https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/adhesion_contract_contract_of_adhesion. This webpage contains some useful information about legal drafting certified translators will need when analysing different kind of contracts which are mostly governed by the Argentine Civil and Commercial Code.
Emotions that are freely experienced and expressed without judgment or attachment tend to flow fluidly. On the other hand, repressed emotions (especially fearful or negative ones) can zap mental energy and hope and lead to health problems, such as high blood pressure or digestive disorders.
Therefore, it's important for us to recognize and identify our thoughts and emotions, and to be aware of the impact they have—not only on each other, but also on our bodies, behavior, and relationships. As our awareness increases, we find it easier to recognize what we are thinking, how we are feeling, and our attitude towards the experience. We can then choose to adjust our thoughts and emotional responses.
Negativity and physical health
Chronic stress from negative attitudes and feelings of helplessness and hopelessness can upset the body's hormone balance and deplete the brain chemicals required for feelings of happiness, as well as have a damaging impact on the immune system. New scientific understandings have also identified the process by which chronic stress can actually decrease our lifespan by shortening our telomeres (the “end caps” of our DNA strands, which play a big role in aging).
Poorly managed or repressed anger (hostility) is also related to a slew of health conditions, such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, digestive disorders, and infection.
The importance of positivity
Scientist Barbara Fredrickson has shown that positive emotions have two important effects: they broaden our perspective of the world (thus inspiring more creativity, wonder, and options), and they build up over time, creating lasting emotional resilience and flourishing.
Dr. Fredrickson has spent years researching and publishing the physical and emotional benefits of positivity, including faster recovery from cardiovascular stress, better sleep,, fewer colds, and a greater sense of overall happiness. The good news is not only that positive attitudes—such as playfulness, gratitude, awe, love, interest, serenity, and feeling connected to others—have a direct impact on health and wellbeing, but that we can develop them ourselves with practice.
However, in our wish to defend against threat and loss in life, we tend to prioritize bad over good. While this is a tidy survival mechanism for someone who needs to stay hyper vigilant in a dangerous environment, the truth is that for most of us, this "negativity bias" means that we spend time ruminating over the minor frustrations we experience—bad traffic, a disagreement with a loved one—and ignoring the many chances we have to experience wonder, awe, and gratitude throughout the day.
Fredrickson has calculated that in order to offset the negativity bias and experience a harmonious emotional state, we need to experience three positive emotions for every negative one. This, she claims, can be done intentionally for those of us less “wired” to positivity. These positive emotions literally reverse the physical effects of negativity and build up psychological resources that contribute to a flourishing life.
Forgiveness
The attitude of forgiveness—fully accepting that a negative circumstance has occurred and relinquishing negative feelings surrounding the event—can be learned and can lead us to experience better mental, emotional and physical health. The Stanford Forgiveness Project trained 260 adults in forgiveness in a 6-week course.
The practice of forgiveness has also been linked to better immune function and a longer lifespan. Other studies have shown that forgiveness has more than just a metaphorical effect on the heart: it can actually lower our blood pressure and improve cardiovascular health as well.
Gratitude
Acknowledging the good aspects of life and giving thanks have a powerful impact on emotional wellbeing. In a landmark study, people who were asked to count their blessings felt happier, exercised more, had fewer physical complaints, and slept better than those who created lists of hassles.
Brené Brown has found that there is a relationship between hoy and gratitude,but with a surprising twist: it’s not joy that makes us grateful, but gratitude that makes us joyful.
Emotional resilience
Dr. Andrew Weil describes resilience as being like a rubber band—no matter how far a resilient person is stretched or pulled by negative emotions, he or she has the ability to bounce back to his or her original state. Resilient people are able to experience tough emotions like pain, sorrow, frustration, and grief without falling apart—in fact, some people are able to look at challenging times with optimism and hope, knowing that their hardships will lead to personal growth and an expanded outlook on life.
Resilient people do not deny the pain or suffering they are experiencing; rather, they retain a sense of positivity that helps them overcome the negative effects of their situation. Positive emotions have a scientific purpose—to help the body recover from the ill effects of negative emotions. Thus cultivating positivity over time can help us become more resilient in the face of crisis or stress.
The giant panda has long languished on the endangered species list, but an international monitoring group finally had some good news for it over the weekend.
The pandas were removed from the endangered list, along with the Tibetan antelope. But the monitors issued a grim warning about the fate of the eastern gorilla, which has moved one step closer to extinction. It also said that the plains zebra has become “near threatened” because of hunting.
Giant pandas are national symbol in China, their native habitat, and the I.U.C.N. said on Sunday that efforts by the Chinese government to reverse the slide of the population, using forest protection and reforestation, had been successful. The panda’s new designation is “vulnerable.”
The conservation union said researchers have cautiously increased estimates of the panda population in every study since 1985, but data from the most recent survey conducted between 2011 and 2014 removed any uncertainty about the rebound by the species. That study found an estimated 1,864 giant pandas in the wild, not counting cubs under the age of 18 months.
The one remaining source of concern, however, is a big one. The I.U.C.N. warned that climate change could destroy more than 35 percent of the animal’s bamboo habitat in the next 80 years, leaving its future in doubt.
Photo
A silverback mountain gorilla walked in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda in 2013.CreditThomas Mukoya/Reuters
“Whereas the decision to downlist the giant panda to vulnerable is a positive sign confirming that the Chinese government’s efforts to conserve this species are effective, it is critically important that these protective measures are continued, and that emerging threats are addressed,” the group wrote in its giant panda assessment.
China said it was less optimistic about the animal’s progress, however. The State Forestry Administration disputed the conservation group’s decision in a statement to The Associated Press, saying pandas struggle to reproduce in the wild and live in small groups spread widely apart.
“If we downgrade their conservation status, or neglect or relax our conservation work, the populations and habitats of giant pandas could still suffer irreversible loss, and our achievements would be quickly lost,” the forestry administration told the A.P. “Therefore, we’re not being alarmist by continuing to emphasize the panda species’ endangered status.”
The eastern gorilla has been a lot less lucky. The group changed the status of the species, one of the six great apes, from endangered to critically endangered after what it called “a devastating population decline” of more than 70 percent in the last 20 years.
The species lives in the mountains and jungles of the Democratic Republic of Congo, northwest Rwanda and southwest Uganda, and the group said long-term conflict in that part of Africa was responsible for the sharp decline in the gorilla’s numbers. The spread of firearms and militants in the wider region has also lead to an uptick in poaching and made it dangerous for conservation groups to access the area.
The eastern gorilla is composed of two subspecies whose combined population is now estimated to be fewer than 5,000, the group said.
“To see the Eastern gorilla — one of our closest cousins — slide toward extinction is truly distressing,” Inger Andersen, the Director General of the I.U.C.N. said in a statement. “Conservation action does work and we have increasing evidence of it. It is our responsibility to enhance our efforts to turn the tide and protect the future of our planet.”
Deforestation refers to the cutting, clearing, and removal of rainforest or related ecosystems into less biodiverse ecosystems such as pasture, cropland, or plantations.
What are the causes of deforestation?
Logging
Mining
Oil and gas extraction
Cattle ranching
Agriculture: Cash crops
Local, National, and International factors: development, land titles, government subsidies to attract corporations into developing countries, trade agreements (NAFTA, CAFTA), civil wars, debt, lack of resources, and lack of law enforcement.
Largest rainforests worldwide listed in descending order (from largest to smallest).
Amazon basin of South America.
Congo river basin of Central Africa.
S.E. Asia.
New Guinea.
Madagascar.
Overview of deforestation around the world:
Between 1960 and 1990, most of the deforestation occurred globally, with an increasing trend every decade.
Brazil has the highest annual rate of deforestation today.
Atlantic coast of Brazil has lost 90-95% of its rainforest.
Central America has 50% of its rainforests.
South America has 70% of its rainforests.
The Philippines have lost 90% of its rainforests.
Madagascar has lost 95% of its rainforests.
El Salvador has lost 70-85% of its rainforests due to heavy bombing during the civil war 1984-1985.
Sumatra has 15% of its rainforests left.
Only 6% of Central Africa's forests are protected by law.
Statics on Global Rates of Rainforest Destruction:
2.4 acres (1 hectare) per second: equivalent to two U.S.football fields.
149 acres (60 hectares) per minute.
214,000 acres (86,000 hectares) per day: an area larger than New York City.
78 million acres (31 million hectares) per year: an area larger than Poland.
On average, 137 species become extinct everyday; or 50,000 each year!
What are the consequences of deforestation?:
Environmental:
Extinctions
(loss of biodiversity of microbes (bacteria), plants, insects, animals,
indigenous peoples, etc.
Habitat
fragmentation. This disturbs the animals' habitat and may force them to
enter habitats which are already occupied. This can pose many problems
such as territorial conflicts, homelessness (loss of habitat), lack of food
availability, migration disturbances, etc.
Soil erosion
occurs when trees and plants are removed; the rain water washes the nutrients
in the top soil away.
Changes in watershed geomorphology.
Desertification
(dry, hot, arid conditions).
Edge effects
can change microclimates (small climates) which affect endemic
species (native species which can only live in specific environmental
and habitat conditions).
Climate change
(more carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, thus increasing the
effects of global warming).
Pollution
(ground, water and air pollution from oil extraction and mining chemicals).
Social impacts:
Loss of culture
(indigenous peoples subsistence living in the rainforest). People who
live in the rainforest depend on the natural environment for food, shelter,
materials for cooking, clothing, etc. If the forest is cut down or if
their environment becomes polluted from oil extraction and mining, they are
forced to move or risk starvation and sickness.
Displacement of people
(loss of farmland, forest resources, etc).
Social conflicts and
struggles over land and natural resources.
Conflicts over
racial and ethnic rights.
Poisoning from
oil and mining waste.
Economic
uncertainty (price fluctuations and high interest rates on outstanding
international loans with The World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
What can we do to STOP or at
least lessen the amount of deforestation and conserve our own use of natural
resources such as wood, oil and gas, electricity, minerals and elements, and
water? Here are some ideas:
Always use both sides
of paper when writing, drawing, photo-copying, faxing, etc.
Recycle paper, cans,
glass, and plastic.
Read the newspaper
on-line.
Buy paper products
made from recycled paper: notebook paper, paper towels, toilet paper,
books, etc.
Use pencils until they
are stubs!
Encourage your
parents, relatives, and friends to buy furniture and wood that is Certified. That means the wood was legally cut-down.
If you buy a product
and you notice they use wood chips to package it, write to the company and
suggest they use another packaging material.
Trees get cut down for
cattle to graze. Instead of eating meat, think of eating other
sources of protein such as fish, soy, beans, whole-wheat, and nuts.
Buy organic fruits and
vegetables. That means there are no insecticides or pesticides
(poisonous chemicals) sprayed on the food. If these chemicals kill
insects and pests that try and eat the vegetables, think about how harmful
they can be to you and the environment.
Instead of buying gold
or diamonds, which are mined and cause environmental damage, consider
jewelry that is made from materials that are not mined...such as glass.
Encourage your
parents, relatives, and friends to drive fuel efficient cars that get good
gas mileage. Hybrid and bio-diesel cars get great mileage and use
less or no gasoline.
Even better, whenever
possible, walk, bike, carpool or use mass transit (bus or train).
Save electricity by
turning off lights, t.v., radio, computer, etc when you are not using
them.
Save water by NOT
taking baths; instead take quick showers (turning off the water while you
soap up) and then turning it back on to rinse quickly.
While washing your
hands and brushing your teeth, turn off the water.
Tidal energy is a form of hydropower that converts the energy of the
tides into electricity or other useful forms of power. The tide is created
by the gravitational effect of the sun and the moon on the earth causing
cyclical movement of the seas. Tidal energy is therefore an entirely
predictable form of renewable energy, which can be harnessed in two forms:
Tidal Range
Tidal Range
is the vertical difference in height between the high tide and the
succeeding low tide.
Artificial
tidal barrages or lagoons may be constructed to capture the tide. Turbines in
the barrier or lagoon generate electricity as the tide floods into the
reservoir; water thus retained can then be released through turbines, again
generating electricity once the tide outside the barrier has receded.
Tidal Stream
Tidal Stream
is the flow of water as the tide ebbs and floods, and manifests itself as tidal
current. Tidal Stream devices seek to extract energy from this kinetic
movement of water, much as wind turbines extract energy from the movement of
air.
The sea
currents created by movement of the tides are often magnified where water is
forced to flow through narrow channels or around headlands. There are a number
of locations around the coastline of the UK where the tidal stream resource is
high, and it is in these areas where early technology developments are taking
place to explore the prospect of harnessing tidal energy.
Ramsey Sound
and St Davids Head, both in Pembrokeshire, are two such locations and where
TEL is testing and demonstrating its DeltaStream technology.
