Euthanasia is defined by Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary as “the act
or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured
individuals (as persons or injured animals) in a relatively painless way for
reasons of mercy.” This is different in the way that a physician administers
lethal drugs, where in physician assisted suicide (or physician assisted death),
the drugs are prescribed and taken by the patient. In the 17th
century common law in the American colonies prohibited the act of suicide and
assisted suicide. During the renaissance and reformation, in the late 17th
century and towards the beginning of the 18th century, many modern
writers began to challenge the authority of the church concerning ethical
matters. Through the rest of the 18th century there was not a lot of
interest in opposing the enacted laws of suicide and assisted suicide, although
many other church systems began voicing their beliefs that concluded the
preceding laws. In 1828, the first U.S. statute to explicitly outlaw assisted
suicide was passed in New York. This statute also included the provision of any
drug or weapon with the knowledge that someone intends to use it to take his or
her own life. In 1870, Samuel Williams, a commentator and non-physician,
proposed to the Birmingham Speculative Club that euthanasia be implemented to
bring about a painless death for those suffering from hopeless and painful
illnesses. In response to Samuel Williams’ proposal, the Journal of the
American Medical Association attacked his statement claiming the proposal was “an attempt to make the physician don the robes of an executioner.” In 1915, Dr. Harry Haiselden
unknowingly made the idea of euthanasia very public and helped to gain traction
for the idea itself. Dr. Haiselden did this by simply making the call to not
give surgery. The doctor made this call on a recently born baby boy,
who was
born blue and badly deformed who would most likely suffer with his physical
deformities all his life even if surgery was given. By making the decision,
after the okay from the parents, to neglect the surgery, the young boy died
about 5 days later. In the 1930s there was a huge increase of support for
euthanasia due to the great depression. In 1935 the Voluntary Euthanasia
Legislation Society was founded. In 1937 the first voluntary euthanasia act was
introduced to the U.S. senate. The very next year, the National Society for the
Legalization of Euthanasia was founded. The British and North American
Euthanasia Societies collectively decided to petition the United Nations to
amend the declaration of human rights to include euthanasia in 1952. In 1990,
Dr. Jack Kevorkian assisted in his first publicized assisted suicide. Dr.
Kevorkian was charged with murder after this although the charges were dropped
on December 13, 1990 since there were not any laws regarding assisted suicide in
Michigan at the time. However, the next year, the state of Michigan revoked his
medical license. In November of 1994, Oregon passed the Death with Dignity act,
becoming the first law in U.S. history to permit physician assisted suicide. On
June 16, 1997 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that there is no constitutional
right to die. In
November of 1998, jack Kevorkian appeared on 60 minutes where
he showed a video clip of himself administering a lethal injection to a man
suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease, Thomas Youk. In 1999 Jack Kevorkian was
convicted of the murder of Thomas Youk and sentenced to 10-25 years, eight of
which he served. The Netherlands officially legalized euthanasia in 2001. In
2008 Luxembourg, and Washington state legalize physician assisted suicide,
making Washington the second U.S. state to pass the Death with Dignity act. In
2008, Montana ruled that Montana residents have the legal right to physician
assisted suicide with court ruling. Lastly, on May 20, 2013 Governor Peter
Shumlin of Vermont signed the “End of Life Choices” bill into law. Many
arguments against physician assisted suicide are based in religious and ethical
concerns. However, some people have a fear that by condoning euthanasia it
would mean rejecting the value and importance of a human life. My personal
opinion is that if someone is suffering from an illness with very little to no
chance of recovery, they should have the right to choose what to do with their
life. If those people decide that they would rather not suffer the pain of
their illness or disease and they would like to die in a painless and
respectable manner, they should have the option. Considering the opposition’s
arguments against it, I would say that a reasonable precaution to take would be
to make a living will. A living will is a document stating a person’s desires
regarding their medical treatment in circumstances where they are not able to
express informed consent. The issuing of a living will allows individuals to
decide what happens with their medical treatment in case they are no longer
able to give informed consent regarding how they would like to be treated.
This statute also included the provision of any drug or
weapon with the knowledge that someone intends to use it to take his or her own
life. In 1870, Samuel Williams, a commentator and non-physician, proposed to
the Birmingham Speculative Club that euthanasia be implemented to bring about a
painless death for those suffering from hopeless and painful illnesses. In
response to Samuel Williams’ proposal, the Journal of the American Medical
Association attacked his statement claiming the proposal was “
Sources:
Emanuel, Ezekiel, and Steven
Joffe. Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia. U.S. National Library of
Medicine, 18 Mar. 2003. Web. 20 Nov. 2014. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books /NBK13381>.
For
over 2000 years humans have been using wind-powered machines. In 1887 the first
windmill used to generate electricity was built in Scotland by a professor at
Anderson’s College. Since then, wind technology has come a long way. In modern
times you can see wind turbines that sit at a height of about 328 feet tall in
wind farms consisting of anywhere from 20 to 100 wind turbines. Of course with
the sheer number of wind turbines in each wind farm, there is going to be
concerns on the impact that they make. One concern lies with the production of
the wind turbines themselves. Although the production uses electricity that is
backed by coal and oil based electricity, once enough wind mills are produced,
they will be able to sustain enough energy to provide electricity for their own
manufacturing and maintenance. Another concern is the most obvious one,
funding. A majority of the funding for wind-based technology comes from
investors and energy companies. Investors usually become interested in funding
these types of projects on their own volition but some begin investing because
of tax incentives and tax rebate programs in
place for the investors, which can
encourage investors to continue their investments. Some other concerns are with
the impact on bird and bat populations, visual obstruction, noise, and the
small amount of oils and fluids used to maintain and keep the turbines working
effectively. The issue with birds and bats colliding with the turbines has been
a problem in recent years and the wind industry has responded by putting a lot
of research into the habits and behavior of the animals to try and minimize any
mass casualties. Both the noise and the visual obstruction issues have been
addressed by instituting better insulation measures to reduce noise as well as
having fewer, more efficient
models in circulation then previous models. To
operate to the turbine’s fullest power, ideal conditions where wind turbines
should be placed is somewhere with open space and little to no obstructions, so
wind farms in the dessert or on grassy plains are common, and somewhere with a better chance of windy conditions.
Three blades, each about 116 feet tall each,
are turned by the wind. The blades turn a shaft inside which is connected to a
series of gears, which generates more revolutions per minute, these gears spin
a generator to create electricity. The energy generated by wind turbines is
moved and stored like other current forms of energy. The electricity is sent
from the point of origin, an industrial-scale wind farm, small wind farm, or
any individual wind turbine, to a transmission grid and then to a substation
near a populated area. One of the only issues with the transmission of energy
produced by wind turbines is the lack of transmission facilities in areas where
wind farms would be most beneficial. In the western Great Plains a requirement
for transmission facilities to
connect wind facilities to the existing
electrical system is needed. This could also require upgrading some existing
electrical transmission facilities to allow for the connection that is
required. There
could also be a need for the construction of roads for
maintenance purposes and electric transmission facility operation and
construction. Even
though there is still a long way to go for wind energy, no one can deny the
potential for this alternative resource. The global total for installed wind
capacity was measured at more than 318,000 megawatts. Last year 25% of Iowa and
South Dakota's energy was produced by wind energy. The national average is
around 4% even though the U.S. Department of Energy estimated that 20% of the
United States electrical needs could be provided for by the wind industry.
On
Friday March 11, 2011 an earthquake hit just off the coast of Japan. The
earthquake had a magnitude of 9.0 and was categorized as an undersea megathrust
earthquake. The earthquake occurred at an underwater depth of about 19 miles
below the surface. The earthquake also caused a tsunami that effected most of coastal Japan. The
tsunami had an upthrust of 19-26 feet along a wide seabed that was 37 miles off
the coast of Tohoku. An estimated wave height of 128ft hit the Omoe peninsula. The
tsunami was tall enough to break over the 18 foot sea wall that used to be
the largest precautionary sea wall in the world. The earthquake and tsunami combination amounted to 15,889 deaths, 6,152 injured persons, and 2,601 people were reported missing. The estimated cost of the earthquake and tsunami is around 250-500
billion U.S. dollars. The events in Tohoku left about 25 million tons of debris in Japan’s coastal cities and towns. The tsunami alone displaced 340,000 people from the Tohoku region. Shortages of food, fuel, water, shelter, and medicine were abundant despite the mobilization of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces. The Japanese Red Cross reported 1 billion dollars in donations and Japan’s foreign ministry accounted for 116 countries and 28 international organizations that offered help. After this double disaster Japan has made sure to list and keep up with all possible relief charities and countries who assisted in the past.
Fukushima-Daiichi today
Fukushima-Daiichi before (left) and during (right)
Because of Japan’s coastal
location and seismic activity, the entire island itself is incredibly
susceptible to almost any sort of natural disaster (volcanic eruptions,
earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, etc.) And because of how narrow the
island is, any natural disaster that hits Japan is more likely to cause
more widespread damage. Since Japan is known for its large power in Nuclear energy, natural disasters became more of an issue in case of power outages and subsequent radiation leaks. Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is a large plant on the eastern coast of Japan. Fukushima had precautions in place in
case of a power outage. Operating units
were designed to automatically shut down and backup diesel generators in
the basement of the turbine buildings were to be used for the cooling towers' fuel. In response to the earthquake,
media outlets knew to immediately put out tsunami warnings and alert the
citizens in coastal cities to flee to higher ground. When the earthquake occurred the 4th, 5th,
and 6th reactors in the plant had been previously shut down for
scheduled maintenance. Reactors 1, 2, and 3 were automatically shut down by an automated system after the earthquake and remaining decay heat was
being cooled
by the backup diesel generators. The tsunami that followed with as high as 46
feet waves disabled the generators that were cooling the reactors since the
reactors were only designed to handle up to 19 foot waves. In the following
three weeks there was evidence of partial nuclear meltdowns in the three
unprotected units, which were supposedly caused by hydrogen gas in reactors 3
and 1 and a suspected explosion in unit 2, which could have damaged the primary
containment vessel. In the case of Fukushima, damages were minimal in the case of human casualties with only 37 workers had physical injuries, 2 had radiation buns, and no deaths. The estimated cost of Fukushima's disaster is around 74 billion U.S. dollars. Also, because of the nuclear radiation leak and subsequent evacuation of a 12 mile radius caused 159,128 people to be evicted and displaced from their homes with little to no compensation. On August 1, 2013, Japanese Industry Minister Toshimitsu Motegiapproved creating a structure to develop the technologies and processes required to dismantle the four reactors involved in the Fukushima accident. The entire process will take about 40 years to complete because of the danger involved with the radiation from the remaining cesium rod melt.
From Coca-Cola's start in 1886 to now,
the brand is now selling in over 200 countries worldwide. Based on the best
global brand study done in 2011 by Interbrand,
Coca-Cola was placed at number one as the world’s most valuable brand. Last
year alone Coca-Cola reported around 1.8 billion drinks sold. In the 1900s a
demand for the global availability arose when U.S. military began occupying
Cuba and Panama. To meet the demand, bottling plants were placed in these
countries. Once the benefits of cost was recognized, other plants were
established in Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Hawaii. It was publicly
introduced to the global market when it became the first commercial sponsor in
the 1928 Olympic games. In the 1960s the company decided to expand into other
sodas and flavors with the introduction of Fanta, Sprite, and Fresca. This
expansion also came with the purchase of the Minute Maid company which
introduced an entire line of juices and uncarbonated drinks. One of the biggest
expansion came in 1982 when Coca-Cola introduced Diet Coke which quickly became
the largest selling low calorie soft drink in America. Another huge part of the
globalization of Coca-Cola is the way it has been marketed. Coca-Cola's marketing
has become popular through the use of jingles, eye-catching commercials, and
catchy slogans. Coca-Cola has also been able to evolve to the different tastes
across all ages, continents, and taste pallets. For example, in Japan they have
a green tea flavored Coca-Cola drink. Many of the changes in society associated
with the Coca-Cola company are health related. A lot of parents began to be
concerned with the amounts of sugar and caffeine in the drinks. Because of
these concerns, many schools have made restrictions, or even banned to
encourage children and teens to choose healthier alternatives.
"Coca-Cola encapsulates what
happened in the 20th century: the rise of consumer capitalism and the emergence
of America as a superpower," Tom Standage said. "It's globalization
in a bottle."
Coca-Cola has become a symbol of
America, and because of this many countries have either embraced or rejected
the entire brand. In 1949 Coca-Cola wanted to open a plant in Israel but was
denied a building permit. In response to several claims that Coca-Cola was boycotting
Israel to please the much larger Arab market, the Arab League Boycotted the Coca-Cola
company from 1968 to 1991. Other Middle Eastern countries have also boycotted
Coca-Cola, Like Malaysia in 2009 after an Israeli attack in Gaza, which was
also rooted in the fact that Coca-Cola is a big U.S. company. Even just last
year, a pro-Palestinian hacker group targeted Coca-Cola’s website. Coca-Cola
has gained so much global notoriety since its beginnings and continues to grow
with the expansion of products, availability, and publicity.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
In recent years, smoking
in public has been in the news several times. Increases in taxation, bans for
specific public spaces, and even legislation to put more strict rules and
limits on tobacco companies, have all been recent pieces of discussion in the
media within the five or so years. Airports and colleges have recently taken
more steps to providing smoke free, and in some cases tobacco free,
environments for non-smokers. Bars, restaurants, and office buildings were
among the first to ban smoking and those bans are moving further into society
by moving outdoors. Several cities and states have banned smoking in public
spaces like city parks, public beaches, and other outdoor venues.
With the
recent popularity of e-cigarettes also comes new skepticism and proposed
restrictions. Many organizations have shown concern over the increasing
popularity of e-cigarettes, especially among teens and young adults, which
increased the demand for restrictions on the availability and flavors of
e-cigarettes. Since we discussed health stigmas of the 1950s I decided to
research and look at a topic that has been controversial for decades and has
only increased in recent years with the development of more ways to consume and
use tobacco and tobacco products. Although secondhand smoke has been a concern
for a very long time, with the new development of e-cigarettes, many people are
concerned with the risks that are associated with them. Many advocates of
e-cigarettes claim that there is no harmful vapor from the product and that only
harmless water vapor is emitted. As of January 2, 2014, 108 municipalities
recognize e-cigarettes as products that should be prohibited in smoke free
environments. Dr. Stanton Glantz, Director for the Center
for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, recently
said that the emissions from e-cigarettes (Secondhand e-cigarette aerosol) can
contain nicotine, ultrafine particles, and low levels of toxins that are known
to cause cancer.
Governments of all sizes have taken concern for public smoking
and bans. Local governments have taken action to restrict the allowance of
smoking in public places, especially where children and large amounts of people
gather. The national government hasn’t taken many measures to issue a law
banning smoking, although many legislations have been introduced, none have
taken national concern or been made into law. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
has also been able to increase action within the Center for Tobacco Products
concerning the use, advertisement, and distribution to young adults. A national
campaign called The Truth Campaign, which has existed since around 1998, has
taken to new advertisements devoted to portraying photographs of celebrities
smoking as “unpaid tobacco spokespersons”. This bold form of social media
advertisements serve as a way to empower teens to influence their peers not to
smoke, not out of fear or shame, but with facts and education. Even though smoking in teens is at a
historical low, the truth campaign serves to eliminate teen smoking entirely.
The Truth Campaign also aims to expose Big Tobacco’s manipulative ad tactics
and propaganda.There has also been another piece of legislation gaining
national attention to ban the sale of tobacco to anyone born after the year
2000. This ban has passed in several places and is gaining recognition in more
and more places. The British Medical Association has recently voted to pass
this ban everywhere, however unpopular or ineffective in may be in action.
