Oceans Act of 2000 Essay Example for Free

Oceans Act of 2000 Essay From sea to shining sea, America has always been a country dependant on its coastal waters. We use the oceans and the abundant resources found in them for everything from physical exercise, food, and medicines, to a place to dump our garbage, dispose of toxic chemicals, and to travel to far off destinations. The oceans provide much for us, and without them, life on Earth would not be sustainable. The oceans are a vital resource for humankind, and sadly, we have put them in immediate danger. The majority of the population of the United States lives in coastal regions. Due to this, marine-related industries, such as fishing and shipping, play a significant role in our nation’s economy. Unfortunately, the fishing business in the United States has dwindled. Overfishing has caused the collapse of New England’s cod, flounder, and haddock fisheries. The Gulf of Mexico has what is known as a â€Å"dead zone†, (Report of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation S. 2327) which was likely caused by pollution from the Mississippi River. Pollution is another issue altogether†¦ Runoff from our farmlands and cities flows down our rivers into the Gulf of Mexico and contaminates the coastal areas of our southern states. Oil spills threaten our marine wildlife. Harmful algal blooms have taken over many underwater habitats. Overabundances of sediment and nitrogen from farms and factories upstream suffocate the water ecosystems of our lands. Without strict guidelines and stream-lined regulations set up to properly control our pollution problem, humans will, ultimately, destroy the oceans. The need for urgent action to protect our oceans and waterways has never been greater. Although people have attempted to investigate and lay down the groundwork for improving the condition of our oceans in the past, their attempts have not been enough. In 1966, Congress passed the Marine Resources and Engineering Development Act (Report of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation S. 2327), which was designed to lay out national objectives and programs regarding the oceans. Leading the commission was Dr. Julius A. Stratton, former president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. With Dr.  Stratton leading the way, along with advisors from congress including Senator Norris Cotton and Senator Warren Magnuson, the 1966 Act was a huge step forward for the country’s oceanic preservation efforts, yet for the next thirty years, it would be one of the only steps forward. The United States urgently needed to increase public awareness of the importance of the oceans to our nation. With that in mind, 1998 was declared the â€Å"International Year of the Ocean†. Spreading knowledge of the threats our oceans faced made it clear to Congress that we needed to take a second look at our ocean policies. On August 7, 2000, President Bill Clinton released a statement upon signing the Oceans Act of 2000. In it, he stated that â€Å"the legislation would establish a Commission on Ocean Policy, to make recommendations to the President and to Congress for a coordinated and comprehensive national ocean policy. † (Statement on Signing the Oceans Act of 2000) The Oceans Act itself was the law requiring the formation of a sixteen member commission, whose job was to research the issues regarding our coasts and waters and to present a detailed report on their findings, and any recommendations to solve the issues, to the President. In September 2004, the Commission introduced their final report, â€Å"An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century†, and invited public comment on their findings. The report consisted of 212 recommendations for ocean policy. Members of the Alaska Oceans Program, American Littoral Society, Gulf Restoration Network, Natural Resources Defense Council, North Carolina Coastal Federation, People for Puget Sound, Sierra Club, and The Ocean Conservancy submitted their comments on the report. Public Comment on Final Report: An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century: Pre-Publication Copy) Although there were a few changes that these groups did not agree with, the majority of the information provided in the report was met with vast approval, especially the call for the implementation of a National Ocean Council, to consolidate the numerous agencies involved in the welfare of our waterways. Since the publishing of â€Å"An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century†, President Bush called for a 13. percent increase in National Science Foundation funding for ocean sciences. (A Sea Change in National Ocean Policy? by Matt Villano) However, much of the funding promised to support the National Ocean Council has been delayed and pushed back, making it very difficult to move forward with the recommendations of the Ocean Commission. In February 2008, the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative, comprised of former members from the Pew Oceans Commission and the National Ocean Commission, a ssessed the nation’s progress in ocean policy throughout 2007. The grade they presented was a â€Å"C†. Funding seems to be the largest issue our nation is facing in terms of moving forward more quickly with the recommendations from the Commission, yet, as Andy Solow, director of the WHOI Marine Policy Center says, â€Å"If enough people get involved politically and on a grass-roots level, we can make significant progress in some of these areas without it. (A Sea Change in National Ocean Policy? by Matt Villano) The future of our oceans, as well as our planet, is still up in the air. Unless our priorities change, and funding is found to implement the changes needed to improve the status of our oceans, we may find ourselves on the verge of extinction.

Building A Campfire :: essays research papers

There are many different campfire structures that can be built to start a fire while camping. The most common are the teepee, log cabin, dugout, and tunnel structures. Almost anyone can build these fires if he or she follows some key points. A fire needs three elements: air, fuel, and an ignition of some kind. For a campfire the air element is easily accessible; it's the air a person breaths or oxygen. Fuel is equivalent to wood. Sometimes lighter fluid is used to start big fires immediately, but usually when dealing with a campfire the fuel is wood. Ignition can come from a spark, match, or lighter. It is anything that initially starts the fire. Going deeper into wood, there are three categories to classify it under. Kindling is the stuff that is easiest to burn. It could be leaves, dryer lint, or very small twigs. The next size of wood is sticks and small logs. These will range in size from one half inch to two inches in diameter. Anything larger than this is classified as the fuel. The fuel is the big logs that will burn for hours. When a fire is started it needs to be built like this: kindling first, then sticks and small logs, and then the fuel, once the fire is going good. Using this technique with the following fire structures will ensure hot easy fires. The teepee style structure is probably the most used and easiest to build, but doesn't necessarily result in the hottest or longest burning campfire. To build this fire think about the name "teepee." The end result before burning this structure looks like an Indian's teepee (If the teepee shape is not familiar, then envision a conic shape). Start by placing the intermediate size wood or sticks in the ground in a circular shape about eight to twelve inches in diameter, leaning the tips of the sticks together in the center. The sticks should already start to resemble a teepee shape. Continue layering the walls of the teepee with more sticks, but not too thick, because air needs to be able to pass through the walls easily. Leave a hole on one side large enough to place kindling inside the stick walls. This hole is also left to light the kindling from the inside and may be filled in once the fire is lit. Once this is completed, the structure should be a recognizable teepee or cone shape. The kindling should be lit on the underside inside the teepee walls through the hole

Outline Worksheet for Persuasive Speech

Specific Purpose: To inform my audience of the advantages of the online courses. Thesis Statement: Now, the online courses become more and more popular. However, why increasable students chose online courses, there are lots of homework, the limit time and the higher quality of the class. With the improvement of the online courses, the students can get same knowledge, but spend less time in the online courses. Introduction I. Attention-getter: At the beginning of my speech, I have several questions. Did you always spend a lot time between the school and home? Did you usually worry that you couldn’t catch up with the teacher? Did you ever think about the solutions for those? II. Establishment of ethos: In fact, I usually don’t get up until the class will begin in the morning, so I ever think that the classroom could move into my room someday. Now it becomes true. The online courses will bring more sleep time for me. III. Preview:Even though many students still prefer face-to-face lecture classes, I think online courses are more beneficial because the content is the same as classroom courses, the time is flexible and there is no peer pressure in online courses. With such great benefits, students should sign up for online courses considering the hectic lifestyle everyone has today. (Transition: Now, I will talk about the advantages about the online courses. ) Body I. First, the content of online courses is the same as the courses in a classroom. A. Professors can record their lectures into videos and teach live online, and professors can also assign homework for their students easily. The only difference for students is that they have to hand in their homework through the internet. However, this has nothing to do with the quality of the class. B. I found an article named â€Å"Students Can Take Class Online at Home,† which was published in the Atlanta Journal & Constitution, said that â€Å"students log on to a designated Web site where lecture notes and slide shows are posted. † Therefore, online courses already became a helpful way to teach students. II. Second, the schedule is very flexible for students. A. For some online courses, professors will just put the materials on their own website and let students take courses at their own pace. For example, a math teacher can allow students to run through a lesson on the computer or use the computer to help illustrate what is being taught personally. The online courses can also be used to give extra help to students about to fail a class. B. In addition, if it is a class that requires a lot of time, they can take breaks whenever and then continue later on. It is also an effective way to take a class, because after a break, students can concentrate on the class better and remember more things at the same time. III. Third, some students think that if they take a classroom class, they will feel peer pressure, because if another student finishes faster than he or she does, then he or she will get nervous and can’t finish the rest well. A. The problem will be solved if they take an online course because it is just the students themselves at home so they can study the questions at their own pace without the pressure of feeling nervous. They may help the students get a high grade in the exam or an assignment. B. For example, in my Chinese university, there will often be a lot of students taking an exam in the classroom at the same time. I remember that one of my classmates in my English class took the mid-term exam with me and that he took a long time during the reading part. As time progressed, more and more students finished before he did and after the time was up, I asked him how he did and he told me he couldn’t concentrate on the test because of text anxiety and the constant distraction of students leaving before he did, so he got a low grade on this exam. Conclusion I. Summarize and Review: In conclusion, students can greatly benefit from online courses. The content in lecture classes is the same as online classes. Also, the peer pressure is gone when it comes to online courses. Most importantly, students who take online courses have more flexible study time. II. Tie to the introduction: Therefore, taking online courses, we will waste no time between school and home, but get the same knowledge. III. Creative concluding thought: I think online courses will become more available to all students in the future then students can probably learn more effectively from the online courses. References: Sophia Lezin Jones, Aug 7, 2000, Atlanta Journal & Constitution, Gwinnett students can take class online at home Carter, Rochelle, Aug 1, 2002, Atlanta Journal & Constitution, BACK TO SCHOOL: Online courses expand Clayton's Class.com gaining popularity http://oedb.org/library/distance-vs-local/10-advantages-to-taking-online-classes/ http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Are-The-Advantages-And-Disadvantages-Of-OnlineCourses?;id=317526 http://www.ehow.com/facts_4797506_online-training-advantages-disadvantages.html http://seacstudentweb.org/top-benefits-of-online-education.php

Facebook Has Enriched My Life - 1328 Words

Fame is very much a double-edged sword.† – Kevin Bacon -- I can liken my presence on the web to a double-edged sword because of the associated advantages and disadvantages. In a positive sense, it has allowed me to establish a professional presence that I use to showcase my work to my peers, professors, and potential employers. In a negative sense, it has changed the way I communicate with friends and family members, which has stifled some relationships by making them less personal than they would be without the â€Å"aid† of the web. When I first came to State University, I tried to minimize my presence on the web by selecting privacy settings that would not allow people outside the State community to view my work. I was under the†¦show more content†¦This only reinforces the idea that a Facebook â€Å"friendship† is often perceived as empty and meaningless. Typically, when I think of someone as a â€Å"friend,† I don’t consider my Facebook friends first, but rather the people who I have recently interacted with on a more personal level. Even though one has the ability to have hundreds, or even thousands, more Facebook friends than might be feasible for real life, I do not believe that Facebook has changed the upper limits of friendship â€Å"previously set by nature† but rather serves as a supplement for real-world friendships and a breeding ground for digital friendships. Although most users have well below Professor Robin Dunbar’s upper limit of 150 friends, the â₠¬Å"Dunbar number,† most of my Facebook friends have between 200 and 2,000 friends (The Virtual Revolution). Personally, I have 705 Facebook â€Å"friends† which includes real-world friends, digital friends, family members, acquaintances, and even some celebrities. However, I only associate with a handful of these â€Å"friends,† mostly real-world friends and family members, and I don’t consider each one of these 705 friendships the same way. A major advantage of Facebook is that it allows me to maintain a â€Å"digital friendship† with those who I’m unable to maintain a real-world friendship. I think of a â€Å"digital friendship† as one that may or may not have started on-line and has significantly more on-line interaction than in-person interaction. In contrast, a â€Å"real-world friendship†Show MoreRelatedEssay on Positive Effects of Technology on Society.1349 Words   |  6 PagesEffects of Technology on Society. In the last twenty years the computer has changed the way we work, live, and communicate. This incredible form of technology is a major part in our society today. Social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace have made communicating with our peers more convenient than ever before. Websites like YouTube have made people overnight celebrities and the Internet as a whole has made our society run more efficiently. Overall I believe that the digital revolutionRead MoreReflection About Autism819 Words   |  4 Pageseither I just came alive. I can do with my life as I see fit and be happy with that because I’m was not born to do anything ,but survive with the option of how to do so. One question I am asked all the time by my family is who are you and what are you going to do with your future†¦ what are you going to do to earn a living? I’ve given it quite a bit of thought and I think the best response I can produce to satisfy the question is my personality, my interest, and my education that are guiding me to aRead MoreFreedom Is A Basic Human Right1079 Words   |  5 Pages Freedom is a basic human right, but nevertheless it is obvious, that not everybody is in the position to make use of it because it has been disregarded and trampled on throughout the ages. Freedom is also the circumstance of being internal control. A major conflict that comes in when the freedom appears is when non white people are being discriminated or self discriminated. Throughout time mankind had to fight for freedom, because there were always human beings who considered this basic rightRead MoreSlavery And Its Effects On Slavery999 Words   |  4 Pagesrealized just how much my life and lifestyle depended on slavery. I, like most people, do not think about where my clothes came from or where the diamond in the engagement ring came from; subsequently, I alone depend on 43 slaves. 43 individuals somewhere in the world are being forced to work or work for little to nothing. I cried after reading about present time slavery because like most people in today’s age, I believed slavery ended in President Lincoln’s time. My overall score has two main contributionsRead MoreHow Does The English Language Is Deteriorating?1186 Words   |  5 Pages Turn on any one of the country’s major news channels, and you may hear newscasters saying â€Å"My bad† when admitting to having made a mistake, or making reference to Ben Affleck’s and Matt Damon’s â€Å"bromance.† Then there are the grammatical changes taking place: Helping verbs like â€Å"shall† and â€Å"ought† are disappearing, while â€Å"can† and â€Å"will† are as stable as ever. There is also the great influence social media is having on the English language, introducing acronyms such as â€Å"LOL† and â€Å"BTW† and shorteningRead MoreIs Innovation A Innovation Master Class?1301 Words   |  6 Pageshoping to dispel some fears along the way here and also very happy to answer any questions I can on Twitter or in the comments section below. I think this is a very opportune moment to also deal with the subject of ‘innovation experts’. As I discuss my own learned interpretation of innovation, it will become quite clear that I didn’t go to university and study the subject, nor did I undertake an ‘innovation master class’ at someone else’s expense and return a self-proclaimed principle of everythingRead MoreEffects Of The Home Environment And Parental Attitudes On Student Learning1646 Words   |  7 PagesThroughout my academic career, my parents have always been involved in my studies by encouraging me, helping with homework, aspiring me to work and study hard, and keeping me on top of things. They did little things like making me learn my timetables with cue cards before entering grade three or printing out maps of the world so that I can label them. After all these years, I am certain that their involvement in my studies and my overall home environment greatly affected the excellent grades thatRead MoreMedicin al Marijuana Should Not Be Banned1572 Words   |  7 Pagessome diseases or disorders. But due to the bad stigma that surrounds marijuana, there are people who refuse to acknowledge possibilities of medicinal properties. In this paper I will give examples of a few major breakthroughs that medicinal marijuana has achieved in the previous years that prove marijuana can be suitable to use as a medicine. Due to the amount of negativity in the news towards marijuana, many people have not received proper information about the possibilities marijuana offers for medicinalRead MoreNews Coverage And The Media Essay1802 Words   |  8 PagesNews coverage has changed dramatically throughout the years. The advancement of technology has helped the media advance by giving individuals a superior point of view of how the world is seen today and making traditional journalism less important. In addition, the expanding presence, speed and accessibility of advanced technology; phones, computers and other media such as apps, has allowed citizen journalists to report on breaking news not only to a bigger worldwide, but also more rapidly than conventionalRead MoreAdvantages And Disadvantages Of Globalization2225 Words   |  9 Pagespolitical, social and economic integration and interconnectedness between regions. Globalisation doesn’t happen uniformly, and it impacts people in profoundly diff erent ways often dependant on whether they live in core or periphery regions. Globalisation has advantages and disadvantages to people, the process of globalisation may mean that there is advantages to people in some places whilst other places are experiencing disadvantages. It could be argued that globalisation transforms people and places by