EAP2 WW Assignment

Hydroelectric Power for Alternative Resource

In “Hydropower and Other Renewables: Best Source of Electricity for Canadians”, federal minister of Natural Resources Gary Lunn is quated as saying, “Using additional hydropower capacity could make a substantial contribution to reducing greenhouse gases and air pollution both in the United States and here at home” (2006, para.5). Today, there is a lot of hydroelectric power in the world. Hydroelectric power is used in many countries as an energy resource, but hydroelectric power actually has been being behind nonrenewable resources lately. However, hydroelectric power should be used as main electricity source because of four reasons: hydroelectric power helps to better the environment; hydroelectric power saves money that certainly charged when nonrenewable resources are imported from other countries, hydroelectric power costs less than the other nonrenewable resources and hydroelectric power prevents natural disasters.

The definition of hydroelectric power is the method of changing the energy from flowing water to electricity by using generator (core system) of the hydroelectric power (Dictionary.com, 2007). Hydroelectric power makes electricity by using large pipe (Penstock) and large generator (hydraulic turbine with blades); water comes into penstock, water flow spins blades of turbine and turbine makes electricity (Dam, 2007). In “Waterpower” the author states, “Modern waterpower owes its development to the British civil engineer John Smeaton, who first build large waterwheels using cast-iron construction” (2007. Para. 2) In addition, in the big dam period, the low cost electricity from hydroelectric power effect on cities and industrial growth (“History of Reclamation Power”, 2006). Therefore, hydroelectric power is great resource.

The first major reason is that hydropower does not damage the environment. Actually, there is an argument that whether hydroelectric power really does not threaten the environment. Some people, who is belong to an oil company or who do assent to use nonrenewable resources, think that hydroelectric power produces significant amounts of CO2 (carbon dioxide) as well as using nonrenewable resources such as fossil fuel. However, it is not true because burning fossil fuel in the electric power plant produces the significantly greater amount of CO2. Hydroelectric power does produce CO2; however, hydroelectric power reduces CO2 (“Hydropower and”, 2006). Therefore, even if hydroelectric power produces CO2, there is still a big difference in how much CO2 is produced between electric power plants and hydroelectric power. Hydroelectric power does really prevent greenhouse gas emissions, which are CO2 and methane (GHG) that mostly come from regular power plants’ exhaust gas. Greenhouse gas emissions cause climate change (“Honduras Hydropower”, 2006). Furthermore, greenhouse gas emission causes not only increase temperature, it also causes acid rain, which is rain that is contains harmful chemicals from electric power plants’ exhaust gases and damages biomass such as trees. Building only renewable resource such as hydroelectric power helps reducing greenhouse emissions step by step. People should think about using hydroelectric power for protecting from environmental problems.

The second major reason is that hydroelectric power save operation cost, which definitely cost thousands of millions of money when nonrenewable resources are imported. Even though there is high initial cost to build dams, water is free to use, so it is much cheaper than use other sources. The only thing that people have to do is construct dams. After building dams, people just wait for water fills dam. After that, workers just open the gate that water comes into generator. That is all people have to do. There is no cost to fill the dam up and it does not even cost too much money for employees because people just administrate hydroelectric dam. On the other hand, to make electricity using power plants, government has to pay much money for buying fossil fuel or other nonrenewable resources. There is also high initial cost of constructing electric power plant. Besides, government has to continue buying energy to continue sustaining residential electricity. Compare to using power plant to make electricity, hydroelectric powers cost far less for operating cost. If the government replaces the main electric power source to hydroelectric power, government can use money that from operating cost for developing cities or build public buildings. Thus, people should use hydroelectric power fin order to decrease operating cost to save money.

The third main reason is that electricity made by hydroelectric power is less expensive electricity cost for consumers. Electric companies support residential electricity with cheaper electricity because as the second main reason mentions water is free. Because there is cheap operation cost and hydroelectric power produces great amount of electricity permanently, people can buy electricity with cheaper fee. Hydroelectric power’s average electricity price is 4 cent per KWH in the U.S., which are three times fewer than national averege (Cheap Energy VS the Environment, n.d.). People are always interested in cheap energy. They are not going to buy expensive energy to live definitely. By producing electricity with only hydroelectric power makes great reward for both electric companies’ economy and residences.

The final reason is that hydroelectric power can control floods. Flood control by hydroelectric power saves residences, wildlife and people. Hydroelectric power prevents flood with spillway, which is way water run out when it is heavy rain and increase water level. (Technologies & Applications, 2000). In addition, there are many small hydroelectric powers in the river. Small hydroelectric power also prevents flood with constructing and expanding canal. Canal is long straight passage that is dug in the edge of the river. This passage decreases the flowing waterpower. Furthermore, hydroelectric power reduces massive soil erosion that naturally happens in the river. Hydroelectric power lessens its natural disaster, which is one kind of environmental problem, by controlling flowing water. Therefore, people should use hydroelectric power to reduce flood to protect themselves and many species.

In conclusion, hydroelectric power has great advantages: hydroelectric power assists environment, reduces operation cost, keeps residential electricity cost down and prevents natural disaster. By using hydroelectric power, people can decrease significant amounts of greenhouse gases. Also, Hydroelectric powers’ operation cost is cheaper than power plants one. Moreover, hydroelectric power provides much cheaper electricity than electric power plant. Further, hydroelectric power can control river. Because hydroelectric power has these advantages, people should use this renewable resource as an alternative energy for main electric power source. Also, people should think about nonrenewable energy has been damaging our planet. What now people can do for now for our future is use hydroelectric power as soon as possible.

Reference:

Cheap energy vs the environment. (n.d.). Hydroelectric Power: Risk and Rewards. Retrieved February 27, 2007 from www.zebu.uoregon.edu/

Dam. (2007). Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2007. Retrieved February 27, 2007 from http://encarta.msn.com

Honduras hydropower project makes history today for the small community of La Esperanza. (2006, January 22). News and Broadcast. Retrieved February 22, 2007 from http://web.worldbank.org/

Hydroelectric power. (n.d.). Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.6). Retrieved February 26, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hydroelectric power

Hydropower and Other Renewables: Best Resources of Electricity for Canadian. (2006, October 31). Canada NewsWire. Retrieved February 8, 2007 from Lexis Nexis

History of reclamation power. (2006, April.6). Reclamation. Retrieved February 22, 2007 from www.usbr.gov/

Technologies & applications. (2000, April 4). CanREN. Retrieved February 23, 2007 from www.canren.gc.ca/

Waterpower (2007) Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2007. Retrieved February 27, 2007 from http://encarta.msn.com

Benefits of taking parenting class

Have you ever taken the parenting class? Parenting class is the class that helps to learn people, especially parents, how to be better parents. Parents should take parenting class because there are three reasons: parents can gain some skill that they need to bring their children up better, Children can gain some benefits for their future, and everyone can get benefits from this course.

Some people think that people do not have to take the parenting class because people have some own experience. They just think about strategies that how to rise children by following what they learn from their parents or their own experience. However, all their experience and what they learn from parents are not always correct. They might have incorrect thinking about parenting. Therefore, they should learn correct way to parenting again.

To begin with, parents can learn how to rise their children better than anybody else, which everyone want to do with own skill, in the parenting class. Parents can learn from the parenting class about positive parenting, which is one kind of strategies like better communication with their children. Better communicating with their children can decrease bad behavior that children naturally do in his or her childhood because listening what children think is easy to know what kinds of situations they have. Parents should take children’s dissatisfaction or some bad feeling out by playing catch with words. Halsey (2007) mentions, “Children with parents who use such skills are far less likely to have behavior problems” (Para. 5). Further, parenting class can teach parents how to reduce arguing, scolding and yelling with their children. Also, parenting class can teach how to promote agreement with children. Parents are not going to be trouble about how to find the way to preventing trouble with their children if they take the parenting class.

In addition, Parents can teach children that children should know. They have to learn what taking own responsibility is. In the United States, American people have to know about it because without taking own responsibility, children cannot live in the U.S society when they become adult. Parenting class will support children to take responsibility for their own behavior. Further, parents can teach about money for their children if they take the class. For living in the society when children become adult, there are many situations that they have to think about money. If children do not learn that how important money is, it could be trouble or fail in his future because the world is created by money and rule. In “It’s never too late for young adults to learn money management” the author states that if they have late payments, it will be serious dent for credit card statement (Para.16). They have to learn about what is going to happen to children if they do not allow the rule. It is quite hard to explain about money for parents because money is very complicated, but it is very important thing. Thus, parents should take the parenting class to teach above two things, which is the one of most important things in our life.

Furthermore, parenting class is not for parents, but also for every single people such as grandparents, teachers and so on. In case of grandparents, they will figure out how to reduce spoil grandchildren. Grandparents always spoil grandchildren, but it is not good way to educate them because they cannot become independent. Also, if grandparents take the parenting class, they can help both children and grandchildren. Grandparents have experience that he or she had already being child and parents. Thus, they know what both parents and children’s feeling and grandparents can help two of them on neutral ground. In addition, teacher could figure out the new way to teach if they take the parenting class. Most teachers will think about how to students be good. However, they do not know what students feel when teacher do something. That is why teachers have to learn about parenting. If they take it, they can learn what students feel and support them. Therefore, many people should take the parenting class.

In conclusion, parenting class can give people many benefits. Parents can get some information that they need to raise children up, children can be better children, and most of people can use the information for their job. They should take the parenting class because it will reduce problems that happen between children and adult. Therefore parenting class will help people.

Reference:

It’s never too late for young adults to learn money management. (2006, August 13). The-Times-Picayune (New Orleans). Retrieved February 2, 2007 from Lexis-Nexis

Halsey, C. (2007, January 30). Family matter. BBC. Retrieved February 1, 2007 from www.bbc.co.uk

Should TOEFL be allowed or not

Have you ever thought about TOEFL? Recently, American universities want to have more international students. Also, many people who live in various countries now want to come to the U.S for learning English and various subjects as well. However, these students have to take TOEFL to be American university students. Most people have trouble getting high score of TOEFL that university requires people. There are many reasons why TOEFL should not be used to decide if international students can be accepted to an American university: TOEFL English is not good for communication, TOEFL score is not always stable, and TOEFL does not test your university skills.

However, some people think that TOEFL should be used because TOEFL have same standard, improve students’ English and inspire them to study harder and harder. In addition, TOEFL tells university about how is the English skills that students have. Also, it is easy to decide who may be accepted to belong to university.

To begin with, English, which is used by TOEFL, is too formal to use for communicating with native English speakers. Which means TOEFL English is not real English. TOEFL is not useful for living in society in the United States or some other countries, which are used English as a first language. Native speakers are not going to speak like TOEFL in the communication. Even though TOEFL uses slang, it is not enough to learn real English for English learner because in the communication, speaking is the most important way to communicate with people, not writing formal English for academic like TOEFL. The second language learner need slang to communicate with native English speakers because unless you know slang, you cannot understand exactly what native English speakers say in the conversation. In addition, in the real life, native English speakers are not going to use English that is used in grammar section, for example, when second language learners say sentence like used in grammar section, people might think that it is not make sense. Therefore, TOEFL should introduce slang more. Otherwise, it is not good enough rate to measure your abilities.

In addition, TOEFL score almost never steady. Score always go up and down because of your health condition, for example, if test takers could not sleep enough before taking TOEFL, there is possibility to get low score. Also, while they are taking the test, if they cannot concentrate to take it, they definitely get low score. Otherwise, it is just luck, not your real ability. Further, it depends on knowledge that test takers know about the subject in the test or not to get stable score like in the reading section. If they know American history specifically and if it is in the test, test takers can answer it even if they do not read every single letter. However, if test takers are not good at history and do not know about history at all, they definitely feel like it is too difficult for me or something like hesitation in the moment. Therefore, TOEFL measures not only English, but also measures test takers knowledge about the U.S. These two things are going to be major part of the problems to measure your English abilities.

Furthermore, TOEFL is not going to test international students’ university skills. There are many skills for taking university class like note taking. In the TOEFL, test taker does not accepted taking note in the listening section. However, in the university class, students must do it. In addition, TOEFL cannot measure their speaking ability except IBT TOEFL. There are many international students who can speak English frequently like native English speakers. However, they all cannot do well in the other section like grammar section. For these students, IBT TOEFL must be introduced. However, they, TOEFL organization, still want test takers to speak like TOEFL listening. There is nothing change. It just changes the test style. TOEFL should think about measuring test takers skills.

TOEFL is the most popular way to be American university student. However, American university should not use TOEFL to measure international students’ skills because for international students, it does not help international students to learn native English to communicate with native English speakers naturally. Also, score is always unstable because of students’ knowledge and health condition. Besides, TOEFL does not measure their college skills that students may use in the university. Therefore, American university should find another way to measure international students’ skills to accept them to be its students. All American universities should introduce ESL program that will measure speaking skill, writing skill, note taking skill and so on. University should use only data from ESL program to accept them to be its students, and not use the score of TOEFL. It is going to be more helpful because there is no luck. University can see only students’ skill and they may be sure that students are not going to fail in its university.