Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports - Essay Example The drama of performance on world scene is so overpowering that athletes sometime fall in the controversy of doping (use of performance enhancing drugs) in sports. A winning athlete is the star of the public eye just as a politician, musician or a literary figure and their image is a delicate balance training, character and publicity. When athlete resorts to taking performance enhancing drugs, they not only hurt themselves but in turn set in motion a chain of events that destroys the sport each time a new case surfaces. The controversy which has been built around athletic doping or use of performance enhancing drug to maximize sport performance can be traced back to 490 BC in the legendary marathon run by Feidipides, which made him a superhero at the cost of his life (Savulescu, et al. 2004). Performance enhancing drugs has been reported to be used even since the Greeks started the Olympics in 776 BC. Olympic athletes were believed to have used herbs and mushrooms in an attempt to improve their performance. However, it was not until the early 19th century that the problem became a menace to the sport. Today, the thrust for winning is so high that there are reports that performance-enhancing drugs have been used in college, high school and junior high/middle school athletics around the world (Kidsource OnLine, 1996). The desire to outperform the other competitors at any cost is so demanding. The performance oriented athletics with result at its core is fuelled by different levels of drugs which enhance shot-term and long-term performance. The progress in technology offers greater lure to administering different levels of biological intervention. ... The progress in technology offers greater lure to administering different levels of biological intervention. The health and the fitness should be the core of rational judgment rather than emotional euphoria of success. The use of doping takes away the human element of ethics and honesty in sports. An athlete stoops down to the level of an animal with no reason, choice or judgment. Some of the performance-enhancing drugs are dangerous; they have multitude physical, mental and emotional side effects ranging from short-term to long-term. Anabolic steroids are associated are associated with a range of side effects, including heart attacks and liver cancer. Some doping substances are permitted in low doses like alcohol and caffeine. Another form of doping is blood doping either by blood transfusion or use of the hormone erythropoietin. In recent times tetrahydrogestrinone(THG) and modafinil are causing controversy throughout the sporting world. The number and variety of drugs use by athletes are rather alarming. Substances used as ergogenic aids are meant to primarily increase size, endurance and strength of the athletes. Performance increasing drugs also include beta-adrenoceptor blockers and beta-adre noceptor agonists, calcium-channel blockers, diuretics, growth hormone and growth hormone stimulants, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, iron, theophylline and in some situations, vitamins (Lajis, N.D.). These substances used to boost athletic performance, increase strength and improve appearance present a serious health risk. Use of enhancement drugs violates athlete's autonomy. Besides, such illegal acts questions their confidence, morals, ethics and takes away

Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Skills - Essay Example The supporting staff in the workforce should come up with the skills and also behaviors required in working effectively with the young people, the parents and children as well as with each other in positive ways that lead to achieving better outcomes (McWilliam 35). Those in the workforce should be skilled with knowledge on how to support young people who particularly are vulnerable inclusive of those who are looked after, those that are disabled and also with mental problems (McWilliam 45). Through the various education stages, young people face increasing difficulties in securing gainful employment and also career opportunities. When we focus on the world today, most of the unemployed people globally are young people (McWilliam 25). The government should come up with solutions to solve this problem like generating links with the work foundation to employ young people (McWilliam 15). Environments for learning should be created in such a way that they are conducive for studying. Such learning environments should be both indoor as well as outdoor spaces (Selter & Bentley 34). They should include more than just a single room arrangement. They should also be equipped with various activities such as cooperative play, messy play, and also large muscle activities. Resnick, Mitchel. "All I really need to know (about creative thinking) I learned (by studying how children learn) in kindergarten." Proceedings of the 6th ACM SIGCHI conference on Creativity & cognition. ACM,

Analysis on my Favorite Poems Essay Example for Free

Analysis on my Favorite Poems Essay Dorothy Parker’s poem entitled â€Å"One Perfect Rose† is a simple verse that talks about the joy of the narrator. Despite of all the odds and confusion, she remained happy with the rose that she received. The narrator is not actually contented with what she has because she wants more than what she already received despite of its â€Å"perfection,† but she tried to be satisfied with it. The main theme of the poem is joy or happiness. Like many other woman, the narrator was very happy after receiving a very special and perfect flower just for her from the one she loved. The phrase â€Å"One perfect rose† was scattered all over the poem to justify the happiness of the narrator that happens in reality because we used to express our happiness by saying a certain thing often that delighted us. The author used irony or comparing two things with different identity or individuality such as rose and limousine also leaves and heart. Based on my interpretations, I have seen that the author wanted to show the distinction of the two terms as well as its similarity. In realism, a woman wants to enjoy herself riding a limousine after receiving a flower. From this, she feels that she is the most beautiful woman ever. On the other hand, the existence of metaphorical heart of the narrator’s man as it refers to the leaves shows irony because a leaf drops once it began to pale, which is different from a loving heart that became stronger and dignified even if it is the only one who loves. Those literary terms in the poem made me think of its sense in a deeper manner. Even if the author already gave all the details without making her readers think or imagine the emotion of the narrator, she used literary terms to make each stanza complex by showing ironies, metaphors, simile, and images or symbolisms that hides the true meaning of the poem. From here, I can say that the poem is nice and understandable that made its readers capable of reading the poem without any boundaries of uncertainties. My Papa’s Waltz by Theodore Roethke Theodore Roethke’s poem, entitled â€Å"My Papa’s Waltz† shows the life of a boy within the hands of his father. The author wanted to convey a deeper meaning in his poem. By way of reading it, I can see that it was not just a simple learning of dancing that made the narrator struggled into his father’s authority. From learning how to follow his father’s dance step signifies his pursuance of obeying his father as well as making his life the same his father’s life. The main theme of the poem is fear. The narrator was afraid to counter-attack his father from all its way of educating him but he could not do anything because even his mother could not talk or act against his father. Based on my interpretation, the author wrote this poem because he experienced the same pain and struggle of his narrator. Readers could feel each situation and waiting for the next occurrence that can happen. The poem has no resolution at all. This verse illustrates the entire situation without any act of resolving the conflict. The father is the only authority because both the child and the mother could not speak for their rights. From this, I can also say that the author justified a simple way of describing a woman and child abuse that happened within a family that many could not able to perceive. The author selected literary themes to show the emotion of the narrator as he described his experience while â€Å"dancing. † Within those literary themes is the resemblance of fear and unknown future that awaits the child. I have felt the senses and attempt of the narrator to escape but he could not because of his fear and inability to pursue his life alone. From this, I can say that I thoroughly understand each line and stanza that the author wanted to interpret that brought me a new light of this kind of situation that happened in the society that many of us could not understand. The Ruined Maid by Thomas Hardy The poem entitled â€Å"The Ruined Maid† by Thomas Hardy shows the struggle of a maid within her employers. The author showed and discussed the life of a maid without happiness but always failure. The author used two different characters in the story to show the emotions of a maid by using her friend. The author utilized jargons or terms that usually used in African-American community. Through this, even if the author did not state the physical characteristics of the maid, it shows that it refers to the Blacks by way f acknowledging the usage of words and terms in the whole poem. The author putted different literary terms or symbolisms to justify his claim about the ruined maid. Tired of digging potatoes, and spudding up docks; / And now you’ve gay bracelets and bright feathers three! (Hardy 6-7). These lines showed that work of the maid was not just to clean a house or to take care of the children, but becoming like a farmer. The metaphorical symbolisms of potatoes and bracelets also docks and feather shows the evolution of the maid’s life and â€Å"prosperity. † By comparing the bracelets and potatoes, the bracelets are light, beautiful and clean while the potatoes are full of dirt, hard, and dark. It shows that the life of the maid progresses from being a potato to become a bracelet. The maid also becomes a feather that was led by the wind even if she was already ruined. Despite of the uncertainties, the maid leaves her painful and sorrowful life in the hands of his master to find her self and new beginning alone. These literary terms made the poem more fun and entertaining. As I have read the poem, it gives me the right kind of laughter that I can feel while imagining the characteristic and lifestyle of the ruined maid. Because of this, I enjoyed every line and stanza of the poem because of the symbols, images, ironies, similes, and metaphors that exist all throughout the verse. From this, I can say that the author’s intended audiences in his poem are the middle-class people especially the Blacks because despite of all the struggles and pains that they went through, they still have the capability to laugh and entertain their selves. Conclusion As a whole, these poems are not just simple verses. They are social constructs that we usually take for granted. They are also part of realism that we tend to ignore because these occurrences exist commonly. However, if we look at the content and its context in human society, we can perceive each scenario as a sensitive issue that we need to understand and tackle. Through this, we can demonstrate some solutions to these complex problems to avoid or at least lessen its existence within the society whether it came from the minority or majority communities that we lived in. The importance of these poems is not only to entertain us but to give as the right perspectives and justifications of the â€Å"simple† truth. References Hardy, T. (2005). The Ruined Maid. Retrieved 19 February 2008. http://rpo. library. utoronto. ca/poem/926. html Parker, D. (n. d. ). One Perfect Rose. Retrieved 19 February 2008. http://www. web-books. com/classics/Poetry/Anthology/Parker_D/One. htm Roethke, T. (n. d. ) My Papa’s Waltz. Retrieved 19 February 2008. http://gawow. com/roethke/poems/43. html

Causes And Effects Of Water Shortage Environmental Sciences Essay

Causes And Effects Of Water Shortage Environmental Sciences Essay Water crises have focused peoples attention on water shortage and degradation. Scarce water resources have had negative impacts on the world. Dubale states that water shortage and water degradation are causing serious problems for international security and for peoples health. Rozelle, Huang and Zhang (1997) explain that people face water shortages do not have enough water to meet their daily needs, while water degradation causes a decrease in the quality of peoples lives. One cause of water shortage is mismanagement of water resources, and one cause of water degradation is pollution. Water degradation affects people by causing health problems, and water shortage affects international security by causing regional controversies and conflicts. This essay will discuss two main causes of water shortage and water degradation and their effects on people and international security. One main cause of water shortage is mismanagement of water resources. Jiang (2009) states that as water become a limited and scarce resource relative to the dramatically growing human needs, effective management of the limited available water resources becomes critical. However, People have no incentive to save or use water efficiently, so effective management to deal with the externality of water use and market failure is needed. Over the past decades, Chinas water resource management, unfortunately, has been dominated by engineering projects to satisfy water demands rather than improving water use efficiency. The institutional system of water resource management is fragmented and ineffective. Lack of effective coordination and cooperation among water agencies has led to fragmented water resource institutions which prevent effective management of water resources. In addition, water rights system is the foundation of effective water resource management. Unfortunately, Chinas institut ional system of water rights has not been well developed and is not strictly enforced. Managing water resources based on water rights has not been successful. Much of the water use inefficiency and the current water scarcity in China can be attributed to an underdeveloped system of water rights. Pereira, Oweis and Zairi (2002) assume that mismanagement of water resources has increased Chinas vulnerability to increasingly severe water shortages. Farmers are also mismanagement water in China. Hu, Moiwo, Yang, Han, Yang (2010) explain that farmers are usually over irrigating their farms because they forget to turn off the water on time, and over irrigating the farms too often. These irresponsible behaviors waste a large amount of limited water resources, because less irrigation could yield similar productivity (Fan et al., 2012).Therefore, improper management of water causes the shortage of water. One main cause of water degradation is pollution from industry and agriculture. Wang (1989) state that water pollution started with industrial development in the 1950s and had become more serious since the 1970s in China. The major contribution to water pollution is industrial discharges, about 75 per cent of total wastewater being from industry. At present, only 20 per cent of factories have wastewater treatment facilities. Pollutants of wastewater include organic and toxic chemicals, such as phenols, oils, cyanides and heavy metals, they may flow into the rivers to cause hyper-eutrophic and fishless phenomenon for years. In addition, wastewater in industrial production also causes the water degradation. For instance, wastewater produced by some manufacturing activities, such as pulp and paper production, printing and dyeing, leather tanning and coal gasification, have very high concentrations of pollutants which are difficult to biodegrade. Ordinary treatment techniques are difficult to clean these kinds of wastewater. Some effective techniques are known but are too expensive to be acceptable to the factories. This type of pollution is diff icult to control in China. Qadir et al. (2009) state that excessive irrigation, which combined with overuse of chemical pesticides, have caused large scale of water quality deterioration, particularly in downstream areas of the Aral Sea Basin in Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, Central Asia. Therefore, water degradation mainly comes from industry and agricultures pollution. Having discussed the causes of water shortage and degradation, this essay will continue to discuss two main effects of water shortage and degradation in relation to international security and to peoples health in developing and developed countries. One main effect of water shortage is that it causes regional conflicts for water resources. Frà ¶hlich (2012) states that the water conflict in Middle East become one of the serious international security problems in the world. The Middle East region is primarily relying on agriculture, water is a highly scare resource in this region and there have been conflicts over the ownership and use of water resources. Water supplies in Middle East are limited, unequal used and overused. Israel has controlled Jordan River and its aquifers, and sells little water to Palestine and Jordan. The current Palestine water supply is restricted and limited by Israel. Israel rejects to acknowledge Palestines water rights, while water consumption of Israel is four to six times higher than Palestinians. These unequal consumption of water caused conflicts among these countries which around the Jordan River. Aliewi (2009) argues that it is necessary to negotiate between the Palestine and Israel in which the International Law will be used to solve the conflict over water. The Palestinians should recover their water rights and fair share in water resources. Haftendorn (2000) also claim that in South America, a long term debate about building the Brazilian-Paraguay dam project on the Parana River caused international conflict between Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The project was prevented by countries located at lower basin region, who were afraid that the Parana River might be cut off by the dam and would threat their access to this water resource. Therefore, water shortage has affected the regional conflicts among many countries. One main effect of water degradation is that it causes health problems. Pimentel et al. (2007) state that diseases are spreading by polluted water, such as diarrhea, malaria, tuberculosis, and measles, threating the peoples health. Tarrass and Benjelloun (2012) maintained that forty per cent of peoples deaths are attributed to organic and chemical pollutants. Gleick (2002) conclude that more than two million of infants and children die each year from diarrhea, which is caused largely by contaminated water. Epstein, Ford, Puccia, and Possas (2006) state that polluted water led 80 per cent of the diseases around the world, while 90 per cent of these diseases are spreading in developing countries. Pimentel et al. (2007) also maintain that even in developed countries, diseases caused by water degradation have also had an impact on peoples health. For example, in the USA, diseases caused by water degradation lead to 900 deaths each year (Pimentel et al. 2007). Tarrass and Benjelloun (2012 ) state that polluted water is closely linked diseases. According to Bartram, Lewis, Lenton, and Wright (2005), diseases related to unsafe water is the most common cause of illness and death among the poor people in developing countries. For example, 1.6 million deaths each year can be attributed to health problems caused by water pollution (Bartram, Lewis, Lenton, and Wright, 2005). Therefore, water degradation has affected peoples health. In conclusion, water shortage and water degradation have two main negative effects on people and international security. The main cause of water shortage is mismanagement of water for industrial production, irrigation and leading to regional conflicts on water resources. And the main cause of water degradation is water pollution caused by chemicals which are difficult to biodegrade. Water degradation causes serious diseases for peoples health around the world. In order to solve these problems, all the countries should cooperate together to solve the water crises, distribute water resources rationally, reduce water pollution effectively and purify polluted water rapidly. People around the world should also take responsibility to save water in their daily lives.

The Pigman :: essays research papers

The Pigman   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The topic I chose to write about is lonely. Many characters in The Pigman are lonely. Some of the characters in the story that are lonely are John, Loraine, Mr.Pignati, and Bobo. My definition of lonely is to be by ones self. Another definition of lonely is being forgotten, left alone. An example of lonely is â€Å"The boy was left alone in the park.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the story, the most lonely character was Mr.Pignati. He was lonely because he had no children and his wife recently passed away. Mr.Pignati always went to the zoo. The reason he went to the zoo was to see his best friend, a baboon named Bobo. Bobo was lonely to.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Loraine was lonely at times to. She was lonely when she first moved there. No one would talk to her and she started to get upset because of this. Then one day John had to sit next to her on the bus and he started laughing. Loraine told him to shut up and this is when they became friends. They started the L&J fund together and this is how they met Mr.Pignati.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At one time they took the other baboon out of his cage. He got so lonesome one week he wouldn’t eat. Bobo got very sick. Mr.pignati would always visit him to make sure he was getting better. Loraine and John would also go with Mr.Pignati to visit Bobo. Bobo got pneumonia and died.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  They started out not very trusting Mr.Pignati, but then they found out he wasn’t such a bad guy. They started to visit him more often and became good friends with him. They went shopping and to the zoo and played memory games with each other. They went roller balding together and Mr.

John Howard Griffin and Black Like Me :: Black Like Me Essays

John Howard Griffin and Black Like Me John Howard Griffin was a journalist and a specialist on race issues. After publication, he became a leading advocate in the Civil Rights Movement and did much to promote awareness of the racial situations and pass legislature. He was middle aged and living in Mansfield, Texas at the time of publication in 1960. His desire to know if Southern whites were racist against the Negro population of the Deep South, or if they really judged people based on the individual's personality as they said they prompted him to cross the color line and write Black Like Me. Since communication between the white and African American races did not exist, neither race really knew what it was like for the other. Due to this, Griffin felt the only way to know the truth was to become a black man and travel through the South. His trip was financed by the internationally distributed Negro magazine Sepia in exchange for the right to print excerpts from the finished product. After three weeks in the Deep South a s a black man John Howard Griffin produced a 188-page journal covering his transition into the black race, his travels and experiences in the South, the shift back into white society, and the reaction of those he knew prior his experonce the book was published and released. John Howard Griffin began this novel as a white man on October 28, 1959 and became a black man (with the help of a noted dermatologist) on November 7. He entered black society in New Orleans through his contact Sterling, a shoe shine boy that he had met in the days prior to the medication taking full effect. Griffin stayed with Sterling at the shine stand for a few days to become assimilated into the society and to learn more about the attitude and mindset of the common black man. After one week of trying to find work other than menial labor, he left to travel throughout the Southern states of Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas. November 14, the day he decided to leave, was the day after the Mississippi jury refused to indict or consider the evidence in the Mack Parker kidnap-lynch murder case. He decided to go into the heart of Mississippi, the Southern state most feared by blacks of that time, just to see if it really did have the "wonderful relationship" with their John Howard Griffin and Black Like Me :: Black Like Me Essays John Howard Griffin and Black Like Me John Howard Griffin was a journalist and a specialist on race issues. After publication, he became a leading advocate in the Civil Rights Movement and did much to promote awareness of the racial situations and pass legislature. He was middle aged and living in Mansfield, Texas at the time of publication in 1960. His desire to know if Southern whites were racist against the Negro population of the Deep South, or if they really judged people based on the individual's personality as they said they prompted him to cross the color line and write Black Like Me. Since communication between the white and African American races did not exist, neither race really knew what it was like for the other. Due to this, Griffin felt the only way to know the truth was to become a black man and travel through the South. His trip was financed by the internationally distributed Negro magazine Sepia in exchange for the right to print excerpts from the finished product. After three weeks in the Deep South a s a black man John Howard Griffin produced a 188-page journal covering his transition into the black race, his travels and experiences in the South, the shift back into white society, and the reaction of those he knew prior his experonce the book was published and released. John Howard Griffin began this novel as a white man on October 28, 1959 and became a black man (with the help of a noted dermatologist) on November 7. He entered black society in New Orleans through his contact Sterling, a shoe shine boy that he had met in the days prior to the medication taking full effect. Griffin stayed with Sterling at the shine stand for a few days to become assimilated into the society and to learn more about the attitude and mindset of the common black man. After one week of trying to find work other than menial labor, he left to travel throughout the Southern states of Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas. November 14, the day he decided to leave, was the day after the Mississippi jury refused to indict or consider the evidence in the Mack Parker kidnap-lynch murder case. He decided to go into the heart of Mississippi, the Southern state most feared by blacks of that time, just to see if it really did have the "wonderful relationship" with their

REsearch Paper on Bike Safety Essay

A. â€Å"The loss of 630 lives in bicycle crashes in 2009, just under two people every day of the year in the U.S., is a terrible toll† (â€Å"Bicycle Crash Facts†), states the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. B. Due to the lack of education in bike safety, Elementary Schools in the U.S. do not provide, children are more likely to be involved in traffic accidents, have an increased risk of death, and the rate of people riding bikes is rapidly decreasing. II. Body Paragraph Children are not informed properly about the different traffic signs, the importance of a helmet and other topics, which are fundamental for a person to be able to ride a bike. III. Body Paragraph In addition, Teachers and parents should encourage their children and students to ride their bikes more frequently, what could prevent them from obesity and pollution. IV. Body Paragraph Besides the positive change the use of a bicycle can have on a human body and even mind as they relax on their way, they help reduce pollution, as they do not create any carbon emissions. V. Conclusion A. Clearly, elementary schools in the United States of America do not satisfy the deficit of the bicycling information in the education system in order to prevent their students from eventual traffic accidents, perhaps even death and to encourage the next generation to use their bicycles more frequently. B. Summarize Body Paragraphs C. Saving 630 lives of sons and daughters in a year should not be a topic to discuss, but to be set immediately in action and support the greatest invention a human ever made, the bicycle. A Ride to a Better World â€Å"The loss of 630 lives in bicycle crashes in 2009, just under two people every day of the year in the U.S., is a terrible toll† (â€Å"Bicycle Crash Facts†), states the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. Nowadays people live ignorantly with the idea of bicycling being too dangerous, forgetting that it is a healthy, alternative and effective form of transportation that provides a fascinating way of exercising. Not only do bicyclists have to be educated, but also every user of a public vehicle has to be informed about bike safety; every vehicle user has to be aware of bikes exactly as they are for other vehicles. In order for a cyclist to be safe, car drivers and motorcyclists have to treat cyclists as a vehicle exactly as they are. Due to the lack of education in bike safety, Elementary Schools in the U.S. do not provide, children are more likely to be involved in traffic accidents, have an increased risk of death, and the rate of people riding bikes is rapidly decreasing. Children are not informed properly about the different traffic signs, the importance of a helmet and other topics, which are fundamental for a person to be able to ride a bike. John Pucher, a professor of urban planning, has been conducting much research on transport policies, transport systems, and specially bicycling behavior in Europe, Canada, and the USA. Considered an expert on the topic planning and public policy, he informed; â€Å"Freiburg, Germany reported the largest increase in bicycling, almost doubling the bicycle share of trips from 15% in 1982 to 27% in 2007. These data suggest that it may be difficult to increase bicycling beyond already high levels† (Putcher, John). Without a doubt, the reason for the increase in bicycling in this country is education. In Germany, children in 4th grade have to obligatory take a license test for bicycles. Basically, it is the same as a driver’s license; for a month children are taught by their teachers about traffic signs and how to react in different traffic situations. After the theoretical lessons, they bring their already inspected bikes to school and start with practical lessons, riding on miniature traffic lines and obeying traffic signs previously installed. To make the situation seem more formal, children nervously take the theoretical and practical test, supervised by two police officers. Enthusiastically, every child wants to impress their parents by riding as good as they can. Tzirath Perez, a thirteen-year old girl, describes her experience in fourth grade: â€Å"Thanks to the bicycle lessons I had in Germany, now, when I ride my bike with my friends, I feel more secure, confident and I am glad I already know most of the traffic signs† (Perez). Because of the early encouragement for children, they are more willing to use their bikes and are prepared to ride through traffic safely on their way to their destination. By wearing a helmet and knowing exactly how to behave on the street when riding their bikes to school, German children help to reduce their parent’s car use because these young cyclists can travel safely without an automobile. Because these children ride their bikes to school in the morning they save their parents from the stress of hurrying to get ready in the morning for school and from spending time stuck in car congestions trying to get to school. Due to the bike lanes, which the U.S government has introduced to the streets, it is safer for children to ride their bikes and they will arrive faster at their destination. After school, when children ride home they relax their body and mind, enjoying the beautiful nature and breathing fresh air. While riding their bicycles between school and home, children have a little bit of time for themselves to calm down by forgetting about the stressful school and agitated parents. Jennifer Dill, a professor at the Toulan School of Urban Studies & Planning, states in her research paper: â€Å"An extensive and rapidly growing literature suggests the need to facilitate bicycling through appropriate infrastructure (such as bike paths and bike parking), traffic calming, training and education programs, and other supportive measures† (Dill, Jennifer). Obviously, the key word to this entire issue is education; schools are forming the values of the next era of humanity. If the following generation is not capable of understanding simple traffic signs, how to drive safely nor the daily impact the use of a car is having on our planet, they are slowly taking steps toward a world full of ignorant people, who will fail in their attempt to make our planet a better place. Surprisingly, teachers sometimes do not take their jobs as educators seriously and do not see the bike topic as an important factor in our society. America could experience a decrease in traffic accidents, where children are involved, not by reducing cyclists, but by educating properly America’s youth. In addition, Teachers and parents should encourage their children and students to ride their bikes more frequently, what could prevent them from obesity and pollution. â€Å"Obesity and physical inactivity among younger people is a major issue we have to tackle and biking has proved a very popular after-school activity with the youngsters† (Milford, Lynne), noticed Chris French, a senior public health specialist at NHS North East Essex, about the biking-program he has done in various schools as an extracurricular activity. Indeed, Chris French is setting a fabulous role model for us to follow, but our final goal is to incorporate bicycle education in our official education system, so it is obligatory for every single child who goes to a public school. In this way we can encourage them to do more exercising and learn from an early age on most of the important traffic signs to be better prepared when they have to do their license test in the future. If parents cannot afford to pay their children some kind of extracurricular activity outside from school, bicycling is a cheap alternative way that can be extremely pleasant for children in every age and adults in its various forms of use, such as â€Å"†¦mountain bicycling, racing bicycling, touring bicycling or BMX biking† (Baxamusa, Batul); fortunately, the numerous diversity of using a bicycle can appeal to all kinds of different people. Also, the excessively use of videogame is harming the next generation, because they entertain themselves for hours by not moving any body part, but their fingers making the burning of calories almost impossible. Besides the violence of this inadequate videogames reflects on the children, which start being disrespectful towards their parents and not obeying their restrictions. The routine would become eventually a vicious cycle, because the children keep disobeying their parents and playing more videogames. Although â€Å"33 percent of children and teens are obese in the United States† (Stein, Cherie), the majority of parents lamentably do not distinguish nor accept the overweight of their own children; due to the discriminating society we live in. A combination of lack of physical activity, genetic factors and unhealthy eating patterns is the major cause of obesity in children, enforced by their unwillingness to do exercise and outside-playing activities. Fortunately, two of these causes, physical activity and eating patterns, can be controlled closely by educators and parents, if they have a strong initiative toward their children. Children are easy to manipulate; if a parent or a teacher enthusiastically encouraged children to ride their bikes at least once a week and combined it with a healthy diet, the number of obese young people in the United States could easily be reduced. Also, bicycling cannot only decrease heart and lung diseases, but also asthma and overweight related diseases. Not only are the children in danger of healthy risks, but also in danger to the exposure of peers bullying them for their overweight. Eventually this type of harassment can lead to lower self-esteem and even mental harm. If a person has the tool to prevent and solve a serious problem with horrible consequences, this person should not waste a minute more on thinking this problem through, but solve it instantly. Most children in the United States have enough money to buy a videogame console, thus they should have enough money to buy at least a second-hand bicycle, making the issue of missing money irrelevant. Riding their bicycles to school, and in general as a common way of transportation, would surely prevent them from serious health problems and from loosing their self-esteem because of bullying by some of their peers. Besides the positive change the use of a bicycle can have on a human body and even mind as they relax on their way, they help reduce pollution, as they do not create any carbon emissions. â€Å"Based on the mechanical energy used †¦ the bicycle is roughly 10 times more efficient [than a car]† (Lawyer, David). David Lawyer has been studying for several years how much energy a vehicle of transportation needs and how much pollution it causes. Worthwhile, he calculated from the energy to produce a car and a bicycle, to the pollution they cause in a total and general view. Undoubtedly, the comparison turned out, as expected, to be favoring the bicycles, but now official by showing all his research to the public in his website. Providentially, SanFrancisco was performing a massive plan to improve the bicycle-conditions in this enormous, populated, urban city. Conscious officials wanted to create more bike parking, bike lanes and other cycling incentives, but one man, Rob Anderson, stopped the whole process by arguing â€Å"By eliminating some car parking spaces and traffic lanes to make room for more cyclists, the biking plan would create more traffic jams and more pollution† (Dvorak, Phred), and he demanded an environmental impact study before anything could be continued. Lamentably, a Californian superior court judge agreed with him, and so by stopped all pro-cycling activities until the study was done. Obviously, his argument did not have a certain point, because â€Å"a bicycle does not have any carbon emissions† (Forester, John), thus a bicycle is not harming the environment in any way and if a solution to pollution really existed, it would be to limit the car use instead of the bike use. Furthermore, every cyclist stands for one less car on the road and is amiably helping to â€Å"reduce approximately 31.37 pounds of carbon dioxide† (McNamara, Melissa), which will not pollute our atmosphere. The whole juristic issue took two years plus two years of studying the environmental impact, thus San Francisco had to wait until 2010 for the whole process to start where it had left. It is incredible how an insignificant individual could harm a whole city and part of the solution to a worldwide problem in such an arrogant manner. Instead of questioning the benefits of cycling, responsible citizen should consider all the consequences and detriments the excessively use of automobiles has been having on our atmosphere for the last couple of decades. Easily, a person can contribute to prevent the humanity of catastrophic after-effects, but teachers and parents could emphasize more the importance of a change in our society by improving the education on their students and children. Altruistic, individually contribution is required to make a significant change on the issues of global warming, acid rain, ozone thinning and other negative effects of air pollution, which the destructive impact of cars has been having in our world. Clearly, elementary schools in the United States of America do not satisfy the deficit of the bicycling information in the education system in order to prevent their students from eventual traffic accidents, perhaps even death and to encourage the next generation to use their bicycles more frequently. Instead of reducing bicyclers by persuading them bicycling is too dangerous, the American education system should rather implement rules and signs of bicycling to their students. Higher self-esteem and better health, mentally and physically, could be important benefits in children’s live in result of bicycling. An enormous change in our atmosphere and living customs would happen if the present and next cohort of humans learned to appreciate the extraordinary activity of cycling. Saving 630 lives of sons and daughters in a year should not be a topic to discuss, but to be set immediately in action and support the greatest invention a human ever made, the bicycle. Works Cited Baxamusa, Batul N. â€Å"Ride You Weight off.† Easy Health and Living Oct. 2008: 31-32. Print. â€Å"Bicycle Crash Facts.† Bicyclinginfo.org. University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, and Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center. Web. 27 Jan. 2011. Dill, Jennifer. â€Å"Editorial Board.† Preventive Medicine 37.1 (2003): 24-25. Print. Dvorak, Phred. â€Å"San Francisco Ponders: Could Bike Lanes Cause Pollution?† Wall Street Journal (2008): A1. Print. Forester, John. Bicycle Transportation. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 1983. Print. McNamara, Melissa. â€Å"Air Pollution Facts – CBS Evening News – CBS News.† Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment and World News – CBS News. 31 Jan. 2007. Web. 10 Dec. 2010. . Milford, Lynne. â€Å"Bike Plan to Tackle Childhood Obesity.† The Daily Gazette. 12 May 2009. Print. Lawyer, David S. â€Å"Compare to an Automobile.† Bicycle Energy. L.A. Free Net, July 2010. Web Perez, Tzirath. Personal interview. 09 Dec. 2010. Putcher, John. â€Å"Infrastructure, Programs, and Policies to Increase Bicycling: An International Review.† Rev. of Increasing Bicycling Policies. Mar. 2010: 15-17. Print. Stein, Cherie. Your Child: A Recipe for Healthy Happy Children. Burleigh, Qld.: Zeus Publications, 2008. 16. Print.