Building an Environmentally Sustainable Home Research Paper - 1

Building an Environmentally Sustainable Home - Research Paper Example While putting in place windows, it is vital to ensure that they are better insulated and sealed. Multipane windows insulated with gas; for instance, argon, inside the spaces in between them can help prevent heat loss. The glass used on these windows is sometimes glazed to regulate the amount of solar energy coming into the house. This reduces glare and builds on windows’ solar heat gain coefficient that is the ability of the window to prevent sunlight from increasing indoor temperatures. The efficiency of a window increases with a decrease in the value of its solar heat gain coefficient. Combining the technologies of multipane and glazing boosts the ability of windows to insulate a house. If one cannot afford these technologies, they can opt for non-metallic window frames (Maczulak 38). Sometimes, a house can heat up too much during sunny seasons. In such a case, it is essential to install reflective insulation.   Comprehensive insulation combines both reflective insulation and thermal insulation. People use a lot of energy in tending their home yards. People commonly use lawn mowers powered by fossil fuels or string trimmers but this emits harmful gases to the environment. Green lawns and gardens are grown using fertilizers that have chemicals that can find their way into groundwater and contaminate it. This can by extension contaminates drinking water. Poor drainage of rain runoff can degenerate into floods and burst sewers. Native plants make eco-friendly lawns that are way better than grass seeds that are bagged. Landscaping should seek to save on space with native wildflowers. Native wildflowers do not require a lot of fertilizers to grow, and one gets to cut on the harmful chemicals released into the surroundings. They also save groundwater from pollution and reduce money needed to tend a lawn. Eco-friendly landscaping directs the planting of shade trees that help protect the house from too much solar energy especially sunny seasons (Wubben 37). It is crucial to check on how one manages water in and around the house. Some studies suggest that water heating consumes up to about a third of the total energy consumption in a house. Tankless water heating is a good way to cut on unnecessary energy use. It heats water as and when needed without keeping it in a chamber that is insulated. They are expensive to install, but they are very efficient in saving energy. Other ways to manage energy used in water heating include ensuring that the water heater used is proportional to the people living in the house (Brebbia 47).

Minimum Wage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Minimum Wage - Essay Example Critics are of the view that minimum wage forces employers to appoint only skilled workers and therefore employees with lesser skills may struggle to get employment. This paper argues in favour of minimum wage after analysing both the sides of the issue. â€Å"The vast majority of economists believe the minimum wage law costs the economy thousands of jobs†(Messerli). In their opinion, enforcement of minimum wage will decrease the demand for workers. They explain their argument based on the supply and demand theory of economics. When salary goes up, supply of workers will also goes up and thereby the demand for the workers will geos down. In other words, when supply increases, demand decreases. The above theory might be true in theoretical terms, but in practical terms, it may not be so. It should be noted that majorities of the western countries are outsourcing their jobs to India like Asian countries at present because of the labour shortage. It should be noted that in countr ies like America and Britain, an ordinary worker is getting salaries, three to four times more than that an Indian worker is getting in his country. In other words, even though the wages are high, supply of labour force is not increasing in countries like America and Britain. On the other hand, in India like countries even though the wages are low, excess of supply of labour is in place. ... Part-time work and full time work should be separated from each other. Minimum wage for part time work need not be the same as that of the full time. Authorities can prescribe separate norms of minimum wage with respect to part time and full time work. Moreover, separate minimum wage norms can be enforced with respect to the qualification and experience of the employees. â€Å"Abolishing the minimum wage will allow businesses to achieve greater efficiency and lower prices. Anytime you give businesses more flexibility, you will increase efficiency and lower prices† (Messerli). It is an accepted fact that only a satisfied worker will try to deliver more than 100% of his efficiency. In other words, workers who struggle to get a decent salary may not be fully committed to the organization. It is better for an organization to have more committed workers to increase its efficiency and productivity rather than having a huge workforce of unskilled or cheaper labours. Salary is the maj or motivating factor for the employees and therefore minimum wage will definitely motivate the workers more and thereby the organization will be benefitted. â€Å"Adults who currently work for minimum wage are likely to lose jobs to teenagers who will work for much less. Many adults trying to make a living are forced to work minimum wage jobs† (Messerli). Employers may exploit the workers in the absence of a minimum wage law. They will try to terminate experienced workers even without any reasons, for appointing fresh workers in order to reduce their employee wage expenditure. Thus, even experienced employees will be forced to work under tremendous pressure if minimum wage law is not implemented. In the absence of minimum law, business will take undue advantages in the form of