Recycling Not Such a Great Solution

It would be hard to find an environmentalist who does not see recycling as a way to reduce resource consumption, and subsequently improve our natural environment. But there is no clear evidence that the emergence of recycling has reduced resource consumption. In fact, there is a solid theoretical argument that recycling has limited impacts on decreasing consumption of the targeted resource, and is likely to increase consumption of other resources. This alone should not be controversial to economists, but the real question is why we continue to perpetuate the myth. Let's start digging to the bottom of this mystery.

I'm not really sure how to explain this succinctly, but I will give it a go. It is best to have in mind throughout this explanation a particular material - think glass, paper or aluminium. There are two cases to consider - one in which recycling is subsidised by the government, and one where it begins via market forces.

Imagine that the glass industry realises that it is cheaper to source glass through recycling then from sand mining. If recycling was not an option, glass would be more expensive than what recycling enables it to be. Because glass is cheaper due to recycling, it enables the industry to produce glass products more cheaply, creating a higher demand for these products. Of course, glass is rarely a final product itself, and thinking of bottles here, cheaper glass and products will require more caps, labels, cartons and shipping. Furthermore, because of the access to recycled glass has decreased demand for new glass, the price of new glass may fall, encouraging greater consumption. In all, recycling can reduce the consumption of new resources by a much smaller amount than first thought, and can increase consumption of other resources. In fact Valerie Thomas, in the Journal of Industrial Ecology, shows that second hand goods (the equivalent of recycling) can actually increase the consumption of those goods with large second hand markets.

The second type of recycling, the subsidised variety has similar results. It artificially makes recycled materials cheaper and therefore makes the goods made from both recycled and new materials cheaper - again increasing demand for the resource in question, as well as complementary resources.

So why then, if recycling can at best result is a minor reduction in resource consumption and an increase in consumption of other resources, and at worst result in an increase in consumption of the resource in question as well as others, do we persist in advocating it as an environmental cure all?

I would suggest the reason is simply that environmentalist do not know any better. Also, if you acknowledge that recycling is not effective it leaves very few options remaining that do not involve radical social upheaval. Governments must surely know about the ineffectiveness of recycling, but perpetuate the myth as a way of appearing active on the environmental front.

The most important point to take from this is that recycling may very well be counterproductive. Shouldn't we at least know if what we are doing is helping or harming the environment?

2012 And Mayan Mythology (What Is the Correlation?)

Ancient Mayan Methology and the Modern World

Mayan mythology was incorporated into daily life. Mythological stories were reenacted in everyday rituals to keep the essence of the story alive and keep people connected to the gods. This made certain that individuals continued to advance in consciousness.

The Popol Vuh begins with the creation myth of the quiche Maya. All Mayan mythology is expressed in cosmological events. The creation story tells of the changing of the ages; each age is a new creation and expresses an evolutionary stage of development. There are five stages in creation and, we are currently in the fourth or fifth age. The creation story is complex and confusing. Gods change identities, names, and qualities. It's hard to keep track of who's who. Following are some creation stories that will appear again and again in ancient mythologies.

Creation of Previous Ages

The creation of man happened over five stages, depending on the translation. According to the story, two gods sat and meditated; whatever they put their thought to was manifested. Their very thoughts were made into reality. Through their thoughts and words they brought into being the earth, mountains, trees, and animals. Then the gods decided to create a race of beings who could worship them. Unfortunately, the gods made several false starts in setting humanity on the earth path.

In the first attempt humans were made of clay, but they couldn't speak and worship so the gods destroyed them. Other gods were summoned to help the creation, and in the next attempt, humans were made of wood. Unfortunately, the humans had no soul and they forgot to worship, so naturally the gods "rained blackness on their heads"and "tore them apart". In the next creation, with the help of even more gods, the "true people" or formed out of mesa, or corn dough. It is commonly believed that, the ancient Maya believed that maize was not only the essence of ones own diet, but also was their chemical make-up as well.

It's unknown how many ages have actually passed. Was the first age the age with minerals? Or the age with animals? Or did he ages start with the first people? Depending on interpretations, the current age could be a third, forth, or fifth age. Researchers, they consider it the fifth age as we approach the next change at 2012. However modern Mayan elders consider it the fourth age.

Something else to contemplate is that even though we consider the Mayan civilisation an ancient peoples, they were without a doubt very much educated in mathematics, space, time and astronomy! How is this possible?

marx and coca cola

marx and coca cola

The Modern A Level - A Pass Is No Longer Enough

Thursday the 18th August saw the young people of England, Wales and Northern Ireland celebrating or commiserating the results of their A levels. The release of results also triggered a mad rush for the UCAS website as an unprecedented number of anxious students attempted to check their places at university but were thwarted when the site crashed under the volume of traffic.

This year 1 in 12 students were awarded A*, with 27% of entries receiving an A or A*. The A*, which was introduced last year to credit outstanding entries and to offer a more challenging exam to the brightest students is fast becoming a prerequisite of acceptance at many of the best UK universities. The government announced that 15 of the countries top institutions are now demanding that their applicants have at least one A* result.

The recent claim that A levels have become 'impossible to fail' with the pass rate now at 97.8% means that B and C grades no longer hold the currency they used to. The increasing number of A and A* passes suggests that anything less simply does not cut the mustard at the most prestigious universities.

Additionally, applications to UK universities are now at a record high. A 40% drop in the number of students taking a gap year is evidence that the process of university entry is no longer a relaxed or straightforward matter: students are showing increased eagerness and concern to demonstrate their immediate commitment to study.

Universities Minister, David Willetts recently recommended the most challenging A level courses should be awarded more "tariff points" under admissions rules for entry onto degree courses. But recent statistics show that many students are already jumping to the 'tougher' subjects like maths and the sciences because top universities value them.

Clearing is the system through which students who fail to attain the results demanded by their first choice university are then matched up with empty places. With nearly 190,000 students this year battling for vacancies, and only one place available for each four applications, UCAS said that a substantial number would not secure a place.

For ambitious students who want to guarantee top marks and a place at university it's worth considering an independent college like CATS where individuals are encouraged to fulfil their academic potential and exceed their predicted results. Small class sizes, specialised tutors, mentoring, and individual attention supply students with every opportunity to reach their targets. Strategies for success are specifically tailored to each student's needs and strengths. Proven up to date study techniques are used so that students can help to increase memory and recall, reading speed and investigative, lateral and creative ways of thinking.

The Two-Spirit People Among The Native Americans

The Native Americans have always help androgynous people in high esteem. Today, the Native Americans call these people two-spirit people. However, centuries ago when the French explorers came to the New World, they used to call these feminine looking men as berdache, which comes from the Persian word bardaj. Bardaj means an intimate male friend. The feminine looking men used to get married to masculine looking men or they used to have relationships with masculine looking men. The masculine looking women used to get married to feminine looking women. Hence, the word berdache clearly had a homosexual connection to it. The Spanish and English settlers used to look down at these androgynous Native Americans, as they felt that they indulged in sodomy.

The Native Americans did not condemn the two-spirit people. They believed that these people had exceptional spiritual gifts. They believed that these people had a man's as well as a woman's spirit. Hence, they were more highly gifted compared to typical men and women. So, instead of treating these androgynous people as outcasts, they looked up to them as religious teachers. This same belief was prevalent among the indigenous tribes in Siberia, and several regions of Central Asia and Southeast Asia.

There is evidence to show that respected androgynous people lived among the tribes in the Great Plains, the Great Lakes, California and the Southwest. At the same time, there is also some documentary evidence to show that there were some Native American people who did not treat these two-spirit people with respect. They used to tease them.

It was believed that the androgynous people were capable of doing a man's as well as a woman's work. They were hard workers and were also thought to be gifted artistically. Hence, they were considered invaluable not just to their families, but also to the tribe. For instance, in the Navajo tribe, if a family had an androgynous member, that family used to be benefited economically. On the other hand, the androgynous member used to take care of the elders in the family and also help in taking care of the kids in the family. It was not uncommon for an androgynous person to adopt orphaned children.

Unfortunately, many explorers as well as modern-day anthropologists had homophobic prejudices. Hence, these prejudices affected the way they described the attitudes of the two-spirit people and the Native American people's behavior towards these androgynous people.

How Learning To Read Really Works - Part 3 Of 4

When we read, we decode three totally different alphabetic codes simultaneously:

1. Phonics Code for reading consonants. (letter-level skill)

2. Syllabics Code for reading one syllable words and stressed vowels. (mono-syllable-level skill)

3. Homophonics Code for reading unstressed vowels in multi-syllable words. (multi-syllable word-level skill)

When we are LEARNING HOW to read, we do NOT need to learn all three codes at once... which is today's practice. Nor do we need to learn two codes at the same time. It is far easier for the beginning reader to tackle and master these three codes just one at a time. Step by step mastery of definite decoding skills builds confidence instead of anxiety in the beginning reader's mind.

Letter Level - Phonics Code for teaching students to READ the Consonants

A student still struggling with 'reading the consonants' is not ready to learn to read vowels and words.

Use flashcards and marker board:

1. Drill your young reader over and over asking for the NAMES of all the letters of the alphabet.

2. After the student masters step 1, remove the vowel letters from the flashcards: a, e, i, o, u. Ask the student to 'READ' each consonant letter as you randomly present each flashcard. [To READ the letter 'b', the student reads: /buh/... not the NAME of the letter: 'b'.]

3. After the student masters step 2, you 'read' the consonant letters randomly. Ask the student to write the consonant letter you read. [You read: /buh/... (s)he writes: b.]

4. After the student masters step 3, make flashcards for the consonant blends: ch, ph, qu, sh, th, wh. Ask the student to 'read' each consonant blend as you randomly present the flashcard. (To read the blend 'ch', the student reads: /chuh/...not the names of the letters 'c'-'h'.)

5. After the student masters step 4, you 'read' the consonant blends randomly, ask the student to write the blend you read. [You read: "chuh"...(s)he writes: ch.]

Make sure your beginning reader makes zero mistakes for all 5 steps at the letter level. If (s)he is struggling with even one letter or blend, drill until (s)he overlearns everything.

After mastering the 5 steps above, your beginning reader is ready to begin learning how to read the vowel letters: a, e, i, o, and u.

Because students haven't been taught clear-cut vowel reading, or decoding, or pronunciation skills, beginning readers develop compensatory skills such as guessing, memorization, using picture clues, using context clues, etc. to figure out how to read the vowel letters. When these unreliable skills are replaced with definite, predictable, reliable vowel decoding skills, the beginning reading student develops confidence in his/her ability to actually 'read' each word. [Clarification: Student's may use picture or context clues to figure out the MEANING of a word...but these are not reliable skills for learning how to 'read' the vowel letters.

How Learning To Read Really Works - Part 2 Of 4

Written English is actually three totally different alphabetic codes that we treat as one. When we read Written English, we must read these three totally different codes simultaneously - in three totally different ways - and at the rapid speed of thought (or speech...if reading aloud).

The first code is a Phonics Code used for writing consonant sounds and reading consonant letters.

The second code is a Syllabics Code used for writing stressed vowel sounds and reading stressed vowel letters. '

The third code is a Homophonics Code, used for writing unstressed vowel sounds and reading unstressed vowel letters in multi-syllable words.

Let's take a closer look at this strange term: Homophonics Code.

For example: in the word: anonymous (a NON y mous), there are three sets of unstressed vowels:

1) a, 

2) y, and 

3) ou.

The unstressed vowels: 'a', 'y', and 'ou' are vowel homophones, and we read all three with the same unstressed: /uh/ pronunciation: 'a' is read /uh/. 'y' is read /uh/. 'ou' is read /uh/.

Most of the time, we read the vowel(s) in unstressed syllables homophonically (or all the same way.) Exceptions are specifically spelled, visually recognizable, and predictable.

Examples of homophones: 'c' and 'k' are consonant homophones in the word: 'cake'. (We read 'c' and 'k' with the same consonant sound: /k/.) 'o' and 'u' are vowel homophones in the words: 'son' and 'run'. (We read 'o' and 'u' with the same nasal short vowel sound: /uh/.) 'so', and 'sew' are word homophones. (We read both words with the same 'consonant + vowel' sound: /sO/.) In brief, unstressed vowel letters and sounds have a multi-syllable, word level, homophonic relationship and code.

In order to simplify the spelling of unstressed vowel sounds, all unstressed vowels could have been spelled with the schwa symbol (the upside down 'e' for unstressed vowels used in most dictionaries) and pronounced as /uh/ in 'up'. This would have given the reading of unstressed vowels an easier phonetic decoding system. But this also would have compromised the vital vowel/spelling/meaning relationships already established for stressed vowels, particularly in the varying forms of a word.

For example: the letter 'i' in the 2nd syllable of the two words: in VITE and IN vi TA tion. In the unstressed syllable 'vi' in invitation the 'i' could have been spelled with a schwa (the upside down 'e') instead of with an 'i', but then the vital vowel/spelling/meaning relationship that exists between the words invite and invitation would have been lost.

Read How Learning to Read Really Works - Part 3 of this article to learn how using the Syllabics Code to read vowels can facilitate the 'learning to read' process