Governments Responsibility on the Environment

Governments Responsibility on the Environment Our modern days market system is has put so much attention on its profits that it seems to have forgotten its social responsibility. Because of the increased production by the different markets and their attempt to keep with the competition, the environment has been very much affected. There are many stories in the newspapers and the news about global warming and other environmental hazards which have been as a result of the increased market productions; a good example is the much talked BP oil spill in the deep waters. This not only a show that the market is not careful while producing but it also shows that it has no much concern on the environment. This is where the government should come in. It is thus true that the todays government has a role to play in regulating and managing the environment we live in because the market system tends to ignore the environmental fallouts that have resulted in global warming issues. This is because the environment is like a public good which might not belong top someone specifically but is consumed equally by everybody. Unless there is a strong unity within the firms, then the environment will continue to disintegrate each day because each firm will concentrate on maximizing profits at the expense of the environment leading even to more global warming. Kevin Michael Rudd, is the current prime minister in Australia. He is also a leader of his party. According to him, climate change is the greatest moral, economic and social challenge of our time.† His intention is cut emission of green house gases by 60% before the year 2050. he signed the Kyoto Protocol immediately after being sworn in as Prime Minister. In December of the year 2008, he released a paper, commonly known as a â€Å"White Paper† which talked a bout reducing Australias greenhouse gas emissions. The paper talked about putting up an emission trading scheme in the year 2010 but this has been delayed to be put up in the year 2011 probably because of the much criticism that it encountered. The emission trading scheme is also the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and it estimated that the emission of green house gases would be less by a level between 5% and 15% in 2020 below the year 2000. Although Rudds government was not able to start an emission trading scheme as planned, it is trying to prove that it can meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets by rushing new energy efficient strategies. According to the Prime Minister, the government has made up its mind to extend the implementation of this scheme up to the year 2012. Despite of this delay, the Prime Minister insisted on the governments commitment to this scheme. He however brought an impression that if there was slowness in international action, the scheme could either be delayed further or even abandoned. His spokes person said that the government would make the emissions trading scheme part of the legislation by 2013 if the international action is sufficient by then. This matter has brought a lot of debate within the Australian government. There is a ministerial task group which will report in June on the options which include new industrial and building efficiency measures and an energy efficiency trading scheme. There are also fuel efficiency regulations and funding for clean coal and solar projects but these are likely to be pre-elections announcements to make it look as if the government is still much committed to dealing with climate change and is also able to meet the reduction aim that it has made an international pledge to. There are however fears that the fight against global warming will have an economic effect on many things. First, it is believe that it is likely that there will be more tax on everything. This will lead to increases in the price of meeting the countrys new policies on the environment. This is also considered that it could lead to the sending of a disastrous indication to the waving international climate talks. The country will have to pay a carbon price in order to meet its target. The public is not ready to pay more to deal with global warming. The concern of the public comes in because it is likely that when the carbon price is introduced to the market, it will be passed to the consumers through high prices for the products. Despite of this, the majority percentage of the entire population are willing to pay a higher price for power in order to achieve this. The high prices in products could lead to cost push inflation within the country. The government is also likely to spend a lot of money in implementing these policies. This is likely to have a negative effect on economic growth as the changes will bring with them high costs. The high costs will lead to a less production lowering the GDP. In terms of unemployment, it is true that it will rise as a way of saving on costs by the firms. All these parameters might only be affected in the short run but take a turn in the long term after the initial costs for the entire projects have been met. This means that a positive change is likely to be seen in the future after the implementation. What is important though is the fact that the emission of green house gases will go down leading to a cleaner and safer environment. References Gan, A, King, S, Stonecash, R Mankin, N, 2009, Principles of economics, 4th edn, Cengage Learning Jackson, J McIver, R 2007, Macroeconomics, 8th edn, McGraw Hill www.csiro.au/resources/pfnt.html

Critique of Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan

Wright State University Modern Political Philosophy Essay 1 Critique of Thomas Hobbes’s â€Å"Leviathan† Wes Miller PHL 432 Donovan Miyasaki 10/9/2012 Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher best known for his 1651 text â€Å"Leviathan†. In â€Å"Leviathan† Hobbes suggests that human nature is one of competition, diffidence, and glory. I will argue against this assertion, claiming that human nature is not one of war and mistrust, but one of cooperation and collaboration. I will conclude by stating that man works together to achieve the common goal of survival, happiness, and advancement of the human race.Hobbes begins his explanation of the state of nature in chapter 13 of â€Å"Leviathan† by stating that all men are equal in nature. Although one man may be stronger or more intelligent than another, humans are relatively equal in every way because of their ability to manipulate and form alliances: â€Å"For as to the strength of body, the weakest has strength enough to kill the strongest, either by secret machination, or by confederacy with others, that are in the same danger as himself. †1 Because men are all equal, Hobbes believed that they desire the same things. If two men share the same desire, they become enemies.If all men are equal, there is no way for one man to be master of all other men. If a single man were to attempt to gain power over all other men, he would be overthrown by those he was trying to have power over. Considering that all are naturally equal, and all naturally desire the same things, the nature of man, according to Hobbes, is war: â€Å"So that in the nature of man, we find three principal causes of quarrel. First, competition; secondly, diffidence; thirdly, glory† (293). In this constant state of war there is no desire for any technological advancements or culture because there would be no use for either.Many other aspects of life are thrown aside as well: â€Å"no navigation, nor us e of the commodities that may be imported by sea; no commodious building; no instruments of moving, and removing such things as require much force; no knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitarily, poor, nasty, brutish, and short† (293). Hobbes claims that in this state of nature, there is no place for any type of justice or understanding of right and wrong.Because there is no society, there is no agreement on any type of guidelines between men. Because there are no guidelines, there is no way to be unjust. Therefore, every action in the state of nature is just. For example, it is perfectly just to steal from someone if they hold something that you desire (such as food, shelter, etc. ) Hobbes goes on to explain that the only reasons that humans would be in a state of peace would be the fear of death and the desire for commodious liv ing. Hobbes gives a very pessimistic view of human nature.If his claims that the human nature is one of competition, diffidence, and glory were correct, the world that we live in today would be impossible to achieve. If every man was constantly at war with every other man as Hobbes claims, there would be absolutely no room for any technological advancement. He says this himself: â€Å"In such condition, there is no place for industry; because the fruit thereof is uncertain† (293). If what Hobbes claims is true, the human race would not even exist. Mankind would have destroyed itself before it was able to create any kind of society.Simply by looking back at how the world evolved to be the way it is today, anyone can see that the human race as a whole has been extremely successful. Humans worked together, formed alliances, and constantly took steps to achieve a more balanced society. Although many of these attempts have been unsuccessful, they were still attempts nonetheless. T he fact that the advancement of society was even attempted proves that humans had to have worked together. I agree with Hobbes’s view that no man can be master of all men, but I do, however, believe that some men can be masters of some men.For example, the monarchial systems of England and China were successful for thousands of years. Humans have a pack mentality, much like wolves. Some are leaders, and others are followers, this has been true since the dawn of man. There have always been chieftains, kings, and presidents leading a group of other humans. Because of this system, all men are not entirely equal. Some men have power over other men. The situations in which men can be at peace with each other is exactly what Hobbes said, fear of death, but is it not true that all men fear death?If man did not fear death, the human race would die out. There has to be a fear of death in order to survive. So, if there must be a fear of death to survive, and all men have a natural fear death, would this not mean that man’s nature is one of peace? One might argue that the societies in place today are constantly at war with each other, that societies are groups of people acting as an individual, proving that Hobbes’s idea of a human nature in which we are constantly at war is correct. I would reply, however, with another question.Isn’t society a result of a mass amount of collaboration between human beings? Because the societies at war are made up of a large group of people acting as an individual, one can come to the conclusion that before societies were created, there was only cooperation. If human nature is one of constant conflict and mistrust, societies could not have been created in the first place. So, if before society existed there was only cooperation, one could say that society itself is the cause of all conflict, the opposite of Hobbes’s suggestion.I have argued that Hobbes’s idea of the human nature being one of const ant conflict and mistrust is false. Humans have always trusted each other and worked together to advance the species as a whole. If there wasn’t cooperation before society, society would have never existed at all. Hobbes states that human nature does not allow industrial advancement, but industrial advancement has obviously been achieved. He claims that man can only be at peace when he fears death, yet men naturally fear death, therefore man’s nature is one of peace.The fact that Societies are constantly at war does not prove Hobbes’s theory correct, it does the opposite. Societies are a result of humans working together, therefore human nature is one of cooperation. It is difficult to know how humans would act in a complete state of nature, but merely the fact that man exists today is proof that our nature is not one of war. 1. Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, in Political Philosophy: The Essential Texts, ed. Steven M. Cahn (New York: Oxford, 2011), 293

Essay about The History of the Salem Witch Trial in 1692

There was a point in our history when people believed in witches. If you were accused as a witch, you would be tried, most of the time found guilty, and hanged. These events happened in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. During the Salem witch trials in 1692, more women were accused than men. At the same time, women were also accusers. Many things could have caused women to be accused and accusers. These included, the stories Tituba told, the effects of Ergot Poisoning, Hysteria and the hunger for Power. During this time, the young girls (Elizabeth Parris, and Abigail Williams) started having fits. This was after Tituba told stories about demons and witches to them. These fits were similar to the fits one would have gotten if poisoned with†¦show more content†¦He diagnosed them bewitched. After the girls were announced bewitched, they started to accuse different people. Elizabeth accused Tituba. Tituba refused to be a witch at her trial, but later she confessed that she was one. She also claimed that there were secret witch groups all around Salem. Tituba’s confession, probably sent hysteria, and panic all around Salem. The effects Ergot poisoning could have been one of the causes of the Salem witch trials. Ergot grows in certain weather conditions. There has to be a cold winter followed by a wet spring. This was the case in Salem. If you were to get poisoned by Ergot, you experience many different symptoms. Some of the symptoms include muscle spasms, paranoia, hallucinations, trembling, shaking, and twisting of the neck and body. All of these symptoms were found in Abigail, Elizabeth, and all the other girls clamming to be possessed. There are many ways you could’ve gotten poisoned by Ergot. You could get Ergot poisoning by eating Ergot infected rye (bread), and by touching it with your fingers. Women in Salem were expected to cook and do house chores. In order to prepare rye flour, you had to touch it with your fingers. Scientists proved that ergot infected rye could survive the baking process. Since more women were handling the rye, they were more prone to get infected by it. This might have been why more women were accused and accusers than men. Hysteria could have been one of the things thatShow MoreRelatedThe Salem Witch Trials Of 16921281 Words   |  6 PagesThe Salem Witch Trials were a sequence of hearings, prosecutions, and hangings of people who were thought to be involved in witchcraft in Massachusetts. These trials occurred between February 1692 and May 1693(The Salem Witch Trials, 1692. ). The Trials resulted in the execution of twenty people, in fact, most of them were women. The first of the trials began in several towns in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, such as Salem Village (currently known as Danvers), Salem Town, Ipswich, and Andover(SalemRead MoreThe Crucible By Arthur Miller1358 Words   |  6 PagesArthur Miller in 1953. 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