What Is Carbon Monoxide And Its Effects Environmental Sciences Essay

What Is Carbon Monoxide And Its Effects Environmental Sciences Essay Carbon monoxide (CO), also known as carbonous oxide, is a colourless, odourless, tasteless gas produced by incomplete combustion of the fossil and carbon-based fuels, when there is not enough oxygen to produce Carbon Dioxide. Normally, carbon (C) and oxygen (O2) combine to produce carbon dioxide (CO2), when combustion of carbon is complete, in the presence of plenty of air. When combustion of carbon is incomplete, there is a limited supply of air, and only half as much oxygen adds to the carbon, forming carbon monoxide (CO). Many sources of carbon monoxide include: Unvented kerosene and gas space heaters; leaking chimneys and furnaces; back-drafting from furnaces, gas water heaters, wood stoves, and fireplaces; gas stoves; generators and other gasoline powered equipment; automobile exhaust from attached garages; and tobacco smoke. Carbon monoxide is not only formed from incomplete combustion, it is also formed as a pollutant when hydrocarbon fuels (natural gas, petrol, and diesel) ar e burned. Carbon Monoxide gas is produced from the partial oxidation of  carbon-containing compounds and it consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom. Carbon Monoxide is also the simplest oxocarbon, and is an anhydride of formic acid. The symbol equation for the formation of carbon dioxide is: (hydrocarbon) + O2 CO + H2O Effects on humans Despite Carbon Monoxide being perfectly harmless to humans at low exposure, it is extremely poisonous, often fatal, to humans at higher levels. When Carbon Monoxide enters the body through the respiratory system, it binds very strongly to the  iron  atoms  in haemoglobin, the principal  oxygen-carrying compound in blood. Haemoglobin, a protein present in the red blood cells, normally binds oxygen to form oxyhemoglobin and transports it to all parts of the body. When Carbon Monoxide enters the bloodstream, it competes with oxygen and binds to haemoglobin to form carboxyhemoglobin.  Carbon monoxide is attracted to haemoglobin over 200 times more strongly than oxygen. Therefore, in the blood, the presence of carbon monoxide prevents some of the  haemoglobin  found in red blood cells from carrying sufficient oxygen around the body, sometimes resulting in death. Symptoms of Carbon Monoxide poisoning The symptoms of mild carbon monoxide poisoning may be non-specific and similar to those of viral cold and flu infections, food poisoning or just simple fatigue. But, unlike flu and many viral infections, carbon monoxide poisoning doesnt result in a high temperature. At low concentrations, the poisoning produces symptoms such as abdominal pain; dizziness; sore throat; dry cough; fatigue in healthy people and chest pain in people with heart disease. At higher concentrations, the effects many include: impaired vision and coordination; headaches; dizziness; confusion; and nausea. At extreme levels of exposure, fast and irregular heart rate; hyperventilation; difficulty breathing; Seizures and loss of consciousness may occur. Some symptoms can occur a few days or even months after exposure to carbon monoxide, and may include confusion, loss of memory, problems with coordination; and unusually pinkish skin and cheeks, or bright red lips. Most of the symptoms and effects produced by exposure to carbon monoxide are generally reversible, as the effects disappear following removal from exposure. Despite this, if extremely high exposure does not result in death; permanent damage to the body is likely to occur, mostly to the nervous system. Many of the serious effects include:  · loss of memory  · increased irritability  · impulsiveness  · mood changes  · violent behaviour  · verbal aggression  · personality changes  · learning disabilities  · mental deterioration  · instability when walking Many people are more at risk of Carbon Monoxide poisoning; due is to their greater need for oxygen or an impaired ability of their bodies to provide an adequate supply. Those at most risk include:  · pregnant women  · the physically active  · older workers  · heavy smokers  · sufferers from respiratory diseases  · sufferers from heart disease Prevention Even though carbon monoxide poses a big threat to human health, the effects of exposure to it, both short-term and long-term, can be prevented if all the necessary precautions are carried out. The most important measure to protect yourself from carbon monoxide poisoning, is to have a Carbon Monoxide detector fitted in your home. The detectors can come in an alarm form, similar to fire detectors, or a passive form, which are adhesive detectors with a circle on the indicator that will turn grey or black, depending on the concentration of CO in the room. According to the National Fire Protection Association 93% of homes have smoke alarms, yet the Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that only 15% have carbon monoxide alarms, which greatly contributes to the high numbers of poisonings. The second precaution that you should take to protect yourself is to have your heating system; water heater; chimney and flue; and any other gas, oil, or coal burning appliances to be serviced by a qualified technician every year. You should also make sure that all your cooking appliances and furnaces are inspected for adequate safety and ventilation. Another precaution to take is to make sure not  use a generator, charcoal grill, camp stove, or other gasoline or charcoal-burning device inside your home, garage or near a window, as charcoal is very susceptible to producing carbon monoxide when burned. To prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, you should not run a car or any other automobile inside a garage attached to your home, or any enclosed space, even if you leave the door open, as Carbon Monoxide could become trapped. Making sure not to burn anything in a stove or fireplace that isnt vented, is also another life saving precaution to take. With a combination of all of the advice and techniques to prevent carbon Mmnoxide exposure within your home, you can protect yourself and others from the deadly and life threatening problem of Carbon Monoxide poisoning.

Themes, Symbolism, and Atmosphere in Dickens Hard Times Essay

When Charles Dickens was writing his commentary on a fast industrializing world, the thought that Hard Times would still be relevant over 150 years later is assumed to be far from the forefront of his mind. And yet at present, 158 years after its first publication, Charles Dickens’ tale of industrialization and its implications still holds a prominent place in today’s society. The following is one interpretation of Dickens’ story of an industrialized dystopia, and discussed are its ever-relevant theme, the symbols and motifs which reinforce it, and the effective atmosphere which it creates. Throughout the novel there are two very prominent themes: the notion that industrialization has a mechanizing effect on human beings and the recurring battle of fact versus fancy. However, the latter can be seen as subordinate to the first. Forthwith in the novel Dickens establishes the emphasis on facts and statistics (â€Å"The One Thing Needful†), using a monologue to introduce his novel: â€Å"Now, what I want is, Facts. [†¦]Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else.† (Dickens 3). Immediately the stage is set, with Dickens creating a character whose sole belief could no doubt be proved using further statistics and facts. What Dickens has also done by the end of the first chapter is describe a character who possesses qualities common to many industrialists and of that era, a character who himself appears to represent a part of the industry, one who was â€Å"inflexible, dry, and dictatorial† (Dickens 3). Given the p revalence of utilitarianism in the time of writing, it is apparent why Dickens chose to embody the main theme in a character that is so â€Å"eminently practical† that he comes off as cold as the great hulking... ...simplicity which enabled readers of any kind to sympathize with the characters bound to a dystopia fueled by the ever-turning gears and wheels of the great industrial machine. Dickens created a novel that thoroughly detailed the effects which industry forced upon humanity, as well as the fight man took to overcome such mechanization, one saw a battle between utilitarianism and humanism play out with the turn of each page, and one saw humanity prevail in the novel’s conclusion. However, humanity, it seems, is not always the preponderate in reality, with this battle of â€Å"fact versus fancy† still playing out today. Hard Times will forever be relevant so long as mankind continues to engineer the evolution of industry and industry continues to engineer the end of mankind’s evolution. Works Cited Dickens, Charles. Hard Times. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1990

Costco Versus Sam’s Club Essay

The navigator basis of image has the control to navigate the company through external issues. Costco employs a divisional organizational structure that is nationwide and divided into three different divisions. Each division is controlled by an Executive Vice President and the regions are divided for the Senior Vice President. Costco opens its stores in different states such as the first time to open in South Carolina, â€Å"It’s pretty much spread like wildfire† (McMaster, 2001). One of the pressure for change was the economy and the recession that the businesses encountered and to be more strategic than its competitors to sell products as bulk to save money and make the consumer happy especially with large families. Sam’s Club does not have as much pressure as Costco would since Sam’s Club is a subsidiary of Walmart which is the largest retail store chain all across the world. â€Å"In this image, some, but not all, change intentions are achievable. Power, processes, interests, and the different skill levels of managers affect their ability to produce intentional change outcomes† (Ian Palmer 26). Costco and Sam’s Club are able to embrace the changes and the great outcomes by thousands of members who shop at the companies. Costco differ from other retail companies by the wholesale products that consumers can buy in bulk while still saving money in the long run even with the annual membership that Costco and Sam’s Club charges. The other change manager at Costco and Sam’s Club is that they both utilize the highlights of the goals as a coach because the way training goes, both warehouse company focuses on not only delegating the work but actions leading with words. For example, when customers are shopping for a certain item and the manager trains the employees on the products, what’s coming in and what’s going out, and also following schematics to ensure customers that when they shop at each parenting store, the customers are able to find the product in any store and in any state. One of the models that Costco and Sam’s Club seem to use is the 7-S Framework because the managers have goal sets, strategies and structure on how to train the employees and how they want the job to be performed. As a warehouse company, new products will arrive such as groceries and out goes the old because they are perishable. Based on the readings, â€Å"The 7-S Framework was developed by the McKinsey & Company consultants Robert Waterman Jr., Tom Peters, and Julien Phillips. It is based on the propositions that organizational effectiveness comes from the interaction of multiple factors and successful change requires attention to the interconnectedness of the variables. They characterize the factors into seven categories: structure, strategy, systems, style, staff, skills, and superordi-nate goals (Ian Palmer 125). The only bad thing about the 7-S framework is that its weakness is viewing at the external aspects because the products sold are not for just one type of demogra phic but more than one by offering different type of products and services. SWOT Analysis Since Costco and Sam’s Club are both huge warehouse retailers, each one has strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Not only are the analyses internal, they are also external. Both have high employee retention because they do treat the employees well by offering above average salaries and great benefits. As for externally, both warehouse companies offer other products and services such as food courts, sell and install tires, gasoline, and business cards. As the class textbook says, â€Å"The Strategic Inventory involves a much more sophisticated analysis than that provided by the ubiquitous SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats). The danger with SWOT analysis is that it very easily becomes a listing not of strengths but â€Å"believed strengths,† not of weaknesses but â€Å"believed weaknesses,† and so forth† (Ian Palmer 137). Costco strengths offer a wide variety of products, high end and mid range, online and services but have a weak compliance function which limits the customer to product choices. One of the opportunities for Costco is that they have a growing demand for private labeling on their products which well known as Kirkland but with the foreign exchange rate fluctuations, the profit margins may seem lower than expected and services are much less used in other countries. Costco’s wide spread geographic presence though has its benefits, also exposes the company to the threat of foreign exchange rate fluctuations. Stated in the datamonitor, â€Å"Costco has operations in the US, Puerto Rico, Canada, the UK, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Mexico and Australia. Thus, the company generates revenue in many other currencies besides its domestic currency which is the US dollar† (Costco Wholesale Corporation, 2011). Below listed is Costco SWOT analysis on Appendix A. Sam’s Club strengths are much stronger based on the fact of its association with Wal Mart but causing weakness because of the same products can be found in Sam’s Club where members have to pay for a membership and the Wal Mart supercenters may have more products to choose from without membership fees. In the readings of Real Estate Dynamics in Broadlines Retail, â€Å"SAM’S has the greatest geographic breadth of the three players, but the least attractive real estate and demographics: SAM’S faces the least competition with other clubs given that over 60% of the markets in which it has a presence are single-player club markets, and almost 40% of its store base is in these markets† (Turf Wars, pg. 55). The opportunities that Sam’s Club is offering online products and services, since Wal Mart also does online purchases, this gives the companies a greater advantage with Ecommerce. One of the weaknesses that Sam Club faces is that not only does the products and services overlaps with Wal Mart but also with other wholesale warehouse such as Costco. Below Listed is the SWOT analysis of Sam’s Club on Appendix B. Recommendation The recommendations for further actions within the organizations and the rationale chosen would be to focus more on the competitors’ products and services and match it or beat it by a certain percentage. There are two main retail wholesalers which are Costco and Sam’s club, keep as is ensures they are on top and not being able to monopolize the business. With antitrust laws, an agreement between competitors, this prevents the monopoly of powers, certain restrictions on mergers, and not only does it protect the sellers but also the buyers as well (www.antitrustlaws.org). References: Costco Wholesale Corporation SWOT Analysis. (2012). Costco Wholesale Corporation SWOT Analysis, 1-9. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. DATAMONITOR: Costco Wholesale Corporation. (2011). Costco Wholesale Corporation SWOT Analysis, 1-10. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Ian Palmer. Managing Organizational Change, 2nd Edition. McGraw-Hill Learning Solutions, 2008. . John, M. (n.d).Costco to Open First South Carolina Store with Promotional Giveaway. Post And Courier, The (Charleston, SC), Retrieved from EBSCOhost. The Warehouse Club Industry. (2004). Black Book – Turf Wars: Real Estate Dynamics in Broadlines Retail, 55-81. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Retrieved from the internet: http://www.antitrustlaws.org/ http://www.freeswotanalysis.com/retailing-swot/225-sams-club-swot-analysis.html http://www.yousigma.com/comparativeanalysis/costcowholesaleswot.pdf

The Indian Slave Trade essays

The Indian Slave Trade essays My paper proposes to focus on the Indian slave trade in the colonial Southeast as a representative aspect of Anglo-Indian exchange relations generally. I am particularly interested in the years immediately preceding the Yamasee War against South Carolina, which erupted in 1715. The paper has two principal objectives in this regard. First, the paper seeks to analyze the forms of communication and cooperative action that provided the foundations for intercultural exchange. This demands that Anglo-Indian trade be viewed not simply as an economic transaction or even as an exercise in cultural accommodation and adaptation but as a form of continuing dialogue or discourse. In a previous article, published in the South Carolina Historical Magazine, I have already argued that the Indian slave trade was conducted in two phases, the first under Native American control and the second under English control. I would like to explore the mechanics of that cooperative process in more detail in my proposed paper and, equally important, begin linking the discourse that shaped the slave trade to other aspects of Anglo-Indian exchange. Second, the paper seeks to explore the aptness of current models for understanding Euro Indian relations in the South. Few southeastern scholars have attempted to apply Richard Whites Middle Ground approach to the study of Euro-Indian exchange in the colonial South. Similarly, Daniel Usners concept of a Frontier Exchange Economy, developed in his groundbreaking work Indians, Settlers, and Slaves has not been widely used beyond the Mississippi Valley region. By analyzing the Indian slave trade as a form of discourse and sharpening our focus of Euro-Indian interaction, the proposed paper hopes to re-examine the vocabulary of historical discourse as well. ...

The History and Legacy of Project Mercury

The History and Legacy of Project Mercury For people who were living in the 1950s and 1960s, the Space Race was an exciting time when people were venturing out from Earths surface and heading to the Moon, and hopefully beyond. It officially began when the Soviet Union beat the U.S. into space with the Sputnik mission in 1957 and with the first man into orbit in 1961. The U.S. scrambled to catch up, and the first human crews went to space as part of the Mercury program. The program goals were fairly simple, although the missions were quite challenging. Mission aims were to orbit a person in a spacecraft around Earth,  investigate a humans ability to function in space, and to recover both astronaut and spacecraft safely. It was a formidable challenge and it affected the scientific, technological, and educational establishments of both the U.S. and the Soviets. The Origins of Space Travel and the Mercury Program While the Space Race got started in 1957, it had roots much earlier in history. No one is exactly sure when humans first dreamed of space travel. Perhaps it began when  Johannes Kepler  wrote and published his  book Somnium. However, it wasnt until the middle of the 20th century that technology developed to the point where people could actually transform ideas about flight and rockets into hardware to achieve space flight. Initiated in 1958, completed in 1963, Project Mercury became the United Statess first man-in-space program. Creating the Mercury Missions After setting goals for the project, the newly formed NASA adopted guidelines for the technology that would be used in the space launch systems and crew capsules. The agency mandated that (wherever it was practical), existing technology and off-the-shelf equipment should be used. Engineers were required to take the simplest and most reliable approaches to system design. This meant that existing rockets would be used to take the capsules into orbit. Those rockets were based on captured designs from the Germans, who had designed and deployed them during World War II.   Finally, the agency set up a progressive and logical test program for the missions. The spacecraft had to be built tough enough to withstand a great deal of wear and tear during launch, flight, and return. It also had to have a reliable launch-escape system to separate the spacecraft and its crew from the launch vehicle in case of impending failure. This meant that the pilot had to have manual control of the craft, the spacecraft had to have a retrorocket system capable of reliably providing the necessary impulse to bring the spacecraft out of orbit, and its design would allow it to use drag braking for re-entry. The spacecraft also had to be able to withstand a water landing because, unlike the Russians, NASA planned to splash its capsules down in the ocean.   Although most of this was accomplished with off-the-shelf equipment or through the direct application of existing technology, two new technologies had to be developed. Those were an automatic blood-pressure measuring system for use in flight, and instruments to sense the partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the oxygen atmosphere of the cabin and space suits. Mercurys Astronauts The Mercury program leaders decided that the military services would provide the pilots for this new endeavor. After screening more than 500 service records of test and fighter pilots in early 1959, 110 men were found that met the minimum standards. By the middle of April Americas first seven astronauts were selected, and they became known as the Mercury 7. They were Scott Carpenter,  L. Gordon Cooper,  John H. Glenn Jr.,  Virgil I. Gus Grissom,  Walter H. Wally Schirra Jr.,  Alan B. Shepard Jr., and  Donald K. Deke Slayton The Mercury Missions The Mercury Project consisted of several unmanned test missions as well as a number of missions taking pilots into space. The first one to fly was Freedom  7, carrying Alan B. Shepard into a suborbital flight,on May 5, 1961. He was followed by Virgil Grissom, who piloted the Liberty Bell 7 into a suborbital flight on July 21, 1961. The next Mercury mission flew on February 20, 1962, carrying John Glenn into a three-orbit flight aboard Friendship 7.  Following Glenns historic flight, astronaut Scott Carpenter rode Aurora 7 into orbit on May 24, 1962, followed by Wally Schirra aboard Sigma 7 on October 3, 1962. Schirras mission lasted six orbits. The final Mercury mission took Gordon Cooper into a 22-orbit track around Earth aboard Faith 7 on May 15-16, 1963. At the end of the Mercury era, with its technology proven, NASA prepared to move forward with the Gemini missions. These were planned as preparation for the Apollo missions to the Moon. The astronauts and ground teams for the Mercury missions proved that people could fly safely to space and return, and laid the groundwork for much of the technology and mission practices followed by NASA to this day.   Edited and updated by Carolyn Collins Petersen.

Why do consumers purchase fair trade products Discuss Essay

Why do consumers purchase fair trade products Discuss - Essay Example The traditional theories of consumer behaviour were strongly related to the rational aspect of consumers whereas in the present scenario the consumers buy more of justice, intangibility and conscience. The issue of ethical consumerism has gained its importance in the recent times which clearly states that while making purchase decisions the factor of ethics is highly integrated by the consumers. The concept of fair trade can be related to an organized social movement with a goal to help the producers located in developing countries to make the best practices of trading and even to encompass sustainability. The fair trade practices comprise of high environmental and social standards and even advocates a higher price payment to the exporters. It is a kind of trading partnership that is based majorly on transparency, respect and dialogues that secures more of equity in the practice of international trade (Ransom, 2006, pp. 94-95). The major benefit of such fair trade is that it tries to establish the best conditions for trading and even secures rights for those marginalized workers or producers. These fair trade practices usually demands for the support of the consumers in order to raise awareness, campaign for changes, and even support the producers so as to eliminate the loopholes that are in conventional trading. There are certain fair trade organizations such as FLO Intern ational, World Fair Trade organization, Network of European Worldshops, European Fair Trade Association that involves into various forms of ethical marketing programs and aims at selling fair trade products mainly through supermarket channel so as to create a real impact through large volumes of product sales. The fair trade products provide the opportunity to the customers to shop everyday and help to reduce the level of the poverty across the world and develop a bright future (White, Macdonnell and Ellard, 2012, pp. 103-118). The fair trade mark on the

Plea Bargaining - A Flaw in the Criminal Justice System in the United Essay

Plea Bargaining - A Flaw in the Criminal Justice System in the United States - Essay Example This paper will discuss plea bargaining as a flaw in the criminal justice system. Plea bargaining is defined as a process whereby a defendant in a criminal case and the prosecutor reach a conclusion (which is mutually satisfactory) to end the criminal case at hand, subject to approval by the court. Successful plea bargaining lead to a plea agreement between the defendant and the prosecutor, where the former agrees to be plead guilty to the offence without a trial (Robert and Stuntz 24). In return, the prosecutor consents to make favorable recommendations to the court or dismiss specific charges regarding the case. However, plea bargaining is considered as a flaw in the criminal justice system. Its critics argue that it is a shortcut to justice, and therefore the due process of the law may not be followed fully. Besides, it is considered as a flaw in the criminal justice system because it is deemed to be unfair to criminal defendants. This is because the prosecutors tend to have so mu ch power in deciding the charges that a defendant may face (Hessick and Saujani 197). Also, since the prosecutors are evaluated to a greater extent on their rates of conviction, plea bargaining may force them to try at all costs to win the case. conversely, plea bargaining is a flaw in the criminal justice system because it is likely to soften punishment’s deterrent effect a s the defendant has an opportunity to bargain for lesser punishments (Hessick, Andrew and Saujani 81-82). Origin and Impact of Plea Bargaining Plea bargaining is a critical part of the United States’ criminal justice system; actually, majority of the criminal cases in America are settled using this means instead by jury trial. Plea bargaining traces its origin to the case of Brady v. United States in 1970 when the defendant (Robert Brady) tried to alter his plea after he had agreed to plead guilty to kidnapping for a lesser sentence (Fisher 44). Brady’s move was motivated by the desire to av oid death penalty. However, upon hearing the case, the Supreme Court ruled that his plea was legitimate because had an option of refusing the offer by the prosecutor. Subsequent case also showed that the Supreme Court approved the legality of plea bargaining. In the case of Santobello v New York in 1971, the legality of plea bargaining was challenged when the prosecutor was accused by the defendant of breaching their plea agreement by recommending a punishment that was harsher than the one they had agreed upon. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the defendant; it argued that legal validity of plea bargaining to be achieved, the defendant and the prosecutor should adhere to the plea agreement’s terms. This case set a precedent that each plea bargaining must be approved by the court for it to be legally valid. Since then it has been entrenched in America’s criminal justice system (Bibas 2471). However, several studies have shown that it affects criminal justice system b y giving the prosecutor more discretion that may lead to unfairness on the part of the defendant and by granting the defendant lesser punishment. The following cases bring the flaw mentioned above: Bordenkircher v. Hayes where the court approved unfair handling of the case by the prosecutor; and in Marshall v. Barlow’s Inc where the defendant was granted lesser punishment despite the gravity