Acid rain Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Acid rain - Assignment Example Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which are dangerous gases produced through burning fossil fuels undergo intricate chemical reactions when they come into contact with water to cause acid rain.4 Adopting the use of low-carbon or even zero-carbon energy sources such as solar will therefore help prevent acid rain in future. Innovations have also contributed to an increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which transforms into acid rain. For instance, Casper asserts that motor vehicles are some of the largest contributors of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.5 In this respect therefore, future developments in creation of motor vehicles and other motorized engines that produce less carbon dioxide will help eradicate acid rain. For instance, Casper notes that major universities in the U.S. and Canada started experimenting with solar powered motor vehicles as early as 2005.6 In a nutshell, prevention of acid rain in future will result from people adopting or embracing activities and processes that result to minimal discharge of carbon dioxide into the

Money & Banking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Money & Banking - Essay Example The Fed comes out with the monetary policy in order to ensure a certain key objectives like, delivering price stability with a low inflation level coupled with an objective to support the Government's economic objectives of growth and employment. To understand how the Fed monitors price related regulations to keep a check on inflation, we may consider a small example of the regulation of house and property prices. To take any decisions related to interest rates keeping in mind the ongoing inflation rate, the Fed must be thorough with the booming property prices and must take steps to ensure that the prices are not artificial. Government intervenes through its central bank to regulate the prices of many commodities, similarly it also regulates the prices of houses like any other important commodity. Fed has the responsibility to keep a check on asset prices including the prices of houses. There can be a number of reasons why the prices of houses may shoot up, like the simple rule of demand and supply has a definite impact. (Demand and Supply for Housing). Other reasons behind a change in property prices can be Mortgages. A mortgage is the money borrowed to buy a house, as for most people buying a house is not easy. Over the years mortgage market has picked up greatly and the current scenario is totally different from the one that existed in the beginning. Mortgages were supplied only by the building societies. Building societies were non-profit institutions and encouraged only the members for the grant of loans, so the people who were members and had contributed to an extent for a considerable period of time got loans easily and account with building societies became the only means to get mortgages. Soon these societies had to compete with the banks and other financial institutions specialized in granting housing loans. This price war resulted in a greater demand for owner occupied houses and consequently the demand for houses grew stronger, resulting in a substantial increase in price. (The UK Housing Market - Factors Influencing th e Housing Market: Mortgages) Besides the above-mentioned factor of mortgages there are other factors like stamp duty and planning that affect the market for housing. Mortgage interest relief at source (MIRAS) was a tax concession to owning a house. It reduced the house owner's liability to income tax as the money spent on the interest on mortgage was considered to be tax-free. This made borrowings cheaper and as a result there was a huge demand for housing and the prices shot up. With the introduction of MIRAS in 1990 many people were exempted from stamp duty. (The UK Housing Market - Factors Influencing the Housing Market: Stamp Duty and Planning) The central bank sets a fixed interest rate at which it lends money to financial institutions and depending on this interest rate, individual banks and other financial institutions set up their own interest rates, which apply to the whole economy. This step is of indispensable importance to the economy, as this is very widely used to contain inflation. The only purpose behind such a step is just to contain undue inflationary levels prevailing in an economy. The point to be noted here is that,

Analysing Remediation Of Contaminated Land In Nigeria Environmental Sciences Essay

Analysing Remediation Of Contaminated Land In Nigeria Environmental Sciences Essay Crude oil is an important mineral resource vital to everyday life. Modern trend toward increasing dependence on the use of petroleum hydrocarbons for energy needs has resulted in severe pressure on the energy resource as well as increased accidental discharges of oil and its products into the environment. This occurs frequently during operations such as extraction, transportation, storage, refining and distribution notwithstanding technology-driven precautions. It would be reasonable to state that oil contamination is one of the most serious forms of water and land pollution as it endangers public health, imperils drinking water, devastates natural resources, and disrupts the economy. Nigeria is one of the largest crude oil producing countries in the world and depends almost entirely (over 90%) on it for her revenue. The Niger Delta region in Nigeria contains the bulk of Nigerias proven oil and gas reserves. The region is ridden with environmental problems, ranging from devastation of land and water (crippling income generation through farming and fishing), through death of thousands of domestic animals, disastrous fire out-breaks, various illnesses to deaths. This is as a result of oil spillage which has become a daily experience in the region. There exist some prevention and mitigation measures associated with oil and gas exploration activities but these measures are not implemented in Nigeria. Owing perhaps to poor enforcement of the standards by regulatory bodies, corruption, high cost of procuring and maintaining some of the mitigation equipments, ignorance, lack of vision, or carelessness. These have led, to political unrest, with the people of the area feel ing exploited and calling for reparations. Contamination of soil by is a widespread environmental problem that often requires clean-up of the contaminated site. Though many techniques have been undertaken to address oil contamination of land in the Niger Delta region, these either have negative effects or result to incomplete clean-up of the hydrocarbon contaminated soil. Although disposal or open dump burning may be simple and easily adaptable, these techniques have undesirable health and safety hazards from e.g. air pollution. Bioremediation is an alternative technology which is likely to be capable of achieving permanent remediation. Nature has developed microorganisms that can degrade hydrocarbons to avoid their accumulation to a point of being detrimental to life. To achieve rapid bioremediation, nutrients and aeration are applied to the soil and the indigenous microorganism is often augmented to obtain enhanced bioremediation. The design of an efficient bioremediation system requires a set of careful studies of the local conditions of the site to be remediated. Despite several indications of the environmental degradation and health effects caused by oil contamination of land in the Niger Delta region, little attention has been paid to investigating the effectiveness of the use of bioremediation in this region. Undertaking an evaluation of a selection of case studies could provide better insight whether bioremediation is the appropriate solution to oil contamination problems in the region. Various application of bioremediation on oil contaminated soil has been reported with encouraging results but its effectiveness has not been fully employed in the region. 1.2 Aim and Objectives The primary aim of this study is firstly to consider oil contamination of land as a global problem, assess the causes and effects of oil contamination of land both across the world and in Nigeria and secondly to evaluate whether bioremediation could be an effective treatment technique of land contaminated by oil with particular reference to the Niger Delta of Nigeria. In order to achieve this, the following will be addressed; (a) The extent and causes of oil contamination (b) The effect of oil contamination (c) Oil contamination in Nigeria (d) Remediation methods (e) Case studies and/or questionnaire 1.3 Overview of oil contamination of land Pollution of the land by oil has become a matter of widespread concern, attracting attention of politicians, environmentalists and scientists. There is growing public concern as a wide variety of toxic organic chemicals are being introduced accidentally or deliberately into the environment. Petroleum hydrocarbons are one common example of these chemicals, which enter the environment frequently and in large volumes through numerous routes. These routes include seepage from natural deposits, human activities in exploration, production, transportation and storage of petroleum. Such human activities inevitably involve the risk of accidental spills that can only be minimized but not eliminated completely. Deonarine and Basdeo (2001) explained that leaks from wellheads, leaks from pipelines, and overflows at gathering stations and deposition of oily mud are also other routes through which hydrocarbon enter the environment. Oil spills are now becoming a frequent and major source of water an d land contamination across the globe especially in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. 1.4 Justification of the Study In time past, land contamination was usually perceived in terms of relatively rare incidents, with poorly known but possibly catastrophic impact on human health and the environment. According to Nathanail and Bardos (2004) numerous incidents drew media attention and these include Love canal in New York; Times Beach Missouri in United States and Minamata, Japan disaster. They further explained that today land contamination is no longer perceived in terms of few severe incidents rather as extensive infrastructural problems of varying intensity and significance that is inherited from past and present industrial and waste disposal activities. Nowadays across the globe, land contamination is gaining a higher official recognition and is been recognised as a serious challenge to present and future generation. Recently a lot of policies for sustainable development and contaminated land management have been introduced and so many countries especially in developed countries have implemented these policies. Despite this trend, the Nigeria Government and oil multinational companies operating in that country are yet to implement such policies. They agree with sustainable development and good environmental management but these are only seen as a paper exercise. There is no adequate implementation of sustainable development and environmental management in Nigeria. Moreover, oil spill incidence still occurs and no adequate management is given to the spilled site. There are no known instances in Nigeria whereby an oil polluted site had been fully remediated and restored by any of the oil companies. Most polluted sites are neglected to the mercy of slow process of natural recovery that takes several years to accomplish.   Even in terrestrial environments where remediation is conventionally cheaper and easy, in the Nigerian situation, it is a luxury that is impossible. For example, most sites in Ogoniland where incident oil spill incident occurred since 1970 remains unclean till date 2009. Besides deliberate negligence, corporate corruption and penchant to cut-corners hinder remediation programmes in the Nigerian oil industry. Remediation contracts are often awarded to contractors who simply transport topsoil from elsewhere to mask contaminated spill sites. These sites are often reported as begin remediated Although many people and organisations especially non-governmental organisation (NGO) have writing about oil pollution in Nigeria and its negative effects, but solution to the pollution have been limited. 1.5 Structure of the Report Chapter one began with an introduction and justification of the study. It brought problems, Aims and objectives and conceptual framework of the work. The second chapter carries out a review of the existing on oil contamination of land with emphasis on the meaning, causes, effects, issues across the world and Nigeria, technology and oil spillage as a major cause of the oil contamination. Also this chapter review oil contamination in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. Chapter three looks at the methodology, nature and sources of data collection as well as the technique for data analysis. The Chapter four looks at the proposed solution to oil contamination. Chapter five focuses on case studies and Discussion of findings of the study. (develop best practice guide for Nigeria) Chapter six looks at the conclusions and recommendations CHAPTER TWO 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction Oil contamination is a major environmental problem which is caused as result of oil operations. Activities of oil companies constitute environmental problems; with substantial implications for economic development and human health. As a result of its impacts some individuals live as aliens in their own communities, where they are unable to actualize their interest or aspirations. This chapter provides a review of the menace of oil contamination. 2.2 The problem Oil contamination of land. The demand for energy is increasing globally as a result of rising population, increased industrialisation and prosperity. This has resulted on severe pressure on available energy resources. Energy has a major impact on every aspects of socio-economic life as it plays a vital role in the economic, social and political development of any nation. As a result, the demand for energy is increasing worldwide, along with this, pollution is on the increase. Many parts of the world have as a consequence, suffered significant contamination. Khan et al (2004) pointed out that these oil contaminants enter the environment directly as a result of oil waste (sludge), spills during exploration, production and transportation, leakage from storage sites, or from industrial facilities. Oil spillage and oily waste deposits represent the majority of hydrocarbon contamination of our planet. Al-Saleh and Obuekwe (2005) asserted that accidental and deliberate oil spills have been and still continue to be a significant source of environmental pollution. Contamination of soil arising from spills is one of the most limiting factors to soil fertility and hence crop productivity as well as animal activity. Also the runoff from oil spill impacted site usually degrade the quality of the fresh water source which serves the domestic rural water supply needs of the host communities. Molina-Barahona et al (2004) corroborated that oil spills caused great damages to the ecology and economy of rural regions as well as nations. Therefore these polluted areas constitute a big potential risk to human health, environment, subsoil infrastructure, flora and fauna as well as groundwater. 2.3 Causes of oil contamination Crude oil is extracted world-wide at a very high rate to meets the bulk of the worlds energy requirements. At the same time, crude oil constitutes a potential hazard if discharged into the environment. Such discharge happens despite the fact that the distribution and storage network for crude oil is closely and well monitored. Oil development activities involve several polluting processes. The extent of these processes depends mainly on the environmental practices and technology used by oil companies. Apart from oil spills that mainly cause oil contamination of land, there are other different operations in the petroleum industry that cause contamination. These include drilling operation, leakage from wellhead and pipeline and over-flows at gathering stations. Fisher and Sublette (2005) stated that these causes of oil contamination are as a result of overflows, intentional dumping , illegal activity, aging facilities, equipment failure, operators error, construction defect, accidental damage, transport accident, defeat/bypassing protective system, ineffective quality control, over pressuring, natural phenomenon, blow out of oil well, sabotage and corrosion. During drilling, each well that is drilled produces drilling wastes, including formation water and drilling muds. Miguel and Anna-Karin (2004) pointed out that these wastes are frequently deposited into open pits, from which they are either directly discharged into the environment or leached out as the pits degrade or overflow from rainwater. Extraction of oil is also accompanied by seepage and spills. Offshore drilling routinely creates low level spills, and sometimes causes a blowout, a massive gush of petroleum. Most oil-wells are situated in deserts and oceans, which is where the majority of the worlds documented blow-outs have occurred. Storage facilities and pipelines can typically be destroyed by e.g.; either natural disasters like hurricanes, or accidents during construction or due to acts of sabotage or ageing of the facilities all resulting in release of large amounts of oil. The table below shows incident oil spill causes and number of incidents between 2000 and 2008. Table 1: Incident oil spill causes 2000-2008 2007 Incidents Causes No of incidents 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Equipment failure 8,383 8,429 8,341 9,132 10,078 9,958 10,209, 10,849 8,578 Operator error 3,459 2,885 2,305 2,889 2,997 2,684 2,908 2,885 3,022 Transport accidents 609 713 563 631 1,050 1,152 1,103 1,361 1,387 Dumping 1,523 1,494 1,265 960 806 757 863 1,004 935 Natural phenomenon 472 716 497 711 685 575 804 708 726 Sabotage 6,428 7,204 7457 6,531 3,907 3,865 3858 3860 3,942 Accidental spillage(aging facilities, construction defect, blow out of oil well, etc) 10,552 11,800 10,266 10,314 10,078 9,958 10,209 10,849 10,578 Source: (National response center statistics U.S 2008) It is observed from the table above that equipment failure and accidental spillage are the two main causes and these account for over 50% of oil spillage cause. Accidentals spillage could be as a result of traffic accident, aging facilities and blow-out of oil well. In addition to the above table, European Environmental Agency report that tanker accidents account for about 10-15 per cent of all oil that spill into the ocean world-wide every year. Fingas and Charles (2001) argued that oil spills accounts for a highest number and volume of oil contamination. Mokhalalati et al (2000) demonstrated that observations from many oil spill incidents around the world have shown that both land and aquatic environment suffer oil exposure and these environments are particularly difficult to protect and also clean- up once a spill has occurred. 2.4 Effects of oil contamination The oil and gas sector is one of the most lucrative sectors in business but reducing its negative impacts is one of the most pressing issues today. As an example, one barrel of crude oil can make one million barrels of water undrinkable and make hectares of land and water bodies useless. It has also destroyed crops, damage the quality and productivity of soil use for farming and as well damage fisheries. This exacerbates hunger and poverty in affected communities. In addition the residents often experience an increase of conflict with their neighbourhood. Miraglia, A.R (2002) observed that Chenega Bay, Niger Delta, Ecuador indigenous communities etc have been fighting due to oil compensation. This has resulted in killing of people, destroying of houses, property, etc. Khan,M.I and Islam,R.M (2003) asserted that practically all activities of hydrocarbon operations are accompanied by undesirable discharges of liquid, solid and gaseous wastes which have enormous devastating impacts . When oil reaches and penetrates into the soil and deep sea, the effects will be apparent for long period of time, thus the oil that reaches quickly will be more toxic. The effect depends on the following factors such as; size of the spill, the spread of the oil slick, the toxicity and persistence of the oil and the sensitivity of the environmental region affected. However oil contamination has caused a range of pervasive impacts on the environment, human health, economy and society. Ecological effects may include physical and chemical changes in habitats, changes in growth or behaviour and increased mortality of organisms and species. Wildlife can be impacted by direct physical contact with the oil, e.g., filterfeeding shellfish and bird eggs can be smothered by oil and the feathers of birds or the fur of seals lose their insulating properties when coated with oil, leading to the danger of death from cold. Also if oil is ingested, it can damage the digestive system of the animals. Its vapours have the potential to damage the nervous system of animals, as well as their lungs and liver. The oil impedes proper soil aeration as oil film on the soil surface acts as a physical barrier between air and the soil and this affects soil fertility which consequently has great negative impact on food productivity. Oil contamination affects certain soil parameters such as the mineral and organic matter content, the cation exchange capacity, redox properties and pH value. As crude oil creates anaerobic condition in the soil, coupled to water logging and acidic metabolites, Onwurah et al (2007) stated that the result is high accumulation of aluminum and manganese ions, which are toxic to plant growth. The smearing root plants with oily substances may cause the plants to wilt and die off due to blockage of stomata inhibiting photosynthesis, transpiration, respiration and reduces permeability of cell membranes. Due to the toxic nature of oil, Pezeshki et al (2000) asserted that petroleum-based products have adverse im ­pact on yields of various plant species and in high doses they can depress germination of plants and cause necrosis of seedlings. A substantial high rate of illness as well as psychological and physical symptoms is usually reported in areas affected by spill oil and on increase on the days when oil exposure was at its highest. Rodrigue-Trigo et al (2007) stated that these illnesses include; respiratory tract irritation, vertigo, headache, sore eyes, sore throat and exacerbation of asthma. They further stated that anxiety and depression rate is usually on high increase in the exposed region. Oil contamination has shown to have great influence on the engineering properties and behaviour of a soil. Puri, K.V (2000) corroborated that it has resulted in decrease in shear strength of a clayey soil, angle of internal friction of sand based on total stress condition decrease with the presence of oil in the pore spaces and compression characteristics of sand are significantly influenced. Khamehchiyan et al (2007) asserted that it has resulted in decrease in the value of the constrained modulus with increase in the degree of oil saturation. Oil contamination induces a reduction in permeability and strength of soil samples. Generally oil contamination has drastically reduced the bearing capacity of the soil. 2.5 Worldwide issues: Oil spill across the world In the last decade, a lot of oil contamination across the world has been experienced as a result of oil spill incident which account for highest cause of oil contamination. Meniconi et al (2002) pointed out that, characterizing the spilled oil, monitoring the affected ecosystem, determining the fate of the oil in the environment and subsequently assessing the environmental damage caused have been a pressing issue. The spill case studies described below encompass crude and fuel oil release on coastal ecosystems and land. We know that oil spill on sea can spread and dispersed to land by wind, tide, wave action and rainfall. Any oil spill on sea also affects the land. Some of the oil spill case studies in Nigeria and major spills across the world are highlighted below; The Torrey canyon supertanker disaster (1967) This is the first major oil spill to awaken the international community to the dangers of oil transport. On 18th March, 1967 the Torrey Canyon carrying 117000 tons of Kuwait crude oil ran aground on the Pollards Rock in the Seven Stones reef between the Scilly Isles and Lands End, England. Approximately119, 000 tonnes of Kuwait oil leaked from the ship and spread along the sea between England and France, killing most of the marine life it touched along the whole of the south coast of Britain and the Normandy shores of France. Sands, P. (2003). The Torrey Canyon oil spill proved for the first time the immense environmental damage that could result from an accident involving a large oil tanker as well as revealed the problems inherent in the international system for assessing liability and compensation for oil spill damage. Jacobsson (2007) stated that this spill triggered the International Compensation Convention. Exxon Valdez (1989) In March 1989, the tanker Exxon Valdez hit a reef in Prince William sound, Alaska and spilled about 37,000 tonnes of oil, the worst spill in US history. The spill subsequently affected a variety of shores, mainly rock and cobble, to varying degrees over an estimated 1,800km in Prince William Sound. The spilled oil impacted a wide range of intertidal organisms and as a result thousands of marine animals and seabirds were killed. (Peterson 2001) Braer (1993) The oil tanker Braer ran aground at Garths Ness on the Southern Shetland Isles Coast on 5th January, 1993 spilling approximately 84,700 tonnes of crude oil. The spilt oil was dispersed naturally in the wave action against the North Sea. The BRAER spill was unusual in that a significant amount of oil was blown on to land adjacent to the wreck site. Seabird casualties were also moderately low. Considering the size of the spill, the environmental impacts were surprisingly limited . (Gregory 2007). Erika Incident The Maltese tanker ERIKA, carrying some 31,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil, broke in two in a severe storm in the Bay of Biscay on 11th December, 1999, off the coast of France. About 20,000 tonnes of oil were spilled. The main environmental impact of the spill was on sea birds and 65,000 oiled birds were collected from beaches, of which about 50,000 were dead. This incident led to rapid moves to accelerate the phasing out of all single hull oil tankers. (Le Moigne, and Laubier, 2004). Prestige (2002) In September 2002, oil tanker prestige sunk of the Galician north west of Spain spilling about 30,000 tonnes of oil. The spilled oil affected the entire coastline particularly the exposed rocky shores and sandy beaches which caused the largest ecological catastrophe in the history of Spain (de la Huz et al, 2005). Bernabeu et al (2006) observed that the spill had a huge economic impact as it affected the fishing and marine cultivation on which the Costa da Morte (Galicia, N.W. Spain) depends economically. Tasman Spirit (2003) The oil tanker Tasman spirit grounded in the channel of the port of Karachi, on 27th July, 2003 carrying a cargo of 67,535 tonnes of light crude. Approximately 30,000 tonnes of oil spilled when the Tasman Spirit broke down. Strong winds and rough seas spread the light crude along 10 kilometres (seven miles) of the highly populated residential and recreational coastline. As a result of the spill incident, people living around the area have experienced health problems. The coastal environment in which the Tasman Spirit spill occurred was a rich and diverse tropical ecosystem which was negatively affected by the spill. (Janjua et al 2006) Gulf war 1991 The Gulf War in Kuwait 1991 resulted in one of the largest man made environmental disasters, and almost certainly the greatest acute contamination of land and water with oil, in history as the result of oil spills. Kostreba (1999) described that during the Gulf war an estimated 67 million tonnes of crude oil was spilt and burnt on land. The oil spills were as a result of deliberate damage done by Iraqi forces during their invasion of Kuwait. Crude oil was deliberately dumped into the gulfs and oil production, storage, and refining facilities were destroyed. The oil leaking from the well heads, storage tanks, and pipelines formed huge oil lakes as deep as 2 meters. Many of the oil wells were also set on fire and this resulted in the aerial deposition of partially combusted oil particles and associated non-combusted products of the oil fires, which also polluted large areas. The resulting oil pollution affected mainly Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Hans-Jorg Barth (2001) pointed out that over 700 km of coastline from southern Kuwait to Abu Ali Island were smothered with oil and tar, erasing most of the local plant and animal communities. Lebanon (2006) During hostilities in Lebanon in 2006, Isreali planes struck the Jiyyeh power plant about 25 kilometres south of Beirut. The hit storage tanks leaked 20,000 to 30,000 tonnes of oil into Eastern Mediterranean Sea. The oil slick covered 170km of coastline and was threatening Turkey and Cyprus. This is the worst environmental problem in the history of the country. The oil spill damaged land and marine ecosystems, destroyed fishermens livelihoods and rendered coastal areas lifeless. To worst the issue, no clean-up started until after three weeks due to security situation in Lebanon. (Friends of the Earth 2007). Ogbodo oil spill On 24th June, 2001 the community of Ogbodo in Rivers State, Nigeria, heard a loud explosion which was the bursting of a Shell Petroleum pipeline which traverses the village lands and waterways. Crude oil began to spill out into the environment. Rains and swiftly flowing water rapidly distributed the crude oil into the waterways surrounding the community. At least about 26,500 barrels of oil were spilt. The impact of the spill and the fire on local livelihoods was extensive and the devastating impact of the oil spill was exacerbated and prolonged because of failure to contain the spill swiftly. (www.waado.org). Oshire-2 oil spill According to Osuji and Opiah, (2007) on the 24th July, 2003, an oil spillage occurred in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State in Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The oil spill was as a result of leakage of one of the above-ground pipelines that criss-cross the Oshire-2 oil field. About 3,000 barrels of crude oil was allegedly spilled as a result a suspected sabotage. Oil spill in Ogoniland Ogoniland is the site of huge Shell facilities that have devastated the local environment. On June 6, 2001, Shell oil pipeline, which passes through the Baraale community, ruptured and started spilling crude oil into nearby forests, farmlands and houses. Many houses were flooded with crude oil. Disaster struck on 1st October, 2001, when the leaking oil caught fire. Residents of the community were about going to bed that night when a large fire started following a loud explosion. (Olukoya 2002). Also on 1 Sep 2003Crude oil from a ruptured oil pipeline caught fire, destroying farmland and polluting streams in the Ogoni area. This Day (2006) reported that oil spill from one of the Shell companys oil wellheads has devastated another Ogoni community. The spill is as a result of leak which occurred at Bomu Well-2, a dormant well in Ogoni land belonging to Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria limited. Oil spill incidence in Nigeria has become everyday news and its occurrence is too numerous that it cant all be highlighted in this study. Federal ministry of Environment on 2006 reported that quantity of oil spilled over 50 years is equivalent to 50 Exxon Valdez spills. This makes the Nigeria delta one of the 5 most oil polluted environments in the world. 2.6 Oil spill in Nigeria 2.6.1 Oil exploration in Nigeria In 1956, Royal Dutch Shell discovered crude oil at Oloibiri, a village in the Niger Delta, and the first commercial production started in 1958. Nwilo and Badejo (2005a) stated that 50 years later, 606 oil fields exist in the Niger Delta, of which 360 are on-shore and 246 off-shore. Nigeria is now the largest oil producer in Africa and the sixth largest in the world, averaging 2.7 million barrels per day (bbl/d) in 2006. Nigerias economy is heavily dependent on earnings from the oil sector, which provides 20% of GDP, 95% of foreign exchange earnings, and about 65% of budgetary revenues (Central intelligence Agency (CIA) World Fact Book, 2005). Current oil exploration and production activities in Nigeria is concentrated in the Niger Delta region, a huge fertile wetland which covers a land mass of over 70,000 km2, and cuts across 800 oil producing communities. Oguejiofor (2008) demonstrated that the region has huge oil and gas reserve and accounts for 90 per cent of national exports and 70 per cent of Government revenue, mainly from oil and gas exported is from the region. Geological record and research shows that the region (both onshore and offshore areas) is particularly conducive for the formation and accumulation of oil and gas. Today, the oil industries are highly visible in the Niger Delta and have control over a large area in the region. The area is crisscrossed by thousands of kilometres of pipeline, punctuated by wells and flow stations. Much of the oil infrastructure is located close to the homes, farms and water sources of communities. 2.6.2 Overview of the damage in the Niger delta Oil and gas activities and enormous oil installations deployed in the Niger Delta explains her vulnerability to oil spill. The social and environmental costs of oil contamination have been extensive. These include destruction of wildlife and biodiversity, loss of fertile soil, pollution of air and drinking water, degradation of farmland and damage to aquatic ecosystems, all of which have caused serious health problems for the inhabitants of areas surrounding oil production. Oil spills in the Niger Delta have destroy vegetation, mangrove forests, food/cash crops, fishing ground/marine life, reduces nutrient value of the soil, induces land fragmentation, and sets communities on fire. For example a spill at Osima creek in Agbakabiriyai, near Nembe on February 28th 1998, led to eight days of fire, which razed down the entire community. This resulted to the destruction of about 400 houses, and the displacement of about 130,000 inhabitants. Also a spill that occurred on 7th December, 2008 in Ikarama community terribly caught fire on 1st of March 2009. The fire caused more damage to the environment (www.eration.org/index.php?). Given these challenges, land as an economic power resource base becomes critical for the Niger Delta region. Without fertile soil and good water, indigenous communities in the region lose their mode of survival and are faced with the crisis of food shortages. Due to oil spillage, many water ways, land and marine systems in the region have been badly polluted and residents have been badly affected by enviro

Humorous Best Man Speech - The Groom’s Life Story :: Wedding Toasts Roasts Speeches

Humorous Best Man Speech - The Groom’s Life Story Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. It’s surprising just how far some people are prepared to travel for a free lunch. It’s a good job the groom didn't choose the menu, otherwise we would have had penut-butter sandwiches washed down with beer. Firstly, I have a feet messages to read out.(read telegrams etc.) As Bill Clinton said to each of his girlfriends, I wont keep you long. I’d like to begin by thanking the groom for asking me to be best man. I would also like to thank the bride for allowing him to ask me. The groom has a splendid set of friends, and to be nominated from such esteemed company is without doubt a great honor. Thanks also to the ushers, friends, and family who have all helped to make this day so special. (To the bride) You make a fine bride and look beautiful and radiant. I couldn't help but notice the groom swell with pride when he saw you walking clown the aisle in that dress. (To the groom) You are indeed a lucky man, you have married someone who is attractive, warm, loving and caring. A wife who will be all you could ever wish for and more. (To the bride) You have married someone who is: handsome, witty, intelligent, charming, good looking... (To the groom) Sorry, I'm having trouble reading your writing. When the groom asked me to be his best man, I consulted the Internet for help. I discovered that the job is essentially comprised of four main tasks: 1. Organize the stag party (bachelor party) - perhaps you could tell us again how you burst the inflatable sheep. 2. Help the groom dress (at last I found out where the G-string from Dublin went.) 3. See that all ex-girlfriends are kept at bay (quite a task as most of them have been released under care in the community.) 4. Make a speech. I thought it was going to be tough following a speech by the groom and I was right, I couldn't understand a single word he said. I did find a lot of other interesting things on the Internet but I wont go into that now. I met the groom over ten years ago, and I often wonder what it would be like if I didn't have him as a friend. Sometimes the smile lasts for days.

Baroque vs. Classical Music Essay Essay

When many people listen to music from earlier periods, they classify it all as classical music, when although there were many periods of music. Although the two may sound similar to the untrained ear, the Baroque style and the Classical styles of music have many differences. The Baroque Period (1600-1750) was a revolutionary period for music. Preceded by the renaissance, the Baroque Period offered new and different things to music. Common tools were used such as counterpoint and fugue that transformed music. There was a growth in the uses of new instruments such as the trumpet, French horn, and piano. Composers, such as Johan Sebastian Bach, concentrated on what the music notes lead to and what sounded good to listen to. Bach, who composed over 1200 pieces, was the â€Å"gold standard† for Baroque music, helping to regulate harmony in music. Baroque music was all about emotion. Composers used these tools to weave and blend different sounds together to create unison. Counterpoint was a popular tool used, where two separate lines were played together to make harmony. A lot went on in Baroque music. The Classical Period (1750-1825), on the other hand was a lot simpler. Instead of having many instruments playing lines at once in harmony, many instruments would play softly in the background while a solo instrument would play. Classical music consisted of a single melody. Baroque music was very complex, and demonstrated polyphony, where many different sounds went on at the same time, whereas Classical music demonstrated homophony, where the same sounds were played. Form was also a big factor in Classical music. Baroque composers were more concerned about evoking emotion than the form of their piece; Classical composers were the opposite Classical composers demonstrated clear cut form, whereas Baroque composers blended everything together. Classical music was also very repetitive. Composers would not change much, it was the same melody played over and over. I prefer Baroque music over Classical music. I chose Baroque music because it is a lot more interesting. Classical music is too simple compared to Baroque music. With Baroque music, more emotion is evoked. A great example  of this is Vivaldi’s â€Å"The Four Seasons† where you could actually tell which season is portrayed by which piece by listening carefully. To me, Classical music is too boring and repetitive. Baroque music always keeps me on my toes, keeping me guessing at what is coming next. I care more about what a piece means than the form it is written in. Although I prefer Baroque music, I do not discredit Classical music at all. A lot of brilliant pieces came from both periods of music.

Desegragation of Schools

President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freed the black people from the bondage of slavery. Shortly after Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, Congress passed three Constitutional amendments and four Civil Rights acts securing Negro rights. In 1896, Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court ruled that it was not wrong for a state to use discriminatory seating practices on public transportation and that each state may require segregation on public transportation. It sustained the transportation law that ordered separate but equal transportation facilities for blacks and whites.The Supreme Court went on to make several other significant decisions sanctioning racial segregation in other circumstances and in other places. The Supreme Court subsequently ruled to authorize racially segregated schools. Prior to the Brown decision, there were significant Supreme Court decisions in this country in the 1930’s and the 1940’s through which blacks gained important civil rights. Blacks were admitted to white Law Schools. White Primaries were outlawed. Racially restrictive covenants in real estate sales were voided. In 1954, the renowned case, Brown v. Board of Education was decided.The Supreme Court declared segregated schools were inherently unequal and therefore unconstitutional. It called for the elimination of discrimination in all public schools. Because the Supreme Court focused on the race issue in public schools, so did the nation. In 1955, Brown v. Board of Education II was decided. The court ruled that blacks need not be immediately admitted to pubic schools on a racially nondiscriminatory basis, but that school boards should eliminate segregation â€Å"with all deliberate speed. † In the South, there was massive resistance to the desegregation of schools.For the next ten years after the Brown I and II decisions the Supreme Court took an inconspicuous position. In 1965-1966 Judge John Minor Wisdom from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals made three decisions that transformed the face of school desegregation law. The three cases were Singleton v. Jackson I and II and U. S. v. Jefferson County Board of Education. The critical premise set forth in these decisions was that school boards had a positive duty to integrate, not merely to stop segregating. U. S. v. Jefferson County Board of Education was one of the most important school desegregation decisions.It was a remedial decree which outlined in detail specifically how school districts were to equalize educational opportunity. This decision foretold of a level of judicial involvement in local education that would have been unimaginable at the time of the Brown decisions. In 1968, the U. S. Supreme Court decided in Green v. County School Board that the school board had the responsibility of affirmative action integration and that it must assume that responsibility immediately. The Court said that school boards would be judged on performance, not on promises or paper.The performance of school boards was to rely on statistical evidence. In 1969, the issue of faculty assignments was addressed in the Supreme Court in U. S. v. Montgomery County (Alabama) Board of Education. The Court set forth a racial ratio of teachers in the school district using quantitative standards. This decision marked the first time the Supreme Court sanctioned the inclusion of affirmative numerical goals in a school desegregation remedy. It was an overdue attempt to give the lower courts and school boards positive guidance as to what faculty desegregation required.Also in 1969, Alexander v. Holmes (Mississippi) Board of Education ordered school systems to integrate no later than February 1970. Eventually, this deadline was extended for years. In that same year the Court, in Carter v. West Feliciana Parish School Board, scolded the school board for delaying student desegregation. In 1970, the Supreme Court decided Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg (Virginia) Board of Edu cation. This was the first decision made by the Supreme Court during the Nixon administration with the two new Chief Justices who were Nixon appointees.In this first decision, written by Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, one of President Nixon’s nominees, the court found Charlotte-Mecklenburg out of compliance with Green. The Court adopted the Finger Plan, a plan proposed by Dr. John Finger, an expert witness in the case selected by the Court. The Finger Plan was to result in schools throughout the system ranging, ideally, between nine and thirty eight percent black enrollment. These percentages were not an absolute, but a goal. It involved busing an additional thirteen thousand students and buying over one hundred new school buses.Start up costs to implement this plan were over one million dollars, with annual operating expenses of over one half of a million dollars. Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg laid the framework for all future court decisions involving busing. It also impl emented the Green decision. Basically, it said that if a school district is found to be in constitutional violation, an appropriate remedy must be implemented. In 1974, the Swann case was closed, leaving the constitutional operation of the schools to the Board of Education.In 1970, Senator John Stennis of Mississippi and other Southern Senators proposed that new federal desegregation guidelines be enforced uniformly across the country. The Stennis amendment was adopted by the Senate. During the 1960’s, urban schools in the North and the South were untouched by the Courts. The Courts had been concentrating on the rural South. The 1960’s had seen a great migration of rural Southern blacks to Northern cities. In the early 1960’s, three fourths of all blacks in the United States lived in urban areas. The north had its own way of distancing blacks, ghettos.In the South, there was de jure segregation of schools, which is segregation of schools required by law. In the North, there was defacto segregation of schools, which is segregation of schools due to residential segregation. In 1972, the Supreme Court heard its first northern and western case, Keyes v. School District No. 1 (Denver, Colorado). The court found the school district guilty of subtle racism. The remedy that the Court implemented was the busing of six thousand more students. Many elementary school students went one half day to a segregated school and one half day to an integrated school.In 1974, Federal District Court Judge Garrity found that the Boston, Massachusetts School Committee was implementing a systematic program of segregation affecting all students, teachers and schools. The Court imposed the remedy of mandatory busing. This order created chaos and social upheaval in the city of Boston. In 1974, Milliken v. Bradley posed a question of remedy to the Supreme Court. The Federal District Court had found that the city of Detroit, Michigan was obstructing integration. The ques tion before the Court was could the Court use suburban students to desegregate inner city schools.The Court’s decision was that suburban students could not be used to desegregate inner city schools. It was a decision that gave priority to educational democracy over school integration. This decision upheld the right of the middle and upper classes, which are predominantly white, to flee the inner city to the suburbs and to educate their children in suburban schools. The segregation that occurred in Detroit’s urban school system was the result of segregated housing practices. This was the first major defeat of the pro-integrationist forces in the Supreme Court.It was the beginning of a continuing trend in the Supreme Court. School desegregation is unfinished business. The desegregation of schools has not significantly improved black students’ achievements, nor has it eliminated segregation in American society as a whole. Racism and prejudice continue to be a major problem in our country. Many problems with our current methods of desegregation of schools have become apparent. However, the United States is relatively inexperienced at the business of racial equality, since the desegregation of schools began just thirty four years ago with the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v.Board of Education. There are many points that need to be refined. Desegregated schools send a message of victory to the black community, that of equal protection under the law. However, community support of school desegregation as well as the attitudinal makeup of the individual and the influence of his family and peers are important factors that influence whether or not a child feels a sense of power. A child’s self esteem can be affected either positively or adversely by attendance at a desegregated school.A child’s self esteem depends on his social interactions and reflects others perceptions of him and of the organizations with which he is affil iated. A child’s self esteem is not effectively raised by attendance at a racially mixed school with a poor reputation, nor is it raised by attendance at a high status school where the child is looked down upon. Schools that are racially mixed and are located in naturally desegregated neighborhoods foster and heighten a child’s self esteem. A person’s sense of powerlessness is closely related to their comparison of their own deprivation as compared to others.A segregated black child has less awareness of his family’s low status in the mainstream of society than in a desegregated school where the student will become aware of how deprived he is in comparison to other students. The expectations of parents, teachers and friends also motivate the child. A child sees his performance through their eyes. He is also motivated by their expectations for him. In the ghetto school expectations are low. In a desegregated school, expectations are much higher, but not ne cessarily for the black, or bused, students.Higher teacher expectations can motivate students in any school. Assimilation of middle class ideas and values depends on how much a child is exposed to them. This is more an integration of the social classes than of race. The climate of the integrated group is an important factor in the assimilation of new values. A desegregated school does provide for exposure to different value systems. Attendance at a desegregated school not only exposes a child to different value systems but also changes his attitudes towards other races and classes. This is a process that takes time.Contact with other social classes of people and races of people and the knowledge of and familiarity with one another is the basis for overcoming prejudice. Prejudice is the pre-judgement, positive or negative, of another person on the basis of that person’s appearance, sex, race, ethnic background or any particular belief. As well as acquainting students with the history of school desegregation, I also wish to educate students as to the extreme prejudice and discrimination that blacks in the United States have been subjected to throughout our history. I want the students to have a knowledge of the segregation laws, also called Jim Crow Laws.This is a very painful part of our heritage that is omitted from history textbooks. I feel our inner city students should be educated about the history of their ancestors and about the continuing journey of blacks from slavery to equality. Segregation is the method of physically separating people by race. It was developed by whites after slavery was abolished with the purpose of confining and controlling blacks. In the North, slavery was abolished by the 1830’s. The free northern blacks could not be bought or sold. They could not be separated from their families. They couldn’t be legally made to work without compensation.However, the blacks were by no means equal to the whites. The doctrine of White Supremacy was universally accepted. Northerners made sure blacks understood their status. One of the major ways the blacks were confined was through segregation laws. In the South, the first place segregation emerged was in the cities. The institution of slavery in Southern cities found blacks and whites living in the same house, divided only by a wall. This was unlike the rural South, where slaves lived in separate houses from their masters. The purpose of segregation was the convenience of the masters and the control of the slaves.After the Civil War, Lincoln declared in his Emancipation Proclamation that all slaves were freed. Immediately afterwards, blacks and whites established physical and social distance between themselves. After the Emancipation, the states instituted the Black Codes, which imposed restrictive conditions on blacks that virtually reinslaved them. The Jim Crow Laws were instituted on the railroads. These Black Codes remained in effect until the First Reconstruction, a period of black Civil Rights. The First Reconstruction was ushered in by the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution and the Reconstruction Act of 1867.By the mid-1870’s public attitude had undergone a gradual change. There was a resumption of the policies of White Supremacy. The Redemption was the return of old Southern attitudes. The black peoples’ stigma from slavery stopped them from fighting for their civil rights, if they were not given to them. During this period, the platform of the Southern upper class white conservatives was that blacks were inferior but that they should not be subject to segregation or humiliation. Squeamishness about contact with blacks was thought to be a lower class white, or â€Å"cracker†, attitude.During this period, racism was expressed in the United States Supreme Court decisions. Between 1873 and 1898, three cases drastically limited black privileges and immunities. These cases were the Slaughterhouse Cases of 1873, U. S. v. Reese and U. S. v. Cruikshank. The Civil Rights Cases of 1883 held that the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution gave Congress the power to restrain states but not individuals from acts of racial discrimination and segregation. In 1896, in Plessy v. Ferguson, the court decided that the separate but equal doctrine was justification for segregation.The turn of the century was a new era of racism, spurred on by recent Supreme Court decisions. There was a renewal of the White Supremacy doctrine. When the United States acquired the Phillipines, Cuba and Hawaii we had under our jurisdiction eight million people of a dark race. Attitudes of racism against these dark-skinned people included American blacks. This period of history was marked by severe segregation laws and discriminatory practices. One such practice was the disfranchisement of the Negro. The standard procedure for disfranchisement of blacks was to set up barriers for voting through which only white men could squeeze.A voter was required to meet property and literacy qualifications. There were loopholes for underprivileged whites, such as the understanding clause, the grandfather clause and the good character clause. Before a citizen could vote, he was also required to pay a poll tax, which was a very reliable means of defranchising blacks and objectionable whites. At this time, the White Primary democratized nominations and party control. The White Primary excluded minorities and became a white man’s club. At this time, propaganda about negro crimes, such as arrogance, surly manners and impertinence was spread. Race relations deteriorated.White mobs committed ruthless acts of aggression against blacks. They set fires, wounded, lynched and murdered blacks. Many Jim Crow Laws were enacted in the years between 1900 and 1920. Up until 1900, the only Jim Crow Law on the books in most Southern states was the law segregating first class railroad cars. This law was expanded to include street cars, steamboats and second class railroad cars. In Southern states , signs were erected that read â€Å"Whites Only† and â€Å"Colored Only†. These signs were at the entrances and exits to public buildings, theaters, boarding houses, toilets, drinking fountains, waiting rooms and ticket windows.The South Carolina Code of 1915 prohibited textile factories from permitting laborers of different races to work in the same room, or use the same entrance, pay windows, exits, doors, lavatories, drinking water, pails, cups or glasses. There was Jim Crow Unionism which excluded blacks from jobs. State institutions, such as hospitals, had segregation laws. Only negro nurses were allowed to care for negro patients. Prisons were also segregated, as were homes for the aged, the indigent and the blind. Blacks were prohibited from public parks by the Separate Park Laws of Georgia, 1905.In Louisiana,a law was passed in 1914 segregating blacks a nd whites at circus and tent shows. In Birmingham, Alabama a law was passed decreeing that the races must be distinctly separated and must be at least twenty five feet apart from one another in any room, hall, theater, picture house, auditorium, yard, crowd, ballpark or any other outdoor place. In 1910, five patterns of residential segregation had emerged in the South. The first was in Baltimore, Maryland. It designated all white and all negro blocks. This pattern was copied in Atlanta, Georgia.The second pattern of residential segregation was in the Chesapeake Bay area cities of Roanoke and Portsmouth, Virginia. The city council was authorized to divide territories into segregated districts and to prohibit either race from living in the other’s district. A third pattern emerged in Richmond, Virginia. Blocks throughout the city were designated black or white, according to the majority of residents. Persons were forbidden to live in any block where residents are occupied by th ose with whom the person is forbidden to intermarry. The fourth pattern, in Norfolk, Virginia applied to both mixed and unmixed blocks.It fixed the color status by ownership as well as occupancy. The fifth pattern of residential segregation emerged in New Orleans, Louisiana. The law required persons of either race to secure consent of the majority of persons living in an area before establishing residence there. In 1917, these patterns of residential segregation were declared unlawful by the Supreme Court. The most successful attempt to circumvent the Court’s decision was the policy of Restrictive Covenant which was a private contract limiting the sale of property in an area to purchasers of the favored race.The most prevalent and widespread segregation was the consequence of the blacks’ economic status. This was the black ghetto, or slum in every Southern city. Smaller towns excluded black residents completely by making it known that their presence would not be tolera ted. On the other hand, thirty towns in the South were inhabited exclusively by blacks. Other Jim Crow Laws regulating a variety of negro activities were enacted during this period in history. In 1909 in Mobile, Alabama, a curfew law required blacks to be off the streets by 10 p. m.In 1915, the Oklahoma State Legislature required the telephone company to maintain separate booths for blacks and whites. In North Carolina and Florida, public schools were required to keep the textbooks of one race separate from those used by the other. Florida specified separation even while school books were in storage. South Carolina segregated schools into a third caste, with separate schools for mulatto children. In Atlanta, Georgia Jim Crow bibles were provided for negro witnesses in court. There were also Jim Crow elevators for negroes in buildings.The prevalent belief in our country at this time, during this Redemption, was that segregation was inflexible and innate. It was also believed that leg islation could not change mores. The Jim Crow Laws of this period didn’t assign blacks a fixed status. They were aggressive and destructive laws that pushed the negro further down. With World War 1, the blacks had new hope for a restoration of their rights. Many blacks joined the armed forces. Many blacks moved North where high wages were being paid in the war industry. The blacks’ participation in the war for democracy raised the demand for mor democracy for them on the home front.However, the post-War Era saw the racial policies of the South imitated in the North. White laborers did not like competition from blacks. They excluded blacks from unions and pushed blacks from the more desirable jobs in industry, federal employment and crafts. In the gid-1920’s the membership of the Ku Klux Klan reached five million. In the 1920’s and the 1930’s, more Jim Crow Laws were passed. In 1926 in Atlanta, Georgia, a law was passed that forbade barbers to serve women or children under age fourteen. At that time, All barbers were black.Four states, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama and Georgia had laws requiring Jim Crow taxis. White passengers were only driven by white taxi drivers. Black passengers were only to be driven by black taxi drivers. In 1944, the Virginia Legislature passed a law requiring separate waiting rooms and other facilities at airports. In 1932, a law was passed in Atlanta, Georgia prohibiting amateur baseball clubs of different races from playing within two blocks of each other. In 1933, Texas prohibited blacks and whites from boxing with each other. In 1937, the state of Arkansas segregated race tracks and gaming establishments.In 1935, Oklahoma segregated both races while fishing and boating. In 1930, a law in Birmingham, Alabama made it unlawful for black and whites to play together or keep company with one another. In the 1930’s, racial tensions lessened. A new liberal administration was making a sincere attemp t to improve the lot of blacks and whites. In the early 1940’s, the North was exerting pressure on the South to abolish segregation. The Supreme Court became a leader in reversing the trends of segregation that it had endorsed during the First Reconstruction.The most monumental Supreme Court decision of this century in civil rights was Brown v. Board of Education. It reversed a constitutional trend that began in the late 1800’s. It marked the beginning of the end of Jim Crow. Presently, blacks are enjoying equal civil rights under the law. All kinds of segregation and discrimination have been declared unconstitutional. The underlying prejudices and subtle racism are slower to die. It is these prejudices that make it difficult for true integration to occur presently in our society.