The issue of ecology Essay Example for Free

The issue of ecology Essay The issue of ecology as a transnational issue has become highlighted with the intensification of world trade. As such, it becomes a global responsibility and a consideration in developing trade policies. As the primary governing body of international trade, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been one of the pioneers in equating environmental responsibility with trade (Deal, 2002). At the same time there, has been regional efforts to standardize environmental laws to mitigate the impact of development in shared environs as illustrated by the efforts of the European Union (EU), North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Sampson, 1998). One of the efforts made by the WTO is the development of the Kyoto Protocol which is aiming to mitigate environmental issue particularly global warming by establishing a trade system for emissions. However, there has been a difficulty in the implementation of the regulation because of varying views on the policies as well as difficulty in monitoring emissions. At the same time, there have been some issues regarding the institution of multilateral agreements that are contradicting or undermining the Kyoto Protocol or the status of most favored nations (MFN) (Brewer, 2004). Focus For WTO members, the use of energy tax adjustments could have significant implications. The issue raises difficult environmental, trade policy issues, economic issues. It also raise the internalization of environmental costs and the â€Å"polluter pays† principle, the effects on trade competitiveness and relationship between the multilateral environmental agreements and WTO agreements. The main issue that whether Article III: 2 first provisions of the 1994 GATT or the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade ponders the use of border tax adjustment (BTA) on â€Å"final† products for taxes on the manufacture of inputs. Albeit the decision in Superfund case, discussed in the latter of this section, the question will turn on a proper analysis of the taxes â€Å"applied, directly or indirectly, to â€Å"the like products to be compared, as opposed to the overall â€Å"fiscal burden† on producers from taxes on inputs. The Kyoto Protocol and the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade In December 1997, the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention was adopted. Under Kyoto Protocol, only Annex 1 countries are subject to legally binding emissions reduction commitments for the commitment period 2008-2012 in post-2000 scenario. Annex 1 parties or developed countries have to meet individual emission reduction targets listed in Annex B of the Protocol. Developing countries or non-Annex 1 parties are not subject to specific emission reduction commitments. Though over 120 countries have ratified the Protocol but the Protocol has yet to come into force. U. S. A and other developed countries have to date indicated an intention not to ratify the Protocol. Another contention is with regards to Article 1, II, VI and VII of the GATT and their potential implication with border tax adjustments. Further, energy tax adjustments may be challengeable under Article XXIII: 1 [b] of 1994. Finally, Panel approach to WTO-consistency will be governed by the reasonableness of the specific measure and its appreciation of the wider international implications. Energy tax adjustments as per Article III: 2 first sentences could offer potentially broad scope for countries to apply energy tax adjustments as disguised barriers to trade. Such results would do little to serve the objectives of either the WTO multilateral trading system or the international response to climatic change. Border Tax Adjustment Border Tax Adjustment [BTA] is a tax levied on imported products to adjust or compensate for taxes levied on domestic product. The main goal of BTA is to ensure trade neutrality of domestic taxation and thereby safeguarding competitive equality between imported and domestic goods. BTA is not necessarily levied at the border and imports may be taxed at the point of sale or consumption. Sales tax, consumption taxes or excise duties, value added taxes are examples of domestic taxes that might be subject to BTA. Likewise, a BTA on imported energy products such as imported natural gas or diesel fuel and other fossil fuels for domestic excise duties would fall within this group. Though the taxes on energy have been levied by governments for fiscal purpose for long time, now there has been a change in trend to levy â€Å"energy tax† mainly for â€Å"environmental† purpose. Energy tax is being levied on energy inputs such as coal ,electricity or gasoline which in turn calculated in value terms , or on the basis of its content of carbon of fossil fuels which is also known as â€Å"carbon taxes†. As of now, there exists no border tax adjustment scheme in place for taxes on energy inputs employed in the production of final products. However, European and other high energy taxing governments are contemplating to introduce such measures in near future due to the pressure exerted by environmental and industry groups. But there are increasing pressures from environmental groups to enforce strictly trade measures to enforce Kyoto Protocol objectives against non-signatories like United States. These environment groups regard the U. S. rejection of the Kyoto protocol is unfair as it places the European business at a disadvantage. They argue that Europe has the right to penalize the U. S goods for the pollution they cause under â€Å"Polluters pay â€Å"policy. Cases for Consideration A BTA can be applied on final goods or on inputs used in the production process. An example is the border tax adjustment on imports of aluminum’s for taxes on energy used in the production process as taxes are being levied on embodied energy in the final good that are adjusted, as opposed to taxes on the final goods itself. These measures are regarded as contentious with linkage to WTO trade and environmental debate. Albeit the Appellate body’s findings in the United States – Shrimp dispute, the exercise of trade measures applied on the basis of process and production methods (PPM) – in this case embodied taxes, carbon or energy –remains highly contentious. BTA for domestic taxes on energy inputs also raise significant equity and sovereignty concerns on the use of trade measures to inflict domestic environmental or taxation systems on other countries. Super Fund The case is against levy of superfund tax by U. S. A on petrochemicals and other chemicals and inputs when imported and sold in U. S and no tax is levied when it is exported out of U. S. U. S claimed that the aim of the tax was to compensate the cleaning up cost of hazardous waste sites and towards public health programs. When an importer fails to provide the details of input which he imported, then a penalty tax rate of 5 % was imposed. The GATT panel ruled that the tax on imported substance was a tax ‘directly imposed on products’ and hence eligible for border tax adjustments. The panel held the US super tax would be consistent with the Article III: 2 first sentence as long as it is equivalent to tax borne by the like domestic substances. The U. S direction to provide the information of inputs may make such information available to trade competitors and would have a real effect in discouraging trade. In this case, it appeared that neither the GATT Panel nor the parties sought to distinguish between the tax applied to the imported products, the like domestic products or the chemical products used in the production of the like domestic products. The Panel seemed to accept the US argument that the imported product and that the like domestic product was subject to the same â€Å"fiscal burden†.

IVF - In Vitro Fertilization :: essays research papers

10, 000 Australian couples are treated with IVF each year. The expensive and rather risky program (costing around $4000 excluding overheads) allows infertile couples to achieve pregnancy when conventional therapy has failed or is unacceptable. The procedure involves placing eggs that have been fertilised in a cultured dish directly into the uterus. A successful procedure will go as follows: - Couples are counselled about their situation and informed on the procedure, their obligations and rights. - Medical history, physical examination and other related tests are taken to determine candidacy. - The woman receives hormone injections (Human Menopausal Gonadotropin and recombinant Follicle-Stimulating Hormone) to stimulate development of the ovarian follicles which contain eggs. Frequent blood tests are taken to monitor hormone secretion from the ovary and pituitary gland. - When eggs are ripe, they are retrieved by transvaginal needle aspiration, guided by ultrasound. At the same time, semen samples from the husband (or donor) are obtained. The most active and healthy sperm are selected by forcing them to swim through a culture medium. - The egg and sperm are placed together in a suitable medium for fertilisation to occur in a culture dish. If fertilisation does not occur after 72 hours, the oocytes (incompletely developed eggs) and sperm are disposed of. The resulting embryos are observed for the next few days. - A small plastic tube is inserted through cervix to place embryos into the uterus. The patient is able to go home a few hours later with minimal discomfort. During the first two weeks after embryonic transfer, hormones (such as Progesterone or HCG) may be administered. The procedure above can bring either joy or disappointment. A successful patient from the Atlanta Reproductive Healthcare Center states: “For all of us, hearing that we are pregnant will be the most wonderful news. But remember, as easily as they told you that you are pregnant, it can be just as easy for them to tell you that you have lost your child.'; Of the 10,000 people treated each year in Australia, there is a 92% failure rate. More often than not, something goes wrong and couples are left with a hefty medical bill, no pregnancy and compounded emotional stress. Every stage of IVF contains and element of risk, from the administration of drugs to the actual birth of the child. Woman who undergo IVF are at risk of experiencing serious side effects. Many of these are caused by the

Inclusion Is Thought To Be A Complex Education Essay

In general, inclusion of kids with particular educational demands in mainstream schools is an of import issue and all European states now have statute laws promoting inclusive educational scenes. ( Evans & A ; Lunt, 2002 ) . Even though inclusion has obtained assorted significances throughout the old ages, since the debut of the term in Warnock Report ( 1978 ) but besides through many Codes of Practice, the significance of effectual inclusion is still unclarified. ( Nind & A ; Wearmouth,2006 ) . So, it seems necessary, harmonizing to Unicef ( 2012 ) , to know apart inclusion from two other footings. First, segregation in which students are distributed to particular schools harmonizing to their damage. Second, from integrating in which pupils can be placed in mainstream schools but in separate, particular demands ‘ schoolrooms and be portion of this educational seeting every bit long as they adapt to its environment. Nevertheless, inclusion has a more embracing significance as i t proposes the suspension of all boundaries and a common assimilation of societal, cultural, curricular individuality of the kid but besides of the whole system. ( Nowich,2008 ; G, Richards et Armstrong 2011 ) . UNESCO refers this assimilation by stressing the duty of the society to offer instruction to everybody and by specifying that inclusion as a â€Å" procedure of increasing engagement in acquisition, civilizations and communities and cut downing exclusion within and from instruction † ( Unicef 2012,4p ) . This combination of increasing entree and besides of extinguishing exclusions led Booth ( 2003 ) to believe inclusion as an eternal process. However, it is something more than puting all kids, including those with SEN, in the same setting.It is, in contrast to integrating, the version of school to childrens ‘ demands. ( Heat et al. 2004 ) . However, it is non easy to comprehend the term of inclusion in theory but besides in practice.That is why Giddens ( 1994 ) refers to an â€Å" Utopian pragmatism † that many desire but few truly believe it can go on ( Croll & A ; Moses, 2000 ) while Slee ( 2004 ) metaphorically says that inclusion has become â€Å" jet lagged † in order to exemplify the assortment of definitions existed for inclusion throughout the years.Indeed, inclusion is hard to be understood and identified because of its diverseness and the deficiency of a planetary significance as in many states it is confused with integrating ( Armstrong,2005 ) . What is of import to comprehend is that we should see inclusion in a wider context in order to accomplish it.This agencies that if the purpose of extinguishing unintegrated instruction is successful, it is merely because society believes in inclusion and topographic points accent on persons ‘ rights and non on their acquisition troubles ( Thomas, 1997 ) . So, it is a affair of handling all kids every bit and non merely in the same manner ( Wedell, 2008 ) . This can be managed through a transmutation in the whole society and its rules and afterwards in every smaller context such as the educational 1†¦ . On the other manus, SEBD is besides considered a obscure term and hard to be understood because of deficiency of lucidity and the diverseness of their features. Consequently, inclusion of kids who are labelled as holding SEBD raises many treatments throughout the old ages. ( Cole & A ; Knowles 2011 ) .Nevertheless, it was non until 1981 through the Education Act that emotional and behavioral troubles ( EBD ) as a term was introduced and accepted for the first time.The old Educational Act ( 1944 ) had instigated the term â€Å" maladjusted † by doing a more medical attack of these troubles whereas in the 19th century, these students were confused with delinquents or â€Å" mental defectives † . ( Cole & A ; Knowles 30p. ) However, despite the abolition of †maladjusted kids † as a definition, the Education Act continued to advance integrating and non the inclusion of people with particular demands in general†¦ ..Besides, this advancement from covering the se pupils as being maladjusted or holding emotional upsets to kids with multiple troubles was besides considerable for switching off from the medical theoretical account and traveling towards the societal 1†¦ †¦ Many research workers argue that there is non a globally accepted definition for kids with emotional and behavioral troubles ( see e.g Benett & A ; Aalsvoort, 2005 ) even though many alterations in policy have been made through governmental paperss in order to advance inclusion of these pupils in mainstream schools ( Goodman, 2010 ) . It is used as a â€Å" quasi-official term † that concerns pupils ‘ behavior described as â€Å" riotous † , â€Å" exlcuded † , â€Å" disputing † or â€Å" at hazard † ( Clough, Garner, Pardek, Yuen 2005 p.7 ) . Despite the vagueness and the multiple definitions existed, there have been many governmental alterations that increase the opportunities for pupils with SEN such as those characterised as holding SEBD to be portion of mainstream instruction. ( Goodman & A ; Burton 2010 ) . For case, SEN Code of Practice explains SEBD as: â€Å" a acquisition trouble where kids and immature people demonstrate characteristics of emotional and behavioral troubles such as: being withdrawn or isolated, interrupting and disrupted ; being overactive and deficient concentration ; holding immature societal accomplishments ; or showing disputing behavior originating from other complex particular demands † ( DCSF 2008, paragraph 49 ) . Indeed, it is an imprecise term, as Goodman and Burton note, that is connected with many different behaviors, internalizing and projecting but besides with other troubles such as the job in acquisition or the hyperactivity. However, one of the most of import issues that might be raised is how teaching and inclusion can be effectual when the significance of umbrella footings such as SEN or SEBD have so many premises. ( Campbell 2002 ) .Furthermore, contemplations should be made about how to gain the purposes of inclusion and why all these barriers for its accomplishment exist.Is it appropriate to speak about a spread between theory and pattern? Jull ( 2009 ) summarises that inclusion of kids with SEBD faces many jobs in execution because of deficiency of educational and administrative administration but besides because of the behavior itself of pupils as the chief trouble to accomplish inclusion.Indeed, kids with SEBD are at great hazard of being excluded ( DfeS, 2004 ) as their antis ocial behavior is thought to be a great challenge ( White Paper 2010 ; Green Paper, 2007 ) . The troubles briefly outlined above high spot the complexness of inclusion of kids identified as holding SEBD in UK context as there is a scope of issues, challenges and quandary being raised. As a consequence, after analyzing these barriers, I will propose possible ways frontward to get the better of them. Furthermore, I will reason that despite the jobs and contemplations, inclusion can be achieved but in order to be effectual, a whole transmutation must be occurred in society and educational scenes. Therefore, I will do connexions to my ain personal experience in Greece as a six months volunteer instructor of handicraft and linguistic communication to striplings and grownups with high-functioning autism and Down syndrome who besides faced emotional and behavioral diificulties.

A Brief Note On The And The Holocaust - 1814 Words

Theodicy and the Holocaust The Holocaust was the defining event of the modern era for Judaism. It changed the Jewish community’s perception of the world, as well as the world’s perception of the Jewish community. It cost six million people their lives, eliminating about one third of the Jewish population. Mankind witnessed the most destructive act of evil it has ever seen. Evil, in fact, seems an understatement. The horrors of the Holocaust are inexplicable, ever more so for those that did not experience it. But even after such an event, the faith of the Jewish people is strong perhaps stronger now than it ever has been before. Still, for the believer it is often difficult to reconcile the notion of an all power God with the Holocaust,†¦show more content†¦But if your heart turns away... I declare to you this day that you shall certainly perish.† God is a God of justice and goodness punishing those who do not live an ethical life. It seems, from reading the bible that His existence is intertwined with the lives of humans and (acts in history by destroying the sinners and causing the righteous to prosper. That God will ensure that the good accrue fortune and the bad suffer. In the words of Isaiah, â€Å"I will requite to the world its evil, and to the wicked their iniquity.† but if this is what the bible tells us of God, why does He not put a stop to the bad? For the faithful it is often difficult to reconcile this portrayal of God with the acts of evil we witness and read about in history. Why does fortune accrue to sinners and unwarranted suffering to the innocent? Why do God’s people - the Israelites - continue to suffer throughout all of time? How did a good and omnipotent God not interfere in the extermination of six million: or one third, of His people during the Holocaust? In the words of Richard Rubenste in, there is an apparent â€Å"conflict between faith and reason.† Since the Hebrew bible does not offer a simple answer to such inquiries, believers throughout history have attempted to provide their own rational explanations. The philosophical and ethical attempt to justify the existence of God in light of suchShow MoreRelatedThis Way for the Gas Ladies and Gentlemen1246 Words   |  5 PagesThe sullen narrative This Way for the Gas Ladies and Gentlemen poignantly recounts the events of a typical day in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. The author, Tadeusz Borowski, was Polish Holocaust survivor of Auschwitz, the series of death camps responsible for the deaths of the largest number of European Jews. Recounted from a first-person point of view, the novel unfolds at dawn as the unnamed narrator eats breakfast with a friend and fellow prisoner, Henri. 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