Droughts: The End of the American West Essay -- Climate Change and Dro

Droughts are one of the most expensive natural hazards and have the potential to last for months or even years (U.S. Drought Portal). Along with famine and flooding, droughts are considered one of the top three threats to the population (Oblack). A drought is defined as an unusually long period of time with persistent lack of precipitation that causes serious problems. Several factors that affect the severity of a drought are the degree of moisture deficiency, length, size, and location of where the drought occurs (Droughts). A drought can be categorized four ways. A Meteorological drought occurs when there are significantly lower levels of precipitation than normal. This type of drought is dependent on the region because what would be considered normal precipitation in one area could be different in another region. Agricultural droughts refer to when the amount of moisture is less than what the crop in that area requires. Hydrological droughts are when the water supply in the surface and subsurface of the ground is below normal. Socioeconomic are when the lack of water begins to affect people (Droughts). Droughts are caused when there is less rainfall then normal on a region. When the air sinks (subsidence) there is compressional warming or high pressure, which limits the formation of clouds. As a result, there is lower humidity and less precipitation (Predicting Droughts). Additionally, if there are higher temperatures or shifts in the wind pattern this could cause the evaporation of moisture in the ground to increase (Plumer). Droughts can be aggravated by people’s overuse through heavy pumping and farming of marginal lands that puts a strain on the water supply. Additionally people affect droughts by damming rivers. ... ...id W. Hyndman. Natural Hazards and Disasters. 3rd ed. Australia: Brooks/Cole, 2011. Print. Oblack, Rachelle. â€Å"What Causes Droughts?† About.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. . Plumer, Brad. â€Å"What We Know about Climate Change and Drought.† Wonkblog. Washington Post, 24 July 2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. . â€Å"Predicting Droughts.† National Drought Mitigation Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. . â€Å"Predicting Droughts with Greater Certainty.† Science Daily. N.p., 3 June 2009. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. . U.S. Drought Portal. NIDIS, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. .

‘Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding Essay

‘Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding describes a group of schoolboys’ means of life when they become stranded on a desert island after a plane crash which killed all other passengers and crew, with only vast jungle and sandy shores around them. During their unusual experience, one of the main characters – Ralph – learns thing about himself and the others that no other twelve year old would ever imagine. With â€Å"a mildness about his mouth and eyes that proclaimed no evil†, Ralph seems the laid-back sort, confident and trustworthy. Although when he first meets Piggy, another schoolboy, this all changes and the immaturity of a typical child of his age shines through. When finding out that his new friend used to be nicknamed ‘Piggy’ as a result of his short and fat appearance, â€Å"he dived in the sand at Piggy’s feet and lay there laughing.† Ralph thinks of Piggy as a paranoid wimp, and relishes in the fact that they have a whole island to roam around on, with no grown-ups to tell them what to do. Piggy, however, instantly realises the severity of what has happened, and panics at the thought of the future: â€Å"We may stay here till we die.† As far Ralph is concerned, the island is paradise. He is glad when he meets Jack, another one of the bunch of schoolboys with an obsession for hunting, but who is out to have fun on the island. Things get off to a good start, but when their new way of life descends into disaster, Ralph’s relationship with Piggy grows as it comes clear that Piggy is actually a very wise person, and Ralph’s relationship with Jack turns to rivalry, Ralph finds himself having to grow up quickly and reinforce his position as leader to restore civilisation – a fast fading luxury: â€Å"We need an assembly. Not for fun†¦..but to put things straight.† When Jack becomes fed up with Ralph’s rules and leadership tactics, he decides to break away from the crowd and forms his own tribe of ‘hunters.’ By this point Ralph grows aware that trying to persuade them to stay with his tribe, he is fighting a losing battle, and discovers that he may not be as good a leader as he thought he would be: â€Å"Only, decided Ralph as he faced the chief’s seat, I can’t think. Not like Piggy.† The death of Simon, a quiet, subdued fellow schoolboy, really disturbs Ralph, as he faces up to reality. Simon’s death was a consequence of Jack’s tribe getting overexcited about â€Å"the beast† and was a mistaken identity case involving the beach, many spears, and a chorus of youngsters wildly chanting â€Å"Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! Do him in!† The realisation of the awfulness that occurred affects all of the boys not in Jack’s tribe, and in a moment of sheer alarm, Ralph almost snaps: â€Å"That was murder.† Piggy, now the most faithful and loyal friend Ralph has left on the island, can’t bear to even think about it, let alone discuss it: â€Å"You stop it! What good’re you doing walking like that?† By this time, the relationship between Ralph and Jack has deteriorated so much that bitterness from power-possessed Jack is all that is left. By the end of the novel, it is clear that the relationship between Ralph and Jack has no amiability in it whatsoever. The power and authority that Jack enforces over his tribe portrays him as a king to the reader: â€Å"Power lay in the brown swell of his forearms; authority sat on his shoulders and chatted in his ear like an ape.† After Simon’s untimely death, Jack and his tribe seem somewhat unaffected by what they have done, and become even more uncivilised, to the extent that they cause another shocking and unexpected death. Piggy is killed by a rock that Roger pushes over the edge of the cliff, near the beach. This event shows just how disconnected with reality Jack and his tribe have become, and now Ralph is on his own. His only friend’s death has made him now completely alone and so vulnerable. Ralph feels like he is the only one left with any sense of the real world. The shock of what has happened since they first explored the island scares Ralph and fear of the future kicks in. â€Å"These painted savages would go further and further. Then there was that indefinable connection between himself and Jack; who therefore would never let him alone; never.† Jack discovers that Jack and his tribe are planning to kill him the next day, and now survival is the only thing that matters to Ralph. Realisation of his desperate situation comes to Ralph when he is told by one of the twins â€Å"Listen, Ralph. Never mind what’s sense. That’s gone.† A lonely, terrified, weak and exhausted Ralph wakes the next day to noises of every other child on the island hunting him down. They set fire to the island and eventually locate Ralph, and then the chase begins. Ralph reaches the end of island, and the end of his sanity. He literally runs into a naval officer and recognition of everything hits the twelve year old. Shock of the circumstances is all too much for Ralph to bear, and he falls to his knees and breaks down. â€Å"Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of a man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.† Ralph takes responsibility for the chaos and collapse of civilisation, as he believes that if he had been a better leader, none of this would have happened. He realises just how far things can go when there is no order imposed, and that he alone couldn’t change that. Throughout the novel, Ralph makes a journey towards self-discovery, and witnesses behaviour no other person, like the naval officer, would believe if he explained them. His relationships with the other two main characters influence the horrific events that took place on the island, and at the end of ‘Lord of the Flies’ Ralph sees that man can lose all sense of civilisation when no rules and order are in place.

How does Sylvia Fair create the character of Rosie in her short story, The Road Home? Essay

The Road Home by Sylvia Fair tells the story of Rosie a woman with an unnamed mental disability. The short story is about Rosie, tired of the abuse she has suffered at the hands of some delinquents, who taunt her almost every day. She decides to go to the police. The police tell her that the only way to deal with these boys is to charge them; sadly Rosie misunderstands thinking the â€Å"kind policeman† meant for her to literally charge the delinquents and desperate to please she does exactly that. Of course when she does this the policeman is not pleased and does not praise her; he is of course angry at her. The story gives a deep insight into Rosie’s mind and through her see the world in whole new light. As in reality it is almost impossible for us to understand what it would be like to live everyday life looking through eyes that see the world in completely different way. This is what is so attractive about Sylvia Fair’s short story; it gives us an insight tha t under normal circumstances we would never be able to receive. The Road Home opens with the words â€Å"A solid bulge appeared on the skyline of Penwan†¦Ã¢â‚¬  it is very rare in literature for a human being to be described as a â€Å"bulge†, but this opening description portrays Rosie as lacking humanity and the ability to convey complex emotions. However, this is not the case; as the story progresses the reader finds out that Rosie is like a child, she cannot understand complex emotions and her own emotions are simple. The author expresses this by employing short simple sentences conveying Rosie’s feelings such as â€Å"She felt clumsy.† Rosie’s interpretation of things is childlike. She seems to have picked up the lessons from her childhood and misinterpreted them. Things such as upon breaking her glasses the reader is told â€Å"no matter how much she washed them they still remained broken†. Another example is when a car passes her response is â€Å"to watch, to listen, to smell and to think† which brings to mind â€Å"Stop, Look, Cross.† She always takes things people say literally. This is a cause of a great deal of frustration for Rosie. She desperately tries to do what is asked of her, for example her experiences in school â€Å"Little Rosie squeezed the pencil between her fingers and pressed as hard as she could, so hard that the point broke and the paper tore. And still the teacher nagged her to try harder.† I find this extract incredibly poignant. That sentence alone conveys Rosie’s sufferings, her desperation to please those around her and her frustration when she fails to do this. Rosie is very loyal to her Beret and her Wellington as a child is loyal to a treasured teddy bear. She almost relies on them â€Å"she held her beret down to keep the thoughts in† and â€Å"her wellingtons wouldn’t let her leave.† I think the best way to explain this is that Rosie can not see her brain and the beret is the only thing that seems to make sense to her. In the story, as Rosie’s confidence grows she starts to rely on the wellingtons less and less and when towards the end of the story when she loses that confidence she quickly reverts to relying on her wellingtons again. In my mind it almost as if her beret and wellingtons have some kind of parental charm to her, it as almost as if in the absence of her parents she turns to the wellingtons and the beret for protection and care. Rosie is unable to multitask. This is shown when she is conversing with the police. She gets very upset because she is unable to keep up with everyone shouting at her from so many angles that she can’t cope with it and blocks it all out. It is only when she is spoken to kindly and gently that she is able to calm herself and take in the information. Fair does not give much description of Rosie’s appearance at all. We know she’s big, as she is described as being a mountain and a great bulk among other things. Though reading the story the reader gets an impression of her taking pride in her appearance. She takes great care of her wellingtons and her beret, although she has tied the belt rather than buckling it again suggesting her inability to perform tasks most adults take for granted. even though it is suggested she lives in a fairly deserted way I think this is not because she does not like company, but maybe because she does not have the confidence and that she finds it easier to converse with only animals and her beret and wellingtons. At the end of the short story the Road having gained an impression of Rosie’s character and her day to day struggles, it hard not to feel certain empathy towards Rosie. Sylvia Fair affectively describes her desperation for companionship and how the community that she lives in rejects because of her disabilities. Rosie’s story is tragic in the fact that because of her disability she is unable to convey her feelings to those surrounding and therefore must live her life in isolation.

Maid: the Great Gatsby Essay

â€Å"Things gained through unjust fraud are never secure.† -Sophocles. Up to chapter 5 of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there are recurring rumors about Gatsby’s background including that he had killed a man, is of German descent, and is a bootlegger. These rumors portray Gatsby as a man other than himself, but whether this is true is still uncertain. However, Nick’s keen awareness of Gatsby’s servants raises suspicion and allows readers to attain evidence that reveals Gatsby’s true identity. The maid, seen by Nick and portrayed through her actions, undermines Gatsby’s status and reveals his identity as phony. In chapter V, narrator Nick observes Gatsby’s house, but it is clear from Nick’s observations that something is not right; everything seems artificial and inconclusive. Nick notes that a brewer had built Gatsby’s mansion, and Gatsby tried to â€Å"pay five years’ taxes on all the neighboring cottages if the owners would have their roofs thatched† (88) so that it would complement Gatsby’s house. It is important to emphasize that Gatsby had specifically paid for the neighbor’s taxes in order to improve the looks of his house. This ostentatious action was done for reason: to attract Daisy. Nick also concludes that Americans have always been obstinate about being peasantry. At this point, he observes: â€Å"A maid began opening the upper windows of his house, appeared momentarily in each, and, leaning from a large central bay, spat meditatively into the garden.† (88) Nick sees the maid â€Å"spit into the garden† as if she di srespects Gatsby. It is important to note that the maid spat â€Å"meditatively† meaning that it was done with intention and with great thought. There was no reason for her to spit, nor was spitting a common action back in the 1920’s, but her intentions were hidden. While she â€Å"spat† in Gatsby’s garden, one of his valuable properties, her action was actually directed towards Gatsby himself. From this, it can be inferred that she disrespected him and despised him for his wealth, upper class, and fame. While Gatsby exploited his wealth, intending to impress Daisy, the maid, completely oblivious about Gatsby’s goal, could also have despised him for his pretentious attitude. Maids were usually part of the lower class, and it raises suspicion about why Gatsby would hire such a person. More importantly, it raises the question as to how she knows a lot about Gatsby and why she would hate Gatsby for his wealth. Her decision serves as a juxtaposition; Gatsby and the maid share similar qualities. Perhaps Gatsby’s background does not match the image that he portrays. It raises suspicion that Gatsby might be from the lower class as well and lives his current life as a fraud. Fitzgerald puts the maid here in this chapter to insinuate something about Gatsby’s background. Nick’s keen observations and suspicious judgment gives the readers an opportunity to make connections. Ultimately, it is the connection that Gatsby and the maid were both raised in the lower class. Perhaps Gatsby was a bootlegger, and his ways of promoting himself into the upper class led to the maid’s actions;, it was her reaction in contempt that spoils the true identity of the great Gatsby.

Arthur Miller ‘s presentation Essay

By focusing on three or four scenes, examine Arthur Miller ‘s presentation of John Proctor’s moral journey. A crucible is defined in the dictionary as ‘a severe test or trial’. Throughout this play, John Proctor’s morals and beliefs are challenged to a great extent as we watch his character develop and admire his strength to do what is right whatever the consequences. A moral journey is the development of someone’s morals and beliefs as they are tested by certain situations and react to them in different ways. I wouldn’t say it was a mapped out journey, more one that is likely to change without warning. Salem was a very religious and close-knit community. The strict creed meant that its inhabitants lived very monotonous lives and continuously feared doing wrong by God. Many people found they could not live with the pressures forced upon them by the church as religion was preached so vigorously and people were discouraged from forming their own opinion on life. This caused the community to become very repressed. The way everyone reacted to the accusations of witchcraft stem from this. People suddenly became very paranoid of everybody else’s actions and also became suspicious that they may be a witch. They also used the right to call somebody a witch as vengeance. The fact that Proctor was willing to go against the church and the rest of the community to follow his views of descent conduct makes him stand out. I will be studying several extracts of the play to illustrate Proctor’s moral journey. John Proctor is often seen as the main character in the play and the first point where we are given any information about him is in the early stages of Act 1. Here, Miller directly intervenes and provides us with a lengthy passage on John Proctor giving us information on his background and character. This is essential, as otherwise, we have no knowledge of his values before he enters the stage. Miller’s script: â€Å"But as we shall see, the steady manner he displays does not spring from an untroubled soul. He is a sinner, a sinner not only against the moral fashion of the time, but against his own vision of descent conduct. † This quote also backs up the idea that John does not need to be punished for sins he has committed, as he is his own worst critic. At first Miller portrays him in a harsh light. When he enters in the first act, he reprimands his servant for not being at home helping Elizabeth and orders her to go immediately. The stage directions here allow us to see the effect of John on others. He obviously has a sense of authority as Miller describes Mary Warren’s reaction when he enters the room as follows: ‘She can barely speak for embarrassment and fear’ After the departure of Mary, John is then left alone with Abigail and Miller presents us with a scene full of hurt, desire and tension. Abigail is a very useful character when analysing John’s morals. She is very manipulative and tests his will power to reject her. John, at first, is not aware of Abigail’s determination to win his love. He says impulsively some things that Abigail interprets in her own, yet wrong, way. She then seems very confident about what she is saying and feels she is being lead on. Proctor: â€Å"Ah, you’re wicked yet, aren’t y’! (A thrill of expectant laughter escapes her, and she dares come closer, feverishly looking in his eyes)† The stage directions at this point are very important, as they are essential in the understanding of how Abigail is feeling. After this move of Abigail’s, John realises that she is serious and is still holding hope for him. He decides to put this right by making it quite clear to her that he is not willing to continue their relationship. Proctor: â€Å"Abby I may think of you softly from time to time but I will cut off my hand before I reach for you again. † This shows that Proctor has learnt from his mistakes and although he is tempted, he is not willing to commit the same sin again. This is quite extreme for him to state and shows that he is serious about what he is saying. It is also evident from the stage directions that John is ‘(angered-at himself as well). ‘ This shows that he has admitted to himself that he was wrong and now he is feeling guilty and angry with himself for all the trouble he has caused in his relationship with Elizabeth. The stage directions are very powerful in this extract as they show the characters emotions and they explain the situation well. This extract shows a very important part of John Proctor’s moral journey as he manages to resist Abigail’s advances. It must have taken a lot for him to do this, as it would be hard both mentally and physically for him. This shows how his character is starting to develop as he has learnt from previous experiences and is beginning to face and correct his sins rather than just ignoring them. The next extract I will be examining is in the early parts of Act two. This is set eight days on from the last scene and there is a very different atmosphere. Instead of passion and heat, this scene is awkward and tense. It shows how Proctor is not being honest with his wife, Elizabeth, and instead there is a lot of pretence. This is an important time in Proctors moral journey as it shows us how he is coping with his relationship with Elizabeth. It is evident that Proctor is still in denial and is not facing up to his actions. He doesn’t realise that the lies and secrets he is keeping will affect so badly what happen in future events. At the beginning of this Act, Miller sets the scene effectively using stage directions. He describes the room as ‘low, dark, and rather long living-room of the time’. This immediately changes our mood and calms us down in anticipation of a more sombre and serious scene. In this scene dialogue, as well as stage directions, play a very important part in portraying the characters feelings. The stage directions especially help us to interpret how certain lines should be said (as this is a play) and how characters should act. Proctor is not truthful to Elizabeth in this scene. He firstly lies about his interview with Abigail as he feels she won’t understand. He tells her that he has been working on the farm in hope that he will sympathise with him. This is part of his moral journey as it shows he is still in denial and feels that time will sort his problems out. He is prolonging the consequences of his actions that he knows one day he’ll have to face.

Economics of Transition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Economics of Transition - Essay Example This competition not only transformed the contours of politics in the twentieth century but also led to the creation of two parallel and competing economic systems. Transition can be defined as the race of transformation of centrally planned economies into free markets. Such a transformation can be seeing as occurring after the political events that decimated the Soviet Iron Curtain. Transition is characterized by liberalization, macro-economic stabilization, restructuring and privatization and legal and institutional reforms. Countries have employed disparate transition models owing to the distinct initial circumstances that prevailed at the time when transition process materialized. Moreover, transition circumstances can also be seen as the product of the country’s peculiar socio-economic realities. While some countries like China embraced a slow and steady economic transformation approach, others like Russia adopted an aggressive and speedy model. It was envisaged that a sw ift approach could be undertaken for the privatization of small corporate entities as well as liberalization of prices and macro-economic stabilization, without encountering much economic problems (International Monetary Fund, 2000, p.3). The significance of transition for these economies can be attributed to the fact that any immature measures for transition tend to lead to economic collapse. This was all the more clear for example in the Russian banking sector failure in the late nineties. This paper will analyse how rent-seeking activities of financial institutions can have a bearing on hardening budget constraints in the transitional process. 2. Soft and Hard Budget constraints It was Kornai who invented the term ‘soft budget constraint’ to elucidate economic behaviour of the communist economies. This concept is deemed as the focal point of the subject of transition from socialist to capitalist economies. The term itself is derived from microeconomic terminology to shed light on a pragmatic economic social syndrome. The necessity of implementing hard budget constraints is accentuated repeatedly in relation to transition of socialist economies. The disintegration of the banking sector of East Asian economies during the nineties era can be comprehended by studying soft budget constraints (Kornai et al., 2003, p.54). The soft budget hypothesis denotes a condition under which firms incurring losses are bailed out by banks. Banks can undertake this role in both, capitalist and socialist economies. However, its repercussions in socialism make it a potential problem since banks are compelled by the state to rescue loss-making entities, for safeguarding employment or pursing other aims. The entanglement of state and banking into one entity means that any failure on the part of the banks will reflect clearly in the finances of the state. Typical failure in these circumstances leads to massive cuts in social sector development. Under a soft budget const raint, capital is injected in the loss making firm by the banks to keep them afloat and in a position to pay taxes, therefore acting as a disincentive for privatization. Research on the issue practically proves by applying a model based on the local authorities, a bank and firm (Brandt et al., 2003, p.13). The bank managers’ propensity to lend loans to private firms rather than SOEs will escalate as

Miami Circle Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Miami Circle - Article Example The excavation, conducted under Bob Carr revealed a patterned group of holes in various sizes cut into the oolitic limestone. This covered a circular shaped area of 38 feet in diameter. And the excavated earth contained various artefacts like shell tools and stone axe-heads. Other crucial discoveries included human teeth and charcoal from fires. According to the diary report of Ryan J Wheeler, one of the archeologists who participatred in the escavation, they also found '.some concrete, modern glass, and other construction fill, lower portions produced nineteenth century materials, including the fragmentary neck of a blown green glass bottle and a wire-wound glass button, probably from a ladies' blouse or jacket. (Wheeler). A controversy regarding the preservation of the site ensued, especially after the suggestion by Baumann to relocate the circle to another location for which he offered to pay the expenses so that he could pursue the construction of the condominium. But there was a general resentment among the general public which included archaelogists, native americans, new agers and school children. And the State the State of Florida Preservation 2000 land acquisition program had to purchase the disputed site from Bachmann for $26.7 million. The radiocarbon dating, conduct... However, the argument that the holes belonged to the modern age was further disputed by Tom Scott and Harvey Means, Florida Geological Survey, who brought to light the fact that there was a buildup of a calcite duracrust on the edge of the cut face, which cannot happen in the case of modern objects. The artefacts that were found are supposed to belong the Tequesta native group which existed prior to the European settlement of the area. But to come to such a conclusion, other possibilities were to be discounted. There is no proof that native North Americans built such permanent structures so long ago. And the hypothesis that the site could have belonged to the Olemec or Mayan civilizations was more or less ruled out as there was no evidence of any artefact belonging to Cetral American origin on the site. According to Bob Carr, "Mayan architecture is always rectilinear, except for the observatory in the Yucatan, so really nothing about this fits a Mayan connection." He thinks that the references to Mayan civilization in this context are "just an exotic way to explain it." (Nimnicht). There exists an argument that the holes were postholes of some structure, some sort a foundation for a building. Another hint is that it could have been a burial site, but the excavators could find o nly a five-foot long shark skeleton, a dolphin skull and a complete carapace of a sea turtle. Apart from the four human teeth found on the site, nothing confirmed to the idea that it could have a common burial ground.The controversy regarding the decision of the Sate to spend a phenomenal amount on the project reached its height with the hunch by the University of Florida archaeologist Jerald T Milanich that the Circle