Discussing Literary Genre Essay Example for Free

Discussing Literary Genre Essay To define genre is to embark on a conjectural journey within a theoretical minefield. Genre theory has drawn immense debate and contemplation throughout literary history, however, several conclusions have emerged. Genre types are unfixed categories whose characteristics differ considerably among the specific genres; furthermore, the role of literary history plays a significant role in discussions of genre, for genre types evolve and shift with each new literary text. An approach to the discussion of genre, family resemblances, illustrates similar conventions among texts within a genre, but there are significant problems in this approach. There are several ways to discuss genre, and although problems abound in any approach, the subjective nature of the literary experience calls attention to the importance of the interaction between reader and text to provide the final word on genre. Although there is considerable theoretical debate about the definition of specific genres, the conventional definition tends to be based on the idea that texts within a genre share particular conventions of content and form, such as themes, settings, structure and style. However, the nature of genre leads to several problems inherent in the defining of genres. Certain genres are looser and more open ended in their conventions than other genres and some genres have many conventions while others have very few. Furthermore, literary texts that overlap and mix genres blur the distinction between them. Genres are not discrete systems consisting of a fixed number of list able items. Consequently, the same text can belong to different genres in different countries or times. For example, Latin poets categorized the elegy mainly in terms of its meter, while poets during the English Renaissance regarded the subject matter and tone to be determinate of form. History and culture play a role in the ever changing status of genres, which are difficult to define because the concept encompasses so many different literary qualities and conventions that can be broken or accepted, overlapped or mixed. Rather than define genre, some theorists approach the discussion of genre using Ludwig Wittgenstein’s concept of â€Å"family resemblances† among literary texts. Although a literary text rarely has all the characteristics of a particular genre, this method involves the discernment of similar conventions among texts within a genre. However, the problem of selection arises, for which texts can claim to be representative of a genre? Moreover, who decides the selection of these texts? The consideration of specific characteristics in literature introduces problems regarding the classification of literary works. The choice of characteristics taken into account is essential to the discussion of genre types . The characteristics of specific genres shift throughout history to accommodate variations in the category that occur; the defining characteristics of a particular genre can alter so drastically that the preliminary era in a new genre may not resemble the modern literary works in that genre. The works of Edgar Allan Poe, considered to be the father of the modern short story, show the contrast between the classification of short fiction in the 19th century and today. Poe’s short story, â€Å"The Murders in the Rue Morgue†, provides suspense and mystery; however, the story does not include the main character’s moment of consciousness, the key ingredient in classifying modern short stories. Although â€Å"The Murders in the Rue Morgue† does not entail a moment of revelation, the story was regarded as short fiction in 1841. The contrast between early short fiction and the modern short story demonstrates the varying qualities of the genre between its preliminary stages and the present, and shows the substantial transformation which occurred within the genre. The types of genres not only shift throughout history but also alter with each new literary work. The altering of generic categories results in further difficulty in defining genre and classifying literary texts, for it demonstrates that generic forms are never fixed entities. Literary theorist Todorov asserts that although â€Å"every work modifies the sum of possible works we grant a text the right to figure in the history of literature only insofar as it produces a change in our previous notion of one activity or another†. Donald Barthelme’s â€Å"The Glass Mountain† is an example that expands the notion of short stories; the text challenges readers to find meaning and story where there is none. â€Å"The Glass Mountain† influences and increases the possibilities of short stories, while compelling readers to contemplate the role of short stories. Such engagement between a literary text and a reader results in the most intriguing and merited discussion of genre. The subjective procedure of defining genre appeals to the relationship between text and reader. Genre provides a framework within which texts are interpreted, and expectations and emotional outlooks are the individual results of reading literature. The expectations prompted by conventions in a literary text play a large role in the discussion of genre. For example, Mavis Gallant’s â€Å"From the Fifteenth District† cheats the expectation that arises from the first sentence, â€Å"[a]lthough an epidemic of haunting † (Gallant 115), and surprises readers with the discovery that the story is a reversal of the ghost story. A reader’s personal interaction with a literary work is decisive of genre, for what we think a genre is and the individual’s impression of a literary text often serve to classify a literary work. The individual’s response to literature plays a vital role in the discussion of genre, for literary texts are created for an audience of one. The various means to discuss genre provide insightful observations; however, significant problems are inherent in these discussions. The constantly changing categories of genre and the emergence of new literary works make defining genre a daunting task better left to the individual reader.

Analysis of the Topps Company :: Chewing Gum Companies Businesses Audits Essays

Analysis of the Topps Company The Topps Company, among other things discussed later, is in the business of manufacturing chewing gum and confections. According to the Business and Company Resource Center, the Topps is involved in ten different industry categories. They are listed here with their respective SIC/NAICS codes: Commercial Printing (2759), Chewing Gum (2067), Candy and Other Confectionary products (2064), Periodicals Publishing and Printing (2721), Dolls and Stuffed Toys (3942), other Commercial Printing (323119), Confectionary Manufacturing from Purchased Chocolate (311330), Non-Chocolate Confectionary Manufacturing (311340), Doll and Stuffed Toy Manufacturing (339931), and Periodical Publishers (511120). All of these product industries allowed Topps to accumulate sales of $302.9 million in fiscal year 2002. Topps primarily manufactures sticker collections, confections, comic books, and collectible trading cards. These are the company’s most popular and principally produced products within its international market. Most of Topps’ success has come from the production of the confections and trading cards. These two aspects of their overall industry are by far the most important and beneficial to the company as a whole. With all of the products that Topps produces, there are of course many raw materials that contribute to each entertainment product. In fiscal year 2002, Topps spent $6,395 on their raw materials as compared to $2,860 spent in 2001. The company’s sports cards are the most popular and require a few materials. Film must be on hand constantly, as photographs must be taken of each athlete before computerized technology adds graphic designs to be put on the cards. Other materials needed for their collectible trading cards include large sheets of paperboard for the photos to be printed on, and plastic coating or foil lining to add additional interest to each card. These substrates are purchased in sheet form from specialty printers and are added to the paperboard before being placed on a pressing machine that cuts the paperboard into the individual cards. Raw materials for their confectionary products include many different types of sugars and both natural and artificial flavori ngs to be mixed in large vats before being processed through another pressing machine which cuts the candy into individual pieces. Eventually, each confectionary product is wrapped in paper or plastic to secure freshness. Paper and adhesives are the primary materials used for the sticker collections produced by Topps. Inks and dyes are used on all products in some shape or form whether it be on a wrapper or on the collectible trading cards being printed up.

Chocolate Research Paper Essay

Chocolate is a key ingredient in many foods such as milk shakes, candy bars, cookies and cereals. It is ranked as one of the most favourite flavours in North America and Europe. Despite its popularity most people do not know the unique origin of this popular treat. Chocolate is a product that requires complex procedures to produce. The process involves harvesting cocoa, refining coca to cocoa beans, and shipping the cocoa beans to the manufacturing factory for cleaning, coaching and grinding. These cocoa beans will then be imported or exported to other countries and be transformed into different types of chocolate products. Cocoa beans grow in countries like Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Indonesia, Brazil, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Malaysia, but the highest cocoa producing country is Cote d’Ivoire. The production process of cocoa beans include: first, cocoa is harvested manually. The seed pods of cocoa are collected and the beans are selected and placed in piles. These cocoa beans are then ready to be shipped to the manufacturer for production. Cocoa grows in pods that sprout off the trunks and branches of cocoa trees. The pods have the shape and almost the size of football. The pods start out green and turn orange when they are ripe. When the pods are ripe they are harvested gently with machetes. Machines can damage the trees or the clusters of flowers and pods that grow on the trunk, so workers have to harvest the pods by hand, using short, hooked blades mounted on long poles to reach the highest fruit. The cocoa seeds then undergo a process of fermentation by placing them in large, shallow, heated trays or by covering them with large banana leaves. If the climate is right, they may be simply heated by the sun. Workers mostly women come along periodically and stir them up so that all of the beans come out equally fermented. This process may take up to five or eight days. After fermentation, the cocoa seeds are dried before they can be scooped into sacks and shipped to chocolate manufacturers. Farmers simply spread the fermented seeds on trays and leave them in the sun to dry. The drying process usually takes about a week and results in seeds becoming reduced to about half of their original weight. During the production process, labor is not equally divided between men and women who work in the planation; this brings us to the issue of gender division. The gender divide that exists on the cocoa plantation is that most farm work is conducted by men, although most certainly there are tasks where women are very active, such as scooping the beans from the already opened husks, turning the beans during the fermentation and drying process, and sewing the jute sacs needed for the packaging of the dried beans. Women in the farms normally tend to the needs of the family. When female labor is hired during the harvesting time the wages given to them are not the same as those for men. Perhaps another reason why men are preferred is because of their assumed higher productivity rate compared to that of women. Due to different practices followed in individual regions, even within countries, the participation of women and their assigned tasks vary enormously. For instance, because of the popular method of sun drying cocoa beans in Ecuador, it is necessary to â€Å"clean† the beans. This job is mostly undertaken by women. This is not the case in Ghana or Brazil where sun drying is accomplished while protecting the beans from foreign matters and waste. It is interesting to note however that there is no specific pattern for the assignment of tasks to women, except during the harvest when the scooping of the beans from the opened pods is primarily performed by women in most cocoa producing countries. Given the great differences in the systems of production in producing countries it is difficult to find a common percentage that reflects the average participation of the female work force. It is worth mentioning that unlike the coffee agricultural sector, there are no associations or specific groups that house ‘women only’ involved in the cocoa sector at any level, although all associations and cooperatives are open to all who qualify. Due to fluctuation of cocoa prices in the world market, farmers have no long-term security, and in some situations, they do not have enough funds to support their farming business. Cocoa farmers are always faced with financial hardship; they are not able to provide for their families as they would want nor have enough funds to start up their own farming business because they only receive a fraction of the proceeds from the selling of the beans on the world market and there are many people in the trading chain. Cocoa farmers around the world face many challenges. It is estimated that about one-third of global cocoa crops are destroyed by pests and diseases every year. Many cocoa farmers have limited access to the latest agricultural technologies or methods of cultivation and few of them have business backgrounds to help them effectively market their products and manage their operations. Many of the farming communities live in poverty and are infected with diseases. Industry groups, governments and consumers worldwide have raised concerns about the use of pesticides and child labor on West African cocoa farms. An interview conducted by Christophe Koffi showed that one major problem that women in cocoa production encounter is the lack the of financial capability or backing due to the fact that most of these women find themselves in a male dominated occupation. It is very difficult for them to secure financial aid or loans to manage their farms. For instance, â€Å"Women cannot inherit or even create a cocoa plantation under our patriarch-dominated tradition,† said Vanie, criticising what she called a â€Å"backwards and misogynist† practice† (Koffi, 2008) because we still live in a patriarchal dominated society where women do not have the right to own lands and properties. This paper further talks about the sustanability in the production process of cocoa. We will be looking at Lindt& Sprungli’s which is a family company and a major producer of chocolate and other cocoa products with a headquaters in Kilchberg, Switzerland. Lindt & Sprungli is one of the few chocolate makers that have complete control over every step of the production chain starting with the precise selection of the finest cocoa varieties from the best growing areas in the world right on through the careful and expert processing until ending with the elegant packaging. Lindt gets its cocoa beans mostly from Ghana and Central and South America. Lindt has been very conservative in the amount of energy its invests in the chocolate production process. Each existing and future facility and investment undergoes very detailed analysis to determine how much energy can be saved. Through better insulation and energy recovery, Lindt & Sprungli was able to cut down on energy consumption by more than 13% per ton produced between 2004 and 2010. The company intends to continue reducing the energy consumption rate per ton produced by an average over the coming years. According to the Lindt publication, The company’s efforts: since 1999, Lindt & Sprungli’s Swiss subsidiary, Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprungli (Schweiz) AG, has been an active member of the Lake Zurich Energy Model Group†¦The Swiss government and independent engineers have audited the progress and as a result, the Swiss subsidiary has been granted the official certificate. (Kilchberg, 2012) Since 2007, Lindt & Sprungli under water conservation has been participating in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)†¦Since then, the measurements of water emissions and energy consumption have been largely based on the concept of the ‘Methodology Fossil Fuels’ set out in the CDP Protocol†¦Waste water, Lindt & Sprungli continuously monitors and analyses the use of water and the output of wastewater in the production process and intends to further reduce the use of fresh water in this process, which, in turn will impact the output of wastewater (Kilchberg, 2012). The major people that benefit from cocoa production are mostly the big corporations. The corporations exploit cocoa farmers in the sense that they do not pay them the true worth of their labour. Women who work on the farms are underpaid and marginalized. There is also the issue of child labor where children of school going age are forced to work on the farms instead of going to school thereby denying them the right to education. The big corporations are not forth coming in releasing information as to how and where they get their cocoa beans from. Most of these African countries where these big corporations get their raw materials from do not have access to good roads, health care facilities, schools, electricity, and there is poverty in most of the communities. These big corporations buy the cocoa beans at a very cheap rate and then import them to the western society and the refined product is processed into different kinds of chocolates (e. g. chocolate drink, chocolate bars of different shapes and sizes and chocolate candies etc. ) . Which are sold consumers at exorbitant prices considering the price at which the cocoa beans are bought from the cocoa farmers. This explains how capitalism and big corporation exploit cheap labour. Almost everyone enjoys a bit of chocolate every now and again. But if you take a closer look at how cocoa is produced, it may well leave a bitter taste in your mouth. The conditions under which the cocoa farmers in many producer countries live and work are worrying: Despite the fact that cocoa is usually their main source of income, the families struggle to make a living from it. Child labour is not uncommon. As consumers we can work with NGOs to find means of helping the farmers to adapt to new systems of cocoa farming that result higher yields, under socially more acceptable and environmentally friendly conditions, to meet market demands and hence ensure a stable flow income. As a major part of the global cocoa industry which has remained inactive and invisible for so long, consumers of chocolate can demonstrate that they want slavery in the cocoa sector stamped out, and your pressure can highlight their lack of commitment and make them more accountable. Finally all cocoa products, including chocolate, run the risk of being tainted by child labour and slavery. To achieve a satisfactory standard of ethical production in chocolate consumers must help to ensure that companies commit to credible and sufficient actions against such things as use of child labour and the exploitation of cocoa farmers and not make false and unsustainable promises to consumers of being â€Å"slavery- free†. The consumers can liaise with government bodies and NGOs to negotiate fair prices for the purchase of cocoa products and this will in turn help the farmers to gain access to basic social amenities of life. Reference Page Archer, D. (2012). ADM’s commitment to sustainable cocoa. Milwaukee: Copyright 2012 Archer Daniels Midland Company . Clarkson, T. (1998). Anti-slavery. Retrieved November 15, 2012, from www. antislavery. org: http://www. antislavery. org/english/privacy_policy. aspx Kilchberg. (2012, April 22). The environment in the Production Process. Retrieved November 13, 2012, from www. Lindt. com: http://www. lindt. com/swf/eng/company/social-responsibility/lindts-sustainable-cocoa-supply-chain/ Koffi, C. (2008, November 7). Ivory Coast women defy taboos. Retrieved November 11, 2012, from iol News: http://www. iol. co. za/news/africa/ivory-coast-women-defy-taboos-1. 423405.

Animal Farm by George Orwell Essay - 1127 Words

Animal Farm begins as a vision of Utopia, perfect society but ends as a nightmare who is to blame for the betrayal of revolution? Animalism was, in its truest sense, a dream conjured by Old Major. He could never achieve his vision of Utopia. Throughout the satire, the pigs visibly taint Old Majors concept of equality. It is obvious to the readers from the very beginning, that the pigs would become corrupt. At the start of the satire, all the animals gather in the barn to listen to Old Majors dream, everyone was quite ready to lose an hours sleep in order to hear what he had to say. Old Major was a boar, and was highly regarded on the farm. This is the first character introduced; he is a pig and held a superior†¦show more content†¦Napoleon and Snowball appeared to be united against Jones and his men after the rebellion, burning whips, clothing and serving a double ration of food, explaining the Seven Commandments to the animals. During the examination of Jones home, all the animals agreed that no animal must ever live there, but this rule was eventually discarded. Although Snowball seemed to be more honest than Napoleon, this did not exclude the fact that he was a pig, he ate the milk that disappeared at one point of the satire. This was the first valid indication of corruption. The pigs had luxuries like milk (according to another pig, Squealer, they were the Brain-workers and deserved these luxuries). The pigs did not do hard labour, unlike the other animals, but directed and supervised. If the pigs were intelligent and believed in Animalism, they would have produced a timetable where few pigs could work and others could supervise. Snowball created a flag to represent Animalism, and produced ceremonies for every Sunday. He showed his loyalty to the idea of Animalism, therefore did not appear as corrupt. Meetings were held where work was planned and resolutions were put forward and debated. Snowball and Napoleon were never in agreement, obviously their arguments would not end in peace. The sheep interrupted Snowballs brilliant speeches by bleating,Show MoreRelatedAnimal Farm And George Orwell By George Orwell1034 Words   |  5 Pages Eric Arthur Blair, under the pseudonym of George Orwell, composed many novels in his lifetime that were considered both politically rebellious and socially incorrect. Working on the dream since childhood, Orwell would finally gain notoriety as an author with his 1945 novel Animal Farm, which drew on personal experiences and deeply rooted fear to satirically critique Russian communism during its expansion. Noticing the impact he made, he next took to writing the novel 1984, which similarly criticizedRead MoreAnimal Farm By George Orwell1397 Words   |  6 PagesAn important quote by the influential author of Animal Farm, George Orwell, is, â€Å"Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism.† George Orwell, a Democratic Socialist, wrote the book Animal Farm as an attack on the Communist country of Russia (â€Å"The Political Ideas of George Orwell,† worldsocialism.org). He had a very strong disliking of Communism and the Socialist party of Russia. However, he insisted on finding the truthRead MoreAnimal Farm, By George Orwell1545 Words   |  7 Pagesallow because an this elite institution of people often use this gear to dominate and oppress society. In George Orwell’s story, Animal Farm, Orwell demonstrates that education is a powerful weapon and is a device that can be used to at least one’s benefit. Living in a world where strength is a straightforward to benefit, the pigs quick use education to govern the relaxation of the animals on the farm to serve themselves worked to their advantage. This story in shows the underlying message that   firstRead MoreAnimal Farm By George Orwell944 Words   |  4 Pageslegs(Orwell 132). He carried a whip in his trotter(Orwell 133). In the novel Animal Farm by George Orwell, animals have the ability to talk and form their own ethos, Animalism. Animal Farm is an intriguing allegory by George Orwell, who is also th e author of 1984, includes many enjoyable elements. More knowledge of the author, his use of allegorical elements, themes, symbols, and the significance in the real world, allows the reader to get more out of this glance into the future. George OrwellRead MoreAnimal Farm, By George Orwell876 Words   |  4 Pagesrebellious animals think no man means freedom and happiness, but they need to think again. The animals of Manor Farm rebel against the farm owner, Mr. Jones, and name it Animal Farm. The animals create Animalism, with seven commandments. As everything seems going well, two of the animals get into a rivalry, and things start changing. Food starts disappearing and commandments are changed, and the power begins to shift. Father of dystopian genre, George Orwell writes an interesting allegory, Animal FarmRead MoreAnimal Farm by George Orwell1100 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction: Widely acknowledged as a powerful allegory, the 1945 novella Animal Farm, conceived from the satirical mind of acclaimed author George Orwell, is a harrowing fable of a fictional dystopia that critiques the socialist philosophy of Stalin in terms of his leadership of the Soviet Union. Tired of their servitude to man, a group of farm animals revolt and establish their own society, only to be betrayed into worse servitude by their leaders, the pigs, whose initial virtuous intentionsRead MoreAnimal Farm By George Orwell1538 Words   |  7 PagesMecca Animal Farm The Russian Revolution in 1917 shows how a desperate society can be turned into a military superpower filled with terror and chaos. George Orwell uses his book, Animal Farm, to parallel this period of time in history. This book is an allegory of fascism and communism and the negative outcomes. The animals begin with great unity, working toward a common goal. The government then becomes corrupted by the temptations of power. George Orwell uses the characters in Animal Farm to showRead MoreAnimal Farm by George Orwell1175 Words   |  5 PagesAn enthusiastic participant in the Spanish civil war in 1936, George Orwell had a great understanding of the political world and made his strong opinions known through his enlightening literary works, many of which are still read in our modern era. Inspired by the 1917 Russian Revolution and the failed society it resulted in, Animal Farm by George Orwell is an encapsulating tale that epitomises how a free utopian society so idealistic can never be accomplished. The novella exemplifies how influencesRead MoreAnimal Farm, By George Orwell1089 Words   |  5 PagesIn George Orwell’s â€Å"Animal Farm†, the pigs as the farm leaders, use unknown language, invoke scare tactics and create specific laws, thereby enabling them to control other animals, to suit their greedy desires, and to perform actions outside their realm of power. Because of the pigs’ use of broad language, and the implementation of these tactics they are able to get away with avoiding laws, and are able to convince other animals into believing untrue stories that are beneficial to the pigs. The firstRead MoreAnimal Farm, By George Orwell1212 Words   |  5 PagesShe stood there over the dead animals thinking to herself what have we come to? We try to become free but we just enslave ourselves to a so called superior kind. Napoleon killed the animals in front of the whole farm and said that this was to be the punishment for the traitors. Snowball was known as a traitor now and anyone conspiring with him would be killed. Snowball and Napoleon both represent historical characters during the Russian revolution in 1917.Snowball who was one of the smartest pigs

The Epic Of Gilgamesh The Goddess Aruru, The Temple...

There are three important women in the epic of Gilgamesh: the goddess Aruru, the temple prostitute Shamhat, and the unnamed bride. Each of these individuals give unique insight into the culture of the Sumerians in the time of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. The goddess Aruru exemplifies that, despite being a deity, all women were subjected to certain constraints based solely on their gender and societal norms. Shamhat demonstrates that women held various functional roles in society, including roles within religion and religious practices. Finally, the unnamed bride is the most essential woman to reveal gender roles in Sumerian society; her presence in the epic defines several functions of the normal woman. The first woman mentioned is Aruru, a Mesopotamian goddess. The people of Uruk pray to her, and portray her as the creator of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. The description of Enkidu and Gilgamesh gives the impression that Aruru is a powerful goddess because both of her creations are described as lar ge, and having â€Å"stormy hearts†. She is also a very earthly goddess, having created Enkidu from â€Å"earth clay and divine spittle† (Ferry 5). Traditionally, the earth and its forces are considered feminine, and take on ‘womanly’ characteristics. This largely stems from another early story of the creation of the Earth and mankind; the story of Enlil and Tiamat. According to one article, Tiamat was an enormous dragon who had covered the Earth in water, and Enlil controlled the wind: The Sumerians

Traditon in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Essay

The author of â€Å"The Lottery,† Shirley Jackson, creates suspense and tension to convey dramatic irony. In a person’s life, a lottery, or raffle, is thought of something fair, because sometimes, you win prizes or money. This would be the raffle that you do NOT want to win. In Jackson’s short story, it is not about what the townspeople win, but it is about what is lost. I would have to say that the theme of this story would be â€Å"Not all traditions are always good.† The title of Jackson’s story contains suspense and tension to convey irony. Jackson’s use of words keeps the reader on the road that there are no problems and everything is great. For the townspeople’s behavior as they wait and when the lottery is chosen, the†¦show more content†¦The story took place of the morning of June 27th. The day is described as â€Å"clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full summer day.† â€Å"The flowers were blossomi ng profusely, and the grass was richly green.† Those statements describe a lot, and it is almost too good to be true. The tension and suspense part of this story was well constructed. If you read the story without knowing the ending, you would think that something good would happen. In this case, the ending was terrible for one person but in reality, the way that the ending was chosen was not right. The quote I would choose it â€Å"Life’s not fair, is it?† That is an amazing quote to analyze. When I scream at my mom â€Å"That’s not fair,† she usually replies â€Å"Life’s not fair,† and then I get really mad because that was not the answer I wanted to hear. There are many ways to think about that quote. That quote is very true. In this case, life was not fair. Poor Mrs. Hutchinson, she got â€Å"stoned† because of a lottery that they thought would change their lives. Well, the lottery did change some of the townspeople’ s lives. Another quote would be â€Å"Never regret. If its good, its wonderful. If its bad, its experience.† Since Mrs. Hutchinson was â€Å"stoned† by everyone by surprise, including her own family, she and everyone, should think about that every night before they go to sleep. So that they will go to bed knowing that they did the

Pollution in New York Free Essays

Alberto A. Ortiz Bio 112 May 13, 2010 Pollution is all around us, everywhere we go, every day we experience some sort of pollution. Babies in the womb are more vulnerable than their mothers to DNA harm from air pollution, in spite of the additional protection that the placenta is thought to supply in removing toxins. We will write a custom essay sample on Pollution in New York or any similar topic only for you Order Now In a study of babies and their mothers in New York City, scientists found that babies had accumulated a relatively high amount of mutations, and they connected the mutations to vehicle emissions. The babies also had more toxins from secondhand smoke than their mothers, who didn’t even smoke. This information is listed in Environmental Health Perspectives. For many years, scientists have believed that a fetus may be more susceptible to toxins than an adult. Yet, new research among a handful of large studies has analyzed the genetic effects of pollution. It is not known what the health effects of this DNA damage, if any, are for newborns. Exposure to these types of pollutants and tobacco smoke has been linked to increased risk for cancer in adults. This finding raises concern about fetal susceptibility and underscores the importance of reducing air pollution,† says Frederica Perera, who led the study at the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health in New York City. The study included 265 pairs of nonsmoking African-American and Latina mothers and newborns in New York City. The researchers collected cord blood samples from the babies at the time of delivery and blood samples from the mothers a day after giving birth. Mothers and newborns had the same level of DNA damage from air pollutants, but the researchers estimate that the fetus is exposed to a ten-fold lower dose of pollutants than the mother because the placenta serves as a filter. Thus, fetuses appear to be particularly susceptible to environmental toxins and may not be able to clear them from their bodies or repair damaged DNA. The finding that newborns had higher levels of cotinine, a byproduct of nicotine, in their blood than did their mothers reinforces he concern that babies are more affected by secondhand smoke. The scientists were able to measure the level of DNA damage from air pollutants in mothers and newborns by analyzing stretches of mutated DNA, called biomarkers, that have been associated with exposure to diesel emissions and other air pollutants. In a previous study of Caucasian women and their newborns in Krakow, Poland, Perera and her colleagues found similar prenatal susceptibility to air pollution. Because New York City has much lower levels of pollution than Krakow, they wanted to see if the same damage occurred. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has put forward legislation, which will provide the first comprehensive overhaul of the New York City Noise Code in over 30 years. Noise is the number one complaint to the City’s 311 citizen service hotline, currently averaging nearly 1,000 calls a day. The proposal provides a flexible environment to keep New York’s businesses thriving while addressing the number one quality of life complaint in New York. Mayor Bloomberg said that his new proposal, which was announced in June 2004, was the first overhaul of the Noise Code in over 30 years and would maintain the City’s vibrancy by balancing the need for construction, development and an exciting nightlife with New Yorker’s well deserved right to peace and quiet. â€Å"Building on the success of our enforcement initiative, Operation Silent Night, we are proposing a comprehensive revision to the noise code that will make New York quieter and more livable without stifling growth,† the Mayor added. The new Noise Code will remove outdated code sections and replace them with ones that use the latest acoustic technology and will provide for flexible and reasonable enforcement. The new code provides updated and sensible means of limiting noise from construction sites located near residential neighborhoods. By establishing uniform best management practices for all work sites, using greater discretion in granting permits for night and weekend work and mandating ‘noise management plans’ that include portable sound barriers, noise jackets for jackhammers at all construction sites the code will decrease noise pollution. Neighbors apply special lotions after showering because their skin burns. Tests show that their tap water contains arsenic, barium, lead, manganese and other chemicals at concentrations federal regulators say could contribute to cancer and damage the kidneys and nervous system. â€Å"How can we get digital cable and Internet in our homes, but not clean water? † said Mrs. Hall-Massey, a senior accountant at one of the state’s largest banks. She and her husband, Charles, do not live in some remote corner of Appalachia. Charleston, the state capital, is less than 17 miles from her home. â€Å"How is this still happening today? † she asked. When Mrs. Hall-Massey and 264 neighbors sued nine nearby coal companies, accusing them of putting dangerous waste into local water supplies, their lawyer did not have to look far for evidence. As required by state law, some of the companies had disclosed in reports to regulators that they were pumping into the ground illegal concentrations of chemicals — the same pollutants that flowed from residents’ taps. But state regulators never fined or punished those companies for breaking those pollution laws. The vast majority of those polluters have escaped punishment. State officials have repeatedly ignored obvious illegal dumping, and the Environmental Protection Agency, which can prosecute polluters when states fail to act, has often declined to intervene. Because it is difficult to determine what causes diseases like cancer, it is impossible to know how many illnesses are the results of water pollution, or contaminants’ role in the health problems of specific individuals. But concerns over these toxins are great enough that Congress and the E. P. A. regulate more than 100 pollutants through the Clean Water Act and strictly limit 91 chemicals or contaminants in tap water through the Safe Drinking Water Act. Research shows that an estimated one in 10 Americans have been exposed to drinking water that contains dangerous chemicals or fails to meet a federal health benchmark in other ways. Those exposures include carcinogens in the tap water of major American cities and unsafe chemicals in drinking-water wells. Wells, which are not typically regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act, are more likely to contain contaminants than municipal water systems. Because most of today’s water pollution has no scent or taste, many people who consume dangerous chemicals do not realize it, even after they become sick, researchers say. The broadest definition of thermal pollution is the degradation of water quality by any process that changes ambient water temperature. Thermal pollution is usually associated with increases of water temperatures in a stream, lake, or ocean due to the discharge of heated water from industrial processes, such as the generation of electricity. Increases in ambient water temperature also occur in streams where shading vegetation along the banks is removed or where sediments have made the water more turbid. Both of these effects allow more energy from the sun to be absorbed by the water and thereby increase its temperature. There are also situations in which the effects of colder-than-normal water temperatures may be observed. For example, the discharge of cold bottom water from deep-water reservoirs behind large dams has changed the downstream biological communities in systems such as the Colorado River. http://www. controllingpollution. com/pollution/thermal-pollution/ http://www. nydailynews. com/topics/Noise+Pollution http://www. dec. ny. gov/chemical/281. html http://www. nytimes. com/2009/12/17/us/17water. html How to cite Pollution in New York, Papers