Legal Aspects of Health Information free essay sample

In addition, third parties are also allow to have access to patient-specific information if there is an appropriate request (McKay, 2010). This is according to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HAIFA) and the state laws and regulation that pertains the release of the protected health information. The HAIFA privacy rule sets limits that are explicit for the persons that are in a position to access the retorted heath information for patients without the consent of the patients (McKay, 2010).According to HIPPO privacy law, third parties, who may be strangers to patient, also have a right to access the patient health information if they have a valid authorization to release the record. Examples of third parties that will need authorization to access patient information are patients employer, attorney, insurance company, or even a member of the patients family (unless the member has been appointed as a durable power of attorney for health care). We will write a custom essay sample on Legal Aspects of Health Information or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In some cases, third party may be able to access the patient information even without the authorization. Examples are accredited and licensed agencies and a court may grant access to patient records in a lawsuit upon a finding of good cause (McKay, 2010). The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent is an individual who is responsible for the investigative purpose and in the agency of internal intelligence where he or she investigates crimes in the United States (FBI About Us, n. D. ). Therefore, an FBI agent tit a search warrant is an authorized user who has consent for the release of protected health care information since he is a person who is in the law enforcement agency.Law enforcement is usually entitled to the health records once it has been asserted that they are looking for the health records of a suspect or a victim of a crime. As the head of the health information management department, I would allow the FBI agent to have access to the health information and records of the General hospital for purposes of investigation. As for the patient, it is unnecessary to notify them that their health care records has been disclosed to a government agency.According to McKay (2010), individuals are not given the opportunity of knowing that their health records were needed by the law enforcement officer. This is because the individuals concerned will get a chance to challenge the infringement of the privacy concerns of their health records. The Patriot Act requires that the health care providers and the ones responsible for the health information management to deter room telling any other person that a Federal Bureau of Investigation has sought or obtained the health records.

The Psychology of Serial Killers

The Psychology of Serial Killers I didn`t want to hurt them, I only wanted to kill them. This is a quote from David Berkowitz, A.K.A., the Son of Sam. David Berkowitz and all of the other serial killers tend to think in unique ways. This paper will talk to you about characteristics, motives, different phases, and the correlation between behavior and aggression. Serial killers like everyone else have certain characteristics that set them apart. To be considered a bonafied serial killer you must murder at least three to four people with a cooling off period between each murder. These killings are usually one on one and are repetitive, occurring with greater or lesser frequency over time (Characteristics of Serial Murder). Serial killers usually don`t have a connection with the victim and they very rarely if ever have a rational motive. The serial killer likes to murder people in the same pattern, usually with a high degree of overkill.English: Photo of Enriqueta Marti (Sant Feliu de L...This degree of overkill sets th em a part from different serial killers.Serial murderers also have different motives for their murders. One of the most obvious is that they turn to murdering for a sense of power (Forwood). For this sense of power they usually attack societies weakest members and those weaker than themselves (Forwood). This includes the homeless, impaired, and usually the young of both sexes. When they kill the homeless and impaired they are usually acting on the Missionary Motive. This is when they feel that it is their responsibility to rid society of its unwanted inhabitants. There are also Visionary killers which are usually instructed to kill by the voices that are in their head (schizophrenia). The last type of these motives is the Hedonist. They kill because it brings them the pleasure to do so. This group is separated into three...

How to Nurture the Markets You Know

How to Nurture the Markets You Know Recently, I hung out on an online writers workshop group, and the talk traveled to diversification. My fellow  Ã‚  writers tried to convince me, yet again, to write for businesses and corporations. This didnt sound totally right to me. Wasnt magazine publishing a business, too? I said that, for now, I would stick to articles. The moderator, an internationally praised freelance journalist, praised my fortitude. In the end, I guessed, it was about sticking to what you know, what made you comfortable. Over the last year, I realized that sticking to good markets, like staying faithful to a good spouse, could save your life in the end. I learned to nurture the markets I knew. Like most people, I hated selling myself to strangers. Strange magazine editors, with their cold inboxes and expectations of knock-your-sock-off queries, were no exception. This realization had improved my relationships with editors. Now I feel more confident that Ill get off welfare and succeed, again, as a full-time writer. I have hope again in the â€Å"meat market† freelancer situation of 2014, where A+ authors are competing like never before with the merely very good. I always considered myself a wonderful writer, but fighting for crumbs with Columbia Journalism School grads had really depressed me. In the end, I ended up being the girl who learned that she didnt have to attract the captain of the football team, or even had to work overtime to be pretty and dateable – at least in this cutthroat market. She just had to be laid-back with unglamorous but well-paying and consistent magazine markets. Finding Faithful Markets I have three rules to finding, keeping, and nurturing markets. 1. When contacting a magazine with a query or letter of introduction, I like to deal with publications that respond quickly. For first-time assignments, I dont deal with any magazine that doesnt make a decision within two weeks. The old-style, three-month rule of New York publishing doesnt apply to most magazines currently looking for freelancers. Your market should be like a date thats TRULY interested in you. 2. I also prefer magazines that are generous with assignment information. Obviously, knowing how to create a professional article is paramount. However, I hate it when an editor leaves everything to me; possible conflicts can and often do arise. I always verify length of article, deadline, slant of article, and of course payment amount. 3. After finishing an article for a publication, if they encourage me to submit more stuff, they make me especially happy, and they go to the head of my idea queue. I admit that some publications are not pro-active. They are like the shy but good guy, and sometimes, I make the first step to maintain a good relationship. However, perpetually making the first step with markets that dont respond is a waste of time. I only have a limited time for my career. For the best use of my effort, I emphasize my work with markets that respond to me quickly, consistently, and professionally. Markets Here are five trade magazines currently looking for freelancers who deliver consistently. Minority Nurse Magazine minoritynurse.com Contact: Megan Larkin mlarkin@springerpub.com Tea Coffee Trade Journal teaandcoffee.net Contact: Vanessa Facenda v.facenda@lockwoodpublications.com Vineyard Winery Management vwmmedia.com Contact: Tina Caputo tcaputo@vwmmedia.com Medical Economics http://medicaleconomics.modernmedicine.com/ Contact: Dan Verdon dverdon@advanstar.com Cleveland Business Connects (CBC) Magazine cbcmagazine.com Contact: Thomas Skernivitz tom@cbcmagazine.com Find out more about Behlor Email: thebxscribbler1980@gmail.com Website: behlorsanti.net LinkedIn: linkedin.com/pub/behlor-santi/53/32/193

Is it sometimes necessary to sacrafice a few freedoms to protect Essay

Is it sometimes necessary to sacrafice a few freedoms to protect national security and to ensure the long-term viability of civil liberty - Essay Example Internal security involves protecting the United States citizens against internal threats like organized crimes. This involves with issues which are domestic (Watson, 2008). Civil liberty is the right for the United State citizens to enjoy their rights. These rights include the right for privacy, right to speech, protection and to be treated fairly. It is the right of every citizen in the United States to enjoy their civil liberty. This paper looks at the issue of sacrificing a few freedoms to protect national security, both the internal and external security and to ensure the long term viability of civil rights. It looks at which freedom can be sacrificed and to what extent the government should affect civil rights. It also looks at the importance of making these sacrifices. The paper also looks at instances where the civil rights are violated so to emphasis on the importance of the government to ensure that it does not cross the limit. These instances include unlawful detentions and torture. National security consist of a number of elements, it consist of the social and political stability which ensures that there harmony in a state. It also consist of territorial security of a state where in protects its borders against external invasion. This also consists of economic freedom where there is a free market for investors to operate in freely. Finally, this should consist of peace with externals. This is where a state ensures that it good relations with other countries. This is to be able to protect the state’s interests in those countries. The national security ensures the safety of citizens from threats. The national security includes the internal security which protects citizens from internal threats and the external security which protects citizens. Internal threats include things to do with economic sabotage through activities like smuggling, money laundering and counterfeiting. Issue concerned with organized crimes can also be a major

Research Paper on Ethical Dilemma Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

On Ethical Dilemma - Research Paper Example , people with work experience, or exposure gained through a Master’s in Business Administration degree frequently find themselves better equipped for the exam (Sterret, 1906). This is because accountancy is the language of business, and pertains to this area of professionalism only. Accountants, once qualified, become part of associations of accountants in their country. For example, in the USA they become part of the American Institute of CPAs. In the UK, they join a different institute, namely the Institute of Chartered Accountants UK. Similarly, different institutes in different countries acknowledge the professional services provided by their accountants (Garber, 2008). Accountants report facing very challenging and rewarding careers, but at the same time, face numerous ethical dilemmas due to the sensitive nature of their work. The reason why an accountant’s work is sensitive is that they are responsible for handling the finances of other people, as well as corresponding to the higher authorities in the government. This level of responsibility binds them to follow a certain code of ethics in their line of work, as professionals. The aforementioned associations, to which these accountants belong, provide this code of ethics. In England and Wales, for instance, accountants follow the code of ethics implemented by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW). This code is similar in all countries, and entails five main traits to be present in every accountant’s work. First is integrity, which requires total honesty and straightforwardness from the accountant while engaging in any business relationship. This helps maintain the reliability, of both the accountant and the firm that he or she represents. Next is objectivity, which requires that any professional actions taken by the accountant be uninfluenced from any biases or conflicts of interest. The accountant needs to remain impartial while making decisions, and unhindered by the

Conversion of Waste to Energy

Conversion of Waste to Energy This section of the report focuses on waste to energy which is one of the most popular methods used to manage municipal solid waste around the world. Through waste to energy, trash has become a useful material because we are able to convert it to heat. The combustion of trash at a waste to energy facility produce ash, heat and flue gas. From the ash, metals are recovered and recycled. The flue gas is cleaned then it is released into the atmosphere through the chimney. The heat produced is used to generate electricity that powers the plant and nearby buildings. A waste to energy plant in the community helps to increase recycling rate which is beneficial for the city. There are more advantages to waste to energy than disadvantages, therefore it is essential that the city utilizes waste to energy has a way of managing municipal solid waste. 4.1.1. Introduction The management of municipal solid waste (MSW) in New York City has changed over the past decade from ocean and street dumping, to unregulated incineration, to current and export landfilling practices (Sylvan, 2011). The NYC Department of Sanitation, which is in charge of managing NYC waste collaborates with the Department of Parks and Recreation, the Sims Multi Recycling Recovery Facility, and GreeNYC to manage the citys waste through recycling, waste reduction, and composting and organic waste diversion (Cohen et al., 2015). In 2006, to efficiently manage the citys waste, the city Council approved the Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP) which was created under the administrator of former Mayor Bloomberg (Cohen et al., 2015). The purpose of this plan was to establish a dependable, economical, and sustainable system for managing the citys waste (Cohen et al., 2015). This plan was eventually integrated into the sustainability planning under the PlaNYC, New York Citys compr ehensive sustainability plan in 2011 (Cohen et al., 2015). Under the new plan, in 2012, Former Mayor Bloomberg announced that the city would solicit plans to build a waste to energy facility near or within New York City (Rizzo et al., 2012). Waste to energy (WTE) technology is a process where trash is converted to heat/electricity. The most common waste to energy technology use around the world is mass burn, where trash is combusted to produce energy (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). However, the plan to build a WTE facility was eventually archived due to misconceptions surrounding WTE (Rizzo et al., 2012). 4.1.1.1 Background on the Problem Incinerators are not new to New York City. In the 20th century, there were thirty-two municipal and 17,000 apartment house refuse incinerator in the city (Walsh et al., 2001). In 1935, New York City was forced to stop ocean dumping, which was the waste disposal method for the city at that time, after a federal lawsuit was filed by New Jersey coastal cities (Cohen et al., 2015). This led the city to rely on incinerators and landfill to dispose of its waste (Cohen et al., 2015). However, in 1952, citys officials reported that apartment house refuse incinerators were responsible for 30% of the citys air pollution (Walsh, 2002). The report on air pollution caused by incinerators in the 1950s led to the limits on incinerator usage based on environmental grounds (Walsh, 2002). In 1970, after the Federal Clean Air act was enacted, the city was forced to shut down incinerators plant that did not meet the emissions guidelines (WastedNYC, 2015). The emission guidelines led to the closure of th e citys four oldest municipal incinerators by 1971, and by mid- 1970s thousands of residential incinerators were closed down (Walsh, 2002). In 1989, City Council committee passes a bill to ban incinerators in the city in the next four years (WastedNYC, 2015; Dunlap, 1989). This bill led to the decline of both residential and municipal incinerators, and by 1994 there were no more incinerator plants in New York City (Walsh, 2002; Rizzo et al., 2012). 4.1.1.2. Purpose of the Paper The burning of garbage and WTE are related because they both involve the combustion of trash. However, WTE is not just about burning trash but it is used to produce energy. The purpose of this paper is to outline how WTE plants work as well as the benefit the city stands to gain if it builds its own WTE facility. The city currently sends approximately 10% of its MSW to WTE plants in Hempstead, Long Island and Essex County, New Jersey (Cohen 2015, Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). If the city were to build its owns plant, it would save money from not spending on the transportation of waste and the use of other states landfills or WTE facilities. WTE has the ability to improve New York Citys current waste disposal practices (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). 4.1.2. Municipal Solid Waste Incinerator Process 4.1.2.1. How Incineration Works Figure 4.1.1: Schematic Diagram of the MSW incineration process (Lam et al., 2010). The incineration process of MSW is separated into three main parts: combustion, energy recovery and air pollution control (Lam et al., 2010). The crane in the machine (upper left, Fig.4.1.1) is used to feed solid waste into the furnace of the machine continually for combustion (Lam et al., 2010). The combustion of the waste in the furnace is enhanced by following the three Ts guideline, which are temperature, turbulence and time (Lam et al., 2010). High temperature increases burnout of the waste, while increasing turbulence reveals more waste surface and also increases burnout. (Lam et al., 2010). A longer resident time for the flue gas and waste also increases burnout (Lam et al., 2010). The temperature for incineration should be at least 850 oC with a residence time of 2 minutes (Lam et al., 2010). Air supply must be sufficient during the process to ensure complete combustion of waste and to inhibit the formation of carbon monoxide and dioxins (Lam et al., 2010). For the energy recovery process of the system, heat is generated from the waste and it is used to produce steam in the boiler (Lam et al., 2010). The steam is then used to drives the turbine to generate electricity (Lam et al., 2010). Air pollution was a major problem for old incinerators in the 20th century. However, modern incinerators are equipped with advanced pollution control systems which are designed to reduce pollution and ensure that the system is in compliance with environmental standards (Lam et al., 2010). To neutralize acidic gases such as hydrogen chloride and sulfur oxides, fine atomized slurry or lime powder is spray into the hot exhaust gas using a dry/wet scrubber (Lam et al., 2010). Also in the system, an activated carbon column is used to adsorb the heavy metals and organic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the exhaust gas (Lam et al., 2010). The bag filter install in the system acts to filter and remove dust particles and fine particulates from the combustion (Lam et al., 2016). 4.1.2.2. The Product of Incineration of Waste After the combustion of the waste three products are produced, the products are flue gas, heat and ash (Lam et al., 2016). 4.1.2.2.1. Flue gas The flue gas produced from the combustion contains air pollutant (Zaman, 2010) (See table 4.1.3). Therefore, before the flue gas is release through the chimney, the filtering system makes sure the gas is clean to be released into the atmosphere (Zaman, 2010). 4.1.2.2.2. Heat The heat produced is used to generate electricity. The facilities use the electricity generated to operate the plant and sell the excess energy (Chambers, 2016; Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). At most facilities, for every ton of waste combusted, 550 to 650 Kilowatt/hour (KWh) of electricity is generated for sale (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). This is the way that WTE facilities are able to earn more income for the plant (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). 4.1.2.2.3. Ash There are two types of ash produced from the combustion, bottom ash (BA) and fly ash (FA) (Lam et al., 2016). The ash is 90 percent smaller than the original volume of the waste combusted (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). From the ash, WTE facilities are able to extract recyclable ferrous and non-ferrous metals (Chambers, 2016; Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). Then the ashes are landfilled (Chambers, 2016). Before the ashes are landfilled, the facilities test the ashes to make sure that the ashes are not hazardous to the environment (Chambers, 2016). However, in some Asian and European countries that uses WTE, the ashes are not landfilled but rather utilized for other purposes such as cement and concrete production, road pavement, glass ceramics and ceramic production, adsorbent for dyes and agriculture (Lam et al., 2010; Pà ©rez-Villarejo et al., 2012). Application of MSW ashes Type Application Composition % Country BA Aggregate in concrete up to 50% France BA Aggregate in concrete replace up to 15% of cement Slovenia BA Road base Spain BA Adsorbent for dyes India BA Concrete Italy Mixed Ash Cement clinker up to 50% Portugal Mixed Ash Cement clinker 44% Japan Mixed Ash Cement clinker 15% Taiwan Mixed Ash Aggregate in concrete Spain FA Concrete 50% France FA Eco cement 50% Japan FA Ceramic tile China FA Glass ceramic Korea FA Blended cement up to 45% UK Table 4.1.1: The uses of MSW Ash in different countries. The BA represents Bottom Ash, the FA represents Fly Ash and the Mixed Ash represents the mixture of both BA and FA (Modified after Lam et al., 2010). Table 4.1.2: Research projects on MSW ash as road construction materials in the U.S. BA represents Bottom Ash and combined ash represents both Bottom Ash and Fly Ash (Modified after An et al., 2014). WTE facilities in the United States(U.S.) such as Covanta have been lobbying to recycle the ash instead of landfilling it, but these attempts have been unsuccessful so far (Chambers, 2016). The facilities have been lobbying for both federal and state regulation that would allow the usage of ash in the country (Chambers, 2016). Several studies conducted in the U.S. has proved that ash can be used in the U.S. as part of road construction (An et al., 2014) (see table 4.1.2). Despite the research showing that ash is usable in the U.S. no regulation has been passed to allow the usage of ash (An et al., 2014). Recycling of ash would be beneficiary because it would help eliminate landfills. Therefore, it is essential that these facilities continue to lobby for the recycling of ash. 4.1.3. Misconception about Waste to Energy Opposition to waste to energy plant in the city is rooted in two misconceptions (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). One of the misconceptions is that a waste to energy plant would displace recycling programs in the city (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). This has been proven to be false based on places that use waste to energy as part of their waste management program (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). High reliance on WTE is in fact correlated with high recycling rate (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). For example, in Austria where WTE facilities are used, 70 percent of its MSW is either recycled or composed while the remaining 30 percent is sent to WTE plants (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). Meanwhile, in the U.S., studies have shown that states that do not rely heavily on WTE to manage their waste have a recycling rate below 20 percent while states that rely heavily on WTE has recycling rates above 20 percent. (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). For example, Connecticut, which is one of the leading states in reliance on WTE, sends 63 percent of its waste to WTE plants and recycle d 26 percent of its waste (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). As of 2015, the recycling rate for the city was 16%, which is lower than the recycling rate for Connecticut (Szendro, 2015). This demonstrates that having a WTE plant in the city would not displace recycling but rather help us recycle better. The other misconception about WTE is that it causes air pollution which would affect the health of the resident that would who live around the plant (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). In the 20th century there was a problem with incineration due to the fact that it causes air pollution. However, modern incinerators are equipped with systems that reduce the amount of pollutants released from the plant (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). Also tight rule and regulations have led to the reduction of pollutant from WTE plants (Chambers, 2016). Under the federal Clean Air Act, WTE facilities must abide by the Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) rules, which apply to eight different air pollutants (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). Every five years, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) updates the MACT, which result in the update of pollution control in WTE facilities to meet the new EPA limits (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). In 2012, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) examined eight air pollutants at the states municipal waste combustion plants and found that most pollutant had declined by 30 to 60 percent from 1996 to 2010 (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). *Toxic equivalent (sum of substance amounts multiplied by toxicity equivalency). Table 4.1.3. Emission from US WTE facilities Pre- versus Post MACT (Modified after EPA, 2016). Table 4.1.4. Average emission of 87 US WTE facilities (Lumber et al., 2006 as citied in Psomopoulos et al., 2009). WTE facilities in the US emit pollutants that are below that of the EPA Standard (Chambers, 2016, Psomopoulos et al., 2009) (see table 4.1.4). Numerous studies have shown that modern combustion plants pose no significant health risks (Citizen Budget commission., 2012). For example, a study in Germany, found near new WTE facilities the dioxin levels are only 1 to 2 percent of the level considered harmful to human health (Citizen Budget Commission., 2012). Another example, in Montgomery County WTE facility a health risk assessment found that even in the worst case scenario a nearby farmer has a one in three million chance of increase health risk from exposure to the facility(Budget Citizen Commission., 2012). This shows that WTE plants have no effect on human health and the idea that WTE plants in the city would affect the health of New Yorkers is false. 4.1.4. Benefit of Waste to Energy 4.1.4.1. Energy production and reduction in Greenhouse gases At WTE plants, combustion of 1 metric ton of MSW generates approximately 600 kWh of electricity thus preventing the mining of 0.25 ton of U.S. coal or importing one barrel of oil for electricity (Psomopolous et al., 2009). This lead to the displacement of energy produced at local facilities (Citizen Budget Commission., 2013). For example, the EPA calculated that for a ton of wasted combusted in the Middle Atlantic region prevent about 0.56 metric tons of emission from local utilities (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). The EPA also estimated that for every ton of waste combusted, 0.04 tons of carbon dioxide from metal recovery is saved (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). WTE is the only alternative to landfilling of non-recyclable wastes, where the decomposing waste releases methane into the atmosphere (Psomopoulos et al., 2009). Which means that the city practice of hauling waste to other states landfill is increasing the citys carbon footprint. Disposing of the citys garbage to local WTE would decrease the citys carbon foot print (Citizen Budget Commission., 2012). 4.1.4.2. Source of Renewable Energy Figure 4.1.2. Sources of U.S. electricity generation in 2015 (Modified after EIA, 2016). The combustible materials in MSW consist of 82% biomass (paper, food, yard wastes etc.), and 18% petroleum chemical wastes (Psomopolous et al., 2009). Therefore, MSW is considered a renewable source of energy and it is included by the U.S. Department of Energy in the biomass fuel category of renewable energy source (Psomopolous et al., 2009). In 2015, renewable energy generated 13% of the energy produced in the U.S. (EIA, 2016). The electricity produced by WTE facilities in the U.S. is 3% of the renewable energy generated in 2015, which is less than the amount of electricity generated by other renewable energy sources such as wind (35% of renewable energy generated), and solar (5% of renewable energy generated) (EIA, 2016) (see Figure 4.1.2). However, compare to wind and solar energy, the electricity generated by waste is consistent because the availability of these resources is stable, while the amount of electricity generated by the wind and solar energy depend on daily and seasona l weather, and this make the sources unreliable. (EIA, 2016). This shows that even though waste is not generating a lot of energy, it is a stable energy resource. 4.1.4.3. Recycling Having a WTE plant in the city would increase the citys recycling rate. WTE plant in the city would burn only non-recyclable material, which means that New Yorkers have the responsibility of sorting out their garbage before it is taken to the WTE plant (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). 4.1.4.4. Free Amenities The people who live near the WTE plant might be entitled to free amenities. For example, the Toshima Incinerator plant in Tokyo has a swimming pool and an affordable fitness center located within the plant (Harden, 2008). These amenities are accessible to the people who live in community where the plant is located (Harden, 2008). Another example, is the Hiroshima Naka Citys Incinerator plant in Japan, which is also known as the museum of garbage (Harden, 2008). The end of one of Hiroshimas main boulevards, overlooks the citys harbor, but the building has entirely blocked residents access to the water(Bernstein,2004). Therefore, the architect of the building decided to continue the boulevard, in form of a raised, glass-enclosed walkway (Bernstein, 2004). Beginning where the pavement ends, a 400-foot walkway slips was put through the building, ending in a new waterfront park. Residents can walk through the slip to get access to the waterfront park (Bernstein, 2004). The beautiful archi tecture of the plant has made it a tourist attraction center in Hiroshima (Bernstein, 2004). This proves that WTE plants can be multifunctional. If the city decides to build its own WTE plants it can make it attractive to the community by including free amenities. 4.1.5. Economic Analysis In 2012, the average price of sending our waste to distant landfill was $95 per ton and it was estimated that the price would increase to $140 per ton in 2016 (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). Meanwhile sending our waste to WTE facilities in Newark, New Jersey, and Hempstead, Long Island cost the city $66 and $77 per ton, respectively (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). The prices for sending our waste to distant landfill and WTE facilities is expected to increase in the coming years (Citizen Budget Commission, 2016). In comparison, the projected tipping fees of new plants are much lower than sending our waste out of the city (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). The New York City Independent Budget Office (IBO) estimated that the tipping fee at a new WTE plant that process 900,000 tons of waste per year would cost about $108 per ton in 2019, which is cheaper than the $140 per ton in 2016 for landfill (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). Therefore, it would be beneficiary for the city to build its own plants. A full detail on economic analysis regarding WTE can be found in section 4.4 of this report. 4.1.6. Recommendation The use of a WTE plant located in the city or near the city offers both economic and environmental benefits compared to sending our waste out of the City (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). Different factors are involved in estimating the economic benefits from the use of citys own WTE facility (citizen Budget Commission, 2012). The Key factors for the estimation are the future price of transporting waste to landfills, and the time it would take to plan, design and construct a plant (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). Therefore, the cost of WTE would be compared to the amount the City would be paying to export its waste in 2022 (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). It is estimated that in 2022 the City would be paying $170 per ton to export to landfill (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). It would cost the City $750 million to finance a 3,000-ton per day WTE plant and capital funding, cost of operations and net of electricity sales for the plant would be approximate $109 million in 2022 (Citizen Budget Commission, 2016). It is assumed that the plant would be able to process 985, 500 tons of waste annually at a cost of $111 per ton if it operates all year round with 90 percent availability, (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). This would save the City $59 for every ton sent to the new plant instead of being transported to landfill (Citizen Budget Commission,2016). Using this estimate, taxpayers would save approximately $119 million if the city diverts two million tons from landfill to WTE plant in 2022 (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). This would lead to a reduction in the cost for disposing MSW in the City from $526 million to $408 million, a 23 percent drop in 2022 (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). The diversion of two million tons of waste from landfills to WTE woul d not only save the city money but also reduce greenhouse gas emission (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). Greenhouse gas emission due to this diversion is expected to decrease by 35 percent, which is equivalent to the reduction of carbon dioxide from 679,000 to 439,000 metric tons (Citizen Budget Commission, 2012). A Full detail on recommendations for the city regarding WTE can be found in section 4.4. of this report 4.1.7. Conclusion The use of WTE facilities has proven to be one of the best ways of managing MSW. WTE helps lower greenhouse gases and provides energy and material recovery. WTE also help reduce our reliance on fossil fuels for electricity, which leads to the reduction of greenhouse gas. WTE would also help increase the recycling rate of the city. Building WTE plant within NYC might be a problem due to the misconceptions surrounding WTE facilities. When people hear WTE, they think back to the old incinerators that were used in the 20th century in NYC. Therefore, it is essential for New York City to develop programs that would educate New Yorkers about the benefit of having WTE in the city and the differences between modern incinerators and the incinerators from 20th century. WTE has more benefits for the city than any effect it might have on the environment. References An, J., Kim, J., Golestani, B., Tasneem, K. M., Al Muhit, B. A., Nam, B. H., Behzadan, A. H. (2014). Evaluating the use of waste-to-energy bottom ash as road construction materials. University of Central Florida: Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering. Accessed: December 8, 2016: http://www.fdot.gov/research/completed_proj/summary_smo/fdot-bdk78-977-20-rpt.pdf Bernstein, F.A. (2004). Beauty in Garbage: Naka Incinerator Plant by Yoshio Taniguchi. Arch News Now. Accessed November 26. 2016: http://www.archnewsnow.com/features/Feature152.htm Chambers, T (2016). Interviewed by me. Facility manager of Covanta Huntington LP. Kings Park, NY. Citizens Budget Commission (2012). Taxes In, Garbage Out: The Need for Better Solid Waste Disposal Policies in New York City. Citizens Budget Commission New York. Accessed October 6, 2016: http://www.cbcny.org/sites/default/files/REPORT_SolidWaste_053312012.pdf Cohen, C., Martinez, H., and Schroder, A. (2015). Waste Management Practices in New York City, Hong Kong and Beijing. Columbia University. Accessed October 5, 2016: http://www.columbia.edu/~sc32/documents/ALEP%20Waste%20Managent%20FINAL.pdf Dunlap, D.W. (1989). Panel Votes Bill to Ban Incinerators. New York Times. Accessed November 28, 2016: http://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/23/nyregion/panel-votes-bill-to-ban-incinerators.html EIA (2016). Energy in Brief: How much U.S. electricity is generated from renewable energy. Energy Information Administration. Accessed December 6, 2016: https://www.eia.gov/energy_in_brief/article/renewable_electricity.cfm EPA (2016). Energy Recovery from Waste: Air Emissions from MSW Combustion Facilities. Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed December 8, 2016: https://archive.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/web/html/airem.html Harden, B. (2008). Japan Stanches Stench of Mass Incinerators. Washington Post. Accessed November 28, 2016: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2008/11/17/AR2008111702968.html Lam, C. H., Ip, A. W., Barford, J. P., and McKay, G. (2010). Use of incineration MSW ash: a review. Sustainability, 2(7), 1943-1968. Pà ©rez-Villarejo, L., Eliche-Quesada, D., Iglesias-Godino, F. J., Martà ­nez-Garcà ­a, C., Corpas-Iglesias, F. A. (2012). Recycling of ash from biomass incinerator in clay matrix to produce ceramic bricks. Journal of environmental management, 95, S349-S354. Psomopoulos, C. S., Bourka, A., Themelis, N. J. (2009). Waste-to-energy: A review of the status and benefits in USA. Waste management, 29(5), 1718-1724. Rizzo, C., Plum, M.K. (2012). Waste-to -Energy Facilities in New York City: Challenges and Opportunities. Accessed October 2, 2016: http://www.clm.com/publication.cfm?ID=370 Sylvan, D. (2011). Municipal Solid Waste in New York City: An Economic and Environmental Analysis of Disposal Options. New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund (NYLCVEF). Accessed October 6, 2016: http://nylcvef.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Solid-Waste-Background-Paper.pdf Szendro, B. (2015). New York City Makes Small Improvement in Recycling Rate: Despite improvements, Department of Sanitation falls short of its goal. New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV). Accessed November 15, 2016: http://nylcv.org/news/new-york-city-makes-small-improvement-in-recycling-rates Walsh, D. C., Chillrud, S. N., Simpson, H. J., Bopp, R. F. (2001). Refuse incinerator particulate emissions and combustion residues for New York City during the 20th century. Environmental science technology, 35(12), 2441-2447 Walsh, D. C. (2002). Peer Reviewed: The Evolution of Refuse Incineration. Environmental science technology, 36(15), 316A-322A. WastedNYC (2015). History of Incineration in New York City. WastedNYC. Accessed November 28, 2016: https://wastednyc.wordpress.com/local-incineration/incinerators-in-inwood/

The Berlin Blockade

For many historians, the Berlin Blockade effectively started the Cold War era. This is because it happened to be the first major issue which took place between the United States and her allies, on one hand, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), on the other hand, after which years of tension between the two camps ensued (Byrnes). Essentially, The Berlin Blockade took place when the USSR cut off all access to Berlin in an attempt to force the United States, Britain, and France to the negotiating table for the purpose of discussing the future as well as the division of Germany (Wilde).Historical Background When the Second World War ended in 1945, the victorious allied forces which consisted of the United States, Great Britain, France, and the USSR occupied Germany and divided the country into four zones and its capital (Berlin) into four sectors. Berlin, however, was located well inside the zone which was occupied by the Soviets. In other words, before the three other occ upiers could gain access to their Berlin sectors, they had to pass through the Soviet-occupied zone.Under their arrangement, although the country was already divided into four zones, it would still be considered as one economic entity to be controlled by the â€Å"Allied Control Council (ACC)† (Russian History Encyclopedia). Based in Berlin, the ACC was also known as the Allied Control Authority or the Alliierter Kontrollrat in German. It was essentially a â€Å"military occupation governing body of Germany† composed of the representatives of the United States, Great Britain, and the USSR. A later addition was France whose representative was granted with the power to vote but did not have any duties.The ACC was formally constituted on August 30, 1945. Its initial members were General Dwight Eisenhower of the United States, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery of Great Britain, Marshal Georgy Zhukov of the USSR, and General Jean Joseph-Marie Gabriel Lattre de Tassigny of Fr ance (Spiritus-Temporis. com). Unfortunately, the relations between the USSR and the three other occupiers of Germany did not last that long because their self-appointed task of administering the occupied Germany under the provisions of the ACC agreement did not go as envisioned.For one, the Soviets insisted on collecting huge reparations from its controlled eastern zone while the United States, Great Britain, and France, instead of demanding for reparations, wanted to revitalize the economy of their occupied zones in order to improve the living conditions of the residents (BBC Bitesize). Their disagreement was sparked by the January 1, 1947 decision of the British and the Americans to merge their zones and form the Bizone. Then the two countries spent the rest of 1947 and the early part of 1948 in the preparation of a currency reform that would ultimately introduce the Deutschmark.This currency reform was only the first step towards the establishment of a separate West German state . This move was opposed by the Russians because, according to them, it showed that the Americans and the British were no longer interested in taking part in the â€Å"four-power control of Germany. † The Russians further argued that the American and the British move would ultimately result to the death of the ACC (Spiritus-Temporis. com). By January 1948, the Soviets were already starting to severely criticize the intents and methods which the Americans and the British were employing in dealing with the economic problems of West Germany.Their disagreements remained unresolved until finally, in March of the same year, the Soviet delegation to the ACC staged a walkout. That Soviet act effectively dissolved the council because no further meetings had been conducted after their walkout (Russian History Encyclopedia). In spite of their disagreements, all four victorious countries were wary of the rebirth of a unified Germany. They all agreed that allowing Germany to regain its eco nomic and military strength would be a very risky proposition because the country might again represent a threat to world peace.However, they differed in their methods and intentions regarding the future of the country. First, the USSR wanted to convert the eastern territory into a communist state. Then it feared that if the zones controlled by the United States, Great Britain, and France would be totally integrated into the capitalist West, its control over its own Russian zone would be threatened, considering that the three Berlin sectors controlled by the three occupiers were located deep inside the Soviet-occupied zone.Stalin, in particular, who was known to have been consumed by paranoia, suspected that the western occupied sector in Berlin would first attempt to alienate the eastern sector from Russian influence and later serve as a staging point of a destabilization campaign against the Soviet Union itself, including the entire Eastern European communist bloc. For this reason alone, Stalin could not allow the emergence of a unified and rejuvenated West Germany inside the Russian zone. The other three occupiers, on the other hand, were bent on working together towards their common objective of rejuvenating their occupied territories.Their intention was to unify their three zones into a capitalist West Germany and integrate the same into their economic and defense organizations. Their purpose was to exercise complete control over West Germany while providing all the necessary assistance it needed in order to become a self supporting state (Wilde). In all indications, the disagreement over the Berlin question was already the start of the Cold War era. Both the western bloc and the Soviet Union were already considering their positions in the new world political order.So that when the Soviet delegation walked out of the ACC meeting, the United States and Great Britain became really convinced of the urgency of the establishment of a West German state. It coul d not be denied that they, themselves, did not want to give the Soviet Union the opportunity to consolidate its hold over all of Europe. For this purpose, a â€Å"Six Power Conference† was convened. Delegates from the United States, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium sat down and discussed the issue.