Research paper

Erik Johnson
English 250
Mr. Perez
April 17, 2009
Looking to the Past for a Better Future
In our nation there is an ever-growing concern about the use of fossil fuels for energy production. Between both our over-reliance on foreign fossil fuels and the need to preserve our world, in the future we may be looking at a difficult solution. The need for an alternative energy source is apparent and the solution may be just as obvious. Through the use of nuclear energy we can create a clean renewable energy that produces no carbon dioxide emissions. Many people may be skeptical about nuclear energy because of possible disasters and the potential for waste production. There is also the problem of government interaction in the 1970’s making breeder reactors illegal eliminating the ability to reuse the waste. However, this law is out-of-date because the threat that government officials were worried about is a thing of the past. Despite these problems there are solutions that, with time, can lead to a safer and more reliable energy source that is both clean and renewable. Through the use of nuclear energy, we can create a greener world and wean ourselves off of foreign oil.
Nuclear energy may seem like a complicated process, but it is actually very simple. Heat is produced by the process of fission using radioactive materials such as uranium and plutonium. The released heat is used to warm the water enough to produce steam. From there, it propels a turbine which creates power that is transferred to what is essentially a giant battery. Simply put, it is a fancy way to boil water. Due to the materials being used and the process through which energy is produced, nuclear energy production does not affect air quality in the slightest (Fromm).
One of the major concerns with nuclear energy is the potential danger of leaks and spills. It has been a significant amount of time sense the last nuclear reactor meltdown. The two most recent power plant incidents were Three Mile Island, in 1979, and Chernobyl, in 1986 (Sewell). Chernobyl was an accident waiting to happen (Moore par 12). The Chernobyl reactor was an old plant built to poor specifications and did not have anywhere close to the safety precautions that exist today. The Chernobyl disaster in the Ukraine was caused by a malfunction during a testing on one of the four reactors. A misjudgment by the scientist running the test caused the core to reach super-criticality (Sewell par 2). This caused the water around the fuel to vaporize very quickly into steam. The pressure had nowhere to go and caused a steam explosion making the reactor impossible to control (Sewell par 3). Many believe that the Three Mile Island incident was a disaster when, in fact, it was a successful example of averting a major nuclear disaster (Moore par 12). There was no loss of life and very little radiation emission from the plant. Though it is unlikely, if a nuclear spill were to occur there would be a large environmental impact and loss of life.
In comparison to the negative impact of possible nuclear mishaps, there is a larger concern in the coal and oil industries. There were sixty-nine deaths in 2007 from coal mining accidents and collapses (Mine). As for environmental impact, both oil drilling and coal power plants should be considered. Although oil spills have caused catastrophic environmental damage in the past, millions of barrels of oil are drilled each year. Coal plants produce large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses which are proven to damage the Earth’s atmosphere. Despite the obvious problems, coal is still a major source of power in the United States today.
During the 1970’s, for fear of the enrichment of nuclear rods being sold to terrorist organizations, Breeder reactors were banned from being made in the US (Tucker par 10). Normally, in nuclear reactors, the process calls for uranium-235, which accounts for 1% of the Earth’s crust, instead of the more common uranium-238, which undergoes fission differently than uranium-235, so it cannot be used in conventional reactors, which means that, at the moment it can only be placed back into the ground (Tucker). With a breeder reactor, the power plant could use the uranium-238 and causes it to spontaneously release neutrons to create plutonium-239 (Fromm). When the process is done, all of the uranium will have transformed into plutonium. This process is much more dangerous, but the abundance of the uranium -238 allows for many more years of power. The government’s main problem with Breeder reactors is the production of plutonium it could be used to create nuclear weapons. In all reality if a foreign government wants to build a bomb, they would build their own facilities, and it would be very difficult for any terrorist organization to extract plutonium from the radioactive material and build a bomb (Tucker par 11). We should not ban something that could change our planet and economy in the way that nuclear energy could.
If the government were to lift the ban on breeder reactors, nuclear energy would be the answer that the US has long been seeking. It is both a clean and renewable source that can provide much of the energy needed by the ever-growing population. Through an old process with modern day innovations, nuclear reactors will allow us to wean ourselves from the evils of fossil fuels. There may still be a few bugs that need to be worked out, but nuclear energy is a good alternative in the years to come. With the ever-growing need for energy comes the astonishing supply of uranium and plutonium needed to provide the energy the United States is craving.
 
Works Cited
Fromm, James R. "The Breeder Reactor." The Breeder Reactor. 1997. 6 Apr. 2009
.
Mine Safety and Heath Administration. Injury Trends in Mining. 16 April 2009

Moore, Patrick. “Going Nuclear.” The Washington Post 16 April 2006. 12 April 2009

Nuclear Energy: The Basics. Digital image. Http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/. 2005. 6
Apr. 2009 .
Sewell, Linda, and Edward N. Lazo. "Nuclear Power & Nuclear Accidents."
Http://www.hps.org/. 2 Jan. 2002. 6 Apr. 2009 .
Sutcliffe, W. G., and T. J. Trapp. "Reactor-Grade and Weapons-Grade Plutonium in Nuclear
Explosives." Reactor-Grade and Weapons-Grade Plutonium in Nuclear Explosives. Jan. 1997. 6 Apr. 2009 .
Tucker, William. "There Is No Such Thing as Nuclear Waste." The Wall Street Journal 13 Mar.
2009. 13 April 2009

Driving Global Warming

My family owns two gas guzzling monsters. A SUV and a Ford F-150. They are both really nice vehicles and we have never had any problems with them except when we fill up the tanks. Bill McKIbbs article Driving Global Warming elaborates on the fact that we are digging our planets grave with the cars that we drive.
McKibben begins his article that the fact that we did not begin buying gigantic gas guzzling machines until a decade ago. He jokes that if you look at a parking lot in suburban Boston that you would think that all the people there had to cross flooded rivers and climb through uncharted terrain. Looking at the cars with the eighteen inch clearance, four wheel drive and step up bumpers. Because of these behemoths Mckibbens comments that the international panel on climate change has concluded that our planet will warm four to five degrees before the end of the century. He further states that this is because the SUV burns much more gas than that of the usual compact car and because of this warming people in Bangladesh had to live in thigh deep water for three months. This flooding is because the Bay of Bengal was a couple of inches higher than usual from the melting of the ice caps. McKibben wants people not to immediately throw away their $40,000 car, but to stop purchasing the fuel inefficient vehicles.
I see McKibbens point in the fact that global warming is a big threat to our existence and yet we are doing very little to slow or stop the process. I don’t believe that the cars that we drive need to be as big and powerful as they are right now. We could defiantly downsize the cars that we have. I believe that the government should step in way more than they have or at least give a little more incentive for auto makers to build better vehicles. Although in a way we as a people can start the movement. We just need to stop buying these useless cars and trucks and instead buy better fuel efficient vehicles. I also want to point out that I agree that SUV’s are a good contributor to the world problem but there is much more than that. A couple of other contributors are Industry, residential and agriculture emissions. All of these things create CO2 emissions that damage our environment and we need to control this for not only the betterment of our lives but also for our children’s and our children’s children.

Mother Tongue

Globalization of Eating Disorders

As is stand in front of the mirror I look back at myself and all I see are imperfections. But I am not the only one on this planet that does this. Everyone looks in the mirror hoping that it will lie to them and tell them that they look like someone else. Who is to say what is beautiful? What makes that girl over their more attractive than the one sitting next to her? In The Globalization of Eating Disorders Susan Bordo explains the fact that the media is the culprit.
Susan Bordo begins with the fact that body image problems are no longer the usual stereotypical person anymore. The white suburban girl that we normally picture with the body image issues is now changing race, class, and cultural lines. She reiterates this fact with the portrayal of a Tenisha Williamson, a black twenty three year old that suffers from anorexia. Bordo explains in detail the changes coming in each culture. She begins with Fiji, a remote island chain that did not have access to television until 1995. Up until the time of the first broadcast of western television there were no reported cases of eating disorders and after the station began broadcasting at least 62% of girls reported dieting to control their weight. Bordo also states that this also happened in Africa beginning with the winning of the miss world competition. She says that images are not “just pictures” as the t.v. and magazine editors want to believe. But that they speak to young people not only about how to be beautiful but how to be what the dominant culture wants and values. Bordo also states that it is no longer our parents and elders that teach us how to be but images that teach us how to see. They sculpt us into seeing beauty as they see it and not how it should be seen. Susan Bordo explains that even in a conservative culture such as Japan and China things change. She says that it is very clear that body image insecurity can be imported exported and marketed just like all other consumer goods.
I agree completely with Susan Bordo’s article on body image problems. She was very effective in stating that body image problems are not what they use to be. That it is everywhere now. I can see that in my everyday life. I find it funny however how we as a people are so easily affected by the media in our everyday lives. They tell us how to eat, sleep, and dress. It almost controls our lives and yet we don’t notice its influence until it is pointed out to us. The first time I read this article I really took a second and thought about how I think of what is beautiful in my life. Then I thought of how I came to that conclusion that those things are beautiful. I can see that I choose the clothing that I wear because I saw it in a magazine somewhere. I wear my hair the way that I do because of some actor that I saw had the same hairstyle. I probably picked the friends I hang out with, the girls I date, and everything else I do with my life because of what the media or other people have told me to. Is that what the world has come to? Is that what I have become?

Life on the Global Assembly Line

Made in Taiwan. Does this label ever make you think? Does it make you feel good knowing that a three year old girl made those shoes you are wearing? I didn’t think so. Life on the Global Assembly Line by Barbra Ehrenreich and Annette Fuentes is about women in the third world labor or should I say slave market.
Fuentes explains how and why third world workers are used and expended. An American worker may earn $3.10 to $5.00 a hour while a third world worker will make between $3-5 a day. Because of this everything is being packed up and moved to third world countries around the world. The best example of this given by Barbra and Fuentes is the American electronics industry. Circuts are printed on silicon wafers and tested in California. Then they are shipped to India where the labor intensive process by which they are cut into tiny chips and bonded to circuit boards is done. Then they are reshipped back to the US for final assembly.
The breakdown of lower third world workers is 80-90% women states Fuentes. She also says that women can do and will do the monotonous, painstaking work that American businesses are exporting. Ehrenreich explains the working and living conditions for these girls is not what you would expect. They are put into dormitories where it may be twenty girls to a room in some places. When one shift ends the others take their place until the next shift transfers. The workplace is littered with hazards. Ehrenreich points out an example from a textile factory where women are placed in dimly lit non air-conditioned rooms in one hundred degree weather. Where the flying textile dust which can cause permanent lung and eye damage. Management may require as much as 48 straight hours of work at a time. Fuentes states that many manufactures encourage high turnover of workers because it cost less to train new workers than to pay experienced workers higher wages. Fuentes finally explains that it is the government’s job to change in order to improve these people’s lives. Not just the third world government but our government also. She further points out that as of right now our government is seen supporting this with aid to countries that commit these atrocities.
I am personally shocked and appalled by what I am reading. Why is it that we can allow this to happen? I have three major issues with this. First is the living and working conditions that these women are subjected to live in and second is what our government and other governments are not doing to help this problem.
I do not believe that subjecting anyone to sleep in crowded rooms is humane. To place four to five women in college size dormitories or any other crowded condition should not be allowed. I am appalled at the fact that many companies are able to go to countries where they are guaranteed that they will not have any interference with safety or heath inspectors. That workers often work with open containers of hazardous chemicals or unfiltered flying debris that can permanently harm lung and eye functions. How it is that they can simply force someone to work 48 or more hours without worry that they will complain because of the knowledge that there are thousands that will easily take their place. To finally to be simply be laid off after a few years because they do not want to increase your pay and replace you with another willing worker.
Do our governments do anything about this? Heck no, they just create loopholes and rake in the cash. Fuentes even pointed out the fact that some of these governments even advertise their women for this kind of work. This is shameful and is an outrage but there is no U.N. push for change. How these third world countries can snuff out peaceful protest like we had in the US no so many years ago with over use of military force and power. People being fired and jailed for protesting workers rights.
This shouldn’t be allowed to happen. But what is there for me to do? I as an Iowa State student can only sit idly by and watch and hope that things will change for the better. Governments will hopefully change their ways... or not.

Its a Mall World After All

Like, O, my, gosh, that color so like nice on you. You should like definitely buy that girlfriend its like so totally you. Does this remind you of anyone? The mall rat is no longer just a suburban American girl. Now African, Asian, Middle Eastern and even Canadian teenagers are becoming a part of that scene. This is because of major expansion and exportation of western malls across the globe. I believe that this mall expansion is a very good thing in boosting the economy, socially improving culture and creating a civic center for communities.

Mac Margolis writes in his article titled It’s a Mall World After All about how beneficial malls are to many societies. He begins his article with a very impressive feet Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Center mall. Margolis says that the Saudi people are not consumer innocents and have been buying products from many western cultures for many years. But the fact that they were able to lure the most important consumer, women, to their mall by creating a complete floor to them where they are allowed to shed their veils and shop freely without upsetting the Saudi laws is very impressive in such a restrictive culture. It has become the most profitable floor in the entire mall. Mac states that the Kingdom Centre may not be revolutionary in the fact that women are burning their veils and marching for change. It represents a small meaningful piece of freedom for the Saudi women. Margolis also states that shopping malls have become one of America’s chief exports. Mac writes there are malls popping up everywhere around the world. For example in 1999 India had only three malls and when this story was written there were forty five malls. It is soon expected to rise to three hundred by 2010. Margolis last point is that malls are becoming civic centers in many communities. They are attracting banks, art galleries, motor vehicle departments and even catholic churches. Margolis says that these malls bring communities together in a safe comfortable atmosphere.

I fully agree with Mac Margolis’ article. I believe that the globalization of malls is in general a good thing for the world. I am greatly impressed with the Saudi Arabian mall that influenced the governing culture to allow its women to shed their veils. How with this small act I believe that it is a small step in the right direction. The mall is becoming a community center where people can go to shop, converse, eat, and just visit in comfort. The mall is also place that can influence change in culture for the better.

The mall “boom” is creating a boost in many economies. The arms race between countries to have the biggest and best malls on earth creates a great competitive field for sellers to compete in. Which I believe increases consumer spending and a larger job market in counties that need it. I was shocked to find that there were so many large malls even bigger than the Mall of America. I also have to agree with Mac’s point on mall development being the catalyst for growth in developing counties. With outside investors trying to start something and putting money into underdeveloped countries is important for their growth. Developing these countries and moving them into the global marketplace.

I like the fact that the owners of all of these malls have realized that their customers no longer want to just come to a mall to shop but that they want to experience the mall. So malls are no longer white walled with a couple fake plants but now elaborate and extravagant places resembling the places that they have replaced, such as old world streets and piazzas. Almost like the malls that are being built are influencing the culture it is built in and the culture in return is influencing the mall back.

Malls are a good thing in our world and should continue to be a part of our culture. I believe that we should continue to embrace what they are doing and continue to build the malls so that our world will become a better place because of it.

The Globalization of Eating Disorders

The Globalization of Eating Disorders

I have assumed that eating disorders have gone into the globle scale for a while now, but i did not know that it is this bad. The point the author makes about the spread of eating disorders threw race and culture is shocking. People hating themselves for being different is appalling to me. Especialy when Susan talks about the change of beauty in africa from healthy voluptious women to skinny just because the magazenes and tv shows say it is.
Not one person on this earth looks like the models that are put on magazines. Every image you see is photo shopped and edited to look perfect. People end up wanting to be something that is not possible for anyone to be.