Environmental Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Environmental Ethics - Essay Example The term â€Å"unconsciously† is used to describe how widespread information is to any individual, however acquisition and grasping of said knowledge only a few dares to achieve; thus creating confusions not only to those who fail to understand but also to those who are not ‘abled’ to think. Luckily for those incapable, humans’ actions directly affect them no matter how they evade it. A great illustration of which is how much humans value nature nowadays. Organizations after organizations spring up waving their missions and objectives, fighting for what should’ve obviously been done decades ago, and teaching what each individual should have known since they started school, namely, environmental awareness. Knowing what to do and knowing what should be done are two different things. The latter requires researching while the former calls for action. Change is what should be done, and in order for it to progress people need to start from themselves. Proper waste disposal and pollution are only two of the many environmental concerns haunting each household every day. These two are the most common for these two give birth to the others and they are caused by people’s lack of discipline. Humans are the main contributor of wastes and pollution universe-wide. Waste disposal and pollution are the most critical environmental issues that need to be dealt with because not only do these two bring about the rest; they also have the easiest solution --- change in human behavior. Bearing in mind how beneficial it is not only for each household but for the entire world; if only people will finally learn the value of their environment, will greatly affect how people view these concerns thus making them realize that taking care of the environment is for their own good. Anthropocentrism is the easiest way of making human being realize how big their part in our environment. Using this point of view, they will be able to see

Organic vs. Conventional Foods Essay Example for Free

Organic vs. Conventional Foods Essay For years, there has been a debate on how food is grown. Should it be organic or conventionally grown? To answer this question, the difference between the two needs to be known. Organic produce is grown without chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Organic livestock is free ranged, most of the time, with no added antibiotics or growth hormones. Conventionally grown produce is usually processed after being harvested. They are also sprayed with chemical pesticides and enriched with polluting fertilizers. Research Stanford University has held over 250 investigations that compared the nutritional value of organic and traditional crops. These studies show that organic foods tend to contain slightly more phosphorous, a higher level of omega ­3 fatty acids, and a 30% lower rate of chemical residue. However, traditional chicken and pork is one ­third more likely to contain antibiotic bacteria than organic meats. Bacterias that cause food poisoning are equally present in both traditional and organic. They have little difference in nutritional value. Organic When people see â€Å"organic,† they immediately think â€Å"pesticide ­free.† Organic products can still be labeled as organic, even if they contain commercial pesticides. The U.S. Department of Agriculture stated that almost 20% of organic lettuce showed up as positive for containing a  pesticide   called spinosad. Spinosad comes from a naturally occurring bacterium in soil. Although it is considered slightly toxic to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), it can be used while farming and still be labeled as organic. Spinosad, under the name Entrust, is especially harmful to the nervous system of insects, and small marine life, like mollusks. Spinosad, as well as compounds made of natural elements like sulfur and copper, have made it onto a list of pesticides open for use on organic crops, which you can find on the USDA website. Organic farming became popular in the 1970s when the first pesticides and fertilizers were introduced. The effects of the chemicals they contained were soon noticed. The chemicals paralyzed the nervous system of many people. People became concerned with what they were consuming. Organic produce may have a longer storage time and lower input costs, but there is more bad that comes out of it than there is good. Organic crops have a longer growing time. Organic farming also requires more skill than needed for traditional farming and has higher risks of soil erosion. Despite the disadvantages, organic farming is more popular than ever. Organic products tend to have a more natural taste, and is believed to decrease the risk of the avian flu. Conventional Since organic farming is becoming so popular, traditional farming is beginning to be frowned upon. It is believed to be highly dangerous and an environmental risk. However, that is not the case. Conventional farmers are starting to focus on soil fertility techniques, such as crop rotation and composting. Although some farmers still use chemical based fertilizers, herbicides, and  pesticides, others have switched to fertilizers, herbicides, and   pesticides with little to no chemicals. Conventional farms can produce more crops per acre, replenish soil, decrease risk and topsoil erosion. Conventional farming is also cheaper and require less skill. The amount problems with conventional farming have risen over the years. These problems are becoming more serious. Droughts are a big problem when it comes to traditional farming. Crops rely on rainfall to live and grow properly. If a drought occurs, it is very likely for starvation in a community to happen. Also, crops must be sprayed with the right amount of pesticide or herbicide. If not given the right amount, crops, runoff, and local water sources can be contaminated. Suicide within the conventional farming community is also a very common thing. Since 2009, over 200,000 Indian farmers have committed suicide due to debts they could not pay off. The decreased sea levels and organic competition is the cause of their lowering profit. Price Differences The prices of organic products tend to be around three to four dollars more than regular produce and meat. Say you were at the grocery store. Your grocery list contained bread, a dozen eggs, and a half gallon of milk. If you were to buy these things as conventional products, it would cost around $7. However, organic versions of these products would cost about $11.50. Organic products, such as milk, eggs, or chicken, can cost up to five dollars more than conventional products. Which Should I Buy? Every year, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) releases two official lists of the crops with the most and least amounts of chemical residues. These lists are called the â€Å"Clean 15† and the â€Å"Dirty Dozen.† As of 2015, the crops that made the Clean 15

Perceptual Errors Essays -- Essays Papers

Perceptual Errors Perceptual Organization (1) ï‚ § Similarity is described as the tendency to group similar items. Similarity is much like stereotyping. Stereotyping is when someone judges another person on the perception of the group to which that person belongs. ï‚ § Proximity is described as the tendency to group elements that are close together. Implicit theories allow the presence of one characteristic to bring up a list of other characteristics that one would â€Å"think† goes with it. Implicit theories group elements that close together. ï‚ § Closure is the tendency to fill in the gaps in incomplete stimuli. A perception of people that apply to closure would be the Halo Effect. The halo effect allows one salient characteristic to overshadow ones evaluation of another in multiple arenas. In other words a person will â€Å"fill in the gaps† of another person. ï‚ § Continuation is the tendency to organize stimuli into continuous lines or patterns. Selective Perception is much like continuation. Selective perception is the continuing to justify ones own values, beliefs, etc. ï‚ § Simplicity is the tendency to reduce stimuli to their simplest shapes or patterns. The Actor-Observer Bias is a good example of simplicity. The observer in the actor-observer bias only sees the actual behavior of the actor. The observer only can assume things from the behavior and not the internal factors contributing to the actor’s behavior. Perc...

Measuring Crime Essay

There are so many different police agencies and levels here in the United States. Here are a few of the Federal policing agencies: Department of agriculture, commerce, Defense, FBI, and justice, but there are 15 Federal departments. The State level agencies consist of highway patrols, port authorities, state police, fish and wild life police which are only a few of the state levels agencies. At the local level agencies, there are campus, constables, transit police, and sheriff’s department, which also are just a small portion of the local level agencies. With so many policing agencies, we measure the crime level here in the United States with three main tools. â€Å"They are uniform crime report, National crime victimization survey, and the National incident based reporting system. The uniform crime report: Law enforcement agencies voluntarily report crime statistics on a monthly basis to the FBI. Areas of interest are murder, burglary, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, larceny/theft, auto theft and arson. The National victimization survey is conducted by the Bureau of Justice statistics; the survey is conducted every six months on all household members 12 and older to help determine the magnitude of illegal unfair treatment-mainly unreported victimization. The National incident based reporting system is new and currently being tested and evaluated. This system will eventually replace the uniform crime report. Additionally, this report will expand the list of crimes for which data is collected† (University of Phoenix, 2013). Major crime reporting programs and purposes In the United States, there are several modes of crime reporting that assist lawmakers, citizens, and criminal justice officials with accurate information regarding various crimes. The three major programs are the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS), Uniform Crime Reports  (UCR), and National Crime Reporting (NCR). Each reporting system serves a direct reporting purpose that has advantages for some and disadvantages for others. The three crime reporting systems have distinct origins that details the need for the creation of each system while providing justification for its longevity. The three major crime reporting systems are feasible for people trying to gain information on crimes and will be relevant until more intricate systems exist. â€Å"The objective of the Uniform Crime Reporting program is to produce crime statistics for law enforcement administration, operation, and management† (Texas Department of Public Safety, 2014). UCR is a national administrative program that uses collaboration between, states, counties, and federal law enforcement agencies to publish criminal statistics. Although effective, the UCR is not 100 percent accurate because all departments do not report criminal data to the program. The NIBRS focuses on incidents and arrests as opposed to crime completely and the information is generated by local, state, and federal agencies. National Crime Reporting is a program that shows the crime statistics of the nation. It is an index of information that is available to federal, state, and local authorities. The major purposes of crime reporting programs are to provide senior officials with an accurate snapshot of crime data that fluctuates. The data has many purposes to many people like city officials who use the data to place emphasis on certain crimes. The data is also important to media and public citizens who use the information to conduct research or shop for homes. Though the information is mostly accurate, the Federal Bureau of Investigations discourages negatively using the information to depict a region, state, county, or city. There are numerous factors that influence the fluctuation of certain crimes in different areas so using common sense to decipher the sociological factors is necessary. References Texas Department of Public Safety. (2014). The Texas uniform crime reporting program. Retrieved from http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/administration/crime_records/pages/ucr.htm University of Phoenix (2013) Interactive Multi-Media CJI Link [Multimedia]. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, CJA-204 website

My role in globalized society Essay

Globalization is defined as the process of integration of philosophies, beliefs and other properties between different cultures (Albrow and King 1990, Giddens 1991). In modern society globalization plays an important role, whether it be on social, economic or cultural levels (Held et al. 1999). One of the key contributors to globalization is the mass media, in recent times this has occurred through cultural integration and the flow of information between different countries through mediums such as television, newspapers, film, music and newer technologies (Curran and Park 2000, Tomlinson 1999). With the development of new technologies, international cultural exchange will become easier, as has already been seen with Internet platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Significant theories in media and communications have arisen through globalization these include modernity, developmental theories such as the network society and cultural imperialism (Held et al. 1999, Herman and McChesney 2004). This essay will be exploring these theories and concepts in international communications and globalization to better understand media and the media industries in the twenty-first century. It will also critically engage these theories with my personal views and understanding as a media and communications student as well as a global citizen. Early communication theories were based around modernization and development. Daniel Lerner’s early works on modernization focused on the dispersion of Western culture, technological improvements and innovation (Albrow and King 1990, Lerner 1958). In the 1960’s Wilbur Schramm furthered modernization theory, he explained that communication could be used to benefit developing nations both politically and economically (Curran and Park 2000, Schramm 1964). Since earlier modernization and developmental theories, the focus has been switched away from Western influences and diffusion, rather gaining a more neutral interpretation. Anthony Gid den’s attempts to discredit the original ‘media dependency theory’ by differentiating traditional and modern societies, explaining that although influences have played a role in globalization, over time people have ‘stretch[ed] further and further across space and time using mass media and interactive media (Giddens 1991).’ Historically Western influence has played a large role in everyday society, from politics to economics, in media this is seen through television, film and news. One of the major influences over  the past few decades is Hollywood and it’s byproducts (Miller 2001, Mingant 2012). Traditional Hollywood films, although focused for an American only target, were broadcasted throughout the world, where it was well received. These films consisted of American values and cultures, additionally the ‘cast and spectacular quality’ are the reasons behind strong popularity around the world for these Hollywood films (Mingant 2012). As a global citizen it is easy to recognize this influence since the local film industry isn’t as large and the majority of the ‘popular’ films are from Hollywood. But this trend is on the decline as we are seeing more and more international films from India and France as well as Eastern and European influences in Hollywood films. This has lead to an increasing significance of other ‘foreign markets in [this] globalized world’ which has to change is the global market (Miller 2001, Mingant 2012). Similar to modernization and developmental theories, cultural imperialism theories were based on US influence and impact on developing countries. Herbert Schiller, one of the main contributors to cultural imperialism in 1969, explained that the US gaining imperialistic control of developing countries through the media (Schiller 1969, Sparks 2007). This view was influential and opened the door for others to critique and further cultural imperialism theories. Oliver Boyd-Barred advanced cultural imperialism theory by suggesting that it was more than just ‘gaining control’ and more so a matter of inequality between different nations and this lead to ‘political and economic dependency’ (Boyd-Barrett 1977). Through local news media we can see the inequality of news reporting. The news is often Western dominated and shows hints of modern imperialism, whereas when developing countries are show in the news it is mainly related to corruption or tragedy. Over time this has lead to a bias image of these countries, which places the viewer with an inadequate understanding of the issue. Additionally, the developing nations are unable to produce their own mass media, and if they are they copy the formats of the Western world. As a global citizen it is easy to see the inequality between different nations and with such a large influence from countries like the US and UK, we are beginning to see the same stories covered over and over again. A perfect example is when an even occurs US, for example the shooting of a black teenager; this news is spread throughout the world even though there is very little interest from other countries (Reuters 2014). Where as when killing occurs in other parts of the world, for example recently in Gaza when thousands had died, it was barely covered in Western media (AAP 2014). This shows a heavy political influence on the media. Nonetheless, although not predominant in the Western world, I believe Al-Jazeera is becoming a news platform for developing and Eastern countries. These are ‘real worldwide’ news stories, which have an equal balance of news stories from all over the world. Additionally, these news stories are more informative and let the audience make their own view on the topic at hand. In this modern age we are going through a technological revolution, new media platforms are being produced every day and content creation is easier then ever. Social media is slowly taking over as the predominant medium and sites such as Facebook and Twitter are booming through more and more people joining as well as advertisement revenue. Through this boom we are seeing increased globalizati on across these platforms. Many worldwide issues are discussed on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, from the FIFA World Cup, to the recent events in Ferguson, USA (Frier 2014, Reuters 2014). It is also important recognize that when going though these stories on social media, everyone is given an opportunity to present their own view. Outside of these social media platforms, users are able to access more worldwide news as well as create their own content. As a global citizen, I often see myself researching topics in much more detail to gain a better understanding of news and issues. I feel this is the best way to gain an accurate view. I have a Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and through these media platforms I see many issues being discussed. Social media and the Internet will slowly take over as the dominant form of information flow. Globalisation can be seen to have many benefits as well has having a negative side. Traditionally globalization meant influencing other global nations with respect to media, politics and economics. This was a global view during early media theory works. Only through the 1970’s did the globalization theories become questioned with claims of inequality and bias (Boyd-Barrett 1977, Schiller 1969). From these findings through to modern media we are seeing a slight move away from Western dominance of media. The concentration of media agencies is owned by a few people and although the US is no longer considered culturally imperialistic; the global media system is still yet to hit the developing nations. As a global citizen, the media is  complex system and without looking further into issues of media we are given a one sided story with bias.