Wednesday 23 December 2009

FLOW

Much of the world lives without access to clean water. Privatization of water resources, promoted as a means to bring business efficiency into water service management, has instead led to reduced access for the poor around the world as prices for these essential services have risen. This article looks into this issue in further detail below(http://www.healthblurbs.com).
Already some one third of the world’s population is living in either water-scarce, or water-short areas. It is predicted that climate change and population growth will take this number to one half of humanity. Yet, as Maude Barlow has commented, it is not necessarily over-population causing water shortages: “12 percent of the world’s population uses 85 percent of its water, and these 12 percent do not live in the Third World." Indian scientist and activist, Vandana Shiva noted in a documentary that the water crisis is a human-created crisis only in the last two or so decades.(www.flowforwater.org) In other words, it is not so much of a water shortage crisis, but a water management crisis. That documentary was World Without Water, from True Vision Productions broadcast by Britain’s mainstream media channel, Channel 4 on April 29, 2006.The main reason for the water crisis, the documentary implied, is the commoditization of water. By promoting water as a commodity, this has led to increased control of water by multinational corporations. In turn, there has been increased fear that the poor are shut out, because the multi national corporation main responsibility is to shareholders and to increase profit. As a result, though there may be many people in terms of market access, many people are too poor to afford it. The World Bank, IMF and others have encouraged countries around the world to privatize water access in the hope of increased efficiency as to well as follow other policies such as removal of subsidies for such provisions. In doing so, the poor have found themselves being shut out as prices have risen beyond affordability.
The documentary’ looks at Coca Cola (Coke for short) company’s activities in India and highlighted problems also seen around the world. Because Coke had been pumping water from local wells and aquifers, this led to farmers digging deeper and deeper to search for water, sometimes under dangerous conditions. Some farmers were digging as deep as 450 feet without finding water. The documentary noted that they wanted Coke to leave for they brought them nothing but misery. Indeed, earlier in 2000, violent protests by farmers in the state of Kerala led to the closure of Coke there.The documentary also noted that for each liter of drink from Coca Cola, some 3 liters of water was needed.When asked, Coke noted all the activities they were pursuing to be a more responsible neighbor. Coke also claimed that government figures showed they did not cause the drop in water levels, yet those figures showed otherwise. They also noted that agriculture is responsible for more water usage than Coca Cola. While this is partly correct, this applies more to industrial agribusinesses, not small farmers.Furthermore, farmers are arguably using the land for more productive (and necessary) purposes than Coke. In addition, Coke, typical of many global companies, have used the lands (and, in this case, water) of the poor countries, to produce products to be mainly consumed by people in wealthy countries(http://documentaries.about.com).

biography

1- http://www.healthblurbs.com/contaminated-water-disease-waterborne-diseases-contamination-of-water-diseases-causing-illnesses/

2- www.flowforwater.org

3- 2)http://documentaries.about.com/od/revie2/fr/flow.htm

Saturday 12 December 2009

50 Words

1-Account: An oral or written description of particular events or situations; narrative: an account of the meetings; an account of the trip.

*Nowadays every person should have a bank account. (noun)

2-Achievement: Something accomplished, esp. by superior ability, special effort, great courage, etc.; a great or heroic deed: his remarkable achievements in art.

* The UAE in its 38 years has achieved so much to be proud of. (noun )

3-Affect: To act on; produce an effect or change in: Cold weather affected the crops

* Most of the time society affects the person, but sometimes it’s the opposite. (verb )

4-Afraid: Feeling fear; filled with apprehension: afraid to go.

*The main reason for people to not get a driver’s license is because they are afraid of driving. (adjective )

5-Almost: Very nearly; all but: almost every house; almost the entire symphony; to pay almost nothing for a car; almost twice as many books.

* It was almost morning when I finished studying for the exam. (adverb )

6-Amount: The sum total of two or more quantities or sums; aggregate.

*The amount of the water in the human’s blood is more than 50%. (noun )

7-Apartment: A room or a group of related rooms, among similar sets in one building, designed for use as a dwelling.

*It’s not easy to get an apartment in Abu Dhabi that is not very expensive. (noun )

8-Aspect: Appearance to the eye or mind; look: the physical aspect of the country.

*Money is the most important aspect of business. (noun )

9-Attract: To draw by a physical force causing or tending to cause to approach, adhere, or unite; pull (opposed to repel ): The gravitational force of the earth attracts smaller bodies to it.

*The movies and video games are the main things that attract teenagers. (verb )

10-Beautiful: Having beauty; having qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear, think about, etc.; delighting the senses or mind: a beautiful dress; a beautiful speech.

*The most beautiful view is when the sun sets over the sea. (adjective )

11-Benefit: Something that is advantageous or good; an advantage: He explained the benefits of public ownership of the postal system.

*Before starting any business the amount of the benefit must be considered. (noun )

12-Broken: Reduced to fragments; fragmented.

*Broken glass is very dangerous thing. (adjective )

13-Career: An occupation or profession, esp. one requiring special training, followed as one's lifework: He sought a career as a lawyer.

*After finishing school the real career starts. (noun )

14-Choice: An act or instance of choosing; selection: Her choice of a computer was made after months of research. His parents were not happy with his choice of friends.

*Every person has to make an important choice in his life. (adjective )

15-Communicate: To impart knowledge of; make known: to communicate information; to communicate one's happiness.

*It’s been a lot easier for people to communicate since the telephone was
invented. (verb )

16-Control: To exercise restraint or direction over; dominate; command.

*The police do a great job to control the crime rate. (noun )

17-Correct: To set or make true, accurate, or right; remove the errors or faults from: The native guide corrected our pronunciation.

*It’s important to know the wrong answers and correct them. (adjective )

18-Culture: The quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc.

*Every country has a different culture from others. (noun )

19-Degree: Any of a series of steps or stages, as in a process or course of action; a point in any scale.

*Some jobs require a specific degree. (noun )

20-Department: A distinct part of anything arranged in divisions; a division of a complex whole or organized system.

*The fire department does a great job to help people. (noun )

21-Describe: To tell or depict in written or spoken words; give an account.

*The wetness had a difficult time describing the suspect. (verb )

22-Education: The act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.

*Education is mixed with modern technology to make it easier for students. (noun )

23-Energy: The capacity for vigorous activity; available power.

*It takes a lot of energy to play a football match of 90 minutes. (noun )

24-Family: Parents and their children, considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not.

*Families in the past were bigger and a lot more connected than now. (noun )

25-Follow: To come after in sequence, order of time, etc.

*Dogs always follow their masters everywhere. (verb )

26-Future: Time that is to be or come hereafter.

*Some people want to know how their future is going to be, but others prefer their future to be unknown. (noun )

27-Healthy: Possessing or enjoying good health or a sound and vigorous mentality.

*The healthy mind is in the healthy body. ( adjective)

28-Holiday: A day fixed by law or custom on which ordinary business is suspended in commemoration of some event or in honor of some person.

*The holiday is the best time after months of hard work. (noun )

29-Machine: An apparatus consisting of interrelated parts with separate functions, used in the performance of some kind of work: a sewing machine.

*There is at least one kind of machine in every house. (noun )

30-Media: The means of communication, as radio and television, newspapers, and magazines, that reach or influence people widely.

*Media can control a lot of people's minds. (noun )

31-Medium: A middle state or condition; mean.

*I think I am of a medium height. (adjective )

32-Million: A cardinal number, a thousand times one thousand.

*A small room has at least million bacteria in it. (noun )

33-Money: Any circulating medium of exchange, including coins, paper money, and demand deposits.

*A lot of people spend their lives making money. (noun )

34-Museum: A building or place where works of art, scientific specimens, or other objects of permanent value are kept and displayed.

*Museums are very important to make people remember their country’s past. (noun )

35-Noise: Sound, esp. of a loud, harsh, or confused kind.

*Some people can’t stand the least kind of noise. (noun )

36-Party: A social gathering, as of invited guests at a private home, for conversation, refreshments, entertainment, etc.

*A lot of people love to party all the time. (verb )

37-People: Persons indefinitely or collectively; persons in general.

*Every person has his own way of thinking and that’s why all the people can never be united. (noun )

38-Pizza: A flat, open-faced baked pie of Italian origin, consisting of a thin layer of bread dough topped with spiced tomato sauce and cheese, often garnished with anchovies, sausage slices, mushrooms, etc..

*No one can think of Italy without thinking of pizza. (noun )

39-Pollution: The act of polluting or the state of being polluted.

*Pollution endangers the earth and the lives of all the creatures. (noun )

40-Population: The total number of persons inhabiting a country, city, or any district or area.

*The population of mankind keeps on increasing. (noun )

41-Price: The sum or amount of money or its equivalent for which anything is bought, sold, or offered for sale.

*The price of a house differs from are city to another. (noun )

42-Problem: Any question or matter involving doubt, uncertainty, or difficulty.

*There is no one who is problem free. (noun )

43-Reached: To get to or get as far as in moving, going, traveling, etc.

*Last year Barcelona football club reached the finals. ( verb)

44-Religion: A specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.

*The custom of a society differ depending on its religion. (noun )

45-Success: The favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors.

*You have to work hard to gain success. (noun )

46-University: An institution of learning of the highest level, having a college of liberal arts and a program of graduate studies together with several professional schools, as of theology, law, medicine, and engineering, and authorized to confer both undergraduate and graduate degrees.

*University is much different from school. (noun )

47-View: An instance of seeing or beholding; visual inspection.

*The view from the top of our building is scary. (noun )

48-Weather: The state of the atmosphere with respect to wind, temperature, cloudiness, moisture, pressure, etc.

*The perfect weather in the UAE is in winter. (noun )

49-Which: Which of these do you want? Which do you want?

*France won the 1998 world cup which they were hosting. (conjunction )

50-Women: A range of sizes usually from 38 to 44 for garments that fit larger than average women..

*Women are half of the community. (noun )