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Latest Homework
1. "Man is the measure of all things."
What is your opinion on this statement that Krauthammer bases his argument upon?
2. Protecting the environment while maximizing profits - an insolvable conflict?
If your first name begins with A - K ==>
The pell-mell pursuit of profits by businesses has long been a major source of pollution. But could such greed be used instead to help preserve the environment? A growing number of politicians and economists think so, and they have come up with the idea of allowing companies to buy and sell the "right" to pollute as part of a plan to encourage them to clean up their operations.
Ultimately, there could be a national or even global market that would treat pollution permits like stocks and bonds. The strategy is not so strange as it sounds; the Environmental Protection Agency used it in the 1970s to curb pollution in selected cities. President George Bush made trading pollution rights the centerpiece of his plan to combat acid rain across the U.S., with his proposal attracting an ideologically diverse band of supporters, from conservative economists, who despised standard types of Government regulations, to environment-minded legislators, who were ready for a fresh approach to pollution control.
If your first name begins with L - Z ==>
Under Bush's plan, the Government would set a national limit on emissions of sulfur dioxide, a prime cause of acid rain. But, instead of dictating how to meet the target, the Government would let the marketplace determine the cheapest, most efficient way to get the job done. Each company would be allotted an acceptable level of SO2 production, amounting to its fair share of the national limit. If a company managed to pollute less than its share, it could receive permits representing the shortfall, which it could sell to firms that could not meet their target. That is where the power of greed comes in: companies would have an enormous incentive to cut their emissions so they could profit from peddling their surplus permits.
Even the most enthusiastic advocates admitted right from the start that a market in pollution rights presented an immense challenge, mainly due to the difficulty of making sure companies had enough legal permits to cover all their pollution.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,969366-2,00.html
Recent Homework
Translation:
The war in Iraq is the direct result of the work of US city-planners in the mid-1920s and it was inevitable - not because of weapons of mass destruction, as claimed by the political right, nor because of western imperialism, as claimed by the left. The undeniable cause of this war and the ones to follow it, is America’s love affair with cars.
In the early 19th century buses replaced trams, and then cars replaced buses, while General Motors bought up the last tramways to close them down.
Cars offered an escape from dirty, crowded cities to leafy garden-suburbs, with the freeways serving as escape routes. So America turned itself into a nation of home-owners living in vast suburbs spread so widely that servicing them economically with public transport has become impossible.
Today the US transportation sector is almost totally dependent on oil, and supplies are running out. America needs oil and Saddam Hussein has been sitting on it – the second largest supply in the world.
Ian Roberts, The Guardian, Saturday January 18, 2003 (adapted)
Answer the following questions on "What Place for God in Europe?"
- Why has religion become a difficult topic in Europe according to the first section of the article? (Paris)
- Why does the question of the role of religion divide the USA and Europe according to part 2 (Enlightenment divergence) a nd 4 Philosophical Diffrences)?
- What is the author's position? How does this become clear?
If your first name begins with A - K ==>
- Write down 8 questions and formulate the 8 answers to be asked and answered from this article, that express the basics about religion an politics!
If your first name begins with L - Z ==>
- Read Religion remains fundamental to US politics!
- Write down 8 questions and formulate the 8 answers to be asked and answered from this article, that express the basics about religion an politics!
- Group 1: Letters on pp. 119-120 and pp. 122 (Hilary to Philip)
- Group 2: Letter(s) on pp. 120-122
- Group 3: Letter(s) on pp. 122-124
- Group 4: Letter(s) on pp. 124-128
- Group 5: Letter(s) on pp. 128-130
- Group 6: Letter(s) on pp. 131-133
Look at:
- Funny passages - How are they created by the narrator?
- Dramatic irony - Who knows what - who doesn't? Does reader feel pity or superiority?
- language that helps to characterize the writer?
- basic information in letter?
PLUS:
1. Groups 1, 2, 3: pp. 134-137:
- How do the Zapps (Desire and Morris) see Philip?
2. Groups 4, 5, 6: pp. 137-141:
- How do the Swallows (Philip and Hilary) see Morris?
Questions on Changing Places (for Thursday - TODAY!)
- Read fom page 210 on!
- Answer the questions in complete, written sentences!
- Finish these questions as our homework for Monday!
- pp. 210 - 211: What does Morris feel about Rummidge and university life there?
- pp. 211-212 Why does Morris love the paternoster elevator?
- pp. 214 ("Jane Austen mumbled ...") - 215 ("the internal telephone rang") What parts of Zapp's character as a teacher/academic become visible here?
- pp. 216 ("the telephone rang") - 218 ("God forbid") How does Zapp's relation with Hilary develop and what is his opinion of her wish to study again?
- pp. 220("Ah Zapp") - 223 ("The VC broke off")? Explain Zapp's arguments and motives for suppporting Philip's career!
- pp. 223 ("I'm sorry Vice Chncellor") - 227 ("top of the shaft") Try to sum up this passage in about 5 - 7 sentences.
- pp. 227 ("Hilary wore a") - 230 ("Let's go upstairs") Why does Hilary react so strangely at first and why does she change her mind again ...?
- Finish this chapter and sum up the perspectives for Morris in England! Do you think he will stay?
- National stereotypes See those on Britain and the USA.
- 10 Stereotypes about Americans
- Stereotyped America See original article!
Prepare a short presentation (about 5 minutes) of one of these novels!
- Angela's Ashes
- The Catcher in the Rye
- Nineteen Eighty-Four
- Brave New World
- Changing Places
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
- About a Boy
- Fight Club
- The Virgin Suicides
Include:
- title, author, year of publication
- theme/basic plot, narrator/point of view
- personal judgement (should we read it or not?)
"Old" Homework 2009/2010
Das überhastete/rücksichtslose Streben der Unternehmen nach Profit ist seit langem einer der Hauptursachen für die Umweltverschmutzung. Aber könnte diese Gier stattdessen dazu genutzt werden, dazu beizutragen die Umwelt zu schützen? Eine wachsende Anzahl von Politikern und Wirtschaftswissenschaftlern glaubt das, und sie sind auf die Idee gekommen, Firmen zu erlauben, das Recht zur Umweltverschmutzung zu kaufen und verkaufen im Rahmen eines, Planes der sie dazu anregen soll, ihre Produktion sauberer zu gestalten. Letztlich könnte es einen nationalen oder sogar weltweiten Markt geben, auf denen die Erlaubnis zur Umweltverschmutzung wie Aktien oder Anleihen gehandelt werden. Diese Strategie/Vorgehensweise ist gar nicht so seltsam wie sie klingt. Die EPA benutzte sie in den siebziger Jahren, um die Umweltverschmutzung in ausgewählten Städten zu kontrollieren. Präsident Bush machte den Handel mit Lizenzen/Berechtigungsscheinen für Umweltverschmutzung zum zentralen Inhalt seines Plans zur Bekämpfung des sauren Regens überall in den USA, und der Vorschlag mobilisierte/fand eine Gruppe ideologisch sehr verschiedener Befürwortern, von konservativen Volkswirtschaftlern, die die üblichen Regierungsvorschriften verachteten, bis hin zu umweltbewussten Gesetzgebern, die bereit waren für einen neuen Ansatz hinsichtlich der Kontrolle/Begrenzung der Umweltverschmutzung.
Laut Bushs Plan würde die Regierung einen landesweiten Grenzwert/Obergrenze für den Ausstoss von Schwefeldioxid festlegen, eine der Hauptursachen für den sauren Regen. Aber anstatt zu diktieren wie dieses Ziel erreicht werden soll, würde die Regierung die Kräfte der Marktwirtschaft bestimmen lassen, was der billigste und effizienteste Weg ist, dieses Problem zu lösen.
Jeder Firma würde ein akzeptables Maß an Schwefeldioxidausstoß zugestanden werden, das ihrem angemessenen Anteil an dem landesweit insgesamt zulässigen Ausstoß von Schwefeldioxid entsprechen würde. Wenn es einer Firma gelänge, die Umwelt weniger zu verschmutzen, als es ihr erlaubt ist, würde sie entsprechend der Höhe ihrer nicht ausgeschöpften Schwefeldioxidemissionen Berechtigungsscheine erhalten, die sie dann an Firmen verkaufen könnte, die ihre Grenzwerte nicht einhalten könnten. Und hier kommt nun die machst dich hier zum Tragen: es gäbe einen ungeheuer starken Anreiz für die Firmen, ihre Emissionen zu drosseln, so dass davon profitieren könnten, mit ihrenungenutzten/überflüssigen Berechtigungsscheinen zu handeln. Sogar die enthusiastischen Befürworter gaben von Anfang an zu, dass der Handel mit Berechtigungen zu Umweltverschmutzung eine ungeheure Herausforderung darstellte, im wesentlichen wegen der Schwierigkeit, sicherzustellen, dass die Firmen genügend legale Berechtigungsscheine besaßen, um die Gesamtmenge der von ihnen verursachten Umweltverschmutzung abzudecken.
