The Advantages of Duke Supplemental Essay Samples

The Advantages of Duke Supplemental Essay Samples Don't forget, Duke's optional essays are merely thatoptional. It's a great idea to have somebody else read your Duke essays, too. If you would like your Duke essays to stand out and help you become admitted, follow these strategies! If this is the case, you'll want to submit strong Duke essays as a piece of your application. Your essays must be your work. Therefore, if you're thinking about submitting your application soon because you've got the necessary essays completed, we urge you not to achieve that. To start with, written essays are a fantastic way to evaluate your preparedness for college. Instead, utilize this essay to have a look at the format. Duke Supplemental Essay Samples Secrets If a school asks for an answer to them, they need to be aware of the answer, and it is particularly true among small liberal arts colleges. It's not sufficient to say, I wish to go to XX University because it is a wonderful school. You may even provide certain examples of how you are going to donate to the campus. Students lead busy lives and frequently forget about a coming deadline. Life After Duke Supplemental Essay Samples The school would like you to know they are embracing all sexual orientations, and if you're open to discussing your own history and identity, don't hesitate to share your story. Al l of these are worthwhile targets, but they don't say anything that's unique to Duke. I fell in love for the very first time once I was four. She has grown into one of my very best friends and is one of my favored men and women. The Duke Supplemental Essay Samples Game Though this is an easy question to ask, it's honestly a hard question to reply. Please be certain your essay is totally distinct from the one that you submitted on the Common Application. PaperCoach can assist you with all your papers, so take a look at the moment! I've always been a curious person and relish reading a variety of literature and nonfiction. Just make sure that they are supplemental recommendation letters as opposed to substitutes for your academic recommendations. This is a superb revision. Yes, grades and test rating will help propel your application to the peak of the list. Be concrete by means of your writing. There's, clearly, a limit on the range of pages even our finest writers can produce with a pressing deadline, but usually, we can satisfy all the clients seeking urgent assistance. Many applicants whohaphazardlyapply to a very long collection of prestigious schools do not take some time to get this done. If you're interested in the paid service, you can select your plan below. If that is your very first time thinking of working with a writing service, you are certain to have questions. I hope that my guide to the very best writing services has helped you to understand what a fantastic writing service may offer and the way to choose the very best writing service for you. As soon as you locate a service you want, don't neglect to look at my review of it. It's critical that the service you select knows for sure they're only choosing the ideal essay writers. In summary, the service exists, so should you wish to use it in order to find a top essay, that's reason enough. She helped me from starting to end. Because the requirements are so many, that you want to concentrate from the very start. I have to take pride in my culture and myself. Duke wants to realize that you're able to write clearly and concisely and can stick to all the required grammar conventions. I used mental preparation to keep my competitive edge for the remainder of the season. In truth, it's generally assumed. You may expect similar prompts for the approaching cycle. The admissions folks want to find a crystal clear and sensible reason behind your urge to transfer. We'll manage them, and for a sensible price, as we understand that students generally don't have plenty of money to spare. Needless to say, this list isn't exhaustive, these are simply a few examples of the most well-known reasons students turn to writing services. Some folks wind up missing the application deadline entirely due to their recommenders.

The Effects Of Television On Childhood Obesity - 1337 Words

The Effects of Television on Childhood Obesity Essay It is evident that the rate of obesity is steadily increasing in North America and has reached an all-time high (Novonty 2015). This is due to the lack of physical activity, increased consumption level of unhealthy foods, and the prominent amount of exposure to media such as Television (TV). Although TV has not been proven to be a direct cause for obesity, it does however contribute to the development of children and adolescence obesity due to TV s effect on sleeping patterns, target advertisements and reduced rate of physical activity. Children of all ages appear to be getting less sleep than needed to function optimally during the day (Gruber, 2016). Sleep plays a crucial role in one’s health and wellbeing and without it your mental health, physical health, and quality of life would slowly deteriorate. More specifically, sleep plays an impactful role in the development of growing children. The average child watches approximately 32 hours of TV per week (Boyse, 2010), this in turn affects the number of hours of sleep children need for proper development; ultimately, making children more susceptible to obesity because the lack of sleep is proven to be linked to an increase risk of obesity (School of Public Health, 2016). TV also affects children s sleeping patterns due to various blue light that TV emits. Blue light can disrupt circadian rhythms in children (Mastin, 2013). The human body is regulated by this circadianShow MoreRelatedVideo Mediums and Childhood Obesity971 Words   |  4 PagesVideo Mediums an d Childhood Obesity Childhood Obesity has now reached a critical level. The main reason for the growing number of obese children is inactivity. With obesity in children being related to many health issues, it is important that we not only stop the rise in childhood obesity, but reverse it. With their health at risk, it is imperative that we assure our children are in good physical shape and at healthy weight levels. The stakes are quite high, according to the U.S. DepartmentRead MoreWhat Are The Largest Problems That Plague America? Essay1383 Words   |  6 Pageshunger, climate change and poverty are the most prominent difficulties that the United States faces. While these things are important, and do have a great impact on the country, there is another large and often forgotten issue that faces America: childhood obesity. This nationwide problem is also directly harmful to the strength and conditioning industry. Physical education classes are failing to involve kids in the necessary amount of daily physical activity. Parents are lacking proactivity to get kidsRead MoreWhy has Childhood Obesity Become a Paramount Problem in the United States?1609 Words   |  7 Pages According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, â€Å"Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years,† (â€Å"Childhood Obesity Facts†). The monumental question that researchers seem to be asking is why the increase now? Childhood obesity has become a paramount problem in the United States in recent years due to various social, biological and technological factors that ultimately requires immediate assistance in order to promote a healthierRead MoreThe Effects Of Advertising On Childhood Obesity Essay1042 Words   |  5 Pagesthe years. Television ad s used to be based primarily on newspapers and magazines but with the occurrence of growing technology, has moved on to things such as radio, television and the internet. In this day and age, advertisement techniques can be considered almost predatory in nature targeting people who are interested in new forms of technology, gaming, clothing and even food. It has become easier for a products influence to make its way into people s homes. Even though television advertisementsRead MoreHow Do Television Advertisements Affect People s Health And Its Significance1684 Words   |  7 PagesHow do Television advertisements affect people’s health and its significance in relation to childhood obesity? Introduction: Child obesity is undoubtedly one of the most controversial issues in modern society, and has been labeled as one of the most serious health issues. Overweight and obese children generally grow up to be overweight and/or obese as adults, who are highly likely to be predisposed to health disorders such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other sorts of illnesses. With fastRead MoreHow Do Television Advertisements Affect People s Food Choices And Its Significance1415 Words   |  6 PagesHow do Television advertisements affect people’s food choices and its significance in relation to childhood obesity? Introduction: Childhood obesity is undoubtedly one of the most controversial issues in modern society, and is regarded as one of the most serious health problems. Research has shown overweight and obese children generally grow up to be overweight and/or obese as adults, who are highly likely to be predisposed to health factors such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other sortsRead MoreMedia Influences on Childhood Obesity 1272 Words   |  6 Pagespercent is considered to be obese (Hingle, Dale). The media influence on the youth shows a positive correlation to childhood obesity. Times have changed and due to this new technological era that we live in, children are spoiled with various types as well as numerous electronic devices. Although these advances are rewarding, they are detrimental to the youth. From xbox to television watching children spend more time trapped in their house, then outside participating in active activities. On averageRead MorePosition Paper1486 Words   |  6 Pages Parents to Take Responsibility for Childhood Obesity A Position Paper Cassandra Eisengart Waynesburg University Purpose The purpose of this statement is to express my position in regards to the ongoing issue in America of childhood obesity and whether or not parents are to blame for this ongoing trend. Statement of Position As a nurse, I take the position that parents are to be blamed for childhood obesity and it is our nation’s responsibility, particularlyRead More Causes of Childhood Obesity Essay1271 Words   |  6 Pages When speaking of her 8-year old daughters obesity, a prideful mother replies Oh its no big deal, she just still has her baby fat. Unfortunately, chances are that the daughters obesity is not caused by her baby fat, but can be contributed to a combination of diet, genetics, and a sedentary lifestyle. Studies show that obesity among children 6-17 years of age, has increased by 50% in the last 20 years, with the most dramatic increase seen in children ages 6-11 (Axmaker, 1). This obvious epidemicRead MoreCauses of Childhood Obesity Essay1291 Words   |  6 PagesCauses of Childhood Obesity Works Cited Axmaker, Larry. Childhood Obesity Should be Taken Seriously. Online Posting 24 November 2004. Accessed 9 April 2005. 1-4. Bastin, Sandra. Perils of Childhood Obesity. American Academy of Pediatrics Quarterly. Volume 31 (11/2001): 44-49. Retrieved Medline 9 April 2005. 1-5. Buffington, Cynthia. Causes of Childhood Obesity. Beyond Change: Information Regarding Obesity and Obesity Surgery. Volume 17 (12/2003): 12-17. Retrieved Academic

Chameleon Research Paper free essay sample

Chameleon’s have super long tongues so that they can extend them and slurp up their prey. They also have eyes that rotate around so they can see 360 degrees around them at all times to help them keep track of predators and prey. Life History: Life Span- 5 to 9 years varies by the species. Range/distribution- Half the world’s population of Chameleon’s is in Madagascar an island off the east coast of Africa. There are also Chameleon’s found in Africa, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Southern Spain, and India. Reproduction- Chameleon’s have internal fertilization, some species have live births others also lay eggs. Diet- Most Chameleon’s eat small insects. Some have been reported to have eaten wild berries and vegetable matter. Larger Chameleon’s will eat small birds, reptiles, and mammals. Habitat- Chameleon’s are mostly found in rainforest. They like to perch in trees and wait for prey to walk by. We will write a custom essay sample on Chameleon Research Paper or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Defense Mechanisms- The Chameleon has one of the most rare defense mechanisms of all creatures, they can change color pigments to blend in with their surrounding so that they can slip by predators in stealth. They have eyes that can rotate around 360 degrees and see two things at once. Interesting Facts- When a male Chameleon find a female he wants to mate with he puts on a color show of all his best colors and if the female is turned on she will run and they will play chase then mate. If the female is not turned on by the color show she will stand her ground and sometimes even fight the male. One rare this about this reptile is that some of its species have live birth and others have eggs which is pretty amazing. Chameleon By: Taylor Ladd

Roman Decline Essays - Roman Empire, Superpowers, Rome,

Roman Decline The seemingly unstoppable Roman Empire was bound to fall after the many aspects that made Rome such a dominant empire started to fade away. Rome was the center of the world and the thought that such a worldwide power could decline was unheard of. It was not built in a day; therefore it couldn't be destroyed in one day. The marvelous city declined for many reasons yet there are only a few major reasons that led to its diminish. Political, economic, religious, and outside forces were the major factors that led to the fall of the giant empire. Most of the problems came from within the city and were not caused by a major military defeat. Every decision that Rome made had a vast affect on city itself and the rest of the world. Many foolish decisions my terrible emperors weakened the city and eventually cause the many aspects of life to crumble. CONCLUSION-reword The Roman Empire did not fall in a day but rather fell victim to a gradual decline in the prosperity due to many illogical decisions made by the Romans themselves. All of the problems could have easily been prevented with the right leadership and common sense. Unqualified rulers caused political problems. The invasions were due to the mistreatment of the new settlers; this mistreatment was due to the Roman mentality to conquer all. Politics and poor management of the roads and public buildings due to the lack of funds to maintain them had a significant effect on the economy. Christianity was outlawed to keep all of the Roman citizens under complete control. With the right leadership all of the disastrous decisions could have been prevented and the reign of Rome could have been prolonged long after its fall in 476 AD. ---- In conclusion, the Roman Empire declined based upon the same factors that had caused it to flourish. It fell because the social, economic, political, military, and religion strengths were no longer viable. The Roman Empire came gradually and fell gradually. History Reports

010 Transitions and MLA Professor Ramos Blog

010 Transitions and MLA The Other Side is not Dumb Quick Write What was your favorite reading so far? What was your least favorite? What do you think has been the best class lesson so far? Why? The Other Side is not Dumb In groups, come up with two to three takeaways/lessons from the article that we can use in our own writing. Chapter 8  Ã¢â‚¬Å"As a Result†: Connecting the Parts Chapter 8 covers what to do when connecting the parts of your essay together. They explain that creating connections between sentences and ideas increases sentence variety and helps construct a more convincing argument. Consider transitions both  within  a paragraph and  between  paragraphs. Look at  pages 108-109  for transition words. They give four principles: Using transition terms (like â€Å"therefore† and â€Å"as a result†) Adding pointing words (like â€Å"this† and â€Å"such†) Developing a set of key terms and phrases for each text you write Repeating yourself, but with a difference Let’s come up with a list of transition words to use in our essays. What words do you use to transition? MLA Sample page Dean, Cornelia. Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet.  The New York Times, 22 May 2007, nytimes.com/2007/05/22/science/earth/22ander.html?_r=0. Accessed 12 May 2016. Ebert, Roger. Review of  An Inconvenient Truth, directed by Davis Guggenheim.  rogerebert.com, 1 June 2006, rogerebert.com/reviews/an-inconvenient-truth-2006. Accessed 15 June 2016. Gowdy, John. Avoiding Self-organized Extinction: Toward a Co-evolutionary Economics of Sustainability.  International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology,  vol. 14, no. 1, 2007, pp. 27-36. ETC. Effective Images Mass Incarceration in the USA Grading Criteria Report Use of Sources and Research Organization MLA and Sources Title and Images Word Count, Word Choice, Grammar

Franz von Hipper in World War I

Franz von Hipper in World War I Franz von Hipper - Early Life Career: Born in Weilheim in Oberbayern, Bavaria on September 13, 1863, Franz Hipper was the son of shopkeeper Anton Hipper and his wife Anna. Losing his father at age three, Hipper commenced his education in 1868 at school in Munich before moving to a gymnasium five years later. Completing his education in 1879, he entered the military as a volunteer officer. Later in the year, Hipper elected to pursue a career in the Kaiserliche Marine and traveled to Kiel. Passing the required exams, he began his training. Made a probationary sea cadet on April 12, 1881, Hipper spent the summer on the frigate SMS Niobe. Returning to the Naval Cadet School in September, he graduated in March 1882. After attending gunnery school, Hipper commenced training at sea with time aboard the training ship SMS Friedrich Carl and a world cruise aboard SMS Leipzig. Franz von Hipper - Young Officer: Returning to Kiel in October 1884, Hipper spent the winter attending the Naval Officer School before being appointed to oversee the training of recruits in the First Naval Battalion. The following fall, he passed through the Executive Officer School. After spending a year with a coastal artillery unit, Hipper received an appointment at sea as an officer aboard Friedrich Carl. Over the next three years, he moved through several ships including the armored frigate SMS Friedrich der Grosse. Hipper returned to the ship in October 1891 after completing the Torpedo Officer Course aboard SMS Blà ¼cher. After additional assignments afloat and ashore, he became senior watch officer aboard the new battleship SMS Wà ¶rth in 1894. Serving under Prince Heinrich, Hipper was promoted to senior lieutenant and awarded the Bavarian National Defense Service Medal the following year. In September 1895, he took command of the Second Torpedo-boat Reserve Division. Franz von Hipper - Rising Star: Ordered to SMS Kurfà ¼rst Friedrich Wilhelm in October 1898, Hipper remained on board for nearly a year before landing a choice assignment aboard the royal yacht SMY Hohenzollern. In this role, he attended Queen Victorias funeral in 1901 and received a number of ceremonial decorations. Promoted to lieutenant commander on June 16, 1901, Hipper assumed command of the Second Torpedo Unit the following year and flew his flag from the new cruiser SMS Niobe. Made a commander on April 5, 1905, he attended the Cruiser and Battleship Gunnery Schools in early 1906. Briefly taking command of the cruiser SMS Leipzig in April, Hipper then shifted to the new cruiser SMS Friedrich Carl in September. Turning his vessel into a crack ship, Friedrich Carl won the Kaisers Prize for best shooting in the fleet in 1907. Promoted to captain on April 6, 1907, Hipper was dubbed an Imperial Captain by Kaiser Wilhelm II. In March 1908, he assumed command of the new cruiser SMS Gneisenau and oversaw its shakedown cruise and training of the crew prior to its departure to join the German East Asia Squadron in China. Leaving the ship later in the year, Hipper returned to Kiel and spent three years overseeing the training of torpedo boat crews. Returning to sea in October 1911, he became captain of the cruiser SMS Yorck four months before being appointed chief of staff to Rear Admiral Gustav von Bachmann, the Deputy Flag Officer, Reconnaissance Forces. On January 27, 1912, following von Bachmanns promotion to command of the High Seas Fleets scouting forces, Hipper was promoted to rear admiral and made deputy commander. Franz von Hipper - World War I Begins: When Bachmann departed for the Baltic in 1913, Hipper assumed command of I Scouting Group on October 1. Containing the High Sea Fleets battlecruisers, this force possessed a mix of power and speed. Hipper was in this post when World War I began in August 1914. On the 28th of that month, he sortied with part of his force to support German vessels during the Battle of Heligoland Bight but arrived too late to take part in the action. In early November, Hipper was directed by High Seas Fleet commander Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl to take three battlecruisers, a cruiser, and four light cruisers to bombard Great Yarmouth. Attacking on November 3, he shelled the port before withdrawing back to the German base in the Jade Estuary. Franz von Hipper - Battling the Royal Navy: Due to the success of the operation, a second attack was planned for early December with the bulk of the High Seas Fleet sailing in support. Striking Scarborough, Hartlepool, and Whitby on December 16, Hippers squadron, which had been augmented by the new battlecruiser Derfflinger, bombarded the three towns and inflicted numerous civilian casualties earning the admiral the sobriquet baby killer. Having broken the German naval codes, the Royal Navy dispatched Vice Admiral Sir David Beatty with four battlecruisers and six battleships to intercept Hipper on his return voyage to Germany. Though Beattys ships arrived in position to trap the enemy, signaling errors prevented the plan from being executed and Hipper was able to escape. In January 1915, Ingenohl directed Hipper to take his force to clear British vessels from the area around Dogger Bank. Alerted to German intentions by signals intelligence, Beatty again attempted to destroy Hippers ships. In the Battle of Dogger Bank on January 24, the two sides engaged in a running battle as the German commander attempted to escape back to base. In the fighting, Hipper saw Blà ¼cher sunk and his flagship, SMS Seydlitz severely damaged. Blame for the defeat fell to Ingenohl rather than Hipper and he was replaced by Admiral Hugo von Pohl the following month. Falling ill, Pohl in turn was replaced by Vice Admiral Reinhard Scheer in January 1916. Two months later, Hipper, suffering from exhaustion, requested sick leave. This was granted and he remained away from his command until May 12. Franz von Hipper - Battle of Jutland: At the end of the month, Scheer sortied with bulk of the High Seas Fleet in the hope of luring out and destroying part of the British Grand Fleet. Aware of Scheers intentions via radio intercepts, Admiral Sir John Jellicoe sailed south from Scapa Flow with the Grand Fleet while Beattys battlecruisers, augmented by four battleships, steamed in advance. On May 31, Hipper and Beattys forces met in the opening phases of the Battle of Jutland. Turning southeast to lure British battlecruiser towards the guns of the High Seas Fleet, Hipper engaged in a running battle. In the fighting, his command sank the battlecruisers HMS Indefatigable and HMS Queen Mary. Spotting the danger posed by Scheers approaching battleships, Beatty reversed course. In the fighting, the British inflicted severe damage on Hippers ships but failed to score any kills. As the battle continued, the German battlecruisers sank HMS Invincible. As the main fleets engaged, critical damage to his flagship, SMS Là ¼tzow, forced Hipper to transfer his flag to the battlecruiser Moltke. Attempting to maintain his forces station for the remainder of the battle, Hipper saw his badly damaged battlecruisers compelled to limp back to Germany after Scheer was able to evade the enemy during the night. For his performance at Jutland he was awarded the Pour le Mà ©rite on June 5. With his squadron crippled, Hipper received command of large detachment of the High Seas Fleet following the battle. Over the next two years, the High Seas Fleet remained largely inactive as it lacked the numbers to challenge the British. When Scheer ascended to become Chief of the Naval Staff on August 12, 1918, Hipper took command of the fleet. Franz von Hipper - Later Career: With German forces on the Western Front reeling, Scheer and Hipper planned a final effort for the High Seas Fleet in October 1918. After mounting attacks on the Thames Estuary and Flanders, the fleet would engage the Grand Fleet. As ships were concentrating at Wilhelmshaven hundreds of sailors began to desert. This was followed by several mutinies beginning on October 29. With the fleet in open revolt, Scheer and Hipper had no choice but to cancel the operation. Going ashore on November 9, he watched as the fleet departed for internment at Scapa Flow later that month. With the end of the war, Hipper asked to be placed on the inactive list on December 2 before retiring eleven days later. After evading German revolutionaries in 1919, Hipper retired to a quiet life in Altona, Germany. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he elected not to write a memoir of the war and later died on May 25, 1932. Cremated, Hippers remains were buried in Weilheim in Oberbayern. The Nazi-era Kriegsmarine later named a cruiser Admiral Hipper in his honor. Selected Sources First World War I: Franz von HipperFranz Ritter von Hipper History Today: Franz von Hipper

Demand & Supply Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Demand & Supply - Essay Example Law of supply, on the other hand, proposes that firms would supply more of a good at a higher price than they would at a lower price. Again all other factors, notably scarcity of the good, are held constant. This results in an upward sloping supply curve. The market equilibrium is attained at a point where the demand and supply curves intersect giving us the equilibrium price. In this analysis the impact of an increase in consumer income is shown by a shift in demand curve outside. On this demand curve the consumer demands more of the good at the same price. Similarly a specific choice pattern of consumer would result in a differing demand curve. For instance take the example of a consumer who is collector of paintings from a particular historic period. This consumer can pay any price for a desired painting up to a certain point and his demand curve may be shaped accordingly. Whereas the supplier would continue to be governed by the basic law of supply.

Will new background checks on gun purchases assist with decreasing gun Research Paper

Will new background checks on gun purchases assist with decreasing gun violence - Research Paper Example This gives rise to organized gangs and illegal trades, which heighten conflicts, thus necessitate the use of the guns in harming others (Kemshall 12). It is therefore with the knowledge that the American streets have more informal guns than the formally accounted guns thus explaining the high crime rates that the government formulated new background check on gun purchases. This policy seeks to review the current laws governing the purchase and ownership of guns thus improving more accountability. The efficacy of such a policy depends on its implementation to regulate the rising crime rates in the countries major cities. The crimes in the cities have an effective pattern that thrives on the formation of organized gangs. Such gangs operate on illegal businesses such as the trade of drugs; drug peddling is the greatest cause of street violence in the country. The illegal trade is worth billions of dollars an amount that requires security to manage. With weaker guns management policies, drug peddlers gain access to guns with which they secure their trades. The heightened rate of conflicts among such guns reciprocates in the use of the very guns in causing harms to other opposing gang members and other innocent citizens. Siegel (19) explains that another group of potential source of gun violence is robbery. Robbery and violent attacks is more prevalent in the American streets all of which are executed by the use of guns. Robbers need force to scare their victims before stealing from them, the most perfect source of scare to most of the people are guns, this therefore necessitate the frequency with which robbers use guns and violence in their robberies. Additionally, guns aid the robbers thwart resistance from their victims. The other type of gun use arises from the unregulated licensing of gun users, in a country with more people officially owning guns, every frustration and conflict attracts the use of guns thus causing more casualties from very light feuds. It is with this understanding that the government formulated the new background check on the purchase of guns in a bid to regulate the private ownership of guns. This in a way seeks to curb the rising crime rates. This new policy is an improvement to the Brady Handgun Violence prevention Act of 1993which required the federal firearms licensees to analyze every prospective firearms buyer and determine their suitability to purchase the arms. This new policy makes this analysis more stringent by dictating that just a single state organ have the ability to dispense guns to the public. With a single dispenser, it becomes to investigate every illegal gun in the street and determine its origin. Furthermore, such a single outsourcer provides effective documentation of the guns and their buyers to ease federal investigations in case of a crime. The legislation further dictate that the gun dispenser share its database with the federal bureau of investigation and any other state investigation body t o fast track investigation processes of any case involving the use of illegal guns (Kemshall 41). This law further requires that the licensing body investigate the mental state of the gun buyers. In doing this, the federal body determines the suitability of the gun buyer to use the firearm responsively without causing intentional arm to the society. The gun purchase further requires the establishment of the need for the gun, the government laws permit top government officials to own guns. Such officials include government secretaries, judges, magistrates, attorneys and other top ranking civil servants. These people attract public attention towards themselves and they conflict with a number of people in the dispensation of their

Sculpture and Late Assyrian Palace Essay Example for Free

Sculpture and Late Assyrian Palace Essay Since the beginning of human imagination, we have fabricated the idea of power through imaginative creatures for protection. The origin of this idea dates back before the death of Christ with bas relief animals attached to gate walls. During the Assyrian Era, Lamassu guarded the gates of Sargon II in Bet-Nahrain. Lamassu is a Neo-Assyrian and/or Akkadian term used to designate a creature, combined of a winged lion or bull figure with a human head. As protective deities, it was a larger than life statue block that was placed on either side of a late Assyrian palace. It was usually depicted as a double-aspect figure, apparently possessing five separate legs when viewed from an oblique angle. This allowed for two simultaneous depictions. It appeared to be standing guard when viewed from the front. When viewed from the side, Lamassu appeared to be striding forward. The high relief creature was situated at adjacent sides of the gate at Khorsabad and served as a guardian to the King from all evil. Erected in 720 BC, its size is ten times as massive as humans. Each colossus was carved in the round from a single block of stone, measuring up to 5.50 m2 in size. Initially carved roughly in the quarry, each statue-block was transported to its final location, where it would be set in place and be subjected to fine carving. Lamassu was a characteristic of this late phase in the development of Assyrian art when sculpture was otherwise rare. Lamassu were powerfully evocative of strength, speed, and intelligence. It was considered by the Assyrians as a protective guardian of their houses, palaces, gateways, and cities. It also symbolized as a sign of Assyrian power which was displayed to foreign dignitaries and ambassadors. There is no historical evidence showing that Lamassu was worshipped as a god. Indeed, most of the sculptures were placed at gateways, palaces, underneath the houses, and not in the temples. Most of todays Assyrians have a sculpture of Lamassu in their house. Also many Assyrian organizations, magazines, TV programs, and Web sites use an image of Lamassu. However, present-day use of Lamassu is not for purpose of what their Assyrian ancestors used it; it is used as a sign of linkage to and identification to their ancestors. Indeed, most Assyrians do not use the name of Lamassu; they use Assyrian Guardian. However, the  name of Lamassu does appear in Assyrian poems, especially poems written by Assyrian poets from the homeland and as a name for businesses. In the past two hundred years, there have been numerous archeological discoveries in Bet-Nahrain. One result of these discoveries has been to acquire some knowledge about the cradle of civilization which was formed in Bet-Nahrain. This area of the world was dominated by different nations. Assyria was one of the most powerful and ambitious nations that dominated Bet-Nahrain for approximately 1200 years. The Assyrians also believed in many protective supernatural beings; one of them is the human-headed winged bull which the Assyrians called it Lamassu.

The Uniqueness Of The American Constitution Essay example -- essays re

The Uniqueness of the American Constitution We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. This document, written more than 200 years ago is still the backbone that allows America to be an example of freedom and righteousness to the rest of the world.   Unlike any other government doctrine, the Constitution has remained an active governing force through the changes of American society.   It allows its citizens the basic freedom of human beings and does not infringe on one's individuality.   In its uniqueness, the Constitution not only gives freedom but also protects its people economically, religiously, politically, and socially. Power is a delicate element and the Constitution is careful in defining where certain powers lie.   One of the novelties about this doctrine is that it does a clever job of dividing certain powers between the state and federal governments.   Monetary units, for example, are issued exclusively by the federal government.   This is not only more convenient for traveling purposes, but also allows for a more 'united' spirit.   People in California can easily view a commercial for a product affiliated with New York without having to translate the cost or watch the television screen ...

The Right to Die, and Doctor-Assisted Suicide

The Right to Die, and Doctor-Assisted Suicide: The Mission of Late Dr. Jack Kevorkian Imagine a patient in a hospital suffering from the AIDS disease. And since his diagnosis he has suffered from two bouts of pneumonia, chronic, severe sinus and skin infections, severe seizures, and extreme fatigue. Seventy percent of his vision is already lost, and the disease has gone terminal. He has requested that his doctor prescribe him medicine that would kill him thus ending his suffering. This is exactly what Dr.Jack Kevorkian has been fighting for his entire life. To shed positive light upon the controversial subject of Physician-Assisted Suicide. A little back story on Dr. Jack Kevorkian. Kevorkian was the son of Armenian refugees who came to America to escape the Turkish genocide. His early talents ranged from hand-made woodwork, linguistics, to science experiments conducted in his basement. He then became a pathologist, devoting his life to the unusual task of showing the positives and s ocial benefits from death. He did not just take on the medical establishment and the law; throughout his life he dared to challenge a taboo as old as human civilization – the taboo against death† (Nicol, Wylie 2) Kevorkian was very outspoken and intensely committed to the causes that he believed in. He also lacked the ability to lie, so much, that its said that whenever he played poker with his friends, that he never bluffed, and if he bet everyone else folded. Kevorkian built a machine where patients, through self implanted pumps, have the ability to self-control the does of pain medication that they receive.And now the amount of doctors who quietly comply with a patient's request for a lethal does of medication is slowly rising up. Kevorkian made headlines by evading countless prosecutions, but then a case came up that no one could ignore, a case where a man so deteriorated due to his illness, that he could not operate the machine properly requiring Kevorkian to perso nally inject the lethal dose of medication himself. This man's name is Tom Youk and his case made the biggest impact on Kevorkian's life. Youk was diagnosed with ALS, a neuromuscular disorder caused by the death of the motor nerve cells that control voluntary muscle movement.Youk's condition got worse and worse, making him unable to move his arms and legs, extreme difficulty in speaking, and having no control of his jaw and tongue causing Youk to choke on his own spit. Every doctor he would visit would just prescribe him a different ineffective pain medication that would do no benefit to his condition. Youk had asked several doctors to help him commit suicide but each one would not help him with his request. Then his family contacted Kevorkian, and after very careful research on Youk's medical records, Kevorkian obliged to go through with his treatment. Kevorkian would later say, ‘He just was terrified of choking to death, and he must have felt that he was on the verge of it. And I couldn't have him suffer in that kind of frame of mind because if a man is terrified, it's up to me to dispel that terror. ‘ † (Nicol, Wylie 9) Through multiple times, Kevorkian made sure that the patient had control over their death, for example, he would hook up a sedative that would go through a patient's IV, stopping the patient's heart if that patient would push a button.Youk was different, because he did not have the ability to physically activate a switch that would release a sedative that would kill him so he requested that Kevorkian would personally give the injection himself. Kevorkian's thought on this was that he would make a statement to the public after assisting Youk, win the court case, and then hopefully this would relieve the fear doctors had in doing the things that he did. Kevorkian recorded the process on tape, read a consent form to Youk, and the next following day, upon Youk's request, injected the lethal sedative into Youk's IV.After the vid eo being released to the public huge debates both medically and legally broke out. Three days later the state of Michigan charged Kevorkian for first-degree murder. When interviewed for ABC's 60 Minutes Kevorkian was portrayed as â€Å"Dr. Death† a man who caused another man to die and did not even seemed bother by it. After several trials, Jack Kevorkian was sentenced to 25 years in a maximum-security penitentiary. His health began to fail when in prison. He broke two ribs after falling in the recreation yard.He suffered from a double hernia, suffered from high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, adrenal insufficiency, chronic pulmonary obstruction disease, cataracts, and Hepatitis C. He was suffering the same fate as Tom Youk only this time he had no one to relieve his suffering. By 1999 Dr. Kevorkian became the poster boy for assisted suicide. Physician-Assisted suicide was made legal in the state of Oregon, and 86 percent of the country supported physician- assisted suicide to be made legal nationwide.A lot of people do not know the difference between euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. â€Å"If a third party performs the last act that intentionally causes a patient’s death, euthanasia has occurred†¦ On the other hand, if the person who dies performs the last act, assisted suicide has taken place. † (Hamlon, Marker) There are always two sides to every argument. One who supports a cause and another that opposes the cause. A large group of people are giving their support in trying to legalize physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia nationally.Richard Ikeda, a doctor who cares for low-income elderly patients, has stated, â€Å"When cure is no longer possible, the majority of Californians, and the majority of California physicians, want dying patients to have the right to make end-of-life choices in accord with their own values and beliefs†¦ This week [October 27, 2007] completed ten years' experience with Oregon's death with dignity laws, and all studies show end-of-life care has improved for all Oregonians. † (31) More and more physicians are trying to legalize physician-assisted suicide nationally to benefit for their suffering patients.An example of where physician-assisted suicide would benefit a patient would be Percy Bridgman. Bridgman was a Nobel-Prize winning physicist suffering from terminal cancer at the age of seventy nine. He was wracked with pain and drained of hope that he mustered up the courage to pull the trigger of a gun ending his own life forcing others to the agony of discovering his bloody and mangled body. Another example would be James Poe, who is a sixty-nine year old man suffering from emphysema which suffocates him time to time as well as heart failure due to his pulmonary disease.He must be hooked up to an oxygen tank at all times and needs to take morphine regularly to calm his anxiety due to his suffocation. He is mentally competent and has reques ted to commit suicide by taking physician-prescribed pills. There are countless more cases where patients would have benefited from physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia. Thomas A. Bowden, a legal analyst at the Ayn Rand Institute, states that individuals actually have the legal right to choose death. What lawmakers must grasp is that there is no rational basis upon which the government can properly prevent any individual from choosing to end his own life. When religious conservatives enact laws to enforce the idea that their God abhors suicide, they threaten the central principle on which America was founded on† (Bowden 36) The Declaration of Independence states that each individual person exists as an end for himself. This means that no one can interfere with this person's right to live or not and that no one may obstruct this person's sense of his own happiness.If happiness were to be blocked by a dreaded disease though, and the end result is a very slow and painful deat h, then why try to obstruct a person's decision to end their suffering? Society should not have to give anyone the permission to end his or her life, it is their choosing, their right. So a doctor willing to assist a completely mentally sane person to end his or her own life to end at heir suffering due to an illness that is untreatable and non-curable then that doctor should also have the right to do their bidding.Religious conservatives also have no legal right to force their beliefs upon a person if that person wants to end their life to end their suffering. Speaking of religion on the issue, actual ministers and religious people have begin to find loop holes in the text and started to try and prove that physician-assisted suicide was actually very moral. Alvaro Vargas Llosa, senior and director of the Center of Global Prosperity at the Independent Institute, has stated that the religious argument against euthanasia contradicts a Judeo-Christian tradition. The religious argument against euthanasia-that it violates the sanctity of life-contradicts the single most powerful premise of the Judeo-Christian tradition: that God gives every person free will. † (Llosa 69) It basically undermines the belief that the spirit outlives the body. These conservatives are putting mercy on the useless body rather than the everlasting soul that is suffering. A few other contradictions: Jews perishing at Masada rather than being enslaved or Christians martyring themselves rather than betray God by bowing to a Roman deity.The death of a terminally ill patient can lift off the pain and the suffering of not only the patient, but the patient's family as well. No more do they have to here their wails of pain or seeing them suffer before their eyes, just the simple fact that they know that their loved one is at peace can bring happiness through the whole family. By making a life and death situation, this person is making a choice to help someone left behind. And helping anothe r brings a higher value to a person's own existence. As Minister Kenneth W. Phifer put it, â€Å"To choose death sooner rather than later can be an act of high moral stature.Mere existence is not an absolute value. † (71) Religious conservatives may have their morals and their excuses as to why physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia may seem sinful within their eyes but these statements listed above has contradicted and proven that a person can still have strong religious beliefs, but still can take consider that physician-assisted suicide is still an acceptable way to relieve themselves of suffering a long awaited and painful death even from their own god's eyes. Today, death is more of an urgent issue due to an increase in medical knowledge and technology.Not all pain can be managed though. No one should have the right to force someone to face grievous pain because they think it is more moral. No one should deny anyone the right to end their own life to end their sufferi ng because it does not seem right in their eyes. â€Å"Furthermore, doctors cannot always be healers. Each of us will come to a point in life when no medical treatment will help us, save perhaps to relieve our pain. At that point, when our condition is terminal, what we need more than anything else is intelligent compassion. (Phifer 77) Sometimes what terminal patients need is not medication to ease their physical pain, but sometimes true compassion and knowing of what they are going through. Medication for the soul to soothe their emotional pain, to help them ease into death peacefully. A lot of doctors do this method called the â€Å"double effect† and religious communities support this. What the â€Å"double effect† is, is that it is a principle where doctors prescribe medication for pain even though they know that the level of medication will kill the patient. Even Pope John Paul II approves of the â€Å"double effect†. It is licit to relieve pain by narcot ics, even when the result decreased consciousness and a shortening of life. † (Pope John Paul II, The Gospel of Life). A lot of people argue that if physician-assisted suicide were to be made legal, that there would be an increase in suicides among disadvantaged individuals. Well according to the University of Utah, â€Å"legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Oregon and the Netherlands did not result in a disproportionate number of deaths among the elderly, poor, women, minorities, uninsured, minors, chronically ill, less educated or psychiatric patients. (130) The studies showed that within the ten study groups, only the group with AIDS infected people opted for the use of physician-assisted suicide. â€Å"Whereas modern medicine has brought great benefits to humanity, it cannot entirely solve the pain and distress of the dying process. Each person deals with death in their individual way. Which way is determined by their health, their ethics, and personal living conditi ons. † (Humphry) It just boils down to how the individual reacts to their condition. If a atient is in such unbearable pain and suffering that they want someone to end their life peacefully to relieve their pain, then so be it. No one should have to force their opinion as fact and not allow the patient to do so because of the doctor's or family's belief. It all depends on what that one individual wants. It is their life, let them be in control of it. With every group that is for a cause, there is always a group against the cause as well. And when it comes to euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, things do not change.With a large support group behind these causes comes a large anti-group too. Trudy Chun and Marian Wallace are writers for Concerned Women for America, a conservative, pro-family, pro-life organization. â€Å"The very laws once deigned to protect a person's inalienable right to life now permit the elimination of those deemed unworthy to live. And in the name of compassion, doctors trained to heal and to prolong life are shortening and even snuffing it out altogether. † (Chun, Wallace 41) Doctors swore an oath to keep a patient alive as much and as long as possible no matter what.Killing a patient on purpose goes against everything a doctor stands for, everything a doctor was trained to do. This oath is called the â€Å"Hippocratic Oath† and within this oath a physician must state, â€Å"I will give no deadly medicine, even when asked. † Physicians are healers and the inability of physicians of preventing death does not mean a physician has the right to cause death. Diane Coleman, and executive director of progress Center for Independent Living, which is a nonprofit nonresidential service and advocacy center operated by and for people with disabilities.Coleman was born with a neuromuscular disability since birth, and was given a life expectancy of twelve years. When she outlived this her diagnosis and expectancy chang ed as well. Within the next few years she began to develop respiratory problems and began to use a breathing machine at night. â€Å"I had two other friends, one in her 20's and one in her 50's, who needed the same thing. But their doctors discouraged them from it, reinforcing their fears, and either didn't know or didn't disclose what the medical journals said would happen as a result.At an early age they each went into respiratory distress, and died within a month from infections. † (Coleman 190) Doctors today are pushing ways in which to end patients lives shorter rather than prolonging their life and treating their problems to the fullest. Seventy percent of Kevorkian's â€Å"terminally ill† patients are said to have not even be terminally ill in the first place, meaning that there was still a chance in saving these individuals lives and if physicians would be allowed to kill their patients on their patients will then a treatment that could actually work may never be found.Ira Byock, director and professor of palliative care at Dartmouth Medical School, states that palliative care should be considered instead of assisted suicide. â€Å"Mortality teaches us a lot about life, if we let it. One thing it teaches is that human life in inherently spiritual, whether or not a person has a religion† (Byock 227) What hospice is, is that it is an end-of-life option. It is meant to bring comfort, dignity, and calmness in dealing with a terminally ill patient.It brings a sense of compassion and respect for the dignity of each individual patient on how he or she deals and encounters death. Instead of prematurely ending another person's life instantaneously, It makes sure the patient lives life to the very last comfortably and lovingly. It gives the patient the peace of mind that he or she has been made to feel as comfortable as possible and peace of mind to their loved ones by knowing that such care is taking place. As with the pro side of physician -assisted suicide, religion plays a huge part in the anti portion. The Christian understanding of humanity insists that we are not autonomous creatures that have the right to determine when we shall live and when we shall die† (Mohler 92) Christian's believe that it is God's duty to determine when a body lives and when a body dies and that if the body were to be slain prematurely at the hand of another person intentionally then that soul would be punished. Religion is an extremely important variable when it comes to suicide since suicide is seen to be sinful. Christians believe that life has meaning.That life is not just a course, but a gift. Life is all about experiences and experiences includes good things, happiness, compassion, love, but also experiencing â€Å"the bad too† such as pain, and suffering. In all in all religion is a very important factor since most citizens in America are Christians and with the campaign to legalize euthanasia and physician-assisted su icide continues, these supporters must convince these religious conservatives in order to legalize euthanasia and physician-assisted nationally.Again, with every big controversial topic, there will always be a pro side and an anti side. Each group will have their own very good points being made. But the key idea of physician-assisted suicide would not have been made as popular as it is today without the compassionate, influential, and controversial ideas of Dr. Jack Kevorkian. His compassion for seeking out and showing the public the truth of physician-assisted suicide and the goodness it entails is enticing. The amount of court cases he had dodged and accusations he got away from is still remarkable to this day.Though he was known as â€Å"Dr. Death† as portrayed by the media, people who really knew Kevorkian knew that he was a very humble, kind, and passionate old man just trying to help the unfortunate. And even though he has since passed, there are still plenty, upon plen ty of people out there to make it their life's work to make sure that Kevorkian's vision of a nation that accepts physician-assisted suicide as a legal and moral practice to do on suffering terminal patients comes true.

Education †School Essay

?†He who opens a school door, closes a prison. † ~ Victor Hugo The first time we are introduced to formal education is in school. The school years are the grounding years of one’s education. Schools are institutions that lay the foundation of a child’s development. They play a key role in developing children into responsible citizens and good human beings. It’s a school where young talent is recognized and nurtured. On leaving school, we are all set to soar high in life, and enter the real world in pursuit of our dreams. Education provides us with knowledge about the world. It paves the way for a good career. It helps build character. It leads to enlightenment. It lays the foundation of a stronger nation. Education makes a man complete. Kautilya, an Indian philosopher, royal adviser, and professor of economics and political science very rightly underlined the importance of education, some 2000 years ago. He has highlighted the fact that education enriches people’s understanding of themselves. He has said that education is an investment in human capital, and it can have a great impact on a nation’s growth and development. So, Why is Education Important? It Gives Knowledge â€Å"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. † – Benjamin Franklin A direct effect of education is knowledge gain. Education gives us knowledge of the world around. It develops in us a perspective of looking at life. It helps us form opinions and develop a point of view. The information we are constantly bombarded with, cannot be converted into knowledge without the catalyst called education. Education makes us capable of interpreting things rightly and applying the gathered information in real life scenarios. Education is not limited to lessons from textbooks. Real education is obtained from the lessons taught by life. It Leads to Career Progression â€Å"An expert is one who knows more and more about less and less. † – Nicholas M. Butler Education is important because it equips us with the expertise that is needed in helping us realize our career goals. Expertise is an in-depth knowledge about a specific field and it’s ought to open doors to brilliant career opportunities. Education fetches better prospects of career growth. Good education is an eligibility criterion for employment in any sector of the industry. Be it any field, education always proves to be rewarding. We are weighed in the market on the basis of our educational skills and on how well we can apply them. It Builds Character â€Å"A man’s own manner and character is what most becomes him. † – Marcus Tullius Cicero The words ‘cultivate’ and ‘civilize’ are synonymous with ‘educate’. That says it all. Education is important as it teaches us the right behavior and good manners, thus making us civilized. It is the basis of culture and civilization. It is instrumental in the development of our values and virtues. Education cultivates us into mature individuals; individuals capable of planning for the future, and taking the right decisions in life. It gives us an insight into living, and teaches us to learn from experience. It makes us self-confident, and develops our abilities to think, analyze, and judge. It fosters principles of equality and socialism. It forms a support system for one to excel in life. It is the backbone of society. It won’t be wrong to say that good education makes us more human. It Leads to Enlightenment â€Å"Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel. † – Socrates Education paves the path to disillusionment. It wipes out the wrong beliefs from our minds. It helps create a clear picture of things around, and erases all the confusion. It kindles the flame of curiosity and helps awaken the abilities to question, and to reason. The more we learn, the more questions we have, and without questions, there are no answers. Education teaches us to find answers. It makes us more self-aware. It leads us to enlightenment. It Helps a Nation Progress â€Å"Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource. † – John F. Kennedy Though not enlisted as one of the three basic human needs, education is equally important. For the progress of a nation, for the enrichment of society in general, education is important. A country’s literate population is its asset. In today’s competitive world, it won’t be wise to neglect the importance of education for the development of society as a whole. Most countries have realized this. It has led to the development of many government-aided educational programs and government grants to schools and colleges. The motive behind this is fostering education in society. The future of a nation is safe in the hands of the educated. Education is important for the social development and economic growth of a nation. Schools and other educational institutes define the basic framework of education. Schooling gives us the fundamentals. We specialize in fields of our interest during degree courses. The number of institutes offering vocational courses and those offering online education is increasing by the day. Vocational courses help earn specialized education. Online degree programs help the working class and adults pursue education even while continuing work. Distance education has proven to be of great help for many. But education is not limited to that obtained from educational institutes. Learning is a lifelong process. Rather, self-learning begins at a point where institutional education ends. The process of self-learning continues throughout one’s life. This is well-supported by a speech made by US President Barack Obama. In his national address to students across the nation, he said: â€Å"†¦ Every single one of you has something that you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide. † Read more at Buzzle: http://www. buzzle. com/articles/why-is-education-so-important. html.

Mujtaba 456 (4) Essays

Mujtaba 456 (4) Essays Mujtaba 456 (4) Essay Mujtaba 456 (4) Essay Name: Tutor: Course: Date: Mujtaba 456 (4) Growth of population has numerous effects on a country. America is no exception. This article discusses several issues concerning this. First, the article discusses the causes of the exponential population growth, experienced between 1800 and 1890, in the United States. Next, the article breaks down the population growth, according to origins and localities. Thirdly, this article explains the role of immigration in this surge. Finally, the article attempts to explain the costs of immigration to the United States. The population of the United States more than tripled, in the period between 1860 and 1890. This is attributable to several factors. First, Immigration plays a significant role in the aforementioned growth. Immigration depends on two factors, the Atlantic slave trade and European Immigration. Hughes and Cain (107) state: â€Å"the German speaking regions of Europe produced nearly 1 million immigrants to the United States.† The influx of European settlers was mostly due to crop failures, such as the Irish famine. Second, there was a high birth rate in the United States. Hughes Cain (104) state that, the birth rate went down to 41.4 per 1000 births in 1860, from 55 per 1000 earlier. This rate was still higher than other European countries. The aforementioned population surge significantly affected urban regions. Between 1860 and 1890, the American urban population grew by over 20 percent. The high immigration of people to the more-developed North Eastern cities proves this. Hughes and Cain (110) state: â€Å"3.6 million foreign-born whites lived in the Northeast and East-North-Central states; a mere 391,000 lived in the Southern states†. In that period, the white population grew by around 86 percent. Similarly, the foreign-born population grew by around 14 percent. However, by 1890, the birth rate had slowed by a half. The population growth in America had various results, in an economic perspective. First, it enabled the manufacturing sector of the economy to grow. This fact is attributable to ready labor, provided by the immigrants. Hughes Cain (114) state: â€Å"in the 1840s, manufacturing employment grew more rapidly than any other sector (123.2 percent), increasing its share of total employment from 8.9 percent to 14.0 percent.† Construction and the service industries also grew at unheard of rates (Hughes Cain 114). Therefore, the real output per capita of the United States grew largely. However, the rise in population also led to more mouths to feed countered this effect to some extent. The real income growth per capita was around 1 percent for that period. As a result, the growth of population in the country stands questioning. The article has tried to explain the role of population growth on the economy of the United States. However, other effects have also been discussed, such as, demographics of States/regions in the United States. The article also discusses the reasons for immigration into the United States by European people, though to a lesser extent. From this article, we see that, the American economy benefited from immigration from Europe. Hughes, Jonathan R. T, and Louis P. Cain. American Economic History. Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley, 2010. Print.

Free Online Public Schools for Kentucky Students, K-12

Free Online Public Schools for Kentucky Students, K-12 Kentucky offers resident students the opportunity to take online public school courses for free. Below is a list of no-cost online schools currently serving elementary and high school students in Kentucky. In order to qualify for the list, schools must meet the following qualifications: classes must be available completely online, they must offer services to state residents, and they must be funded by the government. Virtual schools listed may be charter schools, state-wide public programs, or private programs that receive government funding. List of Kentucky Online Charter Schools and Online Public Schools Kentucky Virtual High School - Now Defunct Online Charter Schools and Online Public Schools Many states now offer tuition-free online schools for resident students under a certain age (often 21). Most virtual schools are charter schools; they receive government funding and are run by a private organization. Online charter schools are subject to fewer restrictions than traditional schools. However, they are reviewed regularly and must continue to meet state standards. Some states also offer their own online public schools. These virtual programs generally operate from a state office or a school district. State-wide public school programs vary. Some online public schools offer a limited number of remedial or advanced courses not available in brick-and-mortar public school campuses. Others offer full online diploma programs. A few states choose to fund seats for students in private online schools. The number of available seats for online high schools may be limited and students are usually asked to apply through their public school guidance counselor. Choosing a Kentucky Online Public School When choosing an online public school, look for an established program that is regionally accredited and has a track record of success. Be wary of new schools that are disorganized, are unaccredited, or have been the subject of public scrutiny.

Analysis of how & why I formed my view about one issue to do with Essay

Analysis of how & why I formed my view about one issue to do with equality - Essay Example Although there are provisions that would benefit learners with disability, the move for equality in education did not quite reach the expectations of the disabled people and their families especially in the equal distribution of quality education, specifically on adjusted treatment of teachers and peer acceptance and government assistance. Prevalence of Disabled People in Education in the United Kingdom Quality education remains to be one of the existing challenges for learners with special needs. Chapter 3 of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) monitoring paper explores the international perspective of the problem and contends that present educational systems failed to address the needs of the marginalized, especially for the disabled, of quality education (UNESCO, 2010). In the United Kingdom, the Department for Education initiated the SEN or the Special Education Needs to meet a diverse population of disabled people. Between the y ears 2005 and 2006, the population of learners with disability rose considerably, where a 6% raise was recorded by the Office for Disability Issues. Although the record is already relatively high, this is not enough to conclude that discrimination among these people does not exist. As what Barnes (1991, p. 28) argues, discrimination against the disabled people is a fact in the present educational system. Discrimination against Disabled People in Education A common thought persists that education is supposed to be an area in which people can be equal regardless of their status, gender, or abilities, that individuals have the right to achieve educational success; however, this might just be the contrary to what the real scenario suggests. Discrimination, especially for the disabled individuals is prevalent at any educational levels despite the laws forbidding it. Tracing the history of education in the United Kingdom, it is clear that the disabled population were the least of the conc erns of the government. In the book by Barnes (1991, p. 29), it is stated that the Education Act of 1944 upheld â€Å"equality of education† for all its citizens but â€Å"the idea of equality, however, did not extend to children with impairments.† The idea brings the thought that mainstream education was at the time an absolute standard. The ‘equality for all in education’ scheme called for segregation of disabled and ‘subnormal’ learners from the normal learning class. Fortunately, the Education Act of 1981 provided broader opportunities for children with special needs. Not only that the provision guided the disabled people for better and broader educational opportunities but also emphasized the roles of some professions, directly or indirectly helping special children (Barnes, 1991, p. 34). Through inclusion system, the disabled individual is provided an opportunity to be involved in the mainstream classroom. Educational inclusion is an â⠂¬Å"action to remove barriers to participation in learning† (Anon., n.d.), which follows that learners with impairments are actually included in the standard classrooms. This would provide them the chance to interact with ‘normal’ learners, and serve as a practice for future involvement in the workforce. This may be a sound goal for the Department for Education but Abrams (2004) did not believe that

Faisal - Operational and process management Essay

Faisal - Operational and process management - Essay Example The paper also described views on how this company can better their stand in the crowded footwear industry and end up being a stronger competitor to its key challenges in its business environment. The paper presented a number of models and theories for both the analysis of the prevalent systems at Crocs, and offered insights on how they can integrate into success and create a more stable company. The paper also portrayed different perspectives by providing postulations against vertical integration as strategy to gain competitive advantage. 1.0 Introduction Crocs, Inc. was initiated in the year 2002 in Colorado and is arguably one of today’s fastest growing brands and organisations at the world level. The company initially produced footwear for all age categories under the same brand and is now sold well in over 100 countries. The brand features a special kind of plastic that is softened by body heat of the individual wearing the shoe, resulting in high degree of comfort. Sales for the company jumped 256% in 2006 (Thompson, 2006). There has been much discussion about Crocs’ success and besides the popularity of its shoes, the major reasons for the enormous growth of the company has been its efficient chain supply management. Crocs, Inc. has shown that being flexible and being focused on digressing from the conventional norms of the industry, they could achieve more success and profits than their peers (Ashkanasy and Wilderom). This efficiency was the result of their Chief Executive Officer’s vision of satisfying customers by developing an ultra efficient process of production that would facilitate the company to make and supply at short notice, hence creating a competitive advantage in the industry. The Crocs supply chain has been revolutionary in footwear production but there is need to evolve in line with changes in the global industry environment. In the long run, a conventionally thinking organisation has no future. Alteration in technol ogy, delivery procedures, customer demands, and legislative policies demand that a company focuses on its core competencies rather than venturing into all possible diversification schemes. 2.0 Industry analysis By the use of the Product Life Cycle (PLC) concept (Waters and Water, 1999), it is quite visible that the footwear industry as a whole is near saturation and this is likely to run for a long time. It is least likely that the demand for footwear will fall significantly but there are possibilities that with the development of cheaper and more durable products, the industry’s profitability will decline after some time. Using the following Five Forces Model analysis of the global footwear market, the following observations can be made. 2.1 Entry Barriers Entry barriers are engineered to elbow out potential starters from entering a market. These barriers seek to serve the monopoly powers of the incumbent organisations in that industry, thereby maintaining monopoly margins. Some known barriers include limit pricing, patents, cost advantages as well as marketing and advertising among others. This industry appears to offer relatively easy entry for new participants. The advantages of cost are fairly low with quite a large number of players locally and globally. However, it is worth noting that the manufacturers have significantly easy access to factors of production, particularly raw

Running Business in Brazil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Running Business in Brazil - Essay Example Brazil is expected to invest US $18.4bn for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in 12 Brazilian host cities funding 50 projects (Portal Brasil, 2010). By the end of the 1990s Brazil was ranked tenth in global automotive producers as the nation was willing to experiment with a wide range of supply and production arrangements (Strategic Direction, 2005). Brazil is undoubtedly poised for growth ever since its foreign exchange policy is liberalized. It is moving towards becoming the fifth largest economy (Williams, 2011). However, all these pose a very glamorous image of the nation but businesses desirous of investing in Brazil need to get a complete picture of the benefits and pitfalls. Any disappointments could damage the credibility of the country that it is trying to build up. Economic situation There were more than 10 significant oil discoveries last year which has pushed the nation up in oil producer rankings (The Telegraph, 2011). Brazil is expecting a Tsunami of riches as Petrobras gets full production from the oilfields deep under the Brazilian Seas (O'Shaughnessy, 2009). This would help the nation overcome the repression and torture which impacted the living conditions. Flushed with excessive cash has its pitfalls. Its currency is the most overvalued and real-estate bubble is expected in Brazil as banks have extended risky loans (Lyons, 2011). Cost of doing business in Brazil has risen very fast. Brazil has abundance of natural resources and could be the world power but poor management and leadership have led to large debts (Balsom, n.d.). Economic growth in Brazil has been built on a very fragile structure as 10% of its population is completely illiterate and 68% functionally illiterate (The Brazil Business, 2011). Millions of students emerge from secondary schools without being able to write in English. What is astonishing is that it is socially accepted and expected that they would not learn anything in school. Unemployment in Brazil was 9.9% as of 2009 (McGladrey , 2010). However, through targeted social programs, through subsidizing house loans and raising the minimum wage the government has been able to pull more than 20 million people out of poverty (The New York Times, 2011). President Lula paved the growth that solidified the country and made it a significant player in the world. However, the next President again has not been able to win the confidence of the people. Thus, on the one hand while it has abundance of natural resources, a large industrial base, a huge population base, making the market attractive to investors, economic uncertainties make it difficult to improve its competitiveness or build a modern infrastructure (Austrade, 2001). Labor The nation has a large labor force but the workers are either unskilled or semi-skilled. There is a shortage of technical personnel. Labor unions can be militant especially in the metallurgical, automobile, banking and transport sectors (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2005). They make a significant force in the country. Fringe benefits and social security for the laborers is not very strong. However, foreign investors do not experience problems with labor because they follow local standards and practices. and the country has been the top producer/exporter of soybeans, cattle and beef products, and poultry. Major issues in doing business in

Grievance handling procedure in Reliance Infocomm Limited

Grievance handling procedure in Reliance Infocomm Limited To develop a Grievance handling procedure for Reliance Infocomm after studying in detail the types and causes of grievances those are specific to Reliance Communication Limited. Objectives: To frame a Grievance Redressal Procedure for Reliance Infocomm Limited. To analyze the types of grievances that existed among the employees of Reliance Infocomm Limited. To obtain suggestions on the kind of Grievance Redressal Procedures from the employers of Reliance Infocomm Limited. Introduction: Every employee has certain expectations which he thinks must be fulfilled by the organization he is working for. When the organization fails to do this, he develops a feeling of discontent or dissatisfaction. When an employee feels that something is unfair in the organization, he is said to have a grievance. In the Industrial Relations language, Grievance is defined as anything which irritates or tends to make work conditions unsatisfactory and thereby harbors a discontent or dissatisfaction arising anything connected with the company that an employee thinks, believes or even feels, unfair, unjust. In this sense many of the controversial issues in Industrial Organizations may be said to arise as a result of incept or ill-advised handling or neglect of grievances which individually may appear trivial but collectively may become explosive. The basic objective of the project is to frame a Grievance Redressal Procedure for Reliance Infocomm Limited and to analyze the types of grievances that existed among the employees of Reliance Infocomm Limited. Telecommunications Industry IN India The telecommunications industries in India are highly competitive. The growth rates in the number of telecommunication lines (both fixed and mobile) have been growing quite significantly, teledensities have been steadily improving and the ratio of mobile to fixed communications has crossed unity. In addition to the distribution of telecommunications services, India has a sizeable telecommunications equipment manufacturing industry. India has followed a policy of establishing a stand alone public laboratory, which was charged with the responsibility of developing a family of digital switching equipments and then transferring this generated technology to domestic public and private sector telecom equipment manufacturers. The telecommunications industry is a good example of the fact while having cheap factor endowments is necessary for a country to establish its presence in the international market; ability to move up the innovation ladder is a sufficient condition for that to occur. India is been considered to be the emerging technological giant from the developing world. India spent about one percent of their GDP on RD and have a growing number of patents issued in the US to their local inventors. India is an acknowledged powerhouse in embedded software, business software in general, chip designs and in pharmaceuticals. India has one of the largest telecommunications networks in the world. Reliance Infocomm is part of a large Indian conglomerate namely Reliance Industries. The American telecoms company, Qualcomm that pioneered the CDMA technology, holds about 4 per cent of the shares of Reliance Infocomm. Qualcomm makes money from royalties every time a chipset is inserted into CDMA phones and other network equipment as well as from license fees. Further based on my discussions with Midas Communications, it could be seen that the order from Reliance Infocomm has led to a large quantum of orders from both elsewhere within the country and from abroad. For instanc e, following test-run with 25,000 CorDect systems in 24 cities across nine states for over an year, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has recently awarded a contract for over 0.6 million CorDect lines. The BSNL contract is worth around Rs. 7 billion and is divided among Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd (HFCL), Indian Telephone Industries Ltd (ITI), and Electronic Corporation of India (ECI), Shyam Telecom and Hindustan Teleprinters Ltd (HTL). Literature Review Introduction In a broader perspective, any discontent or dissatisfaction, real or imaginary, experienced, by an employer about his or her employment constitutes a grievance. In their working lives, employees occasionally become aggrieved at the treatment meted out to them by the supervisors or the management on certain service conditions managerial decisions, practices, etc., A grievance should be treated as a show cause issued by the workmen against the management by an undertaking. Grievances can arise mainly under two conditions, namely: When management attempts or does something which it is not expected to do. When the management fails or refrains from doing something which it is expected to do. Thus a grievance is also an indicator of the organizational health. The complainant may or may not specifically assign reasons for dissatisfaction. But once the complaint is formally presented it has got be investigated and a solution is found out. According to Beach, D.S, and Personnel Administration, of People at Work, 1965, Any dissatisfaction or feeling of injustice in connection with ones employment situation that is brought to the notice of management. According to S. Chandra, Grievance Procedure: A Survey of Practices in India, 1968, the following causes have been given of employee grievances: Promotions, Amenities, Continuity of services, Compensation, Disciplinary action, Fines, Increments, Leave, Medical Benefits, Nature of the job, Payment of wages, Acting promotion, Recovery of dues, Safety appliance, Superannuation, Super session, Transfer, Victimization and Conditions of work. The handling of special grievances may involve special steps as well as, or in place of, skipping certain steps within normal grievance channels, by Petterfer, J.C, Effective Grievance Arbitration in California Management Review, 1970. According to Shea, John, Would Foremen Unionize? in Personnel Journal, 1970, There are always time limits between different steps of the grievance procedure. Additional steps are taken within a grievance system when labour is dissatisfied with the solution put forward by the lower line management. According to Jucius, J.M., Personnel Management, 1971, A grievance is any discontent or dissatisfaction, whether expressed or not, whether valid or not, arising out of anything connected with the company which an employee thinks, believes or even feels to be unfair, unjust or inequitable. Any real or imagined feeling of personal injustice which an employee has concerning his employment relationship by Keith Davis, Human Relations at Work, 1971. A written complaint filed by an employee and claiming unfair treatment by Dale Yoder, Personnel Management and Industrial Relations, 1972. The Indian Institute of personnel Management, Calcutta, in the year 1973, has briefly summarized the grievance procedure in the following five steps: In the first instance, the grievance should be settled at the lowest level, that is, the employee should raise his grievance with his immediate superior. It should be made clear to the employee that he may appeal if he does not get satisfaction from his immediate superior. He should know who the next person in the echelon of management is to whom he should refer his grievance. The grievance should be speedily dealt with If the grievance is against any instructions issued by the superior, the employee should clearly understand that, in the interest of discipline, the instructions must first be carried out before the grievance can be considered and decided upon. It is only when this has been done that the employer will register his protest and set the grievance handling procedure in motion. It should be clearly understood by the employee that there will be no recourse to any official machinery till the grievance redressal procedure has been set in motion and that, in the event the employee is still dissatisfied, there will be no direct action by either party which might prejudice the case or raise doubts while the grievance is being investigate. The grievance is usually more formal in character than a complaint. It can be valid or ridiculous, and must grow out of something connected with company operations or policy. It must involve an interpretation or application of the provisions of the labour contract says Flippo, Principles of Personnel Management, 1976. Chapman, Brad J., 1976, observes: An employees concern for his job security may prompt a grievance over a transfer, work assignment, or promotion. Sometimes bad relations between supervisors and subordinates are to blame: this is often the cause of grievances over fair treatment. Organizational factors like automated jobs or ambiguous job descriptions that frustrate or aggravate employees are other potential causes of grievances. Union activism is another cause. For example, the union may solicit grievances from workers to underscore ineffective supervision. Problem employees are yet another cause of grievances. These are individuals, who, by their nature, are negative, dissatisfied, and grievance prone. According to Sikula, A.F., Personnel Administration, 1978, It is not possible that all the complaints of the employees would be settled by first-line supervisors, for these supervisors may not have had a proper training for the purpose, and they may lack authority. Moreover, there may be personality conflicts and other causes as well. According to Brian Bemmels, Janice R.Foley, a common criticism of grievance procedure research is the lack of theoretical grounding for much of the research done prior to 1985. Several earlier reviews of the grievance literature raised the challenge of improving on the theoretical aspects of grievance research. According to Michael Corcoran, 2006 a solicitor in the Steeles employment team, offers advice on grievance procedures: The aim of a grievance procedure is to encourage consistency, transparency and fairness in the handling of workplace problems or complaints. It should allow the employer to seek an informal resolution where appropriate but allow for more formal proceedings should the circumstances demand. The grievance procedures must be followed in relation to any grievance about action by any employer that could form the basis of a complaint by an employee to an Employment Tribunal. A grievance is a complaint by an employee about action which his employer has taken or is contemplating taking in relation to him. Research Methodology RESEARCH OBJECTIVES: To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insides into it. To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular individual situation or a group. To determine the frequency with which something occurs with which it is associated with something else. To test a hypothesis of a casual relationship between variables. RESEARCH TECHNIQUE: A research technique refers to the behavior and instruments we use in performing research operations. Here, regarding this project the techniques of Questionnaire is used with attitude skills, nominal scales, ordinal scales, and interval scales, and ratio scales mass behavioral scales. RESEARCH DESIGN: A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of date in manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure. Regarding this project, descriptive research design is applied. Here, Descriptive research design is concerned with describing the dissatisfaction of each individual on his job and the diagnostic research design helps in diagnostic research design helps in determine the frequency with which something occurs or its associated with something else. These two research designs helps in understand the characteristics in a given situation, think systematically about aspects in a given situation, offers idea for probe and research help to make certain simple decision. The researcher adopted random sampling method which includes 100 executives of Reliance Communication Limited. Conclusion In conclusion it is very important to remove the misunderstandings between the misunderstandings between the employer and employee. Human relations are the most important. It is the duty of the employer to remove the conflict from the minds of his employees and to localize problems and to find out ways and means for redressal of grievance. For achieving this goal an effective grievance procedure will certainly contribute to industrial peace and contended or happy labour.

meeting diverse needs in a classroom Essay -- essays research papers

Having observed inside a kindergarten classroom for a couple of weeks thus far, it has already become apparent to me the plethora of diverse needs of the children within a single classroom. Not all students are alike. They differ in how they learn, how quickly they pick up and absorb information, how they comprehend the meanings of things etc. While meeting these diverse learning needs in a single classroom can be very challenging for a busy teacher, it must be done in order for all of the students to advance to the next level. I feel that it is important that a teacher be flexible with the methods by which he or she teaches students material. Adjusting the method from time to time gives learners who are having trouble with one presentation style the possibility of being able to make sense of the ideas being portrayed. Also it is important to alternate from individual lessons to group lessons to class lessons to allow for the diverse strengths and weaknesses of the students to be ac counted for.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the particular classroom that I observe, the teacher does a good job of meeting the diverse needs of the students. Lesson by lesson, she alternates from doing hands on activities to verbally giving children the information. This allows for students with auditory strengths along with those students possessing visual strengths to get a chance to make sense of the material. She goes out of her way to make sure that every child’s way of learning is being a...

Good and Bad Dams

Latin America and Caribbean Region Sustainable Development Working Paper 16 Good Dams and Bad Dams: Environmental Criteria for Site Selection of Hydroelectric Projects November 2003 George Ledec Juan David Quintero The World Bank Latin America and Caribbean Region Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Department (LCSES) Latin America and the Caribbean Region Sustainable Development Working Paper No. 16 Good Dams and Bad Dams: Environmental Criteria for Site Selection of Hydroelectric Projects November 2003George Ledec Juan David Quintero The World Bank Latin America and the Caribbean Region Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Sector Management Unit George Ledec has worked with the World Bank since 1982, and is presently Lead Ecologist for the Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Unit (LCSES) of the World Bank’s Latin America and Caribbean Regional Office. He specializes in the environmental assessment of development projects, wit h particular focus on biodiversity and related conservation oncerns. He has worked extensively with the environmental aspects of dams, roads, oil and gas, forest management, and protected areas, and is one of the main authors of the World Bank’s Natural Habitats Policy. Dr. Ledec earned a Ph. D. in Wildland Resource Science from the University of California-Berkeley, a Masters in Public Affairs from Princeton University, and a Bachelors in Biology and Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College.Juan David Quintero joined the World Bank in 1993 and is presently Lead Environmental Specialist for LCSES and Coordinator of the Bank’s Latin America and Caribbean Quality Assurance Team, which monitors compliance with environmental and social safeguard policies. He specializes in environmental assessment of infrastructure projects, mainly roads, hydropower, oil and gas, urban transport, and water supply and sanitation. He has received the Regional Award from the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) for promoting improvements in environmental impact assessments throughout Latin America.He is a civil engineer with postgraduate degrees in Environmental and Sanitary Engineering. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions in this document are those of the authors, and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, its affiliated organizations, members of its Board of Executive Directors, or the countries they represent. This working paper series is produced by the Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Sector Management Unit of the Latin America and Caribbean Regional Office. Additional copies may be obtained from the authors or from LCSES Program Assistant Peter Brandriss ([email  protected] rg, or tel. 1-202-473-9379). Cover photos (clockwise from upper left): Loksop Dam, South Africa Guavio Dam, Colombia Yacyreta Dam, Argentina/Paraguay All photos by George Ledec ii Contents Acknowledgments †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. iv Foreword †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. v Executive Summary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ii Introduction †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 1 Adverse Environmental Impacts of Hydropower Development †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3 Key Indicators of Likely Environmental Impacts †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9 Overview of Environmentally Good and Bad Hydroelectric Dam Sites †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 13 Conclusions †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 Bibliography†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 17 Tables 1. Hydroelectric Projects: Adverse Impacts and Mitigation Options 4 2. Land Area Flooded and People Displaced in Large Hydropower Projects iii 12 Acknowledgments Doug Mason (consultant) compiled data on more than twenty completed Latin American hydroelectric projects; this information was very useful in our analysis of environmental and social impacts, mitigation measures, and site selection criteria.Several current and former World Bank Group staff members provided useful comments and much encouragement, including Alessandro Palmieri, John Briscoe, Teresa Serra, Tony Whitten, Robert Goodland, Tor Ziegler, Warren Van Wicklin, William Partridge, Maria Clara Mejia, Kristine Ivarsdotter, Mateen Thobani, Salman Salman, and A. J. Glauber. This paper also reflects the helpful comments provided by Dominique Egre and Gaitan Guertin (Hydro-Quebec), Jose Goldemberg (World Commission on Dams), and Paul Dulin. Peter Brandriss helped edit and prepare the report for publication. iv ForewordFew types of development projects arouse as much controversy as hydroelectric dams. Their often serious environmental damage has been amply documented within the past decade. Nonetheless, many countries, in Latin America and worldwide, rely upon hydroelectric dams for a major portion of their electric power. Electricity remains a key ingredient for improving the lives of poor people almost everywhere. In developing countries, rapid urbanization and continued population growth will ensure increased demand for electric power for decades to come, even with the most successful of demand management and en ergy efficiency measures.Energy planners in many developing countries are thus likely to continue seeing hydroelectric dams as a promising source of renewable electric power. This report provides important advice for substantially reducing the environmental damage from future hydroelectric dams (whether or not they receive World Bank Group financing) through good project site selection. Although the report’s conclusions are drawn primarily from a review of Latin American dams, its innovative methodology for dam site selection–based on robust environmental and social criteria and straightforward, quantitative indicators–should prove useful worldwide.The report also helpfully summarizes the environmental mitigation options for the improved operation of existing hydroelectric dams. As such, this report should be of considerable interest to people interested in hydroelectric dams, whether at the World Bank, other multilateral and bilateral development institutions, government agencies, private energy companies, consulting firms, environmental and other NGOs, and academia. This report is part of the LCR Sustainable Development Working Paper Series published by the Latin America and the Caribbean Region’s Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Sector Management Unit (LCSES).This series seeks to disseminate the results of our analytical and operational work, present preliminary findings, and describe â€Å"best practices† with respect to major sustainable development issues facing the region. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in these papers are entirely those of the authors and should not be attributed to the World Bank, members of its Board of Executive Directors, or the countries they represent. John Redwood Director Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Latin America and Caribbean Region The World Bank v Executive SummaryLarge dams vary considerably in their adverse environment al and related social impacts. From an environmental standpoint, there are relatively good dams and bad dams. While some large dams are relatively benign, others have caused major environmental damage. The severity of environmental impacts from a hydroelectric project is largely determined by the dam site. While dams at good sites can be very defensible from an environmental standpoint, those proposed at bad sites will inherently be highly problematic, even if all feasible mitigation measures are properly implemented.This paper provides a simple, yet robust, methodology for comparing proposed hydroelectric project sites in terms of their expected negative environmental impacts, and relating these to power generation benefits. The paper also summarizes the environmental mitigation options for large dams. If properly implemented, these mitigation measures can effectively prevent, minimize, or compensate for many (though not all) of a hydroelectric project’s negative impacts.Non etheless, the most effective environmental mitigation measure is good site selection, to ensure that the proposed dam will cause relatively little damage in the first place. The paper presents quantitative indicators (using data that are relatively easy to obtain) for rating and ranking proposed new hydroelectric projects in terms of their likely adverse environmental impacts. Projects with a small reservoir surface area (relative to power generation) tend to be most desirable from both an environmental and social standpoint, in part because they minimize natural habitat losses as well as resettlement needs.In general, the most environmentally benign hydroelectric dam sites are on upper tributaries, while the most problematic ones are on the large main stems of rivers. Power expansion planning should ensure that environmental criteria, of the type outlined in this paper, are given appropriate weight in hydroelectric project site selection. Many of the more problematic dam sites are best left undeveloped, because the environmental or related social impacts are likely to be unacceptably high. In those cases, other power generation technologies are likely to be more environmentally desirable.Conversely, hydroelectric dams at good sites (with relatively low adverse impacts) and with effective implementation of proper mitigation measures are likely to be more attractive from an environmental standpoint than the most likely power generation alternatives. vii Introduction 1. Large hydroelectric dams are among the most controversial of all types of development projects. They have been the focus of much criticism of the World Bank and other international financing agencies. The â€Å"large dams† debate is often highly polarized.Critics of large hydroelectric projects point to a wide range of negative environmental and related social impacts, from the destruction of unique biodiversity to the displacement of vulnerable human populations. Defenders of large dams n ote that they are often the economically least-cost source of electric power available, especially to large urban centers; they are a renewable electricity source; and most other power generation technologies also imply significant adverse environmental impacts. 2.Worldwide, many countries rely upon hydropower for a substantial portion of their electricity. In developing countries, rapid urbanization and continued population growth will ensure increased demand for electric power for decades to come, even with the most successful of demand management and energy efficiency measures. Electricity remains a key ingredient for improving the lives of millions of poor people throughout the developing world. Energy planners in many countries are likely to continue seeing hydroelectric dams as a promising, renewable source of electricity.Major recent international initiatives–including the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 2002), World Water Forum (Kyoto, 2003), Wo rld Commission on Dams (1997-2002), and the ongoing Dams and Development Project of the United Nations Environment Program–have reaffirmed the commitment of many governments and international agencies (including the World Bank) to hydropower development, but in a manner which fully reflects modern environmental concerns. 3. In this context, it is important to remember that all large hydroelectric dams are not alike.Large hydroelectric projects vary tremendously in the extent of their adverse environmental and related social impacts. (In this paper, we define large hydroelectric dams as those with 10 megawatts or more of installed generating capacity, to distinguish them from small or micro-dams which generate power on a smaller scale. ) For example, the 500–megawatt Pehuenche Hydroelectric Project in Chile flooded only about 400 hectares of land (with minimal damage to forest or wildlife resources) and has had no water quality problems.By contrast, the Brokopondo Dam i n Suriname inundated about 160,000 hectares of biologically valuable tropical rainforest and is known for serious water quality and aquatic weed problems, while providing relatively little electric generating capacity (only 30 megawatts). 4. We conducted a review of more than twenty completed hydroelectric dam projects in Latin America, along with several well-known projects from other regions. Our study found that some large dams are relatively benign, while others have caused substantial environmental and related social damage.This paper provides a methodology for easily comparing proposed hydroelectric project sites in terms of their expected adverse environmental impacts, relative to their power generation benefits. The technical criteria and quantitative indicators in this paper should be viewed as complementary to 1 2 LCR Sustainable Development Working Paper No. 16 the broader and often more process-oriented advice of other recent reports on dams, including the 2000 Dams and Development report of the World Commission on Dams.This paper’s recommendations are fully compatible with the World Bank’s Water Resources Sector Strategy, although this paper provides more technical detail regarding specific environmental impacts, mitigation options, and site selection criteria. Adverse Environmental Impacts of Hydropower Development 5. The range of adverse environmental and related social impacts that can result from hydroelectric dams is remarkably diverse. While some impacts occur only during construction, the most important impacts usually are due to the long-term existence and operation of the dam and reservoir.Other significant impacts can result from complementary civil works such as access roads, power transmission lines, and quarries and borrow pits. Table 1 summarizes the adverse environmental and social impacts associated with dams and reservoirs, along with the typical kinds of mitigation measures often proposed (and, less often, effective ly implemented). 6. Our analysis indicates that with properly implemented mitigation measures, many of the negative environmental and related social impacts of hydroelectric projects can be reduced to very acceptable levels.As outlined in Table 1, mitigation measures can effectively prevent, minimize, or compensate for most adverse impacts, but only if they are properly implemented. In our review of Latin American hydroprojects, we found wide variation in the extent to which environmental mitigation measures were planned, budgeted, and actually implemented. 7. Moreover, for some types of negative impacts, at some project sites, the available mitigation measures—even when properly implemented—are inherently unsatisfactory.Examples of adverse environmental impacts which occur at some hydroelectric projects and cannot be fully mitigated include (i) irreversible biodiversity loss, if critical natural habitats not occurring elsewhere are submerged (or left dry) by the dam; (ii) fish passage facilities frequently cannot restore the pre-dam ecological balance of a river, in terms of species composition or fish migrations; and (iii) some cultural property (including sacred sites) cannot be adequately salvaged prior to reservoir inundation. 8.Thus, because mitigation measures are often not fully implemented, and are sometimes inherently inadequate, the single most important environmental mitigation measure for a new hydroelectric project is good site selection, to ensure that the proposed dam is will be largely benign in the first place. In the following summary of typical adverse environmental impacts and corresponding mitigation options, it is important to keep in mind that all these types of impacts can be either avoided or minimized through good project site selection. 3 4Note: All of these impacts can be avoided or minimized by good dam site selection, the single most important environmental measure. Environmental Impacts Mitigation Options Impacts o f the Dam and Reservoir Flooding of Natural Habitats Some reservoirs permanently flood extensive natural habitats, with local and even global extinctions of animal and plant species. Very large hydroelectric reservoirs in the tropics are especially likely to cause species extinctions (although such losses are only infrequently documented due to the lack of scientific data).Particularly hard-hit are riverine forests and other riparian ecosystems, which naturally occur only along rivers and streams. From a biodiversity conservation standpoint, the terrestrial natural habitats lost to flooding are usually much more valuable than the aquatic habitats created by the reservoir. One occasional exception to this rule is that shallow reservoirs in dry zones can provide a permanent oasis, sometimes important for migratory waterfowl and other terrestrial and aquatic fauna.To offset the loss of natural habitats to reservoir flooding or other project components (such as borrow pits), one or more compensatory protected areas can be established and managed under the project. If an existing area is protected â€Å"on paper† only, a useful project option is to strengthen its onthe-ground protection and management. The area protected under the project should ideally be of comparable or greater size and ecological quality to the natural area lost to the project.Under the World Bank’s Natural Habitats Policy, hydroelectric and other projects should not be sited where they would cause the significant conversion or degradation of critical natural habitats that do not occur elsewhere (and, hence, cannot be adequately compensated). Loss of Terrestrial Wildlife The loss of terrestrial wildlife to drowning during reservoir filling is an inherent consequence of the flooding of terrestrial natural habitats, although often treated as a separate impact. Although they may be useful for public relations purposes, wildlife rescue efforts rarely succeed in restoring wild populati ons.Instead of drowning, the captured and relocated animals typically starve, are killed by competitors or predators, or fail to reproduce successfully, due to the limited carrying capacity of their new habitats. Wildlife rescue is most likely to be justified on conservation grounds if (a) the species rescued are globally threatened with extinction and (b) the relocation habitat is ecologically suitable and effectively protected. However, the money spent on rescue would usually do much more for wildlife conservation if it were invested in compensatory protected areas.The most effective way to minimize wildlife mortality in hydroelectric projects is to choose dam sites which minimize the wildlife habitat flooded. LCR Sustainable Development Working Paper No 16 Table 1. Hydroelectric Projects: Adverse Environmental Impacts and Mitigation Options Environmental Impacts Mitigation Options Involuntary Displacement Involuntary displacement of people is often the main adverse social impact of hydroelectric projects. It can also have important environmental implications, such as with the conversion of natural habitats to accommodate resettled rural populations.For physical displacement, the main mitigation measure is the resettlement of displaced populations, including new housing, replacement lands, and other material assistance, as needed. Success usually requires consultation and participatory decisionmaking by both the resettled and host populations (mandatory for World Bank–supported resettlement). Effective resettlement of vulnerable ethnic minorities is particularly challenging because some of these people are highly vulnerable to adverse social changes.Accordingly, the World Bank’s Involuntary Resettlement and Indigenous Peoples policies afford special consideration to these populations, specifying that, among other requirements, all viable alternative project designs should be explored before considering physical displacement for these groups. Fo r people who are not physically displaced but suffer an economic loss of livelihoods (based on fisheries, agricultural or grazing lands, river-edge clay for brick and tile production, or other resources), mitigation measures should involve the provision of replacement resources, new job training, or other income restoration assistance, as needed.Deterioration of Water Quality The damming of rivers can cause serious water quality deterioration, due to the reduced oxygenation and dilution of pollutants by relatively stagnant reservoirs (compared to fast-flowing rivers), flooding of biomass (especially forests) and resulting underwater decay, and/or reservoir stratification (where deeper lake waters lack oxygen).Water pollution control measures (such as sewage treatment plants or enforcement of industrial regulations) may be needed to improve reservoir water quality. Where poor water quality would result from the decay of flooded biomass, selective forest clearing within the impoundmen t area should be completed before reservoir filling. Downriver Hydrological Changes These adverse impacts can be minimized through careful management of water releases.Objectives to consider in optimizing water releases from the turbines and spillways include adequate downriver water supply for riparian ecosystems, reservoir and downriver fish survival, reservoir and downriver water quality, aquatic weed and disease vector control, irrigation and other human uses of water, downriver flood protection, recreation (such as whitewater boating), and, of course, power generation. From an ecological standpoint, the ideal water release pattern would usually closely mimic the natural flooding regime (although this may not be feasible for densely settled floodplains where flood protection is a high priority).Dams that generate baseload electricity are typically more capable of replicating near-natural downriver flows than those that produce peaking power (where daily water releases may fluctu ate sharply, often to the detriment of aquatic organisms that are adapted to less frequent flow changes). Environmental management plans for hydroelectric projects should specify environmental water releases, including for dams owned or operated by the private sector. Good Dams and Bad Dams 5Major downriver hydrological changes can destroy riparian ecosystems dependent on periodic natural flooding, exacerbate water pollution during lowflow periods, and increase saltwater intrusion near river mouths. Reduced sediment and nutrient loads downriver of dams can increase river-edge and coastal erosion and damage the biological and economic productivity of rivers and estuaries. Induced desiccation of rivers below dams (when the water is diverted to another portion of the river, or to a different river) kills fish and other fauna and flora dependent on the river; it can also damage agriculture and human water supplies.Mitigation Options Water-Related Diseases Some infectious diseases can sp read around hydroelectric reservoirs, particularly in warm climates and densely populated areas. Some diseases (such as malaria and schistosomiasis) are borne by water-dependent disease vectors (mosquitoes and aquatic snails); others (such as dysentery, cholera, and hepatitis A) are spread by contaminated water, which frequently becomes worse in stagnant reservoirs than it was in fast-flowing rivers.Corresponding public health measures should include preventive measures (such as awareness campaigns and window screens), monitoring of vectors and disease outbreaks, vector control, and clinical treatment of disease cases, as needed. Control of floating aquatic weeds (see below) near populated areas can reduce mosquito-borne disease risks. Fish and Other Aquatic Life Hydroelectric projects often have major effects on fish and other aquatic life. Reservoirs positively affect certain fish species (and fisheries) by ncreasing the area of available aquatic habitat. However, the net impacts are often negative because (a) the dam blocks upriver fish migrations, while downriver passage through turbines or over spillways is often unsuccessful; (b) many riveradapted fish and other aquatic species cannot survive in artificial lakes; (c) changes in downriver flow patterns adversely affect many species, and (d) water quality deterioration in or below reservoirs (usually low oxygen levels; sometimes gas super-saturation) kills fish and damages aquatic habitats.Freshwater molluscs, crustaceans, and other benthic organisms are even more sensitive to these changes than most fish species, due to their limited mobility. Management of water releases may be needed for the survival of certain fish species, in and below the reservoir. Fish passage facilities (fish ladders, elevators, or trap-and-truck operations) are intended to help migratory fish move upriver past a dam; they are usually of limited effectiveness for various reasons (including the difficulty of ensuring safe downriver passage for many adults and fry).Fish hatcheries can be useful for maintaining populations of native species which can survive but not successfully reproduce within the reservoir. They are also often used for stocking the reservoir with economically desired species, although introducing non-native fish is often devastating to native species and not ecologically desirable. Fishing regulation is often essential to maintain viable populations of commercially valuable species, especially in the waters immediately below a dam where migratory fish species concentrate in high numbers and are unnaturally easy to catch.Floating Aquatic Vegetation Floating aquatic vegetation can rapidly proliferate in eutrophic reservoirs, causing problems such as (a) degraded habitat for most species of fish and other aquatic life, (b) improved breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other nuisance species and disease vectors, (c) impeded navigation and swimming, (d) clogging of electro-mechanical equipment at dams, and (e) increased water loss from some reservoirs. Pollution control and pre-impoundment selective forest clearing will make reservoirs less conducive to aquatic weed growth.Physical removal or containment of floating aquatic weeds is effective but imposes a high and recurrent expense for large reservoirs. Where compatible with other objectives (power generation, fish survival, etc. ), occasional drawdown of reservoir water levels may be used to kill aquatic weeds. Chemical poisoning of weeds or related insect pests requires much environmental caution and is usually best avoided. LCR Sustainable Development Working Paper No 16 Environmental Impacts (table continues on following page) 6 Table 1.Hydroelectric Projects: Adverse Environmental Impacts and Mitigation Options (continued) Environmental Impacts Mitigation Options Loss of Cultural Property Cultural property, including archaeological, historical, paleontological, and religious sites and objects, can be inundated by reser voirs or destroyed by associated quarries, borrow pits, roads, or other works. Structures and objects of cultural interest should undergo salvage wherever feasible through scientific inventory, careful physical relocation, and documentation and storage in museums or other appropriate facilities.However, it is often not possible to replace the loss of, or damage to, unique or sacred sites which may have great religious or ceremonial significance to indigenous or other local people. Reservoir Sedimentation Over time, live storage and power generation are reduced by reservoir sedimentation, such that much of some projects’ hydroelectric energy might not be renewable over the long term. If effectively implemented, watershed management can minimize sedimentation and extend a reservoir’s useful physical life, through the control of road construction, mining, agriculture, and other land use in the upper catchment area.Protected areas are sometimes established in upper catchme nts to reduce sediment flows into reservoirs, as with the Fortuna Dam in Panama and the proposed Rio Amoya (Colombia) and Nam Theun II (Laos) projects. Aside from watershed management, other sediment management techniques for hydroelectric reservoirs may at times be physically and economically feasible; they include, among others, upstream check structures, protecting dam outlets, reservoir flushing, mechanical removal, and increasing the dam’s height.Greenhouse Gases Greenhouse gas releases from reservoirs can be reduced by a thorough salvage of commercial timber and fuelwood, although frequently this does not happen because of (a) high extraction and transportation costs, (b) marketing constraints, or (c) political and economic pressures not to delay reservoir filling. The surest way to minimize greenhouse gas releases from reservoirs is to choose dam sites that minimize the flooding of land in general, and forests in particular. table continues on following page) Good Dams and Bad Dams 7 Greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide and methane) are released into the atmosphere from reservoirs that flood forests and other biomass, either slowly (as flooded organic matter decomposes) or rapidly (if the forest is cut and burned before reservoir filling). Greenhouse gases are widely considered to be the main cause of human-induced global climate change. Many hydroelectric reservoirs flood relatively little forest or other biomass.Moreover, most hydroprojects generate sufficient electricity to more than offset the greenhouse gases which would otherwise have been produced by burning fossil fuels (natural gas, fuel oil, or coal) in power plants. However, some projects which flood extensive forest areas, such as the Balbina Dam in Amazonian Brazil, appear to emit greenhouse gases in greater amounts than would be produced by burning natural gas for many years of comparable electricity generation. Mitigation Options Impacts of Complementary Civil Works Access RoadsNew acc ess roads to hydroelectric dams can induce major land use changes— particularly deforestation—with resulting loss of biodiversity, accelerated erosion, and other environmental problems. In some projects (such as Arun II in Nepal), the environmental impacts of access roads can greatly exceed those of the reservoir. The siting of any new access roads should be in the environmentally and socially least damaging corridors. Forests and other environmentally sensitive areas along the chosen road corridor should receive legal and on-the-ground protection.Road engineering should ensure proper drainage, to protect waterways and minimize erosion. Environmental rules for contractors (including penalties for noncompliance) should cover construction camp siting, gravel extraction, waste disposal, avoiding water pollution, worker behavior (such as no hunting), and other construction practices. See Ledec and Posas (2003) for details. Power Transmission Lines Power transmission line r ights-of-way often reduce and fragment forests; indirectly, they occasionally facilitate further deforestation by improving physical access.Large birds are sometimes killed in collisions with power lines, or by electrocution. Power lines can also be aesthetically objectionable. Power lines should be sited to minimize these concerns and built using good environmental practices (as with roads). In areas with concentrations of vulnerable bird species, the top (grounding) wire should be made more visible with plastic devices. Electrocution (mainly of large birds of prey) should be avoided through bird-friendly tower design and proper spacing of conducting wires.Quarries and Borrow Pits Quarries and borrow pits are used to provide material for construction of the dam and complementary works. They can considerably increase the area of natural habitats or agricultural lands that are lost to a hydroelectric project. To the greatest extent feasible, quarries and borrow pits should be sited w ithin the future inundation zone. Where this is not feasible, the pits should be rehabilitated after use, ideally for conservation purposes such as wetland habitats. Impacts of Induced DevelopmentAssociated Development Projects Hydroelectric dams often make possible new development projects with major environmental impacts, including irrigation, urban expansion, and industrial facilities (due to new water supplies). New development projects should be planned to minimize adverse environmental and social impacts. Environmental impact assessment studies should be carried out in the early stages of project planning; the resulting environmental mitigation plans should be fully implemented. Additional DamsThe construction of the first dam on a river can make the subsequent construction of additional dams more economical, because flow regulation by the upriver dam can enhance power generation at the downriver dam(s). The environmental impact assessment study for the first dam on any river should include a cumulative environmental assessment of the likely impacts of proposed additional dams on the same river system. Implementation of mitigation measures for cumulative (rather than dam-specific) impacts should be completed or well underway prior to construction of the second dam on the river. LCR Sustainable Development Working Paper No 16Environmental Impacts 8 Table 1. Hydroelectric Projects: Adverse Environmental Impacts and Mitigation Options (continued) Key Indicators of Likely Environmental Impacts 9. Before a dam site is chosen (with a project-specific environmental impact assessment), sector-level environmental analysis can rank potential sites according to their degree of environmental desirability. A sectoral environmental assessment (SEA) should be carried out prior to making major power sector planning decisions, especially in the comparison of hydroelectric and other power generation (and demand management) alternatives.However, even without a detailed SEA , it is possible to carry out a simple environmental and ranking of different hydropower sites using basic, often readily available technical data. There exist various quantitative, easily calculated indicators that can be used to estimate the extent of adverse environmental impacts for any proposed hydroelectric project. 10. This paper presents 13 quantitative, easily calculated indicators that we consider especially useful for hydroproject site selection from an environmental standpoint. These indicators have high predictive value for likely adverse environmental (and related social) impacts.The first nine indicators (A–I) use information that is normally easy to obtain from basic dam planning data, even without a separate environmental study. The other four indicators (J–M) are also very important in the environmental comparison of alternative dam sites, but involve data that may require further environmental (or resettlement) study to obtain. Indicator A (hectares of land inundated) is perhaps the single most useful one in predicting the degree of environmental damage, because this indicator is positively correlated with many of the others.From a social standpoint, the number of people requiring resettlement (Indicator J) is an especially important. A. Reservoir Surface Area 11. The area flooded by the reservoir is a strong proxy variable for many environmental and social impacts (Goodland, 1997). A large reservoir area implies the loss of much natural habitat and wildlife and/or the displacement of many people. Very large reservoirs are typically in the lowlands (often with tropical disease and aquatic weed problems) and usually impound larger rivers (with more fish and other aquatic species at risk).A very useful measure of environmental costs relative to economic benefits is the ratio of inundated hectares per megawatt (ha/MW) of electricity; it varies by four orders of magnitude for large power projects (see Table 2). The global average f or all large hydroelectric dams constructed to date (not just those in Table 2) is about 60 ha/MW (J. Goldemberg, pers. comm. ); it would be environmentally highly desirable for this average to be much reduced in future hydroprojects. B. Water Retention Time in Reservoir 12.Mean water retention time during normal operation (the shorter, the better) is very useful in estimating the extent to which reservoirs will have long-term water quality problems. This figure (number of days) is calculated as a function of reservoir volume (cubic meters) and mean river flow (cubic liters per second). 9 10 LCR Sustainable Development Working Paper No. 16 C. Biomass Flooded 13. Biomass flooded is calculated in tons per hectare based on the percent cover of different vegetation types in the reservoir area.For good reservoir water quality, dams should minimize flooding of forests (which have high biomass content). Flooding native forests also threatens biodiversity and releases greenhouse gases. D. L ength of River Impounded 14. To conserve aquatic and riparian biodiversity (including riverine forests), dam sites should minimize the length (kilometers) of river (main stem plus tributaries) impounded by the reservoir (measured during high flow periods). E. Length of River Left Dry 15. This measures the kilometers of river left dry (with less than 50 percent of dry season mean flow) below the dam, due to water diversion.The length of dried-up river bed (before the next important downstream tributary) should be minimized, due to the loss of fish and other aquatic life, damage to riparian ecosystems, and disruption of human water supplies, agriculture, and/or fishing. F. Number of Downriver Tributaries 16. The more (major, undammed) tributaries downriver of the dam site, the better, in terms of maintaining accessible habitat for migratory fish, the natural flooding regime for riverine ecosystems, and nutrient or sediment inputs needed for the high biological productivity of estuarie s. G. Likelihood of Reservoir Stratification 7. Stratification in a reservoir occurs when the lake’s upper zone (epilimnion) is thermally divided from the deeper zone (hypolimnion); the latter becomes stagnant and lacking in dissolved oxygen (anaerobic), thereby unsuitable for most aquatic life. A rapid estimate of stratification tendencies in a reservoir can be obtained with the Densimetric Froude Number (F). F can be calculated as: F = 320(L/D)(Q/V), where L = length of the reservoir (meters), D = mean reservoir depth (meters) (for which dam height can be a proxy), Q = mean water inflow (cubic meters per second), and V = eservoir volume (cubic meters). If F is less than 1, some stratification is expected, the severity of which increases with a smaller F. When F is greater than 1, stratification is not likely. H. Useful Reservoir Life 18. Useful reservoir life is the expected number of years before a reservoir’s dead storage is completely filled, so that further sedim entation reduces the live storage and curtails power generation. Dead storage comprises all reservoir water beneath the level of the intakes for the dam’s turbines; all of the water at or above this intake level is part of the live storage.Useful reservoir life is a function of dead storage and river-borne sediment loads. Useful reservoir life is a good indicator of the relative sustainability of electric power generation; it varies from less than ten years before dead storage is filled (such as the Paute Dam in Ecuador) to potentially thousands of years. In general, reservoirs with the longest useful life are relatively deep and situated on rivers with low sediment loads. Maintaining low sediment loads over time typically requires good watershed management. Good Dams and Bad Dams 11 I. Access Roads through Forests 19.Where the risks of induced deforestation are high, project siting should minimize the kilometers of required new or upgraded access roads passing through or nea r natural forests. J. Persons Requiring Resettlement 20. The number of people physically displaced by hydroelectric projects ranges from zero (e. g. Pehuenche, Chile) to over 50,000 in Latin America (e. g. Yacyreta, Argentina-Paraguay) and well over 1 million in Asia (Three Gorges, China). Dam siting should generally seek to minimize the number of individuals or households requiring resettlement from lands affected by the reservoir and complementary civil works.A useful measure for relating resettlement costs to hydropower benefits is the ratio of people displaced per megawatt (Table 2). Because of their usually greater vulnerability to social disruption, it is especially important to minimize the number of indigenous people with traditional land-based models of production who would require resettlement. K. Critical Natural Habitats Affected 21. It is important to know the number of sites and hectares of critical natural habitats that would be lost to inundation, borrow pits, or oth er project components.Critical natural habitats include existing and officially proposed protected areas, as well as unprotected areas of known high importance for biodiversity conservation. To comply with the World Bank’s Natural Habitats Policy, hydroelectric projects should not cause any significant loss or degradation of critical natural habitats. On the other hand, some hydroelectric projects imply very important conservation opportunities by providing a strong justification (sediment reduction) and financial resources needed for protecting natural habitats in upper catchment areas.L. Fish Species Diversity and Endemism 22. Fish species diversity is the number of species known from the project area, including the dam and reservoir site, as well as the downstream zone of project influence. Fish species endemism is the number of native species known only from the project area, or the river system where the project is located, and nowhere else on Earth. Dams are environment ally less objectionable if they affect rivers with a naturally low diversity and endemism of native fish species.In general, large, lowland rivers in warm (tropical or subtropical) climates have a high diversity of native fish and other aquatic organisms, while small rivers in cold (tropical highland or temperate) climates have relatively low diversity. Large, lowland rivers are also more likely to have significant seasonal fish migrations, which are effectively blocked by most dams. However, highland rivers and streams often have relatively high endemism in their fish fauna, especially if they are isolated from other rivers by waterfalls or other natural barriers.River segments with threatened fish species found nowhere else should be classified as critical natural habitats and, ideally, would receive permanent protection from dams or other potentially damaging civil works. However, dams and reservoirs in upper tributary rivers and streams need not threaten the survival of any ende mic fish (or mollusks, or other aquatic life) if they affect only an insignificant portion of the river area used by these species (see Indicators D and E); they should also be sited so as not to block important fish migrations. M. Cultural Property Affected 23.An indication of the cultural significance of the area to be inundated (or otherwise affected by the project) is the number (by type) of cultural (archaeological, historical, paleontological, or religious) objects or sites. It is important to note whether each type of cultural property at the project site is salvageable (totally, partially, or not at all). 12 LCR Sustainable Development Working Paper No. 16 Table 2. Land Area Flooded and People Displaced in Large Hydropower Projects Project (country) Arun II (Nepal) Pehuenche (Chile) Pangue (Chile) Guavio (Colombia) Tehri (India) Ghazi Barotha (Pakistan)Nam Theun-Hinboun (Laos) Ertan (China) Fortuna (Panama) Chixoy (Guatemala) Grand Coulee (United States) Three Gorges (China) Tarbela (Pakistan) Salvajina (Colombia) Zimapan (Mexico) Itaipu (Brazil/Paraguay) Victoria (Sri Lanka) Kararao/Belo Monte (Brazil) Aguamilpa (Mexico) Betania (Colombia) Urra I (Colombia) Mangla (Pakistan) Bakun (Malaysia) Ataturk (Turkey) El Cajon (Honduras) Ilha Solteira (Brazil) Guri Complex (Venezuela) Salto Grande (Argentina/Uruguay) Nam Theun II (Laos) Arenal (Costa Rica) Yacyreta (Argentina/Paraguay) Tucurui (Brazil) Narmada Sagar (India) Porto Primavera (Brazil)Churchill Falls (Canada) Khao Laem (Thailand) Kedung Ombo (Indonesia) Kainji (Nigeria) Pak Mun (Thailand) Cabora Bassa (Mozambique) Aswan High (Egypt) Nam Ngum (Laos) Sobradinho (Brazil) Kariba (Zambia/Zimbabwe) Balbina (Brazil) Akosombo (Ghana) Bayano (Panama) Kompienga (Burkina Faso) Brokopondo (Suriname) Installed capacity (MW) 402 500 450 1,000 2,400 1,450 210 3,300 300 300 6,494 18,200 3,478 270 280 12,600 210 8,381 960 510 340 1,000 2,400 2,400 300 3,200 10,300 1,890 1,086 157 3,100 3,980 1,000 1,815 5,225 300 2 9 760 34 2,075 2,100 150 1,050 1,260 250 833 30 14 30 Reservoir rea (hectares) 43 400 500 1,530 4,200 2,640 630 10,100 1,050 1,400 33,306 110,000 24,280 2,030 2,300 135,000 2,270 116,000 13,000 7,370 7,400 25,300 70,000 81,700 11,200 125,700 426,000 78,300 45,000 7,000 165,000 243,000 90,820 225,000 665,000 38,800 4,600 126,000 6,000 380,000 400,000 37,000 415,000 510,000 236,000 848,200 35,000 20,000 160,000 People displaced 775 0 50 4,959 100,000 899 0 30,000 446 3,445 10,000 >1,300,000 96,000 3,272 2,800 59,000 45,000 n. a. 1,000 544 6,200 90,000 9,000 55,000 4,000 6,150 1,500 n. a. 5,700 2,500 50,000 30,000 80,500 15,000 0 10,800 29,000 50,000 4,945