Issues in Nuclear Power

Issues in Nuclear Power Dear Sir, I have read your article, The Truth About Nuclear Power. Your ideas and opinions hold much significance and are compelling. You describe Nuclear energy as dirty, dangerous, expensive, un-sustainable, prone-to-terrorism and impractical. However, I would like to present my personal concepts and sentiments on the topic which might negate your proposals. To start, life is motion; and everything that tends to move has an inherent property to emit energy in some way. Mankind has been trying to utilize, conserve and generate this very energy for years. And while many sources of energy are being used, the concept of self-sustaining energy source is still very much theoretical. The dire need of a superior source of energy rose and Nuclear Energy was discovered in the quest. The first concern you mention is that of Nuclear Power being dirty. To my knowledge, Nuclear Power is perhaps the most refined method to generate power. No doubt nuclear power has the disadvantage of giving off radioactive waste to some extent but that is really all that is harmful about it. Over 94% of this waste is low-level waste, possessing no harmful effects of any kind. Only 6% of the total waste is considered high-level waste as it still holds a significant amount of energy. This is either re-used for further power production or is kept in a concealed environment until it loses all its energy and converts into an inert element. As far as emissions are concerned, power produced through Nuclear Energy emits 15 grams of Carbon Dioxide per Kilo-Watt-Hour (kWhr) of electricity. Coal in contrast, produces an immense 900 grams of Carbon Dioxide per kWhr, highest in the category. Furthermore, the estimated mortality rate globally through coal is 100,000 deaths per Trillion kWhr. Oil being second in list, claiming 36,000 lives. Biofuel and Hydroelectric power being third and fourth with 24,000 and 14,000 deaths per Trillion kWhr, respectively. Meanwhile, nuclear power claims fewer than 23 lives per trillion kWhr globally. This is self-explanatory. Besides, virtually every fossil fuel involves a combustion process. This produces gases that are far more brutal than the radiations produced through nuclear power. The second concern of yours is mining. The mining process for oil requires excavating at least 6,000 feet. Uranium, the most common element used in nuclear power, requires about 1,900 feet on average. Natural gas can be as deep as 15,000 feet in some areas. As more Radon gas is given-off as you go deeper down the Earth; this makes Uranium safest to mine. Another reason for fossil fuels being more precarious to mine is the sheer quantity in which they are required. For comparison, it takes 17,000 kg of coal to produce the same amount of energy as 1kg of Uranium-235. This results in much less mining needed which ultimately, results in less radiation exposure. Next is the concern of safety. No doubt that there have been three major nuclear disasters in the past but none of them were as catastrophic as they were portrayed. The worse of them was the Chernobyl incident. Despite the reactors meltdown caused substantial amount of radiation leakage, only two deaths occurred due to radiations. Furthermore, Chernobyl was the result of inadequate experience and a human flaw. It dates back to 1986, when nuclear power was new to the world and there were not much expertise in the field. A like calamity is almost outlandish to happen now. The Three Mile Island reactor meltdown in 1979, was also a human error. It caused no harm to the residents or the workers and no deaths occurred. Additionally, the Fukushima incident was merely a natural disaster as it was struck by an atrocious earthquake followed by a cataclysmic tsunami; although, no deaths occurred due to the radiation leakage. This elucidates that natural disasters can cause catastrophes but the effect would not only be on nuclear facilities. An example is the Sayano-Shushenskaya accident in Russia which caused 75 immediate deaths. A larger incident occurred in 1975 when The Banqiao Reservoir Dam was hit by typhoon, Nina. This caused a stupendous death toll of nearly 171,000 people and displaced another 11 million. Your fourth concern is the security of nuclear facilities. To begin, nuclear plants now are robustly designed and are resilient against even the strongest blows. Furthermore, state-of-art security measures and technology is used to protect the facilities and top-notch counter-terrorism forces and weaponry is provided. All of this is commanded by the federal government itself. Moreover, in an unlikely occasion of an attack, the facilities can shut-down themselves. And even if the Uranium is stolen by any means, it cannot be used to make nukes so simply as it involves extensive enrichment and use of expensive technology. Lastly, you have commented on the expense of nuclear energy. Energy from coal costs 9 cents per kWh and 16 cents per kWh from solar. Nuclear energy meanwhile, costs just 4 cents per kWh. Moreover, solar power hinges-on weather conditions, far more than nuclear energy. In a few hundred words, this is my personal reasoning, of why I believe that a nation should hold onto its nuclear programs and continue developing them. While many people deem it dangerous and unnecessary, I for one, think that it is a need for todays world and living. Yes, I agree that it needs strict, well defined protocols to function and it must stay out of wrong hands, but if done correctly, it is one of the greatest achievements for a nation. Yours sincerely, Abdul Rafay.

To Kill A Mockingbird - The Character of Dill :: Kill Mockingbird essays

To Kill A Mockingbird - The Character of Dill From their first impression of Dill Scout and Jem feel that, Charles Baker Harris is a small, weedy, but oddly curious child whose name was "longer'n you are". At the initial meeting he was wearing "blue linen shorts that buttoned to his shirt, his hair was snow white and stuck to his head like duck fluff". Even though he seemed odd to Jem and Scout when he spoke of going to the cinema and seeing films like Dracula he automatically had their attention and respect. This initial meeting grows into a flourishing relationship between Dill and Jem and Scout. After this first meeting Dill stays for the duration of each summer at his aunts house and then returning to his mother and stepfather for all we know at that time. Dill returns to and leaves Maycomb many times in the duration of the novel after that visit and their initial meeting. Dill is dreamy, enigmatic and insecure. Unlike the Finch children he feels unwanted until they welcome him under their wing. Dill talks of his stepfather and mother as well off people who show him the sights of the urbanised area that they live in. In reality this is not what the picture is with Dill and his parents. They don't want him and he is passed from relative to relative in an attempt to be rid of him for some time. He is moved on from his one relative to the next when they get tired making Dill feels unwanted although he doesn't show it. As a result of this when Dill comes to Maycomb and meets Jem and Scout, he feels comforted and contented to be with people who have time for him and who enjoy his company. At points in the book when Dill leaves, Scout and Jem miss him as he was the basis of their games during the entire summer. To them Dill is another person to interact with, who plays their games with them and whose company they both enjoy. Dill is also like a book to them because as they interact more with him they unfold more and more of his past rousing their curiosity to want to find out more.

Microhabitat Variation

Temperature results for this observational study show that temperature mean and standard deviation values vary as you go from one location to another. These results are basically affected by several factors. One factor for example is the amount of sunlight received by a particular area. Shaded locations, such as under a holly tree and another tree near the shore pond registered lower mean temperatures (20.55 C and 21.03 C respectively) compared to those areas that are more exposed to direct sunlight such as the sunny patch of grass (31.60 C) and at the bleachers (28.52 C). exposure to direct sunlight obviously increases the temperature of a certain area while the absence of it decreases the temperature. Also, the canopy of the trees hinders the sunlight to penetrate the area under it thus, contributing to the lowering of the temperature of the said locations. The amount of sunlight that enters the Earth has great effect on air temperature. But as sunlight passes through the air, it does not heat it but rather, warms the air above the liquids (streams, ponds) and solids (soil) on the Earth. Usually, the warmest time of the day is the middle because it is when the sunlight is directly hitting these liquids and solids. â€Å"Temperature is usually low at midnight, decreasing in the early hours of the morning, and then increasing rapidly until just after midday. It then decreases during the night† (http://www.niwascience.co.nz/edu/resources/climate/plots/). Also, it is warmer during summer because there are more time for the Earth’s surface to heat up as compared during winter time. This event is also observable inside a thermometer, an instrument used to measure temperature. The liquid inside this instrument expands and goes up when the air surrounding it is warm. During colder days on the other hand, the liquid contracts and goes down. On the other hand, the temperature values observed under a tree showed a larger standard deviation (32.74) as compared to other areas observed. This can be explained by the fact that trees have the ability to reduce wind and air circulation especially in humid climates. Large trees with dense foliage can limit air circulation on hot days and increase the landscape's humidity by decreasing the amount of available sunlight. The lower a tree's branches are to the ground, the more it contributes to an airless space (http:www.). Variations on the activities of the tree in order to adapt to the existing sunlight amount caused the wide range of temperature values observed in this specific location. The scatterplot shows that the average temperatures of the study locations and the number of animals observed on those locations have no significant relationship with one another as proven by a high P value (0.135). Also, the two variables have a weak positive relationship as shown by a positive R value (0.377). These observations mean that although the two variables have no significant relationship, it should still be noted that they have a positive and direct relationship, which means that as the average temperatures of the study locations increases, so does the number of animals observed on those locations and vice versa. The abovementioned observations can be explained by the fact that animals’ survival is greatly affected by any change in their surrounding environment’s temperature. According to Liebig's Law of the Minimum, â€Å"population growth will be limited by the required factor that is in shortest supply† (http://www.utm.edu/departments/cens/biology/rirwin/441_442/441PhysEc.htm). The factor in shortest supply can be called as the limiting factor which determines the abundance or lack of a certain number of animals and other organisms and it can either be an abiotic of biotic factor. In this experiment, we regarded the temperature as the main abiotic factor under observation. Different animals have different tolerance levels for different factors affecting their survival. For temperature, â€Å"eurythermals† have wide range of tolerance for temperatures while â€Å"stenothermal† refers to those who have narrow tolerance for temperature. These mean that if a certain organism or group of organism cannot adapt to an environment with limiting factors that are necessary for their survival, or they cannot tolerate any drastic increase or decrease in temperature, they may be unable to reproduce or worse, die. Another explanation for this event is the ability of animal for thermoregulation. â€Å"Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when temperature surrounding is very different† (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoregulation). It one process of homeostasis which is a vigorous condition of constancy between an animal’s internal and external environments. In relation to this, there are two conditions that can happen to an organism when it cannot regulate its internal and external environments and maintain its normal temperature. One is hyperthermia, this can happen when an organism’s body temperature significantly increases above normal. On the other hand, it’s opposite is known as hypothermia wherein the body temperature decreases below the normal level. When an organism suffers any of these two conditions, it can be very fatal. These concepts only prove that the average temperatures of the study area and the number of animals found in each observed area have a direct relationship with one another. And these can happen either during the hot day or cold day but may have different manifestations depending on the kind of organism and how it adapts to the changes in its environment. Animals tend to prefer microclimates that show very little variation in temperature because it will be of great cost to them if they always have to regulate their body temperatures in order to adapt to their environment. And in vice versa, it will be of great help to them if they do not need to do this anymore because they will save up their energy for other metabolic processes such as reproduction or food storage and consumption. Sources: Lecture: Physiological Ecology. Retrieved November 8, 2006, from   http://www.utm.edu/departments/cens/biology/rirwin/441_442/441PhysEc.htm Mackintoch, L. Answers to Questions. Retrieved November 8, 2006, from   http://www.niwascience.co.nz/edu/resources/climate/plots/ Streich A., Janssen D., Gaussoin R., and Rodie S. (2003, July). Landscapes for Shade. Retrieved November 8, 2006 Sunlight's Effect on Air Temperature. Retrieved November 8, 2006 from http://science.howstuffworks.com/question651.htm Thermoregulation.   Retrieved November 8, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoregulation            

Ellisons Invisible Man Invisibility, Vision, and...

Ralph Ellison incorporates many symbols into this novel, each providing a unique perspective on the narrative and supporting the themes of invisibility, vision and identity. These themes can many times generally symbolize the strength of the subconscious mind. In this novel I think that there are several visions that symbolize the narrator’s escape from reality, seeking comfort in memories of his childhood or times at the college, often occurring as he fades into his music. Ellison coincidences dreams and reality to redefine the surrealistic nature of the narrator’s experience and to showcase the differences between the realities of black life and the myth of the American dream. ? One thing I saw a lot of in this novel is people†¦show more content†¦Treachery reinforces the ideas of blindness and invisibility, because any betrayal is essentially a sign that the betrayer willfully refuses to see his victim. The examples I found best were the narrator’s betrayals at the hands of the college (Dr. Bledsoe) and the Brotherhood (Brother Jack). Bledsoe poses as a figure representing the advancement of black Americans through education. In reality, however, he deliberately subordinates himself to whites and says that he would see every black man in America lynched before giving up his power. That he sends the narrator away with letters of supposed recommendation that, in reality, explicitly criticize the narrator demonstrates his objectionable desire to suppress black identity. The members of the Brotherhood betray the narrator in a number of deceptive ways, ranging from curbing his individuality to turning their backs on the problems of the poor blac ks in Harlem. Jack, specifically, betrays the narrator by posing as a compassionate and helpful friend while secretly harboring racist prejudice against him and using him as a tool for the advancement of the Brotherhood’s ends. 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The narrator’s younger self was rather naà ¯ve, not aware of what was going on in the times in which he lived, whereas his present self was more knowing of his true self by the end of the story. The time period in which this story