Hybrid cars Essay Example for Free

Hybrid cars Essay Hybrid 1 Outline I. Introduction A. Gas prices are up, the environment is suffering, and Americas are fearful of relying too much on foreign oil. Are hybrid cars the answer? II. What a hybrid car is A. Description of a hybrid car B. The two types of a hybrid 1. Parallel 2. Series III. Advantages of a Hybrid car A. Environment 1. Carbon Dioxide 2. Global Warming 3. Effect on the human body B. National 1. Discussion on foreign oil 2. What America can do to reduce our dependence C. Federal 1. Tax Deductions on National level 2. Local incentives D. Mileage Hybrid 3 1. Why hybrids get more mileage 2. Calculator on my own car IV. Disadvantages A. Price V. Conclusion With all the advantages that hybrids have to offer, it’s something a new car consumer should seriously consider. One person can make a difference! Hybrid 4 Gas prices are up 23% from a year ago and global warming is a constant fear of scientists and people alike. What then can one person do to help the current situation of gas and pollution? Buy a hybrid car! Hybrid sales have doubled in the past year and according to J. D. Power and Associates, hybrid sale should hit 200,000 in 2005. Within 20 years, Toyota’s top guy in the U. S. , Jim Press, thinks almost every car on the market is going to be a hybrid. So what exactly is a hybrid car and what are all the things a consumer should look for when buying one? Here are some specifics; the good and the bad. A vehicle is considered hybrid is the source of power comes from two sources. A hybrid car combines gasoline and electric power. The car has a normal gas tank, but also a set of batteries. The batteries are recharged every time the person drives the car so there is no need to plug it in like very old, original electric cars. Instead of having just a transmission, the batteries provide electricity to an electric motor which then turns the transmission. There are two different types of hybrid cars. One is a parallel hybrid. This has a fuel tank and batteries and both the engine and batteries turn the transmission over at the same time. Both the electric motor and gas engine can provide power. The other is a Series hybrid, which has a generator. Gas turns the generator and that can either charge the batteries or power the motor. The gas engine never actually powers the car. The electric motor of a hybrid car is very sophisticated. It works as a motor and generator and draws energy from the batteries. The batteries store energy for the car and the motor can either draw energy from them or recharge them. Hybrid 5 So what are some advantages of owning a hybrid vehicle? This is going to look at environmental, national, federal, and economic advantages of having one. First is environmental. â€Å"A car that burns twice as much gas to go a mile will generate approximately twice as much pollution. † (Nice, Karim. ) A gallon of gas weighs about 6 pounds and when it’s burned off it produces almost 20 pounds of carbon dioxide. In the U. S. alone, cars and trucks consume 8. 2 million barrels of oil EACH DAY which calculates to over 300 million tons of carbon each year. This is the largest part of carbon dioxide emissions, even more then factories and homes. If cars and trucks improved by just 5 mpg, Americans could save 1. 5 million barrels of oil a day or 55 million tons of carbon a day. Decreasing fuel consumption therefore reduces emissions. There is also carbon dioxide that cars release into the air and that scientists believe contribute to global warming. Again, twice as much gas leads to twice as much carbon dioxide. If saving the environment still sounds like something too big for one person and one at a time, here is a more personal thing to consider, the effect that vehicle air pollution has on the human body. It can cause problems such as decreases in lung capacity, acute respiratory problems, reduces the release of oxygen to body tissue, contributes to birth defects low birth weight, infant death, and makes otherwise healthy kids 3 to 4 times more likely to develop asthma. There are also concerns on the national level. Even though our consumption of oil is ever increasing, our production of oil has gone down since the 1970’s. For most of the 20th century, we made so much oil that we had enough left over for export. But now Hybrid 6 America relies on imported oil. â€Å"In 2001, imported oil accounted for 55% of US consumption; this figure is projected to rise to 70% by 2020. † (http://www. hybridcars. com. ) Nearly two-thirds, or 80%, of the world’s known oil reserves are under just six Persian Gulf nations: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iran and Qatar. This forces the U. S. military to stay in foreign bases to oversee our free excess to oil, it arouses hostility from those in these countries who have anti-American feelings, and the production of oil in these countries only benefit world super-powers and make the rich richer and the poor poorer leading to more hostile feelings toward America. Some also go so far as to say us paying these countries for oil is providing terrorists with great sums of wealth, which they use for organized anti-American endeavors such as the plane high-jackings of September 11th. Ever since September 11th, Americans are leery of relying on gulf countries for our oil supply because rely is exactly what we do. The gas prices we pay reflect what other countries charge for their barrels of oil. Increasing efficiency of cars and trucks can play a role in reducing our dependency on foreign oil. By raising fuel efficiency by just 2. 7 mpg, Americans can save enough to extinct all oil imports from Iraq and Kuwait combined. By raising it 7. 6 mpg, Americans could eliminate 100% gulf oil imports! And, in President Bush’s energy bill proposal, he said he wants to use empty military bases as oil refineries in order to increase our supply, but instead of relying on government, individuals can really impact our part in buying foreign oil by getting better gas mileage and basically using less. Hybrid 7 There are also the federal level incentives the think about when buying a hybrid vehicle. The Clean-Fuel Vehicle Deduction tax break was given during this season. People who bought a hybrid in 2004/05 could claim up to a $2000 deduction when they do their taxes. In 2005/06, it’s scheduled to drop to $500, but if a new energy bill passes the number will go back up. There are also local incentives to buying a hybrid. If a person bought one in San Jose, CA, they are exempt from local parking fees. Colorado offers a tax credit. Connecticut exempts the sales tax on a hybrid meeting certain requirements. In Florida and Georgia people who have hybrids can use the high occupancy lanes at any time of the day and no matter how many people are in the car. And Illinois has a program called The Illinois Alternate Fuels Rebate Program which pays 80% or up to $4000 to convert your vehicle to an alternate fuel system. On to mileage. This is a big one that car consumers are looking at today. Instead of getting the average 15 to 26 mpg, a hybrid can get anywhere from 50 to 60 mpg! That’s a huge difference! This is achieved because hybrid vehicles convert energy that is normally wasted when a person coasts and breaks into electricity, which is then stored into the batteries until needed by the motor. The motor is also used to assist the engine when going up hills or when the car is driving in low speeds. Low speeds, like city driving are the least efficient fuel conditions. Some hybrids also automatically shut off the engine when the car comes to a stop preserving the fuel and energy. Some websites have online calculators that measure your own car up against a hybrid of your choice. I used one to measure my own car and got these results. If a person typically drives 10,000 miles a year and pay the national average of $2. 10 per gallon and gets 23 miles per Hybrid 8 gallon, this is what a person would save if they had a hybrid: 235 gallons of gas, 4,696 pounds of carbon dioxide, and $493 a year. (Stern, Linda. ) For this online calculator, I used http://www. hybridcars. com/calculator/index. php to compare my car with a new Lexus RX, which is a hybrid vehicle similar to my own. This website allows you to put in what make and model your car is and compare it to any hybrid vehicle to see the difference in consumption and cost. Hybrid 9 So are there really any downsides to owning a Hybrid? Almost every car review only state one flaw, and that’s the price. A 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid base cost $27,560. The Toyota Highlander Hybrid with four-wheel drive costs $39,290. And the most popular, Toyota Prius, cost around $27,000. The sophisticated computer control that makes everything work in these cars makes is what makes them expensive, at least more expensive then their non-electric counterparts. Also hybrid owners complain that they don’t actually get the mileage they are supposed to but that can be said for every car since too many factors go into affecting your mileage per gallon. With all the advantages such as helping the environment and saving ourselves from being so dependant on foreign oil, not to mention helping our health and our own personal wealth, most feel the added price of a hybrid vehicle is not something to hard to overcome. New car consumers should seriously look into whether a hybrid car is the right choice for them because this really is something that individuals can do to better our world. Hybrid 10. Bibliography Nice, Kerry.â€Å"How Hybrid Cars Work. † How Stuff Works. 1998-2005. http://auto. howstuffworks. com/hybrid-car. htm. Newman, Richard J. â€Å"Invasion of the Green Machines. † U. S. News and World Report. V138 (May 9, 2005) pg. 48-54. Stern, Linda. â€Å"Money: Is a Hybrid Worth It? † Newsweek. April 4, 2005. Berman, Bradley. 2003-2005. http://www. hybridcars. com/. No Author. â€Å"Spotlight: What’s a Hybrid Car? † CARE2 Make a Difference. 2005. http://www. care2. com/channels/ecoinfo/hybrid.

Hybrid cars Essay Example for Free

Hybrid cars Essay Hybrid 1 Outline I. Introduction A. Gas prices are up, the environment is suffering, and Americas are fearful of relying too much on foreign oil. Are hybrid cars the answer? II. What a hybrid car is A. Description of a hybrid car B. The two types of a hybrid 1. Parallel 2. Series III. Advantages of a Hybrid car A. Environment 1. Carbon Dioxide 2. Global Warming 3. Effect on the human body B. National 1. Discussion on foreign oil 2. What America can do to reduce our dependence C. Federal 1. Tax Deductions on National level 2. Local incentives D. Mileage Hybrid 3 1. Why hybrids get more mileage 2. Calculator on my own car IV. Disadvantages A. Price V. Conclusion With all the advantages that hybrids have to offer, it’s something a new car consumer should seriously consider. One person can make a difference! Hybrid 4 Gas prices are up 23% from a year ago and global warming is a constant fear of scientists and people alike. What then can one person do to help the current situation of gas and pollution? Buy a hybrid car! Hybrid sales have doubled in the past year and according to J. D. Power and Associates, hybrid sale should hit 200,000 in 2005. Within 20 years, Toyota’s top guy in the U. S. , Jim Press, thinks almost every car on the market is going to be a hybrid. So what exactly is a hybrid car and what are all the things a consumer should look for when buying one? Here are some specifics; the good and the bad. A vehicle is considered hybrid is the source of power comes from two sources. A hybrid car combines gasoline and electric power. The car has a normal gas tank, but also a set of batteries. The batteries are recharged every time the person drives the car so there is no need to plug it in like very old, original electric cars. Instead of having just a transmission, the batteries provide electricity to an electric motor which then turns the transmission. There are two different types of hybrid cars. One is a parallel hybrid. This has a fuel tank and batteries and both the engine and batteries turn the transmission over at the same time. Both the electric motor and gas engine can provide power. The other is a Series hybrid, which has a generator. Gas turns the generator and that can either charge the batteries or power the motor. The gas engine never actually powers the car. The electric motor of a hybrid car is very sophisticated. It works as a motor and generator and draws energy from the batteries. The batteries store energy for the car and the motor can either draw energy from them or recharge them. Hybrid 5 So what are some advantages of owning a hybrid vehicle? This is going to look at environmental, national, federal, and economic advantages of having one. First is environmental. â€Å"A car that burns twice as much gas to go a mile will generate approximately twice as much pollution. † (Nice, Karim. ) A gallon of gas weighs about 6 pounds and when it’s burned off it produces almost 20 pounds of carbon dioxide. In the U. S. alone, cars and trucks consume 8. 2 million barrels of oil EACH DAY which calculates to over 300 million tons of carbon each year. This is the largest part of carbon dioxide emissions, even more then factories and homes. If cars and trucks improved by just 5 mpg, Americans could save 1. 5 million barrels of oil a day or 55 million tons of carbon a day. Decreasing fuel consumption therefore reduces emissions. There is also carbon dioxide that cars release into the air and that scientists believe contribute to global warming. Again, twice as much gas leads to twice as much carbon dioxide. If saving the environment still sounds like something too big for one person and one at a time, here is a more personal thing to consider, the effect that vehicle air pollution has on the human body. It can cause problems such as decreases in lung capacity, acute respiratory problems, reduces the release of oxygen to body tissue, contributes to birth defects low birth weight, infant death, and makes otherwise healthy kids 3 to 4 times more likely to develop asthma. There are also concerns on the national level. Even though our consumption of oil is ever increasing, our production of oil has gone down since the 1970’s. For most of the 20th century, we made so much oil that we had enough left over for export. But now Hybrid 6 America relies on imported oil. â€Å"In 2001, imported oil accounted for 55% of US consumption; this figure is projected to rise to 70% by 2020. † (http://www. hybridcars. com. ) Nearly two-thirds, or 80%, of the world’s known oil reserves are under just six Persian Gulf nations: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iran and Qatar. This forces the U. S. military to stay in foreign bases to oversee our free excess to oil, it arouses hostility from those in these countries who have anti-American feelings, and the production of oil in these countries only benefit world super-powers and make the rich richer and the poor poorer leading to more hostile feelings toward America. Some also go so far as to say us paying these countries for oil is providing terrorists with great sums of wealth, which they use for organized anti-American endeavors such as the plane high-jackings of September 11th. Ever since September 11th, Americans are leery of relying on gulf countries for our oil supply because rely is exactly what we do. The gas prices we pay reflect what other countries charge for their barrels of oil. Increasing efficiency of cars and trucks can play a role in reducing our dependency on foreign oil. By raising fuel efficiency by just 2. 7 mpg, Americans can save enough to extinct all oil imports from Iraq and Kuwait combined. By raising it 7. 6 mpg, Americans could eliminate 100% gulf oil imports! And, in President Bush’s energy bill proposal, he said he wants to use empty military bases as oil refineries in order to increase our supply, but instead of relying on government, individuals can really impact our part in buying foreign oil by getting better gas mileage and basically using less. Hybrid 7 There are also the federal level incentives the think about when buying a hybrid vehicle. The Clean-Fuel Vehicle Deduction tax break was given during this season. People who bought a hybrid in 2004/05 could claim up to a $2000 deduction when they do their taxes. In 2005/06, it’s scheduled to drop to $500, but if a new energy bill passes the number will go back up. There are also local incentives to buying a hybrid. If a person bought one in San Jose, CA, they are exempt from local parking fees. Colorado offers a tax credit. Connecticut exempts the sales tax on a hybrid meeting certain requirements. In Florida and Georgia people who have hybrids can use the high occupancy lanes at any time of the day and no matter how many people are in the car. And Illinois has a program called The Illinois Alternate Fuels Rebate Program which pays 80% or up to $4000 to convert your vehicle to an alternate fuel system. On to mileage. This is a big one that car consumers are looking at today. Instead of getting the average 15 to 26 mpg, a hybrid can get anywhere from 50 to 60 mpg! That’s a huge difference! This is achieved because hybrid vehicles convert energy that is normally wasted when a person coasts and breaks into electricity, which is then stored into the batteries until needed by the motor. The motor is also used to assist the engine when going up hills or when the car is driving in low speeds. Low speeds, like city driving are the least efficient fuel conditions. Some hybrids also automatically shut off the engine when the car comes to a stop preserving the fuel and energy. Some websites have online calculators that measure your own car up against a hybrid of your choice. I used one to measure my own car and got these results. If a person typically drives 10,000 miles a year and pay the national average of $2. 10 per gallon and gets 23 miles per Hybrid 8 gallon, this is what a person would save if they had a hybrid: 235 gallons of gas, 4,696 pounds of carbon dioxide, and $493 a year. (Stern, Linda. ) For this online calculator, I used http://www. hybridcars. com/calculator/index. php to compare my car with a new Lexus RX, which is a hybrid vehicle similar to my own. This website allows you to put in what make and model your car is and compare it to any hybrid vehicle to see the difference in consumption and cost. Hybrid 9 So are there really any downsides to owning a Hybrid? Almost every car review only state one flaw, and that’s the price. A 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid base cost $27,560. The Toyota Highlander Hybrid with four-wheel drive costs $39,290. And the most popular, Toyota Prius, cost around $27,000. The sophisticated computer control that makes everything work in these cars makes is what makes them expensive, at least more expensive then their non-electric counterparts. Also hybrid owners complain that they don’t actually get the mileage they are supposed to but that can be said for every car since too many factors go into affecting your mileage per gallon. With all the advantages such as helping the environment and saving ourselves from being so dependant on foreign oil, not to mention helping our health and our own personal wealth, most feel the added price of a hybrid vehicle is not something to hard to overcome. New car consumers should seriously look into whether a hybrid car is the right choice for them because this really is something that individuals can do to better our world. Hybrid 10. Bibliography Nice, Kerry.â€Å"How Hybrid Cars Work. † How Stuff Works. 1998-2005. http://auto. howstuffworks. com/hybrid-car. htm. Newman, Richard J. â€Å"Invasion of the Green Machines. † U. S. News and World Report. V138 (May 9, 2005) pg. 48-54. Stern, Linda. â€Å"Money: Is a Hybrid Worth It? † Newsweek. April 4, 2005. Berman, Bradley. 2003-2005. http://www. hybridcars. com/. No Author. â€Å"Spotlight: What’s a Hybrid Car? † CARE2 Make a Difference. 2005. http://www. care2. com/channels/ecoinfo/hybrid.

Hybrid cars Essay Example for Free

Hybrid cars Essay Hybrid 1 Outline I. Introduction A. Gas prices are up, the environment is suffering, and Americas are fearful of relying too much on foreign oil. Are hybrid cars the answer? II. What a hybrid car is A. Description of a hybrid car B. The two types of a hybrid 1. Parallel 2. Series III. Advantages of a Hybrid car A. Environment 1. Carbon Dioxide 2. Global Warming 3. Effect on the human body B. National 1. Discussion on foreign oil 2. What America can do to reduce our dependence C. Federal 1. Tax Deductions on National level 2. Local incentives D. Mileage Hybrid 3 1. Why hybrids get more mileage 2. Calculator on my own car IV. Disadvantages A. Price V. Conclusion With all the advantages that hybrids have to offer, it’s something a new car consumer should seriously consider. One person can make a difference! Hybrid 4 Gas prices are up 23% from a year ago and global warming is a constant fear of scientists and people alike. What then can one person do to help the current situation of gas and pollution? Buy a hybrid car! Hybrid sales have doubled in the past year and according to J. D. Power and Associates, hybrid sale should hit 200,000 in 2005. Within 20 years, Toyota’s top guy in the U. S. , Jim Press, thinks almost every car on the market is going to be a hybrid. So what exactly is a hybrid car and what are all the things a consumer should look for when buying one? Here are some specifics; the good and the bad. A vehicle is considered hybrid is the source of power comes from two sources. A hybrid car combines gasoline and electric power. The car has a normal gas tank, but also a set of batteries. The batteries are recharged every time the person drives the car so there is no need to plug it in like very old, original electric cars. Instead of having just a transmission, the batteries provide electricity to an electric motor which then turns the transmission. There are two different types of hybrid cars. One is a parallel hybrid. This has a fuel tank and batteries and both the engine and batteries turn the transmission over at the same time. Both the electric motor and gas engine can provide power. The other is a Series hybrid, which has a generator. Gas turns the generator and that can either charge the batteries or power the motor. The gas engine never actually powers the car. The electric motor of a hybrid car is very sophisticated. It works as a motor and generator and draws energy from the batteries. The batteries store energy for the car and the motor can either draw energy from them or recharge them. Hybrid 5 So what are some advantages of owning a hybrid vehicle? This is going to look at environmental, national, federal, and economic advantages of having one. First is environmental. â€Å"A car that burns twice as much gas to go a mile will generate approximately twice as much pollution. † (Nice, Karim. ) A gallon of gas weighs about 6 pounds and when it’s burned off it produces almost 20 pounds of carbon dioxide. In the U. S. alone, cars and trucks consume 8. 2 million barrels of oil EACH DAY which calculates to over 300 million tons of carbon each year. This is the largest part of carbon dioxide emissions, even more then factories and homes. If cars and trucks improved by just 5 mpg, Americans could save 1. 5 million barrels of oil a day or 55 million tons of carbon a day. Decreasing fuel consumption therefore reduces emissions. There is also carbon dioxide that cars release into the air and that scientists believe contribute to global warming. Again, twice as much gas leads to twice as much carbon dioxide. If saving the environment still sounds like something too big for one person and one at a time, here is a more personal thing to consider, the effect that vehicle air pollution has on the human body. It can cause problems such as decreases in lung capacity, acute respiratory problems, reduces the release of oxygen to body tissue, contributes to birth defects low birth weight, infant death, and makes otherwise healthy kids 3 to 4 times more likely to develop asthma. There are also concerns on the national level. Even though our consumption of oil is ever increasing, our production of oil has gone down since the 1970’s. For most of the 20th century, we made so much oil that we had enough left over for export. But now Hybrid 6 America relies on imported oil. â€Å"In 2001, imported oil accounted for 55% of US consumption; this figure is projected to rise to 70% by 2020. † (http://www. hybridcars. com. ) Nearly two-thirds, or 80%, of the world’s known oil reserves are under just six Persian Gulf nations: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iran and Qatar. This forces the U. S. military to stay in foreign bases to oversee our free excess to oil, it arouses hostility from those in these countries who have anti-American feelings, and the production of oil in these countries only benefit world super-powers and make the rich richer and the poor poorer leading to more hostile feelings toward America. Some also go so far as to say us paying these countries for oil is providing terrorists with great sums of wealth, which they use for organized anti-American endeavors such as the plane high-jackings of September 11th. Ever since September 11th, Americans are leery of relying on gulf countries for our oil supply because rely is exactly what we do. The gas prices we pay reflect what other countries charge for their barrels of oil. Increasing efficiency of cars and trucks can play a role in reducing our dependency on foreign oil. By raising fuel efficiency by just 2. 7 mpg, Americans can save enough to extinct all oil imports from Iraq and Kuwait combined. By raising it 7. 6 mpg, Americans could eliminate 100% gulf oil imports! And, in President Bush’s energy bill proposal, he said he wants to use empty military bases as oil refineries in order to increase our supply, but instead of relying on government, individuals can really impact our part in buying foreign oil by getting better gas mileage and basically using less. Hybrid 7 There are also the federal level incentives the think about when buying a hybrid vehicle. The Clean-Fuel Vehicle Deduction tax break was given during this season. People who bought a hybrid in 2004/05 could claim up to a $2000 deduction when they do their taxes. In 2005/06, it’s scheduled to drop to $500, but if a new energy bill passes the number will go back up. There are also local incentives to buying a hybrid. If a person bought one in San Jose, CA, they are exempt from local parking fees. Colorado offers a tax credit. Connecticut exempts the sales tax on a hybrid meeting certain requirements. In Florida and Georgia people who have hybrids can use the high occupancy lanes at any time of the day and no matter how many people are in the car. And Illinois has a program called The Illinois Alternate Fuels Rebate Program which pays 80% or up to $4000 to convert your vehicle to an alternate fuel system. On to mileage. This is a big one that car consumers are looking at today. Instead of getting the average 15 to 26 mpg, a hybrid can get anywhere from 50 to 60 mpg! That’s a huge difference! This is achieved because hybrid vehicles convert energy that is normally wasted when a person coasts and breaks into electricity, which is then stored into the batteries until needed by the motor. The motor is also used to assist the engine when going up hills or when the car is driving in low speeds. Low speeds, like city driving are the least efficient fuel conditions. Some hybrids also automatically shut off the engine when the car comes to a stop preserving the fuel and energy. Some websites have online calculators that measure your own car up against a hybrid of your choice. I used one to measure my own car and got these results. If a person typically drives 10,000 miles a year and pay the national average of $2. 10 per gallon and gets 23 miles per Hybrid 8 gallon, this is what a person would save if they had a hybrid: 235 gallons of gas, 4,696 pounds of carbon dioxide, and $493 a year. (Stern, Linda. ) For this online calculator, I used http://www. hybridcars. com/calculator/index. php to compare my car with a new Lexus RX, which is a hybrid vehicle similar to my own. This website allows you to put in what make and model your car is and compare it to any hybrid vehicle to see the difference in consumption and cost. Hybrid 9 So are there really any downsides to owning a Hybrid? Almost every car review only state one flaw, and that’s the price. A 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid base cost $27,560. The Toyota Highlander Hybrid with four-wheel drive costs $39,290. And the most popular, Toyota Prius, cost around $27,000. The sophisticated computer control that makes everything work in these cars makes is what makes them expensive, at least more expensive then their non-electric counterparts. Also hybrid owners complain that they don’t actually get the mileage they are supposed to but that can be said for every car since too many factors go into affecting your mileage per gallon. With all the advantages such as helping the environment and saving ourselves from being so dependant on foreign oil, not to mention helping our health and our own personal wealth, most feel the added price of a hybrid vehicle is not something to hard to overcome. New car consumers should seriously look into whether a hybrid car is the right choice for them because this really is something that individuals can do to better our world. Hybrid 10. Bibliography Nice, Kerry.â€Å"How Hybrid Cars Work. † How Stuff Works. 1998-2005. http://auto. howstuffworks. com/hybrid-car. htm. Newman, Richard J. â€Å"Invasion of the Green Machines. † U. S. News and World Report. V138 (May 9, 2005) pg. 48-54. Stern, Linda. â€Å"Money: Is a Hybrid Worth It? † Newsweek. April 4, 2005. Berman, Bradley. 2003-2005. http://www. hybridcars. com/. No Author. â€Å"Spotlight: What’s a Hybrid Car? † CARE2 Make a Difference. 2005. http://www. care2. com/channels/ecoinfo/hybrid.

lord of the rings :: essays research papers

The Lord of the Flies William Golding’s book, The Lord of the Flies is a wonderful, fictional book about the struggle and survival of a group of boys trapped on an uninhabited island. This book kept me very interested and made me want to keep reading. The characters were very diverse and each had very appealing qualities in themselves. The setting is brilliantly described and the plot is surprisingly very well thought out. Many things like these make this book such a classic. Although there are not many characters in The Lord of the Flies, there are many different personalities and differences between them. The first character in the book is Ralph. Ralph is twelve years old with blond hair, and is the most charismatic of the group. He is described as being built "like a boxer," is somewhat charismatic and is chosen for chief, who makes it his job to lay down rules and try to organize a society. Throughout the novel he is always in conflict with Jack, who wants to be chief himself. Ralph and Piggy agree with each other’s ideas, but Ralph doesn’t realize how important Piggy really is to him until the very end of the novel. Although Ralph never reaches the understanding about the Beast that Simon does, he knows right from wrong. Jack is about Ralph's age, with a skinnier build and red hair. His freckled face is described as being "ugly without silliness." From the very beginning, he seems to harbor emotions of anger and savagery. At first, he is the leader of his choir group, who becomes hunters as the book progresses. Finally, his savage personality and ability to tell people what they want to hear allows him to overtake Ralph as chief. Jack does not believe that the Beast exists and is the leader of anarchy on the island. From the start of the novel he does not like abiding by rules of any kind. He simply wants to hunt and have a good time. Not seeming to care about being rescued, Jack and his tribe are examples of the Beast running rampant. In the beginning of the story Jack, still conditioned by the previous society he had been apart of, could not bear to kill a pig that was caught in the brush. As the plot progresses he becomes less and less attached to any societal norms.

Harrison Brothers Corporation Essay

1. Background Harrison Brothers Corporation is one of the largest traditional department stores in the United States. The goal of the company is to become the leading chain of department stores that sells high quality clothing to middle-class and fashion-concerned customers. Like other companies in the retail industry, Harrison Brothers are experiencing various changes in customers’ buying preferences. In addition to that, the problem of retention of well-trained, highly motivated salesman and managers has become even more challenging in the industry. James Harrison, the CEO of Harrison Brothers, knowing the importance of human resources, did a survey on human resource and other key managers at the store level. 2. Problem Definition The survey indicates there are lots of problems in the HR department and these problems might indirectly or directly slow down Harrison Brothers’ growth in the future. The major human resource management (HRM) problem in Harrison Brothers is that HRM is still struggling in its function of maintaining personnel. For example, since there is heavy turnover on salesman, Brenda McCain, the human resource manager, conducted about 25 to 30 interviews a week, and more during the holiday rush. Further, there is only one trainer in Harrison Brothers, causing McCain to spend a lot of time on training, neglecting bigger picture HRM issues. One of the other problems is that HRM pays little attention to employees’ business skills. This is shown in the survey where HR managers ratedthe importance of both knowledge of business and skills in managing change, as 2.0 out of 5.0, while store managers rated the importance of those skills as 4.5.One of Harrison Brothers five strategic goals is to improve productivity of sales, buyers, and department heads. And corporations must prepare their employees to cope with the complexities and accelerated speed of a future economy. If HRM perceives knowledge of business and managing change, as the least important, Harrison Brothers may have a hard time achieving this strategic goal. There are other problems as well. These include, but are not limited to, supervisors that are reluctant to assess employees’ career planning and professional development, a human resources department which is constrained by cost considerations, and low administrative efficiency. These problemsare currently existing problems. However, in the long term, if HR in Harrison  Brothers remains the same, many more problems will arise. Harrison Brothers may have difficulty in talent retention, it may experience poor employee performance and low productivity, or there may be conflict in the workplace. In all, the current overall HRM practicewill not be able to meet the challenge Harrison Brothersmay encounter in the future, and will not help Harrison Brothers to achieve its long-term goal. 3. Causes of the Problem The main cause of these problems is that there is no HR planning in Harrison Brothers.HR planning is a way to analyze needs for employee and supply of employees, and then make a plan to make sure the organization have the right amount of employees and skills. That’s probably the reason why HR department is struggling and spending most of its time on staffing and training. Another important cause of it is that human resources department didn’t see human resource management from a strategic level.As Jennifer Daft, the store manager said, human resource department seem to be struggling to keep up with the day-to-day activities. HRM should free itself from day-to-day activities and become influential in strategic decision-making process. 4. Alternative Solutions There are several approaches to fix these problems. First of all, large-sized firms like Harrison Brothers should develop HRM from its traditional functions up to more strategic level management. This would allowsomeone such as McCainto be brought induring a strategic decision-making process, giving her the ability to make or strongly influence the decision itself. To do this, she must have the skills needed to function as a strategic business partner, which lead to the solution that follows. Second of all, McCain and her HR teammates may need to be trained to learn more about business knowledge, such as markets, finance and so on. This knowledge can enhance HR’s strategic role in the organization. Training programs need to be designed and implemented to identify, coach and develop professional skills in HR. Also, McCain might want to consider transferring the old HR department’s organization to a new one in order to meet the challenges in the dramatically changing busi ness environment. For example, one of many other forms of HR structure is made up of three main departments: HRBP (human resource business partner), COE (center of excellence/expertise), and  SSC (shared service center). This type of organizational structure allows the HR unit to respond to the market rapidly. Surely there are many other forms, and regardless of which particular one it is, Harrison Brothers needs tofind one type of structure that meets the needs of their own strategy and allows the HR unit a crucial role to play. The fourth solution McCain might try is to measure HRM by using tools such as Balanced Scorecard, Dollar Value or benchmarking. Assessment of HRM could give the HR manager a new and quantifiable way to view the efficiency of HRM.In this case, McCain can benchmark and analyze competitors’ staffing and hiring by calculating HR indices such as cost per hire by job level and source, time to fill and time to start. These data can give her a better idea of whether Harrison Brothers is spending more on hiring than other companies in the retail industry. The last solution, but not least, is to enhance HR administrative efficiency. A centralized HR services department or center should be established. In this way, McCain and her team can free themselves from repeated daily routines. 5. Recommendations I would recommend trainingMcCain and her team to learn more about finance and market, as HR, finance and marketing are all important to understand how to run a business as a whole. Armed with business knowledge, she and her team can bring Harrison Brothers HR unit into a strategic level. Also, transferring HR structure and enhancing administrative efficiency will help McCain and her team to work more efficiently.

The Influences and Impacts of Settings on Characters and...

Setting is an important idea to seriously consider developing when writing a short story. Alberto Alvaro Rios, an award-winning author and mastermind behind the short story â€Å"The Secret Lion,† utilizes his brilliant writing style to carefully devise an intricate double-setting that is simple, effective, and innocent. It reminds the reader how precious life is. The setting influences and impacts not only the main character, but the reader as well, who can also relate back to the story being told. Developed settings help the reader soak in all the details and understand the underlying themes to a short story. â€Å"The Secret Lion† breaks down into two â€Å"mini-plots† with different settings where the actions of the characters are similar to the†¦show more content†¦The second setting gets more interesting. The second setting to Rios’ story has another interesting influence and impact on the characters and the reader. Unexpectedly, Rios rewinds the story with a flashback to an earlier time, which was when he and Sergio were five years old. Unlike the first setting, Rios’ imagination turns from mature, to child-like. For example, complex words such as â€Å"arroyo† become simpler and elementary such as â€Å"mountain† (172). The characters make an adventurous journey to these â€Å"mountains† and tell their parents â€Å"they will be going away for three days† (172). Of course, a parent just nods and says â€Å"OK whatever† in a sarcastic tone of voice, and the same goes for a reader. Everyone in their childhood went on an imaginary â€Å"escape,† right? This demonstrates Sergio and Rios’ precious way of thinking, which is not as realistic compared to when they were pre-teens, just like the readers who acted like this in very early childhood as well. When they reach their destination, they describe it as â€Å"Perfect. Heaven was green, like nothing else in Arizona†¦everything was so green, so emerald† (173). This â€Å"Heaven† of theirs was paradise on Earth. They have all the fun while it lasted, as if it was a beach. â€Å"I found this particular hole and I put my Coke right into it, a perfect fit, and I called it my Coke-holder† (173).Show MoreRelatedCriticism In Kate Chopins The Story Of An Hour830 Words   |  4 Pages Upon my first introduction to Creole/ Cajun accented style of literation, it was almost impossible not to notice the influence of nineteenth century Louisiana life style, the climate of the region, and the cultural impact on its’ literature. Without any introduction to any other writer with this kind of writing style to verify my assertion of Kate Chopin’s work, nonetheless Chopin does a brilliant job of exhibiting her Creole background in he r work coherently. 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