STEM Jobs Could be the Solution to Unemployment in the U.S.

In the United States, jobs are increasingly requiring a STEM education in their employees. STEM related jobs (anything ranging from science, technology, engineering, and mathematical jobs) would increase by 17 percent over the next decade. By increasing the number of workers with STEM education, the 7% unemployment rate could drop, and more people can return to work. A bachelor degree is not required for all jobs, and some only require technical training. Another advantage in STEM jobs is that workers get a higher pay than other workers do. They earn up to a 26 percent greater wage than non-STEM workers do. Organizations have taken initiatives to promote STEM, starting at primary education. They promote subjects such as math and science to students from elementary school all the way to the university level. Organizations such as Lead the Way, Achieve, and Techbridge, have worked closely with minority female students and encouraged STEM education.

If the STEM movement were to be successful among students, the unemployment problem in our nation could be counteracted. With the necessary skills, educated people could fill the vacant job places in the science, technology, and mathematical fields, which in turn would benefit the economy. Higher salaries would lead to more spending and business growth. On the other hand, if the movement is not successful, the empty job slots will remain. People tend to stay away from STEM jobs or get discouraged because it seems too difficult. Mathematics is not everyone’s favorite subject, and at glance, it is not attractive to students. In addition, many people do not know what STEM is or what kind of jobs does it include. Something needs to be done to further promote math and science to students. Part of the problem could be that students have difficulty in understanding the subjects themselves. If a student does not understand something, that student tends to eventually give up and move to something else.

Possible solutions would be further educating the public about STEM and its opportunities, help the students who are struggling in math and science, and changing the unpopular connotation that math and science have. Other countries such as South Korea and Canada have students with a high proficiency in mathematics, whereas the United States does not. This may have to do with the way teachers teach students at their public or private schools or with the way school districts run the education of the students. Maybe it is just the students themselves who are just not motivated enough. Education in the United States works not just towards math and science, but also to a whole range of different subjects such as English, social studies, arts, and foreign languages. The freedom to choose in this country is prevalent, and students study what is necessary in order to achieve their dream. Some people pursue a career regardless of their future income or success. True success comes from within. It is the feeling that one gets when they have done something right.

Based on http://www.theatlantic.com/sponsored/chevron-stem/2013/10/new-national-education-imperative/29/

Fossil Fuel Subsidies Harm the World and Its People

The world is spending billions of dollars on subsidies on fossil fuels. According to the Overseas Development Institute, wealthy countries are spending more on fossil fuel subsidies than what they are spending on helping poorer nations combat climate change. Based on the International Monetary Fund and the International Agency, a fossil subsidy consists of national governments giving financial aid to coal, gas, and oil producers and consumers.

                For example, in 2011,the United States provided farmers with a fuel tax exemption worth a billion dollars, $1 billion to the strategic petroleum reserve, and half a billion for coal, gas, and oil research and development. In the same year, Germany provided $1.9 billion euros to the coal sector. Britain provided tax concessions worth 280 million euros for oil and gas production. Rich governments have not attempted to put a price on carbon and to promote companies to use alternative resources.

                In developing countries such as Pakistan, Venezuela, and Indonesia, the government gives subsidies in an attempt to help the poor people with lower fuel prices. These countries are spending more money on these subsidies than on public health by more than double. The people benefited from the subsidies are the providers of the fossil fuels, and the subsidies have a negative impact the people in poverty who pay taxes. According to Kevin Watkins, Executive Director of the Overseas Development Institute, “the top 20 percent of the societies get about half of the total subsidy package”.  Most of the energy support, about 75 percent, from international banks went to fossil fuel projects in some of the top high emitting developing nations. In addition, global subsidies for fossil fuels are six times higher than the subsidies given for renewable energy. The ODI hopes that countries make an agreement that benefits the government, consumers, and the environment.

                Developing countries place a higher concern on fossil fuels than on the education and health of their people. The residents of the countries, especially the poor, are paying the consequences for the government’s decision. They pay taxes but receive little benefits from the government, who provide the rich with more money through the subsidies. In developed countries, the option of using renewable energy exists, but for some reason, the government still latches on fossil fuels as the primary source of energy. By consuming fossil fuels, the world is accelerating climate change; if the countries’ government placed restrictions on the consumption of fossil fuels, the world will cause less damage to the environment. The gap between the rich and poor will lessen, and the government will provide people with the services they need for their health and well being.

Based on  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24833153

Global Wine Shortage

The world is undergoing a wine shortage as the consumer demand outmatches the supply. In 2012, the demand for wine surpassed supply by over 300 million cases. Production dropped to its lowest levels, and global production has been declining since 2004 when supply surpassed demand by approximately 600 million cases. According to Morgan Stanley’s analysts, global wine consumption had risen since 1996, with the exclusion of the 2008-2009 year. Global consumption is at about 3 billion cases per year. Currently, more than a million wine producers exist, and together they make about 2.8 billion cases per year. The analysts predict that inventories will be reduced soon as previous vintages, or older wine products, supply current consumption. The analysts tie this occurrence with the decrease in production in Europe due to inclement weather and other factors. The total production in Europe decreased by ten percent in the previous year and fell by twenty-five percent since its zenith in 2004. While production has been declining in Europe, it has been increasing at a steady pace in the Western Hemisphere. It seems that the New World will benefit the most from the increasing demand on global markets.

                The wine industry is undergoing an imbalance of the supply and demand curves as production decreases in the European countries. The supply used to exceed the demand in the previous years, but as wine suppliers reduced their production, the opposite has happened. Consumers are demanding more wine than what is being produced. The demand curve has been shifted to the right, which increases the price of the good produced, in this case wine. The supply curve has also shifted, but to the left, which in turn increases the price for wine while it provides a smaller quantity. Wine producers see this as an opportunity to charge more for wine. Europe is also trying to sell older wine produced and leftover from the previous year and it went under poor harvest recently, so it makes sense that less wine is produced. What European countries probably did not count on was that the producers from the New World would be able to take advantage of this situation. Wine producing countries such as Chile, Argentina, United States, South Africa, and New Zealand, are increasing their wine production, thus enabling them to provide the amount of wine that Europe is not able to offer to the global consumers and earn more profit. This can be beneficial to the developing countries such as Argentina, South Africa, and Chile, for increased trade means more revenue for the countries. This is especially good for Chile since wine production and grape agriculture plays a key role in its economy.

Based on http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-24746539

Businesses Benefit from Consumers Who Want to Smell Like a Rose

Consumers spend billions of dollars every year around the world on products that will help improve their appearance or fragrance. Cosmetic products such as deodorants, perfumes, and makeup will create revenue of approximately $48.5 billion dollars this year in the United States. This is not including personal hygiene products such as toothpaste and soap. Procter & Gamble and Unilever, giants in the personal care industry, made more than $150 billion dollars last year on products such as Head & Shoulders, Q-Tips, and Gillette. Recently, the post-shower products have been becoming more popular, and there is an increase in options available. Products that theoretically allow people to forgo without showers are now available and used by consumers. One can go without showering for days if desired. Products that allow your clothes to smell fresh and clean can delay people from having to wash their clothes.  

Dr. Amy Derick, a dermatology instructor at Northwestern University, points out that there are more reasons that people should take showers other than for the sake of smelling good. Showering helps avoid oily hair and scalp, which prevents dandruff from formulating. Washing our face cleans impurities gathered from pollutants we encounter every day. It also helps keep bacteria in check. According to Dr. Hirsch, director of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, people make judgments based on smell. People connect good scents to good people and bad scents to bad people. He also states that smells have an effect on people’s moods.

Companies that sell wipes for clothes aim at smokers. Smokers tend to try to mask the smell of cigarettes as it has become more noticeable due to the availability of no smoking areas in restaurants and other public places.

As the population continues to expand, the number of people in the market to buy personal hygiene products increases, which in turn causes an increase in demand.  Companies selling such products benefit from high profits and create new products that will allow consumers to smell good without the need to take showers or clean their clothing. Consumers see this as an opportunity to be lazy and not take showers even though smelling bad can potentially exclude people from socializing with others. People did not care much about how they smelled until recently when products such as perfumes were available to people other than the high class.  It has become a socially accepted view in the United States that people should shower daily and wear deodorant to avoid smelling bad, so it is no surprise that companies that sell such products gain high revenue. It is considered a necessity here, even though theoretically people can go without it and survive. Yet, in this modern world, appearances matter. For interviews and first impressions, people always want to look their best, for their futures depend on the outcome of those events. In addition, it is part of popular culture to buy perfumes and other body products. Celebrities are selling their own brands all the time. Advertisements for shampoo and acne treatments bombard the TV constantly as well. With so much pressure and influences to buy the products, consumers tend to demand it more.

Based on http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/scent-human-big-business-smelling-rose-214505745.html

So Money Doesn't Grow on Trees, but Gold Does?

There has been a recent discovery of microscopic gold particles in Eucalyptus trees in Australia. Traces of gold have been found in the leaves, twigs, and bark of the trees by using the Australian Synchrotron, a machine that helps identify matter by displaying it in detail. Scientists infer that the trees had absorbed the gold from deep underground while they were taking in water from the soil. They also infer that there is a gold deposit underneath the trees. It is uncertain whether the traces of gold were windblown or whether the tress truly absorbed the particles through their roots, so the researchers ran tests to find out. The researchers also view this new discovery as an option of finding ores in hard to reach areas. Although the trees themselves do not have enough gold to amount to something substantial, they can be used as indicators of where there are gold deposits. The presence of the gold particles indicates that there is a great treasure, a gold deposit, meters underground. According to Dr. Lintern, an Australian geochemist from CSIRO, the discovery brings a new method of finding metals that is efficient and less expensive than the previous methods. It lessens the damage done to the environment since it only requires a sample of the trees, and it saves money for the people who seek metals. The method can possibly be used with other metals such as iron.

Since gold has been discovered in trees, specifically in Eucalyptus trees, it is possible that people will cut them to dig underneath the trees in search of the precious ore. Miners find this new discovery extremely positive, for gold discoveries have declined by almost half. With the price of gold at over a thousand dollars an ounce, it is no wonder that the discovery has sparked the interest in these ore-seeking people. Gold is high in demand since there are people who are willing and able to purchase such a luxury, but recently it has been difficult to find, thus making the supply low. Now that a new method of finding gold is available, miners will be able to find gold more easily. There would be less need to use drilling as a way to track gold, and the new method allows for investigation in smaller areas versus large areas undergoing drilling tests. Since the trees provide a cheaper way of finding gold, the profit gained by miners increases. More resources of gold will be found, and the supply will increase.

Based on http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/10/131022-gold-eucalyptus-leaves-mining-geology-science/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24628241