Our Town - An Essay On Theme Of The Play :: essays research papers

The theme of the play has to do with the way that life is an endless cycle. You're born, you have some happy times, you have some bad times, and then you die. As the years pass by, everything seems to change. But all in all there is little change. The sun always rises in the early morning, and sets in the evening. The seasons always rotate like they always have. The birds are always chirping. And there is always somebody that has life a little bit worse than your own. In act one when the stage manager pulls Mr. Webb out of the play to talk with him on page 528, the lady in the box asks "Oh Mr. Webb? Mr. Webb is there any culture or love of beauty in Grover's Corners?". Mr. Webb her, there isn't much culture the way she might think, but "... we've got a lot of pleasures of a kind here: We like the sun comin' up over the mountain in the morning, and we all notice a good deal about the birds. We pay a lot of attention to them. And we watch the change of the seasons..." These are the things that the people of Grover's Corners appreciate, the things we take for granted. Also in act one, after the choir rehearsal on page 532, Dr. and Mrs. Gibbs are gossiping about the town drunk. Dr. Gibbs says "I guess I know more about Simon Stimson's affairs than anybody in this town. Some people ain't made for small-town life. I don't know how that'll end; but there's nothing we can do but leave it alone." This shows that there is always someone that has things worse than you do. At the very beginning of act two when the stage manager tells that three years have gone by, but nothing has really changed, and the cycle continues. In act three at the beginning on page 547, the stage manager tells that nine years have gone by. "Gradual changes in Grover's Corners." He then tells how horses are being replaced by Fords, and that people lock their doors now at night. Then he says, "You'd be surprised, though—on the whole, things don't change much around here." Again this indicates the endless cycle. My idea of the theme of the play doesn't differ all that much from Wilder's theme. My idea of the theme only adds to Wilder's theme.

Bases of Departmentation Essay

Bases of Departmentation 1. Functions. Important enterprise functions provide the usual basis for classifying activities into departments. Manufacturing, marketing, finance, personnel, accounting and engineering are the typical functions of an industrial enterprise, and departments ma be established on the basis of such functions. But all these functions are not alike in importance from the business point of view. Marketing and manufacturing are the basic functions of an industrial concern, and others are regarded as service functions because they exist for supporting the main functions of the business. Accordingly, basic and main functions must be given a higher organizational status than the status enjoyed by service functions. Further more, the size, nature and volume of business have an important say in creating departments. A small business may not require so many departments, and it may be put under the manufacturing departments, viz. Marketing, manufacturing and finance. Purchasing, engineering and accounting may be put under the manufacturing department, and accounting under finance. Conversely, large-sized enterprises may be required to create more units than this classification of functions warrants. For example, marketing department may be split into three separate ones like sales, advertising, and market research & product design. This type of departmentation is known by fictionalization. 2. Products. Products manufactured may be adopted for division as well as for sub division purposes. When there are several product lines an each product line consists of a variety of items, functional classification fails to give balanced emphasis on each product. Slow-moving and outdated products may be given greater attention at the cost of growing ones. For the sake of expansion and development of their products, many large enterprises have created more or less autonomous, self-sufficient products divisions based on either one single product or a group of related products. A gigantic structure with separate product lines is usually laid on this pattern of departmentation which is technically called divisionalization. With favourable product and market characteristics, divisionalization become the only choice available to large-sized enterprises. Apart form this use, product or services may be made the basis of major divisions by a epartmental store, a banking concern and an insurance company. Again, manufacturing an marketing departments may subdivide their activities on the basis of products. 3. Territories. Like the products basis, geographical regions are adopted for main division as well as for subdivision purposes. Units that are located at physically dispersed areas are made so many self-contained divisions of the organization . Apart form this divisionalization, marketing activities are very often subdivided on the basis of geographical areas. It has almost the same advantages and disadvantages as are to be found in the case of departmentation by products. There are two special advantages of this pattern of grouping activities. Being nearer to the market and becoming familiar with local conditions, this classification help to cater to the needs of local people more satisfactorily. In addition, the economy in transport cost, the local supply of raw materials or services and the convenience of supervision make a significant contribution towards the lower cost of operation. 4. Customers. This basis of classification is widely followed in subdividing activities of the marketing department. To give individual attention to diverse groups of buyers in the market, sales activities are often split into several parts. When the products are offered to an extensive market through numerous channels and outlets, it has the special merit of supplying goods in accordance with the peculiar needs of customers. Sales being the exclusive field of its application, co-ordination may appear difficult between sales function and other enterprise functions. Specialized sales staff may become idle with the downward movement of sales to any specified group of customers. 5. Processes. The manufacturing activities may be subdivided on the basis of their processes of production. Similar machines are grouped into separate sections that are utilized for a distinct operation of the job. For example, lathe machine, drill machine, grinding machine and milling machine are placed in each distinct unit. In office work also, this basis of grouping activities has become common, e. g. , filing department, mail handling department and duplicating department. Cost and economy considerations urge the use of electronic office equipments and other costly machine on the basis of this subdivision. It is, however, not a suitable basis to be utilized in any mass production arrangement. Characteristics 1. Delegation is the authorization to a manager to act in a certain way independently. The degree of delegation puts a manager to act within the limits prescribed by his superior. Moreover, withing the limits he is not free to act arbitrarily but subject to provisions of organisational policy, rules and regulation. . Delegation has a dual characteristic. A superior delegates authority to subordinates, however a superior at the same time still retains authority. As Terry has observed, ‘it is something like imparting knowledge. You share with others who then possess the knowledge, but you still retain the knowledge too. 3. Authority once delegated can be enhanced, reduced or withdrawn depending upon the requirement. The changes in organization structure, organisation climate, policy, procedure, and method require modifications in delegation of authority. Since, authority is delegated to an individual, the authority can be recovered back fully in the case of his exit from the organisation. 4. A manager cannot delegate authority which he himself does not process. Moreover, he does not delegate the entire authority to his subordinates because if he delegates all his authority he cannot work. 5. Delegation may be specific or general. Similarly, it can be written or unwritten. Delegation is specific when course of action for specific objectives are specified; it is general when these are not specified, though objectives are specified. Delegation of Authority Organisation units require the delegation of authority to their respective managers so that they can manger their respective units. Every manger in the organisation has some activities assigned by the superior. In order to perform these activities, he needs authority to take decisions about these and to enforce them. In fact, authority vests in the owners of the organisation, an from there, it is delegated to the chief executive. The chief executive cannot perform all the activities, hence, he assigns some activities to his subordinates and delegates them authority. This process of delegation and redelegation from superiors to subordinates goes on till all the activities are assigned to persons by whom these are performed. Departmentation The process of dividing activities into units and subunits is referred to as departmentation. The term departmentation is used in a generic sense n is not only confined to the creation of such units as are called departments, but it includes divisions, sections and jobs also. Dividing up work calls or identification of total activities and classification of such activities into units and subunits. There are three bases for primary grouping of activities at the second level of the organization just below the top level. Units at the second level are commonly called departments when business functions are adopted as the pattern of grouping activities. Such units go by the name of divisions when either products manufactured or territories are adopted as the means of classifying activities. There are, however, two approaches to departmentation- top down and bottom-up approaches. In the top-down approach, activities are divided step by step downward form the chief executive’s job to the operating jobs. In the bottom-up approach, the division of activities is carried on in a reverse order. Starting form operating jobs, there arise sections form combining some correlated jobs, departments from combining some sections and finally the chief executive position form putting departments together. While the top-down approach gives emphasis on co-ordination and managerial action, the bottom-up approach gives emphasis on co-ordination and managerial action, the ottom-up approach focuses attention on employee performance. Although the top-down approach is easy for understanding the departmentation process, both the approaches are utilized in actual practice. Steps in Organisation The steps in organization may be stated as follows : 1. Determination and enumeration of activities. The required activities are spelled out from the objectives of the enterprise. The to tal work, operating an managerial, is broken down into component activities that are to be performed by all personnel. The breakdown of activities is carried as far down as to determine the job of each individual. 2. Grouping and assignment of activities. Correlated and similar activities are grouped into divisions or departments first. And these divisional or departmental act5ivities are further divided into sections and jobs. Different bases are adopted for dividing and subdividing activities into different groups or blocks of work. Enterprise functions like sales. Production or finance, the products manufactured and territorial regions are usually made the basis of primary grouping. Secondary grouping is made on the basis of geographical areas, types of customers, equipments used, process or constituent parts of the major enterprise function. 3. Allocation of fixed duties to definite persons. Definite job assignments are made to different subordinates for ensuring certainty of work performance. These job assignments are first made to different management members who, in turn, allocate the jobs among their subordinates. Along with the allocation of duties to different positions, each job is to be staffed by the placement of qualified personnel. To make any systematic recruitment and selection, job requirements are first ascertained by the allocation of duties to different positions, and on the basis of job descriptions, man specifications are prepared. In accordance with man specifications which indicate qualification and experience expected form candidates for different posts, positions are filled by selection, training and placement of individuals. 4. Delegation of authority. Corresponding to the nature of duties, commensurate authority must be granted to the subordinates for enabling them to make adequate work performance. As authority without responsibility is a dangerous thing, so responsibility without authority is an empty vessel. Authority and responsibility are correlated terms and they are terms to be constants companions. Delegation is a three tier concept that calls for assigning duties and delegating authority to subordinates and demanding accountability from subordinates. Wherever duties are assigned to subordinates, whether managers or operators, the other two aspects of delegation come into the picture. Division and subdivision of activities create a number of managerial and operating jobs which are bound together in a consistent pattern by the delegation process. Absence of delegation in any enterprise implies that one person is performing the whole work of operation and management with nobody else to assist him. In such a situation, no formal structure can be designed as there is no proliferation of activities into levels. Fore establishing any organization structure, it is obvious therefore that delegation is to be effected in some way or other.

Sample Informative Email

Sample Informative Email Dear sir/madam, It is a great pleasure for us that you have decided to order the goods from our company. You can avail all the facilities that we offer at any time. We have a customer care department that is functioning round the clock. If you face any difficulty at some stage of transaction or after it, feel free to contact us. We guarantee you that we will do our best to address your problem as soon as possible. The information regarding the order you have placed along with the detailed bills is attached to this letter. We are pleased to inform you that you can enjoy shopping from our concern along with enjoying the benefits we propose for the season. Being an esteemed and privileged customer, you are also allowed a 6% additional discount. Among the advantages, available at our online stores include: Easy payment facility. Free shipping to selected destinations. Full replacement guarantee for the items you purchase till a period of six months. Status tracking facility for the orders you place. Facility to combine orders which are open. Facility to change the option of payment any time before the actual delivery of the ordered goods. Facility to change the shipping option any time before the goods are dispatched according to your order. Guaranteed delivery within 30 days from the day of order. Option to change the address of delivery any time before the goods are dispatched. Possibility of cancellation of items which haven’t been shipped.

The Anatomy Of Love By Helen Fisher - 1336 Words

Evolutionary Perspective on Jealousy Jealousy is an emotion defined as the real or imagined loss of a partner to a third partner. It tends to have a negative connotation because in our society today there are myths regarding jealousy towards the people who experience this emotion. For example, those who feel jealousy have low self-esteem, or are considered immature, or have character defects. In the book, Anatomy of Love by Helen Fisher states that cultural values affect how we define adultery and our attitudes towards it. (1992:78) She goes on and talks about a poll that was conducted by the People magazine in 1986 where 74 % of the 750 respondents believed one does not have to have sexual intercourse with a person to be considered unfaithful. (1992:79). I believe that society does have an impact of what we perceived cheating is. Jealousy can be seen as an adaptive emotion because it exists so we can love. I have experience a personal situation where I felt jealousy as an emotional reaction towards my current partner. I felt jealousy when I saw my boyfriend in campus having lunch with a girl who I did not kno w. Concluding on what I was watching my boyfriend was cheating on me with that girl. I was surprised because my partner fail to communicate what was going on in the situation I was witnessing. I was jealous to see my boyfriend with another girl participating in an intriguing conversation, I felt like I was being replaced by this stranger. As I tried to seek clarityShow MoreRelatedThe Anatomy of Love by Helen Fisher2034 Words   |  8 PagesOur innate tendencies affect out behavior patterns in the life cycle. From love, sex, and marriage and the change from societies to past and future times. The discoveries of why we have mating traits and how they are used in many meanings such as a smile or the way a person speaks with their body. The forces of culture and environment take part in human involvement in the world. While men and women start to change roles and rights are broaden in a marriage. Along comes divorce in which happens soRead MoreEssay on Love the Right Chemistry by Anast asia Toufexis544 Words   |  3 PagesThe article love: the right chemistry by Anastasia Toufexis efforts to explain the concept of love from a scientific aspect in which an amateur will understand. Briefly this essay explains and describe in a scientific way how peoples stimulation of the body works when youre falling in love. The new scientific researches have given the answer through human physiology how genes behave when your feelings for example get swept away. The justification for this is explained by how the brain getsRead MoreResearch Paper for Love1613 Words   |  7 PagesRecklessly in Love. 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In other words, monogamy is just two people in a relationship for their mutual benefit, perhaps involving an extended family and children. Monogamy does not necessarily mean a life-long relationship, but it canRead MoreSolution Manual, Test Bank and Instructor Manuals34836 Words   |  140 PagesBlanchard-Fields (IM) Advanced Accounting 10e - Beams (SM+TB) Advanced Accounting 10e International version Floyd A. Beams H. Anthony Solution Manual Advanced Accounting 10e International version Floyd A. Beams H. Anthony Test Bank Advanced Accounting 11e fisher taylor Test Bank Advanced Accounting 11e Floyd Beams Joseph Anthony Solution Manual Advanced Accounting 11e Floyd Beams Joseph Anthony Test Bank Advanced Accounting 11e Paul Fischer Solution Manual Advanced Accounting 3e Jeter, Chaney SolutionRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. 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Illustration 4.5 The changing face of women The Zeitgeist of the late 1990s was captured by Helen Fielding (1997) in her highly successful book Bridget Jones’ Diary (that was later made into a film). This depicted an angst-ridden woman obsessed with her single status and calorie intake. Given that 19.1 per cent of women describe themselves as single

My Mother, If She Had Won Free Dance Lessons And The Cab...

Many stereotypes that address different types of people exist today. Stereotypes are popular, fixed, and oversimplified ideas that are typically associated with particular demographics. These ideas can be viewed negatively or positively. Stereotypes may foster or perpetuate misconceptions about some demographics. In the poems, â€Å"My Mother, If She Had Won Free Dance Lessons† and â€Å"The Cab Driver Who Ripped Me Off,† both written by Cornelius Eady, contain characters who are susceptible to misconceptions and prejudices due to their personal experiences. In â€Å"My Mother, If She Had Won Free Dance Lessons,† the speaker discusses his mother s condition and how their lives could have been different if she had become a dancer. Unfortunately, she was unable to pursue that career. Now, she spends her day doing absolutely nothing ( Line 8). This is one of the reasons why he refers to her as the neighborhood crazy lady ( Line 6). Seeing his mother in this state ca uses the speaker to wonder what life would be like if she was given the opportunity to dance in stanzas 3-6 ( Lines 20-40). In another poem, written by Eady titled, â€Å"The Cab Driver Who Ripped Me Off,† the speaker tells the listener about an encounter with a cab driver with prejudice. The cab driver was criticizing people who make money through unconventional means such as scamming. Meanwhile, the cab driver was also scamming the speaker by taking a round-a-bound way which increases the fare. In both of the texts, theShow MoreRelatedAutobilography of Zlatan Ibrahimovic116934 Words   |  468 Pagesdedicated to my family and friends, to those who have stood by my side, on good days and bad. I also want to dedicate it to all the kids out there, those who feel different and don t fit in. Those who are seen for the wrong reasons. It s OK to be different. Continue being yourself. It worked out for me. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER 1 Pep Guardiola, the coach in Barcelona, with his grey suits and troubled face, came up to me looking Read MoreProject Managment Case Studies214937 Words   |  860 PagesSTUDIES, SECOND EDITION - PROJECT MANAGEMENT CASE STUDIES, SECOND EDITION HAROLD KERZNER, Ph.D. Division of Business Administration Baldwin-Wallace College Berea, Ohio John Wiley Sons, Inc. This book is printed on acid-free paper. @ Copyright O 2006 by John Wiley Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmittedRead MoreManaging Information Technology (7th Edition)239873 Words   |  960 PagesChapter 12 Planning Information Systems Resources 519 Benefits of Information Resources Planning 519 Creating a Context for IS Resource Decisions Aligning IS and Business Goals 520 520 517 xi xii Contents Balancing the Trade-offs Between Standardization and Agility Obtaining IT Capital Investment Approvals 520 The Information Resources Planning Process 520 Assessing The Current Information Resources 521 Measuring IS Use and Attitudes 521 Reviewing the IS Organizational

Professional And Emotionally Receptive Attitude And Demeanor

Question: You must: participate in a guidance session role-play submit an action plan. Your assessor will be looking for evidence of your ability to: provide leadership through your own behaviour, including: professional conduct that promotes trust with internal and external contacts adjusting own interpersonal communication style to meet the organisations cultural diversity and ethical environment develop and/or implement processes and systems to manage difficulties, including: identifying and resolving conflicts and other difficulties according to organisational policies and procedures planning how to address difficulties providing guidance, counselling and support to assist co-workers in resolving their work difficulties. explain and discuss procedures for conflict resolution discuss relevant legislation interact with others through: adapting your personal communication style to model behaviour and build trust and positive working relationships playing a lead role in situations requiring effective collaboration get the work done through: taking responsibility for planning in collaboration with others developing action plans demonstrate writing skills through preparing action plans that incorporate appropriate vocabulary, grammatical structure and conventions. Answer: How to build trust with your colleague through assuming a calm, professional and emotionally receptive attitude and demeanor. This is one of the challenges for leaders to show their composure. This has become even more imperative since there has been change management requirements, in the face of amplified marketplace demands and growing competitive factors that has surrounded every industry now. The leaders must always wear down their emotions that is one of the first steps to gaining trust. These front-runners have such emotive self-discipline that even their body language does not indicate their inner emotions. Leaders must keep the professional aspects separate from their work especially when things dont go their way. Business and Commerce pronouncements and situations may not always play as planned due to a dynamically changing environment and office politics change a number of scenarios. As a leader, continue calmness and hence not get distrustful or think that you always must justify your thinking and actions. Leaders create the aura around the organizations that they serve. An optimistic approach can counteract disorder and permit a leader to sequence correct concluded any pessimism. Workforces feed off the outlook of these leaders through periods of ambiguity and uncertainty. There must be a fearless attitude and this builds confidence and trust in the team. Fear brings in vulnerability and hence must not be given into. Every bad situation can be faced with conviction and objectivity, this in turn will make the challenge manageable. Leaders who maintain their composure will never show any signs of doubt. They speak with conviction, confidence and authority whether they know the answer or not. When such leaders deliver something the trust in others goes up. How to adjust your personal communication style appropriately to meet the needs (both emotional and technical) of your colleague. This concept is related to the context or situation which demands the conversation. Thus before initiating the conversation one must remember the time and place for the same. Also look into the extent of conventionalism and formality that is required. Formal occasions like ceremonials and business presentations a more refined semantic and attire. Informal occasions, as an example, being with family or friends allows us to be more comfortable and spontaneous. Next comes the purpose of the interaction, this is related to adapting to the goal of the communication and accommodating the conversation along those lines. It is also very important to recognize the audience in question to build trust in the other person. We must also recognize the different personality types. An example is, extroverts like to communicate face-to-face, over the phone, or in large groups. Introverts prefer to talk through emails, text messages, and in one-on-one conversations. They often need time to reflect before answering questions. Some people want a more direct conversation which is to the point while others prefer more indirect communication where relationship building is more important. There should be a chosen method of communication, for the same in meetings there must be sharing of ideas but also be some listening sessions. There must also be some caution as far as the intention of the language is concerned. Hence communication be along those lines. How to discuss relevant grievance policies and procedures for resolving conflict in accordance with organisational and legislative requirements. In order to look into the aspects of grievance management we have to look into the corporate policy of every company. There are certain restrictions that every corporate policy encompasses. On top of this if an employee is not satisfied then he or she can look into the geographies or countries policy/law in such grievances. In such situation the role of the human resource manager or the peoples representative is crucial, he or she must look into the grievance objectively, policies on sexual and physical harassment are crystal clear and run along the lines of the countrys law in almost every organization. On the other hand there could be other grievances related to pay or promotions. In such cases the HR must clearly go by the rules in discussing the performance management issues. Performance is one of the key cause of grievance in any organization and hence there must be an objective documentation for the HR to suggest a particular hike in wage or no wage hike. We must then look at the policy of internal security and data confidentiality issues that may affect senior management. There could be other issues like colleagues having trouble working with one another these personal conflicts must be resolved with utmost professionalism and privacy since they tend to bring bad name to the company and also lead to gossip mongering within the organization How to discuss strategies for identifying root causes of conflict and for resolving the conflict. Root cause analysis is one of the key factors in determining the future course of action in the organization every issue will have a particular root-cause because that would be causing trouble for the employee. When an employee comes to the HR manager with an issue then the manager must look into the root cause of concern for the grievance. There may be times when the HR shall have to take a call and hence he/she must know the laws that govern the company in and out. The root cause is a key indicator of issues that may become huge if not taken in account. Hence for every grievance raised the root cause must be well documented. As far as strategies for root cause analysis goes it is simple communication with the concerned stakeholders. This will give a fair idea to the issues that concern each and every party. How to collaborate with your colleague to develop an action plan (completing the one from Appendix 2 you have already begun to implement by leading this session), including at least three actions your colleague to take to resolve the issue with their employee. The plan should include the following:- Initial round of discussions to understand the concern of the employee Meetings and discussions will the stakeholders involved A full round of discussions with all stakeholders involved and explaining the corporate policy which will be part of the discussion structure Providing recommendations/action as per the company policy to redress the grievance This is the broader plan of action for the grievance process. The initial discussions must be unbiased and objective in nature to understand the root cause of the problem. There must also be a clear understanding on the aspects of research and a clear law based structure in initiating action against the employee. There is also a paramount case of investigation in the entire process. If the grievance is severe then there must be a demarcated network of HR professionals to address the issue. Appendix 2 Action/activity Timeframe Person/s responsible Description of strategy/ tactic/rationale for action Resources, if required HR meeting with manager (rental) 7-10 days HR Business Partner (you) Discussion of the grievance/issue Company Policy Handbook/ Statute Book HR meeting with other stakeholders (Supervisors. Other employees etc) 11-20 days (will depend on the number of stakeholder and the nature of discussion) HR Business Partner (you) Understand the other side of the story. Talk about the policy structure and what are the alternatives Other emails/conversation records Meeting with all related employees 30-60 days HR Business Partner (you) and senior HR managers Relate the incident as per company policy and framework. Discuss possible solutions and moderate the discussion between the aggravated parties Final Notice/ Policy guidance Within 90 days HR Business Partner (you)

Toxic Waste Effects Essays (698 words) - Waste, Toxic Waste

Toxic Waste Effects Canada and all of the developed countries in the world produce some kind of toxic waste(s). It doesn't matter whether it's a chocolate bar wrapper or a canister of highly radioactive plutonium, they're potentially dangerous to us and/or our natural environment unless properly disposed of. Toxic waste is defined as any waste that is hazardous to human health or to our natural environment. According to the Institute of Chemical Waste Management, about 15% of our garbage is classified as toxic, and only 85% (approximately) of that is disposed of properly. The rest is either illegally dumped or accidentally mixed up with non-toxic garbage. That 15% may not seem like a lot, but when you consider the millions of tons of toxic waste that we produce every year, that 15% is enormous. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that we produce one ton of toxic wastes for every single person living in Canada every year. That means that the 15% represents about 4.2 million tons of toxic waste. Toxic wastes which are dumped in improper sites can seep into underground water supplies and contaminate huge areas. If the land that is intoxicated supports plant life, most of the plants and trees will die off. If the area is lived on by humans, it could cause serious illness or death. For example, an area by Niagara Falls (US side) was used during the 1930s by a chemical company to dump it's wastes. Most of them were hazardous, and the containers that held the chemicals later (after the company had gone out of business) began to leak. The chemicals spread for miles killing off plants and causing cancers and deadly diseases in humans. Included in these wastes was a chemical called dioxin... one ounce of it used under the right circumstances was enough to kill off everyone in living in Toronto. One of the most popular places to dump toxic wastes is in the oceans. People figured that the oceans were so huge that garbage would just disappear, and sink to the bottom. Well, they were wrong. Chemicals have turned up in dead whale bodies and dead fish in high enough concentrations to kill people. Medical wastes such as used needles and vials of blood (some carrying the AIDS virus) have washed up along the Atlantic coast and in one of the Great Lakes. Mutated and disfigured fish as well as other water animals have washed up dead or been caught by fishermen. The list of stories goes on, and it's still growing. Canada and the USA have created laws and regulations to try to stop the illegal dumping of toxic wastes and the destruction of our environment. The US has created a multi-billion dollar fund called SuperFund to try and clean up areas that have been contaminated. Canada is also working along those lines. The government has made a prioritized list of recognised hazardous dump sites, and is forcing the company that owns the land to pay for the clean-up of the area. If the company no longer exists, or the exact origin of the waste is unknown, the government will pay for the clean-up. Some toxic wastes can actually been turned into something useful, or in other words 'recycled'. For example, several kinds of metals can be recycled. Lead and silver (both are heavy metals, which are classified as toxic wastes) are both recycled and used again. About ? of the lead used in the country is recycled, and about ? of the silver is recycled. Other toxic wastes can be chemically 'transformed' into new products. This is done by adding chemicals to the waste, which causes it to change into something new. Philadelphia and Chicago transform sewage sludge into fertilizer, which is put to use on farms. A huge pile of toxic waste looms over Canada. This waste is not the product of some Natural disaster like a tidal wave or a hurricane. It is a man-made pile of deadly garbage that threatens our very existance. Who is responsible for this pile? The answer, is 'us'. We are the people who buy the cheap food which was grown with the help of chemical pestisides. We are the people who demand the electricity created by the nuclear power plants. We are our own worst enemies. Pogo, a comic strip character who I learned about last year in english once said... We have met the enemy, and he is us. Science