What Every Author Should Know about Copyright Law

What Every Author Should Know about Copyright Law You dont have to be an attorney to understand copyright law and how it protects you as a writer. In this post, Ive compiled some of the most common questions authors have concerning copyright law and how their writing is protected by it. While this is not an exhaustive discussion of the topic, it should at least give you a general understanding of how copyright law works on your behalf. Let me stress that I am not licensed to practice law and if you need legal advice on copyright law or copyright infringement, you should hire an attorney well-versed in intellectual property law.What is copyright?Copyright is a right granted in the United States Constitution. To clarify the scope and framework of copyright law, Congress passed The Copyright Act of 1976 on October 19, 1976, as Pub. L. No. 94-553, 90 Stat. 2541.According to the legislation, original works of authorship, including literature, music, art, software programs, and even choreography (to name a few) are protected from reproduc tion, adaptation, distribution, performance and/or display by unauthorized individuals.The current law states that a copyright exists for 70 years after the author has died. This means that the work you create- as long as you hold the copyright- is yours now (as well as 70 years after youve died) and no one can copy it, adapt it, distribute it, perform it or display it publicly without your permission.There are some limitations to this, such as fair use, but those only exist when someone is commenting on your writing or teaching it. Fair use is its own complicated topic, with multiple lawsuits setting its precedent, and is detailed in more depth in this article.If you own the copyright, no one can copy it, adapt it, or distribute it for profit without your permission. Photo by Mari Helin on Unsplash.Do I have to register with the U.S. Copyright Office to protect my work?The short answer is no. From the moment you create a fixed copy of your work (whether a hand-written hardcopy, a p rintout, or saved to your hard drive on your computer), you hold the copyright to that work, by law.The caveat to this short answer is that the burden of proof rests on you if someone should ever try to plagiarize your work as their own or reproduce it. The easiest way to ensure that you are fully prepared to face them in a court of law would be to show that you have registered the work with the U.S. Copyright Office. If you have done this, there is no question that you will win and be able to sue for damages.As such, if you do not register, you will be unable to recover any extraordinary damages from any litigation as a result of copyright infringement. You will only be able to prevent the infringer from further use of your copyright.However, even if you dont register the copyright with the government, you still hold it, as long as you can prove that you are the original creator. Files that are saved on a hard drive show the date they were saved. A written page can be trickier to p rove. You also have to prove that the person who infringed had access to your original file, which can be especially tricky in an Internet age, when so much is available online.Which draft of my writing is protected by copyright?As previously stated, you immediately own the copyright to any fixed copy of your work. This means that you own the copyright to the rough draft, as well as the final draft.Do I need to put the copyright symbol on my work before its protected?It doesnt hurt. Again, you own the copyright to your work, and reminding others of that fact is always a smart move. Think of this as you would those statements that trend on social media promising that if youll copy and paste the words, the social media platform cant use your information in their data mining. Whether you copy and paste the text or not, theyll still use your information. In the same sense, whether you place the copyright symbol on your work or not, youll still own the copyright.Do I own the copyright to writing that someone hired me to do?The answer to this question surprises many writers- no. According to Copyright.gov:Ordinarily, the author is the person or persons who actually created the work you intend to register. Works made for hire are an exception to this rule. For legal purposes, when a work is a work made for hire, the author is not the individual who actually created the work. Instead, the party that hired the individual is considered both the author and the copyright owner of the work.Copyright.govWho owns the copyright if I created something in collaboration with another person and was paid for it?Circular 30 from the Copyright.gov website makes it clear that in a situation like this, you are not the owner of the copyright. When Section 101 of the Copyright Act defines a work made for hire, it includes a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment or a work specially ordered or commissioned for use for any of the following reasons:As a cont ribution to a collective workAs a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual workAs a translationAs a supplementary workAs a compilationAs an instructional textAs a testAs answer material for a testAs an atlasDo I own the copyright to my writing thats been published?Whether you are publishing your work in book format, an eZine or peer reviewed journal, youre likely to be asked to sign over the copyright when the publisher accepts your work. If you sign over the exclusive rights to a publisher, they then own the copyright to your work. This is why it is extremely important to read over any contract you sign with a publisher. Considering all of the work youve put into writing, its in your favor to know and understand what rights you are giving up when you sign a publishing contract.Can I put my writing on my website if Ive transferred my copyright?According to Authors Alliance, a group of attorneys and academics focused on helping authors manage key legal, technological, and instit utional aspects of authorship in the digital age, when an author transfers copyright in its entirety to a publisher, the author may no longer be able to display it without express permission of the publisher.Although the practice of authors transferring their copyrights to publishers is longstanding, the vagaries of copyright law and the difficulty of assessing the value of copyrighted works make it difficult for authors to anticipate the implications of signing away their copyrights- implications that can be quite dramatic. Recall that the constitutional language refers to an exclusive right. This means that the rights that the law bestows allow copyright owners to object when anyone else does the things that the law reserves exclusively to them. Under current law, those exclusive rights include reproducing the copyrighted work, displaying it publicly, performing it publicly, distributing copies of it to the public, and preparing new works based upon it (which the Copyright Act cal ls derivative works). So if an author transfers her copyright in its entirety to a publisher (or grants the publisher an exclusive license) only the publisher may do or authorize others to do these things. Even the author herself may no longer do them without the publishers permission (unless her actions fall within one of the exceptions built into copyright law).AuthorsAlliance.orgOnce you no longer own exclusive rights to your work, you will be unable to publish it online without permission. Photo by Cytonn Photography on Unsplash.Is there a way around granting publishers exclusive copyright to my work?Yes, and its a good idea to negotiate these terms whenever youre signing a publishing contract. For example, there are publishing agreements that grant exclusive rights to the publisher for a limited period of time. There are others that grant exclusive rights to the publisher, but only for some media, such as hard copy, allowing an author to retain the right to reproduce it digital ly.If you anticipate the need to negotiate with a publisher over your rights and limitations to your work once its published, you should hire an attorney who will represent you throughout the process. This will ensure that you wont be left in the dark about your rights in the future.What if I want to make changes to my work thats already been published?Again, according to Authors Alliance, once you hand over exclusive rights to a publisher, youve lost the right to adapt the work. Heres their description of the legal perimeters of this situation:Copyright owners may even object to an author who wants to revise her own previous work. Depending upon the degree of similarity, the revision may count as preparation of a derivative work, which is within the copyright owners exclusive rights. Again, this legal layer of publisher control may not have mattered so much when authors relied on publishers to disseminate their new editions (and when copyright terms were short enough that it was po ssible for a publishers copyright to expire during the authors lifetime). But today many authors might want to revise and distribute their own works but find themselves without the rights they need to do so (and no hope that they will outlive the copyright, which now lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years).AuthorsAlliance.orgAll of this is still confusing for me, what should I do?If youre still confused about copyright law and how it pertains to you as a writer, you should seek legal counsel from an intellectual property attorney who can represent you throughout contract negotiations. Even if you do understand the basics of copyright law, laws have a tendency to change, so its never a bad idea to know where the current law stands and how it protects you and your work.

Speculation That Edward De Vere Was the Real Shakespeare

Speculation That Edward De Vere Was the Real Shakespeare Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, was a contemporary of Shakespeare and a patron of the arts. A poet and dramatist in his own right, Edward de Vere has since become the strongest candidate in the Shakespeare authorship debate. Edward de Vere: A Biography De Vere was born in 1550 (14 years before Shakespeare  in Stratford-upon-Avon) and  inherited the title of 17th Earl of Oxford before his teenage years. Despite receiving a privileged education at Queen’s College and Saint John’s College, De Vere found himself in financial dire straights by the early 1580s – which led to Queen Elizabeth granting him an annuity of  £1,000. It is suggested that De Vere  spent the later part of his life producing literary works but disguised his authorship to uphold his reputation in court. Many believe that these manuscripts have since become credited to William Shakespeare. De Vere died in 1604 in Middlesex, 12 years before Shakespeare’s death in Stratford-upon-Avon. Edward de Vere: The Real Shakespeare? Could De Vere really be the author of Shakespeare’s plays? The theory was first proposed by J. Thomas Looney in 1920. Since then the theory has gained momentum and has received support from some high-profile figures including Orson Wells and Sigmund Freud. Although all the evidence is circumstantial, it is none-the-less compelling. The key points in the case for De Vere are as follows: â€Å"Thy countenance shakes spears† is how De Vere was once described in royal court. Could this have been a codified reference to De Vere’s literary activities? In print, Shakespeare’s name appeared as â€Å"Shake-speare.†Many of the plays parallel events from De Vere’s life. In particular, supporters consider Hamlet to be a deeply biographical character.De Vere had the right education and social standing to write in detail about the classics, law, foreign countries, and language. William Shakespeare, a country bumpkin from Stratford-upon-Avon, would simply have been unequipped to write about such things.Some of De Vere’s early poetry appeared in print under his own name. However, this stopped soon after texts were printed under Shakespeare’s name. So,  its been suggested that De Vere took on his pseudonym when Shakespeare’s earliest works were first published: The Rape of Lucrece (1593) and Venus and Adonis (1594). Both poe ms were dedicated to Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, who was considering marrying De Vere’s daughter. De Vere was well traveled and spent most of 1575 in Italy. 14 of Shakespeare’s plays have Italian settings.Shakespeare was heavily influenced by Arthur Golding’s translation of Ovids Metamorphoses. There is some evidence to suggest Golding lived in the same household as De Vere at this time. Despite this compelling circumstantial evidence, there is no concrete proof that Edward de Vere was the real author of Shakespeare’s plays. Indeed, it is conventionally accepted that 14 of Shakespeare’s plays were written after 1604 – the year of De Vere’s death. The debate goes on.

Early Sunday Morning by Edward Hopper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Early Sunday Morning by Edward Hopper - Essay Example In the painting, the sky is clearly seen with no clouds in sight, just a little white fuzz at the right. The shadows being cast by objects indicate the sun is rising from the right side. The streets are empty with only a fire hydrant and a barber’s post appearing at the front of the shops. None of the shops are open too indicating that Edward was taking a walk quite early in the morning. The building in view is a two story building expanding across the length of the street. It seems to have residences at the top and shops at the bottom. The residences are brick red with rectangular windows both open and closed. In the windows are curtains. Some are white, while others are yellow. The shops are a darker green with large windows. Accesses to the residences are not shown. As the building ends towards the right, Edward cuts off the window at the top and the shop’s window. He intended to show that the building was still continuing. This may be true for both sides. On the top right, there is a dark shadow cast by a taller building. This may have been a newer structure and not part of the original building. It looks greatly out of place. Given the fact that the painting was painted during the time in small towns were being replaced by big cities with taller looming structures, this brings that reality to the painting. The darkness in that section is a sort of foreshadow of what will eventually happen to the small street, be replaced by taller buildings. The colours used in the painting also help in making the painting.

Natural science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Natural science - Essay Example This virus is closely associated to HIV-1. It is known as HIV-2. HIV-2 is mostly present in Africa however HIV-1 is present all over the world. This infection consists of three stages. In the first stage severe retroviral syndrome along with asymptomatic period occurs. This is the exactly like influenza or like mononucleosis that a good number people get in six to twelve weeks after acquiring the infection. It generally finishes without any treatment at all. It is at this point that a patients' blood test for HIV comes out positive. Symptomatic HIV infection is known as the second stage of AIDS. In this stage symptoms start to become prominent. This stage can be as long as a few months or even a few years. AIDS is the last stage. In this stage the immune system gets badly damaged and other opportunistic diseases infect the patient. This collapse of the immune system leads the patient top his death in just a few years. HIV causes a decline in the health and most of time even death. The virus is an extremely dangerously severely infects both the brain and the nervous system. It could cause dementia; dementia is an illness which is related sensory, thinking, or memory disorder. Brain infection might result in problems related to movement or coordination. HIV may have infected the diesel for two to twelve years without exhibiting any symptoms. This virus is transferable to other person symptoms regardless of the symptoms. As soon as HIV catches speed, a lot of symptoms begin to show up. The symptoms consists of mysterious fever, exhaustion, diarrhea, serve loss of weight, enlargement of the lymph glands, loss of hunger mouth and vagina's yeast infections, night sweats which may last more than a number of weeks, problems in breathing , dry cough, bad throat due to the swelling of glands, chills, and shivering. Other symptoms include flat or raised spots or bumps of Pink or purple, color which occur under the skin, in the oral cavity, nose, eyelids or rectum. They look like bruises, however they don't fade away. The skin around the bruises is not as hard as the bruises themselves. Another symptom is Spots or odd blemishes which are White in color start to occur in the mouth. HIV can be transmitted via 3 ways. One very common way is by means of unprotected sex (oral, virginal or anal). The most dangerous kind of sex which transmits this virus is anal sex as the anus does not stretch. The second way this virus can be transmitted is through direct contact with blood that is already infected with the virus. There are a number of ways of in which the virus can be transmitted via direct contact with blood that is already infected with HIV. The third way in which this virus is transited is when pregnant women is infected by this virus and transmits it to her fetus. Development After 6 years in 1987 a new treatment came into being this is known as the first big step in the direction of curing HIV and AIDS virus. The drug that was found was Retrovir (AZT, Zidovudine) and it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and was immediately used to treat patients with HIV. In 1992, the first drug which was to be utilized with zidovudine was also approved by Food and Drug Administration. This combination of drugs was called Hivid; this was the start of HIV combination therapies. In the year 1996

Numerical Methods to solve equations Essay Example for Free

Numerical Methods to solve equations Essay The table above shows the numbers of iterations each method took in order to come to the same degree of accuracy. The Newton-Raphson method was the quickest, finding the root within a certain degree of accuracy in only three iterations. Second was the Decimal Search, which took five iterations and last was the Rearrangement Method, which took the most number of iterations, 6. Newton-Raphson method is clearly the fastest and the most efficient method to use as the number of iterations needed to find a root to a degree of accuracy is small. However, this method is very tiresome to calculate by hand and the tiniest mistake can result in a wrong answer. The Decimal Search takes more iteration; but, this method is the easiest and easily understood. However, this method is best done on a spreadsheet, where you would be able to spot the sign change easily. The Rearrangement Method takes slightly more iteration but it provides the root to any degree of accuracy. Also, the formula is iterative, therefore, it is not very time consuming. However, finding can be tricky. In terms of the software used, Decimal Search was the easiest as it only required spreadsheet which is not difficult to use. Although making the tables can be repetitive, any faults can easily be rectified. Both the Newton-Raphson Method and the Rearrangement Method used a calculator to work out the iterative steps. This was often very time-consuming and frustrating as simple mistakes could let to the wrong route. Autograph was used to draw all the graphs and show the methods at work. It was not hard to use but tricky, due to the different options available.

Comparing Cultures in Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness :: comparison compare contrast essays

Clashing Cultures in Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness A culture defines what it's people perceive about evil, the place it gives to women, and its relationship with other cultures. The Ibo and European people in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, have two distinct cultures that begin to blend when the white men come as missionaries and try to communicate and live together with the Africans. European culture also differs from native culture on the Congo rivers in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Only one man, Kurtz, really connects with the natives and then is taken away dying by his fellow Europeans. Evil is defined by it's culture, whether it be how the culture accepts another culture and condemns as evil or identifying specific items as evil. In Things Fall Apart, the Ibo culture veiled the Africans as primitive natives who held their own different, seen as evil, ways and traditions. In Heart of Darkness, Marlow viewed the natives with whom Kurtz is staying with as evil and feels their evil when he met them after traveling down the river. Once he heard that Kurtz ordered the natives to attack his ship, his views changed a little. Marlow experienced the evil that Kurtz did, and the even had the sickness that Kurtz died from. In both of these novels, specific places represent evil things in different cultures. Europeans treat a church as holy ground but to the Ibo culture who didn't know Jesus, it was just a building raised by the white invaders who settled among them. Europeans found the Congo River and a town on it's banks and it was thought of as evil because they hadn't exper ienced living there or vines covering them as they traveled along the river added to their thinking of an evil atmosphere. In Things Fall Apart, the clan refers to a forest as an evil forest and they cast everything they deem into it. For example, twins were thought of as a curse when born so they were cast into the forest and left to die. The evil forest didn't seem so evil to the European missionaries who came because they hadn't adopted this particular belief of evil into their culture. In fact, the clan purposely granted land in the evil forest to missionaries for their church, believing evil would destroy them, but the missionaries did last until the church was burnt down by members of the clan.

The Manufacture and Use of Cigarettes Should Be Made Illegal

The manufacture and use of cigarettes should be illegal. This is not just a simple statement. It is an undisputable fact. Cigarette smoking is a detriment to every society in which it is practiced. Firstly, cigarette smoking impinges one’s health. Cigarette smoke contains over 4000 chemicals, including nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide, which are found in tobacco. The daily intakes of these chemicals have devastating effects on the body. Every puff, every cigarette, every pack consumed destroys the body slowly but surely. Airways, lungs, heart and blood vessels suffer daily from the effects of the intake of numerous damaging substances. The effects of smoking includes an increase in the risk of getting throat cancer, lung cancer, heart diseases, it increases the amount of red blood cells in the body which could lead to a stroke or heart failure. Cigarette smoking also affects the skin and male and female reproductive organs. It can also significantly decrease the smoker’s life span. Besides impinging one’s health, smoking impinges one’s wealth. No tobacco product is taxed more heavily than cigarettes. One might therefore say that the manufacturing of cigarette is beneficial to governments and to the building up of one’s nation. However, when we add up the amount of money one spends on buying cigarettes, the amount of money spent on medical bills, the amount spent for heart transplants, rehabilitation centers and funeral homes, is that really so? Hard earned money is being thrown down the drain all for the sake of cigarettes. Thirdly, cigarette manufacture and smoking has a negative impact on our environment. Deforestation is considered one of the most severe environmental problems worldwide. Modern cigarette manufacturing uses wood to cure the tobacco and to roll and package the cigarettes. A cigarette manufacturing machine uses approximately four miles of paper per hour to roll and package cigarettes. It is estimated that for every three hundred cigarettes produced one tree is consumed. It is believed deforestation is changing the world's climate and contributing to global warming. Cigarette smoking also produces carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, hereby further contributing to global warming. The large amount of pesticides and fertilizers necessary for the cultivation of tobacco also contributes to the pollution of our waterways and ecological systems. Cigarette butts take approximately twenty-five years to decompose. Through improper disposal they end up in our seas, rivers and lakes. Different animals and fish eat them by mistake and can die since they are unable to digest the filters. Cigarettes are one of the leading causes for fatal household fires, also affecting the environment. Finally, besides affecting one’s health, wealth and environment, cigarette smoking also affects the rights of non-smokers and children. Second hand smoke can also kill and is considered to be worst than first hand smoke. A person who chooses to smoke chooses to die. However, why should he choose whether the people around him should die too? Who gave him the right to decide who lives or dies? Many people, specifically the children of smokers, are exposed to second hand smoke. As a result many people who do not smoke suffer from respiratory problems due to no fault of theirs. Cigarette manufacture and smoking is indeed detrimental to a person’s health, to their financial status and to the environment. It therefore affects society in many ways. In order for a nation to have stronger, healthier persons in their society, use less government funds for health institutions and programs to quit smoking, not infringe on the rights of non-smokers and children, and to have a cleaner environment, the manufacture and smoking of cigarettes should be made illegal.

Oil and Global Warming in Saudi Arabia Essay

Oil has been identified as a very important resource; it provides a lot of significant benefits to mankind. It is used for numerous purposes such as transportation, heating, electricity production, and industrial applications. It has a high energy density which makes it an efficient fuel source plus the fact that it is fairly easy to transport and store. Its versatility is of great importance, and this is proven by being by most valuable commodity in world trade (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003,). According to Doyle, it is estimated that two billion dollars switch hands in petroleum transactions, making it the world’s first trillion dollar industry (cited in O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003). Oil is very profitable for corporations as well as for governments since oil taxes generate a lot of income. Oil is important for the national economic viability of Saudi Arabia as it accounts for more than 80 percent of total national exports. Other countries that are dependent on the oil business are Libya, Kuwait, Iran, and Venezuela (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003). Environmental Effects of Oil Oil transport, refining, exploration, drilling, and extraction have had negative effects on the environment, but much attention has recently been focused on the negative environmental impacts of the use of oil. It is widely believed that burning fossil fuels contribute to global warming since carbon dioxide, an abundant greenhouse gas, is produced as oil is burned. Findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicate that around three quarters of total carbon dioxide emissions come from fossil fuel use (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003). To be able to fully understand the how oil use affects global warming, it is necessary to get a clear understanding of the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon. Imagine a greenhouse and that is just how the greenhouse effect works. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, and ozone trap heat thereby slowing its escape from the atmosphere. The dramatic increase in the release of greenhouse gases has brought about an abnormal increase in the average world temperature already estimated at around 1 percent at the turn of the century. However, without the greenhouse effect, the Earth would be too cold to sustain the currently thriving ecosystems (West, 2008b). Due to the fact that oil is a widely used resource and that oil produces significant amounts of carbon dioxide as it â€Å"generates roughly 30 percent more carbon dioxide from every unit of energy produced,† it can be inferred that dependence on oil has extensively contributed to global warming (Barry & Frankland, 2001, p. 362). Importance of Oil to Saudi Arabia In all parts of the world, oil is considered as an important resource especially in modern life. â€Å"Any measures to reduce oil consumption were hampered by powerful opposition of certain governments and inter-governmental organizations† (Barry & Frankland, 2001, p. 362). Oil is particularly of great importance especially to members of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) since it constitutes a great part of the income of member countries. Saudi Arabia is a member of the OPEC including Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. Saudi Arabia may be considered as the most important oil producer since it produces large amounts of oil as it accounts for 13 percent of the world’s total oil output. It makes up 35 percent of the OPEC’s total oil production in 1991. Saudi Arabia has also been identified as the â€Å"swing producer† of oil since it has the capacity to affect the level of supply and demand as well as affect international oil prices. Oil is important to Saudi Arabian economy as figures in 1991 pointed out that oil accounted for 73 percent of the country’s revenues. 90 percent of total oil exports in 1991 come from Saudi Aramco (Country Studies). However, data from Beyond Petroleum Statistical Review of World Energy shows that despite the knowledge of the implication of oil in global warming, the consumption still increased—the 3163. 5 million tonnes consumed in 1992 jumped to 3462. 4 in 1999 (Beyond Petroleum, 2008). Carbon Dioxide and Climate Change Despite the great number of proponents pointing to global warming as a real environmental threat, Idso and Idso (2008) indicate that it is â€Å"highly unlikely† that increases in carbon dioxide emissions will lead to global warming. They cited numerous arguments that would disestablish the link between the global warming and greenhouse gas emissions. They primarily indicated that there is a â€Å"weak short-term correlation† between carbon dioxide and temperature increase. Thus, the emissions may not be the likely cause of any warming that is being experienced or will be experienced. Even as both temperature and carbon dioxide emissions have increased, this does not necessarily mean that the two are interrelated. To identify a clear causal relationship, the presumed cause must precede the presumed effect. Several cycles of increase and decrease must also be present in order to make a concrete judgment that the two factors indeed affect each other. They also indicated that â€Å"a strong negative climatic feedback† will prevent any catastrophic warming from manifesting. These play a major role in the planet’s climate system but are totally ignored by scientists lobbying for the existence of global warming. They cited numerous other factors that would disprove the existence of global warming. II. Saudi Arabia The Oil Industry The Saudi Arabia landscape is characterized by the presence of several multi-million dollars worth of infrastructure created to support the oil production capability of the country. These infrastructures are costly investments made by different companies. The effort to contain the emission of carbon dioxide from oil manufacturing and processing sources has different impacts, particularly in economics. Another â€Å"important issue concerns taxes and duties on oil products consumed in oil-importing countries as well as environmental taxes and duties on emissions of carbon dioxide, aimed at curbing oil demand and potentially harming oil exporters’ revenues† (Noreng, 2006, p. 16). Oil production felt a decline. In 2002, daily oil production in Saudi Arabia was 8,928 thousand barrels, and this steadily climbed to 11,114 thousand barrels in 2005. However, this dropped to 10,853 and 10,413 thousand barrels in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Last year, Saudi Arabia’s total oil output dropped by 440,000 barrels per day and is the largest decline in the world last year. In addition, the whole of the Middle East produced 25,176 thousand barrels daily in 2007. The Middle East is also the world’s largest oil producer and holds the highest share in the world’s remaining oil reserves at 21. 3 percent with 264. 2 thousand million barrels. In measuring oil consumption, Saudi Arabia does not consume as much with 2,154 thousand barrels daily. The United States is the largest oil consumer with a consumption rate 20,698 thousand barrels per day (Beyond Petroleum [BP], 2008). Saudi Aramco and the Environment Saudi Aramco or Arabian-American Oil Company, which is based in Saudi Arabia, is the world largest oil company. It produces the most quantity of oil and also leads the count with its oil reserves. It has 102 oil and gas fields within its grasp as of the middle part of 2007. Its oil reserves amount to 259. 9 billion barrels and it produces 8. 9 million barrels per day. Its oil exports for the year 2006 amount to 2,541,692,569 barrels (Country Studies, 2008). Saudi Aramco has unveiled that it would help fight global warming through cutting carbon dioxide emission in the oil and gas business. Experts indicated that persuading Saudi Aramco to fight against global warming is a big step forward since it is the world’s largest oil producer. Saudi Aramco president and Chief Executive Officer Abdallah Jum’ah told a panel from 163 nations in a meeting in Germany about expanding the Kyoto Protocol that â€Å"the petroleum industry should actively engage in policy debate on climate change as well as play an active role in developing and implementing carbon management technologies† (Hammond, 2006, n. p. ). He clearly indicated that national oil players such as Saudi Aramco can make great contributions in forwarding anti-climate change efforts. During the meeting, Robert Socolow from Princeton University also indicated that 40 percent of the increase in carbon dioxide emissions comes from the oil industry. He also indicated that the oil industry is the major cause of global warming. Aramco officials also stated that research and development effort have already leaned towards removing or reducing carbon dioxide omissions coming from oil (Hammond, 2006). Saudi Aramco has expressed that it cares for the environment such that it has an Environment Protection Department that provides leadership on environmental issues and its operations are always environmentally responsible. Saudi Aramco considers the environment as a basic responsibility and a company commitment. The company has developed a variety of operational requirement that give consideration to environmental impacts such as â€Å"sanitary codes, project environmental assessments, air and water quality standards, occupational health regulations, hazardous material communication guidelines, waste management procedures, and vital oil spill contingency plans† (Saudi Aramco, 2008). The Environmental Impacts of Oil Oil has always been an environmental issue. From searching for oil, refining it and until its usage, it is always regarded as an environmental threat. Oil exploration and drilling are the first phases in the oil life cycle. It is also referred to as the â€Å"upstream phase† (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003, p. 593). Drilling and extracting oil affect the natural ecosystems, human health, as well as local cultures. It does not matter if the drilling is on-shore or off-shore; the effects are just the same. The physical modifications in the environment caused by oil exploration, drilling, and extraction are so devastating that they could be more harmful than a large oil spill. The more devastating effects of these are â€Å"deforestation, ecosystem destruction, chemical contamination of land and water, long-term harm to animal populations (particularly to migratory birds and marine mammals), human health, safety risks for neighboring communities and oil industry workers, and displacement of indigenous communities† (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003, p. 593-594). Oil exploration requires heavy equipment, and moving these equipment results in deforestation and erosion. Mobile rigs used for temporary drillings can reach weights of over two million pounds. On the other hand, drillings make use of large amounts of water and also contaminate it in the process. It is released afterwards which leads to the contamination of land. Exploration and extraction have also been known to produce large volumes of drilling wastes and associated wastes. In addition, oil processes make use of a waste pit where chemicals and other wastes from the oil process are being dumped. Exposure of these oil pits is a threat to aquifers as well as to animals and birds. They can mistake the pits for water holes, therefore engorging themselves in chemical waste. Exploration, drilling, and extraction also lead to a variety of health risks for humans. These risks may arise from radioactive materials that have surfaced from drilling as well as the bioaccumulation of oil, mercury, and other hazardous elements in animals that are consumed by humans (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003). Oil Spill Threat In order for oil to be delivered to different parts of the world, oil transport is necessary, and the main mode of oil transport is through oil tankers. However, moving oil using pipelines is becoming vastly popular. Oil currently accounts for half of all sea cargo and oil pipelines now spread more compared to railroads. Oil transport has also led to an environmental threat known as oil spills. Large oil spills receive much attention particularly because of media coverage; however, small cumulative spills go undocumented and measuring the amount of oil spillage from these proves to be significant. Accidents have been known to occur at all segments of transport as well as at each point of transfer. Also, since the 1960s, at least one large-scale oil spill has been documented every year (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003). Ocean transport of crude oil and petroleum products accounted for 3,000 gallons spilled per billion ton-miles in 1983 and nearly 8,000 gallons per billion ton-miles in 1984. Pipeline spills contributed less than 100 gallons per billion ton-miles for both years. (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003, p. 599) Oil spills have also been known to occur during extractions. A 2002 estimate by the National Academy of Sciences indicated that 38,000 tons of petroleum hydrocarbons from oil and gas operations were released into the world’s oceans (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003, p. 595). Saudi Aramco Oil Spill Contingency Plan Saudi Aramco has always been responsible in handling oil spills such that it has developed a contingency plan against to help counter oil spills. Saudi Aramco’s first focus on handling oil spills is being self-sufficient. It â€Å"built specialized oil spill recovery and containment vessels, and purchased equipment and materials to combat spills† (Zaindin, 1996, p. 2). In 1989, it even designated a committee to review and assess the anti-oil spill capabilities of the company. The task force made recommendations which were called the Global Oil Spill Contingency Plan which (1) â€Å"establish[ed] an oil spill policy for [the company’s] worldwide operations,† (2) â€Å"direct[ed] Saudi Aramco and its affiliates to join major cooperatives and assign[ed] regional responsibility for oil spills† and (3) â€Å"require[d] the development, implementation, and maintenance of regional and owned tanker oil spill plans† (Zaindin, 1996, p. 2-3). Saudi Aramco has also established an Oil Spill Committee in 1990 and this committee instituted a policy for the prevention and cleanup of oil spills resulting from the company’s operations. The Global Oil Spill Coordination Group was created to put into action and coordinate company activities that address the oil spills. If an oil spill takes place, a Regional Oil Spill Coordinator cleans the oil spill with the aid of an Oil Spill Response Team. The director takes care of the spill and is responsible for safe and efficient control, cleanup operations, disposal, restoration, as well as documentation processes. The response team is always ready as they receive special regular trainings (Zaindin, 1996, p. 3-4). Equipment that could effectively handle small to medium-sized oil spills have been stationed at the vicinity of the Red Sea and in case of any large oil spills, additional resources will be brought to immediately address the threat. Saudi Aramco has also inked ties with organizations that provide cooperative assistance in case of oil spill, namely, the Oil Spill Response (OSR) Ltd. based in England, Clean Caribbean Cooperative (CCC), Marine Preservation Association (MPA), Marine Industry Repsonse Group (MIRG), and the Gulf Area Oil Companies Mutual Aid Organization (GAOCMAO) (Zaindin, 1996, p. 4). III. Involvement Saudi Arabia and Japan Saudi Arabia has been involved in a lot of international treaties. One of these treaties was signed with Japan when both countries, among other things, acknowledged the importance of the stability of the world oil market as well as the importance of adopting security measures against global warming (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, 2007). Both sides reaffirmed the importance of the stability of the world oil market. The Japanese side expressed its appreciation and understanding for the Saudi Arabia’s balanced oil policy, which is a secure and reliable source for providing oil supplies to the international markets in general, and to the Japanese market in particular†¦while stressing the significance to further promote bilateral cooperation in energy, based upon mutually complementary relationship between Saudi Arabia, with its largest hydrocarbon resource in the world, and Japan, with its advanced energy-related technologies. The Saudi side expressed its intention to continue to assure stable oil supply to Japan, and the Japanese side expressed its appreciation for this (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, 2007). Both sides [also] decided that the international community should adopt appropriate measures against a possible global warming, based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities as stated in the international agreements on climate change. In this regard, the Japanese side expressed its willingness to develop its cooperation in both levels of government and private sectors to promote the clean development mechanism (CDM) that contributes to combating the possible global warming as well as achieving sustainable developments in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Both sides reaffirmed the importance of the roles of the private sectors in both countries for promoting CDM projects (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, 2007). Saudi Arabia should use the power of the law, as well as submit to the rule of international law, in order for efforts versus global warming to be successful. â€Å"Law plays an important role in environmental protection at both the international and the national levels† (Chopra, Leemans, & Kumar, 2005, p. 41). However, a drawback to this concept is the fact that Saudi Arabia itself shows signs of not being fully amenable to the stipulations of several international agreements and international laws on global warming. â€Å"Some OPEC countries (e. g. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait) also opposed the FCCC (Framework Convention on Climate Change) for fear of its potential impact on the price of crude oil† (Alexander & Fairbridge, 1999, p. 637). The Clean Air Act and Addressing Global Warming The Clean Air Act is a law that has been passed by some countries in a hope to control air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Numerous developed countries such as the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom have adopted such laws and even some third world countries have done so. Saudi Arabia has yet to adopt such a law. In the United States, the Clean Air Act is a federal law which means that its coverage spans the whole country and it has been an effective tool in regulating greenhouse gas emissions. The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) plays a crucial role in regulating processes regarding the law such as setting limits on certain air pollutants. The Clean Air Act which resulted in reduced air pollution has improved human health as well as the status of the environment. Since 1970, the six common air pollutants have been reduced to 50 percent while air toxics from large industries including oil refineries have been reduced by 70 percent. Additionally, new cars are 90 percent cleaner and are expected to be a lot cleaner in the future. Ozone depleting chemicals such as CFC’s have also ceased production. This all happened while the economy prospered and energy and vehicle use increased (EPA, 2008). The same benefits could possibly be reaped if Saudi Arabia would adopt the same policies. The 2007 Climate Change Performance Index indicated that Saudi Arabia is at the bottom of the list when it comes to addressing global warming followed by the United States, China and Malaysia. Sweden, Britain and Denmark were identified as the countries that have been doing the most to prevent further global warming. Nevertheless, the report indicated that what Sweden, Britain and Denmark are doing are not enough to prevent further climate change. IV. Organizations Different organizations and alliances take part in addressing global warming, like the Kyoto Protocol and the WTO. While Saudi Arabia is an active international player, it is not always in agreement with the rest of the group. Referring to the act of non compliance to the Protocol’s instituted policies, Grosse (2005) stated that â€Å"Saudi Arabia has been among the non-Annex I countries that have been particular to the Protocol† (p. 155). â€Å"The issue of subsidies favoring the coal, nuclear renewables sector has been raised by Saudi Arabia in the WTO’s Committee on Trade and Environment,† according to Yamin and Depledge (2004, p. 256), in reaction to the WTO policies. The Kyoto Protocol The Kyoto Protocol is one doctrine that binds nations that have ratified it to help fight against global warming by reducing their emissions of six greenhouse gases, namely, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, HFC’s and PFC’s. It was instituted in Kyoto, Japan on December 1997 and was opened for ratification on March 16 of the succeeding year. The main goal of the Kyoto Protocol is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 5. 2 percent below the 1990 greenhouse gas emission levels from 2008 to 2012. Countries that have bound themselves to the protocol must adopt certain policies and strategies in order to meet the specified emission targets. However, the protocol has been subject to a lot of debate because it exempts developing countries, such as China and India as well as Saudi Arabia, from having emissions cuts. The United States refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol because of the exemption of the developing countries. US President George W. Bush also stated that they will not sign the protocol because it does not bind developing countries and that it would be harmful to the US economy (West, 2008a). Late in 2004, the government of Saudi Arabia has approved of the Kyoto Protocol, but being a developing country, Saudi Arabia is not bound to adopt any cuts on greenhouse emissions although it is expected that the Saudi Arabian government will suffer huge financial losses as the developed countries approve the protocol. According to Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi, the government will have accumulated losses amounting to $19 billion by 2010 because of the policies that the developed nations will adopt in order to reduce their emissions to meet the specified targets (Planet Ark, 2004). Carbon Capture and Storage Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is one approach that scientists are looking at which could probably help mitigate global warming. It has been regarded that CCS will reduce the costs associated with mitigating climate change as well as provide flexibility in attaining greenhouse gas reduction goals. CCS makes use of new technology. It collects and concentrates the carbon dioxide produced in industrial and energy related sources and transports it to a storage location where it will be kept away from the atmosphere. This would allow the use of fossil fuels such as oil with a minimum level of greenhouse emissions (Metz, Davidson, de Coninck, Loos, & Meyer, 2005). Geological storage is one form of CCS. It is done by injecting carbon dioxide in dense form into rock formations underground. Porous rock formations have great potential in storing carbon dioxide. Such rock formations may include those that previously hold oil and natural gas. This kind of carbon storage is already being used in three industrial sites, namely, the Sleipnir Project in the North Sea, the Weyburn Project in Canada and the In Salah Project based in Nigeria. Moreover, 30 megatons of carbon dioxide per year is injected for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). This is mostly in Texas and the United States. This system of carbon capture and storage makes use of almost the same technology used for the exploration and production of gas (Metz, et al. , 2005). Geological storage may however be associated with some risks. Leakage from stored carbon dioxide may provide certain risks which are classified as either global risks or local risks. Global risk is identified as the release of carbon dioxide which will have significant effects on global warming. On the other hand, carbon dioxide leakage may also expose humans, ecosystems and groundwater to certain risks. These are the local risks (Metz, et al. , 2005). Annex 1 shows an overview of geological storage. Annex 1: Overview of Geological Storage Another type of carbon storage is ocean storage. It is done by injecting captured carbon dioxide at depths of greater than 1,000 m. under the ocean. This would isolate the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for centuries. Consequently, the stored carbon dioxide will become part of the global carbon cycle. However, just like geological storage, ocean storage also has certain risks such that it can cause a great deal of harm. Studies have indicated that animals have been found with reduced rates of calcification, reproduction, growth, circulatory oxygen supply and mobility, and even an increased mortality rate. Annex 2 shows detailed information on Ocean Storage (Metz, et al. , 2005). Annex 2: Overview of Ocean Storage Mineral carbonation and industrial use is yet another form of carbon capture and storage. Mineral carbonation makes use of converting carbon dioxide into solid inorganic carbonates through some form of chemical reaction. Mineral carbonation is actually a natural earthly process called â€Å"weathering† but human intervention needs to hasten this process since it is too slow to become a viable carbon storage system. Industrial use involves using carbon dioxide â€Å"directly or as a feedstock for production of various carbon-containing chemicals† (IPCC, __, p. 39). Industrial use makes use of chemical and biological processes wherein carbon dioxide is utilized as a reactant. The industrial use of carbon dioxide can help keep carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere by instead diverting it into a â€Å"carbon chemical pool†, but this measure will only be of great benefit to preventing climate change if there is a significant amount of carbon dioxide taken away from the atmosphere. Refer to Annex 3 for more detailed information (Metz, et al. , 2005). Annex 3: Mineral Carbonation and Industrial Use Saudi Arabia and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have expressed support with the development of this technology. Norway also demonstrated great interest with Carbon Capture and Storage technology. Norwegian Oil and Energy Minister Aaslaug Haga has requested the support of the Saudi Arabian government in the development of CCS to which Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi responded eagerly. Dagens Naeringsliv quoted al Naimi saying that â€Å"both Saudi Arabia and Norway are concerned about the environment and want to reduce emissions with all possible means. CO2 capture and storage is an excellent way to reduce emissions† (Acher, 2008, n. p. ). These countries want carbon capture technology included in the Clean Development Mechanism so that industrialized countries can cooperate to help advance this technology (Acher, 2008). According to the European Technology Platform on Zero Emission Fossil Fuel Power Plants, it is the lack of funding which impales research on carbon capture which then limits its potential (Kanter, 2008). The King of Saudi Arabia announced that the Saudi Arabian government will shell out 300 million USD for research on climate change, and this includes Carbon Capture and Storage technology. Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates also made an assurance that each of them will be giving $150 million each tom support the Saudi Arabian endeavor (OPEC, 2007). Saudi Arabia shelling out that huge an amount of money for climate change research would indicate that the kingdom is now giving attention to climate change. The World Trade Organization Saudi Arabia is now also a part of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and has recently signed a bilateral trade agreement with the United States. The trade agreement came at a good time since Saudi Arabian imports have experienced a decline. The WTO has become a sign of respect and acceptance for Saudi Arabia particularly because it is the only GCC country and the largest oil producer (Zahid, 2005). Saudi Arabia initially did not join GATT, the WTO’s predecessor global trade agreement because oil, its sole export at the time, was not part of GATT (still not part of WTO). Later, as the Kingdom developed its downstream oil and petrochemical capacity, joining WTO became a key imperative in order to protect its exports from inordinate tariffs by mature, high-cost producer countries. (Zahid, 2005) For new aspirants at the WTO, rules may be harsh such that they will need to sign bilateral agreements with any member country that requests it, and the terms will have to be extended to other member countries. Afterwards, a multilateral agreement should be inked with all member countries before being admitted into the WTO (Zahid, 2005). According to Zahid, the WTO had some negative impacts on Saudi Arabia but the WTO may be likened to a medicine. â€Å"It is painful to swallow but it eventually makes you better† (Zahid, 2005, n. p. ). In the short term, the WTO will hurt Saudi Arabia, but in the long run, the Saudi Arabian economy will prosper because of the WTO such that there will be increased transparency, protection of copyrights, rule of law, and foreign investment. Saudi Arabia’s exports will also have access to WTO member countries (Zahid, 2005). The full impact of WTO will be a long and unfolding story for the country. We still need to know the details of the final agreement. WTO has given other countries long implementation periods and many exceptions. Also, we have to see what the final Saudi offer is in terms of tariffs, sectors, binding rates, etc. With this report, we start a series on what the WTO means for Saudi Arabia. (Zahid, 2005) On one point of view, it is regarded that the WTO can enforce better greenhouse gas reductions compared to the Kyoto Protocol. Peter Franklin of the Guardian proposes the: Negotiat[ion of] a successor to Kyoto and then let the WTO enforce it. Nations that failed to meet their carbon targets would have a proportionate tariff slapped on their imports. Such a system could even be used to deal with countries that refused to sign up to the new agreement. The WTO would unilaterally impose a target on each non-signatory nation, with their excess carbon emissions and consequent penalties being assessed in absentia. The export-led economies of China, India and other key Kyoto absentees would be particularly susceptible to such pressure (Franklin, 2006). The Kyoto Protocol has no fangs and this could be filled in by the WTO as those who do not approve of reducing greenhouse targets will have to suffer some consequences from the WTO. This could however be treated as a disrespect to a country’s sovereignty. In the long run, since the WTO would attract more foreign investment, foreign investments will also be encouraged in developing alternative, renewable energy solutions in Saudi Arabia. Consequently, CCS can thrive from a commercial point of view as the awareness of climate change would trigger interest in forwarding this technology for economic gains. The WTO system encourages a good government, which in turn will help in framing policies for increased participation in anti-climate change efforts. V. Problems and Solutions The planet’s worsening climate condition is partly the doing of the industrial cities in Saudi Arabia, from where carbon dioxide emissions from oil manufacturing and processing come from. The investment of Saudi Arabia in finding solutions for the problems posed by global warming is research and resources. Countries like Saudi Arabia allocate funds for studies. It focuses its studies on oil-related aspects of global warming management. It is important for countries to sponsor studies so that they can get first hand information about global warming and its implications. â€Å"Nations should foster the continued development of these epistemic communities not only to stimulate new avenues of research, but also to help create greater opportunities for consensus building and coordinated action† (Lee, 1995, p. 14). In reducing carbon dioxide emissions coming from oil, there are a variety of methods that could be adopted. One is eliminating subsidies to prevent increase in consumption levels. Simply saving up on energy use can help alleviate greenhouse emissions. Resorting to renewable energy sources provides great potential in dealing with this environmental threat since these renewable energy sources produce no amount of emissions whatsoever. For countries like Saud

Doris Lessing - Novelist, Memoirist, Essayist

Doris Lessing - Novelist, Memoirist, Essayist Doris Lessing Facts: Known for: Doris Lessing has written many novels, short stories, and essays, most about contemporary life, often pointing to social injustices. Her 1962 The Golden Notebook became an iconic novel for the feminist movement for its consciousness-raising theme. Her travels to many places in the British sphere of influence have influenced her writings.Occupation: writer short stories, novels, essays, science fictionDates: October 22, 1919 -  November 17, 2013Also known as: Doris May Lessing, Jane Somers, Doris Taylor Doris Lessing Biography: Doris Lessing was born in Persia (now Iran), when her father worked for a bank. In 1924, the family moved to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where she grew up, as her father tried to make a living as a farmer. Though she was encouraged to go to college, Doris Lessing dropped out of school at age 14, and took clerical and other jobs in Salisbury, South Rhodesia, until her marriage in 1939 to a civil servant. When she divorced in 1943, her children stayed with their father. Her second husband was a Communist, whom Doris Lessing met when she also became a Communist, joining what she saw as a more pure form of Communism than she saw in the Communist parties in other parts of the world. (Lessing rejected Communism after the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956.) She and her second husband divorced in 1949, and he emigrated to East Germany. Later, he was the East German ambassador to Uganda and was killed when Ugandans revolted against Idi Amin. During her years of activism and married life, Doris Lessing began writing. In 1949, after two failed marriages, Lessing moved to London; her brother, first husband, and two children from her first marriage remained in Africa. In 1950, Lessings first novel was published: The Grass Is Singing, which dealt with issues of apartheid and interracial relationships in a colonial society. She continued her semi-autobiographical writings in three Children of Violence novels, with Martha Quest as the main character, published in 1952-1958. Lessing visited her African homeland again in 1956, but was then declared a prohibited immigrant for political reasons and banned from coming back again. After the country became Zimbabwe in 1980, independent of British and white rule, Doris Lessing returned, first in 1982. She wrote of her visits in African Laughter: Four Visits to Zimbabwe, published in 1992. Having rejected communism in 1956, Lessing became active in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. In the 1960s, she became skeptical of progressive movements and more interested in Sufism and nonlinear thinking. In 1962, Doris Lessings most widely-read novel, The Golden Notebook, was published. This novel, in four sections, explored aspects of the relationship of an independent woman to herself and to men and women, in a time of re-examining sexual and political norms. While the book inspired and fit in with increasing interest in consciousness-raising, Lessing has been somewhat impatient with its identification with feminism. Beginning in 1979, Doris Lessing published a series of science fiction novels, and in the 80s published several books under the pen name Jane Somers. Politically, in the 1980s she supported the anti-Soviet mujahideen in Afghanistan. She also became interested in issues ecological survival and returned to African themes. Her 1986 The Good Terrorist is a comedic story about a cadre of left-wing militants in London. Her 1988 The Fifth Child deals with change and family life in the 1960s through 1980s. Lessings later work continues to deal with peoples lives in ways that highlight challenging social issues, though shes denied that her writing is political. In 2007, Doris Lessing was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Background, Family: Father: Alfred Cook Taylor, farmerMother: Meily Maude McVeagh Marriage, Children: husbands:Frank Charles Wisdom (married 1939, dissolved 1943)Gottfried Anton Nicholas Lessing (married 1945, dissolved 1949)children:first marriage: John, Jeansecond marriage: Peteradopted informally: Jenny Diski (novelist) Selected Doris Lessing Quotations   The Golden Notebook  for some reason surprised people but it was no more than you would hear women say in their kitchens every day in any country. That is what learning is. You suddenly understand something youve understood all your life, but in a new way. Some people obtain fame, others deserve it. Think wrongly, if you please, but in all cases think for yourself. Any human anywhere will blossom in a hundred unexpected talents and capacities simply by being given the opportunity to do so. There is only one real sin and that is to persuade oneself that the second-best is anything but second best. Whats really terrible is to pretend that the second-rate is the first-rate. To pretend that you dont need love when you do, or you like your work when you know quite well youre capable of better. You only learn to be a better writer by actually writing. I dont know much about creative writing programs. But theyre not telling the truth if they dont teach, one, that writing is hard work, and, two, that you have to give up a great deal of life, your personal life, to be a writer. The current publishing scene is extremely good for the big, popular books. They sell them brilliantly, market them and all that. It is not good for the little books. Trust no friend without faults, and love a woman, but no angel. Laughter is by definition healthy. This world is run by people who know how to do things. They know how things work. They are equipped. Up there, theres a layer of people who run everything. But we were just peasants. We dont understand whats going on, and we cant do anything. It is the mark of great people to treat trifles as trifles and important matters as important It is terrible to destroy a persons picture of himself in the interests of truth or some other abstraction. What is a hero without love for mankind? In  university  they dont tell you that the greater part of the law is learning to tolerate fools. With a library you are free, not confined by temporary political climates. It is the most democratic of institutions because no one - but no one at all - can tell you what to read and when and how. Nonsense, it was all nonsense: this whole damned outfit, with its committees, its conferences, its eternal talk, talk, talk, was a great con trick; it was a mechanism to earn a few hundred men and women incredible sums of money. All political movements are like this we are in the right, everyone else is in the wrong. The people on our own side who disagree with us are heretics, and they start becoming enemies. With it comes an absolute conviction of your own moral superiority. Theres  oversimplification  in  everything,  and a terror of flexibility. Political correctness is the natural continuum from the party line. What we are seeing once again is a self-appointed group of vigilantes imposing their views on others. It is a heritage of communism, but they dont seem to see this. It was OK, us being Reds during the  war,  because we were all on the same side. But then the Cold War started. Why were the Europeans bothered about the Soviet Union at all? It was nothing to do with us. China had nothing to do with us. Why were we not building, without reference to the Soviet Union, a good society in our own countries? But no, we were all in one way or another obsessed with the bloody Soviet Union, which was a disaster. What people were supporting was failure. And continually justifying it. All sanity depends on this: that it should be a delight to feel heat strike the skin, a delight to stand upright, knowing the bones are moving easily under the flesh. I have found it to be true that the older Ive become the better my life has become. The great secret that all old people share is that you really havent changed in seventy or eighty years. Your body changes, but you dont change at all. And that, of course, causes great confusion. And then, not expecting it, you become middle-aged and anonymous. No one notices you. You achieve a wonderful freedom. For the last third of life there remains only work. It alone is always stimulating, rejuvenating, exciting and satisfying. Bed is the best place for reading, thinking, or doing nothing. Borrowing is not much better than begging; just as lending with interest is not much better than stealing. I was brought up on the farm in the bush, which was the best thing that happened, it was just a wonderful childhood. None of you [men] ask for anything except everything, but just for so long as you need it. A woman without a man cannot meet a man, any man, without thinking, even if its for a half second, perhaps this is  the  man.

How to Succeed in Your Literature Class

How to Succeed in Your Literature Class Listening,  reading, and being prepared for your class can make a dramatic difference in how you understand the books, poetry, and stories for your class. Heres how to succeed in your literature class from high school through college. Be on Time Even on the first day of class, you might miss out on important details (and homework assignments) if youre even 5 minutes late for class. In order to discourage tardiness, some teachers refuse to accept homework if youre not there when class starts. Also, literature teachers may ask you to take a short quiz, or write a response paper in the first few minutes of classjust to make sure that you did the required reading! Buy the Books at the Beginning of the Term Or, if the books are being provided, be sure you have the book when you need to start your reading. Dont wait until the last minute to start reading the book. Some literature students wait to buy some of their books until half-way through the semester/quarter. Imagine their frustration and panic when they find that there arent any copies of the required book left on the shelf. Be Prepared Be sure you know what the reading assignment is for the day, and read the selection more than once. Also, read through the discussion questions before class. Be Sure You Understand If youve read through the assignment and the  discussion questions, and you still dont understand what youve read, start thinking about why! If youre having difficulty with the terminology, look up any words you dont understand. If you cant concentrate on the assignment, read the selection out loud. Ask Questions! Remember: if you think the question is confusing, there are probably other students in your class who are wondering the same thing. Ask your teacher; ask your classmate, or ask for help from the Writing/Tutoring Center. If you have questions about assignments, tests, or other graded assignments, ask those questions right away! Dont wait until right before the  essay is due or just as the tests are being passed out. What You Need Always make sure you come to class prepared. Have a notebook or tablet to take notes, pens, a dictionary, and other critical resources with you at class and while you are doing work at home.

Fact Sheet Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Fact Sheet - Assignment Example The proposed change to Medicare would replace the current Medicare insurance terms with a fixed rate monetary support that people would use to purchase private care plans or a modified form of Medicare and has the following challenges to affordability of care. The proposal shift the responsibility of care cover to individuals and this eliminates the guaranteed cover and care services that the current Medicare offers, because care would be provided based on individual’s plans (Water, 2014). The proposed change would limit cover to people’s care plans and individuals whose medical needs require very high expenses would not be able to afford care. This is because their private care plans, under proposal, would be limited to the voucher value or an individual’s additional contribution (Water, 2014). The proposal allows the government to limit its responsibility over public utilities. This would be a bad example and could be used in future to stop government’s expenditure on critical services such as healthcare, education, and infrastructure (Water, 2014). I therefore urge us to express our opinions against the voucher proposal that is a threat to affordable and accessible care. We can also submit our concerns to our legislators through the following telephone lines, besides peer mobilization through

Australian Gas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Australian Gas - Essay Example Dividends during that time have grown from 52 cents per share to 63 cents per share (93 cents per share in 2005 which includes a special 30 cent dividend). That is approximately 5% dividend growth per year. Earnings per share (excluding extraordinary items) during the last three years has grown from 73 cents per share in 2003 to 79 in 2004 and 84 cents per share in 2005 (the last year full figures are available), which is an average growth rate of just over 7% per year. Underlying profit (excluding significant items) grew from $351 million to $386 million just over 6% growth for the year. EBIT remained steady at approximately 13.6% of funds employed. Total liabilities dropped from $3.4 billion to $2.6 billion a 22% drop. The debt to equity ratio dropped significantly dropping from over 40% in 2004 to approximately 27% in 2005. The price to earnings ratio during the last three years has remained relatively stable as well. In February 2003 the stock was trading at about 10.00 per share and had earnings of 73 cents that gave it a P/E of approximately 14. In February 2004 the stock was trading at just over 11.00 per share and had earnings of 79 which kept the P/E very close to 14 and in February of 2005 the stock was trading at approximately 13.25 per share and had earnings of 84 cents. This caused the P/E to jump slightly to approximately 16 which was still well within the average P/E of other gas and electric companies. RISKSThere are a myriad of risk factors for this company, including (but not limited to): rates being set by the regulatory board that are not in line with company expectations, a vote by shareholders that halts the planned divestiture of AGL energy and AGL infrastructure into two separate entities, the ongoing environmental investigations and standards that need to be met and of course a more consistent weather pattern that lowers the demand for electricity or natural gas.The rates that are currently being considered are in line with industry standards and though there are a number of rate revisions being considered by the regulatory commission the company feels that the recent trend has been for the governing board to take a light approach, not a heavy handed approach to rate increases. This bodes well for the company.The divestiture of AGL energy into a separate entity is viewed by most experts to be a good decision and profitable for the shareholders. Recent surveys show that the majority of shareholders are planning to vote for the divestiture and subsequent merger at the shareholders meeting in October 2006. The company is committed to a clean environment and recently began to draw up plans for the