Arguments For and Against Global Warming

Arguments For and Against Global Warming Have you noticed that the summers have been getting hotter and the winters have become increasingly colder? Or have you perceived the climate changes but failed to comprehend why these changes were happening? Many people either did not think about that too closely or even know about the changes until they viewed Al Gores documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. This documentary changed societys mentality on the ongoing dispute about the legitimacy of global warming and many have come to believe that this crisis is the truth about what is currently occurring today. From this documentary to the many statistical research studies, there have been many ongoing debates on whether this controversial idea is correct at all. I had no idea what global warming was prior to viewing this documentary in my environmental science class. Now I believe global warming more than ever. Based on the data from the ongoing research, global warming is indeed, a valid growing disaster Global warming is essentially the average increasing temperature in the atmosphere as a result of greenhouse gases. These gases absorb and store heat in the earths atmosphere. The gases mostly consist of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, and water. These gases cause the greenhouse effect in which vapors insulate the surface of the earth to keep the Earth warm. Due to human activity, there is a large amount of carbon dioxide gathering in the atmosphere absorbing a lot of the heat coming from the sun. The atmosphere is supposed to emit most of the heat, but the atmosphere absorbs all the warmth which causes an increase in the amount of greenhouse gases. I am sure that many people, including myself not too long ago, do not realize what greenhouse gases are and how we are contributing to global warming. Before doing some research on my own, I did not know that human activities like driving cars led to a buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Statistics from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has shown that human made gases such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide have been the leading causes in temperature increases since the middle of the twentieth century. The IPCC has also shown statistics that global average surface temperature and the global average sea level have been steadily increasing while the northern hemisphere snow cover has been decreasing. On the contrary, there are people who decline to believe that global warming is true no matter how many studies occur or the data from statistics. Based on my knowledge, scientific experiments that can be replicated with similar results are correct most of the time. If similar results are reached every time, then there should be no doubt regarding the conclusion. The average temperature has intensified by 1 degree Fahrenheit since the industrial evolution. This may not sound so bad because, after all, it is only one degree Fahrenheit right? Wrong, observations have shown that for every little temperature increase, a large amount of snow will not fall. This correlation shows how serious small changes in climate can be and the problem is only getting worse. There have been two occasions in the previous decade in which we have had the hottest average temperature recorded. In addition, Mt. Kilimanjaro has been losing snow rapidly along with many National Parks that feature glaciers as their main landform. There are other places that are facing the same results like the icecaps in Greenland which are melting at an astonishing pace. Melting ice falls into the ocean which raises the sea level. Research shows that the sea level will rise to approximate 23 inches within the next decade. The problems right now may seem minor, but they will escalate to disastrous levels if human activity does not change. I see the problem of people thinking they are just one person and do not contribute that much at all towards greater problems. For example, lets say there are a million people who drive cars that know carbon dioxide from the cars cause global warming. Now imagine if every person had the thought that they are only one person and not really influencing global warming; now the situation does not consist of one person, but a million persons. This is one of the main reasons why scientists have predicted that global warming will only get worse. There are various reasons as to why people in todays society have come to accept or reject the idea of global warming. Some of the critics say that the entire crisis is a hoax like Y2K and global freezing. Others may think that global warming was influenced by environmentalists who want to mentally push people into traps in which donations would be sent. Also, the other argument is that the whole global warming idea is a scheme by liberals who want to give power to big government and further regulation. On the opposing side, people say statistics have proven that global warming does exist. To add on to that, there is mentioning of the melting of polar ice caps which will lead to the extinction of polar bear. However, this side uses more statistics to support their argument compared to the critics going against the existence of global warming. I personally think that people are against the idea of global warming for attention and because of their dislike for the Republican Party. This comes with another counterargument that says that global warming data is manipulated and inflated to get the publics attention that there really is a problem with the earth. False, there have been cases where scientists have fixed up statistics to cause a small problem to escalate into a larger problem. One example I found while researching articles online is the case where hacked emails from a scientist in the UK seemingly show that the global warming data was indeed changed. In spite of this case, the data was proven to not be exaggerated when viewed as a whole. The accusation that the data was false came from viewing certain pieces of information and not viewing everything available. In my opinion, this could have been a scheme pulled by nonbelievers in order to strengthen their argument against global warming. Just because there have a few cases of data exaggeration, this does not falsify all other data that has been collected over the years by various scientists. All the data collected over the years have been confirmed as valid and people who still decline to believe in global warming should give credit where credit is due; facts are facts and stat istics are statistics. Critics cannot brush away what is true just because they want to or hope to believe that their side of the debate is true. There are some people who say that global warming is a natural process and is bound to happen as long as humans are inhibiting the earth. To me, this viewpoint is basically saying that all inhabitants of earth are going to be wiped out in a matter of time. Some examples I see today are people saying that using oil is necessary to survive in this world, but the problem is that we are overusing oil. The human population has to realize that there is not an unlimited supply of ozone and small changes will make a difference in the outcome. I disagree strongly with this viewpoint because this kind of attitude is probably what caused global warming to become worse. I believe that global warming is more of a scientific aspect of earth and human factors such as ethics and morals, these aspects should not play a part in debating that the crisis is false. I mean, human beliefs do not change the average temperature of the earths surface, so why then should the beliefs be incorporated into the argument? An example that can relate to this is the saying that all men are created equal. People can believe what they want to believe and they might not want to accept that everyone is equal. However, the fact is that everyone on this planet is a human being, no matter their home country, language, culture, and skin color. Beliefs and science should not be mixed when debating global warming. I say that just because someones belief goes against a scientifically confirmed fact does not mean that belief should be taken into account. According to CNN, a U.S. survey consisting of approximately 3,000 scientists in January 2009, results show that a majority of the scientists agreed that global warming is real. Earth scientists surveyed acknowledged that the average global temperature has been rising for the past 200 years and that human activity is to blame. So the increase has a direct correlation with the increase in human activity over time. The survey consisted of multiple questions, but only two were of importance: Have mean global temperatures risen compared to pre-1800s levels, and has human activity been a significant factor in changing mean global temperatures? The results were that around 90 percent of the scientists said that the first question was true and around 82 percent agreed with the second. Some people like Peter Doran, associated professor of earth and environmental sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago, say that the more you know about the field of climate science, the more youre lik ely to believe in global warming and humankinds contribution to it. Some scientists predict that there are 4 years left before a global average temperature rise of 2C or more. This would be catastrophic since every little increase affects the earth greatly. The sea level will increase a lot and more glaciers will melt. Based on the articles I have read in the past, polar bears will be wiped out soon as they are currently struggling for their survival today. As long as there are nonbelievers and people who refuse to understand that they make a difference, time will run out before our eyes to fix a problem that we humans have started. Even though global warming has been going on for some time now, there are still ways to improve the situation of climate change if we act fast. The first step could be putting gas powered vehicles behind us and move onto electric powered vehicles. This will be expensive and time consuming, but if the climate were to improve, then people can really make a difference. Perhaps we can decrease the amount of oil, coal, and natural gases being burned and look for an alternate source of energy that is more eco-friendly. Deforestation plays a big role since trees absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen in return. Planting trees here and there will contribute to the efforts in relieving global warming. There are many differences in how to solve climate change problems and all of them require dedication and effort in order for us to see results. Global warming is an ongoing controversial subject and some people want to believe that the crisis is false, but the truth is that global warming has enough facts and statistics to support the validity. From documentaries to data to surveys, they all agree with global warming really occurring. Whether or not the critics agree, the truth has been spoken and personal values should not affect something that has been scientifically proven. Yes, exaggeration has been used in some cases, but there is more than enough evidence to confirm the truth. On the contrary, personal values such as ethics and morals have not put up any sort of concrete evidence or statistical data. There is still plenty of time for people to improve the climate and every little step will pay off in the end. Therefore, people have to learn to accept that the truth is the truth and whether or not they agree will not affect the outcome global warming is existent.

Effects of Advertising on Children Essay

Overall view on advertisingAdvertising is the communication relayed from companies to persuade an audience to purchase their products. This communication is usually through various forms of paid media — TV and radio commercials, print ads, billboards and more recently, product placement. Ads are placed where advertisers believe they will reach the largest, most relevant audience. Commercial businesses use advertising to drive the consumption of their product, while non-profit organizations may place ads to raise awareness or encourage a change in behavior or perception. Advertising is the form of communication by fresh ways that the ad-filmmakers used to encourage, persuade or entice the consumers to buy their products. If an advertisement for a product attracts the consumers, they tend to purchase it frequently or at least give it a try. If a company has to survive in this competitive world, it has to project the image of its products in such a way that, they pick up the maximum sales. Nowadays, advertising plays an important role in the society, and since children form the major parts of the target group for advertisers, many advertisements focused on children are a proof of this fact. Today, children are watching more television than years ago, and thus viewing more advertisings. Many books have been written and many studies and reports done on the effects of TV advertising on children. In this presentation, we will look at some different positive and negative effects of TV advertisement on children, and give some suggestions as a solution to lim it negative effects of advertising on children. I. Positive effects of advertising on children – Advertising makes the kids aware of the new products available in the market. It increases their knowledge about the latest innovations in the field of technology. – Alive and flashy images with short messages like a motto, and charming models stimulate children’s imagination and their intelligence. – Certain advertisements, with strong messages motivate the kids in chasing their future prospects such as becoming a doctor, scientist or an engineer. They generate the passion in children, regarding their future and makes them realize the importance of education. – Some advertisements inculcate good habits in children, as all the toothpaste companies create strong awareness regarding dental hygiene in kids. II. Negative effects of advertising on children -Children may make excessive demands on their parents for the products they see in the advertisements. At times, they cry, pinch, pull and will not keep quiet till the parents purchase the product. Some parents who cannot control their children may fall in anger with them. -Junk food advertisements influence children greatly, leading to an increased demand for junk food by children. When children watch young adults eating junk foods in the advertisements they assume that it is good for the health. They are unaware of the fact that junk food does not contain nutritional value. They may even think that by eating these junk foods they might become like the thin and fit models in the advertisements. These unhealthy eating habits lead to diseases, such as obesity, heart diseases, high-blooded pressure. It even influences the way the kids think about the actual taste of food. – Children often tend to misinterpret the messages conveyed in commercial advertisments. They end up having wrong believes about many problems. Sometimes, they imitate the acts of models in the ad-films. For example, they can try smoking, drinking wine or beer. – As more and more advertisments are becoming animated, children are unable to understand the difference between real world and fantasy. They tend to have difficulties in doing tasks such as solving puzzles and reading. III. Solutions to limit negative effects of advertising on children – Parents play a major role in this case. Parents should teach their children of how to be critical of ads and how to become less influenced by the messages in the ads. Parents need to teach their children the importance and value of money. – Parents also need to instill good habits and help children to differentiate between right and wrong – Parents should limit the time of watching television of their children and spend more time playing with them or organize more outdoor activities for them. – Solutions from government: A few countries have banned marketing and advertising targeted at children below the age of twelve. One country has banned advertising of toys before 10 p.m. as it is at this time that children are mostly awake. Previously advertisers marketed children’s products towards parents. Parents were their target audience for these products. But nowadays, marketers aim their messages directly at children. Advertisements are made specifically in such a way that they draw the attention of children. The marketing messages are aimed directly at the children. – Advertisers on the other hand, can also try to put their message across creatively and target the entire family rather than just children. With a balanced approach, the negative effects of advertising can surely be controlled. I.Overall view of advertising 1. What is the advertising? – A form of marketing. – A method of mass promotion. – Purposes of advertising: + To introduce new products + To persuade the audience to purchase the product. + To cultivate brand identity 2. How does the advertising affect to people’s mind? – By the language – By the design – By the image and music II. Positive effects of advertising on children – Making the kids aware of the new products available in the market. – Stimulating children’s imagination and their intelligence. – Generating the passion in children and making them realize the importance of education. – Inculcating good habits in children. III. Negative effects of advertising on children -Making excessive demands on their parents for the products in the advertisements. – Increasing demand for junk food in children. – Misinterpreting the messages conveyed in commercial advertisments and imitating the acts of models. – Hardly differentiating the difference between real world and fantasy in the ads. III. Solutions to limit negative effects of advertising on children – Solutions from parents: +Teaching their children of how to be critical of ads and how to become less influenced by the messages in the ads and the importance and value of money. +Instilling good habits and helping children to differentiate between right and wrong. +Limit the time of watching television of their children and spending more time being with them. – Solutions from government: + Banning marketing and advertising targeted at children (related to time and the age of children) + Asking advertisers to target their messages to the entire family rather than just children. Advertising is all around us, it is an unavoidable part of everyone’s life. Some people say that advertising is a positive part of our lives while others say it is a negative one. Discuss both views and include your own opinion. Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. You should write at least 250 words. Advertising is all around us, it is an unavoidable part of everyone’s life. Some people say that advertising is a positive part of our lives while others say it is a negative one. Discuss both views and include your own opinion. Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. You should write at least 250 words. Of Course for several reasons: firstly, it motivates the psychological point in everyone, especially women. They will run to buy this advertised product especially if it’s from cosmetic roof, just to show their beauty to men, which will lead to more offender and raped cases. Secondly, you can sit comfortably with your family and suddenly the telephone is ringing, but it’s nothing important, it’s just another company try to convince you to buy one of their products. It is a real intrusive example of advertisement. Lastly, sometimes you do not have the financial ability to buy something, but with these new methods of advertisement, you will run to buy it, which will affect your budget. On the other hand, there are some good sides to advertising. For instance, it compares the prices of many companies which benefitthe consumer. Besides, it really opens our vision to see more products which we do not knowit unless the TV or Radio advertised them. In addition to, it breaks our daily routine and allows us to see new faces and learn the language better with the help of the daily updates they deliver through advertisement. In conclusion, as we can see there are many aspects to this essay. I feel that we gain no benefits at all from advertisement, it playson minds of people buy more things that they do not need it at all. Advertisements are all around us, and they vary greatly in their attempts to attract consumers. Some ads highlight the product’s features, while other ads’ content seems to be completely unrelated to the product they’re trying to sell. It’s the latter type of ads that shoppers need to be most wary of, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, and George Washington University focused on two different types of advertisements. The first type of ad, called â€Å"logical persuasion,† or LP, presents facts about the product, such as, â€Å"This car gets 42 miles to the gallon.† The second type of ad is referred to as â€Å"nonrational influence† (NI) because it circumvents consumers’ conscious awareness by depicting a fun, vague or sexy scene that seems to have nothing to do with the product. In the study, researchers showed advertising images to 11 women and 13 men while recording the electrical activity in their brains using electroencephalography (EEG). Each participant viewed 24 ads that had appeared in magazines and newspapers. The ads contained either LP or NI images. LP ads showed a table of facts and figures in a cigarette ad and suggestions about selecting food for dogs on the basis of their activity level in an ad for pet food. The NI advertisements included a liquor ad featuring an image of beading water and a cigarette ad showing a woman leapfrogging over a fire hydrant that is spraying water as a man grins behind her. The researchers found that the brain regions involved in decision-making and emotional processing (including the orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate regions, the amygdala, and the hippocampus) experienced significantly higher activity levels when participants looked at the LP ads. These brain regions have been shown to help inhibit a person’s response to certain stimuli, such as preventing an impulse purchase. When participants viewed the NI advertisements, however, these regions of the brain did not show activity levels that were as high as what the individuals experienced when they viewed the LP ads. â€Å"Watch your brain and watch your wallet,† study researcher Ian Cook, a professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA, said in a statement. â€Å"These results suggest that the lower levels of brain activity from ads employing NI images could lead to less behavioral inhibition, which could translate to less restraint when it comes to buying products depicted in the NI advertisements.† The study is published in the current edition of the Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics.

What are the major kinds of unconscious pleasures that might be found in common leisure pursuits?

The work of Sigmund Freud shows us that Freud believed that humans are all driven by unconscious needs and leisure pursuits are a result of these unconscious desires but adapted by our minds so that they are displayed in an acceptable way. This essay aims to identify these unconscious desires and examine how they are translated into common acceptable leisure pursuits. One of Freud's major theories was his definition of the conscious. Freud divided the mind into three different levels, the conscious, the pre-conscious and the unconscious. â€Å"The conscious level of mental activity is the level on which all thought processes occur. What one thinks conceptualises, or understands takes place on this level of activity. The pre-conscious is where information is stored away, but is easily obtainable. The unconscious is where memories and information are stored which cannot be accessed readily.† Donadio (2001) Freud tells us that there are three different forces that control our actions and desires; the id, the ego and the superego. â€Å"The id is the drive within us to bring ourselves pleasure. The id is concerned with satiating all basic urges from thirst and hunger to sexual desire, and is determined to attain satisfaction at any cost. People act on the id alone when they are first born, and as time progresses, they learn to suppress these desires in the interest of conventiallity; they realize that a person cannot merely have whatever he/she wants whenever he/she wants it, and that the individual must act in accordance with society. The ego is what brings about one's understanding that one is part of a society, and cannot always satisfy the urges of the id. The ego does not necessarily ignore the id, but rather governs and controls it. It often devises a plan to obtain that which the id desires. The ego is often seen as being responsible for practical and rational decision making. The superego governs over all of these, and is often seen as the conscious. The superego is concerned with the long-term ramifications of actions, adherence to what is â€Å"right and wrong†, and producing guilt as a result of one's actions. The superego is often more a product of society than the individual, as society dictates what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior; it often tends to direct the individual to act in a way which is viewed as positive by society, even if at the expense of personal satisfaction. † Donadio (2001) The id's desires for sex and survival are the basis for all human activity. The need for pleasure and release of tension that originates in the id is translated by the ego into more socially acceptable types of behavior, pleasurable leisure pursuits. â€Å"All behavior is in the service of tension reduction.† Appigananesi & Zarate (1979) p144 It is a basic human need to receive pleasure and release from tension, the most basic way to receive this pleasure and release tension is through sex. However, society, and therefore the superego, dictates that it is not acceptable to have sex continuously whenever we want with whomever we want. Our fear of not being accepted into society helps to translate these primary sexual urges into acceptable releases of tension and pleasurable activities such as sport, watching films, reading, drinking alcohol and going to clubs and pubs. Humans are very social creatures and receive pleasure from interaction with other humans. The majority of leisure pursuits involve some kind of socializing with other people. These social gatherings also provide the opportunity for interaction with members of the opposite sex. This is our basic sexual desire becoming apparent. In some social situations the desire to interact with the opposite sex is very apparent, for example socializing in pubs and clubs. When preparing for a night out members of both sexes will try to dress up to make themselves as attractive as possible. People can understand their desire for sex and put themselves in situations where their desires may come to fruition. However, even if one is aware of their sexual desires, in these situations it is still necessary for them to be made socially acceptable by the superego. Dancing is a good example of the expression of sexual desires in an acceptable way. In recent times dancing has become more sexual with more phys ical contact involved. This is due to modern changes in attitude when sex is becoming more socially acceptable although the taboo of sex seems to provide pleasure itself. The use of alcohol and drugs in these types of situations seem to help reduce the control the superego has over the id. People loose their inhibitions and become less concerned with being socially acceptable, the desires of the id are less suppressed and people's desire for pleasure dominates their actions. It is not uncommon to see inebriated couples on a Saturday night engaging in various kinds of sexual activity in public areas, without the introduction of alcohol or drugs the superego would dominate and demand more acceptable behavior. It is easy to see why we enjoy intoxicating substances as it makes our desire for pleasure more easily obtainable. With many other leisure pursuits the desires of the id are less apparent and the individual will not really know the unconscious origin of their behavior. Many types of leisure activities provide pleasure by escapism, â€Å"The tendency to seek distraction and relief from reality.† Definition: The Concise Oxford Dictionary (2000) Many people obtain pleasure from watching films and reading books. Often these types of leisure pursuits allow us to experience suppressed sexual urges through fantasies in books or films. These types of experiences would not normally be experienced in everyday life but being able to experience them through films or books provides great pleasure, although the individual will not really know the unconscious reason for the pleasure that they receive. In some situations it is because of our desires for food and drink that we receive pleasure. We enjoy going to restaurants and having dinner parties. It is not just the opportunity to interact with others that provides us with pleasure, but also the enjoyment of eating is a direct consequence of our basic human urge of hunger. Sport, as a leisure pursuit, is socially acceptable. It has always been seen as a healthy pastime. It provides a release of tension due to its physical nature and also allows interaction with other individuals. However, sport tends to provide greater pleasure for males than females. It is basic human nature for the male to want to exhibit his strength and power. The enjoyment of sport by males is probably due to the fact that sport as a leisure pursuit has always been seen for males as socially acceptable. â€Å"In Coleman's classic study of adolescent life (1961), being involved in sports was the most important factor contributing to the social status of high school boys.† Mannell & Kleiber (1997) p240 It can be seen by examining the work of Freud that all leisure pursuits provide pleasure and the majority of activities that we involve ourselves in for pleasure are some form of manifestation of our basic human sexual urges. Although we may not realize that we are receiving some form of unconscious pleasure it is necessary for our survival. Humans need the release of tension and to receive pleasure but they also need to be accepted socially so the existence of the superego helps to satisfy all of these urges.

The Law Enforcement Of The Bab El Oued Neighborhood

The year is 1993. The Algiers district of Bad el-Oued has become â€Å"very tense† making the people â€Å"edgy, nervous† and suspicious as a result of multiple â€Å"bomb attacks, sabotage, various manipulations, and repression† (Allouache 129). The Algerian ministry of internal affairs has tasked my newly formed committee, the committee of public and local affairs, to assess the current situation creating a feasible solution to the tension and unrest experienced by the local population in Bab el-Oued. The ministry has given my committee the freedom to utilize the local law enforcement as well as other needed government institutions in order to help improve the stability in accordance with the information available on Bab el-Oued. The information known†¦show more content†¦It is evident that on what appears to on an individual level, the interpretations of Islam differ from person to person. As such, we see this take effect through individuals’ i nteractions with one another. This impact takes form between multiple levels of the social order in Bab el-Oued. Ranging between family ties as seen through Said’s strict control over his sister, Yamina, where he exercises domestic abuse by attempting to control his sisters’ interactions with other men since he sees this as â€Å"a terrible disgrace†(63). Another perspective is Imam Rabah’s relation to the loud speaker, where he uses the speaker as a means to reach out with his sermons to all members of the Bab el-Oued district not inside the masjid on different Islamic matters pertaining to Bab el-Oued (1). The matter my committee finds of most concern to our goals is by assessing the social orders within Bab el-Oued. Islam is highly impactful within this neighborhood and seems to have greater influence on stability than the local law enforcement. Since the 1988 riots â€Å"everyone naturally hates the cops† and therefore do not possess significant control over the area (107). In addition, Said’s gang seemed perceive themselves as the local protectors due to their self-identification as strict practitioners of Islam through their bearded complexions and aggressive attitude with the locals (15). Said was a