Sunghun

Global Pollution from Asian Countries

2007-06-26T14:11:00.000-07:00

Most people who live in the Asian countries or North America have ever felt the sky is hazy with dust at least once. Moreover, after people work on outside with a white shirt, when they take off their clothes, they have seen the shirt color change to a dark color. That is because there is much dust in the air. However, the problem is that the countries which don’t make much air pollution could be damaged. In “China’s Dirty Air Threatens Darker Days for Northwest,” the author writes that “Severe air pollution from Asia is expanding the winter cloud cover over the north Pacific Ocean and could bring cooler, wetter weather to the Northwest, a new study suggests” (2007. para. 2). This problem was not issued until several decades ago, but when we had industrial development, the industrial pollution occurred. As a result, we developed so much, but we lost our natural environment. Hence, we should address this problem, and find solutions with whole countries which are confronted with air pollution, because we share the sky and air.

Air pollution is defined as air pollution which is caused by smoke, toxic gases etc (2007, Dictionary.com). So, air pollution could hurt a person’s feeling and it is injurious for humans, animals, plants, and also it bothers human’s delightful life. Actually, there are two kinds of air pollution; one is natural air pollution and the other one is the air pollution which made by human. In “Natural Air pollution” (n.d), the author writes that volcanoes, biological decay, forest fires, and lightning strikes belong to natural pollution. This pollution is a kind of natural disaster, so it is not easy to fix, so we should try to escape from this pollution. At this time, people should watch weather forecasts and follow their indication. However, the other one is the pollution made by humans, so it can be reduced. Usually, the pollutants are made when people emit some materials which don’t exist in the earth. For example, after the 18th century, Japan developed their industry. As a result, at Japan’s secondary coasted industrial city, Osaka there was windlessness, so it bothers the hazy spread to the sky and many people got respiratory disease. The thing which we should be concerned about is the pollution made by humans, because it causes more serious problems and it takes a long time to break it down thrown natural purification.

First of all, according to the article “Global warming,” the author says that “The latest report from the climate panel predicted that the global climate is likely to rise between 3.5 and 8 degrees Fahrenheit if the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere reaches twice the level of 1750” (2007, para. 5). As temperature is increasing, the sea level also increases. According to the research on the article, “Warming to Cause Catastrophic Rise in Sea Level?”, Stefan(2004) says that if sea level increases about 3-feet, almost all cities near the coast could sink. This problem is really a serious problem, so we don’t have time to postpone solving this problem. The source of global warming is Co2, which is called a greenhouse gas. The solution which reduces Co2 gas is that the factories or companies which make Co2 should be charged money according to how much Co2 they release. This law can make the companies or factories establish an air filter on every chimneys because in the long term, to make air filters is more valuable. If this law is made, the amount of Co2 seems to be reduced.

Secondly, Air pollution causes super-strong storm problem, so people should prepare to protect this problems. In “The Pacific; Pollution Tied to Big Rainstorms,” the author explains why a super-strong storm is made; that is, “Rain can’t fall until atmospheric water vapor condenses on floating particles or aerosols, such as dust and wind-blown sea salt. Once the water droplets merge and grow fat enough, they fall to Earth” (2007, para. 8). It means that the dust in the air makes a strong storm, so some places could be damaged by severe strong storm. On the other hand, some place could be damaged by drought because it is not easy to rain; it means when it rains, it rains strongly at a time. The best choice is to reduce Co2 gases, but we should care about present damages by strong storms. To prevent from strong storms we should build a multipurpose dam while we also care about the environment. For example, Korea is a country in which water is not enough and in summer, there is a rainy season, so Koreans have gotten used to damage by flood and drought. The solution was build multipurpose dams. After Koreans built dams, Korea’s damages were reduced. Hence, we can say that building some dams are useful to preventing drought and flood. In addition, the confined water can be used for agriculture, so if we build dams, we have many advantages.

Next, a pollution from factories and power plants can cause acid rain problems, so we should protect from acid rain. In “Not out of the woods”(Richardson, 2007) the author writes that “Acid rain, or acid deposition, occurs when chemicals react in the atmosphere to form acids that settle onto forests and waterways in precipitation or as dry particles. The primary pollutants responsible for the phenomenon are sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from power plants and motor-vehicle exhaust” (para. 7). There are many factories and power plants in Asian countries and this establishment makes So2 and No3 which are destructive fatal for nature. When So2 and No3 are mixed together, the rain changes to acid rain. These materials spread easily to everywhere. In addition, acid rain does not only cause injury to buildings and statues, but also cause acidification of soil. Furthermore, if we people exposed to acid rain, it makes them bald. The solution which can fix this serious problem is developing alternative energy. For example, thermal power plants release many pollutants, so instead of this power plant, we can use solar energy and wave power generation. To remove So2 we can establish desulfurization equipment in factories. Most of all, reducing use of fuel and improvement of fuel quality is important because it is the essential solution. If we carry out effort to remove pollutants from factories and power plants, we will be released from acid rain.

Some opponents may think that to succeed making a developed country, a small sacrifice is unavoidable, and they might insist that scientific technology solve this problem, when we are getting developed. However, even now, there is much air pollution damage everywhere. People already have many kinds of breathing problems and we are being damaged by acid rain. Moreover, all over the world, people are dying because of earth shorks such as flood and drought. Of course, it is true that if we want to have great achievement, we should abandon small things. However, this is not a small problem; people’s lives are the most important thing in the world. In addition, the air pollution problem is not limited to only humans. Many animals are losing their habitat because of global warming, and also many animals are in danger of being exterminated. Therefore, we should address this problem and start to solve these problems.

Now, it is obvious that air pollutions is damaging to mankind wherever we live. In short, it makes three big problems. Air pollution causes a global warming problem and super-strong storm problem; also it raises the acid rain problem. All of them are fatal for mankind. If we don’t care for the environment continually, we mankind also may be exterminated as some animals have been. To make developed countries we have spent several thousand years. On the other hand, the speed at which environment is destroyed is so fast. The time we run factory and power plants has just been about 200 hundred years. It means environmental pollution has advanced so quickly, so we should hurry up to figure out this problem. Humans should keep our environment for our descendants, who will enjoy with it fresh circumstances.

Reference
Air pollution. (2007). Dictionary.com Retrieved June 21, 2007 from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Air%20pollution

Davidson, K. (2007, March 6). The Pacific; pollution tied to big rainstorms. The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 20, 2007, from LexisNexis.

Global warming. (2007, June 20). The New York Times. Retrieved June 20, 2007 from http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/science/ topics/globalwarming/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier

Hill, R. (2007, March 6). China’s dirty air threatens darker days for Northwest.
The Oregonian. Retrieved June 20, 2007 from LexisNexis.

Natural air pollution (n.d.) Google’s Cache. Retrieved June 19, 2007 http://www.ace.mmu.ac.uk/eae/Air_Quality/Older/Natural_Air_Pollution.html

Richardson, J. (2007, February 28). Not out of the woods; Acid rain isn't the urgent concern it was in the 1980s, but it still threatens more than a third of Maine's forests. Portland Press Herald. Retrieved June 21, 2007 from LexisNexis.

Universal Problem Yellow Dust

2007-06-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

In A. Bang’s article entitled “Year’s Worst Yellow Dust Blankets Korea,” she indicates that the yellow dust from China and Mongolia damages Korea and Southern China; also, this problem is getting severe. First of all, she writes about the yellow dust in many parts of Korea, and explains about the standard of yellow dust. It means that if the volume of dust is over 400 micrograms per one cubic meter, that is not normal. Next, she presents a case of actual damage, which is when yellow dust is getting severe; school should be canceled at that time, and also some resorts should be closed. Third, she says that yellow dust includes the bad chemical material such as dioxins which can cause cancer, and also the amount of yellow dust is increasing gradually. Next, she mentions a conference which makes on effort to solve this problem, and she says the reason yellow dust comes out is related with desertification. Finally, she says that yellow dust does damage in various fields of activity such as industrial facilities and the overall ecosystem.

It is obvious that yellow dust is a dangerous thing which damages our lives. This problem is a universal problem, too, because if the yellow dust is getting severe, the dust can reach North America. So, the yellow dust which can cause various kinds of diseases, desertification and air pollution should be treated seriously, and people need to take countermeasures.

First of all, on the day in which yellow dust is severe, people should prepare to be protected from air because yellow dust causes various kinds of diseases. Yellow dust includes the minute particles from China when they run factories, so in minute particles, there are many kinds of toxic materials. These materials can cause visibility obstruction, respiratory disease, and allergy. These problems’ solution is of two types. One solution is personal precaution, and another one is exclusion of the place of origin. First, as personal precaution, people should wear masks, and as much as possible, people should not go outside. The second solution is that at the place which is near the factory, people should not spread sands; people should frequently shower with water or cover with a big net, yet this solution is limited. Hence, people should be careful individually.

Secondly, to escape from yellow dust, we should plant a lot of trees. Yellow dust occurs in the Chinese and Mongolia, desert, and the desert area is growing bigger, so the yellow dust, which didn’t have many problems before, has becomes a big problem. In China, the speed of cutting trees is faster than the speed at which they plant trees, and that is a reason the desert is getting bigger. So, many countries which are near the desert have started to plant trees. In “Korea to Plant Trees in Mongolian Deserts” the author writes that “The greenbelt plantation project aims to plant trees in 3,000 hectares of land in Mongolia for 10 years until 2016 at a cost of $ 9.5 million, or 9.5 billion won” (2007, para. 1). It seems not easy, but when we make on effort to plant trees, a new forest will be formed. Therefore, we should keep trying to make new forest and Chinese government should press the people who cut trees and make new law.

Third, every person who faces the yellow dust should prepare to confront with it because it causes severe air pollution which can damage aviation and precision machinery. This problem is one kind of air pollution. On the day in which yellow dust is severe, pilots may be obstructed by dust, so this situation could be dangerous to fly. Hence, pilots have to be more careful than on usual days. Furthermore, to the companies that produce minute machines such as semiconductors, yellow dust could be fatal. For example, because of small particles, machines might malfunction, so this kind of company workers should make on effort to block yellow dust from coming inside. In short, everyone should try to defend from yellow dust.

In conclusion, confronting yellow dust and seeing the damage of yellow dust, the important thing that we should learn is that nature gives back to us as well as we treat nature. When we cut trees and get fibers, we can earn money, but nature retaliates on mankind with desertification, and yellow dust. So we should restore nature before it is too late; also we should not blame China and Mongo because of only one reason that there are deserts. Now, the yellow dust problem is getting bigger, and it is also a universal problem. Therefore, many other countries should concern about these problems, and individuals also should make efforts to protect from yellow dust.

Reference

Bang, A. (2007, April 2). Year’s worst yellow dust blankets Korea. The Korea Herald. Retrieved June 10, 2007 from LexisNexis.

Korea to Plant Trees in Mongolian Deserts. (2007, June 5). The Korea Herald. Retrieved June 10, 2007 from LexisNexis.

The Public Enemy “Pollution”

2007-06-06T13:50:00.001-07:00

In Davidson’s article entitled “The Pacific; Pollution Tied to Big Rainstorms” he points out that Asian air pollution causes strong Pacific storms, and this problem is very serious. First of all, he shows statistics about the number of Pacific storms, and it mentions that the number of Pacific storms has increased compared to about 10 years ago. Next, the author introduces a prominent scientist, Zhang, who mentions the reason Pacific storms are stronger and occur frequently. He says that is because recently many Asian countries have grown their industry. It means that while they are industrializing, they make many pollutants such as dust and sulfur. Finally, he describes the process of how to rain is created from droplets and also uses Zhang’s study which shows how pollutants are related to the process of making strong Pacific storms. He says that the pollutants make the point of droplets’ condensation higher, so that storm is going to be stronger.

It is obvious that in Asian countries, making many pollutants is a serious problem. It’s not just limited to Asian countries, but also influences the United States, because the pollutants go anywhere by strong Pacific storm. So, author’s insistence should be supported, and this environment problem should be considered seriously because this problem, Asia pollution, causes environmental disruption such as the spread of air pollution, and the making of super-strong storm, and global warming.

First of all, there is an opportunity to spread the sooty smoke from the process of industrialization in Asia country to Western countries. In “Asian Pollution Affects Pacific storms” the author writes that “Changes in the North Pacific storm track could have an impact on weather across the Northern Hemisphere”(2007, para. 1). Although Western countries do not make bad smoke, the people who live in Western countries confront dirty air, and that is unavoidable. It means there is a likelihood that Asian infectious disease could be infectious to Western countries. Therefore, solutions are necessary to solve this problem. If this phenomenon continues without being fixing, the people who live in Western countries damage continually. Therefore, Western countries give pressure to the centuries which cause pollution. For example, Western countries demand damage amount.

Secondly, Asian air pollution also causes super-strong storms in the Pacific ocean. As already mentioned in this article, dirty vapor requires higher altitude to make big vapor that is big enough to be rain. As a result, the amount of water could be large, so it makes big storms. Every year, the areas near the Pacific are damaged by strong storms. For instance, In Korea, there are many strong storms annually, so many people died from flood, and a lot of houses also collapse. There are many reasons that the strong storms occur. This is one reason that dirty air conditioners should be cleaned. If we leave this problem, we may meet strong storm such as Katrina five times annually.

Moreover, air pollution promotes global warming, especially when people burn coal. The reasons global warming come out is that solar variability has some effect, but a stronger reason is human-generated carbon dioxide. This carbon dioxide is even called greenhouse gas. Nowadays, in Asian countries, there are many the thermal power plant stations and factories, so it makes greenhouse gas. Made greenhouse gas goes to the sky and it prevents the hot air from escaping the earth’s atmosphere, so the weather is getter warmer. This global warming makes super-strong Pacific storm in the world, and it also promotes desertification. Therefore, the factories which make carbon dioxide should be managed by law. The contents of this law could be that “The factory or company which make mush amount of carbon dioxide must pay expensive bill.”

Now, it is clear that Asian air pollution problem is an international problem. Dirty air made in Asia could go to America, and people who live in another place may be damaged by the strong storms. It seems indispensable for less developed countries to industrialize with many factories which are able to make many pollutants, but if less developed country have many factories, it damages other country. It is ironic, and It appears to be very difficult question to solve. Now is the time to try to solve this problem and maybe we should borrow the power of science inevitably.

Reference
Davidson, K. (2007, March 6). The Pacific; Pollution Tied to Big Rainstorms. The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 3, 2007, from LexisNexis.

Schmid, R. (2007, March 6). Asian Pollution Affects Pacific Storms. Press Online. Retrieved June 4, 2007, from LexisNexis

Problem of Global Warming

2007-05-31T12:20:00.001-07:00

Nowadays, global warming has become an issue. The temperature of coasts is getting higher and also glaciers are melting quickly. So the fish which live on the Pacific Coast are dying and many dead birds are found on the beaches, because each creature needs a certain temperature. Besides, many people who live in the world are damaged by earth shock. These situations are definitely a problem, and should be solved at the earliest possible opportunity. Global warming causes the rise of sea level, variation of the ecosystem, and fishkill.

Firstly, global warming causes the rise of sea level. This situation occurs for two reasons. In the earth, when water temperature is 4°C, the volume of water is the smallest, and when temperature of water goes up, the volume of water is bigger. Another reason occurs when glaciers melt. These are the basic concepts of sea level rise. The reason that sea level rise is a dangerous phenomenon is that some islands such as Japan will be sunken. Actually, every year, the sea level is increasing in Japan, so some scientists predict that Japan will start to be sunken after several thousand years. Furthermore, warmed water has more opportunity to make a strong hurricane, such as Katrina because hurricane’s source of supply is hot water. If global warming is not stopped, it will not be easy for mankind to escape from natural disasters.

Secondly, global warming raises variation in the ecosystem. In the ocean, there are many species of fishes, and they have proper temperature to live well. However, when global warming is getting strong, the flow of seawater can be changed. For example, the fishes which live in cold water in the northern hemisphere cannot live the same place they used to live, so they should move in a northerly to find cold water. This would not seem so bad, but there are some problems. For instance, fishermen who want to catch fish which live in cold water cannot catch them in the same ocean which they used to catch them in. If they want to catch that fish, they should go to the north. It might influence the fish market badly. In short, global warming causes variation of ecosystem, and that situation damages mankind.

Third, the rise of seawater temperature raises fishkill. For fish, plankton is indispensable to survival. The amount of plankton is proportionate with proper seawater temperature. So, if the seawater temperature goes up, a lot of plankton in the ocean might die, and then dissolved oxygen is reduced because a large amount of oxygen is from plankton. If that happens, the fish which live on plankton are confronted with fishkill. In this way, global warming destroys the environment

Some opponents insist that as scientific technique is developing now, global warming will be solved. However, their insistence is wrong. Even now, many creatures are being exterminated. For example, Polar bear falls into crisis to exterminate because the temperature of North Pole is getting warmer now. If global warming will stay continually, we might not have chance to see some types of animals that we used to see before. It means we don’t have time to wait until scientific techniques are developed. Therefore, we should find a solution as soon as possible.

Now it is clear that global warming damages mankind in ways such as rise of sea level, variation of ecosystem, and fishkill. Moreover, the global warming problem is not limited only to the ocean, but also connected with desertification, and the creation of super-strong hurricanes. So now is the time to address and try to block global warming. Of course, solving this problem will require much effort and trial and error. If the involved countries cooperate with each other and try to solve this problem, someday it will be solved, and we will have a better life.

The best place in Carbondale

2007-05-24T12:50:00.000-07:00

Carbondale is a small city that has about 20,000 population, and there are just a few rest places. In Carbondale, the best place is the Rec Center, for some reasons. In human life, enjoying life is necessary because people usually get stress in their work. So people need to get rid of stress by engaging in sport. Especially, in Carbondale, the Rec center is as nice as other famous gymnasium in the USA. Furthermore, in the Rec center, we can swim, and play basketball, and play any kind of exercise, and it is not expensive to use it. Besides, its appearance is also wonderful. It looks like it has been made by modern architectural technology. These reasons are good enough to say the Rec center is the best place in Carbondale.

Is Money The Most Important Thing?

2007-05-07T16:14:00.000-07:00

Is Money The Most Important Thing?

These days if you ask to someone the reason to study or to do his best, he might say to earn money. In fact, in modern society, money is a medium to do business person to person, and usually people say the people who have much money live very well, and the people who don’t have much money they don’t live well. Money becomes a standard. Without money, you cannot live in modern life. However, can you indeed buy happiness with just money? The answer is “no”. People who get a lot of money sometimes disturb because of their educational, psychological, and physical problem.

First, having a lot of money causes educational problems. The people who study enthusiastically have some reasons they study. For instance, they have a motive to be rich or get good spouse, and they have desire that they will be much better than the life their parent got. However, it is easy for rich people to lose their motive because they think they already got money for their life as inheritance. If they have a delusion like this continually, their scores are to become worse little by little. Another problem is that kids whose parents have a lot of money don’t learn the way to manage the money. Managing ability is developed by experience which they have. Kids usually learn how to manage the money when they receive a little pocket money from their parent. Yet, Son and daughter of the rich get too much money although they are young, they spend their money uselessly. If they do this again and again, they could have bad habit. Habits and personality which are gotten when people are young is influence to their all life. So, spoiled rich kids’ character could be problems.

Second, there is a common characteristic which the rich people have. That is psychological problem. They misunderstand money is the most important thing and they think they can buy everything even happiness. Actually, having a lot of money can help make good situation such as beautiful car and good cars. However, it is not everything. For example, in the movie Titanic, there is one noble man. He is also rich and has authority, but at the last part of movie, his girlfriend is taken away from a poor guy because he doesn’t have an earnest which he loved. It is fiction, but it makes sense. Occasionally, love is more important than money, and sometimes stable life is more important than money. Famous pop star Britney Jean Spears is envied by a lot of people in the world. She appears to be happy and not to have insufficiency, but a few months ago, she tried to suicide and became addicted to narcotics. If happiness can be bought by money, why did happen?

Health is one more reason money is not the most important thing. Health problem is a different matter from money. This is related with physical problem. Some people might think because they have much money, their sickness can be cured. However, there is a possibility that disease can’t be cured with modern medical science. Suppose there is one rich guy has cancer. He will be dead soon but, there is no way to live although he has money. The people who die can’t use the money. It is useless and invaluable. It means healthful health precedes money.
Some people argue money is directly related to friendship and they add each follows its own kind as if birds of a feather flock together. It means the rich meet the rich and the poor meet the poor. However, it is not always true. Even though you are poor, you can make good friend with rich people. Some people also insist that the people who have a lot of money get many friends, but it is not true friends. For example, you can see some rich people with many friends in the bar or good restaurant. It looks they have a good friends. However, the friend may not be truth friends who just related to business or something special. For instance, friends for purpose pretend to be kind because to have good relationship with their coworker or trader. Money is just one of medium help making friend such as good personality and good appearance.

It becomes clear that happiness cannot be bought by money. Having a lot of money disturbs people in their work with educational, psychological and physical problem. This situation is very common in the world and it is used to be issue in the mass media, and there is a point of sameness. That is the rich depend on money too much. If you have a content mind and try to think that you are happy, you will be happy more than rich people who don’t think like this. Happiness is decided by mind people have.

Wrong Interest Rate of Loan Company

2007-05-07T16:12:00.000-07:00

Wrong Interest Rate of Loan Company

In Peter Hull’s article entitled “Bill Would Limit Payday Lending; Measure Aims to Cap Fees, Restrict Number of Loans Borrower Can Carry” he writes that between lawyer Alan D. Clemmons and loan company director Jamie Fulmer there is a disagreement. First of all, the author writes about Clemmons’ insistence. Clemmons says some people who already borrow a lot of money borrow second loan to pay back the first before they sense the fact that they had to defray much interest. Moreover, he also adds interest rate is too high. In the end, he insists that 36 percent interest per 1 year is suitable price. Subsequently Hull writes about Fulmer’s opinion. Fulmer insists that the company’ service is valuable and useful, and its interest rate is cheaper than bank. Finally, he throws a momentous message that the customers would use another company if they can find better substitution.

In the world, loan companies exist and they are indispensable to life in the modern times. It is used to run business and to buy something before they get this amount of money that they borrow. However, the purpose of loan companies is changing. Some directors of cash advance companies have a personal ambition to earn money by this company. In “Working on Your Behalf” the author says “Title loan companies lend money based on the value of your vehicle. You keep the car, but the lender keeps the title to it and, sometimes, a set of keys. After you pay the loan, the title and keys are returned to you. If you do not pay, the car can be repossessed and sold by the lender”(2001 para 2). The author of this article mentions company employers works for their own profit. Cash advance companies’ object should be for public. In other words, to borrow money from loan company is too dangerous because when you don’t pay back, you lose bigger thing you paid. They might have a big problem if they repay back the money early. There are more reasons. I would like to provide the reason interest rate should be lowed.

First of all, cash advance companies should be available for everyone. With high interest, many people abstain to borrow, and instead of borrow money they find another thing such as begging to their friend although it ruins relationship. This situation is pessimistic for both company and customer. When supply and demand are on the match, deal is in balance. There is only one stupid way to stay price in high interest and wait for the people use loan company. If the loan price goes down, many people try to use that company. After that, the cash advance companies invite many customers, and naturally customer can use this with low price.

Second, it is also bad for economy. When new company comes out, and that company makes some job, it can solve unemployment problem. However, if the interest of loan is high, it is hard to start new business. For example think about the person who wants to run new own business. He needs money to start business, so he may try to find the company to borrow. Suppose he inevitably borrows from loan company, and also he loses his money. His liability will be increased continually. It is too dangerous to borrow some money with high interest. Hence, making interest of loan cheap is good for economy.

Finally, the situation which people dislike to borrow money from loan company causes for people to use illegal loan such as individual loan. It is not only easy for people to get deceived from individual loan but we also have threats of violence. In “Loan Shark” the author claims, “A loan shark a person or body that offers illegal unsecured loans at high interest rates to individuals, often backed by blackmail or threats of violence” (2007, April 9, para.1) It is so hazardous. To reduce illegal loan diminution of loan interest is indispensable.

In conclusion, the interest of loan should be lowed because high interest causes some problem such as economy problem and illegal loan problem. Furthermore, if the interest is lower, more people can use that. However, to reduce the interest has a bad influence to loan company. There is one solution. If the interest is lower and government supports that company, they will maintain good relationship among companies, government, and customers.

References

Madrid, P. (2001). Working on your behalf. Retrieved April 15, 2007 http://www.ago.state.nm.us/pio/onyourbehalf/
High%20Interest%20Rate%20Loans-Payday%20Loans.htm

Loan shark (2007, April 9). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia RetrievedApril 15, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loan_shark

Vanish! Monopoly

2007-05-07T15:59:00.000-07:00

Vanish! Monopoly

Everyone who played board games at the past might knows the game Monopoly. This game’s purpose is that buy land to earn money as players own their land. This game is related with to real situation. In the world, we are in the free competition society. While there is some competition among companies, goods’ quality can be cheaper and service quality also can be better. In “The Real Enemy” the author writes that “in a framework of free competition, it is consumers who end up deciding if a product or service is sufficiently innovative by choosing whether or not to buy it”(2007, para 4). For example, there are many car companies in America such as company from Japan, and Korea, and any other European countries. Each company tries to make cars better and cheaper to win at the competition of price and quality. However, if a company monopolizes some products or services, big problems come out. From this example we can know monopoly should be made to vanish because monopoly has many problems.

Monopoly is defined as “A situation in which a single company owns all or nearly all of the market for a given type of product or service” (Investorword.com, 2007). As single company possesses all products, it damages consumers. In “The Problem of Monopoly” the author writes “The classic problem of monopoly is that it sets a higher price than marginal cost, which distorts the trade-offs in the economy and moves it away from Pareto efficiency”(para 1) It means consumers may buy some stuff more expensive than in free competition. There are two kinds of monopolies. One is natural monopoly. It is when the company secures the command of natural resources, a natural monopoly occurs. For example, supply of natural gas and coal belong to natural monopoly. Another thing is economical monopoly. It is the situation where new company tries to challenge some businesses, it cannot succeed even amount of profit is large. This is because there is already huge company, and to challenge that company huge capital is necessary. In fact, in the past, monopoly was numerous than these days because at that time, there were not many companies than today. However, until today, monopolies still maintain such as Microsoft Corporation, so some people insist monopoly is necessary because it has advantage to compete with multinational company. Nevertheless, in modern competition society, damage of monopoly is conspicuous, and Monopoly is the thing to be made to vanish.

The first reason that monopoly should be made to vanish is that monopoly causes loss of consumer’s sovereignty. Every consumer has a right to choose goods and services, and if the goods and services are not good, they also have a right to reject them. In “Energy Inefficiency” the author states that consumers thought that monopoly helped their choice as “deregulated electricity market” which means consumers don’t have to compare among goods because there is arranged goods from one company, but “Choice is almost non-existent.”(2006, para 3) It means that exclusive company blocks this right that consumer have to be able to choose goods. We can see this situation easily in America. For example, In Carbondale, IL, there is only one media company, Media Com, so no matter how its quality is good or not, consumer should choose this service to watch TV. Therefore, at least more than two companies are necessary to satisfy consumer’s sovereignty to choose things which they like.

The second, what monopoly also causes is that company become huge without technical innovation. It means that when the company which monopolizes some goods or services gets rich, it loses its control of managing profit because the reason this company earns much money is due to monopoly not because this company has good quality goods. For example, Ford, car company belongs to this situation. It was the best car company, it had a good quality car, and also Ford made a lot of money. However, they were negligent in precaution of another car company’s appearance. As a result, its sales volume went down, so Ford had to reconstruction. In “Freeing Up Loan Market Key to Improving Pawn Industry “the author mentions that “Apart from the potential for stifling commerce, monopolies can create an arrogant and often idle management structure, smug in the knowledge that their indifference to customers will never boomerang”(2007, para 2). It means that monopoly don’t work faithfully because there are no competitior company, and there is no way for consumers to protest against this company. Furthermore, the head of a personnel section of this company may dislike hiring capable new employees because they apprehend new employees can ascend to their position. Thus, there is a possibility of management corruption to keep employ’s present position. To prevent this problem more than two companies are indispensable to make competitive in good faith.

Third, because of monopoly the price of goods or services is going to be higher. In competing society, the price of goods is decided by comparing with other companies. Consequently, decided the price of goods is usually proper price for consumer and producer. However, there is a problem when only one company monopolizes goods. In this situation, the price is decided by the company, so the company can change the price on its own authority. It means there is a possibility the price of goods would be higher. In “Russia Uses Economic Levers to Exert Pressure on Georgia” the author writes “The state-owned gas monopoly has confirmed that it is planning to raise the cost of gas supplies to Georgia from 110 dollars to 230 dollars per 1,000 cu. m. in 2007, a price far in excess of that charged to Georgia's neighbors” (2006, para 1) This situation is good example of price increasing problem. As the price is going to higher, consumers are harmed. Hence, to keep price of goods low activation of free competitive society is necessary.

Finally, the fourth reason monopoly should be made to vanish is that monopoly causes absurdity of profit from exclusive distribution. In the long run, there is no excess profit in the free competing society. In means that as we work, we earn money, but there is not a huge excess profit. However, in monopoly, money is made by exclusive sale not by working. For example, the reason Microsoft still has the best quality is that they buy some technology with money because they can pay a lot of money because they have much company capital from exclusive sale. This kind of monopoly should be intermittent rapidly or be compromised with another company and consumer. Usually, the profit which the company earns is invested to develop another technique. However, it is not necessary for monopoly to develop new technique because that company can buy technology by much money. This situation brings consumers don’t have chance to choose another company’s. As a result, not only consumers are harmed, but also that company employers make a profit illogically.

However, opponents argue that monopoly has advantages. In “The Privatised Telstra is an Artful Corporate without a Heart” the author mentions that “The main advantage of a monopoly is that it prevents wasteful duplication” (2007, para 3). Moreover, he states a example that we need only one margarine factory; one road network; one defence force or one telecommunications network (2007, para 3). His idea entirely conflicts with the idea which monopoly should go into banishment. More than one company is not wasteful. As an example, if the monopoly is perfect like to be honest to prices and quality, it is the ultimate object to make good business society. However, the monopoly without competition would become be sluggish because there is no motivation. Therefore, it is obvious we need more than one company to competition because it makes quality higher and goods cheaper. In addition, some people insist that monopoly is necessary to have international competitiveness. It is true that a huge company which monopolizes goods has more competitiveness because, usually people think brand name is important. Usually before people find to goods’ detail information, they remind brand name. However, that is just small advantage. Always if there is a disadvantage, there also is also an advantage. It is said “Opportunity Cost” It means that “The cost of an alternative that must be forgone in order to pursue a certain action. Put another way, the benefits you could have received by taking an alternative action”(dictionary.com, 2007). As an example, assume we have two choice between X and Y, and we cannot choose both. So probably, we are going to choose better choice after comparing two things. This situation is applicable to monopoly. Although, monopoly company has a small advantage such as international competitiveness, is should disappear because it has more disadvantage than advantage.

In conclusion, it is clear that in the modern society, monopoly damages to consumer. Monopoly snatches consumer’s the right to decide about goods and the right to compare among goods for price. Besides, It makes a company to lose its control because Monopoly raises a company become huge without technical innovation, and also causes absurdity of profit from exclusive distribution. For this reason, United States government prescribes that monopoly is illegal, so the company which monopolizes some goods are reduced. Yet it still exist with using unjust way to run company. This kind of monopoly should be intermittent rapidly or be compromised with another company and consumer. To sum up, it could be stated that monopoly is a target that should be made to vanish, or at least it should be regulated by strict limit.

References:

Monopoly (2007) investorword.com Retrieved April 22, 2007, from http://www.investorwords.com/3112/monopoly.html

The problem of monopoly. (n.d.). Retrieved April 22, 2007, from http://arnoldkling.com/econ/markets/monopoly.html

The real enemy. (2007, April 11). National Post. Retrieved April 25, 2007 from LexisNexis database.

Energy inefficiency. (2006, November 26). Late Edition. Retrieved April 26, 2007 from LexisNexis database.

Freeing Up Loan Market Key to Improving Pawn Industry (2006, February 5). Global News Wire. Retrieved April 27, 2007 from LexisNexis database.

Russia Uses Economic Levers to Exert Pressure on Georgia (2006, November 6) ICIS Chemical Business. Retrieved April 27, 2007 from LexisNexis database.

The Privatised Telstra is an Artful Corporate without a Heart (2007, February 3) Global News Wire. Retrieved April 27, 2007 from LexisNexis database.

Opportunity Cost (2007) Dictionary.com Retrieved April 27, 2007 from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/opportunity%20cost

#5 core homework

2006-12-07T19:35:00.000-08:00

In the website, Internet addiction test, we can know if I have a internet addiction or not. There are 20 questions and it has 6 answer each other. Number 1 is Rarely, and number 2 is Occasionally, number 3 is Frequently, number 4 is Often, number 5 is Always, and number 6 is Does Not Apply. The way to research is that you should check one number if it is appropriate to you. And then add the number you checked. If you get the 20-49 point you are an average in on-line user and if you get the 50-79 point you are experiencing occasional or frequent problems because of the Internet. Finally If you get the 80-100 point Your Internet usage is causing significant problems in your life.

I got the 32 point. They say that 32 point is average level. However, I think I use internet much. I suspect whether it is rational or not. It is sometimes true, but sometimes it is not true. For example some people have to use the computer and check the email because he works in company which is related to using computer. In conclusion I don’t care about this survey.

http://www.netaddiction.com/resources/internet_addiction_test.htm

Richard and paparazzi

2006-12-07T18:06:00.000-08:00

In the article,"Actress Richards in paparazzi row" by BBC NEWS, they said that Hollywood actress Denise Richards threw a laptop computer. The computer was paparazzi's. However,she didn't have any punishment. Richards' film's producer Dean Bornstein stared that while she was talking with paparazzi, she had a altercation, so she threw a laptop computer to the lobby to protest her safety. Police came there soon, but she didn't pay a penalty. Forthemore, Richards' publicist Nicole perez, in Los Angeles, said that paparazzi were lucky because their laptops were the only things that were thrown

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6135098.stm

Media problem in china

2006-12-07T17:33:00.000-08:00

Media problem in china

In the article, “Media explosion tests China’s control” by BBC News, the author debates the problem of media in China. Zhao Wei, the paper’s home new editor said that because every editor gets a good discipline, they already know where they stop their print. However, Li Datong has another idea. He said they don’t edit, they’re censors and they should attend at least one meeting a week at the central propaganda department. One day he was fired because he challenged the government’s propaganda department. Besides he has been followed and the government bugs his phone. And then they threaten him. If he doesn’t say a fact to them, he will lose his job. That’s how they control the editorial content. Author states that government always censors your reports. So it reminds us we are under censorship that makes us really upset. Furthermore Because of crackdowns, people don’t even write their instruction down. Author said that nobody know how long this censorship would last.

I think we nearly don’t need internet censorship. First of all, if government always checks our article or essay, we can’t write our thinking ourselves. For example, suppose that a reporter knows a wrong fact done by government. If he writes that fact, government may give to him or her a penalty. So every report has to consider their censorship.

Another problem is that violent censorship influences the country’s development. Government and media should cooperate with each other. For instance, when government commits a fault, the media indicates that thing. If they do in this way, it’s good for the nation. However, serious censorship makes it go the opposite way.

However, sometimes censorship needs to us. You occasionally can see the disapprove article. It makes people confused. Sometimes, it may destroy a country. Actually, in Malaysia the whole city plunged in confusion in 1998 because of the wrong media.

In conclusion, we need proper censorship. Too much censorship brings a counter result and having too little censorship also is a bad situation. If the media and government have a good relation, the situation will be batter.

Reference

Sommerville, Q (2006, oct. 25), Media explosion

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6066568.stm

#4 core homework

2006-11-29T17:48:00.000-08:00

I saw a ebay. It was used for people who want to buy something. Ebay has almost all things;however,it is second-hand thing. So it is very cheap. If you want buy a car, you can buy a car cheaper. It also has events. For example, on hoilday you can buy something cheaper.

I think this site is useful because a stuff which isn't needed by a man could useful for another man. however, someone can deceive. for example, a fake jeans can change to real jeans. If you careful about this, ebay will may be good for your shopping.

http://ebay.com

mess media affect to us

2006-11-29T17:31:00.000-08:00

AE2
14,nov,2006
Sung-Hun

Mass media affect to us

Actually mass media affects us very much. It affects our action, thinking, understanding, and culture as well as our lifestyle. For example, we speak words which come from drama and frequently we use TV problems’ topic when we talk to our friends of anyone. You also know if you see the situation in which broadcasted foods are sold very well as if it has a wing. According to our text, “the media has an important role in shaping our beliefs and sometimes information contained in the media is deliberately presented in such a way that it encourages us to believe certain things or to form certain opinions.” From now on, let’s recognize how mass media can affect our opinion about UFO

First, mass media makes us believe about UFOs. We may have watched the movie E.T, made by Steven Spielberg in 1982. That movie makes us imagine an alien. As a result we come to have an illusion. According to a survey, 43 percent of American adults believe that UFOs may be space vehicles from another planet, and most Americans think that alien visitors would be like E.T from the movie. Not only movies, but also books make us believe. The books include some pictures imprinted with UFOs. It is expressed very well. So very few people can distinguish between truth and untruth.

Second, mass media makes us debate about UFO. If a problem about UFOs is on television, audiences debate with each other. One viewer may say that UFO was made by Germany in World War Ⅱ, but another viewer will say that UFOs don’t exist. While we are talking and watching about UFOs, we are brainwashed by media. In this way media affects our life.

Third, mass media about UFO sometimes is used for business. People make UFO characters pretty. Then sometimes these characters become a company’s logo. Furthermore, toys which are UFO characters can be best seller. In this case, also media affect to us. When we watch UFO many times, we may become believe UFOs. At least we become like UFOs more than before.

In conclusion, mass media which is related to UFOs affect our life and media is a part of our life. In the future, media will be more important than now because the media is developing very quickly.

2006-11-06T20:01:00.000-08:00