Dominga
Johnson
Professor
Barker5/13/15
ESL 101
Persuasive Essay
Cravings for the Shine Rocks
Should companies dig gold on the
surface of the earth? Earth is a planet
where human and wildlife live. It has many sources which include biodiversity, minerals,
mountains and waters. Human and wildlife depend on earth resources for their
survival. However, today many companies are extracting gold from different parts
of the world. Many countries are
participating in gold mining. These countries include Peru, Chile and
Guatemala. Guatemala government has been accepting foreign investment projects.
The government should not allow gold mining companies to grant permission to
extract gold in Maya community property. Removing gold from Guatemala territory
has many consequences such as environment destruction, health problem and
governmental violation.
Currently, gold mining destroys the environment.
It impacts people and wildlife in the mining area. Before gold can be removed
from the earth, miners are required to clear
trees and other plants. Gold Corp from Canada established a mining site in
Sipacapa, Guatemala. As soon as the miners started the mining operation, tall
trees and green vegetation were destroyed. Many birds such as doves and
quetzals live on the mountain that was cleared by the miners. The destruction
of the bird habitat put them at the risk of extinction. Moreover, Gold Corp
used explosions to make it easy to access crushed rocks that contain gold. According
to a report written by Tufts University, "Searching for Gold in the
Highlands of Guatemala: Economic Benefits and Environmental Risks of the Marlin
Min,” states that the use of explosives damaged buildings and frightened farm
animals in the surrounding area. Also, the explosions created massive dust to
rise in the air. Dust from the explosion has caused respiratory problems for
the people of Sipacapa (Zarsky and Stanley). The more devastating part of
mining is the amount of water mix with cyanide use to extract an ounce of gold.
To extract an ounce of gold, it requires the use of 250 gallon of water per
hour.
In addition, gold mining threaten
people's health. Many gold mines employ a process known as heap leaching,
which includes mixing cyanide solution with water and pouring the water on huge
piles of ore (nodirtygold.earthworksaction.org). The cyanide waste water
becomes hazardous to people's health. Cyanide is toxic chemical to human and
wildlife. Inhalation of gaseous hydrogen cyanide of 100-300 parts per million can
lead to death within an hour. For example, the Mayan people who live in Sipacapa
are currently experiencing health issues because of cyanide contaminated water.
Also, gold in the ore is bound with mercury. The mercury is removed by
dissolving it in nitric acid, so gold can be extracted. Mercury is harmful to
people's health because it can affect their kidneys, liver, heart, and lungs.
Gold mining companies need to take into consideration the effect of cyanide and
mercury on people's health.
Gold mining has led government
officials to violating land owners and not respecting the rights of the people.
For example, the government of Guatemala has granted foreign investors license
without the knowledge of the Mayan community. Miners trespass through people's
property without seeking permission. One lady was shot in the head by a miner
because she told him not to trespass through her property. The government of
Guatemala attracts foreign investors by lowering its royalty rate from six to
one percent of gross production revenue. As of March 2009, the government had
granted 395 mining licenses and 383 more were pending (ase.tufts.edu). The Guatemala
president keeps all the money paid by foreign investors without providing any
help to the affected victims in Sipacapa. The Guatemala government officials
have violated people's rights. Many leaders of different indigenous communities
have protested to stop the Guatemala government from violating the people's rights.
However, the president of Guatemala, Otto Perez, has ordered his hit men to
kill and arrest community leaders. Today, two leaders are in prison because
they formed a protest against the president for granting license to foreign
investors without the permission of the community. The president’s actions have
frightened people from speaking out. All of these violations occurred because
of gold mining.
Obviously, gold mining has caused
considerable issues including environmental destruction, health problem and
governmental violation. Gold mining companies need to stop extracting gold from
the earth because they are destroying the environment. People depend on the
environment for their survival. By killing trees and plants affect the health
of people and wildlife. The Guatemala government and gold mining companies
should not ignore the community from participating in the decision making on
mining projects. The community has the right to protect all natural resources
on their land from being destroy by miners. To prevent problems associated with
gold mining, mining companies should adapt a plan to manufacture artificial
gold like what other companies are doing with artificial diamond.
Work Cited
Zarsky, Lyuba
and Leonardo Stanley. “Searching for Gold in the Highlands of Guatemala:
Economic Benefits and Environmental Risks of the Marlin Min.” Tufts University.
2011. Web. 6 May 2015 <ase.tufts.edu/gdae/policy_research/marlinmine.pdf>
"Solid
Waste." No Dirty Gold. 2010. Web. 6 May 2015. <http://nodirtygold.earthworksaction.org/impacts/solid_waste#.VVF9gLktHL9>
Dominga Johnson
Professor Barker5/4/15
ESL 101
Cause and Effect Essay
Smoking Gun
Did you know smoking cigarette has
many consequences in people’s lives? Some people believed that smoking cigarette help them to relax and socialize
with others. However, smoking cigarette has negative effect on people’s lives.
Then, there are some negative effects, such as Health problem, environmental
concern and people’s finance.
Initially, smoking cigarette causes
health problems. It can cause lung cancer and heart disease. Lung cancer can
damaged the air way found in people’s lung. Also, it can cause chronic bronchitis. For
instance, I have a friend who smoked a pack of cigarette a day. She suffered
from lung cancer because of smoking cigarette excessively. Her doctor told her
that she would need an operation if she wanted to live. But, she refused and
died a year later after the doctor’s advice.
Secondly, there are environmental
concerns about smoking cigarette. The cigarette butt may not be extinguished
completely. For example, people throw their cigarette butts on pile of dried
leaves. This can cause a fire. Also, smoking cigarette can affect people’s
drinking water. For instance, when people leave their finished cigarette on the
street, they can be washed away by rain into storm drains which lead to water
sources. Because of the chemical still
present in the used cigarette, it can contaminate the water. As a result, smoking
cigarette causes environment problem.
Lastly, smoking cigarette can affect
people financially. Cigarettes are expensive. In particular, a pack of
cigarette cost more than five dollars. It can make people have less money to
spend on other things they need. For instance, there is important expensive
bill that people need to pay if they get sick, so they may not have money to
pay for their medicine. It impact people
financially because of the high price of the cigarette.
Obviously, smoking cigarette affects
humans’ health as well as the environment. Also, it can affect people
financially. Smokers may want to seek
help from a doctor. Also, they might want to see a therapist or a counselor
before they stop smoking cigarette. If smokers can stop smoking cigarette, they
can prevent disease and help keep the environment a safe
place to live. For all of these reasons, people may want to stop smoking.
Dominga Johnson
Professor BarkerESL 101
3/10/2015
Process Analysis
Essay
Peanut Butter
and Jelly Sandwich
Have you ever eaten a
peanut butter sandwich? Some people may not like to eat a peanut butter
sandwich, but most people in the United States love to eat peanut butter
sandwich. It became popular in 1920 because it is convenient for people. Peanut
butter was invented in 1819 by an American doctor. Then,
after the invention of peanut butter sandwich, military people started eating
it because it was the only meal which did not require to be refrigerated. It
can last for many days. Also, it is heathy and children love to eat it. In
other to make a peanut butter sandwich, you need the following items: a knife, a
plate and some napkins. After you gather all your tools, you need three ingredients:
peanut butter, strawberry jelly and honey.
First, to make a
peanut butter sandwich you need peanut butter. Peanut butter comes from a
peanut plant, and it made from smashed roosted and mixed with some of the
following ingredients: salt, sugar, and vegetable oil. There are two kinds of
peanut butters available at the grocery stores, and you can buy crunchy or creamy.
It is light brown color and it comes in a plastic battle. Now, you need to
place two slices of bread in a plastic plate. Open your peanut butter jar and
spread it with a knife on each side of the bread. Use the creamy peanut butter
because if you use crunchy peanut butter might tear your bread.
The next ingredient
you need after spreading peanut butter on your bread is jelly. There are
deferent kinds of jelly available at the grocery stores, but the best jelly to
use for a delicious peanut butter jelly sandwich is strawberry. Strawberry is
actually a type of fruit that is bright red and juicy. Also, strawberry jelly
is made by using sugar and lemon juice. To continue making your peanut butter
sandwich, roll the strawberry jelly with a knife on the other side of your
bread. Make sure do not spread too much jelly because it might make your
sandwich mushy.
The last ingredient
you will need for your peanut butter sandwich is honey. Honey comes from bees. Bees
produce honey by gathering nectar from all types of flowers. With flower
nectar, bees can make a dark brown and sweet honey. You can find honey in most
grocery stores. Honey usually comes in a small bear shape bottle. To make your
sandwich tastier, squeeze the bottle of the honey on the middle of your bread.
Then, spread the honey evenly with a knife. You need to be careful when you
spread honey on your bread because it is sticky. You could get your hands messy
if you are not careful. The final step is to place the two slices of bread
together. Slice the bread into two parts.
In sum, you will have
a delicious sandwich by using peanut butter, strawberry jelly and honey. It is easy
to make and is healthy for you. You can find peanut butter, strawberry jelly
and honey in cane in almost all groceries stores. Also, it saves you time from
washing many dishes and less cleaning. All these three ingredients provide a
convenient way for you to make a delicious meal.
Domingo Johnson
Professor BarkerESL 101
4/13/15
Classification Essay
Mouth Watering
Desert
Do
people like to eat dessert? Most people around the world love to eat dessert, but
some people may not like it for many reasons, especially for the sweetness.
However, dessert is part of any meal. American people love to have desert after
their dinner. On the other hand, people from other cultures like to eat dessert
occasionally. There are many types of desserts with different flavors, such as cakes,
frozen treats, and pies.
First,
cake is one of the most popular desserts in America. People use it in every
event, especially when people celebrate birthdays and weddings. People can buy
different types of cakes. For instance, they can buy chocolate, carrot, and cheese
cakes. Chocolate cakes can be bought at Albertson’s stores. It cake tastes
delicious, has vitamin A, and it is the children’s favorite cake. Carrot cake
can be found at Walmart. It contains mixed carrots into the batter. People can
buy cheese cakes at Costco and Albertson’s. It may be flavored or topped with
fruit, whipped cream, nuts, fruit sauce, and chocolate syrup.
Another
dessert people love to eat is frozen treats. People love to eat these kinds of
dessert in the summer time. People can try or can choose different types of
frozen treats. For example, people can choose ice cream and yogurt. Ice cream
is made of cream, sugar, and added flavors, containing at least 10 percent milk
fat. Ice can be found at Cold Stones and Baskin Robbins. Frozen yogurt is one
of the better frozen treat choice for the health conscious because it uses a
yogurt base in place of a buttermilk or cream. People who like yogurt can buy it
at Yogurt Land. Frozen treats are convenient for people because they are
economic in the summer time.
Third,
the other dessert people love to eat is pie. American people love to eat pie after
their dinner. There are three different kinds of pies that most Americans love
to eat. For instance, apple pie, cherry pie and pecan pie are the most consume
dessert. Some apple pies come from Julian. Apple pie that comes from Julian is
fresh, delicious, and smells apple fruit in it. Julian pies can be bought from
Apple Bees and Maries Calendars. Cherry pie is made with fresh or frozen tart
cherry. Cherry pie looks dark brown, crunchy crust with red juicy sauce inside,
which makes people mouth watery. People can buy it at Major Market. Another pie
people like to eat is pecan pie. Pecan pie made with eggs, brown sugar, corn
syrup, molasses, melted butter, vanilla and salt. The color of it is dark brown
with crunchy almond on top of it. It smells like roasted peanut. Pecan pie can
be found in Costco stores.
Finally,
people have different options to enjoy a variety of different desserts. They
can eat different flavor cakes like chocolate, carrot, and cheese. Also, people
can consume frozen treats such as ice cream and yogurt in the summer time.
Other desserts that can be eaten after dinner are apple pie, cherry pie and
pecan pie. Essentially, desserts have become part of people’s food.
Dominga Johnson
Professor Barker
ESL 101
Amy
Tan Summary
Amy Tan Summary
Amy is
a Chinese girl who burned in the U.S and lived on Sacramento Rd. in San
Francisco. Amy mom’s come from china in 1949 after she lost everything in her
country. Amy’s mom believed that coming in U.S you can do anything. Amy’s Mom
did want to educate her as the way she believes that Amy can develop on each
activity. Amy’s Mom encouraging her to do actives that Amy did not really want
to do. Amy did try her best to learn same activities because of her Mom’s sad
that she has to do it.
There
are some activities that Amy did try to do, like reading magazines to learn about state capital, taking lessen piano, and
participating in a talent show. The Mom
brought some mega zing to at home for Amy to read. Amy did interesting to read any magazine. Whenever the girl has to read each page of the
magazine, she got bored and upset with her Mom’s, and she started crying because her mom’s has
to test her of each reading of the Magazine.
Leaning
lessen about piano is another things that Amy did not like. Her Mom wanted her
to learn how to play the piano. However, Amy was not interested in playing
piano. Amy had to spend three hours with Mr. Chong. Mr. Chong was a piano
teacher. She was able to learn the basic keyboarding. Next, her Mom wanted her
to participate in a talent show contest. Here Mom took her to the talent show
to play the piano. At first, Amy was excited to play the piano, but she was
hitting on the wrong keyboard and her parents were embarrassed because she did
not play the piano well. The Mom wanted Amy to continue taking piano lesson
with Mr. Chong. But this time, Amy confronted her Mom because Amy disliked
doing things that she does not to do. Finally, her Mom understood Amy’s
feelings. As Amy grew older, the Mom offered her to take the people she had
bought for her. They became good friends and developed a good relationship.