...History 124 7 November 2012 Coal Power and the Upper Big Branch Mining Disaster Coal was a major energy source for the United States throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries during the Industrial Revolution (Yale.edu). Even though it was a major energy source, coal has caused many problems with the environment and the people of the United States. Many disasters have occurred because of the safety regulations of coal mines. The safety regulations and conditions of coal mines have caused harm to people through death and poverty and has caused harm to the environment through pollution of the air and water over the years. The history of where coal was mined can help us understand how a disaster can happen in West Virginia or anywhere else. Coal was first recorded in the United States in 1663-1664 (netl-history). The coal shows up on a map of the Illinois River (netl-hisoty). Then in 1701 coal was found on the James River (netl-history). The James River is now Richmond, Virginia (netl-history). Several “coal mines” were shown on a map of the upper Potomac River by 1736 (netl-history). The upper Potomac River is now the border of Maryland and West Virginia (netl-history). The first commercial coal production began in 1748 from mines around the Richmond, Virginia area (netl-hisotry). In the late 1700s coal was starting to be mined at Mount Washington in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (netl-history). Over time coal was discovered in many different locations. It was...
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...non-renewable. Classification of natural resources of Bangladesh In the context of Bangladesh the natural resources are classified into two types. Followings are the categories of natural resources of Bangladesh. Natural Resources Natural resource determines the course of development and constitutes the challenge which may or may not be accepted by the human mind, we house the following natural resource as- * Land * Water resources * Fisheries * Forest * Mineral resources * Marine resources * climate * Rainfall * Oil and natural gas * Energy and power resources * Topography. • Renewable Natural Resources are Water, Fish, Forested and • Nonrenewable Mineral Natural Resources are Gas & Oil, Coal, Rock, and Sand etc. Renewable Natural Resources: 1. Water Resources: Water is the available renewable natural resources of Bangladesh. Bangladesh is endowed with plenty of surface and ground water resources. Surface water inflows of the country vary from a maximum of 140,000 m3/s in August to a minimum of about 7,000 m3/s in February. Several resources of water are- River Bangladesh is the country of rivers. Main rivers in Bangladesh are- Padma, Meghna, Shurma, Brahmaputra, Jomuna, Kapotaksha, Matamuhuri etc. Bay of Bengal Another surface water...
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...living creature (be it more or beast). Jack London began his adventures at a very early age. Born out of wedlock and into a poverty-ridden family he learned to find ways of escaping the dull routine of work. At the age of ten London was selling newspapers to supplement the family income. He labored in canneries, mills, doing laundry and shoveling coal so that he could support his family. Between the laborious chores of earning a living London also had numerous adventures when he tried the other side of the law. The adventures started when he buys himself a small skiff and teaches himself to sail but the pressures of home life take that away from he and he is forced to work at a cannery starting at the tender age of 14. Even at that age Jack London still had continuous thoughts of writing for a living. At the age of 15 London is tired of the low wages and the back breaking work of the factory and decides to take matters into his own hands. He sails out to become an Oyster pirate with the ship “The Razzle Dazzle” that he purchases with money borrowed from Virginia Prentiss. The title “Prince of the Oyster Pirates” is soon given to him, but he soon becomes disillusioned with the rough life and decides to change to the other side of the law again. The next year he joins the Fish Patrol to stop the pirating of the oyster fields. He does not find that to his liking either. His main thought is to get money anyway that he can, legal or illegal, and still have...
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...The Hunger Games Setting The Hunger Games is this first novel in a series of three written by Suzanne Collins in 2008. Katniss Everdeen, one of the stories main characters, lives in the country of Panem. Throughout the course of novel Katniss is in different places such as District 12 and the Capitol. Panem is the country where Katniss lives with her family. This country is split into thirteen different districts. Katniss and eight thousand others call District 12 their home. District 12 is a very poor coal mining district. Katniss referred to District 12 as “where you can starve to death in safety.” This lets us know that it is a very poor area to live in considered the residents are struggling to put food on the table. It was extremely hard to find food in there, and many families lived in poverty. The part of District 12 that Katniss lives in is known as the Seam, which is where the coal-miners live and work. The Seam is located on the border of District 12 next to a forest. District 12 is enclosed by a high chain-link fence topped with barbwire. The electric fence is used a deterrent to predators that live in the woods. The merchant area in District 12 is a step up from the Seam. The mayor and his daughter, along with other families such as Peeta Mellark's, lived in the merchant area and are well-off for District 12. It was mentioned by Katniss that the merchants "lived above their businesses," suggesting that the merchants' homes doubled as their shops as well. The...
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...underground coal mine in West Virginia. The name of this coal mine was the Upper Big Branch Mine and it was run by Massey Energy Company. 61 miners were underground at the time of the explosion and 29 of them were killed, making this disaster one of the worst mining tragedies in US history . The MSHA, or the Mine Safety and Health Administration, released a final report concluding that this explosion was caused by a mixture of coal dust and methane, but that was just the actual physical cause. There were several other factors that led to this explosion, and many things could have been done to prevent this tragedy. Luckily for the miners, the explosion at Upper Big Branch was the only big disaster, but Massey Energy and the CEO, Don Blankenship, could easily be held accountable for the explosion. One reason was because of the moral standard that Massey Energy Company failed to follow. They failed on their duty owed to the miners, by deliberately treating them in a way in which they didn’t freely and rationally consent to, and were in turn treated as a means to an end, in order to maximize profits at all costs. Also, Massey Company’s unfair treatment towards its miners created a dangerous environment, beyond the regular risks that are expected at a mine. This was to keep profits the main priority even over employee safety, thus using the employees as a means to an end, and therefore Massey Company acted immorally. In 2010, Massey Energy Corporation was one of the leading coal producers...
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...Sustainable Development and Planetary Boundaries BACKGROUND RESEARCH PAPER Johan Rockström and Jeffrey D. Sachs with Marcus C. Öhman and Guido Schmidt-Traub Submitted to the High Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda This paper reflects the views of the author and does not represent the views of the Panel. It is provided as background research for the HLP Report, one of many inputs to the process. May 2013 Draft for Discussion Sustainable Development and Planetary Boundaries Draft for Discussion Background paper for the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda Prepared by the co-chairs of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network Thematic Group on Macroeconomics, Population Dynamics, and Planetary Boundaries: Johan Rockström Executive Director, Stockholm Resilience Centre Professor of Environmental Science, Stockholm University Jeffrey D. Sachs Director, The Earth Institute, Columbia University Director, The Sustainable Development Solutions Network Special Advisor to Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on the Millennium Development Goals with Marcus C. Öhman Associate Professor and Senior Researcher in Ecology and Environmental Science, Stockholm Resilience Centre Guido Schmidt-Traub Executive Director, The Sustainable Development Solutions Network 15 March 2013 1 Draft for Discussion The world faces a serious challenge, indeed one that is unique to our age. Developing countries rightly...
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...freedom to do what they wanted to and living conditions were pretty good. However, the introduction of factory life changed this. The whole family had to go to the factory. Men, women, and children all had to go to the factories. Women could not stay home and take care of the kids; they had to come to the factory and bring their children with them. Education had to take place in the factory if it occurred at all. This situation is very similar to the human transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture in the Neolithic era. A roaming lifestyle was replaced by villages and farming in one place. Similar to the change in the Industrial Revolution, the role of the whole family was changed. Women could stay home and men had to work in the fields. Overall, the Industrial Revolution did change society for the better. Modern society would not exist if the growth from this time period did not occur. However, the problems cannot be overlooked: women had difficulties with sexual immorality, workers had terrible working conditions, child laborers had dangerous work, and the family was broken apart. The problems of the Industrial Revolution were growing pains for a greater good. This era laid the foundation for modern society and all of the benefits in the modern...
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...White marbleVictorian England Children Many children in early Victorian England never went to school at all and more than half of then grew up unable to read or write. Although some did go to Sunday schools which were run by churches. Children from rick families were luckier than poor children. Nannies looked after then and they toys and books. A governess would teach the children at home. Then when the boys were old enough they were sent away to a public school such as Eton or rugby. The daughters were kept at home and taught singing, piano playing and sewing. Slowly things changed for poorer children too. By the end of the Victorian age all children under 12 had to go school. Middle class children saw very little of their parents. School They were several kinds of school for poorer children. The youngest might go to a dame school run by a local woman in a room of her own house. The older ones went to a day school. Other schools were organised by churches and charities. Among these were the rages schools which were for orphans and very poor children. Families The father was the head of the household. He was often strict and was obeyed by all, the children were taught to respect their father and always spoke politely by calling him sir. Very few children would dare to by cheeky to their father or answer him back. When he wanted a little peace and quiet he would retire to his study and the rest of the family were not allowed to enter without his special...
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...annually in Floyd County. For every 100 females there are 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 95 males. The average household income is $28,221, compared to the state of Kentucky which is $42,248 and compared to the United States which is $51,425. 28.9% of Floyd County citizens are living below the poverty level (American FactFinder, 2013). 98% of people living in this county are white. 1.1% are black, and all other ethnic groups are less than 1% (American FactFinder 2013). Neighborhood/Community Safety Inventory After speaking with Shannon Hall (Fire Chief of Left Beaver Rescue Squad in Floyd County Kentucky), I was able to answer many of the questions posed on the Neighborhood and Community Safety Inventory. Shannon has worked for the Floyd County and Left Beaver Rescue Squad for over 20 years, and is both an EMT and a firefighter. The most prevalent air and water pollution issue in Floyd County stems from ironically, the source of most of our citizens’ livelihood, which is coal. Coal mines and coal tipples are plentiful in this county, and even though they’re not as active or successful due to the recent “War on Coal”, we still have many people employed at these facilities and are still being affected...
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...between environmental protection and economic development. Guo and Ma (2008) believe economic development and environmental protection contradict each other because economic development is accompanied by environmental deterioration (p.95). However, Metzler, Lecbner, and Hays (2002) contend that economic development and environmental protection can coexist because of the first ecological industry in America (p. 20). In this essay, I will first introduce sustainable development to show the relationship between environmental protection and economic development. Then, I will argue that environmental protection and economic development through sustainable development are not mutually exclusive and provide some solutions in the three aspects of poverty, industrialization, and agriculture. In order to combine environmental protection with economic development, the concept of sustainable development was presented. According to the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987), “sustainable development is development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (p. 8). In fact, in order to achieve sustainable development, human beings should balance the economy and the environment. A sustainable economy must have the ability to provide the needs of substance and...
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...EC1 Section 5 Illustration Essay Raphiporn (Mind) Chonlakhup 5580568 Population Growth’s Negative Aspects on Various Countries Currently, the world population is reaching an estimated number of 7,094 million people or about 7 billion (Population Connection, 2013) and is growing by 145 people every minute or 2.4 every second (CIA World Factbook, 2012). The increase in world population happens usually because of the faster decline in death rate than the birth rate due to more availability of antibiotics, immunization, clean water and increased food production which improved child lives and decreases infant mortality. Too much population growth in a region, a city or a country can result as overpopulation. Overpopulation refers to a condition when the number of the population exceeds the capacity of their living habitats and the existence of their resources, it normally occurs from the unbalanced rate of birth and deaths, an increase in immigration, or an unsustainable biome and depletion of resources. Overpopulation is generally considered as a disadvantage as it may contribute to multitudinous problems such as environmental deterioration, low life qualities, good deficiency, and fatal issue such as population collapse. This essay will emphasize on the diversity of negative aspects of population growth in various countries on their environments, economy, and society. The major and largest factor related to my idea of too much population growth as a disadvantage towards...
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...COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF SOUTH AFICA AND NIGERIA Africa is the second largest continent with vast resources and inhabits more than 12 percent of the world’s population. Although we know that the continent has plenty of resources, Africa remains the world’s poorest and most undeveloped continent. [1]Poverty is widespread, there is a great threat of communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Politically, I would say that the country is unstable as there were civil and liberation wars. The lack of development in africa is closely linked to the phenomenon of state weakness which underlines the need for improvement governance as prerequisite for development in Africa. And so corruption is widespread and human rights abuses are a norm among many governments in Africa. When we read about these two nations we see that, South Africa and Nigeria have a lot of influence on African Affairs. Nigeria and South Africa both are blessed their ethnicities and races, an asset to national and economic development. Nigeria and South Africa are both stratified societies. Both the countries were shaped by assumptions and definitions imposed by the British rulers. British imperial rule in both countries provided identities, languages and symbols for ethnic and racial groups. [2]In South Africa, for example, the colonists' policies deepened the differences between Zulus and Xhosas, Ndebele and Vendas, Tswana and Qwaqwa, etc. Also, those of mixed race were segregated from...
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...cheap labor. Around 1911, more than two million American children under the age of 16 years of age were a regular part of the work force. Many of them worked twelve hours or more a day, six days a week, for pathetic wages under unhealthy and hazardous conditions. Thousands of young boys descended into dark and dangerous coal mines every day, or worked aboveground in the dust of coal breakers, picking slate from coal with torn and bleeding fingers. Small girls tended noisy machines in the spinning rooms of cotton mills, where the humid, lint-filled air made breathing difficult. They were actually kept awake by cold water being thrown in their faces. Three-year-olds could be found in the cotton fields, and twelve-year-olds on factor night shifts. Across the country, children who should have been in school or at play had to work for a living. By the early 1900's, many Americans were calling child labor "child slavery" and were demanding an end to it. They argued that long hours of work deprived children of an education and robbed them for useful lives as productive adults, child labor promised a future of illiteracy, poverty and continuing misery. Besides, reformers said, children have certain rights. Above all, they have the right to be children and not breadwinners. Lewis Hine, a schoolteacher and photographer, was one of...
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...1.1 Prelude to Child Labour Child is the father of a man. Child is the wealth of a state. Child is the hope and future of a nation. Child is the precursor of human civilization. When the child is so important in the life of a nation; he can neither be ignored nor neglected in the onward march of a world civilization. Children should therefore be properly reared up for the sake of human civilization, for the sake of a nation and its government. Environment should be so created that a child may properly grow physically; mentally as well as intellectually to play its role in tomorrow’s society. Child is the continuation of human civilization and bears the testimony of parenthood and generation. He is the foundation of a family, a society, a nation and the world as a whole. He requires careful and effective measures for his proper nourishment by the concerned person and authority. He is to be provided with the basics he requires. But unfortunately this does not prevail all over the world equally specially in the developing countries. A few fortunate children of these countries are provided with the basics while the rest are denied of their basic needs, physical and mental growth. They are compelled to offer labour for their livelihood before they attain majority. They work with the hammer and the spade instead of working with the book and the pencil. Sometimes, circumstantially they go into the clutches of anti-social elements, creating law and order problems and finally they...
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...United Nations predicting world population growth from 6.6 billion in 2007 to 8.2 billion by 2030, demand for energy must increase substantially over that period. Both population growth and increasing standards of living for many people in developing countries will cause strong growth in energy demand, as outlined above. Over 70% of the increased energy demand is from developing countries, led by China and India - China overtook the USA as top CO2 emitter in 2007. Superimposed on this, the UN Population Division projects an ongoing trend of urbanization, reaching 70% worldwide by 2050, enabling world population to stabilize at about 9 billion with better food supply, clean water, sanitation, health, education and communication facilities. Coal is not limited globally, but large amounts need to be moved from where it is plentiful to where it is needed, mainly for power...
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