Japans Policy on Nuclear Weapons

Japans Policy on Nuclear Weapons In 1945, the United States launched two nuclear attacks on both Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The two attacks not only destroyed two cities, but also killed thousands of people. Although Japan was the only country that suffered from the devastating effects of nuclear attack in World War II, Japan did not give up using and developing this technology for other uses. Japan kept using the nuclear power and technology to provide a great amount of electricity and other resources to the country. This is because Japan is a country with only a small amount of natural resources, Japan needs to depend heavily on imports for their needs. However, relying heavily on imports brings a lot of stress because the costs of imported products are very high. Therefore, Japan has changed to rely heavily on the nuclear energy. The government believed that the peaceful use of nuclear power can help Japan to become a more powerful country and reduce its stress from imports. The use of nuclear energy provides many benefits to Japans society, but it also creates problems. Japan is a country that experiences frequent earthquakes and tsunamis that are caused by the high magnitude earthquake. In this case, it is very important for the Japanese government to consider the location of where to build nuclear power plants. But the Japanese government did not consider all factors carefully, which created huge disaster later. On March 11, 2011, a huge earthquake and tsunami caused extensive damage to the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, which resulted in nuclear meltdowns, releases of radioactive materials into the atmosphere and oceans. Because of the release of radioactive materials into the air and ocean, the radioactive level in the atmosphere and ocean could cause huge pollution that would cause danger to people and marine life. To be specific, since it polluted the ocean, it raises the possibility that marine life and freshwater could be affected. In t his case, it causes concerns about the food safety because fish is the major ingredient of Japanese food and agriculture needs water for irrigation. If people keep eating these affected fishes and agricultural products, they might have greater possibilities of having cancers. In the end, people who lives in Japan, especially who lives near to this region, the radiation exposures could affect their health, both physically and psychologically. Therefore, it is clear that Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant disaster brought great negative effects on society, which affects Japans environment, food safety and health. The Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant disaster has caused environmental problems to Japan. Due to the accident, a large amount of radioactive materials were discharged into the environment, which polluted air, ocean, and freshwater system in enormous volume. In fact, according to Yasuo Onishi, the radionuclides with 31017 Becquerel (Bq is the SI derived unit of radioactivity) emitted into the air, and polluted land and marine life later. Some directly contaminated the Pacific Ocean[1]. Clearly, the accident caused high level of radioactive materials directly polluted the environment. And if this problem continues to be exacerbating, sooner or later it might cause greater problems like natural environment deterioration. Moreover, after this accident, radioactive materials were not only emitted into the air and ocean, but also affected the whole ecosystem later. Ecosystem divided the world into several different regions, but every region is also closely connected in certain ways. For examp le, lake aquatic ecosystem could connect with the terrestrial ecosystem, and all parts of terrestrial ecosystems like soil, forests, are connected in a very effective way through the atmosphere. In this case, if the marine, freshwater system and air were contaminated, the ecosystem would also be affected. In fact, Christopher Eddy and Eriko Sase point out in 2015, Fukushima nuclear disaster caused a catastrophic release of radiological hazards into the ecosystem. Extremely high levels of strontium, a bone-seeking radionuclide with a half-lefe of 28 years, are currently increasing in soil, groundwater, and ocean samples near the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.[2] Clearly, this shows that this disaster brings terrible impacts to the environment, and the situation is getting worse and worse. Therefore, Japan should put more efforts on protecting environment and finding an effective solution of reducing the level of radioactive material in the ecosystem. The negative effect of the Fukushima nuclear disaster for the environment is clear, but more importantly, it raises concern about food safety. Firstly, the food safety concerns caused by the pollution to agriculture. To explain that, this disaster caused high level of radioactive materials to directly contaminate environment, which caused great pollution to agriculture. In order to test the radioactive material contamination in agriculture, experts took some biological samples from different region to test the level of contamination. In fact, they found that in a small town in Fukushima prefecture, by testing samples from 10 rice fields, the contamination level are from 400 Bq per kilogram to 4,000 Bq per kilogram. Moreover, the result of some samples from the area named Iitatemura (20 to 30 km distant from the power plant) was very high, up to 15,031 Bq per kilogram[3]. Clearly, it demonstrates that this disaster has great negative effects on agriculture, which cause high level of c ontamination to agricultural products. In addition to the high level of contamination to agriculture, it also affected marine life. Japan is known as one of the biggest seafood consumers in the world. Seafood is often referred to as the main ingredient of Japanese food. Thus, if the marine life was contaminated by radioactive materials that have been directly discharged into the ocean, it would cause great concern about safety of fishery products. According to a report done by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) on August 1, 2012, in some fat greenlings samples from Ota Rive which is located in the north 20 km away from the nuclear power plant, the level of radioactive materials was 25,800 Bq per kilogram, which is significantly high[4]. This result proved that the Fukushima accident has greatly affected fishery products. Therefore, the Fukushima nuclear accident creates the food safety problems to Japans society. In addition to the negative effects of Fukushima nuclear accident to environment and food safety, it also affects peoples health. After the Fukushima accident, the local governments had evacuated all people who lived in or close to the Fukushima prefecture. Thousands of people were forced to leave their homes and some of them might never come back. Many people who experienced this disaster have developed psychological problems later on because the increased fear of death from radioactive diseases and social disruption. In fact, according to Claire Leppold and her colleagues, for those people whose lives were suddenly changed, they would have greater risks of having poor health conditions, which lead them to social isolation, psychosocial stress and have higher possibility of having diseases that is not infectious, such as high blood glucose levels and diseases related to high level of lipid in the blood. As may be expected, in Fukushima, they found the number of noncmmunicable diseas es increased[5]. Clearly, it demonstrates that peoples health is greatly affected by the accident, both mentally and physically. Although it seems that this disaster has greater effects on peoples physical health rather than mental health because they have greater chances of having serious diseases, people actually have more severe mental problems later. According to a research done by Kotaro Imamura and his colleagues in 2016, mothers with small children who lived near to the power plant have higher levels of depression. Moreover, due to the extremely fear of radiation exposure, some people were very likely to experience chronic depression and anxiety, which have great chance of affecting their normal life activities[6]. It clearly shows that the disaster affected peoples mental health, and their illness was being aggravated due to the extreme fear of radiation exposure. Therefore, it is clear that the nuclear accident affects public health. Sources [1] Yasuo Onishi, Fukushima and Chernobyl Nuclear Accidents Environmental Assessments and U.S. Hanford Sites Waste Management, Procedia IUTAM 10, no. Mechanics for the World: Proceedings of the 23rd International Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (January 1, 2014): 375. ScienceDirect, EBSCOhost, accessed March 12, 2017. http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=3[emailprotected]hid=119bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ==#db=edselpAN=S2210983814000339. [2] Christopher Eddy and Eriko Sase, Implications of the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster:Man-made Hazards, Vulnerability Factors, and Risk to Environmental Health, Journalof Environmental Health 78, no.1 (July 2015):29. General Science Full Text (H.W.Wilson), EBSCOhost, accessed March 12, 2017. http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/[emailprotected]vid=1hid=119bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ==#db=gftAN=103698161. [3] Hrabrin Bachev and Ito Fusao, Impacts of Fukushima Nuclear Disaster on Agri-Food Chains in Japan, IUP Journal of Supply Chain Management 10, no. 4 (December 2013): 10. EBSCOhost. Accessed February 13, 2017. http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/[emailprotected]8vid=4hid=4205. [4] Kaoru Nakata and Hiroya Sugisaki, The Impacts of Fukushima NuclearAccident onFish andFishingGround, (SpringerOpen, 2015), (accessed February 13, 2017), 178. http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-4-431-55537-7. [5] Claire Leppold, Tetsuya Tanimoto, Masaharu Tsubokura, Public Health after a Nuclear Disaster: Beyond Radiation Risks, Bulletin of the World HealthOrganization 94, no. 11 (November 2016): 859. General Science Full Text(H.W. Wilson), EBSCOhost, accessed February 13, 2017. http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=44563dba-77c9-4cd7-8765-ab644726f01d%40sessionmgr104vid=3hid=119. [6] Imamura Kotaro et al., The Effect of a Behavioral Activation Program on Improving Mental and Physical Health Complaints Associated with Radiation Stress among Mothers in Fukushima: A Randomized Controlled Trial, BMCPublic Health 16 (November 8, 2016): 2. Academic Search Complete,EBSCOhost, accessed February 13, 2017. http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/[emailprotected]vid=1hid=4205bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ==#db=a9hAN=119467986.

Production Functions and Cost Functions in Oil Pipelines Essay

1. For an 18-inch pipeline designed for 150,000 barrels per day, what is the short-run cost per barrel (per thousand miles) of transporting crude oil if the throughput is (a) 50,000 barrels per day (b) 100,000 barrels per day (c) 150,000 barrels per day? Using chart 7, a) Cost of transporting 50,000 barrels would be 30 cents. b) Cost of transporting 100,000 barrels would be 17 cents. c) Cost of transporting 150,000 barrels would 16 cents. 2. Can a 16-inch pipeline with 10,000 horsepower transport 100,000 barrels of crude oil per day? If a firm has a 20-inch pipeline, how much horsepower must be used to transport 150,000 barrels per day? This question can be approached in two ways. Both the approaches give different answers. a. Using Chart 1, a 16-inch pipeline with 10,000 horsepower will NOT be able to transport 100,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The pipeline will require at least 20,000 horsepower. If a firm has a 20-inch pipeline and wants to transport 150,000 barrels per day, they should use 20,000 horsepower. b. Using formula , T = (H) (D ) / (0.01046) When D= 16 inches H= 10,000, we get T= 349619.69 barrels. Thus, a 16 inch line pipeline with 10k horsepower can transport 100k barrels of oil. If the pipeline is 20 inch and we need to get 150k barrels of oil, using the formula, we will need 357.79 3. Does it appear that there should be many pipelines competing to transport crude oil over a particular route? Why or why not? I don’t think there would be multiple lines competing to transport crude oil over a particular route unless there is more demand than what is currently being supplied. It does not make economic sense to run pipelines at less than maximum capacity as they require a huge investment. The cost of laying the line and the materials costs of steel, pipe coating, line block valves, corrosion protection and so forth are a huge investment and would not be feasible for an oil company if the pipeline would not be supplying oil to its fullest capacity. 4. According to Leslie Cookenboo, plant D in Figure 1 â€Å"is not the optimum plant for the output at which it itself is most efficient (Q1).† How can this be? Explain. Optimum point is the point where the output costs the least per unit. The point where Q1 falls on the curve of plant E is lower than the lowest point on the curve of plant D. Therefore plant E can produce D’s optimum output more cheaply than D. 5. Leslie Cookenboo stresses the difficulties and limitations of estimating cost functions on the basis of historical cost data, rather than engineering data of the sort he uses. What are these limitations and difficulties? According to Leslie Cookenboo, where engineering estimation is feasible for cost studies it should be used, since actual costs may be subject to any number of erratic variations arising from construction or operating conditions unique to particular cases. In cases where engineering data is not available, historical data can be used, but using historical data makes the cost estimation prone to errors as it does not take into account the specific environmental factors that affect a particular situation. 6. Explain in commonsense terms why there are economies of scale in pipelines. In general, the average cost of transporting a barrel of oil decreases as total throughput increases. That is, oil pipelines are characterized by  economies of scale. There are several reasons for this: a) Setup Costs: The cost planning, design and installation are fixed setup costs. b) Volumetric Returns to Scale: Oil Pipelines are characterized by volumetric returns to scale. This happens because the cost of steel depends on its surface area while the capacity of the pipeline depends on its volume. Also, the amount of horsepower required is determined by resistance to flow which is decreasing in the diameter of the pipe. In the case, the production function is estimated as: This production function is characterized by increasing returns to scale. Doubling line diameter and horsepower leads to more than a fourfold increase in output but only a doubling in costs. c) Long run fixed costs: The cost of the personnel that monitor the pipelines is a long-run fixed cost due to the fact that a minimum number of personnel is required to monitor the pipelines regardless of the throughput. d) For the same level of reliability, larger pipelines require relatively fewer pumps in reserve. 7. Leslie Cookenboo has been senior economics adviser in the corporate planning department of Exxon Corporation. In what ways might Exxon have made use of his findings? Leslie Cookenboo’s study has 3 major findings: a. Economies of scale characteristic of the operation of pipe lines require that oil must be carried conglomerated in as large quantities as is possible in large diameter lines. This gives the least transportation costs obtainable. Exxon can reduce its transportation costs by transporting oil in large quantities in large diameter lines. b. Pipelines should not be run at throughputs appreciably below capacity; otherwise higher costs per barrel will be incurred than need be. Exxon can avoid higher costs per barrel by operating the pipelines at maximum capacity. c. Capacity of a large line can be expanded appreciably without increasing average costs. Decreased average costs can be obtained with moderate expansions.

Vacant Chapter 8 Celebrate

â€Å"Happy anniversary!† Emily yells at me as I exit the bathroom having just completed my morning ritual. She'd be disgusted if she knew everything it entailed, not to mention the full coverage robe I was supposed to buy, which means Emily still walks around in tiny towels. Of course, I spend extra time in the shower stroking out my morning wood so that I'm able to have some semblance of decency the rest of the day. Walking around with an Emily induced boner would certainly make our situation uncomfortable. While the topic of dating and relationships hasn't been broached since January, that doesn't mean it has gone away. Instead, it's been the elephant in the room for eight long months. â€Å"Is there an anniversary song?† Emily asks jokingly. â€Å"There's one for birthdays.† She starts singing Happy Birthday, replacing â€Å"birthday† with â€Å"anniversary.† I can't help but smile given the joy the woman before me holds for the simplest of things. â€Å"It's two years today, Ethan; two years ago you came over and opened my window, two years since you recognized I was alone and in need. Two years ago you opened your home and heart to a perfect stranger.† When she says heart quieter than the rest, mine skips a beat. Her voice wavers at the end of her speech, indicating tears are about to follow. I reach out to her, pull her into me, and hold her tightly as she surrenders to the sadness. This is the only touch I'm allowed – the only appropriate embrace. Looking in the mirror, I see a man whose extraordinarily proud. While I may not be the mama bird watching her baby bird fly from the nest, there is still pride deep in my chest. Emily graduates today from high school. It's an accomplishment, which given the circumstances, is astounding. Today is special, and it's the first time I've ever worn a tie, so I check it one last time. My tie isn't the only surprise I have for Emily today. I purchased my very first car this morning, and I plan to drive Emily to her graduation in a 1998 Toyota Corolla. It belonged to Margie, my boss, but her husband bought her a new one. He sold me the Corolla with 160,000 miles at an unreasonably low price. I'd say he was giving me a bit of charity, but no matter, it's mine. Mine and Emily's. â€Å"Get-out!† Emily shouts moments later as she looks at the champagne colored car parked on the street and then back at me. Her mouth is hanging open, unsure of what to say. â€Å"Come on; get in. We have a graduation to get to.† â€Å"Your brother is way hot,† I hear the blonde say. Emily doesn't respond, but another high-pitched voice does. â€Å"That's not her brother, you clueless bitch.† Emily told me about this once, where females call each other names as terms of endearment, but I don't get it. If one of the guys at the store called me a bastard or asshole, I'd punch his face, endearment aside. â€Å"Gretchen†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I hear Emily plead. â€Å"Please don't.† â€Å"What? He's not – which, of course begs the question, why aren't you bangin' his brains out, little Emily Evans?† Truth be told, I want to know Emily's response. It's not like I haven't thought about it a thousand times, but I'm curious to know if she thinks about it too. â€Å"I have to – † then I hear footsteps rapidly retreating. I decide to make myself known and walk out of the hallway where I've been hiding since the conversation seems to be over. â€Å"Hey, Ethan, you just missed Emily.† The blonde motions down the hall in the direction Emily went. I follow. The sound hits me immediately as I near a classroom with an open door. Thankfully, it's a sound I haven't heard for a while, but hearing it now cuts me like a hot knife through cold butter. â€Å"Emily?† I call to her as I enter the nearly empty room. The desks and chairs are stacked, waiting patiently for another round of students in the fall. Emily looks up, red-faced and glassy-eyed. She regards me for a moment, then bursts into another round of sobs. For a second, I think about how ugly crying is. I think Emily is beautiful, but the way her face contorts†¦ it's just so unattractive. This crying mess in front of me doesn't look like Emily at all. Then the few remaining scraps of humanity I think I have left kick in, and those superficial and negative thoughts float away. All I'm seeing now is my Emily in pain – and I want to make it stop. I go to her as fast as my legs can carry me and take her in my arms, holding her close. We've only embraced a few times, but for me, it's special every time. After several minutes, Emily has calmed and she raises her head to look at me. Her eyes are clear now, and as she gazes into my eyes, I think about how beautiful she is. It's all I can do not to place my lips over hers. We're so close that just a few inches forward would connect us. I want her so much sometimes it's hurts. But that's not meant to be, and my sinful thoughts have to remain hidden. â€Å"Ethan, I have to tell you something. Well, ask you something, really. I mean I'm going to tell you something, but then I'm going to – † I cut her off by placing my hand gently over her mouth. She rambles when she's nervous, plus my hand will keep me from kissing her. â€Å"Deep breath,† I coach her and myself. After a few relaxing sighs, I encourage her to start again. â€Å"You can tell me anything, Emily. I'm here for you. You can trust me.† But never in a million years would I expect what she says next. â€Å"Ethan, I love you.†

The risk of innovation with financial firms - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 995 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? Throughout history it has been observed that financial institutions have often failed. Some of the most common reasons for this can be attributed to regulation, either lack of or too much. Risk is often cyclical in nature, when the market is in an upswing most financial institutions will increase their appetite for risk and when the market is in a downturn, financial institutions will cut back on lending and increase their reserves (Peretez et al, 2009, p.609). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The risk of innovation with financial firms" essay for you Create order Markets respond to changing conditions in search of increased profitability (UOL Lecture Notes, 2011). Changing conditions thus support the foundation of financial innovation, in which many of these institutions seek to achieve the highest possible profits sometimes with inappropriate risk taking and total disregard for possible outcomes. Why do Financial Firms Innovate and Maintain an Appetite for Risk? Banks are mainly regulated in order to protect the interest of its depositors (liabilities) and limit risk taking which is known as prudential regulation (Kohn, 2004, p.595). Because bank balance sheets are often mismatched short-term liabilities (deposit funds) against longer term assets (loans) it leaves the bank more open to adverse shocks such as bank runs. While banks are often covered by depositors insurance, this is not always effective in preventing a bank run because depositors will often react to what others are doing. Deposit insurance as well as lenders of last resorts such as Central Banks essentially allows depositors some reassurance; however this can also be an incentive for banks to engage in riskier behavior. While certain regulations have been put in place to deter risky behavior, evidence shows that many financial institutions have sought out ways to maneuver around regulations. This is most often in an attempt to enhance profitability through the creation of other types of assets. According to Calomiris (2009, p. 65) financial innovations often respond to regulation by sidestepping regulatory restrictions that would otherwise limit activities in which people wish to engage. Banks are not the only financial intermediaries which are regulated. The securities market which involves institutional investors and arms length investors also require protection. The main reasons why these investors need protection are to guard against cheating and instability (Kohn, 2004, p. 637). Different countries have different regulation requirements. For example the UK and US use the Anglo model which serves to monitor and reinforce the market, and the Continental model is moreover used by Europe and Asia which has a more direct influence and control over the market (UOL Lecture Notes, 2011). The most important determinant of banks and other financial intermediaries is the inherent liquidity risk issue. It is of utmost importance that liquidity risk i s markedly monitored. Illiquidity for a financial institution poses a threat to its continued success. Lack of liquid resources ultimately leads to failure. There are two ways in which banks can manage liquidity risk, internal and external. Internal risk management entails the bank holding reserves as well as matching maturities and currency denominations of its assets and liabilities. External management involves the reliability of obtaining funding from outside resources while hedging with the use of derivatives to minimize risk (Kohn, 2004, p.603). There have been an incredible amount of arguments which relate to the regulations of these institutions in regards to their use and abuse of financial innovation. But a question arises? Is all financial innovation bad? Some say that financial innovation is a necessary component that can stimulate economic growth, but is widely dependent on how it is used and others say it serves no purpose. For example according to Litan (n.d.) who cites Volckers views on financial innovation who was a former Federal Reserve Board Chairman in the US, that there have been no other recent financial innovations that have contributed to the finance industry recently other than the ATM machine. He further notes that Volckers reasoning for this could be attributed to economic development over time from the 1950s up to the 1980s where financial innovations such as CDSs and CDOs were of no importance to continued growth and stability of the economy. However according to Litan (n.d.), there are many other financial innovations which have been contributory to the growth of the economy which include, credit cards, debit cards, mobile banking, internet banking and a host of other examples. However, more recently bad financial innovations as some would call it, such as CDSs and CDOs were largely blamed for the collapse of the US Housing Market or subprime crisis. Conclusion: In conclusion, it seems very apparent to me that while some lay blame on certain financial innovations wreaking havoc which resulted in a global systemic crisis, it doesnt appear in itself that the financial innovations such as CDOs and CDSs were directly to be blamed, but rather the lack of regulation surrounding the issuance of such instruments. Perhaps if the government had intervened rather than turning a blind eye to something that was on the verge of being out of control by posing restrictions in a bid to tighten mortgage activity, the fall wouldnt have been as harsh, and there might have been less fall in asset values. From my point of view, financial innovations arent really bad; its how they are used. Last and but not least I conclude with a very interesting statement made by Litan (n.d.) who notes what has been called regulatory dialectic in finance new rules aimed at preventing old abuses being circumvented by yet new innovations, and yes sometimes by new abuses is as old as finance itself. Which leads me to believe that no matter how much one rehashes the ideas surrounding financial innovation, the fact remains that there will always be individuals and institutions who are seeking higher profits and thus find a way around those rules even if it entails risky behavior. In short rules and regulations can be in place, and new rules can replace old rules to accommodate new trends, but there will always be mistakes and arent new rules made to amend those mistakes?