Martin Luther King Jr. and Henry Thoreau Debate Essay

Fight For What is Right A cold, snowy winter night in Birmingham, Alabama: one of those nights where you would rather stay inside and sit by a fire while sipping on a cup of hot chocolate. Not everyone is doing that though, for many people walk in the cold all bundled up. Some of the more unfortunate ones stay stranded outside in the freezing weather with not nearly enough layers to keep them warm. In Birmingham, a lot of these people consist of African Americans who cannot afford somewhere to keep warm or are Just simply denied a place to stay based on their skin color. In this day and age, segregation exists between whites and blacks. A huge issue nationwide, but when it comes to Birmingham everything is taken to a new level. To ensure the separation of whites and blacks, you can see plenty of racial signs and other such tactics used by the city. Although between King and Thoreau, none of these resemble an issue; they both could stay warm under their nice winter Jackets, both had a place to go back home to and more importantly, one was a white man and the other a black man. Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. both made themselves very well known and idolized by many. They knew each other through a mutual friend but came into contact when they ran into one another here in Birmingham. The segregation in Birmingham continues to get out of control with constant bombings and killings of African American citizens, causing certain groups to want to take action towards reform in Birmingham. The group known as the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights called upon King to help lead them in non-violent reform, while Thoreau made his trip here to witness the reforms. Thoreau’s time of non-violent reform came about years before King even began to participate. King actually learned Just about everything from Thoreau’s writing, but Thoreau has no sense of that at this very moment. What King learned from Thoreau, he put to use more than Thoreau ever did. Right now the two men share the same non-violent beliefs and want to spread the word in their own separate ways. As the two men walk down the street they engage in friendly small talk. But then they come across a black couple denied entry into a restaurant. Both men look at ach other in disgust. They have seen it happen hundreds of times, but each time they see it, they have the same disgustful reaction. After what they Just witnessed, the two men started to state their opinions to each other on why they see this type of policy as a disgrace. Henry Thoreau spoke first with a scornful tone in his voice on how he cannot respect his government for allowing instances like these to occur. He continues speaking, â€Å"l cannot for an instant recognize that political organization as my government which is the slave’s government also (180). In response, King expresses to Thoreau, that you cannot put the entire blame on the government even though they could change the laws involving segregation. But would that change how the white majority feels, especially in southern states. Those people grew up witn certain opinions ot Atrican Americans. King goes on with another strong statement, saying â€Å"Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly (214). † With this statement, King tries to tell Thoreau that if they cannot change how people think, then segregation will not change either. After uttering such words, King goes quiet, neither one of them saying anything to each other. Both continue walking with their eyes facing forward, trying to fgure out what they are going to say next. After a few minutes of walking in the freezing cold with a light flurry of snow, the silence is broken. King ends this when he asks Thoreau how he plans on making a difference for racism and segregation. Thoreau does not respond right away, giving King the opportunity to answer his own question: â€Å"Henry, we need to make a difference here in Birmingham. If we do something here then it ay affect the whole nation. And we need to do it in a non-violent manner. † He continues, â€Å"In any non-violent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action (215). King believes that these steps will lead them to a successful reform against segregation. Thoreau agrees with King that they should reform in a non-violent way, but questions who will Join him. He immediately states, They continue enjoying each other’s company, but ever since their heated discussions the two have not said one word or even batted an eye towards the other. They arrive at the footsteps of Martin Luther King Jr. ‘s apartment where he says one final comment to end the night, â€Å"Henry, we have a ‘moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws’ (218). We are nere tor a reason; and that reason involves making a ditterence. So tomorrow let’s get everyone in town together and move forward with this reform. † Thoreau ooks at King with a blank face and continues his way. With his incomparable leadership ability, King leads a reform the next day in Birmingham. The reform in Birmingham took place in 1963, and was led by Martin Luther King Jr.. This action brought attention to the integration efforts in the city, and during these nonviolent riots the citys police brought out dogs which attacked the civilians. They would also spray the people with high powered water hoses. But the reform actions demonstrated led to the government changing the city of Birmingham’s discrimination laws.

Six Popular Brands of Cola Are to Be Used in a Blind Taste Study

Macroeconomics Homework 2 Chapter 3: 5. a. England has the absolute advantage in scones & Scotland has the absolute advantage in sweaters. England has the comparative advantage in producing scones and Scotland has the comparative advantage in producing sweaters. b. Scotland would produce sweaters and trade them for scones to England because they will be getting a good at a lower opportunity cost if they produced it in their own country. c. Yes, both countries would still gain from trade because England would still have a higher opportunity cost for producers sweaters than Scotland.Chapter 4: 5. Technology advances have affected the market for computers by increasing the supply causing a shift to the right, which has also increased the demand for computer software, also lowering the price. As for typewriters it has decreased the demand because computers are becoming more affordable because they are cheaper to make. 10. a. Submitting graph in class. Equilibrium price is $6. 00 and quan tity is 81 pizzas. b. There would be a surplus so the producers would have to cut the price to get rid of surplus inventory. . There would be a shortage and the producers would raise the price until the shortage is reduced. Additional homework problems: 1. 1)Opportunity cost of 1 parasol for Huang is 1/3 of a plate. 2)Opportunity cost of 1 parasol for Min ? of plate. 3)Opportunity cost of 1 plate for Huang is 3 parasols. 4)Opportunity cost of 1 plate for Min is 2 parasols. 5)Neither because it takes them both the same amount of labor hours to produce the same amount of parasols. 6)Min because she has lower input of producing plates. )Huang has the comparative advantage of producing parasols because his opportunity cost is lower. 8)Min has the comparative advantage of producing plates because the opportunity cost of producing one plate is only 2 parasols. 9) A. 2. 1)Equilibrium price= 25 Equilibrium quantity= 400 2)400 units would be supplied and demanded. 3)Surplus of 200 units. 4)$ 35 5)Shortage of 200 units 6)$15 3. 1)It would cause a decrease in demand and a shift in the demand curve to the left. )It would cause a decrease in demand and a shift in the demand curve to the left. 3)It would cause an increase in the current demand and a shift in the demand curve to the right. 4)It would cause an increase in the current demand and a shift in the demand curve to the right, because buyers would purchase more before the price goes up. 5)It would cause an increase in demand and a shift in the demand curve to the right. 6)Quantity goes down and prices go up so it would cause a movement in the demand curve to the left.

An Industry View of the Organic Baby Food Market Essay

â€Å"The organic niche for baby-food processors and retailers may continue to be a window of opportunity for increasing sales in an otherwise stagnant industry. † There are limited studies done on the organic baby food niche, but it is proven by many studies that its popularity and market share continue to grow at a double digit rate when compared to conventional baby food products. * Organic baby products averaged around 7. 7% total market share in 2010, and expected to be 10. 9% by 2014. * Growth is partially contributed to the expanding sector of consumers buying only organic products. * It is important to note that Individual manufactures and retailers are never again expected to achieve growth rate like that in recent years (since 2000) due to the saturation and leveling of the market. A growing number of baby food consumers are realizing the benefits of organics over conventional counterparts, and are in most cases willing to pay a premium for organic products. However; being organic or not organic has yet to become a major determinate in making baby food purchasing decisions. * The most important factor influencing the decision to purchase organic vs. conventional remains nutrition. Organic or not organic comes in a very distant 4th according to a study done by Bond, Thilmany, and Bond. * The same study concluded that although most people are willing to pay a premium for organic baby food, it is not considered to be a dominate purchasing factor. * On the other hand, when looking specifically at consumers who purchase only organic food, organic baby food is among the most popular items purchased. Illustrations below produced by Agriculture and Agri-Food of Canada show that per capita dollars spent on organic baby food and the compound annual growth rate for organic baby food is second only to organic ice cream. With the increasing number reputable companies starting to produce organic baby food, reliance on â€Å"trendy† advertising, product innovation & development, SEO, a constant effort to educate consumer awareness, and acquiring shelf space everywhere possible is recommended to stay competitive. * Eating at home and eating healthy are important trends that are likely to increase demand for organic foods in general. * The misconception that organic food is only accessible and purchased by wealthier consumers is fading. Organic products are still considered to be a niche market, but organic packaged food has increasingly penetrated mass market grocery retailers such as Wal-Mart and Whole Foods. * On-line sales will continue to increase as people become more connected and comfortable with technology. Especially true for the next generation of mothers who are already experts in convenience and on-line shopping. Continue to focus on developing your e-commerce capabilities. * The organic food retail industry is highly fragmented and comprised of many small local and regional chains. Focusing on expanding into these stores will allow you access to additional locations; therefore increasing brand recognition and influence on consumer decisions. * Develop relations with suppliers. Major competitors manufacturing organic baby food include: * Earth’s Best- Gerber. * Hain Celestial Group – Happy Family * Happy Baby- Kamut International More at http://www. theorganicpages. com Bottom line; with the national influx of local health food stores and the expanding selection available at grocery stores and boutiques, organic baby food should provide for a steady market increase in the years to come. People are increasingly requesting organic products, and like most adopted trends, these parents will pass on their buying habits to their children who will also become devoted patrons. The key to long term success will be to stay on top of your industry. This includes aggressive marketing strategies, developing good business relations with you suppliers and retailers, and actually understanding what your consumers want rather than telling them what they want.   [ 1 ]. Demand for Organic and Conventional Baby Food – Victoria S. LeBeaux, James E. Epperson, Chnng L. Hnang (March 1, 2009) [ 2 ]. Agriculture and Agri-Food of Canada [ 3 ]. Demand for Organic and Conventional Baby Food – Batte et al. (2007) [ 4 ]. Datamonitor, Whole Foods Market, Inc Market Profile.

Design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Design - Essay Example That is how she created her first beads. Her first inspirations were a polymer beads necklace of her boss and traditional textiles, such as old ethnic fabrics and rugs. In a way, following the ideas of old masters, Sarah’s beads are incredibly bright, though harmonious and fresh. Such an effect is achieved mainly through a very rich set of patterns. The first works by the author were, as she admits, â€Å"generally graphic repeat patterns with simple color contrasts† (Shiver 2009). With time, however, she started using special color blending techniques to make the beads more colorful. Nature, own imagination, or works by other authors are the sources of Sarah’s creativity. The devotes much attention to color combinations to use them in the blended sheets of clay. The material itself - polymer clay - is a pretty simple mean to work with. It is a pliable and bendable polymer compound - fine particles of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) suspended in plasticizer (DeVoto 1997). Among the advantages of working with this material is a great number of colors and shades provided by the manufacturers. Furthermore, these colors can be blended just like those of painters, to create new, personally designed shades and patterns. There has been developed a great number of special techniques for working with polymer clay, among which some have been inherited from glasswork, textile arts, and sculpture. Such practices as caneworking, marbling, millefiori and others give artists plenty of opportunities to create endless variations of color combinations and even textures. In addition, this kind of clay, unlike traditional one, does not dry out on air, so an artist has no time limits for completing the work. When the colors are blended and the items shaped, he or she has to just fire it. Firing polymer clay requires low temperatures, so it can be done even in an ordinary home oven. This allows anyone willing to work with the material to try one’s abilities

Public Service Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Public Service - Essay Example The federal laws prohibits insider trading and provides for establishment of audit committees that ensure accuracy of the audited financial statements (Savas, 2005). The latest efforts of governance at the federal level is the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that sets a code of conduct for senior financial officers and outlines director responsibilities thus creating more transparency in public corporations. The federal level has guidelines for service contracting in government agencies and the objective is to ensure the public interest is safeguarded and public goods and services are provided more efficiently and effectively (LeRoux, 2007). The changing role of public management in serving the public interest is characterized by need to ensure accountability, justice, and consultations with the public while respecting the rights and security of citizens as guaranteed in a democratic society (LeRoux, 2007). The federal government is supposed to provide the regulatory framework that safeguards public interest in corporate organizations through external regulation and internal structures that safeguard against illegal and unethical practices such as corruption or money laundering (LeRoux, 2007). There are alternative ways that private and non-profit sectors are engaged in delivering public service such as empowering citizens and minimizing the impacts of market externalities such as pollution. The private sector can deliver public service through corporate social responsibilities that aim at enhancing the standards of living of surrounding communities such as building schools while the non-profit sector can deliver public service through advocacy and education programs that aim at minimizing the waste of natural resources and conservation of the environment (LeRoux, 2007). The public-private partnerships can be formed in order to deliver essential public services such as infrastructure and health

Duties as a Field Grade Officer over the next 10-Years of Your Carreer Essay

Duties as a Field Grade Officer over the next 10-Years of Your Carreer - Essay Example The enemies will never show pity and mercy so to avoid any such circumstances the field officers must be the worthy leaders who can lead there teams, platoons and battalions to victory1. Being a field officer I personally feel and know how important this assessment could be, not only for the nation but also for us personally. As we all are aware that the world is getting modernized and so to remain on top of our game we must be well equipped and intact with all these modern necessities. If we compare the military with business industry there are quite a bit of similarities. In business to evaluate an employee’s performance different feedback processes could be used like the 360 degree model or the graph evaluation process. Likewise in the military a performance evaluation test like leader evaluation assessment and development will help a field grade officer like me to identify my mistakes and moreover correct them out. It will furthermore aid me help my colleagues in a proper manner where I will be able to give an honest feedback. Having around 10 to 15years in serving the nation assessments like these on continuous basis will support leaders like us to be near perfect by eradicating our mistakes or bad habits. Today defending the country has been more of an information work rather depending on manual work. The art of war has become more technical and technology based so we must not shy from courses like leader assessment and development as it will soon become an integrated part of military world. Field officers are automatic leaders as the platoons or teams come under them so such courses will be very useful in giving training2. Moreover being a good captain, leader is always everyone’s desire and that is also one of mine. Courses like this will help me become an inspirational leader and will help me lead others with zeal and exuberance. This will aid me and will help me out in boosting my confidence. Furthermore when seniors will find my work im pressive and notice my exuberance it will be quite likely for me to step up the ladders as that could help me get promotion. It is going to be a complete turnaround as once field officers will become great leaders by such courses the field officer position will become more competitive, the leader assessment and development course will become more famous and it will end favourable for our military. A leader development and assessment program would help me become a complete leader. A leader not only works for himself but he has to look for the benefit of his group also so it is actually a selfless job. Courses like this will aid me in making the right decisions in tense situations, even in cases of ambiguity and chaos I will be cool as a cucumber. This is only possible if I am developed as a leader and so it explains why it is imperative for me to be a part of the course. Furthermore it is a good saying that a good leader always leaves behind his successor equally good or maybe better so the system keeps running. In my next 10 to 15 years I will have this thing in mind and if the bar for me as a leader will be raised it will surely help me be a better leader which will eventually pave the way for me to leave behind great successors. Leader assessment and development will give me a better eye to identify the rightful successors that will be future leaders. Such programs will also help me to train more efficiently. Getting training in such program sees me having a relaxed retirement after 15 years

Impact Of Arab Spring On The Dynamics In The Middle East And North Essay

Impact Of Arab Spring On The Dynamics In The Middle East And North Africa - Essay Example The term â€Å"Arab Spring† refers to the revolutionary wave that has hit the entire Arab world which has resulted in the â€Å"awakening† of all the Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa. This led to a series of demonstrations, strikes, and protests in the Arab region which marked the beginning of a revolution in the Middle East and North Africa. Few of the revolutions that changed the history of the Arab world are a Tunisian and Egyptian revolution, civil war in Libya that toppled the government of General Gaddafi, civil disobedience in Bahrain, Syria, and Yemen. Different protests and strikes against governments have also been observed at a large scale in Algeria, Iraq, Kuwait, and Morocco and Oman whereas, on the other hand; Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Lebanon, and Mauritania also faced the wave of revolution This Arab revolution also added fuel to the fire to the Palestinian Conflict with Israel. The â€Å"Arab Spring† involved a series of civil resistance in t erms of violent strikes, campaigns, public demonstrations and marches against the government. Media coverage and social media platforms have played a vital role in shaping the revolution and creating awareness. This civil resistance was suppressed by the government and the authorities in a violent manner which triggered the revolution more aggressively by the protestors. Arab Spring which is also known as â€Å"Arab Awakening† or â€Å"Arab Uprisings† refers to the series of protests and public demonstrations.... This civil resistance was suppressed by the government and the authorities in a violent manner which triggered the revolution more aggressively by the protestors. THE RISE OF ARAB SPRING: Arab Spring which is also known as â€Å"Arab Awakening† or â€Å"Arab Uprisings† refers to the series of protests and public demonstrations held against the government and the authorities by the Arab people. These protests and the demonstrations were observed throughout the Middle East and North Africa which changed the history of the Arab politics in the region. The incident in Tunisia on 18th December 2010 became the major reason for triggering this revolution5. The Tunisian revolution begins with the self-immolation of Mohammad Bouazizi against corruption and unjust treatment by the government authorities. This sparked the fire in other African and Middle Eastern states such as Algeria, Egypt and Yemen which was followed by a number of violent protests in other countries as well6. However, a wave of political unrest and public demonstration against governments was felt even outside the Arab region which marked the new era of revolution and rebellion against state corruption, ill treatment, unemployment and human rights violation by the official authorities. As a result of this revolution, different governments around the region as well as outside the Arab region were brought down by the protestors. These demonstrations and political unrest in the Arab states drew the global attention towards the demands of the Arab nationals. CAUSES OF THE ARAB SPRING: It is important to understand the motivating factors and causes behind the violent aggression by

The impact of information technology on supply chain capabilities and Literature review

The impact of information technology on supply chain capabilities and firm performance for construction companies - Literature review Example Risks in construction projects are some of the major challenges to supply chains in the industry for delivery of value that can meet customers’ expectations. Supply chains have different risks and while little literature exists on their effects and possible solutions in the construction industry, Gosling, Naim, and Towil (2013) suggest the role of information technology in understanding the scope of the uncertainty in construction supply chains and possible solutions. According to the authors, an empirical approach that involves data collection and analysis can help in identification of the risks and roles of information technology in statistical methods is instrumental (Gosling, Naim, and Towil 2013). Consequently, implementation of information technology in construction supply chains could help in predicting and managing challenges for effectiveness and efficiency in service delivery. In addition, information technology, through use of Automated Materials Locating and Tracin g Technology, helps construction companies to overcome uncertainty challenges that arise from visibility problems (Young et al. 2013, p. 7, 8). Meng, Sun and Jones’ proposed model for managing supply chain relationships in the construction industry further supports the role of information technology in constructions’ supply chains (2011). The authors’ Maturity Model empowers construction companies to effective management that is associated with better performance, greater opportunities, and minimal conflicts. Implementing the model for these benefits however requires complex data analysis that identifies the need for information technology. The construction industry also identifies need for collaboration among stakeholders, especially between contractors and sub-contractors, for successful projects and application of such technologies as the Construction Collaborative

A Brief Discussion and Analysis into the Definition and Importance of Term Paper

A Brief Discussion and Analysis into the Definition and Importance of such a Concept within the World of Operational Management - Term Paper Example Whereas asset management is necessarily one of the primal duties that any manager must necessarily engage in, asset management cannot and should not be understood as something of a monolithic term. Accordingly, both long and short term assets exist. Oftentimes, within the realm of asset management, the reader or individual is led to the belief that nearly all asset management must necessarily be long-term However, the fact of the matter is that short-term asset management is a process that requires a far higher percentage of the manager’s time than does long-term asset management. Although the planning and implementation stage of long-term management is something that necessitates careful analysis, short-term asset management is a process that must be engaged with each and every day and at almost every juncture of the business process.. In such a way, in order to understand this continual process of short-term asset management, the preceding analysis will review, define, and p roject the ways in which short-term management of assets takes place within a typical firm and the means by which its comes to be of extreme importance. Through such an analysis, it is the hope of this author that the reader will gain a more definitive understanding of what short-term asset management means and the way in which they can have both a positive and detrimental impact upon the level to which a given firm/entity/organization can hope to compete within the current market. Within its most basic definition, a short term asset is an asset that is to be sold and converted into liquid currency within the space of one year’s time. Although there are exceptions to this â€Å"one year† rule, the broad majority of industry and business ascribes to this calendar year definition as a means of delineating short term assets from long term assets. As can be seen by such a broad definition, the level of asset management that must necessarily be engaged with as a means of dr awing a degree of profitability from such a practice is necessarily of dire importance. Moreover, whereas the long term asset management process entails a high degree of planning and forethought, short term asset management must be concentric upon key timing and a perennial awareness of how financial actions and decisions will ultimately affect the bottom line of the firm (Hay & Lourie, 1996). Within this particular understanding, the analyst/reader is able to come to the conclusion that short term asset management encompasses a very large part of the day to day financial decision making structure that defines the way in which a manager or firm integrates with the outside world and the business process/resources at her/her disposal. Whereas all assets facilitate the financial structure and process of a business in one way or another, the reality of the matter is that the day to day liquidation and management of short term assets is one of the most effective means by which liabilitie s and debts can be managed by incremental decisions made to leverage the way in which short term assets are handled and applied. Within such a scope of understanding, short term assets can be defined as cash, inventory, prepaid expenses, accounts receivable, marketable securities, and a variety of other items. As can be seen from the shear scope of the list, the level to which effective management of each of these tools is of vital importance with regards to deciding whether or not a firm or entity will be viable. From an even broader perspective, it can be noted with regards to business management that many times an entity succeeds or fails not based upon its overall level of profitability, as a percentage of overall investment, but as a function of the fact that effective budgeting, tracking of income and outflow is not managed correctly. As such, short term management necessarily lends the reader to understand a certain level of the importance of cash flow as a means of keeping a ny business or entity viable (Mouritsen, 2011). Although the preceding list is helpful in understanding

The Economic Reality of Hybrid Vehicles Essay Example for Free

The Economic Reality of Hybrid Vehicles Essay The high price of gas at the pump has many Americans looking for alternates to their gas powered vehicles. One of the most popular option right now is a hybrid vehicle. The question that comes to mind is, are hybrid vehicles worth it? With record high gas prices due to the price of oil, most car owners out there have major concerns over their gas usage. Over the past ten years, the cost of gasoline has grown 250%! The price of oil has doubled since January of this year. The high prices of oil and gas is the driving factor for most of the people to trade their gas powered vehicles for hybrid vehicles. These vehicles promise to give consumers more mileage per gallon, the truth is that only a few vehicles currently in the market actually make any sort of financial sense. There are quite a few issues with buying hybrid vehicles, even with gas prices at more than $4 a gallon. First, these vehicles are much higher in price than their gas powered counter part so, the premiums attached to their price tags do not justify extra mileage that you get. In some cases car dealers are selling popular vehicles at much higher prices than MSRP. Second, there are no laws and regulations controlling the technology, price, and the mileage per gallon required out of these vehicles. Currently, there are hybrid vehicles in the market that offer an improvement of 3MPG to 18 MPG over their gas powered counterpart. This is a huge range that needs to be controlled. Third, the demand of these vehicles is driving the prices of the vehicles even higher, if people knew that it would take many years for fuel savings to pay back the hybrid premium on many models, the demand on these models would be much lower, driving the prices down. The solutions that I would like to propose is the government to work with auto manufacturers to develop a standard for hybrid vehicles. This standard should control the minimum mileage offered per gallon, and control the premium allowed to be charged by the manufacturers. There are vehicles in the market that offer only a marginal benefit over the gas powered vehicles and yet the manufacturers charge thousands of dollars premium. Background: Today people all around the world are facing unusually high oil price hikes. Oil has become so very expensive that people are trying all kinds of extreme measures to lower the price. The hike in price has affected every nation; the entire world is trying to find a way out of the soaring prices. Thanks to the oil prices, travel expenses have increased, not just flying being expensive, driving your own car is very expensive. The chart below shows a trend in oil prices since 1990 with some of the major events leading to this increase. Note that since January of 2007 the oil prices have increase by 162%. With high gas prices, hybrid cars are a more affordable option than ever in terms of gas mileage, but only a handful of hybrid cars make solid financial sense, and only for some consumers, according to a new study by NADAguides. com, a vehicle pricing and information website. Using current gas prices for ten major metropolitan areas, the company studied the number of miles needed to recoup the extra cost of buying a hybrid car over its gasoline-only counterpart. The study showed, for example, that a driver in Los Angeles, the city with the highest gas prices in the study, will break even about 18 percent faster than a driver in Houston, the city with the lowest gas prices, assuming both are driving the same miles. The study found that, even at todays high gas prices, only a handful of hybrid cars make financial sense for a consumer who buys a new car every five years or less and drives an average number of miles per year. Even at Los Angeles-area gas prices, there are only five hybrid cars that would allow consumers to recoup their additional investment before they sold the car, assuming they drive an average of 15,000 miles per year. In order of shortest time to break even, they are: 1. Toyota Camry Hybrid 2. Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid 3. Nissan Altima Hybrid 4. Toyota Prius 5. Honda Civic Hybrid Following is a chart of the top five hybrid cars with the greatest return on investment and the number of miles to break even in 10 major metropolitan areas at current gas prices. Issue: Even with gas prices at more than $4 per gallon, there are quite a few issues with buying hybrid vehicles. Issue 1: High Prices Hybrid vehicle prices are higher than their gas powered counterpart. The demand for these vehicles in the last year has increased a lot, increasing the prices even further. In some areas people are actually paying premium over MSRP and waiting for more than two years to get some vehicles. The price premium attached to the hybrid vehicles are just too great to be considered a cost savings relative to purchasing their gasoline counterpart. If people knew how long it would take them to pay off the increased premium the demand for the hybrid would be lower than what it is now, decreasing the prices. Issue 2: High Prices The second issue with the hybrid vehicles is that there are no laws and regulations controlling the technology, price, and the mileage per gallon required out of these vehicles. Currently, there are hybrid vehicles in the market that offer an improvement of just a few miles per gallon over their gas powered counterpart, yet the manufacturers are charging thousands more for the premium for a so called hybrid technology. The table shows the amount of time it would take a buyer to offset the hybrid premium by fuel savings. The table also shows the miles per gallon and annual gas savings. These numbers clearly show the need to have some regulations to control the miles per gallon offered and the amount of premium that is charged by the manufacturers. Let’s look at some vehicles: Starting with the worst of the bunch, the Lexus LS600H. The premium charges on this vehicle is about $19,000, yet it only offers about 20 to 22 miles per gallon. It would take almost a century to break even. The next worst seems to be the Saturn Aura which only offers an annual gas savings of $171. The best one seems to Toyota Prius, but this car is so popular these days that in some areas there is a wait list of two years. In areas where it’s available, the dealers are charging more than $5,000 over MSRP. Solution: ?Better education to customers about the ownership costs of a hybrid vehicle ? Government should offer incentives like tax break to buy hybrid vehicles ? Have a standard to develop hybrid vehicle to encourage mass production, bringing the vehicle prices to even less than current gas-powered vehicles ? Force auto makers to sell hybrid vehicles at no more than, about 10%, premium to the customers Conclusion: Reference: Web Site: Bespoke Investing Group http://bespokeinvest. typepad. com/bespoke/.

Accent Strength And Regional Accents

Accent Strength And Regional Accents At a party one night a visitor from another country remarks that You dont have so strong an accent as your friends. You had previously believed that you had no accent and that you spoke like your friends, but the statement helps you to realize that you carry a regional accent, just like everyone else around you. What explanation could you offer your visitor for why you never realized that fact before and why you really do have an accent just like the one your friends have? What explanation could you offer your visitor for why you never realized that fact before? What explanation could you offer your visitor for why you really do have an accent just like the one your friends have? 1) Why I never realised that: a) I had no accent. b) My accent is not as strong as my friends. c) I have an accent just like one of my friends. WHY I NEVER REALISED THAT I HAD AN ACCENT. Most people dont realize that they have an accent because they are accustom to the pronunciation and rhythm of speech in their country. It sounds normal hearing other Trinidadian speak. Whenever I meet foreigners, it intrigues me to hear their accent and I try to figure out which country they are from. Hearing a foreigners accent sounds strange to me because it is not the norm in my place of abode. Although most people have an accent they do not acknowledge this greatly. We live in a society where mostly everyone speaks and sounds the same, with the exception of foreigners and those with speak difficulties. We always consider the main accent as normal and any other accent as funny or strange. I never realized this because I lived my entire in Trinidad and never travelled or lived abroad where my accent was not the popular. Hearing you speak to me makes me realize that the way I speak CUNNING LINGUISTICS Everyone has an accent. Some readers might think, No shit! Thats obvious! But its not obvious, smart arse. A survey held in Britain in 2005 revealed that 7% of respondents dont believe they have an accent. I would claim that the actual figure is even much higher than that. Were all prisoners of our own culture. Living within a society, were surrounded and bombarded by a majority accent. To us, that accent sounds natural and other accents sound different. Sometimes we confuse the familiar accent as being right, and the different ones as being wrong. It may sound silly, but I never realised I had an accent until I set foot in England at age 25. Having lived in Trinidad for my whole life, to me when Trinis spoke it sounded normal. But in England, as soon as I said something people would look at me. The funny thing too is that I had to learn what my accent sounded like by listening to my other Trini friends, and still I didnt think they had an accent. Then I realised I had to listen to intonations of how Trinidadians spoke. Some people change their accents to blend in. However, I think my accent got even thicker, as my way to hold on to my Caribbean identity, and I revelled in speaking Trinidadian Creole (which is a dialect that was formed by slaves mixing English with their own language, and includes unique words and sayings). People say Trinidadians accent sounds happy. To quote a previous boss, she said it sounded like a lilt. When I speak Standard English people understand it quite well. Like Paull says, it depends on how its delivered; its the slang/ dialect that can confuse people. Ive spoken with Paull, and another Aussie and had no problems understanding them. Seems they understood me quite well also, and our accents are quite different. Ask A Linguist FAQ What is an accent? An accent is a way of pronouncing a language. It is therefore impossible to speak without an accent. Some people may think they do not have an accent. Or you may think that there are other people who do not have an accent. Everyone has an accent. The term accentless is sometimes used (by non-linguists) about people who speak one of the high prestige reference accents (such as General American or, less commonly, RP), which are associated with people from a fairly wide region and with people of high social class. But these are also accents. I will mention them again later in this FAQ. MY ACCENT IS NOT AS STRONG AS MY FRIENDS CUNNING LINGUISTICS Accents dont just vary at the level of nationality (e.g., Aussie) or region (e.g., Boston). They also vary with the individual (e.g., you). Your accent is a fingerprint, a totally unique, distinctive way of talking (linguists call this an idiolect). It isnt fixed though. It can change, with the right combination of influence and interest. Recently, some twit asked me, Why dont you sound American yet? Okay, Ive been in the States for two and a half years now, and my accent now sounds a little different to me. But, by contrast, this difference is generally imperceptible to Americans (and non-linguists). Your accent does leave a Hansel and Gretel-like trail of where youve been. Obviously, it takes awhile for a new accent to kick in. Other factors can influence this process too, whether you want to adopt an accent (convergence) or dont want to adopt it (divergence). Accents are like tracking devices that can reveal where youve been. The field of Forensic Linguistics investigates this area. In August 2005, a militant video of an al-Qaeda fighter was found. A forensic linguist was able to determine several aspects of the fighters identity, that he had been raised in Australia and possibly had parents of Middle Eastern descent. This area is useful in legal cases, especially for identification, transcription and in authenticating recordings. Accent (linguistics) Prestige Certain accents are perceived to carry more prestige in a society than other accents. This is often due to their association with the elite part of society. For example in the United Kingdom, Received Pronunciation of the English language is associated with the traditional upper class. I HAVE AN ACCENT JUST LIKE ONE OF MY FRIENDS CUNNING LINGUISTICS Another twit drives around with a bumper sticker on his SUV proclaiming: Welcome to America. Nowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦speak English or get out! What a funny fuck! This pseudo-patriotic, prejudiced twit has no control over who speaks what and where. This is a dynamic process that he can only witness. American English may be the fastest growing version of Englishà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦but Spanish is the fastest growing language in Americaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ So, accents can reveal our regional origins, but they can also suggest what kind of social circles we move in. Compare the Queen of Englands accent to that of a miner in Yorkshire. Accent can also provide info about your economic background and education. Stop practicing your accentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦I can hear you right now! Accent (linguistics) As human beings spread out into isolated communities, stresses and peculiarities develop. Over time these can develop into identifiable accents. In North America, the interaction of people from many ethnic backgrounds contributed to the formation of the different varieties of North American accents. It is difficult to measure or predict how long it takes an accent to formulate. Accents in the USA, Canada and Australia, for example, developed from the combinations of different accents and languages in various societies, and the effect of this on the various pronunciations of the British settlers, yet North American accents remain more distant, either as a result of time or of external or foreign linguistic interaction, such as the Italian accent. In many cases, the accents of non-English settlers from Great Britain and Ireland affected the accents of the different colonies quite differently. Irish, Scottish and Welsh immigrants had accents which greatly affected the vowel pronunciation of certain areas of Australia and Canada Social factors When a group defines a standard pronunciation, speakers who deviate from it are often said to speak with an accent. People from the United States would speak with an accent from the point of view of an Australian, and vice versa. Accents such as BBC English or General American may sometimes be erroneously designated in their countries of origin as accentless to indicate that they offer no obvious clue to the speakers regional background. Groups sharing an identifiable accent may be defined by any of a wide variety of common traits. An accent may be associated with the region in which its speakers reside (a geographical accent), the socio-economic status of its speakers, their ethnicity, their caste or social class, their first language (when the language in which the accent is heard is not their native language), and so on. Regional accents of English Local accents are part of local dialects. Any dialect of English has unique features in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. The term accent describes only the first of these, namely, pronunciation. See also: List of dialects of the English language. Non-native speakers of English tend to carry over the intonation and phonemic inventory from their mother tongue into their English speech. For more details see Non-native pronunciations of English. Among native English speakers, many different accents exist. Some regional accents are easily identified by certain characteristics. Further variations are to be found within the regions identified below; for example, towns located less than 10 miles (16 km) from the city of Manchester such as Bolton, Oldham and Salford, each have distinct accents, all of which form the Lancashire accent, yet in extreme cases are different enough to be noticed even by a non-local listener. There is also much room for misunderstanding between people from different regions, as the way one word is pronounced in one accent (for example, petal in American English) will sound like a different word in another accent (for example, pearl in Scottish English). Your accent results from how, where, and when you learned the language you are speaking and it gives impressions about you to other people. People do not have a single fixed accent which is determined by their experiences. We can control the way we speak, and do, both consciously and unconsciously. Most people vary their accent depending on who they are speaking with. We change our accents, often without noticing, as we have new life experiences. How accurate people are in knowing about you from your accent depends not only on the features of your accent, but also on who the listener is, and what they know about the other people who speak with a similar accent to you. Your accent might be one that is associated with people from a particular place (for example, with being from New York, London, or Delhi). Some people might just hear you as simply being from the US, England, or India. Your accent might give the impression that you spoke some other language before the one you are speaking at the moment (you might speak French with an English accent, or English with a Korean accent). Its impossible to speak without conveying some information through your accent. All languages are spoken with several different accents. There is nothing unusual about English. And not everyone who comes from the same place speaks the same: in any place there is a variety of accents. Language changes over time. We get new words, there are grammatical changes, and accents change over time. If you listen to recordings made by people from your own language community 100 years ago, you will hear for yourself that even over that time accents have changed. Try out some of the links from the Spoken Word Archive Group , for example. Why do languages develop different accents? Human nature. In all sorts of ways, we behave like those we mix with. We are members of social groups, and within our social group we like to behave in similar ways and show that we belong. We do this in language as well as in other ways (e.g. what we wear, what we eat). When groups become distinct, the way they speak becomes distinct too. This happens socially and geographically, but is easiest to illustrate by geographical differences. If a single group splits into two (imagine that one half goes to Island A and one half to Island B), then once they have separated, their accents will change over time, but not in the same way, so that after just one generation the accent of Island A will be different from the accent of Island B. If they stay completely separated for centuries, their dialects may become so different that we will start wanting to say they are speaking two different languages. Why are the accents a particular place like they are? Separate development accounts for some accent variation. But sometimes we need to talk about the first generation of speakers of a particular language brought up in a new place. The first children to grow up in a new place are very important. The children who grow up together are a peer group. They want to speak the same as each other to express their group identity. The accent they develop as they go through their childhood will become the basis for the accents of the new place. So where does their accent come from? The first generation of children will draw on the accents of the adults around them, and will create something new. If people move to a new place in groups (as English speakers did to America, Australia and New Zealand) that group usually brings several different accents with them. The children will draw on the mixture of accents they hear and create their own accent out of what they hear. The modern accents of Australia are more similar to London accents of English than to any other accent from England this is probably because the founder generation (in the eighteenth century) had a large component drawn from the poor of London, who were transported to Australia as convicts. The accents of New Zealand are similar to Australian accents because a large proportion of the early English-speaking settlers of New Zealand came from Australia. The mix found in the speech of the settlers of a new place establishes the kind of accent that their children will develop. But the first generation born in the new place will not keep the diversity of their parents generation they will speak with similar accents to the others of their age group. And if the population grows slowly enough, the children will be able to absorb subsequent children into their group, so that even quite large migrations of other groups (such as Irish people into Australia) will not make much difference to the accent of the new place. Most parents know this. If someone from New York (US) marries someone from Glasgow (Scotland, UK), and these two parents raise a child in Leeds (England, UK), that child will not speak like either of the parents, but will speak like the children he (I know of such a child!) is at school with. About Accents By Shiromi Nassreen, eHow Contributor When we hear a voice, one of the first things we might notice is a persons accent, particularly if that accent happens to be different from our own. If we cant see the person, we may even come to conclusions based on the accent. Accents can give us perceptions about a person that are not always accurate, such as how intelligent the person is or how much money he makes. What is an Accent? 1. An accent is the way in which a person pronounces a word in a language. Accents are caused by a number of factors, primarily the region that someone is from, where he learned to speak the language and his social background. However, despite that fact that accents tend to give away information regarding a persons background, accents can be changed. In fact, people will often unknowingly change their accents to fit their current location and social group. Some believe that they dont have an accent because it is a more commonly known accent such as the General American accent or the British Received Pronunciation typically seen on television; however, it is still an accent. The Origin of Accents 2. Accents develop and change naturally over time. However, a primary cause for the changing of an accent is when groups of people migrate to new locations. People will usually speak with the same accent as their peers. This helps to create a group identity. When groups migrate, such as the settlers of North America, they find themselves among a group where a variety of languages and accents is being spoken. The children of that group will draw on the accents spoken around them and develop a new accent. Accents and Development 3. Accents are often developed during childhood. Generally, children often find it easier to pick up accents. If a child whose parents are from England moves to Australia, the child is unlikely to speak with an English accent, speaking instead with the accent of the childs peers. However, should the child as an adult later wish to change her accent, that is also possible. Accents and Social Factors 4. Accents can not only indicate a region that a person is from but also that persons social background. Often certain accents are stereotypically associated with a certain class. British Received Pronunciation is usually associated with the upper class and a well-educated person. According to a study at Bath Spa University, the Brummie accent of Birmingham is thought to be the least intelligent of all the British regional accents studied. However, a person unfamiliar with these stereotypesan American, for examplewould not have the same perceptions of the accent.

AN analysis of child labour in india

AN analysis of child labour in india Child labour has been in India from a long time in some form or the other. Practice of child labour in match box industries, glass bangle industries and is very commonly seen in cheap restaurants and dhabas etc. Generally speaking child labour can be said to be the exploitation or abuse of children in factories, industries etc, who are below the age specified by law working (mentally or physically) to earn for his/her own survival or to support his/her family partially or fully, and which prevents his/her social and education development may be said to be child labour. The reasons which are generally responsible for child labour may include  [1]  : Poverty, Ignorance, Illiteracy, Population explosion, Lack of knowledge of their own rights, Big amounts of debt on the parents, Large size of family but not enough income to support such big family, Lack of social security scheme in the country, Weak enforcement of labour laws. According to an U.N.O report India has the maximum child labour in the world i.e. approx 20 per cent.  [2]  On the basis of Census 1991 and various governmental and non-governmental organizations following are the number of child labourers in India  [3]  : Census 1991 2.63 crore, Organization research group, Baroda, 1994-95 4.44 crore, Centre for concern of Child Labour 10 crore. Extra-governmental volunteer organization more than 5 crore. The numbers may vary according to different organizations but the fact is clear that the numbers of child labourers in India are in crores, which is again a pathetic sight, especially with all the various child labour legislation and the Constitutional provisions. In a report by the Labour Ministry every 4th child is a child labour, aged between 5-14 years and there is one child labour in every three families.  [4]   But its not as if Indian governments havent done anything about this grave social stigma, over the years it has enacted many statutory legislations and Constitutional provisions in order to eradicate the problem of child labour, to name some of them, we have: Labour legislations: The Child Labour Act, 1986, The Factories Act, 1948, The Mines Act, 1952, The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, The Minimum Wages Act, 1948, The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) of Children Act, 2000 Constitutional provisions  [5]  : Article 24 provides: strictly prohibits children to work in hazardous environment. Article 21, 45 gives the right to education to all the children below the age of 14years. Article 39 declares the duty of the State to provide the children a free facilities to develop in conditions of freedom and dignity in a healthy manner. India is also a party to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child, 1959. India is also a signatory to: ILO Forced Labour Convention (No. 29); ILO Abolition of Forced Labour Convention (No. 105); UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children. The Government of India adopted the National Policy for Children (NPC) in August 1974. This Policy provided that  [6]  It shall be the policy of the state to provide adequate service to children both before and after birth and through the period of their growth, to ensure their full physical, mental and social development. The State shall progressively increase the scope of such services so that, within a reasonable time, all children in the country enjoy optimum conditions for their balanced growth. Indian is also a party to United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child, 1959 and Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1992 and has formulated its labour laws in accordance to International Labour Conference resolution of 1979. The first part of the paper aims to look into the various legislations relating to child labour. In the second part we shall look into the various precedents set by the Supreme Court of India on the issue of child labour and finally the conclusion. Chapter 1 CONSTITUTIONLA AND STATUTORY PROVISIONS Constitutional provisions The government of India has enacted various labour laws has in accordance to International Labour Conference resolution of 1979. The Constitution of India, through various articles enshrined in the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles of State Policy, lays down that: Article 21 (A) The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age six to 14 years; Article 24 No child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment. The word hazardous employment in Art 24 also includes construction industry, also in P.N. v. U.O.I  [7]  , it has been laid down that Art 24 is enforceable even in the absence of implementing legislations;  [8]   Article 39(e) States that the health and strength of workers, men and women, and the tender age of children are not abused and that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or strength; Article 39(f) States that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment  [9]  . Hence Art 39 in whole requires the state to ensure and protect the children and provide proper child care. Article 45 The State shall endeavour to provide, within a period of ten years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years The framers of the Constitution imposed a duty on the State under Article 45 as one of the directive principles of the State Policy to provide free and compulsory education to all children until they complete the age of 14 year with the sole objective of completely eradicating illiteracy and child labour. Also many of the states had passed various Acts providing for free and compulsory primary or elementary education to children. But unfortunately years after the commencement of the Constitution the goal set by this Article which was to be achieved in 10 years, have yet not been reached. But the provision in article 39(f) and 45 of the constitution gave certain directions in providing a better quality of life of children employed in the factories. Labour legislations The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986: The Act prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in 13 occupations and 51 processes that are hazardous to the childrens lives and health listed in the Schedule to the Act  [10]  . The Factories Act, 1948: The Act completely prohibits children working below the age of 14 years  [11]  . It further states that if a child is between 15 and 18 years of age, can be employed in a factory only if he has a certificate of fitness granted with reference to him under section 69 which is in the custody of the manager of the factory. The Act also says that no child shall be employed or permitted to work, in any factory for more than four and a half hours in any day; The Mines Act, 1952: The Act prohibits the employment of children in mines, who have not completed their 15th year. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) of Children Act, 2000: This Act was last amended in 2002 in conformity with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child covers young persons below 18 years of age. Section 26 of this Act deals with the Exploitation of a Juvenile or Child Employee, and provides in relevant part, that whoever procures a juvenile or the child for the purpose of any hazardous employment and keeps him in bondage and withholds his earnings or uses such earning for his own purposes shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable for fine. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009: The Act states that all children aged 6 to 14 years shall be provided free and compulsory education. It further states that all private schools should allocated 25 per cent of their seats for disadvantaged and differently abled children. Chapters 2 Precedents set by Supreme Court Though the government of India has enacted various labour legislations to prevent child labour still there are some contradiction among them, mainly the definitional debates on child labour as different legislation provide different definition of a child. Section 2(ii) of The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, defines child as a person who has not completed his fourteenth year of age; Section 2(c) of The Factories Act, 1948 defines child as a person who has not completed his fifteenth year of age; Section 2(e) of The Mines Act, 1952 defines child as a person who has not completed his fifteenth year; Section 2(c) of The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, defines child as male or female child of the age of six to fourteen years; Section 2(k) of The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) of Children Act, 2000 defines child as a person who has not completed eighteenth year of age; Section 2(c) of The Plantations Labour Act, 1951 defines child as a person who has not completed his fourteenth year of age Hence, we can clearly observe that these legislation are at contradiction to each other in defining whos a child and setting an uniform age limit. Therefore the centre and respective state governments should set a uniform universal minimum age of the child as these contradictions adversely affect the objective of protection from child labour and providing a better educational and social development to children of India. Following are few of important Supreme Court cases that have helped in framing better laws regarding child labour: In Democratic Rights V. Union of India  [12]  , it was contended that the Employment of Children Act, 1938 was not applicable in the matter of employment of children in construction works, as it was not mentioned in the act. But the court held even construction work is a hazardous employment and no child below the age of 14 years can be employed as given under Art 24 of the Indian Constitution, even though construction industry has not been specified in the schedule to the Employment of children Act, 1938, thus the SC rejected the contention. In Salal Hydro Project vs. Jammu and Kashmir  [13]  , the Court has restated the principle laid in Democratic Rights V. Union of India  [14]  that Construction work is hazardous employment and any child below 14 cannot be employed in this work. In Sheela Barse and others vs Union of India and others  [15]  , Bhagawati, C.J. quoted from National Policy for the welfare of Children incorporated to provide better social and educational development to the children of India : The Nations children a supremely important asset. Their nurture and solicitude are our responsibility. Childrens programme should find a prominent part in our national plans for the development of human resources, so that our children grow up to become robust citizens, physically fit, mentally alert and morally healthy, endowed with the skill and motivations needed by society. Equal opportunities for development to all children during the period of growth should be our aim, for this would serve our large purpose of reducing inequality and ensuring social justice. In M.C. Mehta v State of Tamil Nadu Ors  [16]  , the SC gave direction to the Union and state governments to identify all children and withdraw them from working in hazardous processes and occupations, and to provide them with free and proper education as incorporated into the Constitution, Artcle 21-A. The Court also directed the Union and state governments to set up a Child Labour Rehabilitation-cum-Welfare Fund using contributions from employers who breach the Child Labour Act. In Unnikrishnan v. State of Andhra Pradesh,  [17]  the SC held that every child has the right to free education till the age of 14 years. Artcle 21-A which was incorporated into the Constitution, reflects this standard. CONCLUSION It is said that child is the father of man, and the children of our country are our biggest asset. The government of India has enacted several laws in order to provide healthy social and educational environment for the children. But in spite of all the laws enacted, problem of child labour still persists in our Indian society that is because child labour laws are themselves flawed in some way or the other or suffer from poor implementation of programmes. Though awareness towards child labour has increased and now there are several NGOs trying their best, but today what we require is to take concrete actions, the central and respective state governments need to provide for better machinery for enforcing child labour laws. Unless this is achieved our country wont be completely free the burden of child labour.

William Shakespeares Othello as a Victim Essay -- Papers William Shak

William Shakespeare's Othello as a Victim Not All Works Cited Included In "Othello" Shakespeare shows that Othello is victimised in many ways, for instance; his race, his culture, his social position and naÃÆ'Â ¯ve. Othello's victimisation could also show Shakespeare's meaning of the term "tragedy". In other Shakespearean tragedies the lead character is shown as cunning, ruthless and manipulative, more similar to Iago than Othello. This could represent a change in Shakespeare's opinion of a true Shakespearean tragedy. The main cause of Othello's victimisation is his race. Unlike the other characters in "Othello" he is a Moor, a natural figure of hatred and disgust. In the play he is very rarely referred to as "Othello", but more often as; "moor" or "negro", Desdemona even refers to Othello as "my noble moor" not Othello. The event where Othello is victimised due to his race are vast, for example at the start of the play when Iago is talking to Roderigo, Othello's race is a major issue, "To the gross clasps of a lascivious Moor-". Here evidence of racism is shown. There is also a case that this shows the imperial and colonial nature of Venice in the Sixteenth century. "Othello" can be seen to show the stereotypical contemporary Elizabethan belief of blackness and the barbarous nature of the "black" man as evil and devilish. Othello's race also helps to highlight his jealousy and gullibility, due to his race Othello is always subconscious of his weaknesses, his "tragic flaw". This may be a reason for why he befriends Iago, who would act as his link to the "white" world, informing Othello of the opinions white society. Othello... ...d social figures. In conclusion I feel that Othello is more "sinned against than sinning". This is not to say that he is a innocent, it most be remembered that he killed Desdemona, not Iago and that no matter how big a part Iago has it is still Othello's fault. But, Othello is victimised, he is portrayed as an "other", "if this be known to you, and your allowance". He is also presented as a savage, barbarian and a inferior, a parasite, living of the healthy Venetian state. But, this is all due to the fact that he is different, it has been noted that if you are different you will never be equal, "if you are different you will always be different" (Marx - CM 1848) and Othello's difference is no fault of his own. Works Cited: Shakespeare, William. Othello. Ed. Alfred Harbab. Middlesex, England: Penguin, 1970.

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place Essay -- Literary Analysis, Ernest Hemingw

Human Life: Torture of the Mind Ernest Hemingway captures the essence and origins of nihilistic thought in â€Å"A Clean, Well-Lighted Place†, written in a time of religious and moral confusion shortly after The Great War. The ideas expressed in this short story represent the post World War 1 thinking of Hemingway, and the notoriously nihilistic Lost Generation in Paris, which was greatly influenced by the many traumas of war. Learning from his unnerving experiences in battle, Hemingway enforces the idea that all humans will inevitably fade into eternal nothingness and everything valued by humans is worthless. He develops this idea by creating a brilliant mockery of two coveted religious documents, revealing authority figures as typical, despicable, human beings, and he reduces life into the most raw, simplistic, and frightening reality imaginable. Hemingway states that all humans will naturally die alone and literally be â€Å"in despair† about â€Å"nothing† (494), and that people will eithe r seek a â€Å"calm and pleasant cafà ©Ã¢â‚¬  (496), or a self-inflicted death simply to escape despair. Undoubtedly, Hemingway eliminates any consideration of a higher meaning because he believes that â€Å"[life is] all a nothing, and a man [is] nothing too† (496). By viewing the actions of three different generations, Hemingway’s â€Å"A Clean, Well-Lighted Place† elaborates on the idea that human life is not continual enlightenment and growth, but gradual despair, and an inevitable death into â€Å"nada† (497). The youthful and confident waiter, representing the youngest of the three male generations, is the only apparent spec of existentialist thought in the story. However, this young man is simply an unconcerned existentialist due to his age; he is not in despair bec... ...ed Place†, represent the opinions and views of one typical person, in one ordinary life. The theme of a world of nothingness is overwhelming to the human brain, and almost inconceivable, and everything we do in this life is simply designed to help us take our mind off of death; suicide is the ultimate escape from â€Å"despair† over â€Å"nothing† (494). Hemingway’s brilliant transitions in time explain how life eventually grows worse with age, and humans will succumb to suicide, drunkenness, or something comforting and safe, much like a clean, well-lighted cafà ©. Further, Hemingway has shown the world that man has created many bogus ways to cope with the insurmountable fear of nothingness, namely religion. Bluntly, people can try to kid their selves into feeling soulful, genuine, or meaningful, but there is no need to â€Å"fear for [the human] soul†, as it is non-existent.

Sanitarium Marketing

Assignment 1. 1 Overview and Situation Analysis – Sanitarium evolution of marketing A brand that down any New Zealand supermarket? s breakfast cereal aisle which dominates the shelves†¦ that is Sanitarium! Sanitarium Australia and Sanitarium New Zealand are owned and operated by Australian Health & Nutrition Association and New Zealand Health Association. The company produces over 150 products and employs approximately 1700 people in the manufacturing and distribution sites throughout Australia and New Zealand. The company is leading manufacturer of breakfast cereals, soy beverages plant based meat alternatives, , and yeast spreads.Sanitarium – the maker of Kiwi staples Weet-Bix and Skippy Cornflakes – has evolved into a giant of the local food manufacturing sector over the last century. They are proud to be a group of people who believe passionately in the potential of every New Zealander. The potential to be healthy: physically, mentally and emotionally. T hey believe this journey all begins with good nutrition. â€Å"What you feed your body and your mind, changes the  way you feel. † Sanitarium's range of healthy breakfast options not only includes Weet-Bix, which is New Zealand's favorite cereal, they also offer something for everyone in the family. for example, products like beverages, spreads and another kinds of cereal†¦ all of them focused to sell the idea to be and eat healthy. Following that conception, Sanitarium is always looking at ways of sourcing ingredients and making products on a local level, to help minimize our impact on the environment. They do care about sustainability! The commitment to sustainability don? t stop at the farm gate but covers the entire supply chain and life cycle of foods, from inception, through manufacturing, to minimization of waste and the disposal of any waste, being inclusive of all resources that they control within the supply chain.Sanitarium’s mission is to lead, inspi re and resource the experience of happy health living in the community. For any business, growth is a significant element of being competitive within their industry and as discussed prior Sanitarium holds the largest portion of the market. The ability to create revenue allows Sanitarium the cash flow needed to put into costs such as marketing, advertising, and development of new products and brands. Without this Sanitarium’s life cycle would be short as even the cereal market will not lasts forever. In this segmentation, Sanitarium marketing has been improved.The company promotes events like â€Å"The  Sanitarium Weet-Bix Kids Tryathlon† which  is a community-based event that encourages Kiwi kids, aged from 7 until 15, to participate in a fun day out, to encourage exercises in a healthy life. There is also the program called â€Å"KickStart Breakfast†Ã‚  which was recently established by Sanitarium and has been recognised by Prime Minister John Key with an a ward as the ‘Best New Initiative' at the annual Prime Minister's Social Heroes Awards. These awards acknowledge businesses supporting charitable purposes as well.The company? s advertising has been always inspiring the community to make healthier food and lifestyle choices, with this proposal, Sanitarium invests a significant portion of resources into providing the community with free nutritional information and diet related advice by a team of nutritionists, receipts. All healthy information can be found in the company? s website. One of the recent marketing opportunities for Sanitarium was well done. The company had a perfect time to maximize its decade-long sponsorship in the 2011 Rugby World Cup.Rather than promote the Up;Go and Weet-Bix brands individually, Sanitarium decided on a parent-brand approach for its Game Plan campaign. However, it knew there would be an onslaught of companies jostling for in-store space and consumer attention in such a key year. The solution wa s thinking bigger, so Sanitarium had a display concept in mind that used 3. 2m goalposts in-store. They had used effective displays to demonstrating Sanitarium’s support for the team, and driving the sales required to meet business objectives.Another recent marketing activity, was the return of their Marmite. Sanitarium and their advertising agency Saatchi ; Saatchi made the most of Marmite's long-awaited comeback, with a Facebook countdown. Marmite (brand that is protected by trade mark laws) is back in production and supermarket shelves. A full year after it disappeared, Marmite has returned in a marketing campaign that included free jars sent to politicians and media types, recipes and a midnight supermarket opening that generated queues around the block in some centres.Sanitarium's marketing prowess could yet desert the company, however. One of the risks involved in taking the product off the shelves for a year could be that Kiwis lose the taste for Marmite – possi bly lowering their sodium levels at the same time. Anyway, Sanitarium must continue to provide and create value in the short term and long term future and also focus on three main of areas being: product development with market demands, communication regarding products, operations, services and refocus its attention around charity and community involvement.REFERENCES Sanitarium Game Plan – retrieved 2013 http://www. everythingmarketing. co. nz Christopher Adams article – retrieved Jun,30 2012 http://www. nzherald. co. nz Ben Fay / News – retrieved Mar,20 2013 http://www. stoppress. co. nz/tags/sanitarium Sanitarium News – 2013 http://www. sanitarium. co. nz/about-us/sanitarium-news/2013 Press Release: Weetbix Tryathlon – retrieved Jan,30 2013 http://www. scoop. co. nz

Technology, Human Beings and the Fate of the Earth: a Social Critique of Modern Life

It’s both funny and sad that as soon as people leave their familiar comfort zone, when they are alone, say at a coffee shop or waiting in line for a bus, they automatically, almost reactively, reach for the cell phone to call or text someone who will reconnect them with the safe and familiar world from which they have momentarily wandered away.The average persons’ lack of ability, or willingness, to encounter an unknown situation or territory reveals their lack of tolerance for being alone, as well as their lack of curiosity or propensity to simply notice and appreciate their surroundings – as if their bodily senses had been nullified into a potential danger zone in which their very stability of self would quickly fragment should they let go a little, observe and potentially interact with the unfolding world around them.Yes, we’ve learned to live in little bubbles of safety which cut us off from our fellow-humans – we no longer live in the actual wo rld, but in our own self-created worlds, via the latest form of technology. I suspect that our modern sense of security has been entrained to operate in collusion with these technological devices that have slyly entrapped our minds even as they have offered us incredible new possibilities.Our reliance on new and ever-advancing technologies, such as the mobile phone – which in a few short years has also become a mobile photo album, mobile internet, camera, video machine and multi-media entertainment center – has developed into quite a habit, an unconscious addiction that is shaping the very nature of our personalities, both personal and collective, and even, God forbid, our souls. What need have we, the general public, for an imagination when so many limitlessly stimulating devices are available in our world?Who needs an inner world at all when the outer world of our own creations has become so evocative, so seducing, so ever-demanding, evasive and totalitarian? We are continually inundated with advertisements and societal pressures to acquire new technological distractions and modes of external stimulus. Living under such conditions, how is it possible for us to maintain or cultivate much of an inner world, or a soul, whatsoever?The underlying message of our media is commercial; in enforcing the demands of commerce upon us, we are defined primarily as consumers, persuaded not to think for ourselves, but to join in the latest collective frenzy of technological adventures that continually reinterpret the purpose of our lives. This never ending flood of media proclamations, while appearing as a material liberation, serves as a psychological oppression of the individual soul. Capitalism sells new versions of reality that may have nothing to do with one’s own true needs or sensibilities. However, it is the advertisers’ job to convince us otherwise.So far they are doing a pretty good job! The natural world, the earth itself; the air, the trees, the vast realms of animals, plants, oceans, deserts and mountains are increasingly losing meaning and value in the self-hypnotized, narcissistic lives of mechanized human beings. Although it is certainly an abomination of our essential heritage, we are ever-entrained to focus less and less on the natural world in which we live, and of which we are but one aspect – lest we forget – and more and more to focus on the world as fashioned through the minds and hands of men.It’s sad indeed when we ignore what is right before our eyes, i. e. our actual surrounding environment, and instead remain culled to a collective techno-vision of the ideal man-made life. It’s also sad when we ignore those human beings who are standing right in front of us because we’d prefer to text or talk with someone miles away, when we must remain overly-attached to those we know because we’ve lost our human capacity for interrelationship with our expanded world of f ellow citizens who we now dismiss as strangers.Our advance in technology has engendered a compensating inversion in our capacity for compassion and community – which is to say, the further we develop our technology, the less we appear to maintain the qualities of a loving, caring and attentive human society. Being aware in the mystery of the present moment, tolerating the unknown, and tolerating states of non-stimulation is the first phase in moving towards a more attuned state of openness and potential interaction with the actual, non-virtual, world around us.However, we have been so conditioned by a perpetual bombardment of electronic stimuli – radio, television, computers, video games, mobile phones/entertainment centers, etc – that it has become difficult, albeit unappealing, for us to re-focus our attention on our actual physical, natural environment. A parallel outcome of our desensitization to the physical, natural world in which we live, is the subsequen t degradation of our ecology, which entails our lack of emphasis or awareness on its living/breathing/fragile/organic nature.The danger of this, as many of us recognize, is potentially catastrophic; as we create and live in an increasingly human-made and virtual reality – wherein we believe we are safer, happier, more satisfied, etc – we also increasingly ignore the actual and natural reality in which we are encompassed, and risk the extinction of the environment through the excessive pollution, raiding and deforestation of the planet that we have witnessed since the rise of the industrial-technological age.The degradation of the natural world is problematic in many ways. Firstly, it appears to be morally and ethically wrong – at least to those of us whose ethics and morals outweigh our imperialistic drives – to destructively impact the earth, its ecosystems, i. e. rivers, oceans and forests, as well as animals, plants, trees, etc. One might ask, â€Å"W hat right have we humans to destroy the earth, simply for our own benefit? Is this not selfish and unnecessary? Many of us have asked this question, though it seems that the overall progress of our technologically based capitalism remains unwilling to curtail its invasions and usurpations of nature, or to halt its path of destruction for the sake of morals or ethics. Where the dollar bill is concerned, questions of right and wrong become thin and ineffectual, nearly meaningless. Secondly, the degradation of the natural environment is increasingly affecting the balance of the planet itself, which in turn contaminates our own quality of life.For a thorough overview of how human technology is damaging the planet, one has only to search through a plethora of books, TV specials, or movies on this topic (i. e. â€Å"An Inconvenient Truth†, by Al Gore). I will here mention only a few ways in which planetary degradation affects human life. In a recent trip to Lima, Peru I learned tha t Peruvians predominantly drive older used cars, from the 80s or 70s, which emit high levels of visible exhaust fumes making the air both toxic and putrid to breathe.Driving around town there is often no escape from these fumes which pour out of the car just in front of you. The situation is just as bad in many other developing â€Å"third world† countries around the globe. Even here in the United States, where we have increasingly stricter emissions controls on our vehicles, the air quality in some cities is very poor, and on certain days people are advised to avoid going â€Å"out of doors,† or allowing their children to play outside at all.In many countries, air pollution is severe and debilitating, and only getting worse. In addition to increasing the risk of respiratory disease, the eroding of the ozone layer has also increased the risk of skin cancer, and it’s become customary to slather on gobs of sunscreen lotion before going outside on a sunny day for a ny length of time. Industrial pollution has made our water supplies dirty, so they are zapped with chlorine, making our water not really enjoyable, or many would say, healthy to drink.As for our food, as genetic engineering takes hold, what we eat becomes increasingly tasteless and less nutritious. Although these are only a very few examples of the many problems made by technology, there is no denying that the degradation of the natural world leads to our own degradation. The third major impact of the degradation of nature is spiritual. As we become less attuned to the world of nature, which is gradually breaking down, our inherent connection to the earth dissipates.We become less the â€Å"caretakers of the earth,† or participants in Her splendor of glory, and moreover the survivors of a man-made holocaust inflicted upon nature. We rationalize our disconnect from nature – those of us who are aware of it – with the heralding of a new age of technological transce ndence. In comparison with all our own amazing discoveries, inventions and developments, we cannot believe that the earth is all that important. How can a handful of dirt compare to the glory of an I-phone?Our attitudes reveal a consensual belief that we are superior to and above the earth – as also evidenced by our scientific investigations into creating hospitable conditions on other planets, as well as expanded, city-size space stations in which we could begin to populate the greater universe, where we would, even more so, live in human-made, virtual reality realms. The bigger question is whether our spirits can survive – or thrive – in states of stark disconnection from the earth, our origin and planetary source of being†¦ This sort of fantastic and futuristic evolution is in line with our reigning eligion of Christianity, in which our sinful earthbound lives are to be potentially transformed through belief in Christ, when, upon the moment of our death, we are to ascend high into the heavens, into a cloud-like dimension above and beyond all the messy entanglements of this planet earth. With such a cosmo-vision, such a context of the goal of life, it’s no wonder the sanctity of the earth has lost its power to impel our actions. It seems only the portended threat of our own extinction will suffice to encourage us to behave differently.For if we are only to inhabit this earth for such a brief span of time – until our transcendence into a perfect eternity in another dimension – then what’s the big deal if we just abuse Her until we’re gone, because in the grand scheme of things She doesn’t matter much anyways. Christianity also teaches that, of all the creatures and life-forms upon this planet, only human beings have souls â€Å"that can be saved,† and thus make the transmigration beyond a mortal death into an immortal and eternal after-life.Since, in the Christian view, nothing else up on this planet has a soul, or is capable of redemption, we justify our own paramount importance, and it becomes completely plausible to view all things as merely our own resources. In this way, we lose a perspective of value and veneration for the natural world around us while worshipping our own agendas. It becomes evident that many areas of our lives – our economy, our technology and industry, our religion, and our general philosophy of living – depict our own implicit superiority complex over the natural world of creation.And yet, by and by, we get glimpses of the truth that it is impossible for humanity to become superior to nature, because we are really an intrinsic part of the earth which we seek to dominate and control. In actuality, the world of nature is indeed superior to humankind, as we are merely one aspect of its grand panorama. However, we continue to ignore our interconnectedness with nature, our true identity as an outgrowth or expression of nature, an d behave as if we have the right and ability to continue dominating the earth without eventually destroying ourselves.But â€Å"what goes around comes around,† and sooner or later you get what you give, or to put it in technological terms: you â€Å"input† what you â€Å"output. † Why have we continued on in this, less than intelligent, manner? You could say that we modern-day humans are simply dumb and indifferent, which is partially true from a holistic perspective. But beneath that we are really out of control, so fascinated by our own invented civilization that we fail to recognize the greater organic and historical context in which we live.Over the past 500 years or so, the peoples of Europe have invaded, conquered, colonized and converted virtually every other continent, people and culture upon the planet – we’re currently working steadfast on the Middle East – with our imperialistic inquisitions, our Christianity and our capitalism. I n the words of Martin Prechtel, author of Secrets Of The Talking Jaguar, and an initiate of the Mayan shamanic mysteries: Over the last two or three centuries, a heartless culture-crushing mentality has incremented its progress on the earth, devouring all peoples, nature, imagination, and spiritual knowledge.Like a big mechanized slug, it has left behind a flat, homogenized steak of civilization wherever it passed. Every human on this earth – African, Asian, European, Islanders, or from the Americas – has ancestors who at some point in their history had their stories, rituals, ingenuity, language and lifeways taken away, enslaved, banned, exploited, twisted or destroyed by this force. Our modern technological way of life is a vast and dramatic change from the vastly more earth-friendly modes of human existence that preceded this rapid â€Å"global development† for thousands of years.It is a sad and unpopular fact that, as Western civilization has progressed, cou ntless other civilizations have regressed, have indeed been ravaged and undone by the coercion of our own ideas and powers upon them. To this day, we either disregard their suffering and continue on our own path to global domination, or we view them through the eyes of sympathetic charity, regarding ourselves, our own culture, as the superior and dominant people who will now help, aide and assist these less fortunate people – whom we devastated in the first place – to acquire the modes of our own elevated survival and sustenance.The deceptive hypocrisy of our impact upon, and subsequent response to, â€Å"third world† countries is confounded by our own apparent lack of responsibility for our actions, both past and present, that debilitate these people. For instance, in the countries of Central & South America, our oil production facilities lead to massive destruction of both the land and the lives of the indigenous peoples. In the mid 1990? s, author Joe Kane do cumented the horrific impacts of corporate oil companies upon native cultures and the pristine Amazonian rainforest of Ecuador in his superbly written book, Savages.In the book, Kane describes the struggle of one of the last remaining indigenous tribes – the Huaorani – who consider themselves to have not been conquered by modern Western culture, against the impending invasion of corporate oil. Referencing his colleague Judith Kimerling from her book Amazon Crude, Kane states: â€Å"In 1967 Texaco discovered commercial oil in the Oriente [the Ecuadorian rainforest]. In 1972 it completed a 312-mile pipeline from the Oriente to Ecuador’s Pacific coast. From its inception until just 1989, â€Å"the Texaco pipeline had ruptured at least twenty seven times, spilling 16. 8 million gallons of raw crude †¦ most of it into the Oriente’s delicate web of rivers, creeks and lagoons. † As a witness himself to a colossal oil spill into the native Ecuadorian rainforest, Kane writes, â€Å"While I was in Tonampare a valve in an oil well near the Napo broke, or was left open, and for two days and a night raw crude streamed into the river – at least 21,000 gallons and perhaps as many as 80,000, creating a slick that stretched from bank to bank for forty miles. Due to this oil spill, a state of emergency was declared downstream in both Peru and Brazil, although, according to Kane, the oil company responsible for the spill disregarded the incident and did nothing to improve the situation. While in Ecuador, Kane visited various Huaorani communities and received further firsthand reports of extensive and extreme contamination, via oil spills, of their water supplies resulting in unruly health epidemics, severe illnesses and deaths.However, the problems of oil drilling extend beyond the awful impacts upon Huaorani and Indian health in general, as the settlements made by the oil companies result in drastic disruption, deviation and dese cration of traditional Indian culture. It is a complicated process, because the imperialistic thrust of big oil coincides with all sorts of modern Western byproducts including colonization, conversion to Christianity, and ‘re-education’ of native Indians – in which â€Å"no element of Huaorani culture was allowed to enter the curriculum. This enforced process of acculturation to Western ways results in the obliteration of the value, the history, and the very existence of traditional culture for all Indians affected. During the months that Kane spent roaming through Ecuador, mainly with the Huaorani tribe, he experienced the traditional self-sufficient way of life that the Huaorani – as well as many other indigenous South American tribes – have lived for millennia. After visiting colonized areas as well, he reports that Indians who have succumbed to a conversion to Western ways appear much worse off than those who have held to their traditional ways .Of these colonized Huaorani, Kane writes â€Å"the people were dependent on goods brought in from outside, and many of them had become wage slaves to a culture they could never hope to be truly a part of – to a culture that, in fact, considered them little more than animals. † The convergence of the diverse aspects of capitalism, colonization and conversion to Western ways and Christianity upon the various Indian tribes who are impacted all amount to ethnocide.The fact that such corruption – initiated by Western imperialistic drives based on capitalistic gains – is still going on, only reveals that we have not progressed very far, at least globally speaking, in our path to becoming a more humane society. But the typical modern world citizen doesn’t care about any of this and has very little knowledge of the historical European conquests that have transformed spiritually and functionally intact cultures into materially indigent, chaotic and violent third world countries. Most of us are more or less plodding along our own enlightened paths of self-serving materialism.When we do give any consideration to cultures of a lesser material status, we judge and compare their â€Å"shabby† way of life to ours, in which running water, electricity, cars, central heating, air conditioning and 24 hour grocery stores are essential. We devalue their modes of living through our own ignorance and ingrained sense of superiority, as we seek to save them, not by helping them to regain their own valued way of life, but by converting them to ours – which only reinforces our own paradigm of economic, technological and religious superiority. We frequently fail to realize that not every human being on this planet wants r needs to be hooked into the wave of technological progress with which we are so completely mesmerized. Not only does our enchantment with technology threaten our humanity, our society, and our planet, it also – th rough our continued pressures upon non-Western, non-technologically-based cultures to convert to the ways of the modern Western world – threatens to destroy the few remaining earth-based, indigenous peoples on this planet who would rather not be bothered by us or our materialistic ways. Do we really need to continue to conquer the earth with our capitalism until there is a 7-11 and McDonalds in every corner of the world?Until there are freeways chomping through every area of pristine land? Until all the forests have been chopped down and transformed into urban and industrial sprawl? Can’t we contain ourselves with a little respect for the rest of the world? There are still people on this planet who enjoy living in the organic environment of nature, where electricity, motor vehicles, cells phones and I-pods aren’t a necessary aspect of life. They are able to survive, and thrive, quite well without all the modern accoutrements of modern life that we so desire, and many of them would like to remain as they are.And yet our attitude reveals an inner conviction that we have discovered â€Å"the way of the future† and must deliver this message in force to the rest of the world. Rather than continuing on our present course of a global takeover, we need to ask ourselves what we can learn from non-Westernized cultures that still live in ancient and earth-honoring ways, cultures that we tend to brutalize and greedily destroy. We need to learn to interact with these other cultures respectfully and humanely, allowing them their own way of life and sustenance upon this planet without interfering and coercing our interests and values upon them.Not everyone needs to drive a car on a freeway, to work in an office and live in a house in the city – if the 7,000,000,000 human beings now alive on the planet lived like this, our environmental devastation would likely expand exponentially. To expect a global conversion of all peoples in all places into an assimilation of our unique modern, technological way of life is stupid, insane and supremely unreasonable. However, like a big, proud, arrogant peacock strutting itself all over the planet, the United States continues making moves to engulf the globe with the gluttony of our own capitalistic enterprises, all the while disregarding nd disrupting the dignity of other countries, cultures and peoples. Reflecting upon the impact of our very recent civilization upon other, much older, traditional and earth-based civilizations, as well as the planet itself, we should notice and consider the damages we have done, the violences we have perpetrated, and the miseries we have created †¦ We need to move beyond the Christian fantasy that we are a completely good and benign presence on the planet, that we are somehow â€Å"God’s chosen people† with a free pass to do whatever we want regardless of the consequences.We should think about how we can be less ego-centric, and seek to balance our technological advances with tending to the well-being of the earth, other cultures and one another. We should consider how to create more harmony in the world, and a little less profit. Indeed, many individuals and organizations are becoming increasingly devoted to a greater consciousness of how to live in ways that are â€Å"earth friendly. The overall pro-environmental movements are coming to be known as â€Å"green† movements, and they provide good and necessary developments toward a future in which humans could be of greater benefit than detriment to the planet. However, very much work and change remains to be done in this area. One problem inherent with these movements is that when we think about â€Å"saving the planet,† or â€Å"saving the polar bears,† we are still thinking abstractly. In truth, the planet was doing just fine before the advent of modern industry and technological society. Save the planet! † really means â€Å" Stop the humans from destroying the planet! † because we are only saving the planet from ourselves. Living our urban, fast-paced and machine-based lives, very few of us have time, energy or ability to keep gardens, raise livestock, hunt for our sustenance or otherwise live in any kind of experiential symbiosis with the planet. We live in suburban and citified concrete jungles where the animals have become cars, and the trees and forests are now banks, department stores and high rise apartment complexes.Because we have created our own processed environment of roads, cars, industry, buildings, malls, homes: an endless â€Å"urban sprawl† that houses an endless supply of manmade things; because we live in a world designed by capitalism, a world of incessant advertising, sales and the desperate, frantic pursuit of material things – of production and products – a world molded and defined by television, radio and the chronic bombardment of salesmen; we rarely, i f ever, experience an intimate connection with the natural world, with â€Å"the planet† we are hoping to save.Sure we can learn all about the planet, discovering the marvels of the earth in science magazines or through viewing compelling video footage of nature, we can learn all about the planet in schools, in laboratories or other second hand means, but until we have a sustained, direct encounter with the earth and nature itself, how can we truly know it, and what will it ever really mean to us? And how few of us will ever accomplish this?Indeed, as it now stands our â€Å"civilization† is composed of a people, and a culture, that have moved out of nature into man-created worlds based upon the destruction of nature †¦ and they call this evolution. Ultimately, it’s up to us to change the story, to write a new script, to realize who we are, what we have become, and to simply wake up to the realization of how we want our lives, and the life of our entire pla net, to unfold †¦ So think about it, and let your thoughts permeate all that you do, for the existence of yourself and every other being around you may depend upon it.It’s both funny and sad that as soon as people leave their familiar comfort zone, when they are alone, say at a coffee shop or waiting in line for a bus, they automatically, almost reactively, reach for the cell phone to call or text someone who will reconnect them with the safe and familiar world from which they have momentarily wandered away.The average persons’ lack of ability, or willingness, to encounter an unknown situation or territory reveals their lack of tolerance for being alone, as well as their lack of curiosity or propensity to simply notice and appreciate their surroundings – as if their bodily senses had been nullified into a potential danger zone in which their very stability of self would quickly fragment should they let go a little, observe and potentially interact with the unfolding world around them.Yes, we’ve learned to live in little bubbles of safety which cut us off from our fellow-humans – we no longer live in the actual world, but in our own self-created worlds, via the latest form of technology. I suspect that our modern sense of security has been entrained to operate in collusion with these technological devices that have slyly entrapped our minds even as they have offered us incredible new possibilities.Our reliance on new and ever-advancing technologies, such as the mobile phone – which in a few short years has also become a mobile photo album, mobile internet, camera, video machine and multi-media entertainment center – has developed into quite a habit, an unconscious addiction that is shaping the very nature of our personalities, both personal and collective, and even, God forbid, our souls. What need have we, the general public, for an imagination when so many limitlessly stimulating devices are available in o ur world?Who needs an inner world at all when the outer world of our own creations has become so evocative, so seducing, so ever-demanding, evasive and totalitarian? We are continually inundated with advertisements and societal pressures to acquire new technological distractions and modes of external stimulus. Living under such conditions, how is it possible for us to maintain or cultivate much of an inner world, or a soul, whatsoever?The underlying message of our media is commercial; in enforcing the demands of commerce upon us, we are defined primarily as consumers, persuaded not to think for ourselves, but to join in the latest collective frenzy of technological adventures that continually reinterpret the purpose of our lives. This never ending flood of media proclamations, while appearing as a material liberation, serves as a psychological oppression of the individual soul. Capitalism sells new versions of reality that may have nothing to do with one’s own true needs or s ensibilities.However, it is the advertisers’ job to convince us otherwise. So far they are doing a pretty good job! The natural world, the earth itself; the air, the trees, the vast realms of animals, plants, oceans, deserts and mountains are increasingly losing meaning and value in the self-hypnotized, narcissistic lives of mechanized human beings. Although it is certainly an abomination of our essential heritage, we are ever-entrained to focus less and less on the natural world in which we live, and of which we are but one aspect – lest we forget – and more and more to focus on the world as fashioned through the minds and hands f men. It’s sad indeed when we ignore what is right before our eyes, i. e. our actual surrounding environment, and instead remain culled to a collective techno-vision of the ideal man-made life. It’s also sad when we ignore those human beings who are standing right in front of us because we’d prefer to text or talk with someone miles away, when we must remain overly-attached to those we know because we’ve lost our human capacity for interrelationship with our expanded world of fellow citizens who we now dismiss as strangers.Our advance in technology has engendered a compensating inversion in our capacity for compassion and community – which is to say, the further we develop our technology, the less we appear to maintain the qualities of a loving, caring and attentive human society. Being aware in the mystery of the present moment, tolerating the unknown, and tolerating states of non-stimulation is the first phase in moving towards a more attuned state of openness and potential interaction with the actual, non-virtual, world around us.However, we have been so conditioned by a perpetual bombardment of electronic stimuli – radio, television, computers, video games, mobile phones/entertainment centers, etc – that it has become difficult, albeit unappealing, for us to re -focus our attention on our actual physical, natural environment. A parallel outcome of our desensitization to the physical, natural world in which we live, is the subsequent degradation of our ecology, which entails our lack of emphasis or awareness on its living/breathing/fragile/organic nature.The danger of this, as many of us recognize, is potentially catastrophic; as we create and live in an increasingly human-made and virtual reality – wherein we believe we are safer, happier, more satisfied, etc – we also increasingly ignore the actual and natural reality in which we are encompassed, and risk the extinction of the environment through the excessive pollution, raiding and deforestation of the planet that we have witnessed since the rise of the industrial-technological age.The degradation of the natural world is problematic in many ways. Firstly, it appears to be morally and ethically wrong – at least to those of us whose ethics and morals outweigh our imper ialistic drives – to destructively impact the earth, its ecosystems, i. e. rivers, oceans and forests, as well as animals, plants, trees, etc. One might ask, â€Å"What right have we humans to destroy the earth, simply for our own benefit? Is this not selfish and unnecessary? Many of us have asked this question, though it seems that the overall progress of our technologically based capitalism remains unwilling to curtail its invasions and usurpations of nature, or to halt its path of destruction for the sake of morals or ethics. Where the dollar bill is concerned, questions of right and wrong become thin and ineffectual, nearly meaningless. Secondly, the degradation of the natural environment is increasingly affecting the balance of the planet itself, which in turn contaminates our own quality of life.For a thorough overview of how human technology is damaging the planet, one has only to search through a plethora of books, TV specials, or movies on this topic (i. e. â€Å"A n Inconvenient Truth†, by Al Gore). I will here mention only a few ways in which planetary degradation affects human life. In a recent trip to Lima, Peru I learned that Peruvians predominantly drive older used cars, from the 80s or 70s, which emit high levels of visible exhaust fumes making the air both toxic and putrid to breathe.Driving around town there is often no escape from these fumes which pour out of the car just in front of you. The situation is just as bad in many other developing â€Å"third world† countries around the globe. Even here in the United States, where we have increasingly stricter emissions controls on our vehicles, the air quality in some cities is very poor, and on certain days people are advised to avoid going â€Å"out of doors,† or allowing their children to play outside at all.In many countries, air pollution is severe and debilitating, and only getting worse. In addition to increasing the risk of respiratory disease, the eroding of the ozone layer has also increased the risk of skin cancer, and it’s become customary to slather on gobs of sunscreen lotion before going outside on a sunny day for any length of time. Industrial pollution has made our water supplies dirty, so they are zapped with chlorine, making our water not really enjoyable, or many would say, healthy to drink.As for our food, as genetic engineering takes hold, what we eat becomes increasingly tasteless and less nutritious. Although these are only a very few examples of the many problems made by technology, there is no denying that the degradation of the natural world leads to our own degradation. The third major impact of the degradation of nature is spiritual. As we become less attuned to the world of nature, which is gradually breaking down, our inherent connection to the earth dissipates.We become less the â€Å"caretakers of the earth,† or participants in Her splendor of glory, and moreover the survivors of a man-made holocaus t inflicted upon nature. We rationalize our disconnect from nature – those of us who are aware of it – with the heralding of a new age of technological transcendence. In comparison with all our own amazing discoveries, inventions and developments, we cannot believe that the earth is all that important. How can a handful of dirt compare to the glory of an I-phone?Our attitudes reveal a consensual belief that we are superior to and above the earth – as also evidenced by our scientific investigations into creating hospitable conditions on other planets, as well as expanded, city-size space stations in which we could begin to populate the greater universe, where we would, even more so, live in human-made, virtual reality realms. The bigger question is whether our spirits can survive – or thrive – in states of stark disconnection from the earth, our origin and planetary source of being†¦This sort of fantastic and futuristic evolution is in line wit h our reigning religion of Christianity, in which our sinful earthbound lives are to be potentially transformed through belief in Christ, when, upon the moment of our death, we are to ascend high into the heavens, into a cloud-like dimension above and beyond all the messy entanglements of this planet earth. With such a cosmo-vision, such a context of the goal of life, it’s no wonder the sanctity of the earth has lost its power to impel our actions.It seems only the portended threat of our own extinction will suffice to encourage us to behave differently. For if we are only to inhabit this earth for such a brief span of time – until our transcendence into a perfect eternity in another dimension – then what’s the big deal if we just abuse Her until we’re gone, because in the grand scheme of things She doesn’t matter much anyways. Christianity also teaches that, of all the creatures and life-forms upon this planet, only human beings have souls â€Å"that can be saved,† and thus make the transmigration beyond a mortal death into an immortal and eternal fter-life. Since, in the Christian view, nothing else upon this planet has a soul, or is capable of redemption, we justify our own paramount importance, and it becomes completely plausible to view all things as merely our own resources. In this way, we lose a perspective of value and veneration for the natural world around us while worshipping our own agendas. It becomes evident that many areas of our lives – our economy, our technology and industry, our religion, and our general philosophy of living – depict our own implicit superiority complex over the natural world of creation.And yet, by and by, we get glimpses of the truth that it is impossible for humanity to become superior to nature, because we are really an intrinsic part of the earth which we seek to dominate and control. In actuality, the world of nature is indeed superior to humankind, as we are merely one aspect of its grand panorama. However, we continue to ignore our interconnectedness with nature, our true identity as an outgrowth or expression of nature, and behave as if we have the right and ability to continue dominating the earth without eventually destroying ourselves.But â€Å"what goes around comes around,† and sooner or later you get what you give, or to put it in technological terms: you â€Å"input† what you â€Å"output. † Why have we continued on in this, less than intelligent, manner? You could say that we modern-day humans are simply dumb and indifferent, which is partially true from a holistic perspective. But beneath that we are really out of control, so fascinated by our own invented civilization that we fail to recognize the greater organic and historical context in which we live.Over the past 500 years or so, the peoples of Europe have invaded, conquered, colonized and converted virtually every other continent, people and cult ure upon the planet – we’re currently working steadfast on the Middle East – with our imperialistic inquisitions, our Christianity and our capitalism. In the words of Martin Prechtel, author of Secrets Of The Talking Jaguar, and an initiate of the Mayan shamanic mysteries: Over the last two or three centuries, a heartless culture-crushing mentality has incremented its progress on the earth, devouring all peoples, nature, imagination, and spiritual knowledge.Like a big mechanized slug, it has left behind a flat, homogenized steak of civilization wherever it passed. Every human on this earth – African, Asian, European, Islanders, or from the Americas – has ancestors who at some point in their history had their stories, rituals, ingenuity, language and lifeways taken away, enslaved, banned, exploited, twisted or destroyed by this force. Our modern technological way of life is a vast and dramatic change from the vastly more earth-friendly modes of huma n existence that preceded this rapid â€Å"global development† for thousands of years.It is a sad and unpopular fact that, as Western civilization has progressed, countless other civilizations have regressed, have indeed been ravaged and undone by the coercion of our own ideas and powers upon them. To this day, we either disregard their suffering and continue on our own path to global domination, or we view them through the eyes of sympathetic charity, regarding ourselves, our own culture, as the superior and dominant people who will now help, aide and assist these less fortunate people – whom we devastated in the first place – to acquire the modes of our own elevated survival and sustenance.The deceptive hypocrisy of our impact upon, and subsequent response to, â€Å"third world† countries is confounded by our own apparent lack of responsibility for our actions, both past and present, that debilitate these people. For instance, in the countries of Centra l & South America, our oil production facilities lead to massive destruction of both the land and the lives of the indigenous peoples. In the mid 1990? s, author Joe Kane documented the horrific impacts of corporate oil companies upon native cultures and the pristine Amazonian rainforest of Ecuador in his superbly written book, Savages.In the book, Kane describes the struggle of one of the last remaining indigenous tribes – the Huaorani – who consider themselves to have not been conquered by modern Western culture, against the impending invasion of corporate oil. Referencing his colleague Judith Kimerling from her book Amazon Crude, Kane states: â€Å"In 1967 Texaco discovered commercial oil in the Oriente [the Ecuadorian rainforest]. In 1972 it completed a 312-mile pipeline from the Oriente to Ecuador’s Pacific coast. From its inception until just 1989, â€Å"the Texaco pipeline had ruptured at least twenty seven times, spilling 16. 8 million gallons of raw c rude †¦ most of it into the Oriente’s delicate web of rivers, creeks and lagoons. † As a witness himself to a colossal oil spill into the native Ecuadorian rainforest, Kane writes, â€Å"While I was in Tonampare a valve in an oil well near the Napo broke, or was left open, and for two days and a night raw crude streamed into the river – at least 21,000 gallons and perhaps as many as 80,000, creating a slick that stretched from bank to bank for forty miles. Due to this oil spill, a state of emergency was declared downstream in both Peru and Brazil, although, according to Kane, the oil company responsible for the spill disregarded the incident and did nothing to improve the situation. While in Ecuador, Kane visited various Huaorani communities and received further firsthand reports of extensive and extreme contamination, via oil spills, of their water supplies resulting in unruly health epidemics, severe illnesses and deaths.However, the problems of oil drill ing extend beyond the awful impacts upon Huaorani and Indian health in general, as the settlements made by the oil companies result in drastic disruption, deviation and desecration of traditional Indian culture. It is a complicated process, because the imperialistic thrust of big oil coincides with all sorts of modern Western byproducts including colonization, conversion to Christianity, and ‘re-education’ of native Indians – in which â€Å"no element of Huaorani culture was allowed to enter the curriculum. This enforced process of acculturation to Western ways results in the obliteration of the value, the history, and the very existence of traditional culture for all Indians affected. During the months that Kane spent roaming through Ecuador, mainly with the Huaorani tribe, he experienced the traditional self-sufficient way of life that the Huaorani – as well as many other indigenous South American tribes – have lived for millennia. After visiting colonized areas as well, he reports that Indians who have succumbed to a conversion to Western ways appear much worse off than those who have held to their traditional ways.Of these colonized Huaorani, Kane writes â€Å"the people were dependent on goods brought in from outside, and many of them had become wage slaves to a culture they could never hope to be truly a part of – to a culture that, in fact, considered them little more than animals. † The convergence of the diverse aspects of capitalism, colonization and conversion to Western ways and Christianity upon the various Indian tribes who are impacted all amount to ethnocide.The fact that such corruption – initiated by Western imperialistic drives based on capitalistic gains – is still going on, only reveals that we have not progressed very far, at least globally speaking, in our path to becoming a more humane society. But the typical modern world citizen doesn’t care about any of this and ha s very little knowledge of the historical European conquests that have transformed spiritually and functionally intact cultures into materially indigent, chaotic and violent third world countries. Most of us are more or less plodding along our own enlightened paths of self-serving materialism.When we do give any consideration to cultures of a lesser material status, we judge and compare their â€Å"shabby† way of life to ours, in which running water, electricity, cars, central heating, air conditioning and 24 hour grocery stores are essential. We devalue their modes of living through our own ignorance and ingrained sense of superiority, as we seek to save them, not by helping them to regain their own valued way of life, but by converting them to ours – which only reinforces our own paradigm of economic, technological and religious superiority.We frequently fail to realize that not every human being on this planet wants or needs to be hooked into the wave of technologic al progress with which we are so completely mesmerized. Not only does our enchantment with technology threaten our humanity, our society, and our planet, it also – through our continued pressures upon non-Western, non-technologically-based cultures to convert to the ways of the modern Western world – threatens to destroy the few remaining earth-based, indigenous peoples on this planet who would rather not be bothered by us or our materialistic ways.Do we really need to continue to conquer the earth with our capitalism until there is a 7-11 and McDonalds in every corner of the world? Until there are freeways chomping through every area of pristine land? Until all the forests have been chopped down and transformed into urban and industrial sprawl? Can’t we contain ourselves with a little respect for the rest of the world? There are still people on this planet who enjoy living in the organic environment of nature, where electricity, motor vehicles, cells phones and I-pods aren’t a necessary aspect of life.They are able to survive, and thrive, quite well without all the modern accoutrements of modern life that we so desire, and many of them would like to remain as they are. And yet our attitude reveals an inner conviction that we have discovered â€Å"the way of the future† and must deliver this message in force to the rest of the world. Rather than continuing on our present course of a global takeover, we need to ask ourselves what we can learn from non-Westernized cultures that still live in ancient and earth-honoring ways, cultures that we tend to brutalize and greedily destroy.We need to learn to interact with these other cultures respectfully and humanely, allowing them their own way of life and sustenance upon this planet without interfering and coercing our interests and values upon them. Not everyone needs to drive a car on a freeway, to work in an office and live in a house in the city – if the 7,000,000,000 human beings now alive on the planet lived like this, our environmental devastation would likely expand exponentially.To expect a global conversion of all peoples in all places into an assimilation of our unique modern, technological way of life is stupid, insane and supremely unreasonable. However, like a big, proud, arrogant peacock strutting itself all over the planet, the United States continues making moves to engulf the globe with the gluttony of our own capitalistic enterprises, all the while disregarding and disrupting the dignity of other countries, cultures and peoples.Reflecting upon the impact of our very recent civilization upon other, much older, traditional and earth-based civilizations, as well as the planet itself, we should notice and consider the damages we have done, the violences we have perpetrated, and the miseries we have created †¦ We need to move beyond the Christian fantasy that we are a completely good and benign presence on the planet, that we are someho w â€Å"God’s chosen people† with a free pass to do whatever we want regardless of the consequences.We should think about how we can be less ego-centric, and seek to balance our technological advances with tending to the well-being of the earth, other cultures and one another. We should consider how to create more harmony in the world, and a little less profit. Indeed, many individuals and organizations are becoming increasingly devoted to a greater consciousness of how to live in ways that are â€Å"earth friendly. The overall pro-environmental movements are coming to be known as â€Å"green† movements, and they provide good and necessary developments toward a future in which humans could be of greater benefit than detriment to the planet. However, very much work and change remains to be done in this area. One problem inherent with these movements is that when we think about â€Å"saving the planet,† or â€Å"saving the polar bears,† we are still thinking abstractly. In truth, the planet was doing just fine before the advent of modern industry and technological society. Save the planet! † really means â€Å"Stop the humans from destroying the planet! † because we are only saving the planet from ourselves. Living our urban, fast-paced and machine-based lives, very few of us have time, energy or ability to keep gardens, raise livestock, hunt for our sustenance or otherwise live in any kind of experiential symbiosis with the planet. We live in suburban and citified concrete jungles where the animals have become cars, and the trees and forests are now banks, department stores and high rise apartment complexes.Because we have created our own processed environment of roads, cars, industry, buildings, malls, homes: an endless â€Å"urban sprawl† that houses an endless supply of manmade things; because we live in a world designed by capitalism, a world of incessant advertising, sales and the desperate, frantic p ursuit of material things – of production and products – a world molded and defined by television, radio and the chronic bombardment of salesmen; we rarely, if ever, experience an intimate connection with the natural world, with â€Å"the planet† we are hoping to save.Sure we can learn all about the planet, discovering the marvels of the earth in science magazines or through viewing compelling video footage of nature, we can learn all about the planet in schools, in laboratories or other second hand means, but until we have a sustained, direct encounter with the earth and nature itself, how can we truly know it, and what will it ever really mean to us? And how few of us will ever accomplish this?Indeed, as it now stands our â€Å"civilization† is composed of a people, and a culture, that have moved out of nature into man-created worlds based upon the destruction of nature †¦ and they call this evolution. Ultimately, it’s up to us to change the story, to write a new script, to realize who we are, what we have become, and to simply wake up to the realization of how we want our lives, and the life of our entire planet, to unfold †¦ So think about it, and let your thoughts permeate all that you do, for the existence of yourself and every other being around you may depend upon it.It’s both funny and sad that as soon as people leave their familiar comfort zone, when they are alone, say at a coffee shop or waiting in line for a bus, they automatically, almost reactively, reach for the cell phone to call or text someone who will reconnect them with the safe and familiar world from which they have momentarily wandered away.The average persons’ lack of ability, or willingness, to encounter an unknown situation or territory reveals their lack of tolerance for being alone, as well as their lack of curiosity or propensity to simply notice and appreciate their surroundings – as if their bodily senses had been nullified into a potential danger zone in which their very stability of self would quickly fragment should they let go a little, observe and potentially interact with the unfolding world around them.Yes, we’ve learned to live in little bubbles of safety which cut us off from our fellow-humans – we no longer live in the actual world, but in our own self-created worlds, via the latest form of technology. I suspect that our modern sense of security has been entrained to operate in collusion with these technological devices that have slyly entrapped our minds even as they have offered us incredible new possibilities.Our reliance on new and ever-advancing technologies, such as the mobile phone – which in a few short years has also become a mobile photo album, mobile internet, camera, video machine and multi-media entertainment center – has developed into quite a habit, an unconscious addiction that is shaping the very nature of our personalities, both persona l and collective, and even, God forbid, our souls. What need have we, the general public, for an imagination when so many limitlessly stimulating devices are available in our world?Who needs an inner world at all when the outer world of our own creations has become so evocative, so seducing, so ever-demanding, evasive and totalitarian? We are continually inundated with advertisements and societal pressures to acquire new technological distractions and modes of external stimulus. Living under such conditions, how is it possible for us to maintain or cultivate much of an inner world, or a soul, whatsoever?The underlying message of our media is commercial; in enforcing the demands of commerce upon us, we are defined primarily as consumers, persuaded not to think for ourselves, but to join in the latest collective frenzy of technological adventures that continually reinterpret the purpose of our lives. This never ending flood of media proclamations, while appearing as a material liberat ion, serves as a psychological oppression of the individual soul. Capitalism sells new versions of reality that may have nothing to do with one’s own true needs or sensibilities. However, it is the advertisers’ job to convince us otherwise.So far they are doing a pretty good job! The natural world, the earth itself; the air, the trees, the vast realms of animals, plants, oceans, deserts and mountains are increasingly losing meaning and value in the self-hypnotized, narcissistic lives of mechanized human beings. Although it is certainly an abomination of our essential heritage, we are ever-entrained to focus less and less on the natural world in which we live, and of which we are but one aspect – lest we forget – and more and more to focus on the world as fashioned through the minds and hands of men.It’s sad indeed when we ignore what is right before our eyes, i. e. our actual surrounding environment, and instead remain culled to a collective techno -vision of the ideal man-made life. It’s also sad when we ignore those human beings who are standing right in front of us because we’d prefer to text or talk with someone miles away, when we must remain overly-attached to those we know because we’ve lost our human capacity for interrelationship with our expanded world of fellow citizens who we now dismiss as strangers.Our advance in technology has engendered a compensating inversion in our capacity for compassion and community – which is to say, the further we develop our technology, the less we appear to maintain the qualities of a loving, caring and attentive human society. Being aware in the mystery of the present moment, tolerating the unknown, and tolerating states of non-stimulation is the first phase in moving towards a more attuned state of openness and potential interaction with the actual, non-virtual, world around us.However, we have been so conditioned by a perpetual bombardment of electronic stimuli – radio, television, computers, video games, mobile phones/entertainment centers, etc – that it has become difficult, albeit unappealing, for us to re-focus our attention on our actual physical, natural environment. A parallel outcome of our desensitization to the physical, natural world in which we live, is the subsequent degradation of our ecology, which entails our lack of emphasis or awareness on its living/breathing/fragile/organic nature.The danger of this, as many of us recognize, is potentially catastrophic; as we create and live in an increasingly human-made and virtual reality – wherein we believe we are safer, happier, more satisfied, etc – we also increasingly ignore the actual and natural reality in which we are encompassed, and risk the extinction of the environment through the excessive pollution, raiding and deforestation of the planet that we have witnessed since the rise of the industrial-technological age.The degradation of the natural world is problematic in many ways. Firstly, it appears to be morally and ethically wrong – at least to those of us whose ethics and morals outweigh our imperialistic drives – to destructively impact the earth, its ecosystems, i. e. rivers, oceans and forests, as well as animals, plants, trees, etc. One might ask, â€Å"What right have we humans to destroy the earth, simply for our own benefit? Is this not selfish and unnecessary? Many of us have asked this question, though it seems that the overall progress of our technologically based capitalism remains unwilling to curtail its invasions and usurpations of nature, or to halt its path of destruction for the sake of morals or ethics. Where the dollar bill is concerned, questions of right and wrong become thin and ineffectual, nearly meaningless. Secondly, the degradation of the natural environment is increasingly affecting the balance of the planet itself, which in turn contaminates our own quality of life.For a thorough overview of how human technology is damaging the planet, one has only to search through a plethora of books, TV specials, or movies on this topic (i. e. â€Å"An Inconvenient Truth†, by Al Gore). I will here mention only a few ways in which planetary degradation affects human life. In a recent trip to Lima, Peru I learned that Peruvians predominantly drive older used cars, from the 80s or 70s, which emit high levels of visible exhaust fumes making the air both toxic and putrid to breathe.Driving around town there is often no escape from these fumes which pour out of the car just in front of you. The situation is just as bad in many other developing â€Å"third world† countries around the globe. Even here in the United States, where we have increasingly stricter emissions controls on our vehicles, the air quality in some cities is very poor, and on certain days people are advised to avoid going â€Å"out of doors,† or allowing their children to play ou tside at all.In many countries, air pollution is severe and debilitating, and only getting worse. In addition to increasing the risk of respiratory disease, the eroding of the ozone layer has also increased the risk of skin cancer, and it’s become customary to slather on gobs of sunscreen lotion before going outside on a sunny day for any length of time. Industrial pollution has made our water supplies dirty, so they are zapped with chlorine, making our water not really enjoyable, or many would say, healthy to drink.As for our food, as genetic engineering takes hold, what we eat becomes increasingly tasteless and less nutritious. Although these are only a very few examples of the many problems made by technology, there is no denying that the degradation of the natural world leads to our own degradation. The third major impact of the degradation of nature is spiritual. As we become less attuned to the world of nature, which is gradually breaking down, our inherent connection t o the earth dissipates.We become less the â€Å"caretakers of the earth,† or participants in Her splendor of glory, and moreover the survivors of a man-made holocaust inflicted upon nature. We rationalize our disconnect from nature – those of us who are aware of it – with the heralding of a new age of technological transcendence. In comparison with all our own amazing discoveries, inventions and developments, we cannot believe that the earth is all that important. How can a handful of dirt compare to the glory of an I-phone?Our attitudes reveal a consensual belief that we are superior to and above the earth – as also evidenced by our scientific investigations into creating hospitable conditions on other planets, as well as expanded, city-size space stations in which we could begin to populate the greater universe, where we would, even more so, live in human-made, virtual reality realms. The bigger question is whether our spirits can survive – or th rive – in states of stark disconnection from the earth, our origin and planetary source of being†¦This sort of fantastic and futuristic evolution is in line with our reigning religion of Christianity, in which our sinful earthbound lives are to be potentially transformed through belief in Christ, when, upon the moment of our death, we are to ascend high into the heavens, into a cloud-like dimension above and beyond all the messy entanglements of this planet earth. With such a cosmo-vision, such a context of the goal of life, it’s no wonder the sanctity of the earth has lost its power to impel our actions.It seems only the portended threat of our own extinction will suffice to encourage us to behave differently. For if we are only to inhabit this earth for such a brief span of time – until our transcendence into a perfect eternity in another dimension – then what’s the big deal if we just abuse Her until we’re gone, because in the grand scheme of things She doesn’t matter much anyways. Christianity also teaches that, of all the creatures and life-forms upon this planet, only human beings have souls â€Å"that can be saved,† and thus make the transmigration beyond a mortal d