A Life Without Music Essay Example

A Life Without Music Essay Music, something that surrounds our everyday lives, yet people choose to live without it. Viewing music as â€Å"unneeded† or â€Å"disruptive†. I would never imagine my life without music, because music has saved me in more ways than I could ever think of. Music affects our emotions, makes time fly, and can be very expressive. â€Å"Without music life would be a mistake†, Friedrich Nietzsche. Music is needed in our lives. Our emotion can be changed by the music we listen to. Study shows that after hearing music with a sad mood or sad lyrics, the listeners would express similar emotions. With so many varieties of music, the emotions are endless, and some of these emotions can make a difference. An RSPCA rescue team in Somerset in 2006, reported that stressed dogs are calmed by Mozart and Beethoven. The mood of music can make people feel many different things. Music can be perceived and felt. Anyone can turn on the radio and perceive the music yet to feel the music and understand and relate to the music means so much more. We will write a custom essay sample on A Life Without Music specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on A Life Without Music specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on A Life Without Music specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer While music can send many messages and feelings, at time no messages are needed. There are many varieties of â€Å"focus† music that drives people to hear the music yet let their attention drive elsewhere. Moderate noise levels lead to higher creativity, while high noise become overwhelming and difficult to focus. Yes some people think best without any music at all, so it is our job to learn and know how we think best. With times like cleaning and driving, music can easily make the time fly by. While getting into the song, we forget the current task we are doing and enjoying it instead of making it feel like another job. Many people can argue that changing the music is a common reason for accidents, creating a distraction from the road. Our economy is seeing and responding with potential life saving acts. For example Chevy in 2016 developed a system called â€Å"Wired†. Wired is directed towards teen drivers and limits ma

To Grade Or Not To Grade, That Is The Problem Essays - Free Essays

To Grade Or Not To Grade, That Is The Problem Essays - Free Essays To Grade or Not to Grade, That is the Problem - What?s your GPA (Grade Point Average)? - Have you taken this course before? What did you get? In his essay The Farce Called "Grading", Arthur E. Lean questions the use of asking these kinds of questions. Grades have become part of our lives as students. People need a grading system and "seem to assume it to be necessary and intrinsic to the process of formal education"(Lean 131). He refers to the grade as "a symbol purporting to express a measurement of academic achievement-an evaluation of the quality and quantity of learning"(Lean 132). There are two main arguments Lean has suggested. First, there is an inconsistency from the graders. Second, he sees the grading system as being unfair and even harmful for students? attitudes toward education. He points out that grading system should be eliminated. To backup the fact that many people are challenging the necessity of the grading system, Lean provides two examples: "A sustained effort should be made to throw out false inducements to learning. In one way or another most of these refer to our obsession with grades?. As a system for evaluating attainment of broad educational aims, it remains a failure. Few teachers have any systematic idea of how to grade fairly. Grading is also the chief villain behind the scandal of college cheating," said Louis T. Benezet (Lean 130). "I have long ago reached the conclusion that the marking system itself is damaging in its impact on the education of our children and youth, and that it should go the way of the hickory stick and dunce caps. It should be abandoned at all levels of education," said Ernest O. Melby (Lean 130). I agree with Lean to some extent that there are some inconsistencies from the graders and perhaps some unfairness occurred to many students. On the other hand, I am not sure that the system is totally harmful for students? attitudes toward education. Also, given the fact that the grading system is a very useful instrument for both motivating and measuring students? academic abilities, the system is still essential to be kept. There is an inconsistency between markers for grading term papers or open questions that I agree with Lean. On his example of several teachers marking the same paper, "invariably the assigned grades on the same theme ranged all the way from A (excellent) to E (failure)" (Lean 132). Although many professors might say that point of view would not be graded while they try not to be biasing, there is no guarantee that a professor would not give a lower mark to a paper because s/he may disagree with some parts of the essay. As a former English class student in grade 12, I notice that my teacher tended to be prejudicing on non-native English writers? papers. The reason I said that was because there is a big grade difference if our papers were marked by another who had not met the writers before. A professional marker who was hired by the English department graded one of our term papers every term. Generally, the non-native English writers received significantly higher marks than th! ey do when our class teacher is marking. The average differential marks for non-native English are about ten percent. As for native English writer, the differential marks are not very much. It is true that the grading system can hardly be absolutely fair. Actually, "most teachers try to be fair and accurate in their estimate" (Lean 133). One teacher who grades a work accurately doesn?t suggest that the other teachers would do the same. However Lean claims that "all the time they knowat least, those who are honest with themselves know-that they are attempting the impossible. No self-respecting teacher ever rests peacefully the night after turning in a set of grades, for he knows that the "system" has made a charlatan of him and he goes to bed and hating himself for it" (Lean 133). I don?t agree with the way Lean is questioning the teachers since their role is to act as a "judge" on student?s work. There is a difference between being unfair and conforming with the system. A teacher

Listening Barriers in Communication Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Listening Barriers in Communication - Assignment Example The mentor that was to orient the course stood before us to elaborate the course content and what one may do in order to ensure success in the course (Zhang, 2012). There were many people attending the orientation program and different ideas were brought on board with regard to the course. The course was a simple one and anyone could predict the requirement that would be needed in order to handle the course contents. This situation was among the relevant areas that I have found significant listening barriers due to some self-concept factors (Zhang, 2012). There are two central factors that I regard were of essentiality to promoting the listening barriers in the situation. The fact that I was able to predict or know the answer to what the speaker had to say next is a major barrier to the situation I had during the mentorship program. This barrier involves the self-thinking that one has already known with certainty what the speaker wants to say or elaborate (Zhang, 2012). This element in communication implies a judgment in the ways one relays ideas in verbal form. This factor is a barrier because it makes the listener eager to complete the sentences that the speaker intends to make. This fact of impatience can make an individual to cut short the message that the speaker intends to relay to the audience (Zhang, 2012). The listeners can also disagree with the speaker even before he or she completes the intended message that was to be transmitted. This is against the receptive mind that is expected of a good listener in everyday situations . Another listening barrier that was in connection with the situation involved in course mentorship relates to desire to impress or influence the speaker. As aforementioned, the course was a simple one and anybody could predict the inherent activities. This fact made me has an attitude of intending to impress or influence the actions of the speaker (Zhang, 2012).  

The Red Cedar Redevelopment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Red Cedar Redevelopment - Assignment Example Arguments in support of the plain arguments in support of the plan1. Reverse water and environmental pollution while conserving wildlife. This leads to the introduction of local tourism such as bird watching2. Boost the community’s economy by constructing a business park and tightening security.3. Ensure community welfare by building modern residential houses, increasing security, and availing social amenities.  4. Tightening security through the construction of a police complex to increase safety and raise investor’s confidence in investing in the community and thereby boost the economic argument against the plan1. The project is too costly and the community may not manage to raise the needed funds within the required time.2. The project may not benefit all members of the community especially the old who object to the construction of new residential areas because they wish to age in a familiar environment.3. Construction of a business complex doesn’t make much economic sense since the town is less densely populated.4. Constructing a police complex is not sufficient security and more investment is needed, yet funds are insufficient.

Persepolis and Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and...Spring Essay

Persepolis and Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and...Spring - Essay Example It is one of a kind movie, for it is rare that politico-historical subjects are treated in an animation format. This cinematic experiment has worked out well, as symbolism and abstract depictions are well suited to socio-political drama. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and...Spring is a masterpiece in its own right. This film treats such difficult subjects as nature v nurture, religion, meaning of life, human tendencies for sin, methods for salvation, etc. Broad and yet profound in its interpretative scope, the director conveys his musings mainly through visuals set amongst brilliant natural scenery. Dialogues playing second fiddle as a narrative device but are potent nevertheless. The two main characters of the two films are Marjane and the young monk respectively. The character and life story of the young monk holds a better universal appeal, as the director treats his life history via universal metaphors. In other words, the events, conditions and temptations that confront the young monk are representative of broader humanity. Religion is shown in a benign light in Spring, Summer...while it is shown as oppressive in Persepolis. Indeed, in the life of young Marjane, religion (at least those who claim to stand for it) is authoritative, repressive and cruel. In contrast, in Spring, Summer..., the young monk comes of age by committing mistakes that were discouraged by his religious code. Yet, his wise master was not prohibitive of those mistakes, although he was well cognizant of their implications. The wise and experienced master allows his ward to learn the realities of life by himself. The master is not indifferent to the wellbeing of his ward, but merely austere and understated in his guidance. For the master knows scriptures cannot substitute real life experience and that the young monk will have to eventually find his own way out of worldly temptations. Hence, the process of coming of age for the young monk is by learning to see his own shortcomings. The comp assion and warmth of the wise master was also instrumental in his growth. In contrast, in the case of Marjane, the process of coming of age is not through understanding her frailties. To the contrary, she is a regular girl with normal affections and inclinations reflecting various stages of growth. But the country in which she grows up – Iran – was going through radical political upheavals. She gets valuable guidance through elders in her family, most notably, her uncle and her grandmother. Her uncle fought the excesses of Shah’s regime and was persecuted for the same. Later, when he objected to the oppression of the Islamic regime, he was imprisoned and eventually executed. But he made a profound impression on the formative mind of young Marjane. His words of advice to her – â€Å"stay true to yourself, never compromise on your dignity† - would remain as a guiding beacon to Marjane whenever she is troubled by social and political circumstances. He r grandmother too reiterates the thoughts of her illustrious uncle and admonishes Marjane whenever she breaches those lofty standards. Marjane grows up, albeit with lots of hurdles en-route, by upholding her principles in light of strong authoritarian opposition. She doesn’t always win, as illustrated by her sad return to home from Vienna and her short-lived marriage. But, she is the stronger for it. This is evident in her last

Examining The Concept Of Green Economy Environmental Sciences Essay

Examining The Concept Of Green Economy Environmental Sciences Essay Nature is important and valuable for us and it is our responsible to keep maintain it. By this, green economy is an economy when we are concerned on the environment, not only on the monetary. Supporters of this branch of economics are concerned with the environment and believe that actions should be taken to protect nature and encourage the positive co-existence of both humans and nature. Green economy is when human needs, earth materials and world of work have the harmonious interaction with each other. Green economists assert that the basis of all economic decisions should be in some way tied to the ecosystem. The economic growth and the environmental friendly are the trade-off between each other. The only economy that can eliminate the trade-off between this trade-off is green economy. The effort to eliminate this trade-off needs human creativity, tremendous of knowledge and a good participation from all people and not only from our government. Green economic emphasize the creation of positive alternatives in all areas of life and every sector of the economy. This effort needs a great support from private and public sector. Green economy also can be defined based on triple bottom line which is the environment sustainable, social just and stable economic activities. Environment sustainable is mention about the scarcity of raw material. The scarce material should be used wisely and the environment should be protected. Thus, tremendous knowledge and creativity of the human being is needed. The supporting systems also must be considered. Socially just is about considering our social life will affect our economic and it will directly affect our environment. Social, economy and environment is a strong connection in order to achieve a great and harmony life. It is the human being responsibilities to gain a good standard of living without damaging our environment. Our economics is generated by the human being, so it is our responsi bility to concern from every aspect. Figure 2: Triple bottom line Principles of the Green Economy The world already comes out with ten principles on the Green Economy. The principles touch on every aspect that takes into account in economy. The first principle is the primacy of use value, intrinsic value and quality. This principle is the main of the green economy and this principle see the green economy as the service economy. It takes into account on the final customer who receives the product. In the result, the customer gets the product correctly and it did not affect the environment. Human needs and the environment condition is the major aspect that green economy must achieve. The main purpose is to satisfy the human needs. What you get, that is how much you must pay, that is the suitable to describe about this principle. Equal pay is to reflect on the exchange that we already get, for example if we make some product, we must not consider it cost but also on the cost of environment. The second principle is the following natural flow. This principle tells us that the economy process is not only walk alone. It comes with the environment as the complement. The economy must build the boundaries in order to be fair to the environment. A firm can maximize their profit, but they also must minimize the pollution. The third principle is the waste must equal to the food. We must minimize our waste in order to stabilize our environment. We can produce non-toxic product in order to minimize the impact to our environment. Appropriate scale is considering on the activity of the economy. It is not mean that we must takes into account on the only the large firm. We must also see the small firm which there also gives large impacts to our environment. Green economy also needs the participant and direct democracy. In order to build flexibility and sustainability, participation from all people is important. The definition of participation is the creativity and the efforts in build the healthy economics process to achieve a high development and clean environment. Besides that, human creativity and development is also needed to achieve the green economy standard. Of course the machine and technology in green economy is expensive, but is human have the creativity in manipulate and think on the way to achieve green economy, the world can easily practice green economy. The next principles are the diversity which tells us that there are variety factor that affect the ecosystems. So, we must analysis all the factor in order to get the best result to take care of our environment. All the factors are connected each other, so we must master all the aspects. Self-Reliance, Self-Organization, Self-Design is the complex systems necessarily rely on nested hierarchies of intelligence which coordinate among themselves in a kind of resonant dance. These hierarchies are built from the bottom up, and in contrast to civilizations social hierarchies although these local and regional domains must be attuned to larger processes. Self-reliance is not self-sufficiency, but facilitates a more flexible and holistic interdependence. The strategic role of built-environment, the landscape and spatial design is the last principle that we are going to touch. We can achieve the perfect result if we can arrange the right steps to achieve the green economy. Our government must also play role in order to minimize the pollution in our production. The quality and the effectiveness is important to recover all the effects in our economy. Benefits from green economy Eradicate poverty Poverty remains a major global concern, despite impressive reductions especially in East Asia. A transition to a green economy can contribute to eradicating poverty by across a range of key sectors. These potential green economic sectors are including agriculture, forestry, fishery, and water management. These sectors especially the agriculture sectors are particularly important for the poor in developing countries because they are depending on these sectors as major sources of income. This is especially critical for subsistence farming because almost1.3 billion people depend upon it for their livelihoods (UNEP et al. 2008). Investing in greening agriculture benefits the poor in terms of secure livelihoods. The investment in the natural capital and ecosystem services will increase the poors income opportunities through increased yields and creation of new green jobs especially in rural areas. They will also gain other social and environmental benefits from the direct use of ecosystems. The Bill Melinda Gates Foundation have awarded $15 million for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa to work on the effort to the farming techniques that are both environmentally responsible and highly productive, focusing primarily on small-scale farming in sub-Saharan Africa (Garthwaite, 2009). According to the recently launched UNEP Green Economy Report, for every 10 per cent increase in farm yields, there has been a 7 per cent reduction in poverty in Africa; and more than 5 per cent in Asia. Evidence suggests that the application of green farming practices has increased yields, especially on small farms, between 54 and 179 per cent. (Herren, 2011) Furthermore, a green economy can alleviating poverty and improving overall quality of life by increase access to basic services and infrastructure. For example, Renewable energy technologies like solar and wind power, and supportive energy policies promise to make a significant contribution to improving living standards and health in low income areas, particularly to those that currently lack access to energy. Create green job A global transition to green economy will create large numbers of green jobs in many economic sectors that includes renewable energy, buildings and construction, transportation, basic industry, agriculture, and forestry and indeed can become an engine of development. Current green job creation has so far occurred mostly in developed countries and in some of the rapidly developing countries such as Brazil and China. Green Jobs are also beginning to be seen in other developing economies.(Institute, 2008) Bangladesh has a project to train local youth and women as certified solar technicians and as repair and maintenance specialists. This is aims to create some 100,000 jobs. At the same time, in India, an initiative to replace inefficient biomass cooking stoves in nine million households with more advanced ones could create 150,000 jobs. It now appears that a green economy can generate more and better jobs everywhere and that these can be decent jobs. (Institute, 2008) Pew (2009) state that the number of jobs in Americas emerging clean energy jobs in the clean energy economy grew at a national rate of 9.1 percent while traditional jobs grew by only 3.7 percent between 1998 and 2007.  This report has count across all 50 states of the actual jobs, companies and venture capital investments that supply the growing market demand for environmentally friendly products and services. Climate change has damage the livelihoods of millions, mostly poor people in developing countries. Sectors consuming large amounts of energy and natural resources are likely to see a decline in jobs. So, transitions to new opportunities and sustainable jobs and incomes are urgently needed for those impacts. In some countries, especially in the developing countries, new jobs being created in the food, agriculture and recycling sectors as a result of climate change and environment leave are the desired and considered new decent. (Institute, 2008) Environmentally-friendly Green economy describes sustainable growth that is environmentally-friendly, sensitive to the need to conserve natural resources, and minimal emissions during the production process, and promotes environmentally-friendly lifestyles and consumption patterns while growing the economy. While meeting the industrial needs of one state to produce their service and commodities not only local environmental disturbances are created but the environment of the other states is also affected. This is mostly happen in Developed Countries (DCs) and much more due to the greed rather than the need factor dominant in less developed countries (LDCs).The environmental crisis need for deep reform of production and consumption patterns especially the DCs that are rich in resources and able to transform into green economy. The green economy can help in reduce the pollution by the green waste, green building, and green transportation and so on. For instant, by green waste that turning waste into a resource and encouraging the reduction, reuse and recycling of waste, significant gains can be achieved in decoupling waste production from economic growth. Besides that, investment in green transport that means to use more public transport than use own car and car pool with others to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gas emissions by more than a quarter and deforestation in developing countries, is one of the biggest drivers of climate change and a major threat to sustainable development. Thus, wind, solar and other sustainable renewable energy could provide almost a third of all global power needs and this energy could reduce those greenhouse gases and could be almost fully halted. Generate healthful society The green economy as a means to raise living standards and emphasize environmental friendly will also improve health and well-being for all segments of society. This will generate a healthier future generation. By shifting toward greening economy, the future of technology is most definitely green. With the rising energy costs and the threat of global warming, many businesses are now recognizing the benefits of using technology to reduce carbon footprint and also to minimize waste, while giving a positive outcome to their business. (SME Corporation Malaysia, 2011) The field of green technology is continuously evolving various methods, materials from technique for generating energy to non-toxic cleaning products (SME Corporation Malaysia, 2011). One of the example of greening product is Natura paint from Benjamin Moore is an odorless interior paint. This paint has zero VOC colorants which is the organic chemicals that will affect the environment and human health. The other example is the poly Whey wood finish from Vermont Natural coatings uses recycled whey protein which is a by-product of the dairy industry a binder. This helps produce this low-odor coating that has no toxic heavy metals and low VOCs. This innovation will change the daily of society gradually. (Automattic , 2008) Reduce waste and inefficiency Going to green economy will lead to resources efficient. Much of the problem with conventional agricultural, manufacturing and other industrial practices are stems from inefficiency and waste. For example, the inefficiency of energy, the waste of the paper and material, usage of the expensive chemicals though natural methods are more practical and unsustainability of conventional farming methods over the long-term. Eliminate waste and increasing efficiency are critical parts of a green economy. Green solutions can save much for the cost. There are a few examples of economic and cost-efficient changes. (Cosmato, 2010) Hemp fibers are more sustainable and less expensive to grow than cotton. Hemp paper is more eco-friendly, sustainable, and longer lasting than paper made from wood pulp. Save on paper and packaging by sending documents online. Use more eco-friendly packaging, and less of it. Wood from sustainable forests should be used to replace the unsustainable forest over the long-term keeps the price of lumber under control because resources not be depleted. Using less water in textile production will save on water and energy costs. The manufacturing sector can saves money and reduces greenhouse gas emissions and pollution by using fewer chemicals. Using natural soaps for cleaning, natural dyes, or looking for natural instead of chemical solutions to problems also helps. Making workspaces green such as energy-efficient light bulbs, solar lighting and heating options, using recycled office supplies and recycling office supplies, can help in reduce costs and waste. The enormous opportunities of separating waste generation from GDP growth also can be highlight, including what is recovered in recycling. For examples, the Republic of Korea has enforced regulations on products as batteries and tyres to packaging like glass and paper, through a policy of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). This has triggered 14 per cent increase in recycling rates and an economic benefit of $1.6 billion. Besides that, Brazils recycling already generates returns of $2 billion a year. At the same time, this country has avoiding 10 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions. (Nazareth, 2011) Opening up of new export markets A shift to a green economy will also generate economic benefits. One of the obvious potential benefits to a green economy is the opening up of new export markets. Export opportunities exist in all sectors of the green economy. The significant new markets are biofuels, and for renewable energy technologies such as solar panels and wind turbines. ( Ocampo, 2010) Opportunities in these markets are driven by demand in export markets, a combination of foreign demand and domestic capacity development in response to stringent domestic environmental standards. Germany is currently the top exporter of green products with a 16 percent share of the international trade volume, followed by the US which is 15 percent and Japan which is 9 percent. Denmark is the largest exporter of clean energy technology, specifically wind turbines. (Globe Foundation, 2010) Malaysia Services Exhibition (MSE) 2010 recognized Malaysia has an excellence, reputation and capability in the rapidly growing green technology sector. In conjunction with this exhibition, Publication called Malaysia Excellence and Capabilities in Green Technology was also launched. Embarking on green renewable energy provides the opportunities to Malaysia export new market. (MEEC Unit, 2011) Perspective of others countries toward green economy In the first preparatory meeting for 2010 conference, there is the debate and interactive exchange between developed countries and developing countries on their perspective about green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication. In the views of Spain on behalf of the European Union, green economy is a relevant, timely and politically challenging theme. It emphasizes the private sector role, the right price setting and the right of social policies. It stresses on the cooperation between countries and the support to green economy strategies such as promotes the renewable energy, use and management of sustainable resource. In the perspective of Mexico, green economy is a new model. However, it should not cause the change in the agenda, approaches and options respond to the challenges that has not solved by community in terms of sustainable development. Mexico said that it is critical for developed countries transfer technology that can moderate the degradation of environment and support the implementation in developing countries. On the other hand, the United States recognize that transition to a green economy was the only way forward. It also recognizes that the means of green economy and the methods implemented will vary from different countries. According to United State, countries should embrace green economy as a new awakening instead of resist it and introduce various initiatives for green economy. Japan has touted its Hatoyama Initiative and outlines some of its action related to green economy. The Hatoyama Initiative is a national carbon-regulation scheme that announced at the Copenhagen Summit in December 2009 by Japans former Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama. This initiative targets a 25 percent cut in global warming emmisions below 1990 levels by 2020. Korean also shared its experiences with green strategies. It said it has invested 2 percent of its GDP on green development to move towards low carbon growth. It said that green growth is about solving climate change problem aggressively and making green technologies and industries to drive to national economic growth. In the perspective of Indonesia, green economy is a vehicle towards a sustainable development. According to Indonesia, the global economic crisis occurred recently has shown that some problems in the method their current and past economic development. This provides them an opportunity to redesign national and global economic policies and strategies toward the implementation of green economy. Besides, according to China, the green economy has recently become a critical trend. It stress that countries must conduct policy measurement for green development. The operational mechanisms are also needed to achieve development virtuously which characterized by economic and social development in harmony with resources and the environment. Then, the harmony interaction between man and nature, conservation and creation of ethical value for environment in social and economic value is also important to change the mode of production and life style. Furthermore, the international community also play role to create an enabling environment to achieve green development. (Ling Iyer, 2010) From the countries perspectives, it is obvious that majority agree with the transition to green economy. Malaysia perspective and policy toward green economy Ministry that has responsibility and concern about issues of green economy in Malaysia is under Ministry of energy, Green technology and water. Malaysia needs face these phenomena because of climate change has become one of the biggest international challenges in the 21st century. Malaysia also face increasing total of carbon dioxides emissions this will lead to increasing in temperature and Malaysia become hotter than before. Below showing total carbon dioxide emissions at Malaysia: Table 1: Total C0 2 emissions Malaysia at years 1971 until 2008 Year CO 2 emissions (million tonnes of CO 2) 1971 12.7 1975 16.1 1980 24.2 1985 33.4 1990 48.9 1995 78.5 2000 111.1 2005 152.8 2006 158.1 2007 169.9 2008 180.9 Source: International Energy Agency Table 1 showing the increasing total carbon dioxides gas emissions in Malaysia at years 1971 until 2008, this all because of Malaysia now day more focus on manufacturing sector. As we know manufacturing sector will contribute on increasing of carbon dioxides such as smoke from factories. An addition, overcrowded of transportation in urban area also will contribute to increasing of total carbon dioxides gas. That why interventions of government are important to protect our environment form damaged and conservation our environment. Figure 3: Total energy production in Malaysia at 1972 until 2008 Coal/peat oil Gas Hydro Comb.renew.wast Source: IEA Energy Statistics Figure 3 showing the total of energy production in Malaysia at year 1972 until 2008 which it increases usage of all energy resource. This all because of increasing of populations in Malaysia where demand for energy is increase and Malaysia now day focus on Manufacturing were it use more energy to support this sector to success. Useful of this all energy actually will give positive and negative impact, especially use of enough energy is good for our production sector and meet the demand of citizen, but the negative impact is toward our environment and will lead to scarcity of resources. That why, Malaysia government concern about this issues and try to find a way to minimize and resolve this problem. To overcome of these challenges government turns out with three Policies on Environmental Protection and Conservation introduced over the years such as below: On 2002, government approved National Policy on Environment which integrates the three elements of sustainable development they are economic, social and cultural development and environmental conservation. The Policy aims at continued economic, social and cultural progress and enhancement of the quality of life of Malaysians through environmentally sound and sustainable development. Then on July 24, 2009 government has launched the National Green Technology Policy with objective: I. To minimize growth of energy consumption while enhancing economic development. II. To facilitate the growth of the Green Technology industry and enhance its contribution to the national economy. III. To increase national capability and capacity for innovation in Green Technology development and enhance Malaysias competitiveness in Green Technology in the global arena. IV. To ensure sustainable development and conserve the environment for future generations. V. To enhance public education and awareness on Green Technology and encourage its widespread use. Four Pillars of Green Technology Policy: I. Energy Seek to attain energy independence and promote efficient utilization. II. Environment Conserve and minimize the impact on the environment. III Economy Enhance the national economic development through the use of technology. IV. Social Improve the quality of life for all. (Malaysian Country Water Partnership, 2011) Lastly is on 2009 government also launched National Climate Change Policy. The aim of this policy is to ensure climate resilient development to fulfill national aspirations for sustainability. Rational of these policies such as below: I. Changes of climate overtime directly will affect human activity as well as natural systems and processes. II. To give people information, education and awareness about green economy, changes of climate and its effect. III. Initiative of government interventions and government effort to take care of people within country. Several initiative undertaken Ministry of energy, Green technology and water to address the challenges of climate change and to pushing for a low-carbon: Energy efficiency The Malaysian Industrial Energy Efficiency Improvement Programme represents one of the main efforts undertaken to improve energy efficiency in the industrial sector. This programme showsthat ministry concern about useful of energy especially on productions and environment. This programme focuses on reducing impacts of the energy sector on the environment and also to improve competitiveness of products and services in the global market. Renewable energy April 2010, renewable energy policy and action plan was given appoved by government. This policy is aimed at promoting long-term sustainability by reducing our dependence on fossil fuels for electricity generation and at the same time stimulates a new growth industry for the country. An additions this policy also important to conserve the environment for future generation and to enhance awareness of role and important of renewable energy, example renewable energy is such as biomass, biogas, mini-hydro and system solar. Green buildings Ministry was carried out with the Green Building Index (GBI). GBI is assessment or rating tool to grade environment-friendly buildings and the Government is providing fiscal incentives to buildings which are GBI-certified. Owners of GBI-certified buildings are entitled to income tax exemptions, equivalent to the additional capital expenditure, to green their building. Buyers of green buildings from developers will also be exempted from stamp duty equivalent to the additional cost incurred to green their building. (Ministry of energy, Green technology and water, 2010) Environmental Performance Index (EPI) Score in 2008 Rank Source: 2008 EPI report Figure 4: The top ten greenest countries ranks and rating in EPI The figure above shows the environmental performance index in 2008. This index takes not only the pollution index of the country, but it also considered the industry, populations, size as well as the demographic of the country. It considered the issues of environment health such as the burden of disease, air and water pollution and ecosystem vitality such as the climate change, water and air pollution effect from ecosystem. Figure four shows that nine out of top ten countries is developed countries and only Columbia is the only developing country. The other developed countries such as Japan and U.S have respectively ranked in 21th and 39th. The relatively wealthy countries have high score in the Environment Health result. In contrast, the developing countries include Malaysia that ranked at 27th score lower than the developed countries. The success of the wealthy country is due to the policy effort and deep commitment to environmental values through their public and business communities. The developing countries are less in pollution stress and less in access to financial resources when they need it such as nutrition and disease, this lead to the air pollution, climate and change and biodiversity. Recently, the score of EPI in 2010 has also released. But owing to changes in methodologies and underlying data, the EPI score in 2010 and rank cannot be directly compared to 2008 scores and ranks. Environmental Performance Index (EPI)score in 2010 Source: 2010 EPI report Figure 5: The top ten greenest countries ranks and rating in EPI The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2010 report is the result from a research done by Environment Law and Policy at University and The Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) of Colombia University in collaboration with World Economic Forum. It is rating ranks 163 different countries according to ecosystem vitality and environment health. The ecosystem vitality include issues such as the climate change, agriculture, fisheries, forestry, biodiversity and habitat, water and air pollution while the environment health take account the environment burden of disease, air pollution and water. Overall, there are six over ten of the top greenest countries are developed countries. They are Iceland, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, France and Austria. The developing countries ranks in the top ten are Costa Rica, Mauritius, Cuba, and Colombia. Other developed countries like Japan and U.S. rank in 20th and 61th respectively while Malaysia rank in 54th. Iceland is the top greenest country where it is the only countries that score more than 90 points which is 93.5 points. Although it is a developed country, it has high score on environmental public health, controlling greenhouse gas emissions, and reforestation as well as plentiful hydropower and geothermal energy. This shows that it is effective in the pollution control and natural resources management. According to the Kyoto Protocol, Icelands has obligations concerning greenhouse emission. It must not increase their greenhouse gas emissions by more than 10 percent and above 1990 levels during the period 2008 to 2012 (European Environment Agency , 2010). Costa Rica is the developing countries that ranked in the third place of Environmental Performance Index with 86.4 points. According to some author who surprise with its rank, Costa Rica is a very rough and vastly unsafe country and has a few tourist trap. However, actually Costa Rica has some efforts in green. It is one of the first countries in the world that recognize the economic and social benefits from the environmentally sensitive forestry. There are 26 percent of the Costa Ricas land area are protected forests and more than 50 percent out of bounds for human living settlement. (United Nations Environment Programme, 2010) The United States has very low score at 63.5 points with 61th rank. Increase of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution are vastly contributed to its low ranks. But U.S maintains the nations forest sustainability and provision of safe drinking water, this assist it from fall to more low rank. The Japan ranked 20th and score 72.5 points. This is due to Japan put many efforts in the renewable energy because they aware that their big city, Tokyo, emit carbon dioxide has causes the global warming especially. Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) has set a goal which is to increase the proportion of renewable energy used from the total energy used in Tokyo around 20 percent by the year of 2020. (Tokyo Metropolitan Government, 2006) Besides that, Japan is a world leader in PV manufacturing. Malaysia is ranked 54th and scores 65 points in EPI. It placed behind Japan but in front of the U.S. Malaysias environmental health is 81.31 points over 100 points while the ecosystem vitality is 48.7 point over 100 points. Thus the average is 65 points. The Greenhouse gas emissions, CO2 Emissions per electricity generation, and industrial greenhouse gas emission intensity are the major contribution to the low score in ecosystem vitality and so EPI score. Since Malaysia has ranked 54th over 163 countries. This is a good starting point for Malaysia. By this EPI, Malaysia will aware of its position and encourage more

All About Nothing: The Story Of My Life Essay -- essays research paper

All About Nothing: The Story of My Life   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Perhaps the most important thing that has happened in my life is the fact that nothing really big or important has ever happened in my life. For example, my parents are still happily married, and nobody really close to me has evr died. All of this is very unfortunate, I am sure, because if one of these things had happened I would have been able to find a topic for this very essay which I am writing very easily, and would not have had such a hard time getting this essay in to my teacher on time. Nor have I rescued a little kitten from a tree, which when I think about it is really unfortunate because then not only would I have had a topic, but I might also have gotten my picture in the â€Å" Hillsborough Beacon,† or even in the â€Å"Somerset Messenger Gazette,† which, in the lingo of those in the news paper business, is the ‘big time.' But there is little point in even mentioning these things, because they have not happened, and thus, I am left topicless. I could try to fool you with some far out, totally unbelievable story about how I was in a car wreck involving at least two dozen cars, including the president's limousine, and how despite having broken two legs, an arm, in addition to various other body parts too numerous to mention, I managed to drag myself out of the wrecked car (A job for the Jaws of Life, for sure, had it been any other person but me in that car), and then how I managed to haul all of the other survivors, among them the president himself, out of their cars, and to safety, only moments before a small fire that was caused by the crash reached the gas tank of one of the cars causing a breath- taking chain reaction of explosions and fires seen and heard for miles around I could...but I will not. In fact, I would not have it any other way.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If a highly important meaningful event had happened in my life, the chances are that I would be a completely different person today than the Bill that I am sure you know and love, and probably even worship. It could for example have made me realize how important a proper education is (Do not ask me how.). And, because of this, I could be a diligent hard working student. Thankfully, it didn't and I am not, but the point is, it could have. A scary thought indeed. My parents aren't divorced and do not abuse me, givin... ...ng him of his great failures, even if they are trying to be nice abouit it, although a great many most likely ae not, and can probably get downright mean. Even if he had won those Super Bowls his life would still be a wreck. Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw, the only quarterbacks ever to win as many Super Bowls as Kelly has lost, still can not go out in public without being mobbed by fans, even though both have long since retired. And although it was most likely fun and exciting to begin with (I find excitement to be much over rated any way.), the novelty of celebrity has most certianly worn off by now, and not being able even to go to the supermarket has most likely turned in to a large pain in the neck. So, as I feel I have just proved, exiting and important events bring nothing good no matter how extremely good or bad they seem to be. This is why I enjoy my average uneventful life. However, as a personal note, if the good and kind reader of this essay would extend the deadline a few years, I could give her a really good reflective essay about the feelings that I have for the people who I have literally and figuratively crushed on my way to power as the Supreme Ruler of the World.