Electric Vehicles And Their Effect On Society

Electric Vehicles And Their Effect On Society With the depletion of the earths ozone layer and the shortage of our oil supply becoming an issue, we have had to look at alternative fueled vehicles that will not harm the environment, but will still provide us with a reliable source of transportation. Compared to gasoline powered vehicles, electric vehicles are considered to be 97 percent cleaner, producing absolutely no tailpipe emissions that can place particulate matter into the air. Particulate matter can increase asthma conditions, as well as irritate respiratory systems. Because Electric Vehicles produce no emissions, there are no requirements for Electric Vehicle owners to ever take in their vehicle to an Emissions Testing Facility for an emissions inspection. Another factor that makes these vehicles so clean is that since they dont use half of the parts that a gasoline powered vehicle does (including gasoline and oil), they are not at risk of shedding any worn out radiator hoses, fuel filters, etc, to be dumped in our over crowded landfills, and leaking contaminated oil into our water supply, killing plant and animal life. Exceptionally quiet, Electric Vehicles produce no noise pollution. In fact they are so quiet that manufacturers are thinking that Electric Vehicles may one day require some kind of noise device on them to alert pedestrians that they are within the area. In a gasoline powered vehicle, the then engine must be kept running even when the vehicle is idle. When an Electric Vehicle is idle, the electric motor is not running and the vehicle is not using any energy. On hot days, a few hundred gas-powered cars sitting on the freeway produce an unimaginable amount of pollution. Electric Vehicles can run during hot days, cold days, at night, and can accelerate or remain idle and not produce any pollution. Many people claim that Electric Vehicles merely relocate the source of pollution to the power plants. Even though Electric Vehicles produce no tailpipe emissions, they still need electricity to be recharged, which means they need power plants to produce the electricity. These people fail to realize, however, that many modern power plants (especially in states like California) are clean, meaning they produce no pollution. Examples of clean power plants include nuclear reactors, windmills, hydroelectric plants and solar panels. Also, it is much easier to deal with isolated pollution sources such as power plants than it is to deal with millions of automobiles, each a source of pollution. As more and more power plants become clean and as more people realize what Electric Vehicles can do for the environment, Electric Vehicle use will increase, and our environment will become much nicer. Electric cars have been thought of as one answer to our dependence on fossil fuel burning vehicles. Their main appeal is that they produce no air pollution at the point of use so provide a way of shifting emissions to less polluted areas. Unfortunately also out of sight are the environmental consequences of manufacturing and recycling the lead- acid batteries electric vehicles require to run on. A recent drew attention to the problem of lead batteries in electric cars: Smelting and recycling the lead for these batteries will result in substantial releases of lead to the environment. The researchers compared the power, efficiency and environmental effects of electric cars with gas powered vehicles. Not only are electric cars comparatively slower and far more restricted in the distance they can travel but release more lead into the environment as well. The study showed that an electric car with batteries made from newly mined lead releases 60 times more lead than that of a car using le aded gas. Although the lead discharged in lead smelting and reprocessing is generally less available to humans in the U.S. than that dispersed by leaded gasoline cars driving where people are still using leaded gasoline. Even when precautions are taken there are still significant hazards. Lead processing facilities release lead into the air and waterways, and lead in solid waste leaches slowly into the environment. Clearly electric cars, despite their good for the environment image create far more of a problem than leaded gas cars and unleaded gas cars. In addition if a large number of electric cars are produced, the demand for lead for batteries will surge, requiring more lead to be mined. Manufacture needs to be halted until an alternative safer power source is found. These rules out current alternatives such as nickel-cadmium and nickel metal hydride batteries which are also highly toxic and far more expensive. Researchers speculate that lithium-polymer technologies may eventuall y be used. Should cities with a population in excess on 5 million such as LA, New York or Mexico city, which suffer from the adverse effects of smog, implement an electric car society, or a car tax by 2009 or would these measures be too costly to execute and burdensome for the average citizen. The creation of an electric car city would be a grueling task indeed. For it follows that the car in many countries is ubiquitous. A cultural symbol that is deeply embedded in the worlds psyche from the day it was created. To some it seems as though it is an impossible task, that we replace so many cars or that we limit the number of cars in the populated areas Although many argue that it is the car that contributes to the blight on this earth, spewing its pollutants into the air, and that a society without them would be a better one. The nature of todays world and in todays modern cities demands that we have a form of fast transportation. We would not function at all without it and walking, while it woul d make us all healthier, would consume too much of our time. I feel that if carefully planned and thought out, we neednt get rid of one without having to lose the benefit of the other. It is felt by many that the cause of urban pollution is as a result of too many cars. The poor design of many cities with regard to transportation has caused urban congestion. Consider of course the fact that many cars right now in cities are running but not moving. For example, in New York City, trying to find a parking space is both a cause and symptom of poor urban design. Clearly when there is not enough space in the city to house all of our cars, when parking space is considered a rare commodity then we have a problem. But in other cases such as Mexico City or Los Angeles the problem of poor urban design is even worse. Clearly when these cities were built the planners did not foresee the large number of gasoline chugging vehicles that would clog them. In addition there are various health problems that are suffered by urban dwellers as a result of the pollution. Asthma is a prime example, as it is the fastest growing childhood disease in urban areas, and most likely the result of the billions of particulates spewed into the atmosphere. Electric vehicles have more than technical hurdles to overcome: Some experts fear that the vehicles environmental impact is no lighter than that of gas-powered vehicles. And the biggest concerns center on the vehicles all-important batteries. Now researchers have published the first in-depth environmental analysis of electric cars using lithium-ion batteries, and have found that they beat their gas-fueled counterparts. When experts consider batteries environmental footprint, they worry about a range of issues, including the impacts of mining the necessary metals, the chemical manufacturing process, and whether the batteries end up in landfills or get recycled. According to the researchers analysis, about 15% of an electric vehicles total environmental burden comes from manufacturing, maintaining, and disposing of the lithium-ion battery. Most of those costs, about 50%, stem from mining and manufacturing the copper and aluminum used in the battery and its connecting cables. Extracting the necessary lithium produces only 2.3% of the batterys total environmental footprint. Still, the largest contributor to electric vehicles total environmental burden comes from recharging the battery. These operational costs were three times greater than the battery alone, but they fluctuated when the researchers looked at other electricity sources besides the typical European power mixture that includes nuclear power, hydropower, and fossil fuels. When the vehicles charged up on electricity from coal-fired plants alone, their total environmental impact increased by 13%, but it dropped by 40% when the electricity came solely from hydropower. Overall, when the researchers compared battery-powered vehicles to their gas-fueled counterparts, they calculated that a car with an internal combustion engine would need a fuel economy of about 60 to 80 mpg to achieve a lower environmental impact than a battery-powered electric vehicle that recharged using Unites States power sources. Overall, Electric Vehicles are stating to change the way people think about à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Going Greenà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ . With the advancement of battery technology and alternative fuels, these vehicles are producing fewer emissions and going further than ever before. We need to start relying on these technologies to start reducing our carbon footprint. As the years continue to pass, these vehicles are going to start changing the way we live, and operate in society. Bagatelle-Black, Forbes. EV WORLD: Electric Vehicles and the Environment. 27 Nov. 2007. Web. 04 May 2011. . Electric Vehicle. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 04 May 2011. . Gustafson, Sven. How Would Electric Cars Affect Our Environment? Michigan Local News. 14 Feb. 2008. Web. 04 May 2011. . Zemanta. The Negative Impact of Electric Cars on the Environment. News and Reviews on Electric Cars, Hybrids, Plug-in Electric Vehicles 9 Mar. 2010. Web. 04 May 2011. .

The Theme of Marriage in Middlemarch Essay -- Eliot Middlemarch Essays

The Theme of Marriage in Middlemarch  Ã‚      One of the central themes that runs through Middlemarch is that of marriage. Indeed, it has been argued that Middlemarch can be construed as a treatise in favor of divorce. I do not think that this is the case, although there are a number of obviously unsuitable marriages. If it had been Elliot's intention to write about such a controversial subject, I believe she would not have resorted to veiling it in a novel. She illustrates the different stages of relationships that her characters undergo, from courtship through to marriage: A fellow mortal with whose nature you are acquainted with solely through the brief entrances and exits of a few imaginative weeks called courtship, may, when seen in the continuity of married companionship, be disclosed as something better or worse than what you have preconceived, but will certainly not appear altogether the same(193) She not only includes the new couples (Fred and Mary, Celia and Chettam), but also the older ones (the Garths and the Cadwalladers and the Bulstrodes), as well as widowhood (Dorothea). The marriage that would at seem most in need of a divorce, that between Dorothea and Casaubon, would be, ironically, the one that would last the longest if divorce had been available. Dorothea would not, indeed could not divorce Casaubon because of her honesty and the strength of her idealism. Despite the fact that Casaubon is clearly unsuitable, she still goes ahead with the marriage. It can be said that Dorothea represents the antithesis of Casaubon, where he his cold and severe, she is warm and friendly. Indeed, they are portrayed in clearly different ways: Dorothea represents light and life, while Casaubon is darkness and death. ... ...similar circumstances (An example of this is the comparison between the reactions of Rosamond and of Mrs Bulstrode when they learn of their husbands' disgrace). This desire to analyse and compare probably came from her studies of both natural sciences and psychology. I don't believe that Elliot's position is either for or against marriage - she is, in my view, equally for or against certain characters. The marriages that are portrayed in Middlemarch are of such different and varied composition that no general rule can be drawn from them. Works Cited and Consulted Carroll, David (editor). George Eliot Middlemarch. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. Drabble, Margaret. Introduction. Middlemarch. By George Elliot. New York: Bantam, 1985. vii-xvii. Pangallo, Karen L. The Critical Response To George Eliot. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1994.

Problems with E-Banking

The relevant statutes and cases 5 How the current legislations adequately 6 protect the consumers References 7 QUESTION: Analyse with relevant statutes and cases the problems with electronic banking and how the current legislations adequately protect the consumers overcoming these problems. ANSWER: The following are the problems with e-banking: 1. Time of payment:The opportunity for a customer to countermand or stop electronic payment is unclear. If the transfer is effective before the countermand is received, then the paying institution will have paid in accord with its mandate and is not liable to reverse or restore payment to the customer. Cheques are only paid or effective once cleared, and the paying bank holds records of the appropriate debit, however with EFT there are 5 possible times of payment: a. The time of transmission. b. The entering of the transfer instruction into the transfer system. c. The time of receipt of the transfer instruction by the paying institution. . The time when the recipient financial institution decides to accept the payment. e. The time when the recipient financial institution credits the sum to the account of its customer. 2. Malfunctions: ADIs accept liability for direct loss if there is a malfunction in the system. In the case where an electronic malfunction resulted in non-payment of an amount of money due under a charter party agreement, such that one of the parties lost the benefit of a ship charter, resulting in the loss of millions of dollars, it may result to indirect or consequential loss.The Uniform Commercial Code, in the USA, prohibits recovery of consequential damages from a recipient bank for a delayed or otherwise mishandled funds transfer unless there is express written agreement permitting recovery between the bank and its customer. 3. Evidence of transactions: EFT transactions are usually evidenced at the point of transaction by a document proffered to the customer. The problem arises with the unauthorized o r fraudulent use of the facility, this will result to the customer not discovering the unauthorized use until there is a periodic statement issued. . Security, fraud and liability: In accordance with cheques and bills, a customer is not ordinarily liable for losing a bill, cheque or cheque book or failing to check bank statements for inaccuracies; the duties owed by the customer to a bank are quite limited in scope. However in the case of debit and credit cards, the duties are quite different. The customer is under greater contractual duties regarding security and liability for fraud. He must keep the card in a safe place and is required to notify the bank immediately of its loss or theft. 5. Terms of contract:The terms of e-banking account are set by the ADI and are varied upon notice from time to time. Customers have little bargaining power and also problems with understanding the contractual obligations. To further illustrate this point, there is usually a â€Å"Conditions of Us e† document supplied with a debit or credit card but rarely is it understood, and as soon as the customer signs the card or first uses it, they are deemed to have accepted the card on these conditions. The relevant statutes and cases illustrating the problems with electronic banking: 1.ANZ vs Westpac (1988) 164 CLR 662, A meat company (Jakes) had an account with the branch of the Westpac Bank. At the relevant time the account was overdrawn in the amount of $67,000. A customer presented to ANZ a cheque in favour of Jakes for $14,000, but, by reason of clerial error, ANZ credited Jakes account with Westpac for $114,000. By the time ANZ notified Westpac for the error, Westpac had applied the money in reducing the overdraft and in honouring a number of Jakes’s cheques. Jakes paid back only $2,500 of the $100,000 before going into liquidation.ANZ brought an action against Westpac to recover the overpayment, however Westpac sought to rely on the defence of ministerial receipt . Bth parties acted on the basis of concessions made by Westpac that the reduction of the overdraft anad the payment of certain cheques which could have been dishonoured by Westpac at the time was notified of the mistake should be ignored for the purposes of determining whether the moneys had been applied. As a result of the concessions it was accepted by Westpac that it had not applied $17,021 of the payment and that it was liable to return this amount. . Mercedes Benz v ANZ and National Mutual Royal Savings Bank Ltd (Part 2), Mrs R was employed by the plaintiff as a payroll supervisor. By arrangement with the second defendant, she was given forms for opening accounts for new employees of the plaintiff, and she received cards and PINs for accessing those accounts. The plaintiff paid wages and commissions by issuing a cheque in favour of NMRB who then credited the appropriate accounts. There was virtually no supervision of Mrs R after her appointment, nor did the second defendant ev er question the creation of accounts.Mrs R defrauded the plaintiff company using several different schemes. For the purposes of the present note, the relevant scheme was to create accounts in fictitious names and then use those accounts for the deposit of cheques. How the current legislations adequately protect the consumers: To address these problems, a joint State and Federal Committee of Consumer Affairs Ministers prepared a Code of Conduct to be allowed by financial institutions. They were given some time to incorporate the Code into their standard EFT contracts or alternatively face legislation.After amendments recommended by the Trade Practices Commission in 1989, the Code was implemented along with the Australian Banking Ombudsman Scheme. The current Code is now part of ASIC’s scope of administration.REFERENCES: 1. Restitution law: By Sharon Erbacher pg. 639 2. Law 330 module 2 pg. 30-32 3. Cases and materials on the law of restitution:  By Andrew Burrows, Ewan McKen drick, James Edelman pg. 838 4. http://austlii. edu. au/~alan/mb2. html, Mercedes Benz v ANZ and National Mutual Royal Savings Bank Ltd (Part 2), accessed on 20/08/10.

Foreign Policy An Overview Of Major Trends Essay

Foreign policy is a policy that is pursued by nation in its dealings with other nations that is designed to achieve national objectives. Therefore, the general objectives are to guide activities and develop a relationship of one nation through the interaction with another nation. Moreover, this development of foreign policy is somehow influence by international considerations as the policies or the behavior of other foreign governments and the peoples through negotiation, other measurement short of violence and war. Also to have plans that will advance into a particular geopolitical setting. The United States foreign policy is an overview of major trends regarding American Revolution to the present times. 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