The Earth Has 3 Trillion Trees

The calculations are in and a recent study has revealed some rather shocking results regarding the number of trees on the planet. According to researchers at Yale University, there are 3 trillion trees on Earth at any given moment. Thats 3,000,000,000,000. Whew! Its 7.5 times more trees than previously thought! And that adds up to roughly 422 trees for every person on the planet. Pretty good, right? Unfortunately, researchers also estimate that it is only half the number of trees that were on the planet before humans came along. So just how did they come up with those numbers? A team of international researchers from 15 countries used  satellite imagery, tree surveys, and supercomputer technologies to map tree populations around the world - down the square kilometer. The results are the most comprehensive count of the worlds trees that has ever been undertaken. You can check out all of the data over at the journal Nature. The study was inspired by the global youth organization Plant for the Planet—a group that aims to plant trees around the world to reduce the effects of climate change. They asked researchers at Yale for the estimated global population of trees. At the time, researchers thought there were about 400 billion trees on the planet—thats 61 trees per person.   But researchers knew that this was just a ballpark guess as it used satellite imagery and forest area estimates but it did not incorporate any hard data from the ground.  Thomas Crowther, a postdoctoral fellow at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and lead author of the study, put together a team that studied tree populations using not only satellites but also  tree-density information through national forest inventories and tree counts that had been verified at the ground level. Through their inventories, researchers were also able to confirm that the largest forest areas in the world are in the tropics. Roughly 43 percent of the worlds trees can be found in this area. The locations with the highest densities of trees were  the sub-arctic regions of Russia, Scandinavia and North America. Researchers hope that this inventory—and the new data regarding the number of trees in the world—will result in improved information about the role and importance of the worlds trees—particularly when it comes to biodiversity and carbon storage. But they also think that it serves as a warning about the effects that human populations have already had on the worlds trees.  Deforestation, habitat loss, and poor forest-management practices result in the loss of over 15 billion trees each year, according to the study. This affects not only the number of trees on the planet, but also the diversity. The study noted that tree density and diversity drops drastically as the number of humans on the planet increases. Natural factors such as drought, flooding, and insect infestations also play a role in the loss of forest density and diversity. Weve nearly halved the number of trees on the planet, and weve seen the impacts on climate and human health as a result, Crowther said in a statement released by Yale. This study highlights how much more effort is needed if we are to restore healthy forests worldwide. Source Ehrenberg, Rachel. Global count reaches 3 trillion trees. Nature, September 2, 2015.

Mgt 497 Week One - 1204 Words

Week One Of all the aspects of MTI, innovation strategy is the most challenging. Firms can be very good at the various activities involved in MTI, such as R amp; D or operations, but this count for little unless it is supported by a well-grounded innovation strategy that guides ï ¬ rms’ choices, prioritizations, and sequences. There is little value in being highly eï ¬Æ'cient at developing or delivering new products and services if they are the wrong products and services for the ï ¬ rm and its markets. Well-chosen new products and services deliver value, build the technological base of the ï ¬ rm, develop its capabilities, improve its processes, and add to its reputation and brands. An innovation strategy helps ï ¬ rms decide, in a cumulative and†¦show more content†¦A ï ¬ rm that identiï ¬ es innovation as a strategic activity is more likely to attract creative workers in search of exciting opportunities in the ‘war over talent’ A shareholder theory of firm and a stakeholder theory of firm may differ in their respective evaluation method of firm performance. Both theories however recognize the importance of value creation as the economic role of firms as institutions. The New Institutional Economics (NIE) emphasizes incentives alignment, while also viewing stakeholder engagements as methods to expand the boundaries of firms. The difference in performance evaluation between the two approaches can be reduced if stakeholders, while formulating incentive alignment, also evaluate the mechanisms of establishing a common currency value. The concomitant development of stakeholder engagement, incentive alignment, and value currency creation is argued to be an evolutionary process with the efficiency implications of the two theories tending to converge. Business sustainability, which originally was viewed as a question of corporate governance, has now emerged as a central, multifaceted theme of the twenty- first century. It is now the responsibility of corporate boards and managers to focus on business sustainability by creating enduring value for shareholders and managing the interests of other stakeholders, including creditors, employers, suppliers, government, and society at large.Show MoreRelatedZara Fashion3014 Words   |  13 Pagesnow takes about 6 weeks. Spending short period of collection preparation, Zara takes about 15 days start from market research to sales. More than 300 designers constantly follow the market events, fashion trends and customer tastes in designing 12000 unique products in one year that compares to 2000 or 4000 products designed by rivals. Therefore the entire design, production, distribution and sales respond quickly to shifts in consumer tastes, each style is no longer than 4 weeks. This leads ZaraRe ad MoreIntroduction to Materials Management169665 Words   |  679 Pagesbut those who continue to transform the raw material will gain more and usually far greater wealth. Japan is a prime example of this. It has very few natural resources and buys most of the raw materials it needs. However, the Japanese have developed one of the wealthiest economies in the world by transforming the raw materials they purchase and adding value to them through manufacturing. 1 From the Library of Girro@qq.com 2 Chapter 1 Manufacturing companies are in the business of converting

Treatment of Femininity in Pygmalion and Medea free essay sample

In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting the way in which two different authors portray femininity in their respective dramatic texts. The two works I am using are Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw and Medea by Euripides. I will be looking at how the way men and women are portrayed can affect the way we interpret the texts, and showing that femininity isn’t necessarily a trait restricted just to women. I believe that femininity reflects expected female behaviour. There are certain traits which are believed to be typically male or female. Male traits tend to be more physical such as the fact that they are dominant, stronger whereas female traits are much softer, more emotional. In ancient Athenian society such things as ‘bravery in battle’ and ‘general competitive excellence in a public arena’(1) were considered masculine whereas women were relegated to ‘looking after the household and bringing up their children’(2). However, femininity has changed as times have changed. It reflects the acceptable social behaviour of the period. As women were seen as more equal to men, the restrictions on them lessened. So by the time Pygmalion was written in 1912 it was acceptable for women to support themselves: something that was unheard of in Medea’s time. When Pygmalion was written the woman’s movement was well underway and women were starting to demand rights and become more independent. It was no longer assumed that women would marry just to be looked after. Men no longer automatically took the controlling role. Eliza is a prime example of this as although she is not very well off she is self sufficient as a flower-girl. Medea on the other hand is set at a time when women were completely submissive to their husbands. Once married all of their property automatically became their husbands. Medea has no legal political rights; not only because she is a women but also because she is an outsider. Medea’s reference to women being ‘weak and timid in most matters’ (3) (line 260) reflects the general view of women by society. The way the two pieces are written and acted are also completely different. Medea would have been played by an all male cast to a predominantly, if not exclusively male audience, whereas Pygmalion was acted by both men and women. In Medea actors would have worn female masks, which lack emotion and cover up facial expressions. Right from the beginning the play takes on an unrealistic air as women and men wouldn’t have been able to debate in public as Medea and Jason did. Theatrical space is very important. It was traditional in ancient Athenian time for women to occupy inside space, however due to the physical arrangement of the theatre; this would have meant that Medea preformed the whole play from behind the Skene. Bringing Medea outside made for better viewing and meant that she was able to ‘compete(s) on equal terms with her male opponents’(4) . Both Eliza and Medea display a number of what would be considered masculine traits. Right from the beginning we learn that Medea has a very forceful personality and is a very strong character. She points out to Jason that she ‘saved his life’ (5)(line 475) and helped him get where he is by making sacrifices herself. Although Jason disagrees with her he doesn’t take the credit himself, instead he credits the Gods. We can also look at Eliza in the same way. Although she is lower class she also comes across as strong and wilful and capable of looking after and supporting herself rather than needing a man to do it. Eliza shows her stereotypically female side because she is fairly emotional and prone to outbreaks of crying. Medea uses her femininity to her advantage. She is very strong and forceful when dealing with Jason; however she assumes the submissive position of kneeling down when talking to Creon and cries to appeal to his sensitive side. She also turns on the charm with Aegeus and portrays herself as the suffering victim to ensure his help once she has had her revenge. Both Eliza and Medea are treated as property by the dominant men in their lives. Eliza’s father is happy to sell her to Higgins just to get her off his hands and Jason is quite happy to cast Medea aside when he finds a new wife. Both men however believe they are acting in the women’s best interest. Jason because he believes it will secure his family’s future and Mr Doolittle because he can’t afford to look after his daughter and thinks she will be better of with Higgins. Medea and Eliza are both put in vulnerable positions, Medea because if Jason leaves her she will be an outsider and neither her nor her sons will have any rights. Eliza is left in a difficult position because before Higgins decided to turn her in to a lady she had a job and could support herself, now however she is unable to get a job and needs to rely on someone else to look after her. This concern is reflected throughout the play by various characters and even by Eliza herself when she asks ‘why did you take my independence from me? ’(6) (Act 5, pg 101) Higgins comes across as bossy and a bully. He is extremely good at his job and believes that affords him the right to treat people as badly as he does. He almost doesn’t see Eliza as a woman but rather as a project so he isn’t worried about treating her ‘like a lady’ as long as she can behave like one when necessary. He doesn’t have any pre-conceptions on how women should be and is almost dismissive of those that marry just to be looked after. He even goes as far as saying that he thinks ‘a woman fetching a man’s slippers is a disgusting sight’ (Act 5, pg 100) (7). This re-emphasises Shaw’s belief and support of the women’s movement of the time. Shaw is eager to show that femininity isn’t necessarily a subservient thing. All of the main male characters in both plays display in part feminine characteristics, which both Medea and Eliza use to their advantage. When speaking to Creon Medea acts submissively by kneeling when speaking to him and appealing to his emotional side. Creon himself even admits that his ‘soft heart has often betrayed [him] (line 348-9)(8) , something which would be seen as a very feminine trait and definitely not something a King should admit to, as he should be all powerful and domineering. Compared to other women in the play Medea is by far the strongest. Although the Nurse also uses outdoor space she is scared of Medea and what she is capable of. The Chorus, which is made up of Corinthian women, plays a very prominent, important part in the play; however they are not strong enough to challenge Medea directly. They are in agreement that Jason’s behaviour is wrong but they don’t agree with the way Medea is going about seeking revenge. In Pygmalion Shaw uses Mrs Higgins to reinforce the theme of strong independent women. Mrs Higgins is clearly a woman of means and under no illusions about her son and his shortfalls. She is definitely the more dominant of the two characters and is more than happy to put Higgins in his place. She refers to him as a ‘silly boy’ which immediately shatters the illusion of him being masculine and dominant. Mrs Pearce, although of a different social class is also a fairly strong character and more than a match for Higgins. We see this in the way that she confronts him over his treatment of Eliza telling him that he ‘must be reasonable’ and he ‘cant walk over everybody’ (Act 2, pg 30) (9) Both plays end with the women leaving the men in their lives, enforcing the message that the females are the dominant characters. Shaw was a ‘self-proclaimed feminist’ and keen to portray Eliza as independent, hence the reason his play doesn’t end with Eliza conforming to type by marrying Higgins. The authors also use language as a way of differentiating between men and women. While Medea is in the private space her language is very emotive, full of anger and she can be heard ‘sobbing and wailing’ (line 202)(10) but as soon as she comes outside into the male domain her language automatically becomes more controlled and calm. Shaw also uses language to show a rougher more masculine side to Eliza when she says she wants to ‘smash’ Higgins face (Act 4, pg 76) (11). Medea uses very masculine language especially when talking about destroying her enemies. As Margaret Williamson(12) points out it gives Medea a ‘heroic dignity’ and further heightens the difference between her public and private voice. Eliza gets her own back on Higgins by denouncing his work in turning her into a lady. She credits Pickering for this knowing that it would get to Higgins. In contrast Medea uses Jason’s children to hurt him, which is much more drastic and spiteful. To sum up there are a number of ways that the authors of these plays portray femininity, such as the use of distinct language and submissive gestures. Both of the plays are centred around extremely competent women which shows how femininity can definitely be used to an advantage. The fact that the men in each of the plays also display feminine traits also shows that femininity itself is not strictly about women.