Solar Power vs. Nuclear Energy

Solar power and nuclear energy share two things in common; both of them produce electrical power  by electronic components and they are natural sources .The solar energy  is produced from sunlight when special electronic sensors absorb sun rays which they convert into electrical power. But the nuclear energy is produced when uranium atoms are split to produce steam which is used to move turbines to produce electrical power. The question of which form of energy is better in terms of cost effectiveness and cleanliness can best be answered by comparing a number of variables. The nuclear power production process is clean if the plant personnel are professionals and have a high level of safety standards through the production process but harmful nuclear wastes are produced after it is used. This leads  to major  pollution. Solar power is cleaner as no harmful waste is produced after it is used. What’s more, the nuclear energy produces more power as compared to solar power and it can be used over large area needs. Solar power is cheaper than nuclear energy as it requires the energy from the sun, which is free, while nuclear energy requires uranium materials as well as other things to produce the energy. Examples of countries which  use nuclear energy are the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Japan, South Korea, France, the UK and others. Examples of countries that use solar energy are Germany, Spain and India.

Nuclear energy has several advantages which are: it needs only a  small space to build a nuclear reactors. Also it doesn’t produce smoke particles and carbon dioxide which leads to pollution in two ways. One, when carbon dioxide is emitted on a large scale, it will lead to global warming while smoke particles pollute the atmosphere. One of the major advantages of nuclear energy is the  production of large amounts of energy from small units of fuel. Nuclear energy is a  reliable form of energy as its  production doesn’t depend on weather conditions like hot or cold  and  also it produces a small amount of radioactive waste. The pro expensive cess of nuclear energy leads to the production of radioactive wastes while disposal of the waste in a way that does not hurt the environment and cause pollution is expensive.Setting up a nuclear plant is expensive because decommissioning is a costly and long process.Nuclear energy production can lead to dangerous incidents and nuclear accidents can result in widespread radiation-producing particles. This has bad implications for humans and it causes health problems.

Solar power, on the other hand, has a number of advantages including the free availability of solar energy on earth. There are no incidences of solar energy pollution apart from pollution that happens during manufacturing of solar collectors and equipment in factories. People who live in villages or regions that are far from the power connections can used it because the solar energy does not need any external connections. In addition, it can be used to provide electrical power to devices that need  low power such as calculators, phones, televisions, and  it can be used for a  long time. Solar power is unreliable as it can only be efficient during the sunny days. The equipment for installing solar power such as solar collectors, panels, and cells are very expensive to manufacture and solar generation is also expensive. This form of energy cannot be used in areas with dense cloud cover and unreliable climate reduces the effectiveness of the solar power production. In addition, installation of solar stations needs large areas; the rechargeable batteries are big and need large storage space. The batteries require replacing from time to time and that le maintaining the compounds like collectors, panels, and cells is expansive.

In conclusion, both solar power and nuclear energy are important sources of energy. Just like many other processes they have advantages and disadvantages. To be able to answer the question  which is cheaper and better and cleaner , it is important to look at the specific characteristics of each of them. It lead us to say that solar energy is cleaner and cheaper; also in places like the United Arab Emirates  the weather of is sunny most of the year  and the UAE has large empty  spaces which the solar energy needs  while nuclear energy is more efficient.

 

 



Deepwater horizon oil

In the Gulf of Mexico, a gas was released in the Deep-water horizon oil on the evening of 20^th April 2010. As the  outcome of the accident, eleven people lost their lives and some of  others suffered serious injuries. The fire lasted for at least thirty six hours prior to the rig sinking and leak of hydrocarbons in to the Gulf of New Mexico. The company regretted for the people who get injured and the environment issues and it set plans and promises to ensure the disaster does not happen again. In response to the disaster, the company decided to have  full responsibility of  the whole problem, to clean up and work under the control of  federal government by getting help from environmental organizations.Additionally,the company decided to take action recover the gulf’s tourism like building nature reserve to seafood which was effected  by the oil spill. Also research and surveys to help identify and calculate the total cost of loss caused by the fire.

 

In December 2013, the company joined with the local residents, the government and other stakeholders to raise $14 billion. The environment team took the action to study the gulf of Mexico which includes the ecosystem studies and to learn how to enhance the gulf area. The research activities have been done on long term measurements that to help for long- term plan that prevent any future oil spill. The environment action of BP Oil Company was positive and important steps in the recovering process. The team decided for team up with the federal government to find ways to solve the situation. There are good benefits to accepting one mistake and find ways how to correct the situation than getting punished and, by taking their commitment to do action which is needed to solve the problem, the company showed its readiness and loyalty towards to society.

 

Investigations, surveys and studies are steps that lead us to learn more about their environment and what it needs .The studies gives important information need to avoid like disaster of deep-water Horizon. The mitigation measures and initiators explain how fast the responding of the organization is and providing good services to employees. Some of the mitigation measures include the society’s laws to prevent any stealing. Some accidents that occur in such firms inescapable. What’s more, most companies need to identify their mistakes and  make the situation better. The BP oil firm decided to take the responsibility for their mistakes , which was a great step to recovery.

 

 

 

 

Abortion

Abortion, the concept of terminating pregnancy, is a debatable issue in this modern world. Most couples in the quest of being successful and wealthy avoid the process of conception. Moreover, it is not only the reason of being successful, but as also the need to be settled to be able to give the child a good life. As the world is moving on, the economies are communicating, the expenses of a standard living are also increasing. This adds to the reasons of abortion. Despite the reason, the question is who decides to abort, the mother or father?

 

Most people say it is the mother who has the right to decide on the termination of her pregnancy. This right is often given to the mother when there is a mutual understanding and respect to the women. In a technical and legal manner, the mother gets to decide since the child is in her body

 

If the father has a legitimate interest in having a child, and the mother misleads the father into believing that she will give him a child if he does certain things, and the father does those things for the specific purpose of having a family, then it is wrong for the mother deliberately to prevent the father from having that child. Furthermore, most legal systems don't allow a father to escape responsibility for his child and for paying to support that child; this applies even if the father had wanted the mother to have an abortion.

 

Finally, the abortion issue is largely devoted to dealing with the rights of the fetus and the mother. The rights and concerns of the father are rarely discussed in this issue. Therefore, it can be concluded that this act must be under the mutual understanding of both parents as it is the gift of Allah.

 

Exam 1

Critical thinking is using your mind logically to understand and discuss; however when we use critical thinking we use many skills and attitude which include the ability to read between the lines and recognize how this statements is unfair or false.

 

There are many barriers to critical thinking; the main fiche are misunderstand of what is meant by Criticism many think it means making negative comments; also the reduction of ways, strategies and practice because some people don’t know what step they should take to improve their Critical thinking; another berry to Critical thinking is emotional attitude; it’s important to recognize that there are many ways of looking at issue.Overstimating our own reasoning abilities ; the majority of us think of ourselves as rational beings, we always believe that our belief and reasoning system are the best which is normal; also insufficient focus and attention to details and egoceritric thinking.

 

A fallacy is when people use poor reasoning for an argument. However those arguments might be formal or informal. There are many causes for fallacies which are personalization of the argument. Ignorance, argument from authority, argument from personal in ability and no connection between the argument to understand and conclusion.Personaliztion of the argument means attempts to counter another claims or conelusions by attacking the person it self .ignorance is say a specific belief is true because we don’t know that it is not true.

 

What I think is good critical thinking skills is that it helps us  to think open-minded or out the box within alternative system of thought.also,it’s a very good way to commutates effectively with other and figure out solution to complex problem or issues another benefits of critical thinking is understanding other people’s opinions and ideas in a way that is not  close-minded

Benefits of critical thinking

Benefits of critical thinking

Good critical thinking involves:

·        Improved attention & observation

·        More focused reading

·        Improved ability to identify key points in a text or meassage and not being distracted by less important material

·        Knowledge of how to get your own point across more easily

·        Skills of analysis that you can apply to various situations

Ancillary skills:

·        Observation

·        Reasoning

·        Decision-making

·        Analysis

·        Judgement

·        Persuasion

Realistic self-appraisal

Many people probably over-estimate their critical thinking skills

Emotional self-management

We may not like evidence that contradicts our own opinions orbeliefs

Perseverance, accuracy  precision

Critical thinking involves accuracy  & precision & a dedication to finding the correct answer. It includes:

     Attention to detail
     Identifying trends & patters
     Repetition
    Taking different perspectives
   Objectivity 
    Considering implications & distant consequences

Fair & false analogies

To compare the human heart with a pump is a fair analogy, as this is essentially the function of the heart i.e. to move blood around the circulatory system via arteries & veins.

To suggest that cloning humans is dangerous and could lead to the production of a Frankenstein's monster is a false argument because if we clone a sheep we get a sheep which is exactly the same.
Cloning may or may not be a good thing but arguments against it must be based on fair analogies & sound logical argument, not scare-mongering.

Critical thinking

Definition of Critical Thinking: Critical Thinking is a cognitive activity associated with using the mind. Critical Thinking involves a wide range of skills and attitudes that includes

·        Being able to read between the lines, seeing beneath the surface, and recognizing false or unfair assumptions.

·        Identifying other people’s positions, arguments and conclusions.

·        Drawing conclusions about whether arguments are valid and justifiable, based on good evidence and sensible assumptions.

·        Presenting a point of view in a structured, clear, and reasonable way that

convinces others.

Benefits of Critical Thinking:

1.     Improved attention and observations.

2.     More focused reading

3.     Improved ability to identify the key points in a text or other message rather than becoming distracted by less important materials.

4.     Improved ability to respond to the appropriate points in a message.

5.     Knowledge of how to get your point across more easily.

6.       Skills of analysis that you can choose to apply in a variety in situations.

Barriers to critical thinking:

1.     Misunderstanding of what is meant by criticism: some people assume that criticism means making negative comments.  Actually critical thinking means identifying both negative and positive aspects.

2.     Over-estimating our own reasoning abilities: Most of us think of ourselves as rational beings. We always tend to believe that our belief systems and reasoning systems are the best.

3.     Lack of methods, strategies and practice: some people don’t know which steps to take to improve their critical thinking skills and some others are unaware of the strategies of critical thinking.

4.     The emotional attitude: it is important to acknowledge that there is more than one way of looking at an issue; sometimes you feel distressed emotionally because of challenging arguments so you refuse to listen to and understand the other’s point of view.

5.     Insufficient focus and attention to details: critical thinking requires good attention to detail, more than just a general overview of  subject matter.

   6.Egocentric thinking: thinking only of things in relation to yourself.

      Egocentric thinking is viewing everything in relation to oneself. This hinders           critical thinking, which requires open-mindednes. 

   
7. Social Conditioning: the effect of our society on our way of thinking

Social conditioning can be a benefit or drawback to your ability to think
critically.Each of us is unique. Age, IQ, race, genes, gender, culture, family, friends, and a wide array of other factors have a dramatic effect on how we view the world and the people we interact with.

  What is a fallacy? A fallacy is an argument that uses poor reasoning. An argument can be fallacious whether or not its conclusion is true. A fallacy can be either formal or informal.

1. Personalization of the argument :  attempts to counter another’s claims or conclusions by attacking the person, rather than addressing the argument itself. True believers will often commit this fallacy by countering the arguments of skeptics by stating that skeptics are close-minded. Skeptics, on the other hand, may fall into the trap of dismissing the claims of UFO believers, for example, by stating that people who believe in UFO's are crazy or stupid.

2. Ignorance: a specific belief is true because we don't know that it isn't true. Defenders of extrasensory perception, for example, will often overemphasize how much we do not know about the human brain. UFO proponents will often argue that an object sighted in the sky is unknown, and therefore it is an alien spacecraft.

3. Argument from authority: stating that a claim is true because a person or group of perceived authority says it is true. Often this argument is implied by emphasizing the many years of experience, or the formal degrees held by the individual making a specific claim. It is reasonable to give more credence to the claims of those with the proper background, education, and credentials, or to be suspicious of the claims of someone making authoritative statements in an area for which they cannot demonstrate expertise. But the truth of a claim should ultimately rest on logic and evidence, not the authority of the person promoting it.


4. Argument from personal inability:  I cannot explain or understand this, therefore it cannot be true. Creationists are fond of arguing that they cannot imagine the complexity of life resulting from blind evolution, but that does not mean life did not evolve.

6. Confusing association with cause: like stating that the increase of the use of drugs among young people is due to unemployment or poverty. Drug use is a result of many social, psychological and economic factors.


7. Inconsistency applying criteria or rules to one belief: for example, some consumer advocates argue that we need stronger regulation of prescription drugs to ensure their safety and effectiveness, but at the same time argue that medicinal herbs should be sold with no regulation for either safety or effectiveness.


8. No connection between the argument and the conclusion: this refers to an argument in which the conclusion does not necessarily follow from the premises. In other words, a logical connection is implied where none exists.

9. Assuming a cause and effect relation between two events because they happen at the same time or follow each other: A preceded B, therefore A caused B, and therefore assumes cause and effect for two events just because they are temporally related .

10. Reduction of legitimacy of the argument by stretching the logic in order to force an absurd conclusion. For example a UFO enthusiast once argued that if I am skeptical about the existence of alien visitors, I must also be skeptical of the existence of the Great Wall of China, since I have not personally seen either.

.
10.  ‘You too’ theory: This is an attempt to justify wrong action because someone else also does it. "My evidence may be invalid, but so is yours."

(http://www.theskepticsguide.org/logicalfallacies.asp)

Barriers to Critical Thinking

1.     Thinking all criticism is negative. Criticism can be constructive and useful, even essential.


2.     Over-estimating our own reasoning abilities.


3.     Lack of methods, strategies or practice. Exposure to rote learning, for example, does not encourage critical thinking.


4.     Reluctance to question the opinions of experts, or so-called experts.


5.     Affective or emotional reasons e.g. if a theory challenges deeply-held beliefs and/or long-held assumptions, it can be difficult to accept.


6.     Mistaking information for understanding e.g.


Student: ‘I want you the teacher, the expert, to give me the answers to questions. I want to know the right answer’.


Teacher: ‘I want you to become critical thinkers i.e. I want you to challenge experts’ answers andproduce your own answers through active questioning’.

climate issues

This film is very popular worldwide. It won an Oscar prize and it achieved high profits in the box office for movies .The presenter is called AL Gore and the film is called An Inconvenient Truth. The film discusses sensitive problems or issues and tries to find to them solutions by giving amazing ideas.

The massage which AL Gore wants to say is that we have a responsibility to save the world from the climate crisis and there are big problems we will face in the next generation.

I like the way that presenter attracts the audience by using several methods and techniques  like telling them jokes and being friendly ,showing them real pictures and videos by using the latest  technology agree with him when he said that we should use the renewable energy like solar energy because I think  we waste energy  that should be used instead of using other  energy  that will finish some day and affect badly the climate. Moreover I agree with him when he said put a price on carbon to fight the poverty because the people should stand together to fight the poverty in every way possible.