Khath Ourng

Jones International University

The Gold Standard Online University

Course Title: Leading from Global Perspective

Course Number: BC-607

Professor: Dr. Miro Smriga

Introduction

Theme: The World IS Flat

The world is flat (Friedman, 2005). Technology and the internet, economy, politics, war, people immigrating, intelligent draining, and environmental concern has mobilized and integrated the world to be flattened known as the global village. Laptop and desktop and smart phone such as iPhone, iPod, iPad, and Android combined with the internet have eliminated distance and shorten time to allow people from the corner of the world to communicate face-to-face via Skype in no time.  Poor economy, politics, and war in certain areas have been the main issue for people immigrating. The economy of the country cannot support people living standard. The reasons can be the land fails to produce food for people’s consumption. The people are not fitted with the politics of the country. The leader might be so powerful dominating the nations.

The civil war or the war between nations might force the people to be homeless, cannot live within the country for many reasons: food, clothes, shelter, and life threatening. Uneven intelligent has forced employers to seek intellectual employees from other countries in two ways: bring the intelligent employees into the countries or outsource the intellectual works to where the employees live. Finally, the high concern for the global warming has motivated people to think and act globally. They mobilize and build a coalition with other nations to take care of their world. These elements are the sources of integrating the global village.   

Definition: What is globalization? Globalization is “the growing liberalization of international trade and investment, and the resulting increase in the integration of national economies” (Griswold, 2000). Multi-national corporations, where they sign the contract for fair trade, free marketing, tax-less trading of goods and services and so forth.

List of regional coalitions or organizations

NAFTA  – North American Free Trade Agreement (Canada, Mexico, and America) (Wikipedia & Ask.com, 2012)

ASEAN – Association of South-East Asian Nations (Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) (ASEAN Secretariat, 2009)

EU – European Unions (Netherlands, Germany, Frence, Belgium, Ireland, Denmark, and the United Kingdom) (Wikipedia, Ask.com, 2012)

WTO – World Trade Organization (G-20: Argentina, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, South Africa, Thailand, and many others) (World Tade Organization, 2012)

Dialogue 6 – The Future of Trade Block Monetary

As for assignment 6.1, I was asked to extract information from the reading assignment and conduct the research from the Jones e-global library about NAFTA, ASEAN, and the EU. The main purposes are to answer the following questions:  

·         Will NAFTA, ASEAN, and the EU be enlarging?  Why?

·         How the relationship between China and ASEAN in the real of economy and politics? Will China join the ASEAN?  

·         Is the  globe  facing the “competing regional blocks”? Why or why not?

Based on the reading assignment combined with the research, I strongly believe that NAFTA, ASEAN, and the EU will be larger than the current size. These coalitions need to be growing if they are to survive the global economy and politics. Furthermore, they need to collaborate with environmental activists, Greenpeace, and the social activists or big Non-profit Organizations such as the United Nation, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), World Vision, World relief, and World Concern in order to gain consumers and stakeholders’ supports. Matter fact, they need to find a way to solve an internal conflicts as well as building good business relationship across coalitions: AFTA, ASEAN, the EU, and others. If possible, they can be joined into or with World Trade Organization. (Notice: WTO also has its own successes and failure stories (Griswold, 2000) . Therefore, the coalitions must be careful make a wise decisions before joining.) Overal, I believe that the three regional blocks should be enlarging, else they will not survive the world’s business arena (Griswold, 2000; Global Policy Forum, Burgi, & Golub, 2000).  

The main problem for them is that they are segregated and become competitive in every aspect of their business activities. They compete for membership quality, products and services’ sales quality and volume, prices in low cost, management enriching, cultural diversity, languages implementing, and politics integrating. These can only be found within large and high-quality  coalitions. With these elements implemented, the coalition can compete in the market prosperingly tremendously. The data from the reading can witness this statement:

 ”… (EU) economy is equivalent to a GDP of more than $12.2 trillion in 2005

  The GDP of NAFTA was estimated at $15.1 trillion, and.

 ASEAN’s was estimated at $2.2 trillion”  (Dr. Smirga, 2012)

In general, perspective, China might join the ASEAN in order to stay competitive in the Asain market, especially, taking into the account of India as the main thread to China if not joined, and India will, then have a big play in ASEAN market. On the other hand, China has already reaped full benefit doing business with WTO, the United States, NAFTA, EU, Korea, and Japan. In this respect, China makes more sales with the current partners than joining the ASEAN. To my evaluation, I think China might join ASEAN based strongly seeking for her social and political supports more than pursuing for trade.

China is reaped for foreign investors for many years, but facing the draw back for the lack of providing the protection of the Intellectual Property. This can be a down fall that might affect China’s decision to do business with ASEAN. In this case, China seems to have high interest in joining the ASEAN. Nevertheless, recently, the United States has stepped in to help improving the Chinese security system. This can be a big reverse for China. With the securit system in place, China can offer the IP protection to foreign investors,  then more foreign investors will do business with China. As the result, China do not have to join with the ASEAN for the trading purpose. This is why I conclude that if China joining the SEAN, it will not be for the reason of trading (reading assignment 6.2).

Definitely, the globe will be facing strong competitive blocks. The main challenging they are facing is the nation-state (JIU, 2012). The original nation-state started between two strong nations: Great Britain and the United States. The two nations established capitalism and dominated the world politics, economy, ideology, and philosophy for two hundred years. Other nations adopted and built their own nation-state. The tention between the original nation-state was becoming so strong that they need to enlarge their members. This led to build up a new kind of coalition, the multi-national corporations (MNCs) (Global Policy Forum, Burgi, & Golub, 2000).  

Now, nations around the world emerged building up coalitions such as NAFTA, ASEAN, the EU, and many others known as the regional blocks. These new coalitions have mobilized and motivated the nation-state. The nation-state, thus, it embedded within the coalitions, it still yearning for the self-interest. They act with the idea as to thinking globally and doing locally. Their action taking is reflecting the quote. I believe President George Washington stated  something like this: We have no permanent friend and enemy, but just permanent interest.  

This issue arises within the Eu; the nation-state is asking the coalition for the fair trade. What is my part of the bargain? The Eu faced the question of the welfare of the people, the fair trade  political playing among its members’ states, and environmental concerning, especially, in central and eastern European countries (Young,  Richards, Fischer, Halada, Kull, Kuznia, Tartes, Uzunoj, & Watt, 2007).

The NAFTA stand for North American Free Trade; started on January 1, 1994 with three countries: Canada, Mexico, and the United States. It is the largest free trade area in the world. NAFTA established with a purpose to liberalize trade and investment activity in North America. Reduce transaction cost and tariff among its members. NAFTA since its inception, successfully prospered. In 2004, International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that the three countries produced over $12 trillion goods and services,  with the population more than 425 million people constituted a major economic block in the world economy (International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2008).This is the bridge side of NAFTA. Nevertheless, the regional block has its challenges.

When NAFTA went public in 1991, many groups started from farmers to human rights organizations gathering to fight against NAFTA (International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2008).  Mexico thus seems to have poor relationship with Canada, but the two countries have large-volume  trading. Nevertheless, the US to the Mexican sounds threatened. The two countries fought over the water issue involving a farmer across the border (Thompson, 2008). In general, according to the reading theme part one provided, Mexican does not have a good image of the American people.

Conclusion

In answering the three questions above, I conclude as follow: The three coalitions: NAFTA, ASEAN, and the EU will definitely increase their memberships. Furthermore, they will work hard to make low cost products  and services with high-quality  selling in large volumes to their consumers around the world.  To survive the challenging from outside sources, they will improve their internal operation whether management, product line, or customer services. In order to accomplish this improvement goal, they need to implement culture, language, and investment diversities. Furthermore, they need to collaborate well with the Non-profit organization: environmental and social activists. Finally, they need to build the good business relationships across the three regional blocks in reducing competitive high risk in the globalize economy. I hope my analysis can be a good asset to my audiences.

References

ASEAN Secrectariat. (2009). Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Retrieved from http://www.aseansec.org/74.htm.

Friedman, L. (2005). The World Is Flat. Retrieved from http://product.half.ebay.com/_W0QQtgZinfoQ2drefreshQQprZ43435374.

Griswold, D. (2000). The Blessing and Challenges of Globalization. Retrieved from http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10891.

Global Policy Forum, Burgi, N. & Golub, S. P. (2000). Has Globalization Really Made? Retrieved from http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/172/29960.html.

International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. (2008). North American Free Trade Agreement. Retrieved from http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/

North_American_Free_Trade_Agreement.aspx.

Jones International University, Smriga, M. (2012). Leading from Global Perspective. Retrieved from http://courses.jonesinternational.edu/display.jkg?courseSectionId=27293&uid=

17432&tpl=frameset.

Thompson, R., B. (2008). New Attacks and Counterattacks in US-Mexico Water War. Retrieved from http://mexidata.info/id1720.html.

Wikipedia & Ask.com. (2012). Member State of the European Unions. Retrieved from http://wiki.ask.com/North_American_Free_Trade_Agreement.

Wikipedia  & Ask.com. (2012). North America Free Trade Agreement. Retrieved from http://wiki.ask.com/North_American_Free_Trade_Agreement.

World Trade Organization. (2012). Membership, alliances, and bureaucracy. Retrieved from http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org3_e.htm.

Young, J., Richards, C., Fischer, A., Halada, L., Kull, T., Kuznia, A., Tartes, U., Uzunoj, Y & Watt, A. (2007). Conflicts between biodiversity conservations and human activities in the central and eastern European countries. Retrieved from http://140.234.1.9:8080/EPSessionID=

d3fc3c113d2b16bcd1dcd5a864125ade/EPHost=www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/EPPath/sites/entrez.

The transportation sector accounts for the largest share of energy consumption particularly the bio fuels and hydrocarbons including natural gas which are extracted from the land and deep sea exploration. Transportation of extracted fuels is also an important issue as well as extraction of hydrocarbons from their respective sources.

The share of petroleum use in the United States has risen from 52 percent in 1970 to 66 percent in 1995 and it is expected to increase to 70 percent by 2011. The International Energy association predicts that 59 percent of the 41-million barrels per day increase in worldwide oil demand expected from 1995 to 2020 will come from petroleum products.

Energy policy is derived from security, economic and environmental goals and it is difficult to chart an energy policy path that is coherent and on consensus can be achieved. It is dependent on the ability of the market, prices, demand and availability. Particular emphasis is required to be placed on infrastructure and volatility issues that are related to the governmental and their solutions. Actions required by the government include:

1.      Focus on atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases.

2.      Energy and environmental policy that includes specific attention to carbon dioxide and incentives for reducing emissions.

3.      Environmental impacts due to extraction from newer sources and displacement of forest land and ecologically sensitive areas.

4.      Handling and avoiding of repetition of major environmental disasters like the Exxon and BP oil spill.

5.      Legislations to demarcate boundaries between federal and state jurisdictions over environmental matters.

6.      Use of alternative sources of energy which have a mild impact on the environment like solar power and wind power.

7.      Environmentally friendly standards within the electric power sector.

8.      Improving efficiency of power plants dependent on bio fuels and production of energy efficient vehicles.

9.      Support for research based activities on energy use.

10.  Providing incentives for fuel efficiency and subsidies where there is substantial saving of energy and technological advancements.

11.  Rebates in taxes and duties for manufacture and use of energy efficient products.

The purpose of such activities will establish a consistent and efficient reliability regime applicable to everyone and efficiency has a critical role in balancing supply and demand and reducing energy demands. Increased federal support of research and development related to energy and environmental technologies on both the demand and supply sides in order will help to sustain a stable economic environment for energy, to accommodate economic growth and to meet environmental objectives. The use of technology is critical to energy development in the past and will continue to be so in the future.

Between 1973 and 1986, the U.S. economy’s  energy intensity (energy consumption per dollar of GDP) declined by 35 percent; since then, the rate  of decline slowed dramatically, amounting to only about 15 percent over the period. That slowdown raises total national energy costs by about $100 billion per year.

Technologies are in hand to once again accelerate energy efficiency and associated environmental gains significantly. To realize this in a timely way requires that integrated fiscal, regulatory and technology policies be implemented by the administration and Congress.

Efficiency has increased in the  transportation  sector where average miles per gallon (mpg) for standard automobiles has increased from 15.1 in 1983 to about 21.5 in 1999, However, the potential to do much more is an attainable option. The average fuel economy of light trucks on the road is only 17.4 to 18mpg.

Ford and General Motors have vowed to improve fuel economy on certain SUVs by 25 percent by 2005, but across-the-board implementation of higher mileage standards for light trucks could substantially lower oil use in the United States. SUVs account for 25 percent of the category of light trucks, up from 13.2 percent of all light trucks in 1992, yielding an average annual growth rate of 14 percent.

The share of natural gas rose from 18.2 percent in 1973 to 24 percent in 1999. Nuclear power is an indigenous source of energy, unique in having the capacity to provide enough energy to last hundreds of years without emitting greenhouse gasses Nuclear energy represents 22.9 percent of total U.S. electricity generation and is expected to fall as older plants are retired and as new construction is thwarted by social concerns and by regulatory issues as well as waste disposal obstacles.

Also in the 1970s and early 1980s, companies began investing in renewable technologies, but as oil prices began to fall in the mid-1980s and some investors in renewable projects failed to turn a profit, this trend also slowed. Renewable energy sources, including biomass, solar, wind and hydro, now represent less than 10 percent of total U.S. energy use. Technological advances that have led to cost reductions in some fuels such as solar and wind represents an area for expanded attention. But hydro is the dominant renewable resources and has minimal expansion potential in the United States. 

Environmental factors have also led to a decrease in the share of coal in the U.S. energy mix from 30 percent in 1973 to 23 percent currently, despite the fact that the United States has among the largest coal deposits in the world. Still, more than 50 percent of all electricity generated in the United States is fueled by coal. Internationally, coal use is expected to double in the next fifteen years. Despite governmental and industry efforts to foster clean coal technologies, coal’s high carbon base has made it a subject of attack by environmental concerns.

Deepwater Horizon was an ultra-deepwater dynamically positioned, semi-submersible offshore oil drilling rig. Built in 2001 in South Korea by Hyundai Heavy Industries, the rig was commissioned by R&B Falcon, which later became part of Transocean, registered in Majuro,

Marshall Islands, and leased to BP plc until 2013.

In September 2009, the rig drilled the deepest oil well in history at a vertical depth of 35,050 ft in the Tiber field at Keathley Canyon block 102, approximately 250 miles southeast of Houston in 4,132 feet of water.

On April 20, 2010, when drilling at the Macondo Prospect, an explosion on the rig caused by a blowout killed eleven crewmen and ignited a fireball whose flames were visible from 35 miles. The resulting fire could not be extinguished and, on April 22, 2010, Deepwater Horizon sank, leaving the well gushing at the sea floor and causing the largest offshore oil spill in United States history.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to as the BP oil spill) in the Gulf of Mexico is the largest offshore spill in U.S. history. Some estimates have already placed it as among the largest oil spills in history with hundreds of millions of gallons spilled to date. The gusher was estimated to be flowing at 35,000 to 60,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

For comparison, this is equal to the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, every one to two weeks. The resulting oil slick covers at least 2,500 square miles. Scientists have also reported immense underwater plumes of oil not visible at the surface.

The Deepwater Horizon accident was a Project Failure of immense proportions. The resulting environmental disaster is widely affecting life below and above the sea throughout the region, seriously damaging coastal wetlands and wildlife, and has negatively affecting fishing, tourism and many other industries in those US states.

The lives of nearly all residents of the coastal regions of Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and several US states has been seriously affected. In addition, the inability of BP to stop the flow, communication blunders by BP management, negative media accounts and continuing coverage resulted in serious negative consequences for BP, subcontractors on the project and the oil exploration industry as a whole. The US federal government was also been criticized for slow and weak response to the disaster.

The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989, when

Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker bound for Long Beach, California, struck Prince William Sound’s Bligh Reef and spilled 260,000 to 750,000 barrels of crude oil. It is considered to be one of the most devastating human caused environmental disasters. The Valdez spill was the largest ever in U.S. waters until the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, in terms of volume released.

However, Prince William Sound’s remote location, accessible only by helicopter, plane, and boat made government and industry response efforts difficult and severely taxed existing plans for response. The region is a habitat for salmon, sea otters, seals and seabirds. The oil originally extracted at the Prudhoe Bay oil field eventually covered 1,300 miles of coastline and 11,000 square miles of ocean.

The public remained supportive of Exxon, the oil industry and trans-shipments of oil and gas. In response to the spill, the United States Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA). The legislation included a clause that prohibits any vessel that, after March 22, 1989, has caused an oil spill of more than 1 million US gallons (3,800 m3) in any marine area, from operating in Prince William Sound. The BP disaster is bigger and more serious than the Valdez accident; public reaction is also dramatically greater.

Risk management plans were inadequate, BP was not prepared for the accident, project management mistakes were made during drilling and communication mistakes were made by BP executives following the accident.

Environmental Protection is becoming more important and the American public has been deeply divided in recent years regarding climate change and the environment, the Deepwater

Horizon oil spill and its environmental impact on the Gulf of Mexico have singly changed attitudes.

In the Exxon Valdes tanker spill of 1989, Congress responded with the 1990 Oil. Pollution Act, assigning the liability for cleanup costs, to companies responsible for major spills and also required thicker oil tanker hulls. And while the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in a far greater body of water, it’s also much closer to densely populated areas.

That’s why this spill is sure to prompt new safety, oversight and liability regulations for offshore oil drilling and has already undercut Obama’s proposal for expanding that industry. Our reliance on old, fossil-fuel based technologies is devastating for the planet, for society, and for business. This spill is in many ways an expected result of the path we have chosen.

Given the declining stocks of easy access oil, our addiction is forcing us to dig up extremely remote oil something very hard to do that comes with enormous complexity and myriad risks of catastrophic failure.

The assumption that we will continue to dig up more carbon-emitting fossil fuels may be called into question in a serious way by the Gulf oil spill. Governments may very well ask for companies to invest far more in safety. It’s a reasonable outcome that regulators demand that companies invest not only in the technologies to dig oil up, but also in cutting edge ways to greatly reduce the risk of it going all over the place.

References

Rushefsky, Mark E. (2002). Public Policy in the United States at the Dawn of the Twenty first Century. New York: M.E. Sharpe, Inc.IBN 978-0765616630

Instrument Mixes for Environmental Policy” (Paris: OECD Publications, 2007)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill

http://www.epa.gov/oem/content/learning/exxon.htm

http://blogs.hbr.org/winston/2010/06/the-bp-oil-spill-top-5-lessons.html

PM World Today – July 2010 (Vol XII, Issue VII Mimi, H. 2010, June 16. Apologetic BP pledges $20B. USA Today, Retrieved June 21, 2010 from http://www.usatoday.com/).

http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/politics/The-Spill-Seekers.html

http://byliner.com/rowan-jacobsen/stories/the-spill-seekers

The Spill Seekers, by Rowan Jacobsen

The world became flat due to new technologies and the internet. The world of business became flat due to worldwide business competitive. The world became flat due to social integration: war, politics, and economy challenging around the world. The world became flat due to environmental concern and worldwide awareness of global warming. These issues have provided enough reasons or evidences in forcing the world to become flat, as we have witnessed in our time.

The world became flat because of new technologies and internet. With Smartphone, such as iPhone, ipod, and ipad connecting with the internet, people can virtually reach and touch each other from the corner of the world. They can talk and see their friends, relatives, or business partners from any places in the world. The issue of the distance far away fails to prevent their communication. People from India can provide service to their clients or customers in the US. Last month, I had on techician fixed my computer over the phone. I talked with my friend in Cambodia through Skype. Therefore, the distance issue is obsoleted as we move into the flatten world.

The use of new tech and internet had increased business competitive according to Dr. Hershkovitz (2012) as Multi-national Corporation increased around the world, it had forced the nation-state company to revolutionize itself into global business (he coined it as the virtual corporation), and else it will not survive. The advantage of becoming globalization is due to the large size and volume of products and services offering to customers and clients over the world.

The world became flat due to social integration – people immigrate from one part of the world immerging into another part of the world due to politics and economic issues arising within the resident they live in that have forced them to immigrate to a new place. Example, Cambodian escaped from their homeland in 1975 and 1979 because of war and politic causes, which led to the shortage of food supply and health care to maintain the wealth and health that needed to nourish and keep the nation within the country. The lost all the basic support to survive and remain within the country. This was why they immigrate to other countries around the world, such as countries are the USA, Australia, France, and New Zealand. This just one example among many causes regarding to the elements of war, economy, and politics.

When people migrate to other countries, they take with them culture, tradition, language, and foodd. They can bring with them their culture, tradion, and language. However, for food, they have to continuously transport from their mother countries. For example, Asain food need to be transported from Thailand, Vietname, Korea, India, and so forth. With modern technology and machinery, they can speed up the business transaction and transport the goods from a distance in short period, one or two weeks, with edible quality to satisfy the consumers.

As the environmental issue arising, people tend to care of their world more and more. They begin to think of the world as their home, instead of, just where they are residing. The whole reason is that if the world collapse, then their residency will go along.  The main problem to the environmental issue, are the awareness of global warming duce to pollution from smoke,  heat, waste, and chemical. The increase of heat from factory, automobile, and home burning has tremendously contributed to the damage of the world ozone, which will bring disaster to the world – the end of our world. With this thought, environmentist encourage people over the world to care for their environment. What they can help to balance and maintain the world are to not cut down the rain forest, to not build up waste, to pour out harmful chemical and smoke into the atmosphere.

The reasons above are presented here to give strong evidences that why our world had become flatten. However, the purpose of this assignment is devoted fully to the global business paradigm as having been elaborated in great detail by the format of the course: Leading from Global Perspective (Fitgerald, 2012). I am glade to have gain this knowledge for it helps me to think globally just like Jesus had envisioned the global service, entegrating all nations to Himself. Serving the world through spreading His good news of Salvation. This has happened even before our contemporary thinker are able to envision.

Image via CrunchBase

As if you didn’t have enough to worry about with pollution in the atmosphere, now you’d better be careful because that lung-full of air you enjoy breathing – not to mention that you need to survive – may be giving you a cocaine or marijuana high.

Researchers have found that some areas of the Earth – especially where use of cocaine, marijuana and other such drugs is high – may have elements of those same drugs floating in the air. The Italian scientists suggest that the “atmospheric concentrations of psychotropic compounds in Italy were plotted … [and] links were found between the atmospheric cocaine and the amount of drugs seized, the number of drug related crimes and the demand for clinical treatment recorded …”

Dude! … Breathe Deep

The researchers also suggest that the amount of drugs floating in the air correlated with increases in tumors and mental disease in the population in the areas studied.

So, what to do about this problem? Shall we build a border fence around countries or regions that have large numbers of drug users?  How about giant fans to whisk offending odors out to sea or giant vacuums to suck it all in?  The scientists don’t have a method to recommend as yet, but they continue to study the problem.

In this study they tested 20 areas in eight Italian regions during the winter months and an additional 39 locations in 14 regions during the summer months.  They collected air samples, extracted various contaminants in the samples and analyzed what they found.  When they found the cocaine and cannabis elements in the air they matched those with statistics on the rate of crime and mental disorders reported in the area.

They offer the example of second-hand smoke concerns as being similar to what they found in ‘second-hand’ drug elements in the air.  Smoke the former and your health could suffer.  Use the latter and you could … what … get arrested for drug use?  The scientists don’t go that far, but who knows?

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Average air pollution resulting from motor vehicle exhaust or factory fumes. With the fumes, the air becomes dirty and we who breathe it too will feel crowded. Even if we pollute the air with za-specific substance, the air can be toxic you know. We take a look at the time of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs. Many diagnostic time after the atomic bomb was exploded, certainly we know there is a large mushroom cloud that soared high into the sky. Well mushroom cloud carries radioactive dust particles are very dangerous. A few days later after missing the mushroom cloud, rain water which is black and thick. The water was so poisonous you know. But the citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki forced to drink it and be able to guess their experience toxicity.

That’s the danger of pollution that we do not realize. In the meantime, we still spend wastes that can menyebabkanpolusi. So it can be said if we continue to remove waste, then the pollution will not be inevitable. For that we must be smart to treat wastes that exist and exert every effort to restore natural resources that have been exposed to pollution. In fact many ways to clean up polluted natural resources.

To restore contaminated land, we can make soil conservation. How do I? The trick is to greening. Plants can help to enrich the soil and can absorb some chemicals from the soil. For water, we can do the filtering water with advanced technology or the technology is simple. For advanced technology, it seems difficult for us ordinary people do it because it is expensive. So we should do the filtering water with simple technology. The trick is by stacking layers of sand, gravel, and soil in a drum. Then put the dirty water and if water has been flowing at the bottom of the drum, the water will be clean. The layers had been filter out impurities in the water so that water can be clean again.

For that we must all participate in the fight against waste and pollution for a better life. We have to find other technologies that can be used to reduce pollution in our environment.

Acid rain is rain and other precipitation that has a high acid content. It forms when car exhaust and smoke from burning fossil fuels mix with water vapor in the atmosphere. Acid rain kills fish and plants, and damages buildings.

Earth’s upper atmosphere contains chemical called ozone. Ozone is a form of oxygen produced when sunlight reacts with oxygen. Ozone in the upper atmosphere protects us from some of the sun’s UV rays. Gases found in some fire extinguishers and air conditioners destroy ozone in the upper atmosphere. As a result, more UV rays reach the earth. This increases the risk that people will develop skin cancer and eye cataracts.

Do you think air pollution only occurs outdoors? There are many indoor and air pollutants that can harm health. Sick building syndrome is an illness that results from indoor air pollution. Symptoms include headaches, nausea, and irritated eyes. Getting out of a building can help people with SBS.

Secondhand smoke is sidestream smoke and smoke that a person exhales while smoking. It can cause lung cancer. Secondhand smoke also can cause pneumonia, bronchitis, and ear infections. Secondhand smoke harms people who have asthma, and it might cause children to develop asthma.

Radon is an odorless, colorless, radioactive gas. Radon can enter buildings through dirt floors, drains, pumps, and cracks in foundations. If radon builds up in a house, the people who inhale it might develop lung cancer.

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless, poisonous gas. Inhaling carbon monoxide can cause headaches, dizziness, weakness, nausea, confusion, fatigue, unconsciousness, and death. Carbon monoxide is present in secondhand smoke. It can also be found in smoke from space heaters, gas stoves, wood stoves, and fire-places that are not ventilated correctly.

Cleaners, disinfectants, paints, varnishes, waxes, glues, and other products all contain chemicals. Some chemicals can cause irritated eyes and lungs, headaches, dizziness, and memory problems in people who inhale the fumes. Some chemicals used in household products cause cancer in animals, and might cause cancer in people.

If the water you drink is not safe, you might be drinking many harmful substances. Water pollution is the contamination of water with sewage, waste, gases, or chemicals that harm health. You can help keep water safe.

Water runoff causes a lot of water pollution. Water runoff is water that runs off land into a body of water. As water runoff moves over land, it carries chemicals from the ground. Some chemicals that might be carried by water runoff are pesticides from crops and lawns, acid rain, and any chemicals dumped on the ground. Water runoff can pollute drinking water.

Sewage also can pollute water. Sewage is waste liquids or matter carried off in sewers. Some people dump harmful chemicals into bodies of water or on the ground. Chemicals dumped on the ground can seep into groundwater. Groundwater is water in natural underground reservoirs. Once groundwater is polluted, there is almost no way to clean it. Some drinking water comes from groundwater. Drinking polluted water can cause cancer, blood diseases, and liver and kidney damage.

A decibel is a unit used to measure the loudness of sound. Noise is sound that produces discomfort or annoyance. Sounds that are louder than 70 dBs cause noise pollution. Noise pollution is loud or constant noise that cause hearing loss and stress. Noise pollution also causes headaches, tension, and sleep disturbances. It can increase blood pressure and cholesterol level. If noise pollution reaches 120 dBs, it can cause immediate and permanent hearing loss.

We fight because we are ignorant beings living in a world that we will never admit that we don’t fully understand. 

Basically because we don’t understand ourselves.

Everything has become a threat to us, so to eliminate that threat we kill our neighbors, and eventually we kill ourselves.

We don’t know how to stop.

Some may say its in our nature.

We know that the earth’s life span ticks away with time as does ours.

But do we understand that we cut it shorter then it out to be?

I think we do that’s why we fight.

As stupid as we are, we are not fools to misunderstand that this is a race to the top and the only way to win is if while you are at the number one spot, the top of your game the finishing line is no more than millimeters away.

What good is being first at the start of the race only to end up last by the end of the race?

So the solution is to bring the end to you.

Forget about the generations behind.

Pollute their air, destroy their land, and waste their resources.

Kill their ancestors, murder their parents.

FINISH THE HUMAN RACE!

Why do we fight?

Because someone always has to win!

Image via Wikipedia

Global warming is alarming in the world and glaciers are melting, if soon no alternative is used to control global warming then it would become impossible to save glaciers in the coming years. CCS technology is found very important in some way. 

CCS program prevents carbon from polluting environment by collecting carbon through fossil fuel power plants instead of releasing into the atmosphere, and transporting it to suitable injection sites by pipelines, where it can be stored for indefinite period. Stored carbon can be transformed into deep geological formations, deep ocean masses, or in the form of mineral carbonates. This process will help to prevent 80% to 90% of carbon emission, and control global warming; so many countries are implementing it.

CCS technology requires much energy, it will consume 25 percent of the plant’s energy for completing process, and other procession of CCS program will raise the cost of power production up to 50%. Price will rise much more if injection sites of storing the carbon were farther. It will become burden on power plant.

Collected carbon has to be stored for long time on high pressure, unexpected leak from the storage or accidental leak into the atmosphere will repeat the worst tragedies like Bhopal Gas tragedy of India, Mile Island tragedy of USA or Chernobyl Tragedy of Russia. This will germinate terrible crisis.

Transforming collected carbon into deep ocean masses will raise the acidity in sea level (ocean acidification) that will affect marine biodiversity, transferring it into deep geological formations or mineral carbonates will change the chemical structure of minerals in the earth causing serious ecological crisis.

CCS program is not a good alternative. Other alternatives can be used, using natural resources like wind power, solar power etc instead of fossil power plants, this will automatically help to decrease the global warming without using any other costly technology.

Image via Wikipedia

    Softly, lovingly, the words flew, seeking minds to take their measure; the day begins…..

“I believe that it is better to tell the truth than a lie. I believe it is better to be free than to be a slave. And I believe it is better to know than to be ignorant.” — H. L. Mencken

    One would think that the above statement is self-evident. This is not to say that Mr. Mencken is stating the obvious, but rather that the concepts he shares are clearly true, and leave little or no room for disagreement. Every religion, every culture, every person on the planet would see these, and find it nearly impossible to denigrate any of them, or argue that they are not personal values that all of us are taught to respect from the time when we were small. They are ideas that are intrinsic to a free society, and their absence in everyday interactions between society members leads to controversy, every time. Every person, politician, and corporation, news outlet, hell, everybody you speak to would have you believe that they are true to these principles, and make them a part of their modus operandi. What they don’t add is that they have their fingers crossed behind their backs when they look you in the eye and tell you it is true.

    Isaac Asimov is a scientist and writer of great renown, having published well over 200 science fiction novels and collections of short stories, as well as nearly the same number of hard science text and reference books. He had an interesting comment on this subject, to wit: “There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is as good as your knowledge.” — Isaac Asimov. Newsweek, January 21, 1980  I like this because it states its premise clearly, succinctly, and powerfully, making itself the perfect example of the type of intellectual statement that would be completely ignored, or possibly vilified, if related to a political aspirant. In this country, if you want to get elected, you can’t afford to say or do anything that might indicate agreement with this observation; there are too many voters who are lifetime members of the cult. This is why they say such dumb things when they are campaigning for office; it keeps their name up in front of the Stupids, and they know their assertions will be bought at face value, no matter how outrageously untruthful or anti-intellect it may be. There are times, and of late they are legion, when I get really disgusted with the sad state of affairs in this country, and for that matter, the world. Just seems like there’s not enough of us shouting out the truth, and those who are not invested in truth don’t hear it anyway…….

Behold the child, by Nature’s kindly law,
Pleased with a rattle, tickled with a straw;
Some livelier plaything gives his youth delight,
A little louder, but as empty quite;
Scarfs, garters, gold, amuse his riper stage,
And beads and prayer-books are the toys of age.
Pleased with this bauble still, as that before,
Till tired he sleeps, and life’s poor play is o’er.
 – Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
 – Essay on Man, Epistle ii, Line 274

    It’s just a personal quirk, I guess, but when I find a piece of poetry such as this, I get a tingly sliver of sheer pleasure that shoots up my spine, and hits my consciousness with a sharp jolt of joy. Look at it! It even sits there attractively, balanced and lovely, shining slightly with a glow of insight, and profound understanding. Eight lines. Two quatrains of everyday words, put together so cleverly, an entire lifetime is celebrated between the first and last lines. Not only the life, but the experience of life, comes through as clearly and powerfully as if whispered directly into your ear. Mssr. Pope gives us an image, a picture painted on the mind’s canvas, and shows with deft strokes how each of life’s stages flows from one age to the next, until at last it progresses to the final curtain. Poetry like this is one of life’s grandest surprises, an unexpected gift of joy. Gotta love them poets…..   

“Consider how hard it is to change yourself and you’ll understand what little chance you have of trying to change others.” — Jacob M. Braude

    If one is in the habit of following the ebb and flow of current events, as am I, it becomes increasingly difficult to ignore the signs of impending global disaster. Pollution of the air, land, and sea; global climate changes melting the polar ice; an ever-widening financial gap between segments of society; divisiveness and religious controversy amongst all nations and cultures; increasing evidence of the effects of over-population. All of these, and more, are clear indicators of the breakdown of society at large, and of the need for far-reaching changes to stop and reverse our progress down the path to extinction. And unfortunately for all of us, human nature is such that the statement above is absolute truth. Each of us is solely responsible for our actions; no one can make us do what we won’t, unless we allow it. And this is the root of the whole problem….

    Too many people abrogate their responsibility to Life. It’s too hard to think, or consider deep philosophical concepts, and there is too much to do in order to stay even with life’s demands. So people tend to let others think for them. Even though they have the power to make their own decisions, they let others tell them how to behave, when to eat, what to buy, what to believe. They react with anger and violence when challenged about their beliefs, even though they cannot express what those beliefs are, other than to repeat what they’ve been told. Talking heads come on TV and the most aggravatingly insane drivel that comes out of their mouths is held as gospel truth. Politicians make up incredible lies and make promises that appeal to the most extreme segments of the populace, fanning the fire of their ignorant fear of anything different, just to get elected. When in office, those promises are ignored in favor of whatever new policies will guarantee the continuing process of lining their pockets with public funding.

    People are lazy. It’s a fact, and is actually one of our most important survival characteristics. Our minds are armed with the power of imagination, and it is always willing to focus that talent in order to make life easier and more comfortable. This is why we invent stuff; to make life easier. Not because we want to improve ourselves or our environment, but because we are too lazy to work hard to achieve our desires. If we can think up a way to perform simple, tedious tasks with less effort, we will do so. It’s a natural ability, and it is an integral part of our nature. And used in this sense, it is a valuable tool. But most folks end up taking their lackadaisical tendencies too far, which allows the less moral among us to increase their influence over our lives. My fear is that society at large has waited too long, and become too rigidly committed to the behaviors which will eventually lead to extinction to be able slow, or stop our progress toward the abyss…..and I don’t want to die yet!……

Y’all take care out there…..

–
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
   and sometimes
I just sits.

gigoid

The world is watching as a once great nation buckles under the pressure of a country-wide hostile corporate-military take-over. Since the C.R.A.P. (Conservative Reform Alliance Party) has been voted in with a majority, it now has the answer to all who dare question its whacked-out corporate-military agenda. “It is the will of the people, and they expect us to fulfill our mandate…”-  seems to be the standard stone-walling reply from the Crapists, when confronted with allegations of corruption, demented policy making and war-mongering.

In other words, there can be no opposition. They can do anything they bloody well want. Maybe that is why anyone who doesn’t agree with the new regime is fired, or retired. Anyone who opposes the raising of the national flag is now fined or jailed. People who grow marijuana get harsher penalties than pedophiles. Billions are being spent on new prisons and the militarization of a once peaceful nation. Antiquated and failed, draconian laws are now being introduced as if they are new C.R.A.P. inventions. Innocent people are now being criminalized to fill all the new jails, even though the crime rate is going down. Facts or people obviously do not matter.  Only the iron will (slimy doctrine), of the Crapist whacko’s in power applies in Canada now.
A new type of corporate fascism has taken hold of Canada, and the world is shaking its head at the stupidity of it all. No vision and no future awaits this stricken land. Only money-grubbing, corporate fascism and militarism is in store for its misguided people, for at least as long as the C.R.A.P. is in power. This, at the expense of Canadians’ heritage, their reputation, their freedom, their dignity, and their national resources, which are getting funneled away in raw form as quickly as the corporate snakes can arrange it.

Corporations have been let loose and can now run hog-wild on the Canadian population, including the many that did not vote for the C.R.A.P., all with the gleeful support of the new regime. In fact, corporations now freely messing around in Canada are running roughshod over thousands of American landowners as well. Threats of expropriation abound as the new pipeline (carrying dirty unethical oil) is being shoved down their throats. Never have psychopathic corporate entities had such free-range of an entire nation (world), as now. Anyone who opposes, is unceremoniously silenced and sidelined. This is the new Canada. 

Lax corporate and environmental laws attract many mining companies to Canada, a good number of which are fortunately under investigation for corruption and creepy misdeeds in third world countries. C.R.A.P. is extremely friendly to corporations that wreak havoc in poor countries to get at the goodies and consequently, the cash. The laws are constructed in a way that makes it very difficult to hold corporate criminals accountable. The people who own the resources have it consistently stolen from under their noses for a few dirty jobs. The land is messed up, the water poisoned, the people shafted, and then they leave. This is standard procedure worldwide, directed from you-know-where.

When you use a shovel to expose the (corporate ass-kissing), yellow-bellied underside of this regime, you get to the other, even more toxic side of the newly minted Canada. The Crapists have a great affinity for violence and war in order to help their corporate friends. At every opportunity (Afghanistan, Libya – with more in the works), there are suddenly Canadian troops, artillery weapons, fighter aircraft and many other weapons of mass destruction, ready to pounce on any poor nation in turmoil in order to ensure that our beloved corporations can continue making lots of cash. Whether it is the corporations that manufacture weapons, mine precious metals or whether they are oil companies trying to rape Libyan oil reserves, the publicly funded Canadian Corporate Royal Reich’s force is ready to kill for that cash. 

In other words, the people of Canada pay through their noses in taxes to fight idiotic wars, so that the corporations can reap the benefits and stuff it into their coffers. Unprecedented amounts of hard-earned public funds are squandered on the military to achieve this. What a wonderful economic/military strategy Canada now has. 

Canadian Crapist mouthpieces are suddenly spewing bizarre drivel about ‘ethical (dirty) oil’ versus the so-called ‘unethical’ clean oil from old friends. Funny how the Saudi’s are conveniently black-balled to make the spin work, when everyone knows they had no problem with the Saudi’s before. They didn’t have any problem at all with the good ol’ Colonel in Libya either, as long as the cash was rolling in. It blatantly exposes the sheer hypocrisy of this regime, which has fabricated this cheap and laughable ‘ethical oil’ marketing ploy. Let us explore the sheer gall of the C.R.A.P spin doctors. What could they possibly mean by ethical oil? Ethical oil……

Ethical to waste and poison an entire province? Ethical to evict people from their land to run a pipeline or create gas-wells? Ethical to waste our resources instead of having a vision for Canada’s cold future? Ethical to mock the Canadian population and making it subservient to newly-minted Canadian corporate masters and military adventurists? Ethical to let other countries refine our resources so they can sell them back to us for x-times the price? Ethical to bomb poor people in third world countries, so that Canadian oil corporations can make cash, such as in Libya? Ethical to rob taxpayers in order to fund wars designed to increase corporate profits? Ethical to let corporations poison water supplies in Canada and many other (usually poor) nations? Ethical to essentially steal people’s land and their resources, leaving only toxic ponds, carcinogen laden soil and undrinkable water?

Ethical to expect the economy to grow into oblivion, and making corporate profits the most important thing in Canada while polluting the world’s atmosphere? Ethical to have no vision for a nation, never mind a better world?

Canadians have only themselves to blame for choosing the C.R.A.P.. When you consider the creepy flag waiving weirdness, all the new jails, the billions spent on ‘people’-killing weaponry, new fighter jets, the unbridled passing of antiquated draconian laws that have brought nothing but failure, loss of personal freedoms and pain to other nations, then you have to wonder if you’re not just having some terribly twisted nightmare.

Tragically, Canada has surrendered, meekly, with a whimper. It is now merely a lamb, fit for the corporate slaughter of its citizenry. A citizenry that is made to pay big bucks for the bombing of poor people in far away countries. Countries with resources which Canadian corporations want to get their hands on. Ethical oil. What a terrible joke. What horrendous hypocrisy.

The twisted nightmare is real. This is the new Canada, and the world better hold its nose and get used to the new stench emanating from the northern Canadian corporate wasteland. The unmitigated plunder and aggression continues worldwide.