International Policy statement-development (Canada) Essay

International Policy statement-development (Canada) - Essay Example veloping countries, Canadian organizations, institutions and business, as well as international organization and agencies (Canadian International Development Agency [CIDA], 2005). One of the most significant tasks of the CIDA is the crafting of Canada’s international policy statement which serves as the platform of the country’s international development efforts. This year, the agency releases its International Policy Statement which was designed to promote its thrusts suited to the current world situation. CIDA’s policies are geared in promoting international development. This year’s international policy statement is focused on Canada’s foreign policy as â€Å"the world is changing, quickly, radically, and these changes matter to Canada—not in abstract terms, and not only to students of international relations but tangibly to everyone (Canada’s International Policy Statement [CIPS], 2005).† The country has recognized that its security, prosperity and quality of living are greatly influenced by drastic global transformations. As the world is more and more becoming a â€Å"global village,† Canada is affected by all global occurrences from international terrorism, virulent disease, climate changes and disappearing fish stocks (CIPS, 2005). By incorporating these considerations in its international policy statement, Canada gears itself in embracing the challenges posted by the fast paced 21st century. CIDA’s policies are categorized to represent three important goals—revitalize friendship with North America, making a change in the global arena, and changing the way it works. These three categories have overlapping objectives which tackles Canada’s relationship with North America, defense and international security, trade and commerce, international assistance, the new multilateralism, and making a difference (CIPS, 2005). Revitalizing friendship with North America includes a collaborative effort between the two nations to protect the North

Hydraulic Fracturing Essay Example for Free

Hydraulic Fracturing Essay Thousands of feet below the Earth’s surface, flows vast reservoirs of one of our planets most sought after commodities. In ancient Babylon there are writings of a dark elixir oozing from the lands surface, even then the people understood how precious this material was. Oil, along with Natural gas, are exceptionally rich sources of energy. A gallon of oil surpasses the output of five kg of coal, ten kg of wood, and over fifty times the amount of energy that fifty humans can produce. The richest oil can actually provide one hundred more times the energy, than the resources used to extract it from the ground. Currently the US is entering one of the largest modern oil booms the world has ever seen. Unfortunately unlike in ancient Babylon, oil today does not simply ooze out of the ground and into our cars. New advances in science and visualization technology have given us a process known as hydraulic fracturing. Also known as horizontal drilling, or fracking, these new techniques have caused a great controversy and sparked a public debate over the potential risks â€Å"fracking† could ensue on our environment. Despite the negative pictures environmental lobbyists have painted, hydraulic fracturing is essential for the future of America’s economy. Its main purpose is to create jobs, a stable market, and advance the future of clean energy in the United States. Currently, there has been a focused attention on the negative environmental impacts fracking could potentially carry with it especially in the water supply. There are hundreds of on-going investigations taking place to ensure the protection of the environment as well the health of citizens who currently populate near sites that are using a horizontal drilling method. Most of the negative impacts on the environment, associated with fracking, are poorly understood by the general public. The water supply has been one of the main concerns voiced by lobbyists and various media outlets. Currently the United States government has issued extensive research on the matter through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA has focused much of its attention on the sustainability of the water supply and soil surrounding current and former drilling sites. The EPA recently released on their main website a statement  confirming the following: The EPA currently is working closely with indus try partners to identify locations and develop research activities for prospective case studies. In prospective case studies, research at the site begins before hydraulic fracturing occurs, and then continues during and after hydraulic fracturing activities. The studies to date have shown no correlation to contaminated water supplies before or after the process of hydraulic fracturing. According to the New York Times, â€Å"Shale gas is accessed at depths of thousands of feet while drinking water is extracted from depths of only hundreds of feet. Nowhere in the state have fracking compounds injected at depth been shown to contaminate drinking water.† It is important to understand the process at which the gas is extracted to understand where the areas of risk occur. â€Å"Each well contains multiple layers of steel casing and cementing to effectively protect groundwater.† (API 1) This is essential to the protection of our water supply. It is important to understand the access large oil companies have to advanced equipment and the most brilliant minds. Each year bill ions of dollars are spent on research towards the extraction and containment of natural gas as well how to dampen the carbon footprint left after drilling. Many natural gas operators have chosen to disclose the ingredients of their cocktails to the website FracFocus.org, it is operated by the Groundwater Protection Council. This website includes a public record that can be examined by drill site or well location, individuals can effortlessly view the components used to fracture detailed wells. â€Å"As of early 2012, nearly one hundred companies have already provided information about approximately ten thousand wells and that number increases every day.† (API) Companies in our modern society understand the importance of transparency. Access to websites and detailed logs have given the public the ability to make their own judgments on the safety of individual operators. This makes large and independent companies held to higher standards than ever before. While there are greenhouse gases released during the extraction process they are significantly less than our current coal-fired plants. â€Å"Shale gas emits half the carbon diox ide per unit of energy as does coal, and coal burning also emits metals such as mercury into the atmosphere that eventually settle back into our soils and waters.† (New York Times) This is of great importance to understand especially as one of the oldest and largest coal-fired plant operates in  west Texas. Advocacy groups such as the Sierra Club are fighting to shut down these highly destructive plants. â€Å"Coal and gas-fired power plants emit more than 2.3 billion metric tons per year of carbon pollution, approximately 40% of total U.S. energy-related carbon pollution.†(SierraClub.Org) Because of intense restrictions any emissions from oil and gas wells must stay within agreed state and federal restrictions to guarantee the health and well-being of residents. â€Å"Natural gas is considered a clean burning fuel because of its comparatively low emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur oxides, and nitrogen oxides.†(API 1) According to the Environmental Protection Agency, natural gas-fired electricity generates half the carbon dioxide of coal-fired production. As a country we have gained a dependency on energy and as we grow new techniques will have to be discovered to maintain our consumption rate. Hydraulic Fracturing brings us closer to clean energy while having an instanta neous benefit to our atmosphere and environment by making dangerous coal-fired plants obsolete. The oil and natural gas industry resources are considerably valuable to the United States ‘economy as one of the country’s major employers and buyers of imports. Maintaining its growth through a struggling economy, Americas oil and natural gas operators carry on to deliver well-paying employment, returns to administrations and share growth for millions of Americans. â€Å"With increased access to U.S. oil and gas resources we can create 1 million new jobs in the next ten years alone.†(Green 1) That means if the nation could regulate the practice of fracking, while protecting the environment, it in return would create one million American jobs. That would not only raise our unemployment rate exponentially, but would insert millions of tax dollars back into the economy for improved infrastructure or education. â€Å"Expansion of oil and natural gas shale assets sustained more than 2.1 million jobs in 2012.†(API 1) Affordable, native natural gas is vital to refreshing the chemical, manufacturing, and steel industries. These great industries have supported our nation in the past and will continue into the future. The American Chemis try Council determined: A 25 percent increase in the supply of ethane (the liquid derived from shale gas) could add over 400,000 jobs across the economy, provide over $4.4 billion annually in federal, state, and local tax revenue, and spur $16.2 billion in capital investment by the chemical industry That added boost to  the job market is a gift long overdue to our struggling economy. Similarly, the National Association of Manufacturers estimated that high recovery of shale gas and lower natural gas prices will help U.S. manufacturers employ 1,000,000 workers by 2025. This will directly stimulate small town communities by offering technical job positions with life-long benefits. As well the added income will help to slowly relieve the burden of debt many families are suffering from. An IHS report, America’s New Energy Future: The Unconventional Oil and Gas Revolution and the US Economy, estimates that: â€Å"Mainly due to lower energy prices, average disposable income per household increased by more than $1,200 in 2012.†(IHS 4) This has continuously been omitted from the main stream media. Numerous industry sponsored reports are connecting gushing oil and natural gas production brought on by fracking is lifting the United States economy by dropping energy costs for clients and producers. It has a direct correlation as we produce more on shore energy our costs and high import taxes decrease. This in affect has a trickle-down policy when oil costs less to extract, ship, and use then household energy bills go down. President Obama’s 2012 State of the Union address the President claimed recognition for governing the leading decline in oil imports in current times and for accomplishing the lowest use of need on oil imports in sixteen years. He accredited that notable outcome somewhat to improved oil production in North and South Dakota but mainly to the substantial surge in gas production that has directly stemmed from hydraulic fracturing. There is a clear indication that the risks of fracking are reducing day by day as the benefits continue to increase. The crash of 2008 brought our economy to a grinding halt. There is currently no other market that could stimulate the economy as much as the energy sector. The United States Economy will progress substantially over the next ten years due to the shale boom. Hydraulic fracturing will reduce the cost of energy while raising manufacturing. Most importantly it will reassure chemical and technology companies will receive higher endowments givin g us an edge over our competitors. Fracking will also reduce the cost of transportation by fueling our vehicles with clean natural gas. By performing quality due diligence we can omit the fears associated with hydraulic fracturing once and for all. Joint cooperation from the US Department of Energy and the International Energy Agency will contribute access to up to date reports on the environment and public safety. Hydraulic fracturing offers us hundreds of years producing clean, dependable, sustainable energy. It will directly affect the following generations while having a positive effect on our current economy. â€Å"Hydraulic fracturing is the future without it, we would lose 45 percent of domestic natural gas production and 17 percent of our oil production within 5 years.†(API 1) Some view hydraulic fracturing in an undesirable context. I am confident in hydraulic fracturing and see it as a window of opportunity for America that will help boost the economy while giving an immediate reduction in greenhouse gases. The benefits and rewards of hydraulic fracturing simply outweighs the risks. Works Cited Brantley, Susan L., and Anna Meyendorff. The Facts on Fracking. Nytimes.com. New York Times, 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. Efstathiou, Jim, Jr. Bloomberg. Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 3 Sept. 2013. Web. 03 Mar. 2014. . Green, Mark. Energy Tomorrow Home. Energy Tomorrow Home. API.ORG, 28 Feb. 2014. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. Hassett, Kevin A., and Aparna Mathur. American Enterprise Institute. AEI. Aei.org, 4 Apr. 2013. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. Larson, John W., and Richard Fullenbaum. Americas New Energy Future. Rep. no. Vol. 3. IHS.com, Sept. 2013. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. . Pierce, Richard J., Jr. Scholarly Commons. Site. Gwu.edu, 2013. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. . Sierra Club Home Page: Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet. Sierra Club Home Page: Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet. Sierraclub.org, 2012. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. United States. Environmental Protection Agency. Department of the Enviroment. Progress Report Webinar. Epa.gov, 28 Feb. 2014. Web. 2 Mar. 2014. . Zobak, Mark. American Petroleum Institute. American Petroleum Institute. API.ORG, Sept. 2013. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.

Eulogy for Grandmother :: Eulogies Eulogy

Eulogy for Grandmother With the little things. It's the little things that make up a year, and the years which make up a life. It's the little things that make up the memories. And I have an abundance of those. Sitting on the green couch listening to stories. Stories from her childhood, from the war years and beyond. Stories of playing with mice in the attic of the house -- her refuge as none of her siblings would go up there, stories of being tied up and gagged with a pickle in the mouth and shoved behind a cupboard by an exasperated older brother. Stories of shooting peas at the women in her father's factory. Of being found awake too early by her father one Christmas morning and being punished by having the presents taken away. Only she cried so much she was allowed to keep the doll. Of having some painful ailment and being carried kicking and screaming into the ocean by Sally because "Salt water will cure it." Of playing on a raft and having it sink. Everyone got off except May. They stood on the bank and watched it sink with May stubbornly repeating "I'm not going to swim". Grandma always laughed so much telling that story! Stories of the war. Protecting the patients from bombs by putting them under the stairs. But the mothers and newborn babies went under their beds. Of bringing corn back after a visit back home and carrying the two pieces round the wards so every soldier could have a bite. Of working with blind children. Of going out into streets full of rubble. ("Were you scared, Grandma?" "No. I was always too busy looking after others to be scared.") Of meeting an Australian soldier during a dance in England. Of getting married. I was fascinated by those stories. She told them so well. Over and over. She never seemed to get tired of me asking. Christmas time. Luke, Grandma and I, then later Chloà « and Laura. Lying in front of the fire writing letters to Santa and "posting" them up the chimney then racing outside to see the charred remains carried away by the breeze. Snooping around trying to find the Christmas stockings she made out of old orange bags. Pouring boiling water over almonds then "shooting" them out of their skins. They used to go all over the kitchen! Eulogy for Grandmother :: Eulogies Eulogy Eulogy for Grandmother With the little things. It's the little things that make up a year, and the years which make up a life. It's the little things that make up the memories. And I have an abundance of those. Sitting on the green couch listening to stories. Stories from her childhood, from the war years and beyond. Stories of playing with mice in the attic of the house -- her refuge as none of her siblings would go up there, stories of being tied up and gagged with a pickle in the mouth and shoved behind a cupboard by an exasperated older brother. Stories of shooting peas at the women in her father's factory. Of being found awake too early by her father one Christmas morning and being punished by having the presents taken away. Only she cried so much she was allowed to keep the doll. Of having some painful ailment and being carried kicking and screaming into the ocean by Sally because "Salt water will cure it." Of playing on a raft and having it sink. Everyone got off except May. They stood on the bank and watched it sink with May stubbornly repeating "I'm not going to swim". Grandma always laughed so much telling that story! Stories of the war. Protecting the patients from bombs by putting them under the stairs. But the mothers and newborn babies went under their beds. Of bringing corn back after a visit back home and carrying the two pieces round the wards so every soldier could have a bite. Of working with blind children. Of going out into streets full of rubble. ("Were you scared, Grandma?" "No. I was always too busy looking after others to be scared.") Of meeting an Australian soldier during a dance in England. Of getting married. I was fascinated by those stories. She told them so well. Over and over. She never seemed to get tired of me asking. Christmas time. Luke, Grandma and I, then later Chloà « and Laura. Lying in front of the fire writing letters to Santa and "posting" them up the chimney then racing outside to see the charred remains carried away by the breeze. Snooping around trying to find the Christmas stockings she made out of old orange bags. Pouring boiling water over almonds then "shooting" them out of their skins. They used to go all over the kitchen!

Air Pollution: a Damage Resulting from Economic Development Essay

This term paper is about the impacts of emission of harmful gases like sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide etc. due to the development of industrial business in Bangladesh. Here, the study has been based on the regression analysis of percentage of carbon dioxide emission per metric ton and GDP per capita of eight Asian countries to determine that how environmental pollution is increasing because of industrial progression. And it has been found that they have positive relation. The motto of this term paper is to remind of the fact that only thinking about the economic development of the country should not be welcomed unless the importance of environmental welfare is being realized. The relationship between economic growth and the environment is debatable. Traditional economic theory posits a trade-off between economic growth and environmental quality. Since the early 1990s, however, the rapidly expanding empirical and theoretical literature has suggested that the relationship between economic growth and the environment could be positive and hence growth is a prerequisite for environmental improvement. But on the other hand, growth could be an affective reason of environmental pollution. This paper depicts the empirical pattern that at relatively low levels of GDP per capita, pollution level (and intensity) initially increases with rising income. The dominant theoretical explanation is that when GDP increases, the greater scale of production leads directly to more pollution, but, at a higher level of income per capita, the demand for health and environmental quality rises with income which can translate into environmental regulation, in which case there tend to be favorable shifts in the composition of output and in the techniques of production. Air pollution can be occurred in two ways-increasing of suspended particular matters (dusts, fumes, mists and smokes) and emission of gaseous pollutants. Among these two components, air pollution due to gaseous pollutants is a severe pollution of modern era. Air pollution is one of the causes of environmental pollution and because of environmental pollution; people face various kinds of fatal diseases which may decrease the productivity level of them. As a result economic development of a country could be hampered. Sustainable development has been one of the alarming concerns in the twenty-first century. It has significant implications on the extent of economic activity in the future. Anderson and Brooks (1996) have given the statement, â€Å"scientific basis supporting the relationship between business activities, resource depletion and the environment has grown stronger in recent years.† Grossman (1995) offers three main explanations as to how air pollution due to economic development affects one country’s environment- First is the â€Å"scale effect of income on the ‘environment’. As more outputs are produced, more inputs are (natural resources included) are required and more wastes and emissions by products are created during the process. Second is the technology composition effect. This refers to the technology as a percent of GDP. Third is the technique effect. Technique pertains to the research and development of a country. Air pollution measurements for eight Asian countries (China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, South Korea, Bangladesh, Singapore, and Thailand) are calculated by collecting the percentage of carbon dioxide emission (per metric ton) and GDP per capita of one particular year from the World Bank data. Here, carbon dioxide emission is the dependent variable and GDP per capita is the independent variable. And then from regression analysis the result has been occupied.

Humanism: Link between Religion and Science Essay

Humanism is probably the greatest contribution of the Renaissance period which changed not just the political and religious climate of the era but also started the scientific explorations that lead to the advancements in science we enjoy today. The American Humanist Association defines humanism as â€Å"a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism and other supernatural beliefs, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity. Humanism is said to have paved the way to the ideological, political and religious explorations during the Renaissance and Reformation periods that eventually gave birth to Scientific Revolution. To better appreciate the role of humanism in the advancement of science, we need to look at the events surrounding the Renaissance period. Renaissance, which refers to the period 1400 to 1650, is between medieval Christian era and Scientific Revolution. It is a period between religious domination and enlightened exploration. According to Kreis in his lecture on Renaissance Humanism, it is a period between â€Å"faith and reason. In medieval Christian civilization, only one church existed- the Roman Catholic Church. The Pope, who is the head of the church, governs everyone. People rely on God and prefabricated doctrines for every decision. Everyone is demanded to obey and believe. In the society, individuals are subordinate to the majority. Collective thoughts and decisions reign over individual preferences. Laws and customs regulate everything that happens in the land. People have no individual rights. Questioning authorities is not permissible. People are not allowed to think for themselves and explore their potentials. Renaissance period gave birth to humanism. According to Kreis in Renaissance Humanism, humanism promoted â€Å"independence of medieval tradition. † It shattered every fabric of the medieval influence. It brought people from blind obedience to progressive thinking. Humanism reformed the mind of people. It gave individuals a new way of looking at themselves and the world. It promoted self worth and confidence to the individual. It encouraged people to think for themselves, explore new ideas, learn new things and express their thoughts. It gave people the opportunity to view themselves apart from the church and society. This freedom bred doubts about the old system. People started challenging the norms and laws of society that held them captive. They started to question the authority and teachings of the church. Niccolo Machiavelli, one of the thinkers of Renaissance wrote â€Å"God is not willing to do everything, and thus take away our free will and that share of glory which belongs to us† (p. 95). This is a humanist statement challenging God and his authority. Machiavelli mentioned â€Å"free will† which is opposed to the collective decision and religious obedience of medieval Christians. Furthermore, he also referred to the â€Å"glory which belong to us† encouraging people to recognize their worth instead of subjecting themselves to the dictates of society. The freedom to challenge norms and explore new things started by the humanists instigated the Protestant Reformation that divided the Roman Catholic Church. Furthermore, it also led to interests not only in personal development, politics and religion but also in the natural world. People started to notice their environment and find new things. This new-found curiosity about nature set up the Scientific Revolution.

Business Papers and Essays

Business Papers and Essays In business, writing is a tool used to get things done. Because its fundamental goal is to help people do business, good business writing has efficiency as its hallmark. Writers should assume that their readers are busy individuals who have little time to spend extracting information from a document. Thus, an efficient business document makes its point quickly, often telling the reader what he or she needs to know in the opening paragraph. Extensive background information and detailed explanations are typically saved for later sections of the document. If you are studying for Business Administration degree or some other related business degree, most probably you will need lots of business term papers or essays that will require the special use of language and that will assume your audience to business people. As every paper, business term paper should go through the specific writing process that will make your paper to achieve your goal. Whether you are studying business or working in business, you may be asked to write a variety of types of documents. Some of the most common ones are memoranda, letters, employment documents such as job-application letters and resumes, and reports. For you as a student these documents will be assigned for studying purposes and will be in the form of business term papers that you will need to complete during your semester. Although you are only learning how to write your business letters, it doesn’t mean that you should not follow the common rules and tale into attention general principles for writing business papers. The reason is simple – your resume or memo will be graded as usual term paper and this mark will influence the grade for the whole course. In this section we would like to tell about general strategies that the writer should follow while writing his or her business term papers. You need to write more reader-oriented (rather than writer-oriented) prose. As a business writer you should have good instincts, based on your own reading experiences, about how readers read; you should try to write that way your business term papers if you want them to be good and match the business style writing. You need to get a better fix on the rhetorical context of a document before you start writing it. In your business term papers or essays you will need to start your writing processes by addressing the big-picture issues. For example: Who are your readers (both now and later)? What are you trying to accomplish? What are the key issues you, as writer, need to clarify and stress? What are the traps you need to avoid? To what extent does the situation call for heightened attention to visual issues? You need to plan the superstructures of important documents before you start drafting them. You will need to use more planning guides and outlines as drafting guides especially given the constant interruptions/disruptions of the writing process in the workplace. While writing papers you need to remember that arrangement decisions have visual, logical, and rhetorical effects. When you write in response to a particular piece of writing, you need to avoid allowing the arrangement of it to automatically control the arrangement of your response to it. You Need to Place Key Ideas in Up-Front and Highlighted Positions. In your business term papers you will need to write more directly, deductively, and non-narratively. Use more preview statements, and visual cues such as headings, boldings, bulletings, boxings, underlinings, etc. (as long as you use them wisely, sparingly, and consistently). You will need to reduce the number of visual-indexing cues; that is, the number of imaginary vertical lines running down a given page. You Need to Unpack, Deflate, Decompress, and Simplify Sentences. You will need to break the one-sentence-solution habit if you have one. As a revision strategy for your business term papers, you need to learn how to isolate your key idea, look at what is smothering or obscuring it, eliminate unnecessary or repetitive elements, and reconstruct what is left. In business papers or essays you will also need to be shown how references, disclaimers, qualifiers, and so forth can be moved into parentheticals, footnotes, and separate sentences. You Need to Be Vigilant About Both Common and Personal Little-Picture Error Patterns. You will need to learn how to identify and avoid your most chronic personal mechanical goofs and, if you are working in the group on your business paper or project, you need to be on the lookout for semicolon goofs, comma-set goofs, and the confusion of similar words. In the process, you will need to come to a better understanding of the differences between rules, house rules, and tastes.

Music of the Lost Prophets essays

Music of the Lost Prophets essays Lost Prophet has been experiencing a meteoric rise to stardom in recent years due to an underground music craze following the lack of real metal music within the music industry. Many fans of old style metal bands such as Metalica wanted to move on a modern update on metal music and this led to the emergence of nu-metal. The Lost Prophets play within this genre by combining the influences of punk music with metal to create a very unique blend. The blending of heavy metal with punk vocal and lyrics characterize this type of music. It is not nearly as powerful as traditional metal because the vocals for Lost Prophet are nearly as prominent as other aspects of the music. Nu-metal originally started as an underground movement in Great Britain, and Lost Prophet is considered one of its early pioneers. They emerged onto the music scene in early 2000 and soon gained an audience with fans of Metalica by playing in mostly local stages. The acceptance of nu-metal in America has been rela tively slow, but because punk is so prominent in the music scene many fans have both genres have turned to nu-metal as their music genre of choice. Lost Prophet has been able to stick to their brand of music by playing with many different artists and through their endorsement by Columbia Records. They have made nu-metal the new trend in metal music especially in Great Britain. They are viewed now as a household name, and take a very important role in both Ozzfest and Leeds festivals, which is the traditional music arena for metal bands. The leader and front man for the Lost Prophet is Ian Watkins who is the vocalist for the band. He lived in Pontypridd, where he and several of his band members grew up. This is a very remote ex-mining town in the Welsh Valleys. Originally Ian was a drummer who focused on playing for metal bands in the late 1990s. His first band was called Public Disturban...