Energy Flow Systems :: essays research papers

Energy Flow Systems   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Richard White's Organic Machine, and William Cronon's Changes in the Land, both examine environments as energy flow systems. The energy flow model was utilized by the authors to explain relationships within ecosystems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Richard White's thesis is to examine the river as an organic machine, as an energy system that, although modified by human intervention, maintains it's natural, its â€Å"unmade† qualities. White emphasizes on energy because it is a useful concept that can be easily understood. He says, â€Å"the flow of the river is energy, so is the electricity that comes from the dams that block that flow. Human labor is energy; so are the calories that are stored as fat by salmon for their journey upstream.† White notes that energy is as concrete as salmon, human bodies, and the Grand Coulee Dam. White wants his readers to think about nature and its relationship with humanity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  White explains how the river is energy. The Columbia River works as gravity pulls it to the Pacific Ocean. The Columbia is continuously cutting into the terrain that it flows through. Over millions of years water rushed through the Columbia Basin to form the Columbia River. Water carries soil, silt, and debris downstream. The constant movement of material in the river cuts and shapes the river basin into the land. This movement is a slow and inefficient use of energy. According to White, only two percent of water's potential energy results in the work of erosion. The other ninety-eight percent of water's energy was lost as water molecules rub against themselves, the river bed, and the river banks. This energy was released as heat into the river.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Often the energy of flowing water was not recognized. There are occasions when rivers do show their power is destructive ways. Power was usually demonstrated through floods, and more so in flash floods. Thousands of years ago, an ice dam in the Columbia River, holding the glacial lake Missoula, broke and created the largest known freshwater flood in earth's history. The flood rushed into the Columbia Channel and created the Grand Coulee and other rock channels that would have taken the Mississippi River three hundred years at full flood to create.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Salmon are also a part of the Colombian energy model. As the river works its way downward to the Pacific Ocean, the salmon work their way up the Columbia to spawn. The energy in salmon can be measured by their body fat and caloric value. Salmon start their run upstream prepared for the long hard run. Their bodies have stored fat and oil after a year worth of feeding at sea.

Comparing Public School and Home School

If we are talking about schools, it seems like Public School and Home School don't sound so strange for us. Both of them are kind of schools which provide some benefits. They are all good schools. Although those schools are same good, as selective parents, you are supposed to be able to decide which school you should choose for your kids as a place where they continue their education. In deciding which school you will choose for your kids, you can consider the benefits your kids and your family will get from the school, the output you want your kids get after school, and many other things you should consider further.Truely, both Public School and Home School are means of education which help kids to achieve the goal of education, but those schools, Public School and Home School, have differences† (Pomadi,2007). First difference between Public School and Home School is about a question, † Who are in charge here? â€Å". In every school, including Public School and Home Sc hool, there are some people who are in charge of their students success in achieving education's aims. Who are the man in charge of Public School and Home School? In Public School, there are teachers, headmaster, and school staffs.They are people who are in charge of their students success in Public School. In the other side, people who are in charge of students success in Home School are not teachers, headmaster, or other staffs, but they are parents. In Home School, parents are the ones who are responsible for their kids success. Parents have important role in Home School, Just like teachers role in Public School. Second, if we are talking about differences between Public School and Home School, schedule will be one aspect that is quite different in Public School and Home School.The schedule in Home School is more flexible than schedule in Public School. In Home School, students (kids) can start their study whenever they want, for example, they can start to study at 8 a. m, 9 a. m , or whenever they are ready. They do not need to be afraid of being late because in Home School there is no specified time to start study (school). It is quite different from Public School where students have to be ready to study when the school bell rings at 7 a. m.Because of that, students of Public School have to come earlier to the school. It means that before 7 a. m they have to be ready in the school. In this case, if they come late, they will be punished by their teacher ecause 7 a. m is specified time where students have to be ready to study in Public School. In Public School, the schedule of subjects from Monday to Saturday change everyday. The schedule itself has been set by the school. Students have to obey and follow the schedule, and study the subjects based on the schedule given by the school.For example, on Monday they have Mathematic (2Ãâ€"45 minutes), Biology (2Ãâ€"45 minutes), English (2Ãâ€"45 minutes), and Civics (2Ãâ€"45 minutes) as their subjects, but on Tu esday they will have different subjects such as: Indonesian Language (2Ãâ€"45 inutes), Art (2Ãâ€"45 minutes), Geography (2Ãâ€"45 minutes), and Physics (2Ãâ€"45 minutes) as their subjects, and other different subjects in every different days. It is different from what we will find in Home School. If the student in Home school want to study English and Social Science for example, he/she will study those subjects that day.They will spend their time that day only to study those two subjects. How long he/she studies those subjects is not a big problem. Whether he/she will study English tor about 3 hours that day, or spend 2 hours to study about Social Science is up to him/ her. If the following day he/she still wants to study those subjects and he/she also wants to learn Mathematic as their additional subject that day, then he/she will get them again (English and Social Science), and learns Mathematic after those subjects finished. In Home School, this way is possible to do, but in P ublic School we cannot apply such way.So, that's why it is said that â€Å"the schedule in Home school is flexible† (Ensiklopedia,2011). Third, it is about uniform. In Public School, it is a must for the students to wear school uniform. If it is Elementary School, they wear white and red uniform. If it is Junior High School, they wear white and blue uniform. If it is Senior High School, they wear white and grey uniform. Their uniforms are usually two-piece; white shirt which is combined with skirt (for girls), or trousers (for boys), and sometimes in some Public Schools the uniforms are completed with tie.On the contrary, there is no certain rule for the students to wear uniform in Home School. There, they can wear shirt, T-shirt, skirt, trousers, or even Jeans are also permitted. They can wear everything they want as long as they feel comfortable wearing them when they are studying. Fourth, in Public School we know that one class is a big class that contains for about 30 to 40 students whereas the teacher who will conduct teaching and learning process in that class is only one in every subject. The opposite, there will only a teacher and a student who do teaching and learning process in Home School.Hence, the attention that the teacher can share to 30-40 students is really different from the attention that a teacher can give only for a student. Of course in Home School, a student will get 100% attention from his/her teacher, but in Public School teacher will try to share his/her attention to all his/her tudents as fair as he/she can. So, in this case, in Public School and Home School, the attention that the students can get from the teacher will totally different. Fifth is about curriculum. In Public School we cannot choose curriculum by ourselves. We just follow the curriculum which is used in that school.We also cannot choose subjects as we wish, because all subjects have been set by the school. This is different from Home School. In Home School we c an choose curriculum we want. We also can choose the subjects we want to learn and master them well. The subjects re usually adapted to the student needs. So, if we like to study Mathematic, and we want to master that subject than Science for example, we will spend more times to study that subject. If it is needed, we will reduce Science time or other subjects times, and use that times to learn more about Mathematic.The last is about some activities like flag ceremoney, Physical Education, and extra curricular. In Public School, we know that every Monday, all students, teachers, headmaster, and other school staffs hold flag ceremoney. It is a common ceremoney which is held by every Public School. Then, if we are talking about Physical Education in Public School, we will know that once in a week every students there have Physical Education on their schedule. Students learn to do some sports accompanied by their Physical Education teacher.One more thing is about extra curricular. We c an find such activitiy only in Public School. Usually, it is a must for every student to Join minimum 1 extra curricular that they are interested in. There are various kinds of extra curricular that students can choose in Public School, such as: football, dancing, badminton, music, as e all k tb , drawing, tennis, and so on. In Home School, however, we cannot tind such activities. There is no flag ceremoney in Home School every Monday, no Physical Education, and also no extra curricular.Thus, from the long explanation above, now we know that although Public School and Home School have the same function which is as means of education that can be used to help students to achieve education's aims, those schools still have some differences (Pomadi). Those differences can be seen from who take the responsible for the school, schedule system, uniform, umber of teacher and student in a class, curriculum, and the last is about some activities such as: flag ceremoney, Physical Education, and extra curricular.However, although those schools are different, they are still good schools which can create a well educated person who has high intelligentsia and civilized. Furthermore, after knowing the differences from those schools, we will be able to decide which one will be the best place that we will choose as a place for our kids to continue their education, because from those differences above, we will know some advantages and disadvantages of choosing one of those schools.

Geography of the Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a large sea or body of water that is located between Europe, northern Africa, and southwestern Asia. Its total area is 970,000 square miles (2,500,000 sq km) and its greatest depth is located off the coast of Greece at around 16,800 feet (5,121 m) deep. The average depth of the sea, however, is about 4,900 feet (1,500 m). The Mediterranean Sea is connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the narrow Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Morocco. This area is only about 14 miles (22 km) wide. The Mediterranean Sea is known for being an important historic trade path and a strong factor in the development of the region around it. History of the Mediterranean Sea The region around the Mediterranean Sea has a long history that dates back to ancient times. For example, Stone Age tools have been discovered by archeologists along its shores and it is believed that the Egyptians began sailing on it by 3000 B.C.E. Early people of the region used the Mediterranean as a trade route and as a way to move to and colonize other regions. As a result, the sea was controlled by several different ancient civilizations. These include the Minoan, Phoenician, Greek, and later the Roman civilizations. In the 5th century C.E. however, Rome fell and the Mediterranean Sea and the region around it became controlled by the Byzantines, Arabs and Ottoman Turks. By the 12th-century trade in the region was growing as Europeans began exploration expeditions. In the late 1400s though, trade traffic in the region decreased when European traders discovered new, all water trade routes to India and the Far East. In 1869 ,  however, the Suez Canal opened and trade traffic again increased. In addition, the opening of the Suez Canal the Mediterranean Sea also became an important strategic location for many European nations and as a result, the United Kingdom and France began building colonies and naval bases along its shores. Today the Mediterranean is one of the busiest seas in the world. Trade and shipping traffic is prominent and there is also a significant amount of fishing activity in its waters. In addition, tourism is also a large part of the regions economy because of its climate, beaches, cities, and historic sites. Geography of the Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a very large sea that is bounded by Europe, Africa, and Asia and stretches from the Strait of Gibraltar on the west to the Dardanelles and the Suez Canal on the east. It is almost completely enclosed aside from these narrow locations. Because it is almost landlocked, the Mediterranean has very limited tides and it is warmer and saltier than the Atlantic Ocean. This is because evaporation exceeds precipitation and runoff and circulation of the seas waters does not occur as easily as it would if were more connected to the ocean, however enough water flows into the sea from the Atlantic Ocean that is water level does not fluctuate much. Geographically, the Mediterranean Sea is divided into two different basins—the Western Basin and the Eastern Basin. The Western Basin extends from the Cape of Trafalgar in Spain and the Cape of Spartel in Africa in the west to Tunisias Cape Bon in the east. The Eastern Basin stretches from the  eastern boundary of the Western Basin to the coasts of Syria and Palestine. In total, the Mediterranean Sea borders 21 different nations as well as several different territories. Some of the nations with borders along the Mediterranean include Spain, France, Monaco, Malta, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Morocco. It also borders several smaller seas and is home to over 3,000 islands. The largest of these islands are Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Cyprus, and Crete. The topography of the land surrounding the Mediterranean Sea is varied and there is an extremely rugged coastline in is northern areas. High mountains and steep, rocky cliffs are common here, though in other areas the coastline is flatter and dominated by desert. The temperature of the Mediterraneans water also varies but in general, it is between 50 F and 80 F (10 C and 27 C).​ Ecology of and Threats to the Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea has a large number of different fish and mammal species that are mainly derived from the Atlantic Ocean. However, because the Mediterranean is warmer and saltier than the Atlantic, these species have had to adapt. Harbor porpoises, Bottlenose Dolphins, and Loggerhead Sea Turtles are common in the sea. There are a number of threats to the  biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea, though. ​Invasive species are one of the most common threats as ships from other regions often bring in non-native species and Red Sea water and species enter the Mediterranean at the Suez Canal. Pollution is also a problem as cities on the coasts of the Mediterranean have dumped chemicals and waste into the sea in recent years. Overfishing is another threat to the Mediterranean Seas biodiversity and ecology as is tourism because both are putting strains on the natural environment. References: How Stuff Works. (n.d.). How Stuff Works - The Mediterranean Sea. Retrieved from: http://geography.howstuffworks.com/oceans-and-seas/the-mediterranean-sea.htm