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What international acts would Lebanon like to pass in a fictional international?
I am representing Lebanon in a Model UN type thing. I am researching Lebanon’s problems, but I am having trouble finding something to write a resolution on. It seems like Lebanon has a lot of problems of its own but not any that should receive international support.
In the past (for other countries) the resolutions have dealt mostly with environmental issues and dealing with HIV orphans and refugees.
Thank you so much.
My suggestion would be a resolution that the U N takes measures to resolve the outstanding issue of Palestinian refugees currently living in both Lebanon & Jordan…that they accept responsibility for the creation of the State of Israel & the fallout this caused neighbouring countries , particularly Lebanon…
Barack Obama – Obama addresses overflow crowd in Lebanon
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How are businesses responding to the environmental issues facing society?
How are businesses responding to the environmental issues facing society?
All businesses that wish to respond need to do so in a way that is cost effective and efficient. They can’t go broke trying to save energy otherwise that would defeat the purpose.
As an automotive retailer we can’t cut our power totally without closing our doors. We need electricity to power our computers, tools, lights, etc. However what we can do is buy higher efficient computers, use light fixtures that generate more light per watt and keep a close eye on the thermostat.
Currently there is a Ford factory that when they remodeled not only did they make the place more economically efficient they even built a botanical garden on the roof. They have developed products that are biodegradable such as the foam seat cushions in some of the newer vehicles (combination of soy and hemp).
Another Ford factory was done to be more efficient however on this one they built a large HE solar grid system. This grid not only supplies power for the plant but generates enough green energy to feed homes in the local area.
This summer I was going to roof my home which houses the computer lab for another business. I had full intention of installing a solar grid system that not only performed better than the old systems but had an attractive look about it. However I found out the tax credits that I desperately was counting on have been canceled as of February this year. It took me 2 years to save the money to start building this system and the credits were suppose to last 2012. However I found out that in February the stimulus bill that Obama proposed also has a section canceling all tax credits not already spoken for. So now there is no incentive to go green other than if we can afford it, I can’t.
If we are all going to work hard at going green then green energy has to become competitive. Government needs to cut wasteful spending and focus on becoming economically viable itself. Only then we can free up the money to promote advancement in green technology. What company will spend an additional $80 billion in developing better products unless we allow them to have more money for research and development?
Unfortunately ford recently changed their site. They did have this entire section of well made videos showing their green initiatives. It looks as if all the videos have been removed and the sections replaced by articles.
Jeffrey Hittner: Business, Consumers, and Global Issues
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The IT production industry has a Large Carbon footprint, which can be reduced through the re-use and re-deployment of redundant IT equipment namely Computer Recycling.
We’re all aware of the impact our use of scarce resources is having on the environment.
Two years ago saw a sudden and prolonged increase in the price of steel, copper and gold. These were brought about mainly by the rapid and somewhat unexpected growth in the Chinese economy. Why should this have any effect upon the recycling of computers you might ask? Depletion of non re-newable resources leaves only two options, find a new material (very expensive) or find a way to recycle and extract the old. With the Price of gold hitting $400 per troy ounce, it suddenly became extremely viable for recyclers, such as our selves to market our services. There’s been a very big boom in computer recycling over the past year.
Most of the environmental concerns with computers lie with the monitor, specifically its cathode ray tube (CRT). Each color monitor contains, on average, four to five pounds of lead, considered hazardous waste when disposed of. Computers also contain other hazardous materials, including mercury, cadmium (a known carcinogen), and hexavalent chromium (shown to cause high blood pressure, iron-poor blood, liver disease, and nerve and brain damage in animals). Over 314 million computers were thrown away at the end of 2007, containing 1.2 billion pounds of lead, 2 million pounds of cadmium, 1.2 million pounds of hexavalent chromium, and 400,000 pounds of mercury.
Part of the problem computer recycling has is, after upgrading computer systems, most organizations store their old computers, which serve as backup equipment in case newer computers break down. These old computers often sit in storage well beyond their potential useful life. At some point, a decision must be made about disposal of this equipment. Continuing to store it is often not a viable option, it eventually takes up a considerable amount of space. The least desirable option is to throw old computers into the bin. Computer recycling comes to the fore in every scenario possible, not just the effect it has upon the environment, there is also the possibility of someone removing hard drives and recovering sensitive data.
A number of factors have led to an upsurge of interest in people wanting to recycle old computer kit, including growing awareness around environmental issues, as well as the recent introduction in the UK of the Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) directive. (1 – June – 2006)
At the time of first writing this article the BBC News website had an excellent article about identity theft and the disposal / recycling of old computers and I quote from that article “Bank account details belonging to thousands of Britons are being sold in West Africa for less than £20 each, the BBC’s Real Story program has found.
It discovered that fraudsters in Nigeria were able to find internet banking data stored on recycled PCs sent from the UK to Africa.”
This drives home the point that you should destroy the data on your hard disk – before getting rid of the computer or hard disk in it. Computer recycling, isn’t always about the environment, but of company and national safety importance too.
From an environmental point of view it is far better to recycle your computer at an official recycling center than to dispose of it. It may even be illegal in some countries to dispose of electrical equipment by any other method other than by taking it to an approved computer recycling center or sending it back to the original manufacturer.
John Pettifer is managing director of a computer recycling company Recycling-IT. Due to his concern in environmental issues. http://recycling-it.co.uk
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Japan, during its period of rapid economic growth after World War II had problems with their environment. The government, in an effort to address the problem, applied various measures like investing in R&D for environment friendly technologies and provided funding to the populace and encourage the various industries to construct pollution control facilities. Despite their efforts, none of these proved sufficient. Because of this, the government formed an advisory panel to look into Japan’s industrial structure and come up with preventive actions on the part of the industry that are important to protecting the environment. In observance with this panel’s suggestion, the government initiated the nation-wide Pollution Control Manager System, which obligates every company in their respective industries to set up pollution control and prevention personnel groups in their factories who is led by a station certified manager who is an expert in regulatory and technical aspects of pollution control in their locality. The move, combined with other preventive measures like the development of environmental friendly technologies and investment in pollution prevention facilities played an important role in Japan’s battle against environmental degradation. Because of this, Japan eventually succeeded in overcoming its ecological problems in the 1980s.
In the past few years, Chinese companies have worked tremendously to achieve the country’s goal of having a robust economic development. China’s foreign assistance has come in the form of new technologies that are pertinent in sustaining the high levels of production. But it is my observation that what China really needs is to build an environment-friendly society. Despite the economic disparity between China’s urban and rural areas, ordinary citizens are becoming more conscious about the environmental problems they face. The most crucial element in combating the environmental problem is to raise the awareness of both the companies and citizens. Japan, who was successful with their battle against environmental problems should help China come up with policies that provides greater emphasis in developing environmental training and educational programs customized to raise public awareness on environmental issues.
China is facing a serious environmental problem. Fast paced construction of Olympic related buildings coupled with its economic productivity proved to be very environmentally costly to China. Examples like waste water flushed out from chemical and paper manufacturing industries is polluting and poisoning rivers and lakes all over the country. Mishaps at chemical plants often hit news headlines. Their steel and cement production is probably the world’s largest and also contributes smog and CO2 emissions to its highest levels. The air pollution in Beijing, which is brought by the combined and widespread use of cars and factory emissions, prevents Beijing residents from enjoying clear sunlight. The spread of acid rain and the pollution of oceans beyond China’s borders is clearly becoming a global problem. Presently, The Chinese government has started reviewing its economy-oriented rules and has taken steps for the construction of a more environment-friendly society.
Recently, I visited Christiansburg, Virginia for a historical story opportunity with Norfolk Southern Railroad. They are in the process of upgrading 28 tunnels on a route between Hampton Roads, Chicago, and Virginia so they can accommodate double-stacked railcars. The tunnel I visited was originally built between 1911 and 1919, The cap of its concrete liner have been removed but it was replaced with rock bolt reinforcements and concrete to the exposed rock to accommodate the double-stacked cars. This distinct tunnel is the longest on the route at 0.6 miles.When I went inside, I saw heavy equipment working double time and I also saw the work in progress. I walked back and forth along its length. I also discovered that carved it was carved through a small mountain with about 180 feet of dirt and rock over my head. It was totally dark and it kinda scared me. The Only visible light were from the light the seeped through the entrances of the tunnel and the flashlight that i brought along with me.
