Compare Enlightened Despotism with the French Revolution Essay Example for Free

Compare Enlightened Despotism with the French Revolution Essay The Enlightenment, an historical period of the 18th and early 19th centuries influenced actions of absolute rulers. This movement also provided a framework for the French Revolutions. Enlightened despots believed that political change could best come from the ruler. Where as the French Revolution did many things, unleashed new forces, destroy old ideas, offered new promises. Not the Revolution itself, of course, but the people who made it. However, Enlightened despots were encouraged by the philosophers to make good laws to promote human happiness. Despots acted abruptly and desired quicker results. They were impatient with all that stood in the way of their reforms. In addition, they justified their authority on the grounds of usefulness, not divine right? Frederick II (Frederick the Great), the most famous Prussian absolute monarch and a military genius, pursued an aggressive foreign policy. In 1740 he seized from Austria the province of Silesia. His action culminated in a major European conflict, the Seven Years War (1756-1763), in which he was pitted against a powerful Europe. Enlightened monarchs embraced the principles of the Enlightenment, especially its emphasis upon rationality, and applied them to their kingdoms. They tended to allow religious toleration, freedom of speech and the press, and the right to hold private property. Most fostered the arts, sciences, and education. Enlightened Absolutists believe that they had the right to govern by birth. Emperor Joseph II can be said to have fully embraced the Enlightened concept of the social contract. In contrast Catherine II entirely rejected the concept of the social contract while taking up many ideas of the Enlightenment. The French Revolution (1789-1799) was a pivotal period in the history of France and Europe. The Revolution is widely seen as a major turning point in European history-from the age of absolutism, to the age of the citizenry, as the dominant political force. Many interrelated political and socioeconomic factors contributed to the French Revolution. It fell to the ambitions of a rising bourgeoisie, allied with aggrieved peasants, wage earners, and individuals of all classes who had come under the influence of the ideas of the Enlightment. It was and remains a system of ideas that are usually goal- directed. Most ideologies are, therefore, fundamentally political, bright descriptions of the means and methods by which the instruments of revolution, party, or government ought to be used for the purpose of social change. The French Revolution was the first major social revolution, of far greater dimensions and of deeper purpose. Elected to the Committee of Public Safety in July 1793, Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794) soon came to dominate that group, hence dominate the revolutionary government. He exhibited himself as a ruthless individual, incorruptible, dictatorial, impersonal, and determined to sweep away all who opposed the Revolution. He urged the war on against the monarchical powers of France, and he encouraged the Reign of Terror. The major causes of   French Revolution include the following: A poor economic situation and an unmanageable national debt were both caused and exacerbated by the burden of a grossly inequitable system of taxation and Frances funding of the American revolution, A resentment of royal absolutism; An aspiration for liberty and republicanism; A resentment of Manorialism (seigneurialism) by peasants, wage-earners, and to a lesser extent, the bourgeoisie; The rise of enlightenment ideals; Food scarcity in the months immediately before the revolution; High unemployment and high bread prices resulting in the inability to purchase food; A resentment of noble privilege and dominance in public life by the ambitious professional classes. In principle and by legislation, French revolution made the individual citizen the center of a new social order. The social order should, therefore, be designed to maximize this freedom, this personal liberty. References Spielvogel Western Civilization Volume II: Since 1500 (2003) p.493, 517. Scott, H. M, Enlightened Absolutism: Reform and Reformers in Late Eighteenth Century Europe (1990), ISBN 0472101730.

Governance And Ethics In Global Environment Business Essay

Governance And Ethics In Global Environment Business Essay This Assignment is part of ABE post graduate diploma and it is based on the British Petroleum plc a well known natural oil and gas industries. This assignment covers three main areas which include: Corporate Strategy, Governance and Ethics in the Global Environment. Module for ABE (PGD) Business Management assignment. This Assignment highlights and discusses about the ethical and corporate governance factors which are currently affecting the BP. By analyzing internal andexternal resources, environment, governance and ethics of the companyin complete. Evaluating how effectively the BP is managing these factors to achieve its corporate goals. To address the three main areas the assignment has been divided into 4-5 parts: 2.0 INTRODUCTION British Petroleum p.l.c (formerly known as Anglo-Persian Oil Company) is a registered oil and natural gas industry established on 14th April 1909 in United Kingdom. According to BP ultimate (2012), during theearly 1900s the search for oil was began by the Shah of Iran which was discovered in the mid of 1908 and it was known as the first major find in the Middle East. Its also say that BP was considered as a subsidiary of Burmah Oil Company under the name of Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC). However in 1935 it became as the Anglo-Iranian oil company (AIOC). After 45 years of flourishing services, in 1954 the company got registered by the name today we know which is the British Petroleum p.l.c. Although BP does not have a specifically labeled mission statement BPhas published a statement identifying its core interest is said to be progressive, responsible, innovative and performance driven (About.com retail industry, 2012).Each of these words in the statement being the main target of the company, describes its missions. These in general states that Bp creates a user friendly environment between them and their customers and also Bp would like to ensure that the products that they invent would be environmental friendly. British Petroleum plc (BP) markets its products in more than  70 countries and operates  22,400 gas stations worldwide with over nearly 80,000 employees. Being the worlds  third-largest energy company and fourth-largest in terms of revenues  integrated oil concern, It is  vertically-integrated  and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including  exploration  and production,  refining,  distribution and marketing,  petrochemicals,  powergeneration  and  trading. It also has major  renewable energy  activities, including in  bio fuels,  hydrogen,  solar  and  wind power (Corporate Watch, n.d). Today BP explores for oil and gas in  30 countries and has proventhat they reserves approximately 18.1 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Moreover, according to Corporate Watch (n.d) they are the largest oil and gas producer in the US and also a top refiner, with stakes in 16 refineries, processing  4 million barrels of crude oil per day. 3.0 METHOD OF INVESTIGATION Main source of information regarding the various strategies adopted by BP to confront competitive and unforeseen challenges like, Gulf of Mexico oil spills disasters was acquired through. BPwebsites, publicationsand International Oil Spill Conference served as the main sources of information on government policies, regulations and laws. Oil drilling regulationsand policiesare taken fromUK, USAand international oil and energy reports and periodic statistical reports published online. Apart from this,Bp annual reports 2011,articles, journal articles, websites, books and magazines. 4.0Literature review Integrated approach to good governance in the interests of a wide range of stakeholdershaving regard to the fundamental principles of good financial, social, ethical and environmental practice. Other developments over the past 10 years which have propelled CSR onto thegovernance agenda include publication of the Association of British Insurers (ABI)Disclosure Guidelines on Socially Responsible Investment (2001) (see page 24 fordetails) and the UK Turnbull report: Internal Control, Guidance for Directors on the Combined Code (2001), the latter which asks companies to consider the following:Are the significant internal and external operational, financial, compliance and otherrisks identified and assessed on an ongoing basis? (Significant risks may, for example,include those related to market, credit, liquidity, technological, legal, health, safety andenvironmental, reputation, and business probity issues).5 In Canada, for example, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE), seeking to instill public confidence in capital markets and the enterprise system on the heels of the corporate scandals, published a statement, Governance, Values and Competitiveness: A Commitment to Leadership in 2002. They laid out their views on corporate governance, Facts, findings, discussion and analysis with suitable sections and headings; 5.0 Findings Situational Analysis The oil industry has shown great resilience in the face of competitive disasters and the fast evolving (PESTLE): political, social and economic climates, technological environment, Legal and Ecological. According to Cooper et al 1994, it is state critical that the necessary information about the internal and external environment be gathered before a constructive criticism is made. He also argues that the findings are a very minimum to cover the bases of PESTLE investigation, that is to examine the political, economic, social, technological, legal and Ecological changes that may affect the company and the market. Governments provide and enforce the rules including regulations and policies due to Gulf of Mexico oil spill, government are drafting more laws and regulations would required that drilling perform independent audits and hazard assessment designed to reduce accidents caused by Technological and human errors(Alan Levin, USA TODAY Updated  5/10/2010 4:48 PM  ).See PESTLE in Appendix 1,2. 5.1 Political factors: These refer to government policy such as the degree of intervention in the economy BP had one of the biggest engineering, logistical and financial problems the oil industry had ever faced, but the company was up to the challenge. BP also faced a massive political problem, perhaps the biggest such crisis for an oil company operating in the United States since Teddy Roosevelt broke up John D. Rockefellers Standard Oil. BPs failure to grasp the fact that its biggest challenge was in Washington, not the Gulf, has led to a series of gaffes and strategic communications errors that have inflamed public opinion, fanned the political firestorm and dragged the companys share price ever lower the spill cleanup to cost under $30 billion BPs market capitalization is down $100 billion, on expectations it will face fines of up to $30 billion as well as curbs on its business in the United States, its most important market. BPs handling of the spill from a crisis management perspective will go down in history as one of the great examples of how to make a situation worse by bad communications, said Michael Gordon, of New York-based crisis PR firm Group Gordon Strategic Communications. It was a combination of a lack of transparency, a lack of straight talking and a lack of sensitivity to the victims. When youre managing an environmental disaster of this magnitude you not only have to manage the problem but also manage all the stakeholders. The company also failed to tackle its image as a serial safety and environmental offender. That was especially true in the United States where regulators had blamed both a 2005 refinery blast that killed 15 workers and pipeline leaks in Alaska in 2006 on cost-cutting. BPs inability to precisely describe the improvements it has made in its safety and operational culture took us by surprise, BP would have faced public anger and political pressure Dispute on Iran and other middle east countries causes instability on Stock market prices and the crude oil price will 5.2 Economic factors: These include interest rates, taxation changes, economic growth, inflation and exchange rates. As you will see throughout the Foundations of Economics book economic change can have a major impact on a firms behavior. For example:                         higher interest rates may deter investment because it costs more to borrow                         a strong currency may make exporting more difficult because it may raise the price in terms of foreign currency                         inflation may provoke higher wage demands from employees and raise costs                         higher national income growth may boost demand for a firms products Current economical crisis and Euro zone, economic crisis is affecting the BP corporative objective of the company 5.3 Technological factors: New technologies create new products and new processes to drills deep sea. This will increase efficiency and cost effective way to carried out BP business. Latest technology improves BP production and environmental friendly way to operate its business. 5.4 Environmental and Ecological factors: Environmental factors include the weather and climate change. Changes in temperature can impact on many industries including farming, tourism and insurance. With major climate changes occurring due to global warming and with greater environmental awareness this external factor is becoming a significant issue for firms to consider. The growing desire to protect the environment is having an impact on many industries such as the travel and transportation industries (for example, more taxes being placed on air travel and the success of hybrid cars) and the general move towards more environmentally friendly products and processes is affecting demand patterns and creating business opportunities. When an oil slick from a large oil spill reaches the beach, the oil coats and clings to every rock and grain of sand. If the oil washes into coastal marshes, mangrove forests or other wetlands, fibrous plants and grasses absorb the oil, which can damage the plants and make the whole area unsuitable as wildlife habitat.Other Ecological factors include the wildlife animal, marine environment, High Dolphin Deaths, fishing birds and lots of fishes move from that area. 5.4 Legal factors: These are related to the legal environment in which firms operate. In recent years in the UK there have been many significant legal changes that have affected firms behavior. The introduction of age discrimination and disability discrimination legislation, an increase in the minimum wage and greater requirements for firms to recycle are examples of relatively recent laws that affect an organizations actions. Legal changes can affect a firms costs (e.g. if new systems and procedures have to be developed) and demand (e.g. if the law affects the likelihood of customers buying the good or using the service). 6.0 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY   After the Gulf of Mexico oil spilling incident BP investing billion on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is now prominent and evident more than ever due to the emphasis laid on businesses regarding environmental, social and ethical issues. This is because over the recent years, there have been social, political, ecological and economic pressures on corporate management to pay attention on social and environmental consequences of corporate activities. These pressures motivated the corporate management to actively participate in a wide range of social welfare activities. CSR now-a-days covers almost all issues like the use of child labor; inequality of employment; environmental impact; involvement in local community; products safety; company cultures; brand image and reputation. Apart from this, BPis now disclosing these activities in their annual reports, and one of the parameters to judge the performance of a BP is CSR reporting. CSR is defined by Naylor (1999) and mentioned in the work of Douglas  et al.  (2004) as the obligation of managers to choose and act in ways that benefit both the interests of the organization and those of society as a whole. Fraser (2005) describes CSR as sustainable development which needs to be carried out by all the publicly held companies. These companies need to be responsible not only for their shareholders, but also its stake holders like the employees, customers, suppliers, government and non-governmental organizations. The speech made by BP Senior Advisor Charles Nicholson in 2002 at the CSR Europe General assembly meeting: The boundaries to corporate social responsibility are conceptual. A companys primary responsibility is to its shareholders, to its owners. The boundaries are ideological. A company is not a government. It is not elected. It has no popular mandate. It mustnt confuse its role with the role of others. The boundaries are practical. A company has limited resources, limited expertise and limited reach. A company is not a panacea, a cure-all. The boundaries are influenced by self-interest. Business thrives if the society in which it operates thrives. To neglect this is to put at risk the interests of our shareholders. And however you look at it the boundaries are constantly changing. What was a boundary a few years ago is now a starting point. Bp is leading, accepting responsibilities and demonstrating to building community is a source of human progress through its CSR. At the most basic level it means delivering what we promise. It means being transparent in what we do. It means practicing universal standards of behavior and care and applying the skills we have and engaging constructively in society. Im not implying that business has complete answers. It doesnt, and one of the reasons for taking part in events like this one today is to listen to open a dialogue. Every company will also draw boundaries reflecting its own circumstances, of course. For most the key factors are experience and values. At BP weve defined our values in a document called What We Stand For. 7.0 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE Jonathan Lister (2003), function of Corporate Governance,corporate governance encompasses the policies, initiatives and practices a corporation uses to accomplish its business goals and develop its infrastructure. The functions of corporate governance begin with a corporations shareholders and are passed to the elected board of directors, who are then in charge of developing governance strategies for the company as a whole. According to bp.com/section generic article,Good governance involves the clarity of roles and responsibilities, and the proper utilization of distinct skills and processes. The board is responsible for the direction and oversight of BP on behalf of shareholders and is accountable to them, as owners, for all aspects of BPs business. The board believes that good governance involves the clarity of roles and responsibilities, and the proper utilization of distinct skills and processes. The board therefore focuses on activities that enable it to promote shareholders interests, such as the active consideration of strategy, the monitoring of executive action, and ongoing board and executive management succession. To achieve this, it has developed and approved a set of corporate governance principles which set out its approach in this area. Most writings on governance situate its evolution within the backdrop of the corporate governance scandals at companies such as Enron, WorldCom and Lehman Brothers these two decade and this financial crises, which drove a concern for accountability and transparency amongst corporate leaders and regulators. This, coupled with growing shareholder activism, changing societal expectations about the role of corporations, and the globalization of capital markets, has resulted in a proliferation of governance principles and codes of conduct over the past 15 years. According to experts.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk, the impact of the BP oil spill in Gulf of Mexico has resulted in a fallen its share value by 45% and drop in its credit rating, downgraded by rating agencies such as Moodys, Standard and Poor and Fitch. There are fears that the claims from Americas worst environmental disaster could reach $100 billion.To cover the cost of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill BP has divest some of its noncore assets and reduced its capital investment to raise cash to compensation. The market has analyzed the impact of the Corporate Governance (CG) practices of BP and adjusted accordingly. Corporate governance is a vital issue for firms in the global market. To raise funds to finance their domestic and international growth requires firms to demonstrate strong CG credentials, so that investors do not discount their stock. To ensure all the corporate governance practices BP following one tire board system. 8.0 ETHICS One of the biggest environmental disasters happened around this time. The BP oil spill has left  undeniable impressions on how we view oil drilling and non-renewable sources of energy. This has had a knock-on effect on CSR, PR and marketing. The BP spill is possibly the most high-profile CSR/PR disaster of recent times. It is true that BP has had a questionable safety record, but the spill could have happened to any of the companies operating a deep sea rig. It is the nature of the business and demand for oil has made it profitable for oil companies to take these risks. Of course BP has accepted blame, but it has resulted in PR disasters for the company that has ultimately reflected on its CSR profile as well. A year after the spill BP is still gunning to get back into oil drilling the Gulf of Mexico, this time with higher safety standards. There are still questions about what these standards might be. Residents in the area have reported various health problems.  Of the 954 residents in seven coastal communities, almost half said they had experienced health problems like coughing, skin and eye irritation, or headaches that are consistent with common symptoms of chemical exposure. The aftermath of the spill is still being felt especially on the marine life in the region which in turn affects many livelihoods in the area.   Hundreds of very endangered Kemps Ridley sea turtles have been washing ashore and dead dolphins are showing up at  10 times the normal rate. Right after the spill,  over 6,000 birds, 600 sea turtles and 160 dolphins were killed. Traces of oil have been found in the larvae of blue crabs and researchers have found carcinogens in the water. These carcinogens have also  percolated  through the food chain affecting Gulf shrimp and fish which have been shown to contain toxic hydrocarbons. More than 20% of the endangered blue fintuna spawn  were killed in the spill. Despite the clean-up efforts, the  oil spill has damaged fragile coral reefs and dispersants being absorbed by zoo plankton and fish. The  effects  of the spill in the marshes and coastal areas will still be felt for years to come. A year on, there are still reports of tar balls being washed ashore which no one can verify because BP does not give reporters access to the beach. A year on and the biggest CSR disaster is that BP still has not issued any reports with real transparency regarding their clean-up efforts, compensation and concerns of safety in their operations. 9.0 CONCLUSIONS Despite domestic and international competition PB has managed to retain its position into the Market. This is mainly due to BP ability to successfully implementing Corporativegovernance, CSR/PR and other major changes necessary to overcome the challenges faced by Gulf of Mexico. Second factor is even after this unexpected incident BP had certain exclusivities like market position, investing alternative energy, investing CSR, changing its safety standards, improving corporate governance, taking blames and paying off damages to local and international community might improve its business image. As now BP has completely lost its remaining exclusivities it will face new challenges from Russia and most of the Middle East Countries overchanges in political and economical condition. Therefore good corporate strategy, CSR and good governance will maintain oil price and Alternative energy. 10.0 RECOMMENDATION According to OECD report 2011, There are perceived threats to the BP as well as oil company in future it need to be more proactive to these changes , which can be perceive by the knowledgeable among the corporate: Even after facing major chellges faced by BP, had some exclusivity, with those exclusivities lost it may have to come up with strategies to compete in those areas especially in risk management safety and environmentally friendly way drill. Challenges will keep emerging for this, Bp needs to adopt a learning organization concept to be proactive to change and keep ahead of competition. Increase investment on alternative energy like biofuels, wind and keep close tie on Middle East countries may achieve its corporate strategies. Investing on emerging economies like India, chain and Brazil will give competitive advantages in the near future. Making strategy and policies towards on efficient combustion engines and power train technologies, including hybridization, combined with use of biofuels, could offer the quickest and most effective pathway to a secure sustainability To meet future challenges BP is changing its strategy towards on ethics, CSR and improving its corporate governance. 11. Works Cited Andrew, C and Dirk, M. (2007) Business Ethics: Managing Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability in the age of Globalization. Linda K.Trevino Katherine A.Nelson (2010) Managing Business Ethics Fifth Edition http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/STAGING/global_assets/downloads/I/IC_bp_strategy_presentation_march_2010_slides.pdf http://www.pikeresearch.com/research/pike-pulse-report-biofuels-commercialization-by-oil-majors http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/20/idUS71431+20-Mar-2012+BW20120320 http://experts.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/2010/06/21/corporate-governance-the-bp-saga-and-a-travesty-of-justice/ http://www.afaanz.org/openconf/2011/modules/request.php?module=oc_proceedingsaction=view.phpa=Accept+as+Paperid=224 http://www.zdnet.com/blog/projectfailures/bp-oil-spill-leadership-and-it-failure/9901 http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jun/02/gulf-oil-deepwater-sink-bp http://www.smh.com.au/business/us40b-share-slumpinvestors-sue-bp-20100525-w9e0.html http://www2.accaglobal.com/documents/bpcs.pdf http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17243097 http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/bp-oil-spill http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/308388/20120303/deepwater-horizon-oil-spill-disaster-bp-transocean.htm http://www.oil-rig-spills.com/ http://www.crrc.unh.edu/deepwater_horizon_blowout/The_Gulf_War_Were_there_any_heroes_in_the_B%5B1%5D.pdf http://www.crrc.unh.edu/publications/RDworkshop-report_FINAL2011.pdf http://www.afaanz.org/openconf/2011/modules/request.php?module=oc_proceedingsaction=view.phpa=Accept+as+Paperid=224 http://www.transworldnews.com/815818/c1/bp-plc-strategy-swot-and-corporate-finance-report-new-company-profile http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2010-05-09-drilling_N.htm Big Oil Revenue Equals More Than 10% of U.S. GDP Big Oil Revenue Equals More Than 10% of U.S. GDP http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20050615005396/en/BP-HSBC-RBS-UK-Companies-Awarded-Top http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/energy-environment/oil-petroleum-and-gasoline/index.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/nov/02/bp-oil-spill-costs-40-billion-dollars http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/17/us-bp-idUSTRE79G0WF20111017 http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jun/07/bp-and-corporate-responsibility http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/smart-takes/corporate-social-responsibility-learning-from-the-bp-oil-spill/8055 http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bp-celebrates-25th-anniversary-of-the-bp-community-scholarship-program-159405915.html http://www.justmeans.com/CSR-Disasters-BP-Spill-A-Year-On/48568.html http://www.mallenbaker.net/csr/CSRfiles/bp.html http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=13903534 11.0 SELF-EVALUATION I happen to come across lots of valuable research work carried by the respected scholar in this field throughout my effort to seek answers to various questions in this field that was not very clear. I noticed that when a difficult concept is assessed in various angles explored by scholars it widens the knowledge of that concept and gives an insight into the grounding of the concept in the field. I came across difficulties and the risk of operating business in global prospective, especially in field of oil business. Most importantly, how well ethicaland corporate governance will help to overcome the challenges facing modern business world.

Waste Isolation Power Plant Issues

Waste Isolation Power Plant Issues Introduction: The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, commonly abbreviated as WIPP is the third deepest geological repository in the world. This is after the closure of the repository German plants such as the Schacht Asse II, and the Morsleben radioactive waste plants. This geological repository site has been licensed to dispose radioactive waste, for a minimum period of 10,000 years. Furthermore, the WIPP is also responsible for the production of nuclear weapons (Olsson, 32). The estimated cost that this nuclear plan incurs is estimated at 19 billion United States dollars. The WIPP is found at 42 km, east of the town of Carlsbad. This town is found in the city of New Mexico, in the county of Eddy. This region is considered as the nuclear corridor of the city of New Mexico, and it also includes a National Enrichment Facility and a Waste Control Facility. Capilla, Jaime, and Andrà ©s (257) therefore explains that New Mexico hosts very important nuclear and geological facilities in United States. In the year 2010, the department of energy was able to mothball, the previous plans to develop and build the Yucca nuclear waste repository plant in Nevada. This had an effect of leaving the WIPP as the only repository facility that had the capability of storing waste products that had accumulated at the commercial nuclear plants, in the United States (Olsson, 39). However, there were a series of mishaps and accidents in the year 2014, and this is because of the growing backlog of nuclear waste, that were emanating from commercial nuclear power plants (Seong and Yoram, 1011). Because of these accidents and mishaps, there is a growing concern that this situation may turn into a danger to the citizens of the country, hence the need of building more nuclear repositories that can handle the nuclear activities of the country. Geological History of the WIPP: The WIPP is located in the Delaware Basin of the state of New Mexico. It is a 600 meter deep in length, and it is a salt basin. This basin was formed during the periods of the Permian, and it is approximately 250 million years ago. The Permian is a geological period, and it is characterized by the diversification of organisms into turtles, mammals, archosaurs, etc. Capilla, Jaime, and Andrà ©s (255) explains that an ancient sea once existed where the Delaware Basin is, and it evaporated over a given period of time. This had an effect of leaving an impermeable layer of salt that over a given period of time was able to cover a 300 meters of rock and soil. Olsson (41) further explains that the Delaware basin has some geological similarities with other basins that were created or made through the evaporation of the sea. One of this characteristic is the existence of salts and rocks. The Delaware basin is very salty and rocky, hence depicting this universal characteristic that is found i n all the basins that exists because of the evaporation of the sea. The saltiness of these basins occurs because of the nature of the sea, which is always salty. In 1975, the department of energy began drilling in the salty beds of the Delaware Basin. Geologists were able to discover that the edge of the Delaware Basin had experienced some disturbances. This had led to the movement of the interbed layers to a vertical position. In response, the geologists were able to move the site towards a more stable center of the Delaware basin. Capilla, Jaime, and Andrà ©s (255) explains that there was a suggestion during the early periods of investigation, that the complexity of the geological basin was problematic. This had an effect of causing or making the hollowed-out caverns as unstable. However, Seong and Yoram (1011) explain that what others consider as a form of instability is viewed as a positive aspect, and this is because salt is transformed into a rock. Furthermore, as early as 1957, the National Academy of Science was able to recommend that salt s hould be used as a radioactive waste disposal. This is because it had the capability of plastically deforming a motion that is referred to as the salt creep, which exists in the salt-mining industry (Olsson, 32). This helps in sealing and closing any opening that is created during the process of mining. Furthermore, it also closes and seals any opening that is found around the repository. Geological Location of the WIPP: The WIPP lies on a general flat plain, which is covered with caliche, desert bushes, and sand. The geological name of the region in which the WIPP is located, is called the gypsum-karst region. A subsidence landform, commonly referred to as the Nash Draw lies 5 km, across the Western side of the WIPP site. The Nash Draw is 10 to 16 km wide, on the eastern side of the WIPP, and it has experienced a series of erosion by fill and solution of soluble rocks (Olsson, 27). This is a process that has happened in the past period, and it is also currently happening. The Pecos River also flows from the North West of the WIPP to the South East of the repository. This river is approximately 20 km, from the repository. Because of the existence of saline creeps along the Pecos River, the WIPP has been identified as an area that has the capability of discharging nuclear waste products that emanate from the commercial nuclear sites, and the repository itself. Geological Issues related with WIPP: The geological characterization of the WIPP began in 1974, after the government abandoned the Lyons, Kansas site. The government abandoned this site, in the year 1972. The Atomic Energy Commission was the one which was responsible for selecting the Kansas site. However, it was deemed unsuitable because of unmapped gas and oil wells, which were located within the region or area (Mahaffey, 38). These unmapped wells had the potential of compromising the ability of the planned plant to contain and preserve nuclear waste. The government feared that proceeding with the construction of a nuclear site at the Kansas location, may lead to the emergence of serious health hazards, such as nuclear leakages. This may result to a serious negative impact on the environment. This is because nuclear wastes have the capability of destroying the environment, and the lives of people. Because these concerns were raised by the people, and professional geologists, the government was able to abandon this program, and look for a new site. In relocating this project to New Mexico, the government was encouraged by the interests that emerged from the communities living in the region. Based on these facts, the department of energy was able to relocate this new program to the Delaware salt beds, which are located in New Mexico. The early activities that characterized the classification of the site was focused on obtaining data on hydrology, potash resources, and stratigraphy at the WIPP site. As these studies continued, a variety of geological processes and features were identified, and these features could negatively affect the capabilities of a radioactive waste repository system. Because of the existence of these geological issues and safety concerns, the exact loc ation of building this site was able to change on numerous occasions. This is because the government was keen on protecting the security of the community of people living in the Basin. One of the minerals that posed a safety concern was the presence of Brine deposits. The discovery of brine occurred in the year 1975, when a drilling process was able to release a pressurized deposit of brine, from beneath the repository level. Olsson (46) therefore explains that construction of this plant, near the brine deposits could compromise the safety of the facility. This is because brine has the capability of leaking into the repository, and hence dissolving the radioactive particles or elements. Furthermore, brine had the capability of entraining particulate matter or elements with radioactive waste substances to the surface. This can negatively affect the environment, and the people living within the environment under consideration. These were some of the factors that were considered during the creation and development of the WIPP nuclear plant. Importance of WIPP to the Study: Understanding the geological characteristics and formation of WIPP is important because of the fact that it is a nuclear facility, and any breaches of its security, can lead to very grave security concerns and environmental damages. Take for example the Fukushima Daiichi disaster of 2011. This was a Japanese nuclear disaster that occurred in the year 2011, after being hit by a tsunami (Fermi and Salvatore, 41). This disaster saw the release of a substantial amount of radio-active elements, making it one of the largest nuclear disasters of all time. This led to the contamination of the Pacific sea, affecting the marine life there. Furthermore, there were risks that people could acquire cancer, because of exposure to radioactive elements. Understanding the geological properties and conditions of WIPP would help in minimizing risks associated with the leakage of radioactive elements (Fermi and Salvatore, 41). Conclusion: Storing nuclear waste substances always gives a significant problem to the continuous usage of nuclear substances or materials. There are various challenges that exists in the storage of these nuclear facilities, and this is demonstrated by 2011 Japanese nuclear crisis, and the recent fires that occur at the WIPP nuclear plant. Salt mines have been traditionally used as storage sites for nuclear plants; however, workers in these locations are always vulnerable to acquiring medical conditions that are not conducive to them. Furthermore, the notion that salt mines have the capability of blocking a diffusion of waste products is not a certain belief. It is based on these facts that the WIPP repository should be placed under heavy surveillance to ensure that it does not present a health hazard or risk to the community living there. Works Cited: Energy.gov. Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. http://energy.gov/em/waste-isolation-pilot-plant>. Seong, Kwanjae, and Yoram Rubin. Field Investigation of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Site (New Mexico) Using a Nonstationary Stochastic Model with a Trending  Hydraulic Conductivity Field. Water Resources Research (1999): 1011. Print. Capilla, Josà © E., J. Jaime Gà ¶mez-Hernà ¡ndez, and Andrà ©s Sahuquillo. Stochastic Simulation of  Transmissivity Fields Conditional to Both Transmissivity and Piezometric Head Data—3. Application to the Culebra Formation at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plan (WIPP), New  Mexico, USA. Journal of Hydrology (1998): 254-69. Print. Olsson, P. Nuclear Reactors, Nuclear Fusion and Fusion Engineering. New York: Nova  Science, 2009. Print. Fermi, Enrico, and Salvatore Esposito. Neutron Physics for Nuclear Reactors Unpublished  Writings. Singapore: World Scientific, 2010. Print. Mahaffey, James A. Nuclear Fission Reactors. New York: Facts on File, 2011. Print. Appendix One: Image One: This image was removed from the ENERGY.GOV website, managed by the Office of the Environmental Management (Energy.gov, 5). The following is a link to the website, http://energy.gov/em/waste-isolation-pilot-plant This is a truck carrying nuclear waste products, shipping them to the WIPP. This image is developed courtesy of ENERGY.GOV (Energy.gov, 5).

Optimism in Anatole Broyards Intoxicated by My Illness Essay -- Intox

In Anatole Broyard's Intoxicated by My Illness, instead of confronting the reality of his illness, he tries to rise above it. From the moment he found out he had been diagnosed with cancer of the prostate, Broyard was composed about it. "He felt something like relief" he says. He figures you have two choices when your life is threatened, "you can turn towards it or away from it" He turned toward it and let the illness make him even more appreciative for being alive. Although he had realized for the first time that he didn't have forever he knows that life itself has a deadline, his might just come a little sooner than other peoples'. His friends found him courageous for thinking this way. Broyard never believed that his perspective of life had anything to do with courage, but instead with his desire to live and move on with his everyday routines. If he still had more time to live, why should he waste it by becoming depressed over the reality of things? In the 1950s, when he tried to talk his friend Jules out of commiting suicide, he began to "sell life to him" by makin...

Do Primates Posses Culture? Essay -- essays research papers

Writing Assignment One--Do primates posses culture?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I think that if culture is defined as learned behavior, than it is reasonable to say that primates posses a form of culture. Primates have been observed making tools to aid in collecting food and developing communication system, both of which are learned behaviors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is common in monkeys, apes and humans that behavior and social organization aren’t necessarily programmed into the genes. There have been several cases where an entire troop has learned from the experiences of just a few. In a group of Japanese macaques, for example, a three-year-old female female developed the habit of washing dirt of of sweet potatoes before she ate them. First her mother, and then peers and then the entire troop started washing their potatoes too. Another macaque troop has a similar experience when a group of dominant males learned to eat wheat. Within an hour, the practice had spread throughout the entire group. Changes in learned behavior seem to spread more quickly from the top down than from the bottom up.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For monkeys as for people, the ability to learn is a tremendous adaptive advantage, permitting them to avoid fatal mistakes. Faced with an environmental change, primates don’t have to wait for a genetic or physiological response, since learned behavior and social patterns can be modified.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The extensive usage of too...

Ephedrine and its use in Weight Loss :: Health Dieting Papers

Ephedrine and its use in Weight Loss Throughout the late nineteenth century and into the new millennium, there has been a tremendous desire among women to lose weight. Women today will do anything to achieve their belief of the perfect figure. While the â€Å"Barbie† look was at one time looked upon as unhealthy, it is now considered expected. For some reason women feel the need to keep up with Hollywood and its stars. Of course it does not help when the cover of any fashion magazine is pasted with size-zero models. After reading a magazine filled with beautiful, skinny women, people usually feel worse about the way they look, not better. So it is no surprise that the trend to lose weight has taken off in the past couple of years. And with this trend comes the increased popularity in â€Å"weight-loss† products. One can find any type of product now that claims to lose weight effectively, but at what cost to his/her health? One very controversial herb found in diet pills or food supplements is ep hedrine. Purpose of Ephedrine: While ephedrine is used to treat low blood pressure and chronic asthma, it is more popularly used in diet pills (http://www.ravehard.com/doctor/ephidra.htm). Ephedrine is a natural stimulant found in many diet pills offered today. According to the Clinical Toxicology Review, ephedrine mainly affects the cardiovascular and respiratory systems of the body. This means that it constricts blood vessels and enhances certain actions of the heart (http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000401/msgs/29022.html). In a clinical review; Capri-Mara Fillmore, Lisa Bartoli, Richard Bach, and Young Park 1999, they stated that ephedrine stimulates the sympathomimetic and central nervous system.

Remember the titans Essay

Gary, the team captain, and Julius, his black roommate, got off to a rough start. In the beginning, each disliked the other intensely. a) Describe why they disliked each other so much. b) In the movie, the two young men had a â€Å"heart-to heart† talk where each angrily told the other how he really felt. Describe the episode and why it was so significant. 1. A) Gary and Julius disliked each other because of the color of their skin and both of them thought that the other was not doing their job of a leader and bringing the team together. These boys were fearful of the change and each other, which lead them to avoid each other as much as possible. When together, the boys would communicate in unproductive ways; they treated each other with complete disrespect and without trust for one another. b) In their â€Å"heart-to heart† talk, Gary tells Julius that he is wasting his football talent by not listening to anyone. After an intense practice, Gerry and Julius bumped into each other. Gerry, tired of added practices that Boone had enforced, took advantage of the situation by trying to gather facts to tell Boon. Gerry ended up accusing Julius of being selfish; a stubborn player with a bad attitude. Julius responded to Gerry in a way that allowed Gerry to realize that he wasn’t being a true leader. Julius highlighted that â€Å"his white buddies† were not blocking for Rev. In that moment, Gerry realized that he hadn’t been a good team captain as he had been treating players unequally. 2) Other than Gary, Julius, and the two coaches, describe two other individuals who made a difference and who made a significant contribution to the success of the Titans. 2. The two other individuals that made a difference were Lewis Lastik and Ronnie Bass . Lewis Lastik was the first person who talked with someone from the other race and got along with them. When he was questioned by Julius why he was not sitting with his own race, he replied by saying that he is with everyone no matter their color. He showed how teammates should interact and behave with each other. Ronnie Bass also had a huge impact on the team. After Jerry Harris was injured, Ronnie Bass stepped in his place and emerged as one of the leaders of the team. Even though he was different from everyone else, he got along with everyone and help the team grow. 3) Provide three examples which illustrate how a friend or outsider was able to help another to see blind spots. 3. 1) Gary had the blind spot and Julius helped him to see it. The blind spot was that Gary was not doing his job as being the leader of the team and treating everyone equally. This was significant because it helped Gary realize that he is not trying his best to be a leader and bring together all his teammates. Coach Boone had the blind spot and Coach Yoast helped him to see it. The blind spot was that Coach Boone cared more about winning games and about him being a winner. This was significant because, Coach Boone realized that he was blinded by his own ambition about winning games and being seen as a winner and he should care more about his players. 3) Coach Yoast had the blind spot and his daughter Sheryl Yoast helped him to see it. The blind spot was that Coach Yoast had too much pride in himself to ask for coach Boone’s help on defense. This was significant because Coach Yoast realized that in order to win the game, he needs Coach Boone’s help. 4) Identify two conflict styles†¦ one used by Gary and one used by Julius and provide specific examples. 4. Gary used the Competing conflict style. The competing style has a win-lose approach in which the conflict is solved in the favor of the person who wants control of the situation and has low concern for others. Gary used this style when he was talking to Coach Boone about reserving half of the starting positions for the white players and not needing any black players on the defense. He also used this style , when Julius put up a picture of the famous Black Power Salute on his side of the room and Gary wanted him to remove the picture which led to a fight between them and some of the other players. Julius used the Collaborating conflict style. In this conflict style, the two parties involved share their ideas and work together to solve a problem. This conflict style has a win-win approach. Julius used his style when Gary failed to show up to his house to play basketball and the conflict among the two started to build again, Julius went to Gary’s house to retain the close friendship that they had built. Describe three things that Coach Boone did in order to transform the racial hostility into a unified team effort and explain the significance of each of the three examples. 5. 1) When the team was leaving for camp, all the white players and the black players were sitting in separate buses, when Coach Boone noticed this, he had all the defensive players sit in one bus and all the offensive players sit on the other bus. On the buses, he had everyone sit with someone from the other race and the two people sitting together had to  be roommates throughout the camp. The significance of this change was that it let the players know that there will be no differences among the two races and everyone should treat each other equally. 2) Coach Boone had all of his players meet and learn about someone from the other race and report to him until they have met everyone of the opposite race that was on the team. The significance of this was that Coach Boone wanted all to players to know each other and decrease the racial tension among the two races. 3) Coach Boone took the team on a run to the Gettysburg field. On this field , the Battle of Gettysburg took place. This was significant because it showed the team that if they don’t come together and get rid of the hate, they will be destroyed just like the many lives that were lost during that Battle of Gettysburg. Remember the Titans Case Study by Manpreet Singh Harjot Samra Interpersonal Communication Professor: Bart Chudleigh August 10, 2013