to the heating of the ocean surface and lower atmosphere in the tropical Pacific. Methane (CH4) is a product of microbial fermentative reactions and is also emitted from coal mines, gas pipelines, and oil wells. Methane is gradually destroyed, but it is added to the atmosphere faster than it can be broken down. Nitrous oxide (N2O) can be found in biomass burning, chemical fertilizers, and fossil fuel burning. Nitrous oxide is more dangerous than some of the others because of its long residence time of 170 years. CFC's and other halocarbons are found in refrigerants, solvents, and fire retardants. Halocarbons have a greater capacity, 10 000 times, for absorbing infrared radiation, which is about 60% more, than CO2. Although there is increase in the application of some of these gases, they will decrease in importance in the future leaving carbon dioxide as the primary dilemma. In 1981, James Hansen of NASA invented a model with an ability to track known temperature changes and link them to past and future carbon dioxide levels as well as global temperature changes. The model suggested the combination of CO2 and volcanic emissions was responsible for most of the observed changes in temperature during the 1980's. A trend of warming of more than 0.7 C coincides with an increase of 25% in carbon dioxide. Two major impacts of greenhouse effect are regional climatic changes and a rise in sea levels. A climactic change will lead to variations in temperature. Scientists expect more precipitation which may prove to be disastrous for North America by flooding rivers and lakes. A rise in the sea levels is anticipated because of an increase in thermal expansion and the melting of ice caps and ice fields. Like extensive rainfalls, a rise in the ocean will flood lakes and rivers covering land and may someday

andrew jackson the tyrant essays

andrew jackson the tyrant essays I cannot be intimidated from doing that which my judgment and conscience tell me is right by any earthly power. This quote by Jackson underlies the fact the he was a selfish, tyrannical ruler. He did not make decisions based on the interests of the whole nation but on his own personal benefit, in search of self- achievement. Although he was portrayed or possibly manipulated the citizens to believe that he was a president for the common man, that was simply not the way he acted. As president, he purposely ignored the power of the Judicial branch to judge laws, and strengthened the power of the Executive branch above the limits in the Constitution. He was also said to be rude and uneducated, which might have led to the reasons why he was such a power hungry tyrant; but before one makes this harsh judgment they must first realize the type of life that Andrew Jackson lived. It almost certainly was the main reason why his thought process was so different from the regular wealthy, educated earlier presidents. The third child of Irish immigrants, he joined the Army when he was only thirteen years old. Although he was young he had already developed hatred towards the British, because his oldest brother was killed fighting in the Revolution. Even though Jackson was an exceptional soldier, both him and his middle brother were captured by British troops. After their mother pleaded for their release, the boys were set free, but due to the poor living conditions of the army camp, Jacksons family was overcome by the smallpox disease. Leaving him all alone in life. This traumatic time in his life could have been the start of all his psychological problems. It seems that trouble almost always found Jackson. After being a lawyer for only a few years, an argument with another lawyer in the town led to an insult. Eventually Jackson challenged the man to a duel. Things did not look good for Jackson's oppone...

Neo-Classicism and Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Neo-Classicism and Politics - Essay Example According to the paper subsequently, because of some changes in the governance and the people involved in the political podium of some countries like France, when Napoleon I have raised into power, a shift of the type of arts has been done to serve the propaganda needs. These are just some of the responses of arts to the changes there are in politics. It is very clear that since the Neo-classical era up to the present, the relationship between politics and arts is very much alive manifested though the incessant conformity of art with societal progressions. More than just the visual art and its relation to the political transitions that have occurred to several countries, there is also a contextual relationship between media arts and politics. In the present time, we use media as the largest organ to inform, disseminate information and to teach people about several aspects in the government and to help people realize if the society is still moving. From this study it is ckear that to have a clearer presentation of idea, it is best to classify the relationship of arts and politics in two: in microscopic and macroscopic grounds. Locally, the ubiquity of the linkages between art and politics is very clear. For example, in the Philippines, during the peak of the internationally broadcasted "Ampatuan Killings" where more than 50 journalists were killed.

Different Color, Different Treatment (Research Paper) Research Paper

Different Color, Different Treatment ( ) - Research Paper Example Many of these spheres are defined by stereotypes. Those stereotypes determine the nature of the space that is inhabited. How someone reacts to the others around them must be understood through the culturally developed stereotypes that define the potential of the experience that someone has in coming into contact with others on the street. The experience of the American street is a place where visceral prejudices come alive. Where in social gatherings prejudices can be dampened, set aside in order to create relationships that cross boundaries and develop into meaningful interactions, when one encounters an unknown person on a street, the only framework in which to define the potential of that experience is through culturally developed ‘types’. The unfortunate consequence of these types is that the nature of some are automatically considered to have a negative connotation. The concept of the young African American male brings forth a sense of fear, the nature of his repres entation in culture being angry and violent. The media represents the young African American male through concepts that have developed through stereotyping that occurs on television, through music videos, and through past prejudices that created the concept of the militant angry young African American youth. ... This, of course, is not limited to the African American male. There are many stereotypes that become prominent in public spaces when encounters are not framed through introductions. Part of the problem is the high level of population condensed into cities in which most of the people have no interconnections to one another. Because the nature of modern life has created smaller and more intimate conditions of community, there are far more strangers in the world than were once part of American life. In addition, with some of the more prominent crime sprees that have happened, including terrorist acts, more people are now considered ‘enemies’ which creates a type of anxiety that ends in a hyper vigilance that performs as a barrier between people. Being open to interactions with strangers leaves one open and vulnerable to ‘dangers’ that are perceived through the many communications that have framed ‘types’ for their ‘inclinations’ toward s creating chaos. Prejudice In 1954, Gordon Allport wrote a seminal book on the nature of prejudice and how it affects human relationships. He states as he begins to define the concept of prejudice that â€Å"No corner of the world is free from group scorn†, which is an appropriate way in looking at the nature of prejudice. Society groups people into categories in order to impose order upon the integration of multiple cultural backgrounds that ends in differences that can be visually seen in ethnic qualities. The way in which language is used to define groups, by suggesting that someone is African American, Native American, or Asian American, suggests that when someone has ethnic markers, this places them in a different social groups. However, it is important

Are women trated differently in the legal system Essay

Are women trated differently in the legal system - Essay Example Although conditions are very much different between these two periods, this particular research will discuss arguments why women should not be treated differently in the legal systems. A. Discrimination of women in the past. There are conditions wherein women were treated separately in the legal systems of the past and today. During the 19th century, women were not allowed to vote and were denied of their legal rights to exercise the right to suffrage in the U.S. At that time, women were not treated equally with male counterparts and were subjected to the social tradition and English common low that denied their rights to vote, own property, keep their own wages, or obtain the charge of their own children. Even the wife of US President, Abigail Adams, took note of this women’s condition, and reminded Pres. John Adams in 1776 as she wrote to him, â€Å""In the new code of laws, remember the ladies and do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands." John Adams replied, "I cannot but laugh. Depend upon it, we know better than to repeal our masculine systems" (Francis, Roberta, n.d.). This author recalls in her article that the fight to win women’s right to vote took 72 years before it was finally acknowledged in the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The heroines of the movement for the constitutional rights, as related in the history, suffered long years of persecution and humiliation but were not moved out of their protests. Accordingly, the specific written guarantee of the 19th Amendment, when won, was the following, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex" (Francis, Roberta, n.d.). This victory of women led to other protests on further amendments to equal rights to women; similar to their first protest, it took many years because of many laws in the workplace and in the society that had categorized women as second class citi zens and perpetuated gender inequalities. In the past, the proposal of women for equal rights for employment was contradicted by the labor movements on the reason that it was a threat to power structures and also by business interests because of economic costs. 2. Should the current law system be changed in order to treat women equally? This issue is still very much debated upon today, that even the United Nations took it upon as one of their duties to be responsible of ensuring that it promotes and protect gender equality and women empowerment (Gender Equality, n.d). The U.N. argues that gender-based discriminations are often times permitted by laws, policies and practices of institutions and nations. For instance, in many countries in the Middle East, women do not have the same rights for inheritance and property and even are not allowed to testify in court. According to the writings of J.Arlandson, the superiority of men over women was drawn from the rulings of the Islam’s Qu’ran, which Islam followed to the letter. Wage gap also exists in the U.S. today, as shown in the Pay Equity information of the National Committee on Pay Equity, which states that women are paid an average of $36,931 in comparison with $47,715 paid to male counterparts. The Pay Equity Information also stated that working women, particularly colored ones, were undervalued due to sex, and race; the numerous cases filed in several courts in the US could attest to inequality in

Ethological Principles In The Study Of Animal Behaviour

Ethological Principles In The Study Of Animal Behaviour Today, the study of animal behaviour is as far reaching as it was for our hominin ancestors who must have had some sense of understanding of animal behaviour while navigating through ancestral African environments. The effects of behavioural research on contemporary civilizations contributes to many aspects of human social and medical research, as well as impacts topics in conservation, habitat/resource sustainability, food production, and population dynamics. Over the last half century, animal behaviour has taken on several different forms. The aim of this of this essay is to explore the scientific study of modern animal behaviour known as ethology: Look at the historic approach to animal behaviour; review the central concepts of ethology, expanding upon Tinbergens (1963) four questions of causation, ontogeny, function, and evolution; illustrate the benefits of using ethological methodology in the study of behavioural phenomenon and discuss the potential impact of ethology on future behavioural research. I examine these questions in the light of comparative research on human and nonhuman primates. Animal Behaviour: A Brief Introduction The study of animal behaviour spans across many disciplines, each field asking specific questions and offering different levels of explanation. Behaviour can be described in terms of underlying hormonal/physiological mechanisms, developmental mechanisms, adaptive function, and in terms of evolutionary pathways of behaviour (McFarland, 1993). Before the advent of ethology, most behavioural disciplines attempted to answers only one or two of these questions at a time. For example, investigating how and when behaviours evolved confront behavioural scientists with a daunting task. Evolutionary biologists are equipped to answer these types of questions by using a phylogenetic approach. Phylogenetic trees allow scientist to investigate correlated evolutionary change and reconstruct ancestral states, making it possible to identify evolutionary relationships between homologous behaviours in closely related species (Nunn and Barton, 2001). This comparative method is useful if you are interested in understanding when a specific behaviour emerged in a species evolutionary history. Often, this line of inquiry leads researchers to generate addition questions: What environmental changes would have selected for this type of behaviour? Is this behaviour adaptive? How would this behaviour increase fitness and persists over time? Comparing similar behaviours between closely related species, occupying a similar niche, and evolutionary histories, provide a solid fr amework to begin generating testable hypotheses to these aforementioned questions. In the early 20th century, psychology comprised its own unique set of methods and experimental techniques that usually consisted of running controlled experiments in a laboratory setting while investigating behaviour (Bateson and Klopfer, 1989). Psychologists were concerned with designing experiments that tested proximate causations of behaviours. For example, a psychologist might investigate the developmental factors that affect the acquisition of learning and imprinting (Martin and Bateson, 2007). Investigating causal relationships to behaviour provide insight into whether behaviour is innate or if it is learned in the context of an individuals environment. On the other hand, behavioural neuroscience aimed to understand causal physiological mechanisms and corresponding neural controls that are modulated by environmental stimuli (Carlson, 2006). This field is concerned with identifying how an animals physiology interacts and is influenced by environment factors, and how this interaction elicits a behavioural response. In the mid 20th century, the behavioural sciences operated independently of one another, as if each disciplines research was a mutually exclusive approach. At that time the competing schools of thought failed to recognize the significant relationships between causation, development, function, evolution, or how each of the corresponding fields actually were complementary to each level of explanation. The scientific study of animal behaviour was in dire need of a complete synthesis that would incorporate proximate and ultimate classes of behaviour into a complementary, integrative framework. The Birth of Ethology The modern study of ethology filled this gap, and sought to piece together the fragmented behavioural scientific approaches. This new field aimed to explain all four classes of behavioural determinants, providing a full account of the phenomenon under study (Bateson and Klopfer, 1982). In the remaining section, I will define ethological principles, highlight the pitfalls of focusing on either proximate or ultimate levels of explanation, and present the case of modern ethology as the more systematic approach to the study of animal behaviour. Understanding the reason why a particular animal behaves in a certain way requires the right type of questions to be asked. In 1963, Niko Tinbergen, one of the founders of ethology, published the paper, On Aims and Methods of Ethology. In this paper he introduced four distinct and broad questions that he used in trying to answer the question, Why does an animal behave like that? (Shettleworth, 1998). In doing so, he laid the foundation for the study modern ethology. Ethology is the study of animal behaviour which attempts to answer four classes of questions: causation, ontogeny, function, and evolution. If a researcher wanted to know why baboons groom one another, it would be important to consider the immediate external stimuli which invoke a specific behaviour response in the animal, or otherwise stated you would want to look at proximate causations of behaviour. Researchers would want to develop questions that reveal causal answers: What external environmental stimuli and internal stimuli cause the animal to respond in a particular way? Answers to these questions often rely on the underlying psychological, physiological, and neurological mechanisms regulating an animals behaviour (Martin and Bateson, 2007). A possible causal explanation to why baboons groom would be that grooming functions as a as a mechanism to reduce stress (Crockford and et al., 2008). Moreover, Tinbergen (1963) was interested in investigating how changes in behaviour machinery are affected during development and coined the term ontology to describe this process. What was it about an individuals development that leads them to behave in a particular manor? Answers to these type of questions require scientists to look at whether a behaviour is learned or refined through development processes such as imprinting or possibly if it is generated by a genetic predisposition. In addition to the importance of providing proximate (causal and ontological) levels of explanation, two classes of questions investigate ultimate factors are equally important to investigate. Ultimate questions are interested in understanding how evolution has selected for and produced specific behavioural phenomena. One such questions looks at the adaptive/survival value a given behaviour would confer on an individual. For example, why do primates participate in intergroup aggression? These type of questions are considered functional investigations. As an example, evolutionary based cost-benefit theories would look at the functional/adaptive significance to intergroup aggression. One possible hypothesis to the question of why individuals exhibit intergroup aggression is that the more aggressive primate groups will achieve increased access to reproductive females and increased access to resources (Manson and Wrangham, 1991). Natural selection imposes differential reproductive succes ses, understanding these functional relationships provide answers to adaptive questions. The last behavioural problem Tinbergen identified was that of evolutionary history. He explains, The fact that behaviour is in many respects species-specific, and yet often similar in related species,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦[leads to] the natural conclusion, namely, that behaviour should be studied comparatively just as structures, with the ultimate aim of elucidating behaviour evolutionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(Tinbergen, 1963: 427). Here Tinbergen advocates a phylogenetic approach to analyzing behaviour. Ethology aims to show how natural selection shaped the evolution of behaviour over time while uncovering possible evolutionary pathways (Tinbergen, 1963 and Barret, et al., 2002). For instance, if researchers were interested understanding why humans breathe the way they do, they would be interested in knowing how we evolved lungs? Farmer (1997) provides an evolutionary account to this question: Human lungs are believed to have evolved from ancestral fish gas bladders. This level of explanation provid es clues into when a behaviour may have first arisen and when it diverged between ancestral species. Ethology attempts to reconcile these four levels of explanation into a comprehensive framework for understanding. One such study illuminates the dangers researchers face when they incorporate only one level of explanation. Power (1975) conducted a study in which he tested whether mountain bluebirds lack altruistic behaviour. He attempted to show this by removing one mate of a pair caring for nestlings to test the claim; if altruism existed, a new mate would instinctually care for the nestlings. The study showed that new mates did not care for the nestlings, therefore the hypotheses, mountain bluebirds are altruistic, was rejected (Power, 1975). This study was criticized because it failed to account for the fact birds do not usually accept young unless hormonally prepared for them (Emlen, 1976). This process usually entails both mating partners being present during the events leading up to hatching and the presence of nestlings (Emlen, 1976). This physiological knowledge into hormonal cues in mountain bluebirds generated an alternative hypothesis; the new mate did not provide care to the nestlings because it lacked the proper hormonal activation. Therefore, it was concluded that the original hypotheses posed by Power was erroneous and failed to properly demonstrate if mountain bluebirds were altruistic. This example illustrates how tenuous behavioural studies can appear when they fail to incorporate ethological principles into their research design. Applied Ethological Principles Furthering Insight into Human Behaviour The more we learn from studying animal behaviour, the more we reveal about ourselves. Because humans are social primates, more ethological attention has focused on the study nonhuman primates as the best model to explain the social behaviour of humans. One such example into the potential benefits of ethological inquiry is articulated by the investigation into the effects of empathy, as one possible emotional mechanism that has evolved to help maintain and reinforce social bonds. Empathy is a complex emotion which has been proposed to exist in humans and nonhuman primates. Many ethologists have focused on chimpanzee and bonobo social systems, our closest extant ancestors, to better understand potential regulating factors involved in social bonding that could have helped promote and sustain the evolution of cooperation altruism. De Waal (2008) suggests humans as well as nonhuman primates both possess capacity to empathize with others, as a regulating mechanism of directed altruism. Directed altruism is defined as helping or comforting behaviour directed at an individual in need of pain, or distress (De Waal, 2008). Mounting evidence supports the view; similar cognitive capacities exist in human and nonhuman primates that could facilitate empathetic impulses and be linked to our similar evolutionary histories. Several studies have shown infants have an innate capacity to be influenced by the welfare of others. Infant nonhuman and human primates are known to respond to the distress of others with distress (Preston and de Waal, 2002). Furthermore, Preston and de Waal consider the hormonal release during suckling in maternal care as a positive promoter that rewards the giver with feel good hormones (ie. Oxtocin) to engage in directed altruism (Panksepp, 1998). This hormonal release could play a proximate role in promoting the perceiver to internalize the emotional state of another individual. Building on the neuroanatomy of empathy research, the central nervous system and the Perception Action Mechanism (PAM) have also been considered as a hard-wired link that controls emotional state matching and motor mimicry in humans and nonhuman primates (Preston and de Waal (2002). Chimpanzee studies reveal an increase in brain temperatures in the right hemisphere when chimpanzees are shown videos of severe aggression compared to neutral or positive videos (Parr and Hopkins, 2000). Negative videos directed a specific physiological reaction in the brain in response to the negative stimuli. These studies identify a potential link between the areas of the brain that are activated when individuals observe and witness emotional states of others (Preston and de Waal 2002). Meaning, the cognitive capacities for the emotional complex of empathy may not be strictly limited to humans, but may also function similarly with closely related nonhuman primates. The suggestion that nonhuman primate may also posses the capacity for empathy has not come without contention. Many scientists believe humans are the only species cognitively advanced enough to possess the innate capacity to internalize the emotions of others (eg., Schino, 2007). If Preston and de Waals claim is true, then empathetic hard-wiring has an ancient evolutionary lineage that evolved long before modern humans. Theoretically, innate empathetic capacities would help maintain and shape cooperation, reconciliation, and altruism between human and nonhuman primates. The origins of such a complex behaviour may have originated due to stronger selection on maintaining increased group size within ancestral primates. Therefore, it should be no surprises if we discover humans due in fact share the capacity to empathize with other social primates. This study promotes a possible link between the evolution of the complex sociality and empathetic emotional capacities in primates. Investigations like this exemplify the potential ethological methodologies pose when looking into proximate and ultimate roots to complex human and animal behaviour. Discussion An ethological approach to animal behaviour derived from early behavioural sciences. Today, modern ethnology places emphasis on different biological aspects to account for the contexts in which animal behaviour occurs using physiological and evolutionary perspectives. Most behavioural phenomena are not satisfactorily explained at the proximate or ultimate levels. Therefore, to understand the behavioural process fully, ethology appropriately focuses on answering Tinbergens four questions to correctly identify the reciprocal relationship between causal and evolutionary explanations of behaviour.

Statement of Educational Goals and Philosophy :: My Philosophy of Education

Statement of Educational Goals and Philosophy As I go through lists of careers, I search for the one I will make my profession. As a freshman in college, I enrolled in Marshall University with the goal of being a neonatal registered nurse. I felt like working in the labor and delivery section of a hospital would be an amazing experience. At some point, I realized that I wanted to have a family and children someday. I want to have a life with them, but that would be difficult because as a neonatal nurse, I would be required to work through holidays, weekends, and nights. I sat down with a pencil and some paper and began to write. I wrote different professions and what they had to offer. Something kept pulling me back to the education field. At that time, life seemed difficult, so I moved back home with my parents and enrolled in Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College. There I started taking classes in education and spending much of my time working with the Wyoming County Head Start Program, wher e I participated in field trips, activities, and often helped teach lessons. I loved the children. I have found that there is no greater feeling than the love of a child. Over the past year and a half, I have begun working with children in many different ways. I have begun to teach children about God at my church. One parent told me that it is the greatest compliment in the world for a parent to trust you enough to let you teach their child, and an even greater compliment if they trust you enough to let you teach their child about God. At that point everything made sense. My path in life was decided, and my goals were set. I realized I wanted to teach young children. My goals for the education profession are very simple to define. My largest priority right now is to attain my Bachelors degree in Elementary Education. After my degree, I want to teach in the West Virginia Public School System. As a teacher, my largest goal is to be a good teacher. I want to treat each child equally.