Benefits of Nuclear Power Essay Example

Benefits of Nuclear Power Essay Example Benefits of Nuclear Power Essay Benefits of Nuclear Power Essay Only 30 years ago, nuclear energy was an exotic, futuristic technology, and the subject of experimentation. Today, nuclear energy is Americas second largest source of electric power after coal; more than 110 nuclear energy plants supply more electricity than oil, natural gas or hydropower taken together. Nuclear energy is a clean, safe, reliable and competitive energy source. It is the only source of energy that can replace a significant part of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas), which massively pollute the atmosphere and contribute to the greenhouse effect. In view of the adverse effects of climate change and dwindling oil reserves, it is imperative to promote more efficient use of energy. There is need to employ renewable energies wind and solar – wherever possible, and adopt a more sustainable life style. But this will not be adequate to reduce the accumulation of atmospheric carbon dioxide, and satisfy the needs of industrialization and the aspirations of the developing nations. Presently, the national power generating capacity is about 3,000MWe. At current level, the per capita electricity generation in Nigeria is just about 30 We, some 30 times less than the 1kWe in South Africa. Conventional energy sources in the form of natural gas and fuel oil generate some 69% of the national capacity. The large hydropower stations at Kainji, Jebba and Shiroro have a combined installed capacity of 1830MWe, while the six other small hydropower stations located in various parts of the country have an installed capacity of 37 MWe. The National energy requirement is estimated at over 30,000 MWe. It is not likely that this will be met by the conventional sources presently available in the country. Nuclear power thus offers one of the most viable options that could make up for the shortfall. The Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission is effectively implementing a dedicated strategic plan to introduce 1,000 MWe into the national grid by 2020, and a gradual injection of another 3,000MWe within another 10 years. Probably, the most important cause of worry, all over the world, regarding the implementation of nuclear projects is that the public does not trust the safety of nuclear power plants. As a matter of course, all known power technologies have certain potentially negative aspects. Since it takes time and continuous dialogue to build and maintain trust, the general public must be systematically informed and educated on the issues entailed in our national nuclear power programme. An effective constructive engagement would therefore create better public understanding of the issues: the necessity, benefits and the safety of present day nuclear power project. It is worthy to emphasize that the implementation of a nuclear power project has both local and global impact. In this regard, the concerns of the population of the local environment as well as those of the neighbouring countries must be satisfactorily addressed to earn their confidence and consent. In this connection, the experiences of other countries would be invaluable, in addition to the three cardinal requirements of International Atomic Energy Agency. 2. THE BENEFITS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY Nuclear power is clean, safe, reliable, compact, competitive and practically inexhaustible. Today over 400 nuclear reactors provide base-load electric power in 30 countries. Fifty years old, it is a relatively mature technology with the assurance of even greater improvement in the next generation. 2. 1 CLEAN POWER GENERATION Nuclear energy is environmentally clean – it produces almost no carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxides whatsoever. These gases are produced in vast quantities when fossil fuels are burned. Carbon dioxide is produced when fossil fuels are burned; it is one of the main gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect, leading to atmospheric warming. Coal and oil contain sulphur impurities and when they are burned, sulfur dioxide goes up the stack, leading to acid rain. When any fossil fuel (coal, oil or natural gas) is burned, nitrogen oxides are also produced. These gases cause smog and atmospheric pollution. Nuclear fuel is pure (contains no sulfur), it is not in contact with the air (no nitrogen), and it produces no smoke or exhaust; the entire process is confined in the fuel element. 2. 2 NUCLEAR ENERGY PRICES ARE STABLE A country (or an electric company) can buy years of supply of uranium when the price is low; it doesnt take up much space and can be easily stored until needed. Most countries (or utilities) dont have space to store more han 3 or 6 months supply of fossil fuels. 2. 3 FUEL CYCLE AND SPENT WASTE MANAGEMENT One gram of uranium yields about as much energy as a ton of coal or oil the famous â€Å"factor of a million. † Nuclear waste is correspondingly about a million times smaller than fossil fuel waste, and it is totally confined. In the USA and Sweden, spent fuel is simply stored away. Elsewhere, spent fuel is reprocessed to separate out the 3% of radioactive fission products and heavy elements to be vitrified (cast in glass) for safe and permanent storage. The remaining 97% – plutonium and uranium – is recovered and recycled into new fuel elements to produce more energy. The volume of nuclear waste produced is very small. A typical French family’s use of nuclear energy over a whole lifetime produces vitrified waste the size of a golf ball. Nuclear waste is deposited in deep geological storage sites; it does not enter the biosphere. Its impact on the ecosystems is minimal. Nuclear waste spontaneously decays over time while stable chemical waste, such as arsenic or mercury, lasts forever. Most fossil fuel waste is in the form of gas that goes up the smokestack. Plans are afoot to establish a management facility for the conditioning, storage and disposal of low and intermediate level radioactive wastes in the country. Further, Nigeria intends to enter into appropriate bilateral agreements for her nuclear fuel cycle, and hopefully sign on to the multilateral nuclear fuel supply assurance networks that are being developed in partnership with IAEA. 2. 4 NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS ARE COMPARATIVELY SAFE Nuclear power plants are comparatively safe, as proven by the record of half a century of commercial operation, and with the accumulated experience of more than 12,000 reactor-years. There have been only two serious accidents in the commercial exploitation of nuclear power: The Three Mile Island (TMI) in 1979 (in Pennsylvania, USA) and Chernobyl in 1986 (in the Soviet Union, now in Ukraine). The TMI was the worst accident one can imagine in a western power reactor. The core of the reactor melted down and much of it fell to the bottom of the reactor vessel. The radioactivity released was almost entirely confined within the reinforced concrete containment structure, the air-tight silo-like building which housed the reactor and was designed for that purpose. The small amount of radioactivity which escaped was quite innocuous. As a result, no one at TMI was seriously irradiated nor did anyone die. In fact, Three Mile Island was a real success story for nuclear safety. The worst possible accident thus occurred, a core meltdown, and yet no one died or was even injured. Chernobyl was different. The reactors at Chernobyl had no containment structure. The reactor’s faulty design made it unstable and Chernobyl was operated that moment in a way known to be dangerous. In the execution of a test, all the security systems were deliberately bypassed. An uncontrollable surge in power occurred leading to a steam explosion. The 600-ton graphite moderator then caught fire and burned for several weeks. The smoke carried more than half the radioactive fission products directly into the atmosphere where they were swept far and wide by the winds. Fewer than 32 persons died within a few months, and about 200 more were severely irradiated but survived. The inhabitants of the exclusion zone were also victims as they were hurriedly uprooted, evacuated and resettled elsewhere. On the contrary, coal mine accidents are common occurrences and often cause tens or hundreds of fatalities, reported in a day and forgotten the next, adding up to about 15,000 per year worldwide. The same may be said for oil field accidents. Oil tankers go aground or break-up; accidents occur in refineries, oil and gas platforms have been lost with all hands. Accidents in high pressure gas pipelines are not infrequent. Just one example among many others is the gas pipeline accident at Ghislenghien, Belgium on July 30, 2004, in which 21 persons died and 120 were injured. 2. 5 NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS ARE COMPARATIVELY RELIABLE Nuclear reactors provide base-load power and are available over 90% of the time. Intervals between refueling have been extended while down time for refueling has been reduced. In the USA, these improvements over the years have been the equivalent of adding one reactor a year to the existing fleet. Most reactors are designed for a life of 40 years; many are reaching that age in good condition and extensions of 20 years have usually been granted. 2. 6 NUCLEAR RENERGY IS COMPETITIVE The cost of nuclear power is competitive and stable. The cost of nuclear fuel is a small part of the price of a nuclear kiloWatt-hour, whereas fossil fueled power, especially oil and gas, is at the mercy of the market. 2. 7 NUCLEAR ENERGY FUEL IS INEXHAUSTIBLE Uranium is found everywhere in the crust of the Earth – it is more abundant than tin, for example. Major deposits are found in Canada and Australia. It is estimated that increasing the market price by a factor ten would result in 100 times more uranium coming to market. Eventually we will be able to recover uranium from sea water where 4 billion tons are dissolved. 2. 8 NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS ARE RELATIVELY COMPACT A nuclear power station is very compact, occupying typically the area of a football stadium and its surrounding parking lots. Solar cells, wind turbine farms and growing biomass, all require comparatively much large areas of land. . 9 PROMISING GLOBAL SCENARIO More than 400 nuclear power plants are operating in 25 countries around the world today, supplying almost 17 percent of the worlds electricity. In most countries, nuclear energy plays an even larger role as a source of electricity than in the United States. Many of these nations are building new nuclear energy plants to meet the needs of their growing populations and expanding economies. About 100 new nuclear energy plants are currently being built around the world. 3. 0 CONCLUSION The strengths of the national nuclear power programme are manifold: long term energy security, ready availability of nuclear fuels, capacity to mitigate the consequences of global warming, sustainable socio-economic development accruable from diversification of national energy energy mix, significant spin-off effect accruable from the application of nuclear technology in a wide variety of other sectors, nuclear energy is clean, inexhaustible, compact and has a broader life span, large water and land resources available for nuclear energy production, and enhanced safety, security and safeguards. The opportunities that would accrue to the nation from the deployment of nuclear power plants include: sustainability of power for national development, generation of requisite manpower to man nuclear power plants and the proliferation of other peaceful uses of nuclear energy, spin-off industries inherent in nuclear power programme, employment generation and poverty reduction, research, development and human capacity development, as well as mutually rewarding bilateral, regional and international cooperation agreements. All in all, nuclear energy has proven to be most beneficial to developed and emerging economies. If optimally designed, constructed, operated and maintained, nuclear energy is not only clean, but safe, reliable, durable and competitive.

Hemp Legalization essays

Hemp Legalization essays As I read over this article, I became more and more furious with the government. Ralph Nadar, the presidential candidate for the green party, talked about his plan to legalize the growth of commercial grade hemp, but the government showed how overbearing it is. One thing that the government said was that if the growth of commercial grade hemp did become legalized, then there would be so man rules and regulations on the growth of it that if would be virtually impossible to grow. The article mentioned that by legalizing the growth of commercial grade hemp, it would raise the economy of the U.S. by bringing in more money by producing stronger rope and more paper than and tree or plant. One fact that the article failed to mention that the growth of commercial grade hemp would produce more oxygen in the air and also make the ground more fertile in off seasons. The article shows that the government is just trying to find ways to keep the economy from booming and the environment from being clean. ...

Argumentative Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Argumentative - Term Paper Example This paper is an attempt to understand the vexed issue of gun control and the governmental interventions in this regard as they pertain to the ownership of guns. The paper starts off by framing the issue by explaining the deeply divisive nature of the issue and how it is corroding the political process with the acerbic stand taken by both sides. Then I examine the arguments for and against gun control and then I debate the issue further by stating my stand on the same. Finally, I conclude the paper with some remarks about the whole issue and an appeal for sanity and commonsense to prevail in these troubled times. The debate over Gun Control is primarily between those who cite the inalienable rights enshrined in the constitution with regards to individual liberty and the right of the individual to own whatever he or she desires if the transaction is in accordance with the law. This is the side of those who claim that they have a right to own guns and hence any attempts to snatch away these rights is tantamount to denying them the rights that are guaranteed by law. One the other side is those who call for elimination of guns and point to the increasing rates of crime and homicide as instances of ownerships of guns running amok. Since the issue is so divisive, it is pertinent to examine the literature surrounding it to establish the arguments put forward by each side. First, to start off, one needs to understand the issue and its centrality to American politics To quote from a book by a well known expert on the issue, â€Å"Few schisms in American life run as deep or as wide as the divide between gun rights and gun control advocates. Awash in sound and symbol, the gun regulation debate has largely been defined by forceful rhetoric rather than substantive action. Politicians shroud themselves in talk of individual rights or public safety while lobbyists on both sides make doom-and-gloom pronouncements on the consequences of

The Impact of Financial Crisis on Honda Research Paper

The Impact of Financial Crisis on Honda - Research Paper Example The descriptive method of research is adopted. Accordingly, Creswell (1994) stated that the descriptive method of research is to gather information about the present existing condition. The emphasis is on describing rather than on judging or interpreting. The aim of descriptive research is to verify formulated hypotheses that refer to the present situation in order to elucidate it. For this study, the descriptive research method was employed in order to identify the impact of competence and sustainability in the automotive industry of Honda. This study looks at the success that Honda Corporation has had in managing social capital in its supply chain. Using self-report surveys from 120 participants at a Honda-sponsored supplier competition, researchers find that those people who participate in the quality-teams report that they are more satisfied with their work, feel that they improved the effectiveness of their company, and continue to offer suggestions to improve their supplier's o perations. Resources that are valuable especially human resources, rare, and can be exploited by the organization can produce sustained competitive advantage and earn above-average economic performance (Barney, 2001). A lot has been written about the value of people in organizations. Huselid and Becker (1997) found that a one standard deviation improvement in an organization's human resources system could increase shareholder wealth by as much as $41,000 per employee. Barney (2001) contends that successfully managing relationships can be a source of resource-based competitive advantage. But the financial crisis has crept into the auto companies and many of the giants like Honda and Toyota are facing the crisis with severe cuts in production, sales etc. Honda declared its shock withdrawal from Formula One of the global financial crisis, terminating an association which began in the 1960s. This has led to raising further fears over the sport's future (Source: http://www.asiaone.com). Honda Motor president Takeo Fukui made the announcement at an emotional press conference, repeatedly apologizing to fans, staff, drivers and F1 authorities. He said 2008 is Honda's last season. The Japanese carmaker will not provide its engines to any other teams (Source: http://www.asiaone.com). "This is a complete withdrawal. The future is a blank sheet," he said. "Five years from now, I think history will show we made the right decision" (Source: http://www.asiaone.com). Â  

Story of Cricket Essay Example for Free

Story of Cricket Essay At Old Trafford in 1956 Jim Laker produced one of the most famous individual performances ever in a Test Match, and one which will surely never be repeated. It was hardly surprising then, following that 19 for 90 in the Ashes deciding fourth Test, that publishers rushed to sign up the man who had enthralled the nation, and it was Frederick Muller Limited who secured the rights to publish Lakers autobiography. In the 1950s Mullers were one of the leading publishers in that field also, at various times, publishing books in the names of Colin Cowdrey, Trevor Bailey, Tom Graveney and Bill Edrich. Today there is no trace of the companys imprint, although its lineage can be traced through to current publishers Random House. In time Laker was to become a respected commentator and author in his own right but his three early books for Muller were ghost written. One, Over to me, that was published in 1960, was to cause a considerable furore, but the books were, generally, no more satisfying than similar books which appear today. The first book to appear bearing Lakers name appeared in early 1957 and was entitled Spinning Round the World. There is nothing remarkable about the content of the book and there are no compelling reasons for anyone to seek out a copy today, however there is one fascinating chapter, the final one, where Laker looks forward in order to speculate as to what cricket in the year 2000, forty three years on, might be like. The purpose of this article is to have a look at Lakers approach in order to see just how accurate or otherwise his predictions were and then for the writer to try and project the game forward again, this time, less ambitiously, to 21 years hence. To understand Lakers vision of the future it is necessary to know a little about the man himself and, more importantly, something of the state of the game when he made his predictions. Although Laker played his county cricket for Surrey, he was a gritty Yorkshireman. After leaving Surrey he also played briefly for Essex as an amateur but he was, throughout his Surrey career, a professional with all the typical attitudes and values of the northern professionals of that time. As far as the game itself was concerned England was very much the centre of the cricket world and the only country where there was a full time professional structure. Seventeen First Class counties would compete each year for the County Championship playing 28 three day games apiece. Only around half a dozen of them ever had any realistic aspirations to winning the title and there was no other domestic competition, so many games had little by way of a competitive edge. Overseas players had to acquire a residential qualification before they could play county cricket, and a decision to do so would end their international careers, so while there were overseas players in the English game they were not the top stars and English crowds only saw overseas Test players when they toured with their countries every few years. Test cricket was televised, but in grainy black and white, so in order to see the game properly supporters had to turn up at the grounds. In 1957 the English game was run by the MCC then, as now, a private club for gentlemen, and a similar organisation, the Imperial Cricket Conference, ran the world game. The abolition in the English game of the division between amateur and professional was, by 1957, inevitable but it was to be another six years before the distinction was finally consigned to sporting and social history. As far as the international game was concerned Test cricket had the great battles between England and Australia but for many years every other contest had been some way behind both in competitiveness and importance. South Africa had beaten England, in South Africa, on three occasions and once, in 1935, had defeated England in England but only once had they achieved even a draw in a series with Australia and, prior to 1952/53, had won but one Test against their Southern Hemisphere rivals. New Zealand in those days had never beaten England in a single Test and India had only ever won one match against England and that against what was effectively a second XI in 1951/52. Australia had only played New Zealand once, in a game so one sided they did not play them again for almost 30 years, and they had never been beaten by India. Only West Indies, who had comfortably beaten England in England in  1950, had changed the order of things and even they had failed to trouble Australia. In 1957 Pakistan had been the most recent addition to the family of Test playing nations and they had proved competitive, a great fast medium bowler, Fazal Mahmood, spearheading them to Test victories over England and Australia but the team as a whole was young and inexperienced and it was to be another 30 years before Pakistan would reach the top of the tree. It is also worth bearing in mind that in 1957 there was only one touring side to England each summer. Then, as now, Australia visited every four years as, since the war, had South Africa. There were therefore only two slots in the four year cycle for the other tourists and the 1950s saw nine years between New Zealand tours, eight years between Pakistani visits and seven years between those of India and the West Indies. A Test series then was four, or more usually, five matches. There were, of course, no one day internationals and the tourists would also play each of the 17 First Class counties once, and in the case of Yorkshire, Surrey and Lancashire usually twice, as well as a number of other First Class fixtures. Laker gave us two alternative visions of the future, one of which he was at pains to point out was not serious, but which is, when looked at overall, perhaps the most prescient. Laker saw the first Ashes Series of the 21st century as consisting of ten Test matches, his rationale being the extra funds generated by the ultimate form of the game. He saw the final Test still taking place at The Oval, and while the lifts to take ticket holders to their seats and the waitress service that Laker envisaged for spectators have not actually come about, the vast improvement in spectator comfort that he predicted has. As to the game itself Laker described players having numbered shirts and bowlers being allowed to make liberal use of substitutes to enable them to leave the field for a break after each spell. He also saw batsmen being allowed to take breaks within their innings, giving captains an American football style dilemma as to how best to arrange their batting order. It is certainly an interesting concept that a Paul Collingwood could be sent out to steady the ship after a couple of quick wickets fall only for him, having done so, to be able to take a rest while Andrew Fintoff comes out to blaze  away safe in the knowledge that if he falls early Collingwoods war of attrition can resume. Laker also predicted the increase in scoring rates in Test cricket which recent generations have delivered. We have not seen the ten ball overs that he foresaw, nor a rule that a batsman must score off at least three deliveries in each ten ball over or face a penalty, but we have seen the shortening of bou ndaries, albeit that has not gone as far as the complete standardisation at 60 yards that Laker felt the future would bring. Having set out that vision of the future Laker then took a step back, decided that the MCC and ICC were far too reactionary to countenance such changes and went on to outline a rather more conservative set of suggestions the majority of which have proved to be accurate. First and foremost Laker foresaw, although it was not difficult at the time, that the old order of the game, run as it was in large part by grandees and great industrialists, would have to change, and that former players and professional businessmen would have to have a hand in the running of the game. Irrespective of ones views on how those individuals who have found themselves in positions of power have performed there is no doubt that the game is much more professionally run than in the 1950s. As far as players are concerned, and Laker was only considering the English game here, he foresaw the dismantling of the archaic system of residential qualification for counties and predicted the dawn of the overseas player and a system of players transferring between counties and, which must have seemed farfetched at the time, the very recent concept of players going out on loan from one county to another. He also predicted, if not in so many words, the arrival of central contracts. As far as the laws of the game are concerned there has been little change since the 1950s and Laker did not anticipate anything revolutionary nor did he consider it necessary. This was a time when, despite its having been in the game for more than twenty years, the new LBW law that we have today was still controversial. Surprisingly, given that he was an off spinner, Laker was in favour of returning to the old rule whereby a batsman could not  be out LBW to a ball pitching outside the off stump, although it is clear it was not something that he expected to happen. One change that the following years did see, and which Laker considered essential, was the abolition of the old back foot no ball law which, at a stroke, eradicated the problem with fast bowlers dragging that was, by the time it changed, in 1969, a serious problem. Laker still believed, and this was the only feature he took from his unacceptable vision, that boundaries would become standardised. He deplored a state of affairs whereby a batsman could be caught in the deep on one ground and play an identical shot for six on another and keenly felt the inequity of this. Again this is perhaps surprising from a man who was a spin bowler and who spent many of his playing days on the wide open spaces of Kennington Oval with its long boundaries. Perhaps looking back to the controversies of the previous year Laker also foresaw a ground inspection panel to regularly inspect test and county grounds with a view to avoiding wickets being under prepared or otherwise unfit for the First Class game. Lakers final prediction was that the laws, or playing conditions, would contain provision for a fixed number of overs to be played in a day and that, after a number of gradual moves towards it, is now something we are used to. That it took so long to arrive is surprising and it took an infamous act of gamesmanship on the part of Brian Close, which cost him the England captaincy for the 1967/68 tour of West Indies, to secure the first move with the immediate introduction of a rule that 20 overs must be bowled in the final hour of a county championship match. The most significant development that Laker did not foresee, and indeed none of his generation did, was the introduction of single day matches with a limitation of overs to both sides, and to anyone looking back on the latter part of the 20th century that development must be viewed as the most significant step taken in the games evolution. Historically, a knockout cup between the First Class counties was mooted on a number of occasions,  initially as long ago as 1873, without any consensus ever being reached. What was usually discussed was a competition consisting of standard First Class matches, however no satisfactory mechanism for resolving the problems thrown up by drawn games was ever worked out. The possibility of one day cricket was considered, at some length, towards the end of the Second World War when the MCC was preparing for the resumption of the First Class game but was, effectively, dismissed out of hand. Two reasons were cited, firstly that a game of cricket limited by time or overs would be detrimental to the art and character of the game and, secondly, that captains would be encouraged to concentrate on preventing the batting side from scoring rather than from dismissing them. As the counties finances lurched from crisis to crisis in the 1950s discussions about a cup competition continued but it was not until 1961 that it was finally decided that a 65 overs per side cup competition was to be launched and as a result in 1963 the Gillette Cup was born and the rest, as they say, is history. So how will our great game look in 2030 as I approach my three score years and ten? I believe, like Jim Laker, that the game is fundamentally sound and little will change, at least insofar as the Test, First Class and List A versions of the game are concerned. There will, inevitably, be changes in the way that the game is umpired, and I have little doubt that in 2030 all potentially contentious umpiring decisions will be made instantly by technology and that the on-field umpires role will become a management function rather than a judicial one. I see little change to the laws of the game in prospect, although following the retirement of Muttiah Muralitharan and the hard line stance the Australians have decided to take on the doosra, I can certainly see that particular delivery being outlawed and consigned to history. I also expect the heartfelt plea put forward recently by Swaranjeet to result in the remit of the match referee extending to pitch preparation to ensure that the sort of tedious cricket that we saw for a large part of Englands series in the Caribbean earlier this year is not repeated. As for the domestic game in England I cannot see the 18 county structure  being dismantled but, given the success that central contracts have had in raising standards, I do think the amount of cricket played will inevitably and properly reduce so that players, and young and inexperienced ones in particular, have the opportunity to finely hone their skills in the nets rather than in match conditions. The above being said my expectation of the 20/20 game is that that will change considerably in the next 21 years. 20/20 will still be cricket but I believe there will be law changes that will remove it even further from the First Class game and I do think it will develop along the lines of the future that Jim Laker did not like the look of. I believe that LBW will end as a mode of dismissal in 20/20. It is far too complicated a law for casual viewers of the game and with it will be abolished the leg bye thereby, the legislature will say, adequately punishing the batsman for failing to lay bat on ball. I can also see greater rewards for batsmen who hit the ball further into the crowd and that we will end up with boundary eights and, perhaps, tens, as well as the traditional fours and sixes. I also believe, given the investment that some teams will make in the biggest names, that there will be an opportunity for batsmen to stay at the crease notwithstanding that they are dismissed and that captains will have to decide whether they want their star batsman to leave the crease or whether, on pain of a forfeit in terms of runs, they wish to leave him out there in place of a lesser batsman. I do not expect to be overly enamoured of this game as it changes but it will still be easily recognisable as cricket and as well as attracting a new audience to the game it will, I believe, spread the game around the world. I foresee that 20/20 cricket will feature in the Olympics in the near future and that it will be embraced by other nations in a way that the First Class game never will. In the 2030 20/20 World Cup I see the USA and Canada in particular providing strong opposition to the traditional test playing nations.

Till Death Do Us Part :: essays research papers

The status quo of marriage in American society, in some cases, is a moderately complicated issue. I do know, however, that before the marriage takes place there is an interlude called the dating period. In this dating period the two members of the couple attempt to get to know one another. This is the period where many people fall in love. This is also the period where many people realize that they are with the wrong person and have to start over with someone new. The dating process, which lasts for a sporadic interval of time, ends when one person in the couple offers a marriage proposal to the other. This agreement to marriage is a sacred bond of love and trust that proves to one's significant other that one will enter into an exclusive relationship with that person until they are parted by death. If the marriage proposal is accepted, the couple is pronounced engaged, or betrothed to one another, and they set a marriage date. During the engagement the couple exchanges rings as a sign of devotion. Once the wedding date reaches its destination, the couple then performs the marriage ceremony, which is a gathering of close friends and family to witness the marriage. This ceremony is performed in a church at the hand of a priest who then pronounces the marriage as holy matrimony. During the wedding ceremony there is another exchange of rings that show a symbol of the couples undying love for each other. After the wedding, the couple usually takes a trip called the honeymoon where they consummate the marriage by making love. This process is the norm for how people are married in American society. The problem with this system is that most people enter into the marriage for the wrong reasons and end up getting a divorce. A divorce is a legal dissolution of a marriage contract. The problem with divorce is that the marriage is supposed to be a contract that is supposed to last until someone in the couple dies; only then is the sacred vow broken. Otherwise, the couple is going against God's will. Defying God is not the only detrimental effect, however. More marriages in the United States end in divorce than in any other country in the world, and it can be seen throughout America's history. There is consensus that the overall U.S. divorce rate had a brief spurt after World War II followed by a decline. It started rising again in the 1960's and even more quickly in the 1970's, but leveled off in the 1980's only to begin a fluctuating increase that has lasted to the present. It is said that 40 or possibly even 50% of marriages will end in divorce if the current trends continue. Divorce would not be such a terrible thing

Progressive Movement Essay

The period from 1890 to 1917 in the history of United States is known as Progressive era. This period is marked by an all-encompassing and intensive change in all spheres of American life viz. political, economic and social. The progressive leaders with faith in the traditional American ideals of democratic government, individual liberty, rule of law and protection of private rights and property, felt that Gilded Age was marked by corruption. They further felt that due to the policies and practices of the previous regimes, a privileged wealthy class has been created that had plundered the national wealth and resources. Prof. Ekirch (1978) explored the profound intellectual factors behind the Progressive movement. He illustrates trans-Atlantic roots of this phenomenon that starts with Darwinism. He says in this regard that it was the transformation of â€Å"the Populist and Socialist ideas of the 1890s into an American version of the state socialism or social democracy† (p.34). Furthermore he considers it a response to industrialization of America and Imperialism invasion the world over. Still there is another viewpoint that postulates the theory that â€Å"the progressive movement never existed† (Filene, 1970. p.1) So these motives propelled them to create a new socio-political milieu to nurture the true American ideals. They wanted that majority of the people must be associated with the government and those ruling over the United States must be made answerable to the electorates. They also expected higher standard of professional morality and integrity from the officials. In the economic sphere they were alarmed by the growth of increased monopoly of a few entrepreneurs and exploitations of the farmers and working classes. These leaders from middle class pleaded for government regulation of big businesses to prevent exploitations pf the weaker sections. Stressing on the needs for reforms, Theodore Roosevelt said, â€Å"†No hard-and-fast rule can be laid down as to the way in which such work [reform] must be done; but most certainly every man, whatever his position, should strive to do it in some way and to some degree.† (Roosevelt) Most of the problems that Progressives wanted to tackle was an outcome of the industrial expansion and the political-industrial coalitions of the Gilded Age. During the Progressive almost every department of American life was overhauled and modernized. Thus Progressivism was a movement with â€Å"predominantly middle class objectives and viewpoint, deriving much of its support from small businessmen, farmers and professional people. The typical progressive leader was some lawyer, journalist or businessmen who, aroused by corruption or misgovernment in his own community, started a crusade to elect better men to office, and gradually came to the realization that what was needed was a reform of the system as well as a change of men.† ( Parkes, p.544) Broadly speaking the Progressive reformists fall in to categories. The first category consists of those who had its origin in the agrarian West and concerned themselves mainly with economic issues. The prominent among these Progressives were Henry George (author of Progress and Poverty), Edward Bellamy (author of looking Backward).the chief political spokesman of this category of Progressivism was Altgald and Donnelly, Brian and La Follette. The second category consists of those Eastern Progressives who addressed themselves to the problems like the tariff reform, merit system and anti-Imperialism. The predominant spokesmen of this category were Godkin, George William Curtis and President Charles W. Eliot of Harvard University. Its political spokesmen were Carl Schurz, Abram S. Hewitt and Woodrow Wilson. The Progressives also differed as to how the state should interfere to protect the weaker sections of the society. There were some Progressives like Theodore Roosevelt who held that the growth of business corporations were inevitable economic trend and governments should not abolish them. The government should merely concern itself with the regulation of their affairs. In short, they stood for greater governmental control over large enterprises and industrial units. To undo justices to the weaker sections and labor, they stood for extension of great privileges and compensations to the working classes as well as the strengthening of trade unions, which they believe would counteract the powers of big corporations and their corrupt practices. There was still another group of Progressive, supported by Woodrow Wilson, who emphasized the need of prohibiting monopoly, protecting small business and enforcing effecting competition. In other orders they were more in line with liberalism. The first battle of reforms were fought by the Progressives at the Municipal and state level. This was so because the states under American constitutional system had jurisdiction over almost all matters of social character i.e. working hours, wages of labor, conditions of workplace, welfare of women and children, education, health, suffrage etc. So it was in the states that most national reforms were initially tested at the rudimentary stages. Furthermore these states also served as the testing grounds for reformers who later undertook the reforms at the national level. Thus Roosevelt got his training at New York city and Albany. La Follett learned the economies of railway and trust regulation in Wisconsin and Woodrow Wilson earned the reputation of a great reformer as a liberal Governor of New Jersey. However, the most spectacular reforms in this period were accomplished at state Level by Robert Marion La Follette of Wisconsin (although the spade work for reforms at the state level was done John P. Altgald of Illinois and Hazen S. Pingree in Michigan). He consistently fought for the democratic ideals and was opposed to domination of Government by the business interests. During his Governorship, he gave concrete shape to his Wisconsin Idea†. He enlarged democracy through the direct primary initiative and referendum. He accomplished potation on campaigns expenditures, municipal home rule, civil service reforms and creation of bureau of experts to advise the administration. With a view to protect the people against exploitations by large business corporations, La Follette set up commissions to regulate Railway and other public utility services. He further enforced the law that compelled the rail companies and timber corporations to pay their share of taxes. Additionally, he introduced several reforms that changed the socio-economic set-up of the whole state. At the federal level, the Progressive movement set in with the inauguration of the President Roosevelt, who was the first of the three Progressive Presidents i.e. Taft and Woodrow Wilson. His first act to curtail the powers of the large organizations was epitomized through the suite against The Northern Securities Company in 1903. He introduced other legislative measures to breakdown the monopoly of the large corporations. Elkins Act of 1903, Hepburn Act of 1906 are only some examples.   Second major proponent of Progressivism at the Federal level was President William Howard Taft (1909-1913) who accomplished more progressive legislation than the Roosevelt. He introduced and enacted law to check corrupt practices during the elections. He dissolved ninety trusts under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act (these trusts were saving huge taxes in the name of charity and were involved in certain illegal activities). He strengthened the cause of democracy when he propagated the idea of direct elections for the senators and introduced 17th amendments in the U.S. constitutions that provided for direct elections of the members of the Senate instead being elected by the State legislatures. Furthermore, he wanted to reduce tariffs because he felt hat the Dingley Act of 1897 was much too high and enabled the entrepreneurs to charge exorbitant prices. It is often alleged that Taft was not a true Progressive but it remains the fact that more progressive legislation was enacted during his presidency. Woodrow is the next in the row for progressive presidents. He introduced far-reaching economic reforms and adopted a number other progressive measure to capacitate the entire American spirit with purpose. Hs foremost priority was the revision of tariff and introduction of viable reforms. He was successful to get â€Å"The Underwood Tariff Act (1913) passed. Secondly, he introduced another Act to reconstruct the monetary and banking sector. He introduced certain other legislative measure to minimize the effect of Gilded Age[1]. Although his program of more progressive reforms were cut short but the outbreak or WW II but two more constitutional amendment (18th and 19th) became effective in his presidency.[2] Though Progressives could not bring about the revolutionary transformation of the political and economic system, yet it cannot be denied that through their reforms they tried to revitalize democracy and made the rulers responsible and accountable to the public. â€Å"Perhaps the best known results of this era are the 18th and 19th Amendments, Prohibition and woman suffrage respectively. But this legislation really came at the tail end of the period which has come to be known as the â€Å"Age of Reform.† The amendments were actually the byproducts of an immense social and political upheaval which changed forever the expectations of the role government would play in American society.† (PBS) The most important contribution of the progressive era was the change that they incorporated in the attitudes of the political and business leaders. In the subsequent years, the big business corporations could not completely ignore the public and their interests.   Although the Progressive era was a short one but it pioneered a new role for government.       References Ekirch, Arthur A. Progressivism in America. A study of the Era from Theodore Roosevelt to Woodrow Wilson. New York; New Viewpoints. 1974. Filene, Peter G. An Obituary for â€Å"The Progressive Movement†. American Quarterly. Vol. 22, No. 1(Spring, 1970). pp. 20-34 Parkes, Henry B. The United States of America—A History. New York, Knopf, 1959 PBS. The Progressive Era 1900-1918.Retrieved on March 07, 2007 from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eleanor/peopleevents/pande08.html [1] Clayton Anti-Trust Act (1914) and the formation of Federal trade commission to reduce the unfair methods of trade are some other measures. [2] 18th Amendment of U.S. Constitution the process of introduction of Prohibition was completed whereas 19th Amendments granted the right of vote to the women on equal terms with men.