...Nuclear Thoughts The United States has held a central role in the nuclear arms race since its development over sixty years ago. They were the creators, the first and only nation to ever deploy the weapon against a foreign power, effectively ending Japan’s role in WWII, and still continue to invest millions annually into their nuclear arms program. Over twenty years has passed since the end of the Cold War, and the conception of MAD, mutually assured destruction, the United States continues to fund a program whose by-product may never again be utilized, by our counrty. Nuclear arms are no longer the deterrent they once were. The list of countries that have access to this technology has grown from what was two world powers, the United States and former USSR, to include many of today’s industrialized nations and continues to grow. However, the threat of nuclear attack from one of these nations continues to diminish, and in today’s global climate the United States is more likely to sustain a nuclear attack from a terrorist or independent organization. Retaliation to this type of attack is limited, as we see from our past experience in Afghanistan and Iraq. Instead time and resources should be spent on what happens in the worst case scenario and what can be done to minimize the damages. Today The United States currently has an insufficient capacity to respond to a nuclear accident or attack in a way that would minimize casualties. Although continually working to prevent the possibility...
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...Nuclear Thoughts The United States has held a central role in the nuclear arms race since its development over sixty years ago. They were the creators, the first and only nation to ever deploy the weapon against a foreign power, effectively ending Japan’s role in WWII, and still continue to invest millions annually into their nuclear arms program. Over twenty years has passed since the end of the Cold War, and the conception of MAD, mutually assured destruction, the United States continues to fund a program whose by-product may never again be utilized, by our counrty. Nuclear arms are no longer the deterrent they once were. The list of countries that have access to this technology has grown from what was two world powers, the United States and former USSR, to include many of today’s industrialized nations and continues to grow. However, the threat of nuclear attack from one of these nations continues to diminish, and in today’s global climate the United States is more likely to sustain a nuclear attack from a terrorist or independent organization. Retaliation to this type of attack is limited, as we see from our past experience in Afghanistan and Iraq. Instead time and resources should be spent on what happens in the worst case scenario and what can be done to minimize the damages. Today The United States currently has an insufficient capacity to respond to a nuclear accident or attack in a way that would minimize casualties. Although continually working to prevent the possibility...
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...Applying the 8 Elements of Thought In the WMD Report 1 Applying the 8 Elements of Thought In the WMD Report HLS-355 October 20, 2012 Applying the 8 Elements of Thought In the WMD Report 2 There are eight elements of thought that are used when analyzing a document. These “Eight basic structures are present in all thinking: Whenever we think, we think for a purpose within a point of view based on assumptions leading to implications and consequences. We use concepts, ideas and theories to interpret data, facts, and experiences in order to answer questions, solve problems, and resolve issues (Criticalthinking.org)”. The eight elements of thought are think about the purpose, state the question, gather information, watch your inferences, check your assumptions, clarify your concepts, understand your point of view, and think through the implications. These eight elements of thought come from Dr. Linda Elder and Dr. Richard Paul. We will use Dr. Elder’s and Dr. Paul’s eight elements of thought to analyze and discuss about The Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction. This is also known as the overview of the WMD Report. The main purpose of this report is to determine and expose the lack of critical thinking that was used by each of the intelligence agencies that assumed that Iraq’s leader, Saddam Hussein, had reconstituted his nuclear weapons program, had biological weapons, had mobile biological weapon production...
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...Identifying & Overcoming Blocks that Hinder Critical Thinking Student Name HUM/111 Date Instructor Identifying & Overcoming Blocks that Hinder Critical Thinking Assignment Directions Complete Part 1-4 of the assignment below after reading the article: Salazar, M. (2013). "Nuclear Power is a Viable Source of Renewable Energy." Nuclear Power. Retrieved from Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Note: This article is not on the Materials Tab or in the Electronic Reserve Readings. You must go to the University Library – Opposing Viewpoints in Context Database and find the article. To find the article: * Click on: * Library tab * University Library * Specialized Resources * Opposing Viewpoints in Context In the top right hand corner you will see a search bar. * Type in: nuclear power * Click Search * Click Viewpoints (195) You should see the article - I have it as the 5th viewpoint essay from the top. (If you do not see the article, please contact your instructor for help by posting a message in your Individual forum). Part 1: Taking a Position Write a 50- to 75-word explanation of your position on the issue described in the Salazar (2013) article. Part 2: Stating the Opposing Position Write a 50- to 75-word explanation of the opposing position to the position on the information covered in the Salazar (2013) article. Note: To complete Part 3 and Part 4 see pages 54-61 in Chapter 3 of The Art of Thinking...
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...The renewable energy debate has pros and cons coming from both sides. My viewpoint on the issue is that renewable energy can benefit the environment, if we can keep the cost of the sources to a minimum. There are many sources for renewable energy from solar power and wind power to biofuel. Although the sun and the air are free, it does take sufficient amounts of money to build the devices that can harvest these natural things and turn them into energy. In opposing renewable energy people are afraid that we will use up massive amounts of land to put up solar and wind power plants. If these people would think outside of the box, they would be able to see that there is so much land out there that we are not currently using and probably never will, so that land would be getting put to good use and it would be saving the environment. One of the biggest reasons that people resist change is due to fear (Ruggiero, 2012). There are many of situations where renewable energy will benefit our country. We have so much pollution from the current energy sources that we use and we are also to the point where oil is a day by day fuel, it is hard to tell when our supply will run out. When it comes to promoting renewable energy, some people take their belief that this is best for our environment a little too far. They begin protesting the forms of energy that we currently use. According to Ruggiero (2012), Too many people do not make up their own minds, but have their minds made up for them...
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...paperEarly in 1997, Scottish scientist Dr. Ian Wilmot revealed to the world that he had successfully cloned an adult sheep, Dolly. With this invention, the world made a collective gasp at the realization that cloning was no longer a pipe dream or an element of a Science Fiction movie. Since then, human cloning has become one of the most debated topics in the world. From the schoolhouse to the White House, discussions began regarding the ethical implications of human cloning. In several recent polls by TIME magazine (The Ethics of Cloning, 1998 ), it was shown that 75 percent of the responding population thought that cloning wasn’t a good thing. Furthermore, 74 percent of the respondents believed that cloning was against God’s will, and when asked if they would clone themselves, if presented with the opportunity, 91 percent responded with a “no”. However, when asked to define human cloning, an estimated 95 percent of them couldn’t describe it correctly. As a matter of fact, in a personal interview with Miss. Weber, T.A. (personal interview, November 7,1998) when asked, “What do you think about human cloning?” responded, “I don’t know a lot about it, but I know it’s scary”. Opponents of human cloning argue that it is immoral and unethical to clone human beings for both religious and humanitarian reasons. Moreover, other opponents describe human cloning as a luxury for wealthy people or as a tool for organ market development. Conversely, I believe that human cloning can have many...
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...Response to Zombies The thought of zombies does not usually cross my mind very often. I do not usually enjoy watching “scary” movies that involve things such as zombies or spirits for that matter. When reading this article I was exposed to many things that I had not thought about previously. Where the idea of zombies came from was a huge shock to me because the thought I had always had was that a director or author somewhere came up with the idea. To learn that this idea actually stemmed from a Haitian culture is fascinating. Most of the thoughts of today are that the “end of the world” is going to have to do with a zombie outbreak. People are supposedly going to come into contact with a military experiment gone badly and then begin spreading it throughout the world. This thought has been portrayed in multiple ways, with everything from a bio hazard accident to nuclear warfare. The thought of zombies being the way the world will end seems like a faraway fantasy; however, after reading how the thought of zombies came to be shows that in fact things like zombies have been around in the past. Not quite the same as they are today but the same concept. With this new outlook and understanding of zombies it pushes me more toward believing that there is actually a possibility of an existence of zombie like creatures. After reading this, I remembered the story of the man in Florida who was said to be under the influence of “bath salts”, which is a drug that makes people hallucinate...
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...My wife and I recently got into a small argument about the amount of groceries that we needed for the week. She informed me that we were out of bread. I had previously remembered there being a full loaf on top of the counter so I told her that we didn’t need it. After talking it through, I spent the $2.18 to stop the argument. As it turns out, she was right. After a long period of thinking, I realized that it had been almost 4 days since I had a sandwich and I am not the only person in the house. If I had thought about this before by recalling when it was I last had the bread instead of instantly assuming I was right I could have saved myself the shame of being wrong that my wife playfully rubbed in my face. Free will is the ability to act on your own accord. By exercising free will, an individual chooses to form their own thought on a given situation. Truth is a certainty. By knowing truths, individuals are able to set up parameters that allow them form the base of their knowledge. Knowledge is what is known to be truth. The more knowledge an individual haves the easier it is to form an accurate opinion. Opinion is the way an individual or group feels towards a certain topic. By having an opinion, they are also in the slightest way exercising free will. Each element branches into one another which help’s provide the thinker with the correct information that are needed to articulate the though process Stereotyping is a hinder to critical thinking. By already having on a...
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...talking about people leaving their infants leaving their dirty diapers he had stated, “They have a large nuclear power plant radio and enough food to supply several Canadian provinces the immediately transform themselves into a high -output litter machine cranking out….. and dirty diapers weighing more than the infant that generated them.” The author was over exaggerating about the people turning into litter machines and the dirty diapers weighing more than the infants who made them. Though the author was over exaggerating, he was using hyperbole to show how much mess that people were leaving. To add, the author strongly hates when people litter and leave trash around. “It turns out that when it come sto littering he is - and I mean this as a compliment-insane. So am I.” The author and his optometrist are not crazy the author over exaggerated it to show how much they really does hate littering. The author was successful in getting his point across; we now know that he despises littering. Additionally, the author uses hyperboles to describe the litters, “I hate when you go to a park or a beach and the day is suddenly destroyed by the arrival of The Picnic People from Hell.” The picnickers are are obviously not from hell, but they leave their mess all over the place and do not clean it up was what the author meant by his hyperbole. The Author is able to express his thoughts on how much litter and what he thinks about the people who litter with the use of hyperboles. Secondly, the...
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...People Get New Ideas? Note from Arthur Obermayer, friend of the author: In 1959, I worked as a scientist at Allied Research Associates in Boston. The company was an MIT spinoff that originally focused on the effects of nuclear weapons on aircraft structures. The company received a contract with the acronym GLIPAR (Guide Line Identification Program for Antimissile Research) from the Advanced Research Projects Agency to elicit the most creative approaches possible for a ballistic missile defense system. The government recognized that no matter how much was spent on improving and expanding current technology, it would remain inadequate. They wanted us and a few other contractors to think “out of the box.” When I first became involved in the project, I suggested that Isaac Asimov, who was a good friend of mine, would be an appropriate person to participate. He expressed his willingness and came to a few meetings. He eventually decided not to continue, because he did not want to have access to any secret classified information; it would limit his freedom of expression. Before he left, however, he wrote this essay on creativity as his single formal input. This essay was never published or used beyond our small group. When I recently rediscovered it while cleaning out some old files, I recognized that its contents are as broadly relevant today as when he wrote it. It describes not only the creative process and the nature of creative people but also the kind of environment that...
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...What It Means To Be Human I have never pondered on such a question that reflects the whole human race and what it means to be a human being. What it means to be a human being is not just having a face, eyes, heart, or being able to drive a car, or to own a house. Being a human being is much more than that, deeper and more passionate. Being a human being is to have the ability to know what is right and wrong, having rational thought and to think deeply beyond the tangible things in the world, and being a human being is to find love. Yet as I think deeply into this more and more, I see that those things are not as important to be a human being, simply because you can live without those things; but to really live and thrive and build a race and society, being a human being is to have the ability to build relationships around anyone and everyone around us. What it means to be a human being is to have relationships. Many people may argue with this person’s opinion on the meaning of being a human being, but this is an opinion that should be taken into consideration. As all humans know, what makes us unique from animals is our ability to drive cars, create masterpieces of art, build cathedrals, and invent things no one would think of. However, those are only the tangible aspects of being a human being. If we all think carefully, and work out many other aspects to what makes us human, we should find that all other answers inadequate. What makes us truly unique and great is our ability...
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...to support the elimination of nuclear weapons from acceptable military arsenal just like poison gas was banned. The author believes that just like chemical weapons were developed, used successfully in war and eventually abandoned so will nuclear weapons. Carroll believes that nuclear weapons are dangerous and can be used for enormous destruction. The author builds his arguments from a historical perspective. At the beginning of the 20th century when scientists were experimenting with new weapon technology, “poisonous weapons” were developed (Carroll 1). The world reacted by outlawing these weapons through the Hague Convention in 1907. However, this did not stop countries from developing and using chemical weapons in war. Germany and Britain used asphyxiating gas in World War I. While there were less than 100,000 casualties fewer than the millions cause by conventional military weapons, the chemical weapons still cause great concern in Europe. The author identifies a group of people he terms as “realists”. They represent strong opposition against the banning of effective military weapons. The realists were opposed to the abolition of the use of military weapons in the 1900s and are also against the abandonment of nuclear armament. The realists’ main argument is that nowhere in history have effective weapons been abandoned because the ultimate goal of armament is to have the most lethal weapons. Therefore disarmament of chemical or nuclear weapons is not realistic. Carroll...
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... July 26, 2014 HIS/145 Timothy Hayburn Introduction Nuclear attacks are due to military conflicts or a political strategy in which some form of nuclear weapon is used to inflict damage on the opponent. Terrorism is the use of violence to threat or intimidate generally for political reasoning. Both Nuclear attacks and terrorism are used to coerce the opposing party into meeting specific demands. One can only imagine what it was like doing the Nuclear War for the children as well as the adults. Training and practicing the protocol of what to do was taught as a lesson in school as if it was a common entity for the times. “Duck and Cover” was presented to the children in such a way that made the happenings of the war easier to comprehend. Still as a child I believe that the thought of an atomic bomb coming down around me had to be a scary thought. The war that severe that the lessons of the do’ and don’ts had to be covered, knowing what to do helped prepared the people for a nuclear attack. The threat of nuclear war and terrorism has many differences but like characteristics. The threat of nuclear war usually comes with a warning and one can prepare if it does happen. Terrorism attacks are sometimes expected but come with no warning at all. Generally terrorism attacks are used to scare the opposing government by...
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...Chernobyl April 26 1986 BEEP!! BEEP!! WARNING!! WARNING!! As Jeff turned on the radio, he heard the blaring voice of an announcer. There is a core meltdown of reactor 4 at Chernobyl. Explosion of the nuclear power plant eminent!! All citizens of Pripyat evacuate immediately!! Jeff just had time to react to these words when he heard a sudden explosion. BOOM!! Quickly, Jeff ran down the stairs of the apartment and saw many people groggily getting up to see what had happened. Seeing so many people in dangers path, Jeff quickly pulled the fire alarm. “Great,” Jeff thought “Saved a bunch of people.” Jeff then ran to his car, put the key into the ignition and drove as quickly as he could, caring only about his own safety. After driving for a few minutes Jeff’s car glided to a halt in the middle of the highway. Jeff had forgotten that he had no more gas. As Jeff ran away from his car the air became more and more hazy. Radiation was everywhere. Jeff stumbled to a halt and fell to the ground. It became harder and harder to breathe. “No,” thought Jeff. Then he passed out. 1min 24sec According to the Nuclear Energy Institute, there are currently 442 active nuclear power reactors worldwide. Of all of the reactors worldwide, 14 of them have been classified as accidents where the public has been exposed to large amounts of radiation. The most devastating of these incidents was the core meltdown of reactor 4 at Chernobyl, better known as the Chernobyl disaster. Today I am going...
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...For taking the stance for nuclear power, Stewart Brand presented a powerful argument. He said that nuclear energy plants can be safe and the emissions can be contained. When comparing nuclear energy with coal energy, greenhouse gas emissions are much more limited by nuclear energy. Brand also made the point that nuclear energy is more effective than renewable energies like wind and solar. This is why nuclear energy accounts for 19 percent of the United States base load electricity. This is also why it supplies 16 percent of the world's electricity. Wind and solar both require wind and sun, respectively, so such energy projects are limited to specific areas and environments. For supporting wind energy, Mark Jacobson also presented an argument with equal sway. He noted that nuclear energy is dangerous since there are some countries that use the nuclear energy plants as a disguise for producing nuclear weapons. It is obvious that nuclear weapons threaten the world, especially in the hands of some countries. Land use is another factor in supporting wind energy. Nuclear energy is also unsafe because the radioactive materials require to power the plants can adversely affect both humans and the environment. Transporting the materials is also difficult. Wind projects take up little or no land if built in the sea. The time it takes to build energy plants is also different. It takes an average of 7.1 years to build a nuclear plant. While both sides have good points, I think the correct...
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