Abstract This paper discusses the market opportunities for biodegradable shopping bags in Nova Scotia. It analyses the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of biodegradable bags, as well as reusable bags and plastic bags, in order to identify the key internal and external factors that need to be taken into consideration when analyzing where the biggest market opportunities lie. The paper includes the complete text of the proposed Bill 390 (which will prohibit the distribution of non-biodegradable plastic bags), as well as presentation slides for the information in the paper.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Definition
Current Market Opportunities in Nova Scotia
Biodegradable Bag Manufacturers in Nova Scotia
SWOT Analysis for Biodegradable Bags SWOT Analysis for Reusable Bags SWOT Analysis for Plastic Bags Laws and International Trends that Could Initiate a Market Shift
What is the State of the Debate in Canada?
Bans and International Trends
Conclusions
Recommendations
Appendices
From the Paper "Competition from reusable bags is another very real threat to the market for biodegradable bags since there is a risk that "with the sale of reusable bags, consumers could wean themselves off plastic bags altogether." As was mentioned in the Weaknesses section of this report, reusable bags are environmentally preferable to all disposable bag alternatives, including biodegradable bags; in addition, evidence suggests that reusable bags are actually becoming trendy while plastic bags are becoming unfashionable. A designer cloth bag proudly emblazoned with the words "I'm not a plastic bag" sold out the day it was released at Holt Renfrew stores across Canada and "those lucky enough to snag the $18 bag can now sell it on eBay for more than $150." Therefore, although biodegradable bags are different from conventional plastic bags, their similar appearance may decrease their social acceptability if these trends continue. Furthermore, "major lobby groups [such] as the Canadian Plastics Industry Association, the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors and the Retail Council of Canada promote reduction and recycling over [biodegradable] plastic bags." "
Abstract This paper looks at San Francisco's decision to ban plastic bags in grocery stores and points out that other cities may soon follow San Francisco's example. The paper then explains why banning plastic bags may not be the ideal option and discusses how stores could replace plastic bags with compostable or paper bags.
Outline:
Consider the Facts about Plastic Grocery Bags Why Banning Plastic Bags Is Wrong
What Happens If Plastic Bags Are Not Banned
Action to Solve the Problem of Plastic Bags
From the Paper "Imagine the number of plastic bags used throughout the United States. Charlie Goodyear (2007) for the Chronicle states that it takes over 400,000 gallons of oil to manufacture 100 million bags. San Francisco voted ten to one that plastic bags used at grocery stores be banned. While San Francisco is the first state to ban plastic bags, more cities may follow their example. Consider the facts about plastic bans, compare the facts about compostable bags and paper bags, and decide to take immediate action about these plastic bags. "
Abstract The goal of this paper is not to make a judgment as to whether air bags in cars are good or bad, but rather to look at the political changes that caused them to come about in the first place. In order to do this, several things are examined in order to gain a full understanding of the issue. First, policy changes had to be made in order for air bags to be placed in cars. What the policy was like before air bags and what the policy was like after air bags are very important to an understanding of how and why they came about. Second, placing air bags in cars was not the sole decision of one person or group. Many individuals had varied and strong opinions about air bags, and many politicians were aware that the amount of votes they received in upcoming elections could be affected by their stance regarding the air bag. Because of this, this paper looks at the air bag issue as it relates to Congress, the President, interest groups, scientists and the general public.
From the Paper "Stage one is the time before air bag legislation was enacted. It is important to examine this time, because it gives an indication of why air bag legislation was so important in the political arena. While politics is not all about votes, they are obviously a large part of it. Without enough votes, a person or a bit of legislation cannot succeed. Because of this, politicians who voted in favor of air bags in cars needed to be certain that the voting public actually wanted them. It turned out that the voting public did want airbags, or some other form of additional safety in their vehicles. Where the trouble came from were the automakers themselves (Carter, 1985). Not only did it cost more money to put air bags in vehicles, but many automakers were not convinced that air bags would actually save lives. Politicians had to be very careful here, because the automakers were large and influential."
Abstract Plastic and paper bags are considered to be substitutes for one another. The end objective of the life-cycle assessments performed on the two products in this paper, is to compare the life-cycle costs of the two products for the purpose of recommending a production strategy for a company that produces bags. Following life-cycle assessments for paper bags and plastic bags, the two products are compared, with the emphasis placed on the full costs of the products for the manufacturing company. Recommendations and conclusions based on this comparison are then presented. The paper includes tables.
From the Paper "The substance releases associated with the manufacture, distribution, use, and disposal of paper bags create a number of stressors. These stressors, in turn, have an impact on the ecology, human and other animal welfare, and resource conservation. The magnitude of releases into the air, water, and land are not enormous; however, the are nevertheless substantial."
Abstract In the form of a speech, this paper details the problems of smog, acid rain, and depletion of the ozone layer. The paper details major technology and regulations that have greatly reduced some of the pollution including, catalytic converters, alternative fuels, electrostatic precipitation, bag filtration, the Clean Air Act, fluidized bed combustion, and HCFCs. Discusses water problems, including lead and methyl mercury, and legislation like the Clean Water Act.
From the Paper "Dear Congresswomen and Congressmen, Our environment is a pressing issue in our society today. Due to societies' demand on governmental organizations to improve the condition of our environment, I am submitting to you today a 25-year program that will be effective in reducing pollution in the air and water. I urge you to look into the issues presented and make an informed decision that will help to improve the quality of our environment."
Abstract This paper reviews and compares the books 'Charlotte's Web' by E.B. White and 'The Paper Bag Princess' by Robert Munsch. According to this paper, the books both have values that are common but different ideologies. Both books, the author imparts with profound ideas and messages.
From the Paper "'Charlotte's Web' and 'The Paper Bag Princess' contain very profound themes relating to the most important matters of life. Certain values are common to both books, and both authors challenge current ideologies. They use many of the same techniques to do so. However, White supports other ideologies very strongly. For the most part, White and Munsch are similar, but also differ in their view of cultural values. 'The Paper Bag Princess' begins in nostalgia for the enchanting aspects of the Middle Ages such as castles, dragons and princesses."
Abstract This paper analyzes the mature theme of survival as discussed in Rebecca Lukens' work "The Critical Handbook of Children's Literature." Using "Hana's Suitcase" and "The Paper Bag Princess" as examples, the paper looks closely at the plot, characterization and setting of these two works in order to determine the mature theme and its effects upon the readers.
From the Paper "Children's literature can often be a source of education for children and this instruction can either be personal or school-related data. Rebecca Lukens, author of "A Critical Handbook of Children's Literature," explains how themes can be instrumental in this education. Some pieces of children's literature, such as "Hana's Suitcase" and "The Paper Bag Princess" have included such mature themes to engage their readers in their stories. The mature theme of survival, as found in the texts of "Hana's Suitcase" by Karen Levine and "The Paper Bag Princess" by Robert Munsch, is illustrated through the use of plot, character and setting. The plot of "Hana's Suitcase" shows examples of the mature theme of survival. As Lukens states, the theme is "one that enlarges our understanding and the one we discover for ourselves" (93)."
Abstract In this paper the author begins by making a direct comparison to the American Hymn, Amazing Grace, and Jonathan Kozol's profoundly disturbing profile of the lives of the children of Mott Haven, in the South Bronx. The author moves on to examine Kozol's book in depth and his findings regarding the children of the South Bronx. He concludes by comparing the "Children of Plenty" with what he regards as the "throwaways", the children who he considers have nothing and no future.
From the paper:
?Like children everywhere, they vacillate between child-like innocence and alarmingly grown-up insights; but this is not the suburban version of ?growing up too fast;? they have seen junkies shooting up in the hallways of their buildings, gang members bagging dope and loading guns on the fire escape. Death is accepted as the passage to a better place. ?
Abstract This paper explores the nature of the City of the Angels looking at a very mixed bag of primary sources about the nature of commerce and the city. The paper also looks at how the city has been defined by the nature of 20th century and now 21st century capitalism. It also looks at the way the suburb has been defined by capitalism and the ways in which Los Angeles as a city that cannot exist or be understood in isolation, has also been defined by the economics of suburbs and by the ways in which the bright promise of a city on the edge of the continent becomes so easily tarnished.
From the Paper "We may borrow an opening line of a famous Russian novel and bend it to our own purposes, we might say that while every city is unhappy in its own ways, every suburb is unhappy in precisely the same way. This aphorism that we have just coined may help us to understand the history of the city of Los Angeles ? although the history of this great American city is in fact one of the most difficult of all urban histories to write. It is difficult to talk about the nature of this city because it is not exactly a city ? if one's model of a city is a place like New York City that is. But it is also a difficult city to define and to describe if one is attempting to describe it as a suburb. For while in the popular imagination Los Angeles may be nothing more than a suburb (although one imagines that its reputation for being a suburb is one based, again, in East Coast sensibilities), it is not in fact a classic bedroom community. Los Angeles is both suburb and city, both Dream Factory and home, a city of significant and fascinating contradictions."
Tags: ethnic, struggle, natural, disaster, capitalism, city, american, image
Abstract This paper examines three issues which would assist in the recycling process. The first suggestion is that all beverage containers be re-usable, the second suggests that all household and businesses sort their garbage into separate containers; and the third issue suggests that consumers pay for plastic bags at the supermarket. The advantages of each of these issues are discussed.
From the Paper "There are a multitude of benefits to be gained from requiring that all beverage containers be reusable. First, refillable or reusable beverage containers greatly reduce our impact on the environment without extra cost. As long as they achieve a certain number of refills or 'trips' (i.e., generally around 10) to at least overcome the impact of their initial production, refillables reduce waste, minimize the use of materials and energy, and reduce pollution and litter. This is because the overall impact of a container is shared amongst each of its many refills."
From the Paper "Safety in the automobile is an issue that automakers face only when they have to. With rare exceptions, car manufacturers do not take the initiative in including safety equipment because they argue that doing so increases the costs of cars and decreases their market share. Automakers argued against the requirement that seat belts be standard equipment for these reasons, and argued against including air bags for the same reasons. Yet air bags have become commonplace in automobiles, and are likely to be standard equipment in most cars before the end of the century. In addition to systems which help minimize injuries in front impact collisions, air bags are being developed which can minimize injury in side impact collisions and even keep freight protected. This research examines how air bags work and how they have been ..."
From the Paper "Research Proposal: The Relative Effectiveness of the Combined Use of Air Bags and Seat Belts in Enhancing Automobile Driver and Passenger Safety
The Problem and Its Setting
The Statement of the Problem
This research proposes to evaluate the factors that may affect relative effectiveness (compared to other forms of passive restraint) of the combined use of air bags and seat belts in enhancing automobile driver and passenger safety.
The Subproblems
The first subproblem. The first subproblem is to determine the effect, if any, that the size of the automobile (subcompact, compact, and so forth) has on the relative effectiveness of the combined use of air bags and seat belts in enhancing automobile drive..."
Abstract Discusses the Coleman Company's development of the graphite flashlight. Early manufacturing of quality camping products including lanterns, tents, sleeping bags, portable stoves and ice chests.
History of company. Patents. Merger with Sunbeam Company. Cost, availability, materials and manufacturing process of the graphite flashlight. Expansion into hardware line. Illustrations.
From the Paper "Introduction
The Coleman Company built its reputation on lanterns used for camping, but the company also manufactures tents, sleeping bags, portable stoves, ice chests and many other products designed for outdoor leisure use. It has a reputation for high.quality products and was, until recently, a publicly owned corporation. Today, the company is part of the larger Sunbeam Company, although it is operated as an independent subsidiary. One of its product lines, the graphite flashlight, follows in the tradition of the company's original lantern products. This research considers the history of Coleman in general, and the development and manufacture of the graphite flashlight in particular."
Abstract This research develops marketing and financial data relevant to the introduction of a personal care cleansing system for use in hospital, nursing home, home health care or emergency care environments. The data developed for this report are presented in relation to (1) product description, (2) competing or substitute products, (3) market potential and pricing strategy, (4) major cost considerations, (5) break even analysis, (6) master budget, and (7) support costs. The data developed are then summarized, conclusions are drawn, and recommendations are made.
From the Paper "At present, Incline Technologies charges comparable prices for Bag Bath. While Incline Technologies may believe that, because Bag Bath uses a non-soap cleansing solution, their product will be perceived to be superior to Comfort Bath, which uses a soap product as a cleansing solution. Incline Technologies may or may not be correct in assuming that a non-soap is superior to a soap cleansing solution. The important factor, however, is not the validity of this belief. The important factor is how the products are perceived by customers. Based on comparative sales levels, it is obvious that users of basinless cleansing systems do not share the beliefs of Incline Technologies in relation to the superiority of a non-soap cleansing solution."
Abstract The lysosome is very important in the process of intracellular digestion and is therefore found in every single eukaryotic cell. hey play an important part in cell function and vitality. This paper is divided into five parts: An introduction to the lysosome, background information, lysosome pathway and integration into other cellular processes and, finally, specific lysosomal functions and malfunctions the lysosome can incur.
From the Paper "Lysosomes play major roles in endocytosis, phagocytosis, and autophagy. The enzymes used to digest the biological polymers are acid hydrolases that are only functional at an acidic pH, rendering the lysosome's enzymes nonfunctional if released into the neutral cytoplasm. Endocytosis is the process in which a cell takes up material from outside the cell membrane. This process not only depends on lysosomes to digest the material but also forms the lysosomes. Transport vesicles fuse with endosomes containing the material taken up by endocytosis to form lysosomes. The acid hydrolases breakdown the polymers, ridding the cell of harmful intruders. Phagocytosis involves taking up large particles such as bacteria or aged cells rather than extracellular material. Phagosomes take up the large particles and then fuse with lysosomes, resulting in the digestion of the contents."
