Consider the role that agriculture plays in our society, including its Essay

Consider the role that agriculture plays in our society, including its enviromental implications - Essay Example Farming, which supplies life itself to the human race also contributes to soil erosion and polluted water. Farmers and large agricultural corporations must clear trees to find land that will sustain crops. Wind and water passes over barren land which initiates erosion, a condition which has been caused by poor farming practices or deforestation. Cattle are generally raised on the eroded, previously farmed land which further degrades the soil. â€Å"Such practices tend to lead to rapid soil degradation as most soils are too poor to sustain agriculture† (â€Å"Underlying Causes,† 1999). Eroding soil mixes with clean water supplies thus reducing the amount of available, life-giving water for an increasing number of people. The soil that is washed into the drinking water contains toxins, pesticides, fertilizers and industrial wastes which not only restricts the supply of potable water but makes its way into the watershed underground, rivers, streams, lakes and eventually in to the ocean and gulf waters which creates large areas of ‘dead zones’ where no living thing can survive. Soil degradation occurs when using chemical fertilizers which break down the chemical composition of the soil. â€Å"Many scientists observed a gradual decrease of soil organic matter content in soils, as well as a decrease of soil biological activity in particular, in relation to chemical uses† (â€Å"Soils retrogression†, 2007). The combination of erosion and degradation results in desert-like conditions where neither plants nor animals can survive but this problem can be overcome by implementing proven agricultural practices which enhance and rebuild the soil. â€Å"Rebuilding is possible through the improvement of soil structure, addition of organic matter and limitation of runoff† (â€Å"Soils retrogression,† 2007). These erosion reducing

Monopoly and Microsoft Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Monopoly and Microsoft - Essay Example As will be demonstrated in this brief analytical response, it is the belief of this author that an monopoly, regardless of its shape, size, or form, is ultimately destructive to the market and harmful to the end consumer (Kapoor, 2009). As such, the case of Microsoft and a discussion of economic theory, as well as the behavior that Microsoft has indicated over the past several decades, will be engaged as a means of understanding this particular approach. Furthermore, it is the hope of this author that the reader will come to a more profound level of understanding with respect to the fact that monopolies are ultimately harmful and do not represent a net benefit to the society as a whole (figures 1 and 2 within the appendix of this brief work demonstrate the harm that a monopoly can have with regards to increased prices paid by the end consumer). Monopoly and Microsoft: In understanding the monopoly that Windows has on the user experience of operating a PC, one should not only look to the way in which the firm dominates the operating system itself. Instead, a quick consideration of recent history reveals that Microsoft has long cultivated the monopoly that it now holds (Ohlhausen, 2004). For instance, Microsoft purposefully packaged Internet Explorer within Windows 95 and after as a means of decreasing the market presence and overall level of profitability that Netscape could have in the market (Gisser, 2011). As this was an effective tool towards decreasing competition, and Microsoft soon learned the benefit of packaged software’s ability to further define the market that it had already captured, much the same technique was employed with regards to the audio/video player of Windows Media Player (Vogelstein, 2004). Realizing the a litany of different startups were threatening to take market share from Microsoft, the same strategy of packaging Windows Media Player into the operating system as a means of integrating the product with what can only be describe d as a captive market (Greene et al. ,2004). As can be firmly noted, the monopolistic model of competition is ultimately harmful to the market and to the consumer. The only entity that benefits from such a model is obviously the producer. As figure 1 and figure 2 both denote, a certain level of deadweight loss is portended by the monopoly. As a graphical representation helps the reader to understand, this deadweight loss is actually stolen from the equilibrium price and demand; thereby making the good under monopolistic competition greatly higher priced than it would be in normal competition. As previously denoted, this in and of itself is engaged by the monopoly seller as a means of incurring further profits. Figure 1: Figure 2: Microsoft’s Approach to Profitability and the Engagement of the Monopoly as a Function of Capitalist Drive Likewise, in seeking to understand the approach that Microsoft has engaged, it can only be defined as one that is bounded by rational self inte rest in the sense of continuing to accrue further levels of profitability and continue to integrate into further markets (Cohen et al., 1999). Even a cursory review into the current time does not reveal a Microsoft that allows its fate to be pinned upon the success or failure of an operating system; rather, when one looks at the face of Microsoft, one can see a firm that has recently expanded to purchase a controlling