The Victorian Age Essay Example

The Victorian Age Essay The Victorian Age is remembered for a lot of things. There was an extreme growth in many of the arts but the one that is the most memorable is its literature. The authors of that time questioned many of the issues going on and influenced our society, as we know it today. The authors such as Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy spoke out against certain issues during that age and are very memorable for that. There were also many philosophers that changed the way we look at the world today. Philosophers such as Charles Darwin and Thomas Malthus brought up many issues that were very controversial. Dickens and Hardy were very different in there writing styles but wrote about common Victorian themes such as; the subjection of women, Darwins theory of evolution and survival of the fittest, ant the oppression of the poor. These people put themselves in the public eye and boldly spoke out on many controversial issues that had not been questioned for thousands of years. Womens rights are sometim es taken for granted today. Many people, men especially, forget that women just recently gained the right to vote and are still slightly discriminated against because of their gender. In the 1700s womens right was unheard of. The authors during this time addressed this issue a lot. An excellent example of this is in Hardys novel Tess of the dUbervilles. The main character is a young woman named Tess. Tess has manyfirst hand experiences with the unjust treatment and discrimination of women during this time. Tess rebels against the discrimination and thereby stands up for womens rights. The main theme of this book is that women were commonly abused and treated as inferior beings. Hardy used Tess to show how bad it was. For example, Hardy states, I was a child when I left this house for months ago. Why didnt you tell me there was danger in men-folk?(Pg.80). Hardy is illustrating how women are t

Speech on Environmental Issues Today Research Paper Example

Speech on Environmental Issues Today Research Paper Example Speech on Environmental Issues Today Paper Speech on Environmental Issues Today Paper Albert Einstein said Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. Our planet is in trouble! Pretty much everywhere you look today you will hear or see something reminding you that our planets health is failing. If our planet where a person it would be about time to buy the burial plot and write out the last will and testament. Just a brief list of the things that is ailing her is pollution, acid rain, climate change, the destruction of rainforests and other wild habitats, the decline and extinction of thousands of pieces of animals and plants. ND so on. Think everyone in here can agree that all Of these issues exist and that humans have caused them. Thankfully many of us are concerned about the future of our planet and unless we can find a way of solving the problems then the environment will suffer. Know this all sounds so depressing but we cant get overwhelmed. Every one of us can do something to help slow down and reverse some of the damage. We cannot leave the problem-solving entirely to the experts we all have a responsibility to our environment. We must learn to live in way that will sustain our world like learn to use our natural resources which include air, freshwater, forests, wildlife, farmland and seas without damaging them. As populations expand and lifestyles change, we have to keep the world in a condition so that future generations will have the same natural resources that we have today. Here I am going to list just a few examples of the threats to our environment as well as some ideas to help you to do something about them. Waste We humans create a lot of trash! Between 1992 and 2008 household waste increased by 16% and we now produce just under half a ton per person each year. Most of this trash is hauled away by the garbage man and buried in a huge landfill or it is burned. Both of these options are harmful in their own way. Is all our trash really trash? If you think about it, a lot of what we throw away could be used again. It makes sense to reuse and recycle our trash instead of just trying to solve the problem of where to put it! Much of our waste is made up of glass, metal, plastic and paper. Our natural resources such as trees, oil, coal and aluminum are used up in enormous amounts to aka these products and the resources will one day be completely used up. So in order to cut down on the energy used lets reuse. What can you do? * Sort out your trash. Organic matter (e. G. Potato peelings, left over food, tea leaves etc. ) can be put in to a compost heap in the garden and used as a good, natural fertilizer for the plants. Aluminum cans, glass bottles and newspapers are often collected from our doorsteps, but other items such as plastic bottles, juice cartons and cardboard may not be, in which case they can be taken to nearby recycling banks. You can find out where they are by just searching on line. * Use recycled paper to help save trees. Chlorine bleach is usually used to make newspapers and this pollutes rivers. Its better to use unbleached, recycled paper whenever you can. * Take your old clothes to charity shops. Some are sold, others are returned to textile mills for recycling. * Try to avoid buying plastic. Its hard to recycle. One way to cut down on plastic is to refuse to use plastic bags offered by supermarkets and use cloth re-useable shopping bags instead, or re-use plastic bags over and over again, until they Wear Out and then recycle them. Pollution The air, water and soil of habitats all over the world have been, and are being polluted in many different ways. This pollution affects the health of living things. Air is damaged by vehicle emissions, and power stations create acid rain which destroys entire forests and lakes. When fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal are burned to provide energy for lighting, cooking etc. They create polluting gases. Oils spills pollute sea water and kill marine life; chemical waste from factories and sewage, and artificial fertilizers from farmland, pollute river water, killing lilied and spreading disease. What can be done? * Dont litter. Use less energy by switching off lights when rooms are not in use, not wasting hot water, not overheating rooms. * Use a bicycle or walk instead of using a car when you can. Or radishes, and use the HOVE lane. * If you spot pollution, such as oil on the beach, report it. If you suspect a stream is polluted, report it to the local EPA office.. * Organic foods are produced without the use of artificial fertilizers and pesticides, preventing these pollutants from contaminating habitats and entering the food chain. So it may cost a little more but it is better for you and for the environment The Greenhouse Effect Certain gases in the atmosphere, mainly carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorocarbons, act like the glass in a greenhouse, allowing sunlight through to heat the Earths surface but trapping some of the heat as it radiates back into space. Without this the Earth would be frozen and lifeless. However, due to the Human Effect ,greenhouse gases are building up in the atmosphere, causing a greater amount of heat to be reflected back to Earth. This results in an increase in average world temperatures and is already causing more droughts, flooding and extreme weather conditions such as hurricanes which we have all seen on the news. Some ways to Help * Dont waste electricity or heat. Electricity and heating are produced by burning coal, oil and gas and this action gives off carbon dioxide. The more We use the more We pollute. * Car fumes produce carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide so try to cut down on car trips if possible. Use a bike or walk its good exercise for you too! * Recycle as much of your waste as you can. Methane, the most effective greenhouse gas, is released into the air as the rash in landfill sites rots. Now I realize we cant all live on a farm and grow our own food and all drive smart cars. We Texans normally cant walk or take a bike places because everything is so far away. My dream job has always been one that I could ride a bike to, that sounds funny but every little bit helps. Some other things I did were to change out all of my light bulbs with energy efficient ones, and reinstated my house. This and other things save me money but they also save the environment. Let me leave you with one last thing: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Business Ethics-Annual Sustainability Reports Essay

Business Ethics-Annual Sustainability Reports - Essay Example I am taking as an example two of the companies included in the Fortune 500 ranking of America's largest corporations. The companies I have chosen compete in the industry of Forest and Paper Products, as these companies have much to do with regard to one kind of sustainability, the environmental one. According to "FAO's State of the World's Forests 2007 report" over the 15 years from 1990 to 2005, the world lost 3 percent of its total forest area, an average decrease of some 0.2 percent per year2. Companies that work in the Paper Industry must be aware of their role and responsibility in the depletion of planet's natural resources. The actions they take regarding to this issue are reflected in their Annual Sustainability Reports. As the Global Reporting Initiative defines it, sustainability reporting is a process for publicly disclosing an organization's economic, environmental, and social performance3. Although these reports are a voluntary choice, many companies are starting to include them in their annual reports as a complement of their financial information and as a way of communicating with their stakeholders in different terms than just numbers. The first company we are going to consider is International Paper, which is in the place 114 in the Fortune 500 ranking and it is known as the world's largest paper company. Its headquarters are located in Memphis and they have been producing paper products since 1898. They manufacture a large variety of goods, from paper to pulp and packaging for a wide range of industries. On their website (http://www.internationalpaper.com) we can see their "Sustainability Update for the years 2004 - 2006"4. In this report we can find detailed information about their commitment to sustainability, which includes initiatives like selling large parcels of land to forest management organizations for their conservation (so these forests provide them sustainable certified wood), growing planted forests, maximizing the use of wood, protecting wildlife and endangered species in their lands, making a sustainable use of water, increasing the use of renewable energies, reducing greenhouse gas emissions,