Obesity And The Western Diet - 1776 Words

The basis of our being is cellular, with nutrition being one necessity a cell needs to function. Nutrition comes from the food we consume where it is digested and broken down into simple nutrients. Each food having a different nutritional value. Is the diet we, as American’s, consume nutritionally filled? What role does a typical western diet play in relationship to the diseases we treat in healthcare today? In going back to the diet of our ancestors, consuming a Paleolithic diet, also known as a caveman or stone-age diet decreases the amount of chronic inflammation one has, thereby reducing risk factors for major diseases we treat in healthcare today. You are what you eat. Food is fuel; a necessity for human existence. As human beings have progressed, industrialized, and revolutionized, what we ingest has followed suit. This food progression has been termed the western diet. It consists of high fat, sugar, refined starches, oil, nonhuman mammal milk including their products, and beans. Alongside the western diet, western diseases have emerged: cardiovascular heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and some cancers (Frassetto, Schloetter, Mietus-Synder, Morris, Sebastian, 2009). A common denominator of all of these diseases, centered on metabolic syndrome, is a chronic state of systemic low-level inflammation (Ruiz-Nunez, Pruimboom, Dijick-Brouwer, Muskiet, 2013). In the Paleolithic diet refined grains, nonhuman milk, milk’s associated products, sugar, and beansShow MoreRelatedThe Western Diet Essay1158 Words   |  5 PagesThe Western Diet mainly consists of fried foods, refined grains, sugar, high carbohydrate and fats, and meats (3). It has been hypothesized that having a Western Diet increases one’s chances for developing depression. There has been a great deal of research into why the western diet increase’s one chance of having depression. A common sense reason maybe that the Western Diet consisted of large amounts carbohydrates, fats and sugars which promotes obesity and then causes depression (1). More scientificRead More`` Escape From The Western Diet By Michael Pollan Essay1641 Words   |  7 PagesThere are more ways to shun obesity. Michael Pollan, who wrote â€Å"Escape from the western diet†, claims that the fast food industry is one of the main reasons why people struggle with their health. He believes that the processed food we consume gives us harmful deceases. Pollan urges us to listen to his words to avoid the western diet, he preaches that we should start eating healthier and to put more time and effort when it comes to buying food. Pollan provides u s with his rules as well and claimsRead MoreFood Is A Necessity And Without Food We Wouldn’T Be Able1345 Words   |  6 Pagesand Prevention (CDC), more than one-third of Americans have obesity (Adult Obesity Facts). One of the major reasons causing obesity is a poor diet, what some call, the Western Diet. In Michael Pollan’s article â€Å"Escape from the Western Diet†, he argues that people should give up the western diet. Pollan reaffirms to readers, that those who indulge in the ways of the western diet are prone to a variety of chronic diseases. The western diet, he argues, is not good and should be put to an end. As PollanRead MoreObesity Is A Rising Epidemic Throughout The United States Of America1638 Words   |  7 PagesObesity is a rising epidemic throughout the United States of America. In many cases, people that are obese tend to develop type 2 diabetes, because the pressure of being obese affects the body’s ability to properly use insulin an d control blood sugar levels. In many studies, a hypocaloric, or reduced-calorie, diet is suggested as the main solution to the obesity problem. However, throughout these studies there have been contradictions about the impact of dietary iron on obesity-induced insulin resistanceRead MoreDo Western Diets and Lifestyle Negatively Affect People’s Health?1489 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Do Western Diets and Lifestyle Negatively Affect People’s Health? Western diets and lifestyle have become more and more popular in many countries all over the world, because western countries are more developed and people think western diets and lifestyle are healthy to people. It is a common knowledge that health includes three aspects: physical health, mental health, and social well-being health, not just without any disease. Western diets refer to the food as red meat, sugary desserts and drinksRead MoreCauses Of Obesity In Western Countries1251 Words   |  6 Pages Obesity in Western Countries: Causes and Implications Over the past two-decades obesity has risenn at an alarming rate globally and now is reaching epidemic proportions in the western and industrialized countries†¦ USA. Obesity prevalence in the United states is among the highest globaly as its obesity rate is projected to climb from today’s 30-40% today to a shocking 70% in 20301 . In particular, childhood obesity exhibited the highest growth rate today, tripling the percentage of children overRead MoreHow Junk Food Can End Obesity1175 Words   |  5 PagesFast food eateries are one of the main, if not the primary, reason behind obesity in the United States. Fast food, what many people for the most part view as a speedy approach to get some nourishment, is really killing a large number of individuals than you may suspect. In this current time, nearly everybody realizes that fast food isn t especially the best thing for you to eat, yet that won t verge on preventing us from eating it. Diverse things play a component with re spect to why we as a wholeRead MoreAnalysis of the Western Diet and Michael Pollan ´s Point of View on the Subject1037 Words   |  4 PagesNorth America and raises questions regarding Western diet, which is mostly comprised of refined sugar and high fructose corn syrup and corn in general. He reiterates that chemically generated food is creating disease in North Americans; If we eliminate these factors and adopt the eating habits of less industrialized places in the world will we in our lifetime see rates of heart disease, type two diabetes and obesity decline dramatically? The western diet has evolved drastically in the last sixty yearsRead MoreAnalysis Of Fast Food By Michael Pollan1134 Words   |  5 PagesPollan expresses his views on what the Western diet is and how Americans need to escape from it. To the author, a type of American diet consists of an excessive amount of fast food and how it can lead to obesity and illnesses. Pollan expresses how he disagrees with the die t and states that both food and health industries are partially to blame for this. Pollan gives his opinion on the food industry, medical community and his own ideas on how to escape this diet. I agree with Michael Pollan’s viewsRead MoreFood and Nutrition Essay1466 Words   |  6 Pagesmost essential elements to being healthy and living a long life. People deal with food every day, and food has been a part of life since the beginning of civilization. What we eat becomes our diet, and our diet plays a major role in deciding how healthy we are and how well our body functions. Without proper diet, our body cannot carry out the functions it needs to perform. Most people have some common knowledge on what is good and what is bad for the human body to consume. Fruits, vegetables, nuts,

Globalization Is Defined As A Process Of Interaction And...

Kyle Hutchens Cultural Anthropology Globalization Unit October 17, 2014 Globalization Globalization is defined as â€Å"a process of interaction and integration arising from the interchanging world views, products, ideas, and other aspects of culture.† In other words, it is interactions and trade between people and other countries including governments. There are many effects that come along with globalization, both negative and positive. Negative aspects of globalization start with non-economists and the wide public expecting the costs associated with globalization to outweigh the benefits, especially in the short-run. Less wealthy countries from those among the industrialized nations may not have the same highly emphasized beneficial†¦show more content†¦It also provides poor countries, through mixtures of foreign capital and technology, with the chance to develop economically and by spreading prosperity to create the conditions in which democracy and respect for human rights may flourish. Now there is a worldwide market for companies and consumers to access products from different countries. There is a world power that is being created gradually, instead of compartmentalized power sectors. Politics are merging and the decisions that are being made are actually beneficial for people all over the world. There is more infl ux of information between two countries. There is cultural intermingling. Each country is slowly learning more about other cultures. Since we share financial interests, corporations and governments are trying to sort out ecological problems for each other. Socially we have become more open and tolerant towards each other, and people who live in the other part of the world are not considered aliens. Most people see speedy travel, mass communications and quick dissemination of information through the Internet as benefits of globalization. Trade among nations via the use of comparative advantage promotes growth, which is attributed to a strong connection between the openness of trade flows and the affect on economic growth and economic performance. Additionally there is a strong positive

Humanity and the Death penalty Essay Example For Students

Humanity and the Death penalty Essay One of the more controversial issues these days is the death penalty, and it does come up more than once in a while. Over the course of this assignment, I will tell you about the Death penalty in Canada and in other countries around the world and why it should be abolished from the face of the planet forever. Since 1892, the penalty for murdering anyone was Death, usually by hanging. Other offenses which were susceptible to hanging was rape, treason and mutiny (the latter two used only in militia. But as our country grew and matured, so did its views on the death penalty. The first act against the death penalty was in 1954 when the federal government removed rape from the roster of capital punishments. Tension on the subject continued to mount between 1954 and 1963, but a more limiting decision was made in 1966. In 1966 the government passed a bill which read that the death penalty may only be issued to those who have killed a prison guard or on Duty police officer. Then, in 1976, a free vote in the house of commons abolished the Death penalty almost completely from Canada, with the exception of the military offenses treason and mutiny. All prisoners on death row were given a life sentence with no possibility of parole for 25 years. However, no offenses have been made to this very day, and in 1998, those two offenses, (treason and mutiny) were no longer punishable by death. The Death penalty in Canada was finally gone. Now, there are two schools of thought as far as the death penalty goes, and both present some compelling arguments. Some pro-death penalty observers stated that it is actually cost efficient to give people the capital punishment. It costs 50,000-100,000$ to build the cell and an average of 25,000$ to support the criminal for life. An argument I dot quite agree with is the rehabilitation is uncertain and we have to guarantee no repeat crimes. Research shows that crimes go down after an execution, and its the method that speaks for the punishment and not how many times in a row the death penalty comes into effect(for example a public hanging may say more than a lethal injection behind closed doors). However, there are many arguments that are anti death penalty as well. First off there is the price, The death penalty, because it involves so many required post-trial hearings, reviews, appeals ect it ends up costing almost 6 times as much as life incarceration. (however there are exceptions to either economical arguments, where some capital punishments will take less money than others, the same applies to life in prison). What I think is the best argument of all is that it is irreversible, 25 people have been wrongfully executed in this century, and this is purely unacceptable. The death penalty also denounces the opportunity for rehabilitation, repair, redemption, restoration. The worst part of the death penalty is not the fact that it is death, but the fact that an innocent person could be completely abolished from the face of this planet. Yes, the most shocking part of the death penalty is mistakes. In a century of capital punishment, 710 people have been sent to the great beyond for their sins, and 25 of those people were later proven to be innocent. In fact, since the death penalty was abolished in 1976, 6 convicts were found innocent of murders of which they were accused. These six people would have been sentenced to death, and justice would never have been served. I think that anyone who would want the death penalty reinstated should be wrongfully accused and sentenced to death. (well, not really, but it would make some good poetic justice. .uc2b5c890992ed640f2b66c3bd96ea3a0 , .uc2b5c890992ed640f2b66c3bd96ea3a0 .postImageUrl , .uc2b5c890992ed640f2b66c3bd96ea3a0 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uc2b5c890992ed640f2b66c3bd96ea3a0 , .uc2b5c890992ed640f2b66c3bd96ea3a0:hover , .uc2b5c890992ed640f2b66c3bd96ea3a0:visited , .uc2b5c890992ed640f2b66c3bd96ea3a0:active { border:0!important; } .uc2b5c890992ed640f2b66c3bd96ea3a0 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uc2b5c890992ed640f2b66c3bd96ea3a0 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uc2b5c890992ed640f2b66c3bd96ea3a0:active , .uc2b5c890992ed640f2b66c3bd96ea3a0:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uc2b5c890992ed640f2b66c3bd96ea3a0 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uc2b5c890992ed640f2b66c3bd96ea3a0 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uc2b5c890992ed640f2b66c3bd96ea3a0 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uc2b5c890992ed640f2b66c3bd96ea3a0 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uc2b5c890992ed640f2b66c3bd96ea3a0:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uc2b5c890992ed640f2b66c3bd96ea3a0 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uc2b5c890992ed640f2b66c3bd96ea3a0 .uc2b5c890992ed640f2b66c3bd96ea3a0-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uc2b5c890992ed640f2b66c3bd96ea3a0:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Advantages For, And About Children Essay). An interesting fact, if I might add, is that the number of people supporting capital punishment went down when they presented it as death penalty instead. In conclusion I think that the death penalty is not a very intelligent choice for anybody, although Jon will undoubtedly disagree with me. It doesnt matter how much we save, how much justice you think is being served, it isnt right. Mistakes can be made, innocent people .

The Influences Of Clym In The Return Of The Native Essays

The Influences Of Clym In The Return Of The Native The Influences of Clym in The Return of the Native The novel, The Return of the Native, explores the clash between the inevitable social change and a traditional way of life. Set in imaginary landscape of Wessex, the story concerns Eustacia Vye, Mrs Yeobright, Thomasin, and Damon Wildeve - and how Clym Yeobright, the returning native of the title, affects each of their destinies, an his own. The brooding menace of Egdon Heath in Dorsetshire opens Hardy's novel of tragic passion. Eustacia Vye, willful and longing for the excitement of city life, awaits her lover on the forbidding moor. She married Clym Yeobright, newly returned from Paris, thinking he would take her there, but Clym is content as the country schoolmaster. With her dreams thwarted and confused circumstances that lead her to believe she has caused the death of Clym's mother, not even her affair with reckless Damon Wildeve can keep her from sinking into the despair that leads to her death by drowning. Once again Hardy creates a masterful net of destiny from which his tragic characters cannot escape. Clym affected each of their lives in a different way. Before returning to Wessex, Thomasin was going to marry Wildeve. But Wildeve and Eustacia secretly liked each other. Mrs. Yeobright wanted Thomasin to marry Clym when he returned. But Thomasin liked Wildeve. So when Clym returned, he fell in love with Eustacia. She also loved Clym, and persuaded Wildeve to marry Thomasin. Then Eustacia and Clym got married. Mrs. Yeobright did not approve of any of these marriages. After a while, Clym's eyesight grew weaker and weaker until he was force to become a spur's cutter. This made Eustacia mad because she thought she would never see Paris now. Suddenly, the feelings Eustacia and Wildeve had for one another grew stronger, and they began seeing each other again. All the while, Tomasin was feeling lonely. Her husband was not spending any time with her. Mrs. Yeobright felt as if she was being cast off by her son. When she went to visit him, but no one would let her in. She died on her way home. Rumors went around that Eustacia would let her in because she had a man in the house with her. So Eustacia left Clym, and went to her grandfather's house. She and Wildeve later decide to run away with each. But before they could live happily ever after together, they died. So in the end, if he had not returned, things may have turned out different. Cylm and Thomasin would have gotten married, and they and Mrs. Yeobright would have moved to Paris. Eustacia and Wild eve Would have also gotten married. The Return of the Native, by Thomas Hardy, achieves the intensity of classical Greek tragedy in its depiction of a pitiable human struggle against relentless fate. The author's somber view of human existence is expressed both in the superb opening description of Egdon Heath and in the tragic lives of Clym Yeobright, the returned native of the heath, his cousin Thomasin, Damon Wildeve, his mother Mrs. Yeobright, and Eustacia English Essays

Spanish development Essay Example

Spanish development Essay Example Spanish development Essay Spanish development Essay Essay Topic: The Lottery and Other Stories Special report: Brazil Grounded Having come tantalizingly close to taking off, Brazil has stalled. Helen Joyce explains what it must do to get airborne again Seep 28th 2013 | From the print edition IN JUNE THIS year Brazil was struck by an outbreak of mass protests as sudden as a tropical storm. Brutal policing of demonstrations against a rise in bus fares elicited a wave of solidarity and brought more than a million marchers to the streets on subsequent nights. It also gave vent to previously unsuspected public fury over rising inflation, high taxes, poor public services and political corruption. Even football, a Brazilian passion, became a target of the protesters ire. Many carried placards contrasting their governments lavish spending on stadiums for next years World Cup with the dire state of the rest of the countrys infrastructure. The change in political weather came after almost two decades of brightening skies. Since 1994, when hyperinflation was tamed with a new currency, the real, successive governments have pursued generally sound economic policies and adopted anti-poverty programmed. The economy grew rapidly and inequality declined. The global commodity boom eloped by sucking in Brazilian iron ore and agricultural produce, and in 2007 Brazil struck vast deposits of deep-sea oil. Being chosen to host both the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics seemed due recognition that its days as a chronic underachiever were behind it. But Braziers economy did not play ball. Having grown by 7. 5% in 2010, the fastest rate for a quarter-century, it slowed to 2. 7% in 2011 and a mere 0. 9% in 2012. This year will see a tepid recovery at best. Inflation is sticking at around 6%. Pessimists recall that the one period of impressive growth within living memory, in the sass, ended in chaos and hyperinflation. In recent years Brazil has been seen as one of the leading emerging-market economies that would help drive global growth in the next half-century. But many now wonder whether it has managed nothing more than a v ¶o De galling (chicken flight), a brief, unsustainable growth spurt followed by a rapid return to earth. During Braziers economic miracle of the sass it was the rich who captured most of the gains. At the time Edema Bach, an economist, invented a new label for it, Believed?a combination of a small, rich country, like Belgium, and a large, poor one, like India. Public education, health care ND roads were provided for the Belgian part. Those living in India did without and expected nothing better. Brazil is still one of the worlds most unequal countries. Its murder rate rivals Mexico. Public health care is a lottery. Fewer than half its pupils leave school fully literate. But it is no longer Believed. In the past quarter-century a better labor market and a basic social safety net have cut poverty by two-thirds. In the past decade the income of the poorest 10% of Brazilian has almost doubled in real terms, whereas that of the richest 10% has grown by less than a fifth. Braziers Gin coefficient, a measure that expresses income inequality, is at a 50-year low. But there is a sense in which Brazil is still Believed, says Marcelo Inner, the president of PEA, a government-funded think-tank: A rich country thats growing like Belgium? population of mm now belongs to a new lower-middle class, living in households with a monthly income per person between 291 and 1,019 realms ($127-446). Most of these gains in income have come from earnings, though government transfers have made an important contribution, especially in the poor north-east. Tens of millions of Brazilian now live in more solid houses equipped with cookers, fridges and washing machines. Many own cars. Children of illiterate domestic servants have Jobs in the formal economy and study for degrees at night. But when the new middle classes step outside their doors, traces of sass Believed are still all around. The number of cars in circulation has more than doubled in a decade, but most roads are still unpaved and few new ones have been built. Public transport consists mainly of packed, decrepit buses. Air traffic has also more than doubled in the past ten years, but airports have barely been touched. Children attend school in two, sometimes three shifts a day. Two-fifths of Brazilian are not covered by local primary health care. When life was a struggle for survival, the economy and Jobs were the main concerns. Now that people are a little better off, the parlous state of infrastructure and public services is at the front of their minds. The government has tried but largely failed to respond to growing demand for public goods. Many of the big infrastructure projects included in its Growth Acceleration Programmer announced in 2007 are running years behind schedule and way above budget. Dilemma Rousseau, the president, appears at last to have accepted that Brazil will need private-sector involvement to get the roads, railways, ports and airports it needs, but her conversion has been late and grudging. Concessions to run three airports were auctioned at the beginning of 2012, but auctions for more airports, as well as ports, roads and railways, were delayed while the government quibbled over the terms. The dangers of complacency Many Brazilian politicians seem to believe that the protests were simply growing pains, but they are being unduly complacent. They should have realized that the new diddle classes would want decent public services, commutes without epic traffic jams and elected representatives who were visibly working towards these ends. Several parties have proposed electoral reforms to make politicians more responsive to voters, but they all want different things, so reaching consensus will be difficult. A less favorable economic climate is now making it even harder to meet the voters increasingly vocal demands. The slowdown in growth has caused a downturn in investment, which last year was Just 18. 4% of GAP, not enough to lead a recovery or to build the infrastructure Brazil needs. Ms Rousseau has been hectoring businessmen to invest more, ignoring the fact that it is mainly government obstructionism and heavy-handedness that hold them back. And commodity prices seem unlikely to bail out Braziers economy with another growth spurt. The country has also blown its chance to cash in on its demographic bonus. Its birth rate has declined steeply over the past few decades but it still has a young population, with many people currently of working age, and a relatively small number of defendants at either end of the age scale. Unfortunately most of this bonus is going on a crazily generous pension system. That will soon put an even bigger strain caveats, this special report will argue that, given the will, there is scope for the social and economic advances of the past two decades to continue. Braziers agribusiness has made huge productivity gains and offers opportunities for further growth. Innovative consumer firms are catering to the new middle classes and are starting to expand abroad. Braziers politicians have been put on notice that todays young adults, better educated than the previous generation, will be less willing to accept corrupt, venal politics and more insistent on getting decent public services in return for the gig taxes they pay. The way to fund such services is not to increase public spending, which at 38. % of GAP is already far higher than in comparable countries, but to get growth going again. To achieve that, the government will have to resume the reforms it dropped during the good times: trimming pension benefits, cutting red tape, lowering and simplifying taxes and updating labor laws. Successful infrastructure auctions, too, would help get investment back on track, and abandoning anti-profit rhetoric would improve business sentiment. But the most urgent problem that Brazil deeds to tackle is a sharp loss of competitiveness. Braziers future Has Brazil blown it? A stagnant economy, a bloated state and mass protests mean Dilemma Rousseau must change course Seep 28th 2013 | From the print edition FOUR years ago this newspaper put on its cover a picture of the statue of Christ the Redeemer ascending like a rocket from ROI De Jeaneries Cordovan mountain, under the rubric Brazil takes off. The economy, having stabilized under Fernando Henries Cards in the mid-sass, accelerated under Luis Len ¤CIO Lull dad Silva in the early sass. It barely stumbled after the Lehman collapse in 2008 and in 2010 grew y 7. %, its strongest performance in a quarter-century. To add to the magic, Brazil was awarded both next years football World Cup and the summer 2016 Olympics. On the strength of all that, Lull persuaded voters in the same year to choose as president his technocratic prop ©g ©e, Dilemma Rousseau. Since then the country has come back down to earth with a bump. In 2012 the economy grew by 0. 9%. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets in June in the biggest protests for a generation, complaining of high living costs, poor public services and the greed and corruption of politicians. Many have now lost faith in the idea that their country was headed for orbit and diagnosed Just another vivo De galling (chicken flight), as they dubbed previous short-lived economic spurts. There are excuses for the deceleration. All emerging economies have slowed. Some of the impulses behind Braziers previous boom?the pay-off from ending runaway inflation and opening up to trade, commodity price rises, big increases in credit and consumption?have played themselves out. And many of Lulls policies, notably the Bolas Familial that helped lift mm people out of poverty, were admirable. The worlds most burdensome tax code But Brazil has done far too little to reform its government in the boom years. It is not alone in this: India had a similar chance, and missed it. But Braziers public sector imposes a particularly heavy burden on its private sector, as our special report 58% to salaries and the government has got its spending priorities upside down. Compare pensions and infrastructure. The former are absurdly generous. The average Brazilian can look forward to a pension of 70% of final pay at 54. Despite being a young country, Brazil spends as big a share of national income on pensions s southern Europe, where the proportion of old people is three times as big. By contrast, despite the countrys continental dimensions and lousy transport links, its spending on infrastructure is as skimpy as a string bikini. It spends Just 1. 5% of GAP on infrastructure, compared with a global average of 3. 8%, even though its stock of infrastructure is valued at Just 16% of GAP, compared with 71% in other big economies. Rotten infrastructure loads unnecessary costs on businesses. In Matt Gross a soybean farmer spends 25% of the value of his product getting it to a port; the proportion in Iowa is 9%. These problems have accumulated over generations. But Ms Rousseau has been unwilling or unable to tackle them, and has created new problems by interfering far more than the pragmatic Lull. She has scared investors away from infrastructure projects and undermined Braziers hard-won reputation for macroeconomic rectitude by publicly chivvying the Central Bank chief into slashing interest rates. As a result, rates are now having to rise more than they otherwise might to curb persistent inflation. Rather than admit to missing its fiscal targets, the government has resorted to creative accounting. Gross public debt has climbed to 0-70% of GAP, depending on the definition?and the markets do not trust Ms Rousseau. Fortunately, Brazil has great strengths. Thanks to its efficient and entrepreneurial farmers, it is the worlds third-biggest food exporter. Even if the government has made the process slower and costlier than it needed to be, Brazil will be a big oil exporter by 2020. It has several manufacturing Jewels, and is developing a world-class research base in biotechnology, genetic sciences and deep- sea oil and gas technology. The consumer brands that have grown along with the countrys expanding middle class are ready to go abroad. Despite the recent protests, it does not have the social or ethnic divisions that blight other emerging economies, such as India or Turkey. An own goal for Dilemma Fernando? But if Brazil is to recover its vim, it needs to rediscover an appetite for reform. With taxes already taking 36% of GAP?the biggest proportion in the emerging world alongside Christina Fresheners chaotic Argentina?the government cannot look to taxpayers for the extra money it must spend on health care, schools and transport to satisfy the protesters. Instead, it needs to reshape public spending, especially pensions. Second, it must make Brazilian business more competitive and encourage it to invest. The way to do that is not, as the government believes, to protect firms, but to expose them to more foreign competition while moving far more swiftly to eliminate the self-inflicted obstacles they face at home. Braziers import tariffs remain high and its customs procedures are a catalogue of bloody-minded obstructionism. More dynamic Latin American economies have forged networks of bilateral trade deals. Brazil has hidden behind Numerous, a regional block that has dwindled into a leftist talking-shop, and the moribund Doth round of world-trade talks. It needs to open up. Third, Brazil urgently needs political reform. The proliferation of parties, whose only interest is pork and patronage, builds in huge waste at every level of easy: a threshold for seats in Congress and other changes to make legislators more accountable to voters. But getting those who benefit from the current system to agree to change it requires more political skill than Ms Rousseau has shown. In a years time Ms Rousseau faces an election in which she will seek a second four-year term. On her record so far, Braziers voters have little reason to give her one. But she has time to cake a start on the reforms needed, by trimming red tape, merging ministries and curbing public spending. Brazil is not doomed to flop: if Ms Rousseau puts her hand on the throttle there is still a chance that it could take off again. From the print edition: Leaders Politics A rough ride for Rousseau But much could still change in the year to the next election Seep 28th 2013 | From the print edition BEFORE THE PROTESTS June Dilemma Rousseau of the workers party (OPT) seemed a shoo-in for a second presidential term after the elections in October 2014. Back in March this year 65% of voters approved of her government, a better mid-term wowing than for either Fernando Henries Cards, the architect of the inflation- busting Real Plan in the sass, or Luis Len ¤CIO Lull dad Silva, the former trade-unionist who succeeded him as president. But Ms Resources post-protest fall has been equally striking. By June her governments approval rating had fallen to 30%, though it rebounded to 38% in September. The sagging polls suggest that Ms Resources support lacked deep roots. Propelled into the presidency by Lull, her mentor, the dour former bureaucrat has never formed a personal connection with the electorate. But mid-term unpopularity need not mean disaster at the polls. Lulls own support suffered a big blow in 2005 after revelations that his party had been buying votes in Congress. Once the ugly stories dried up, he bounced back and was re-elected the following year. Ms Resources biggest advantage is a weak and splintered opposition. A ©CIO Never, the preferred candidate of many in Mr. Cardamoms Party of Brazilian Social Democracy (SODS), can point to two successful terms as governor of Minas Geris, the countrys second most populous state, but the current anti-politics mood has not helped his standing. Joss © Sera, also of the SODS, who lost against Lull in 002 and Ms Rousseau in 2010, wants to challenge Mr. Never for the partys nomination. He is unlikely to succeed, but the attempt may weaken Mr. Never. Eduardo Campus, the business-friendly governor of the north-eastern state of Permanence, looks increasingly likely to run, but his chances are hard to gauge since he is not well known in other regions; and some in his party, which currently supports Ms Rousseau, would prefer not to gamble on a rupture. The fourth of the possible challengers is the only one who seems capable of responding to the mood of the streets, but she is not ready to seize the moment. Marina Silva, who resigned as Lulls environment minister in 2008 and left the OPT over the issue of dam-building in the Amazon, garnered nearly 20% of the vote as the Green Partys presidential candidate in 2010. The child of poor rubber-tapers who learnt to read only as a teenager and put herself through university by working as a maid, she is admired like usual. The latest polls give her 22%. If she did that well in the election, she would force Ms Rousted a run-off. But without backing from a big, established party, she will find it hard to get airtime on television and to run an effective campaign. More worrying for Ms Rousseau than the opposition is friendly fire. Most of the parties in her unwieldy coalition Just want to stay in power. Since taking office she has managed them badly, displaying a mixture of arrogance, inexperience and a perhaps understandable distaste for the unsanitary bargains required to govern Brazil. If her candidacy looks like sinking, those allies will Jump ship without hesitation. Nor is her own partys loyalty guaranteed. It accepted her because she was Lulls choice?and because all the obvious candidates were struck by scandal. Many in the party would eke to see Lull return. He would probably garner more votes than Ms Rousseau. But since stepping down he has said many times that he does not want to run again. Only a total collapse in Ms Resources popularity would change his mind. That still looks unlikely?but it is no longer unimaginable. From the print edition: Special report The economy The price is wrong Why Brazil offers appalling value for money Seep 28th 2013 | From the print edition FROM $30 CHEESE pizzas in S ¤o Paulo to $250-a-night windowless, smelly hotel rooms in ROI, the lasting memory from a visit to Brazil in recent years has been shock t how expensive it is. When Lull came to office in 2003 a dollar bought 3. 5 realms; by mid-2011 it bought Just 1. 53 realms, barely a third of the 2003 figure in real terms, because inflation in Brazil during the period was much higher than in the United States. Since then the exchange rate has fallen to 2. 3 realms to the dollar, but that has undone little more than half the past decades gains. In any case, the causes of Braziers competitiveness problem go far deeper than the exchange rate. The strong real actually helped keep prices down by making imports cheaper. It did, however, give foreign visitors a chance to experience something the locals know so well that they have a name for it: the custom Brasilia (Brazil cost). Compared with other middle- income countries, Brazil is astonishingly poor value for money. Large domestic appliances and cars cost at least 50% more than in most other countries. For everyday items such as toothbrushes and childrens toys the difference is often a lot more. Among the 48 countries tracked by the Big Mac index, The Economists lighthearted currency-comparison tool, a burger in Brazil costs more than in only a mindful that are much richer (Norway, Sweden, Switzerland) and one that is dysfunctional (Venezuela). Burgers should be cheaper in poorer places because wages are lower: in Brazil, less than a quarter of European or North American levels. Allowing for that, a Brazilian Big Mac costs an indigestible 72% more than it should do, and the real remains one of the worlds more overvalued currencies. Special The Miffs broader cost-of-living figures show that Braziers high prices are no mere quirk of overgenerous. In most less well-off countries people find their money goes Averaged across all goods and services, a Mexicans spending power, for example, is 45% higher at home than if he bought dollars and shopped across the border. But a Brazilian can buy little more at home than he can in the United States. The causes of Braziers cost problem are legion. Start with taxes. At 36% of GAP, the total tax burden is far heavier than in other developing countries. Payroll taxes, at 58% of salary, are higher than in any other big economy. Consumption, too, is heavily taxed, which explains why a Brazilian-made car costs up to 45% less in Mexico than it does in Brazil itself. High tariffs push up the price of imports even more. A smartened costs about 50% more than in the United States. Most cars imported from outside the Numerous trade block and Mexico attract not only a 35% tariff but an extra 30% on top of the normal sales tax. The complexity of the tax code also raises compliance costs. A mid-sized Brazilian firm takes 2,600 hours to prepare its annual tax return, almost ten times the global average. Rigid labor laws make it hard to deploy workers efficiently and lead to costly court cases, 3. Mm last year alone. Many businesses prefer to hide in the informal sector. A 2006 McKinney report estimated that by remaining in the shadows a retailer could more than triple its profit margin, but at the cost of forgoing investment and economies of scale. A simplified regime for small firms introduced since then has persuaded many to register, but the resulting efficiency gains are limited by a new problem: too many Peter Pan firms unwilling to grow up and lose their privileges. A plethora of other costs help drive up prices. Poor roads and a limited rail network make for high freight charges. High crime rates have bred a private army of 650,000 security guards. Prime office rents in big cities are vertiginous; Iriss are the highest in the Americas, north or south. A low savings rate, high bank-reserve requirements and the governments considerable funding needs (it runs a budget deficit each year, despite that 36% tax burden) make credit expensive. FIEFS, S ¤o Paulos association of industrialists, says firms financing costs make up 5% of the end price of manufactured goods. Retailers manage to keep selling by accepting payment in installments. The hyperinflation years taught Brazilian consumers not to worry about the total cost, Just whether they can afford he monthly payments. But the effect is to push up the sticker price, since the cost of waiting for full payment and the risk of default has to be built in. Corners are also being cut on quality. In Mexico the bottom-of-the-range Golf, made in Brazil, is a 1 . 6-liter, four-door affair with air-conditioning. In Brazil it has a I-liter engine and two doors, with air-conditioning extra. Shopping around Brazilian respond to whopping price differences by going on foreign shopping sprees. Brazilian tourists spent $22. 2 billion abroad last year, a record, and seem set to go even higher this year. Direct Luxury Group, a consultancy, estimates that four- fifths of Brazilian spending on market goods takes place abroad. Miami has been getting so many Brazilian shoppers in recent years that many stores there have hired Portuguese-speaking staff. TAM, a Brazilian airline, says it takes on extra fuel on the return leg of that route to allow for excess baggage. The story of the custom Brasilia is decades old. Now soaring pay is adding a new chapter to it. Since 2003 the countrys have trebled, thanks to currency appreciation. One reason is the scarcity of well- educated workers. Manpower Group, an employment agency, says Brazil is the worlds second-hardest place for firms to find the skills they need, behind only ageing Japan. At the top end, headhunters say multinationals often have to pay their Brazilian executives more than their bosses in London or New York earn. But the main reason is a decade of big increases in the minimum wage, which sets a trend for all pay negotiations. At the start of 2003 it was 200 realms a month; now it is 678 realms, almost twice as much in real terms (see chart 2). The government is committed to above-inflation increases until 2015. Raising the minimum wage had its merits at iris, says Gray Newman of Morgan Stanley. In the years before Lull took office its value had eroded, creating room to shift profits from capital to labor. High interest rates kept inflation in check, and the weak currency ensured that exports remained competitive even if prices did rise a bit. Higher incomes, helped by somewhat more accessible consumer credit, boosted consumption, creating more Jobs in a virtuous cycle. Large domestic appliances and cars cost at least 50% more than in most other countries But the policy has now pushed costs beyond what either the foreign or the domestic market is willing to bear. Household consumption, one of the economys few bright spots in the past two years, has leveled off. Consumers are overstretched, with 21. 5% of household income going to service debts. Despite some of the worlds highest tariffs, imports are taking a bigger share of the manufactured products Brazilian buy. Exports of manufactured goods are slipping. After several years of price rises close to 10%, demand for services is losing steam. After a long boom driven by credit and consumption, Brazil has ended up looking in some ways like southern Europe, says Tony Pylon of Norma Securities, a broker. Only the rising value of its commodity exports saved it from ballooning current-account deficits. In the short term a weaker currency will help, as long as tight fiscal and monetary policy prevent it from fuelling inflation. The real is now 11% lower than at the start of this year, having touched 20% in August, though after taking inflation into account it is still well above its long-run average. A cheaper real will make Brazilian poorer by lowering their wages in foreign-currency terms and do nothing to get to the roots of the custom Brasilia. But it will protect Jobs by making exports cheaper and imports ricer, and by reducing the price of services compared with treatable goods. In the longer term Brazil needs to boost its productivity. A recent study by the Boston Consulting Group estimated that three-quarters of Braziers growth in the past decade has come from adding more workers and only a quarter from productivity gains. Since there is little room for the workforce to grow further, that needs to change. Other developing countries, and plenty of rich ones too, are doing far better. Regis Bonneville and Julia Fonts of the Fund#o Getting Barras, a university, calculate that in 000 Brazil achieved 19% of United States productivity levels, but by 2012 this had dropped to 18%. Over the same period the Chinese figure leapt from 6% of that in the United States to 17%. A closer look at the productivity figures points to some explanations. In the past two decades total factor productivity?the part left over after accounting for growth in in most other countries: in China by 2. 8% annually, in India by 2. 3%. That suggests Brazil missed out on gains other countries saw from investments in both human and physical capital, or that other improvements that generally come with such investments somehow failed to materialism. The World Banks annual report on doing business in various countries reads like a productivity to-do list for Brazil: make it simpler to start up and wind up companies; cut and streamline taxes; increase domestic savings and investment. For more hints, the country might turn to one of the few sectors where productivity has grown steadily in recent years: agriculture. From the print edition: Special report Agriculture v industry Leave well alone Braziers agriculture has benefited from government neglect. Its car industry has had too much attention Seep 28th 2013 | From the print edition Cottoning on to more productive farming IN 1984 WALTER HORRID, the youngest of three sons of a Japanese immigrant who farmed 500 hectares (1,240 acres) in the southern state of Prang, headed north in search of land. Matt Gross do Soul and Matt Gross, colonized by GAchose from southern states in the previous two decades, were too expensive for him. Eventually he settled on western Bah (see map below), where he bought 1,210 hectares, paying four sacks of soybeans per hectare. There was nothing, he says. No roads, no schools, no health care, no electricity, no water supply, no phone. He got digging. By 1999 the farm was so successful that his brothers in Para ¤ sold up and Joined him. Today the Horrid brothers own 150,000 hectares in western Bah, growing mostly Soya, cotton and corn. The story of how Braziers vast central and north-eastern crop belt was won starts in 1973, when Braziers military regime decided to centralist agronomy research and set up the Brazilian agricultural research corporation, Embrace. It sent 1,200 bright young scientists abroad to study. When they returned and were set to work, they achieved something of a miracle: they made the charade bloom. Until then, Braziers Savannah with its acid, nutrient-poor soil had been thought impossible to cultivate. It turned out that deep tilling, huge quantities of lime and fertilizer and fast-growing crops bred to suit the local conditions could coax a rich harvest from it. Go north, young man The new crops and techniques were adopted by GAchoc sons lured to the charade by the promise of virgin lands. They pushed northwards through Braziers central states, eventually arriving in the region now nicknamed Ambition: the cultivable parts of Marina ¤o, APIPA, Toscanini and Bah. Not only vast farms but prosperous new towns prang up as a result. When Mr. Horrid arrived in western Bah, Luis Eduardo Magical ¤sees (known as ELM) was Just a petrol station. In 2000, when it had 18,000 residents, it split away from Barriers, the regions only sizeable municipality at the time. ELM now has a population of 70,000 and is one of Braziers fastest-growing towns. The mayor says his biggest problem is finding 2,000 new school places each year. The John Deere concession run from ELM by Chic Lovelier, another GAchoc pioneer, is one of the American farm-equipment makers biggest worldwide. Around 40% of the 6. M hectares planted with grains and oilseeds in planted and harvested in the same year. Where rain is too sparse, millet replaces the cotton or corn. Marcos Junk of Agricultural, a Brazilian consultancy, reckons that another mm hectares in Brazil could be transformed in the same way without further advances in crops and technology. A further mm hectares currently under pasture could be turned over to high-productivity crop farming. The transformation of the charade is often dismissed as Braziers belated discovery of a competitive advantage. That leaves out a lot, and not Just Embarrass role and the argue of the GAchoc pioneers. Farming in the tropics is in many ways more difficult than in a temperate climate. Without cold winters, pests and crop diseases are harder to control. Intensive soil preparation and large amounts of lime and fertilizer require scale and capital. According to Roding Rodriguez of Agrarian, a company that buys and farms virgin charade, preparing land for its first crop?deep-tilling, root-picking, liming and so on?means passing over it 1 5 times, which costs as much as the land itself. The 1,300 members of AIBO, Biass farmers association, on average farm 1,269 hectares each. The average American farm is 170 hectares. Other obstacles in the way of Braziers frontier farmers include murky land titles. Bah is better in this respect than other bits of Ambition, and an electronic rural-land register will eventually bring a big improvement, but for now every purchase requires expensive due diligence. Braziers Forest Code requires some land to be set aside on every farm nationwide, no matter how far from the rainforests. Getting the environment agency to agree on set-aside and grant a license to start clearing can take years. Petty bureaucracy is a problem too. After buying a farm in western Bah in 2009, Agrarian built a km power line at a cost of 460,000 realms to connect it to the national grid. The power line has been finished since March, but the company is still waiting for permission to hook it up. Survival of the fittest On the wall of the Horrid brothers office in Barriers hangs the framed root of a drought-resistant cotton plant. It is 3. Mm long, a reminder of the power of natural selection in a harsh environment. Julio Boast, AlBAs president, says such forces have shaped the region too. One reason its farms are so big is that only the best made the grade, and they bought out the losers. Muff dont hear those stories so often, he says, but lots of people came and lost everything, and now theyre, say, driving a truck. It was the opening up of Braziers economy that enabled Embarrass tropical-farming technology to be taken up so widely, says Joss © Garcia Queues of the agriculture ministry. Until a couple of decades ago farmers were being supported by means of minimum prices, government-purchase schemes and trade controls, and agricultural output was growing only because extra land was being added. But in 1990 Braziers then president, Fernando Color, slashed tariffs and dismantled many import and export controls. Since then the total area under crop cultivation in Brazil has increased by 38% and production has more than trebled. Total factor productivity has been growing by 4. 6% a year. In these new areas [such as Ambition] they rarely even mention the government, says Mr. Queues. Theres no culture of subsidies; it was broken 20 years ago. In the past decade, propelled by the commodity boom, Brazil has become one of the worlds largest agricultural

Four simple tricks for new years resolutions that stick

Four simple tricks for new years resolutions that stick Four simple tricks for resolutions that stick Its that time again. A new year, a (seemingly) new beginning and a brand new chance to do everything a bit better. Clean slates are always appealing, and the turning of one year into another is as good a prompt as any to make a change – especially since it comes preloaded with tradition. Yet, as we all know, those early pledges to eat better, exercise more or spend less so often slip by mid-January, or even sooner. And the same is true at work. You may have aspirations to climb the career ladder, learn new skills, improve your communication, win more bids or achieve higher levels of customer satisfaction. So, how can you ensure that your work-related good intentions become a catalyst for real and lasting change, to make your business objectives for 2017 a reality? 1. You need to actually want it It sounds ridiculously obvious, but its so important. We often pick resolutions because we think we should behave a different way, or they may even be based on what someone else wants from us. But internal motivation tends to trump external: if your heart isnt really in achieving a goal, youre unlikely to succeed. 2. You need to be SMART Every project managers favourite mnemonic for goal setting is a great fit here too. So make your resolutions specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. Many resolutions fail because theyre too big and too vague: be more productive is a fine aim, but what does that actually look like in your daily life? Break down lofty ambitions into small, specific actions youll take, including when, where and how youll do each – and how youll track it. Introduce one and build up: willpower is a limited resource, so dont spend it all at once. 3. You need to harness the power of habit Were all walking bundles of habits, amassed over a lifetime. Good or bad, they have become so ingrained theyre automatic. Like our willpower, our daily ability to make decisions is limited, and your mind will seek ways to cut down the number it must make. Once something is habitual, doing it no longer requires a decision – hence the power habit has over us. You can harness this tendency in a positive way with something New York University professor Peter Gollwitzer terms if-then planning. This just means lodging in your head a cue (the if) for the new behaviour you want to establish (the then). For example, if you have a report deadline on Friday, then thats your cue to start the structure of your report on Monday at 9.30am. Your mind will look for the prompt, and has to make only a little effort when it arrives, as the decisions been made. 4. You have to just do it Have you ever said to yourself something like, ‘I don’t have time to learn new skills with my current workload’? Or perhaps you’ve put off starting that online course because trying to get a grip on something you can’t do yet can feel pretty uncomfortable in the early stages. (I know I have.) One of the key killers of new year’s resolutions – or any decision to change – is procrastination. Its built in to the practice: we generally commit ourselves to these new ways when the actual moment of action is safely in the distance. At that point, it feels good. Were pleased with our pledge, and the fact that we dont have to act on it yet. When were faced with following through, that high is often long gone. So just expect that. And vow that even if it feels less than pleasant, then youll do it anyway. Once youve done it just a few times, youre already on the way to forming a new pattern. You might even like it. And if you still cant shake the Ill-just-start-it-tomorrow habit, try to take an objective look at why youre procrastinating. For instance, if its starting a report that youre putting off, whats behind that? Perhaps its fear of it not being perfect. (Heres a gentle insider tip: it wont be. But thats OK.) Or maybe its because you dont yet have all the information you need. In that case, make finding that information your first task, rather than actually writing anything. Of course, thats another example of breaking down overwhelming and broad tasks into small, manageable sub-tasks. Happy new career Back to the new you of 2017 then. If you have a career-related resolution like winning a promotion, making more of an impact with your business writing, or just not putting work off to the last minute, remember to break it down into smaller, specific steps. And if you need a bit of inspiration, here are some more resources to give you some help. Download our free, comprehensive guide to writing any business document. Try this technique when you really want your documents to make more impact. When you want to improve your quality control, make finishing writing your cue for this habit. Discover a specific way to enliven your documents and email, with ready-made if-then planning. Adopt these practices when you really want to take back control of your day. Improve your at-work communication and relationships by making these signs your cue to step away from email and pick up the phone. Tackle the big reason many new years resolutions fail (and generally stop wasting your valuable time). Gain confidence in your writing and invest in improving everything you write at work in specific, measurable, achievable, relevant regular actions with our online training, Emphasis 360. And get the first month at a third of the usual price here. If improving your writing at work is one of your objectives for 2017, see our business-writing courses for companies or for individuals for our range of options. You can also call us on +44 (0)1273 732 888 for a chat with one of our friendly learning advisers. Image credit: TanyaRozhnovskaya / Shutterstock

To what extent can duties of environmental preservation be explained Essay

To what extent can duties of environmental preservation be explained in terms of intergenerational justice - Essay Example It is with this rationale that the current paper is written to identify the best modalities, theories and approaches that can be put in place to ensure generational responsiveness environmental preservation. The issue of generational responsiveness is considered necessary because generations of all types including the past generation, present generation, and future generation have different roles to play in environmental preservation (Hayward, 1998). In the light of this, the paper seeks to explain how the duties of environmental preservation can be undertaken in terms of intergenerational justice. Gosseries (2008) lamented that despite the high level of technological progress, we continue to depend highly on the environment and its resources in running industries and economies. Regrettably, this situation has made the threat of environmental destruction a perpetual one. Happy enough, major global stakeholders including both governmental and nongovernmental agencies continue to appreciate the need for curbing the threat of environmental degradation and depletion (Hardin, 1968). It is against this premise that environmental preservation has become one of the most discussed public topics in global discourse. Holistically, environmental preservation can be said to be the process of protecting the environment against destruction and depletion so that future generations can have substantial quantum of natural resources from the environment to support them (Shrader-Frechette, 2009). The scale and nature of efforts made towards environmental preservation has evolved over the years. T he evolution accounts for different terms and concepts used to stand for environmental preservation including such ideas as sustainable development, ecological debt, de-growth, and ecological footprint (Gosseries, 2008). On the whole, environmental preservation have included practices aimed at ensuring the judicious and prudent use of