Investigation of Subgrade Reaction Coefficient in Sandy Soil

Investigation of Subgrade Reaction Coefficient in Sandy Soil Numerical investigation of subgrade reaction coefficient in sandy soils Adel Asakereh1, Hassan Jamali2*, Masoud mossafa1 1 Civil Department, University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas, Iran 2Young Researchers and Elite Club, Sabzevar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sabzevar, Abstract The soil-foundation interaction is one of the most important issues in geotechnical engineering relating to soil behavior against side loading. Winklers model is the first and simplest method for considering the soil-foundation interaction. Because to determine the coefficient of the subgrade reaction of the soil before designing structure is vitally important, so, experimental, analytical and numerical methods have been proposed. This research chose a ground characteristic that is in Bandar Abbas (Iran). Purpose is to compare the proposed experimental formulae for determining the coefficient of the subgrade reaction with its corresponding values resulting from the behavioral models. Finite element analysis was performed by Plaxis software and important parameters were proposed by the engineers. Results show increasing footing diameter leads to a decrease in the coefficient of the subgrade reaction due to increasing load area which results in increasing settlement. It is found that i ncreasing each of the strength parameters of the soil can be expected to have an effect on increasing the subgrade reaction, although this increase depends on footing diameter. Also in sand soils, the soil cohesion effects on the increase of the subgrade reaction coefficient more than the internal friction angle. Keywords: Elasticity coefficient, Mat foundation, Subgrade reaction coefficient, Bandar Abbas City, Finite element analysis Introduction The application of mat foundations has a long history. This type of foundation has shown a very good performance in transferring construction forces to the ground. Currently in most cases, engineers use a constant value for the subgrade reaction coefficient to analyze the mat flexible foundations. This constant is obtained from geotechnical experiments such as plate loading. Many researchers have studied soil subsidence and the subgrade reaction coefficient using plate loading test [1-9]. Nomenclatures B Diameter of footing (m) Minimum marginal dimension of footing(m) c Cohesion (kPa) d Plate thickness (m) Df Embedment depth of foundation(m) Soil elasticity modulus (kPa) EI Flexural rigidity of footing (kN.m2) EA Axial rigidity of footing (kN.m2) Height of ith layer (m) If , Is, Id Dimensionless coefficients ks Subgrade Reaction Coefficient (kN/m3) m Constant coefficients P Vertical pressure (kPa) Greek Symbols v Poisson ratio Vertical Displacement (m) Angle of friction (Degree) Unit weight (kN/m3) Dry unit weight (kN/m3) The application of a uniform reaction coefficient over all of the foundation means neglecting the conditions of a continuum for the soil and the effects of cut in the soil layers. One of the fundamental issues in designing and calculating the foundations is the problem of soil-foundation interaction. It is very important to study soil behavior against the external loads. Soil behavior depends on many factors such as moisture content, density, particle-forming mineral types, grain size, grain shape, grading curve, current state of the stress, stress history, pore pressure, saturation point, permeability rate, time, and temperature. In order to study the soil-foundation interaction, many researchers have tried to investigate soil behavior against the imposed loadings to find a model for it. The material model is a mathematical relation for describing the stress-strain behaviour of a small element of the environment. As previously mentioned, soil behavior depends on many factors it is extremely difficult to provide a model including the effects of all factors. Thus in solving the problems of soil-foundation interaction, some properties of the soil are usually excluded to provide a simpler model with fewer parameters. Since the soil at a macroscopic scale is considered as a continuum, the simplest possible state we consider the soil as a linear, homogenous and consistent elastic semi-space. In such a case, the soil will have two parameters Poisson coefficient and the elastic modulus. The first and simplest model for investigating the soil and foundation interaction is a model offered by Winkler in 1867 [10]. In this model, the deformation of any point of the soil ground is related to the point stress value and the effect of the stresses and the changes in other points are neglected. In this model, soil is replaced with a set of independent springs with a specific stiffness coefficient. Thus, only one single parameter is considered for the soil, that is, the subgrade reaction coefficient represented by ks. One of the most prominent properties of this model is its discontinuous behavior [9]. The subgrade modulus is not a fundamental soil property and its magnitude depends on many factors including the shape of the foundation, the stiffness of the foundation slab, the shape of the loading on the foundation, the depth of the loaded area below the ground surface, and the time. As such, it is not constant for a given type of soil, making the estimation of a single general value for design a challenging task [11]. Consequently, researchers have suggested several ways to determine this parameter and several formulae have been offered for determining ks. Many researchers have worked on the calculation of subgrade reaction coefficient. Ismail [12] studied the applications of the artificial neural networks (ANN) and the simple-multiple regression analysis to predict the deformation modulus and the coefficient of the subgrade reaction of the compacted soils from the compaction parameters (such as maximum dry density (MDD) optimum moisture content (OMC), field dry density (FDD), and field moisture content (FMC)). Ding [13] compared four typical methods for determining the coefficient of the subgrade reaction including the test method, Lis method, MIDAS method, and finite element method. He showed that the test method is the one preferred by the designers, that the tangential coefficient should be in a range of one to two-third of the normal coefficient. The internal force of subway structures can be obtained by the test method and modified by a correction factor that is 1.05. Barmenkova et al. [14] carried out calculations of plates on a n elastic basis with variable and constant coefficients of subgrade reaction. In this paper, the calculation of plates bending was carried out by the finite element method. The results were compared for different models of plates on an elastic basis. For a two-layer plate on an elastic basis, which had heterogeneity in the plan, the results of calculation took into account the increase of the height of the upper structure. Kobayashi et al. [15] calculated the subgrade reaction coefficient for a foundation soil in an open pier using an extended Kalman filter (EKF) based on measurements taken during in situ horizontal loading tests on a pile. The numerical results would provide useful information for the future design of open piers and their foundations. Liao [16] reviewed the limitations of various simple and complex methods available for estimating the coefficient of subgrade reaction k, and developed a new method using the results of the plane strain finite element analyses of a loaded beam or slab resting on the surface of a homogeneous elastic soil layer. Although many studies have been carried out on determining the subgrade reaction coefficient, the dependence on many parameters leads to further parametric studies. Experimental and theoretical formulas for determining ks are based on available data from limited sites with some assumptions, so it is possible for them not to have sufficient precision in all areas. Therefore, determining the subgrade reaction coefficient in specific areas such as Bandar Abbas city and assessment of the effective parameters on subgrade reaction coefficient is vital. Besides, the Increasing in footing width, increases effective depth. Therefore, determination of ks in footing with more width is more complex especially in layered soil, because ks obtained from plate load test is different from ks under real loading of structure. Thus investigation of the footing width and the strength parameters of the soil on ks is needed. Performing plate load tests with large diameters is expensive and difficult, thus the present study uses finite element software of Plaxis to investigate the effect of the aforementioned parameters. Parametric studies on subgrade reaction coefficient of sand soil in Bandar Abbas city are few, so this paper uses geotechnical data of a site in Bandar Abbas city (Iran) to determine subgrade reaction coefficient by using of theoretical, experimental relations and numerical methods. Besides, the effects of the strength parameters (c,) and B on subgrade reaction coefficient are investigated too. This study is carried out by using and verifying numerical methods and ensuring the accuracy of the software. Numerical analysis has been done by finite element method using Plaxis software [17]. Analytical methods of subgrades reaction coefficient In order to obtain ks, one can generally apply plate loading, consolidation, triaxial, and CBR tests and experimental and theoretic relations provided by researchers [18]. Among them, plate loading testing and the experimental method are considered the most common methods. In this paper, experimental and theoretic methods are considered. There are several relations including Vesic [19], Biot [20], and Bowles [6] as well as relations resulting from elastic theory from elasticity theory to determine subgrade reaction coefficient. Biot [20] solved the problem of an infinite beam on a linear elastic subgrade and provided Eq. (1) for subgrade reaction coefficient. (1) Vesic [19] developed Biots work [20] and suggested Eq. (2) for the relation between ks and elastic characteristic of soil: (2) He also showed the difference between Winkler method and continuum does not exceed 10 percent. Bowles [6] showed the numerical value of in ordinary condition may be approximated by 1, and in most cases subgrade reaction coefficient is obtained by Eq. (3): (3) Using elasticity theory is another way to approximate ks. By reformulating the elastic subsidence in rectangular foundation, we obtain the following [21]: (4) These values are determined based on tables in the elastic subsidence section of basic soil mechanic references. m is the coefficient which is equal to 1, 2 and 4 for corner, edge, and center, respectively. ks is calculated in corners assuming m = 1 from Eq. (4) and it is multiplied by 0.5 to obtain k edges or by 0.25 to obtain ks centers. According to the above discussion, it can be seen that there are several formulae to determine soil subgrade reaction coefficient. General and geotechnical properties of the soil The site of the residential- mercantile building is located to the west part of Bandar Abbas city in Iran (Fig. 1) with seven floors over the ground floor (parking lot). The depth of the foundation settlement is equal to the height of the foundation as 1 meter and no groundwater grade was observed until the end of the excavation depth. In order to identify the underground layers, five boreholes were excavated (three 15-meter boreholes and two 20-meter boreholes) using a rotary drilling machine. During soil boring, some samples were extracted for laboratory experiments. After completion of the field operation, the extracted samples were tested for grading, Atterberg limits, moisture content of the natural soil, and direct shear test. The studies on the layers of the site soil show the soil type in the foundation subgrade is mainly silty sand (SM) from the ground level down to the depth of 8 meters, and the soil type is bad-grained sand (SP) from the depth of 8 meters downwards. Fig. 1. Location of Bandar Abbas city. Considering the field and laboratory experiments in order to determine the scale of soil subsidence and the bearing capacity of the site soil, the required parameters were selected from the five excavated boreholes as shown in Table 1. The data of the samplings is available down to 20 meters deep. The soil type was given down to the depth of the foundation effect (around 30m). Moreover, the soil weight at the 20 to 30 m depth (layer 11) has considered as being constant. Table 1. Soil properties of the site No. of Layers Dep. (m) Soil Type SPT (Ncor.) à Ã¢â‚¬ ° (%) c (kPa) à Ã¢â‚¬   (ËÅ ¡) ÃŽÂ ³ (kN/m3) ÃŽÂ ³d(kN/m3) 1 0-2 SM 21 4.1 0 29 17 16.3 2 2-4 SM 17 16.6 0 29.1 18.6 16.23 3 4-6 SM 24 14.9 0 28.8 18.6 16.18 4 6-8 SM 33 15.2 0 30.4 18.9 16.4 5 8-10 SP 38 23.7 0 32.4 20.1 16.24 6 10-12 SP 39 18.1 0 31.2 19.4 16.42 7 12-14 SP 47 24.2 0 31.2 20.6 16.58 8 14-16 SP 50 19.8 0 30 20 16.69 9 16-18 SP 50 19.2 0 32 20 16.77 10 18-20 SP 50 18.8 0 32 20 16.83 11 20-30 SP 50 18.8 0 32 20 16.83 Equations (5) and (6) were used to determine the elasticity modulus of the soil [6]: (5) For unsaturated sands, and (6) For saturated sands. Thus, the elasticity modulus for each of the soil layers is calculated based on the above formulae and the results are shown in Table 2. Table 2. Elasticity modulus of the soil layers No. of Layers SPT (Ncor.) Es (kPa)-dry 1 21 18000 2 17 16000 3 24 19500 4 33 24000 5 38 26500 6 39 27000 7 47 31000 8 50 32500 9 50 32500 10 50 32500 11 50 32500 Numerical analysis procedure First, the results of Brian Anderson et al. [22] were analyzed with Plaxis to verify the software. Brian Anderson et al. [22] performed in situ testing and numerical investigation for predicting settlement of shallow foundations. Accordingly, a 1.8 m diameter concrete footing was statically load tested. Prior to construction, in situ standard penetration test (SPT), cone penetration testing (CPT), dilatometer (DMT), and pressuremeter (PMT) and laboratory tests were performed to determine engineering properties of the soil. A reinforced circular 1.8 m diameter 0.6 m thick concrete footing was constructed using a corrugated pipe coupler as a form. To overcome a thin hard layer surface crust, the footing was embedded 0.6 m into the ground. The groundwater table was at 1.7 m from the ground surface, as illustrated in Fig. 2. Static load was 222 kPa. Due to the symmetry, half of footing with the width of 0.5 B is modeled asymmetrically. Avoiding boundary effects, a 6.5ÃÆ'-5 m model was s elected. The model depth was taken as 6.5 m, that is approximately equal to 4B=6.8 m and the width of the model was taken as 5 m, that is approximately equal to 3B [23] . Results proved that the displacement did not reach the boundaries in the analysis. To investigate the mesh dependency, a number of trial analyses were conducted through the verification study. The model included 1971 nodes and 235 elements. The boundary lines were defined as the limited deformation in horizontal direction and free deformation in vertical direction, and limited deformations both in horizontal and vertical directions at the lower boundary as showed in Fig. 3. Trial analyses proved that with specified dimension and meshing, errors would be negligible. In order to do the modeling with finite element method, the 15-node triangular element was used according to Fig. 4. Table 3 presents the input parameters used for the FEM analyses. Figure 5 presents applied stress-settlement diagram obtained from Plaxis in this study and reference to a point located under plate. There was a negligible difference between two diagrams, so Plaxis was suitable for analysis. Fig. 2. Geometry and mesh of the verification model.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Fig. 3. Soil-footing profile of verification model [22]. Fig. 4. 15-node triangular element. Table 3. Soil properties used in verification according to [22]. Bottom(m) (kN/m3) (deg) E(Mpa) c(kPa) 1.64 18.9 31.4 14.5 0 2.5 17.3 30.1 12.5 0 3.17 15.7 28.6 10.50 0 6.5 14.2 27.1 8.5 0 Fig. 5. Applied stress-settlement diagram. After software verification, the model was developed for determining the subgrade reaction coefficient of Bandar Abbas city and parametric study. In the created model (which included 2011 nodes and 256 elements), the loading was uniform and, a rigid foundation was considered in all phases of analysis. Model depth should be greater than 4B and model width greater than 3B for different diameters. Since it was intended to study the effect of foundation diameter on determining the value of subgrade reaction coefficient, an asymmetric model was used in the software for soil modeling. The relevant parameters of the general properties (wet and dry specific weight) and the relevant parameters of the soil resistance (c,) for all soil layers were derived from Table 1. Considering the results of the experiments and researches and the reliability of the developed numerical model with the results, and considering the soil type of the site (sand soil), Mohr-Coulomb behavioral model for the soil wa s used in this research. Since in Mohr-Coulomb behavioral model the stress-strain relation is fulfilled directly by the soil elasticity coefficient, thus in entering the data of the soil elasticity coefficient as one of the input parameters, the data of Table 2 were used. The values of the dilation angle in all layers were assumed to be 0. Considering the properties of the building in this project and the scale of the imposed loading (dead and live load), the value of the imposed pressure on the soil was assumed to be 120 kN/m2 where the plate element (with the concrete foundation properties) was used to transfer this load to the modeled soil. Among the most important properties of the element, it could be referred to its flexural hardness (EI) and its axis hardness (EA). These two parameters can be used to obtain the plate thickness that is the representative of the foundation thickness in this case. Considering the constant thickness of the foundation by 1 meter in this research, different values would be obtained for EI and EA in different models according to the Eqs. (7) and (8) [24]. Since the modeling was done with asymmetric method, thus half of the diameter of the real foundation was modeled, and the modeling was done in direction of x-axis, three times more than the foundations diameter (3B), and in the direction of y-axis equal to the number of the layers mentioned in Table 1. Moreover, Table 4 shows the parameters needed for determining the plate input parameters into Plaxis software. d=  ½ deq (7) (8) Fig. 6. Geometry of the model. Table 4. Plate parameters EI (kNm2/m) EA (kN/m) E (kPa) Df(m) Var. Var. 2.5ÃÆ'-107 1 Results and discussion Seven models were developed for different values of foundation diameter (8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20 m). Then, they were analyzed by finite element method using Plaxis. Because of axis plain strain in Plaxis, foundation is considered as a strip with B/2 of diameter and 1 m, orthogonal to the plane as shown in Fig. 6. Amount of vertical displacement in center and below of the foundation (sections are in center and 1 meter below the above subgrade of soil model) is obtained according to the load determined by the construction analysis (120 kN/m2). The soil subgrade reaction coefficient is calculated by Eq. (9) for any values of foundation diameter [25]: (9)

Corporate Strategies to Hedge Commodity Price Risks Applying

Table of contents List of abbreviationsIII List of figuresIII List of tablesIII 1Introduction1 1. 1Problem and objective1 1. 2Structure of this paper1 2Background Information2 2. 1Definitions of fundamental terms2 2. 2Commodity price risk in different firms2 3Explanation of derivatives3 3. 1Options3 3. 2Futures4 3. 3Forwards6 3. 4Swaps6 4Hedging strategies with derivatives7 4. 1Hedging with options7 4. 2Hedging with futures7 4. 3Hedging with forwards8 4. 4Hedging with swaps8 5Pros and cons of hedging strategies with derivatives8 5. 1Pros and cons of options9 5. Pros and cons of futures9 5. 3Pros and cons of forwards10 5. 4Pros and cons of swaps10 6Practical example of corporate commodity price risk hedging10 6. 1Introduction on firm's practical hedging strategy10 6. 2Analysis on this strategy11 7Summary12 Appendix13 Appendix 1: Amounts outstanding of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives by risk category and instrument——in billions of US dollar13 Appendix 2: Derivatives fi nancial instruments traded on organized exchanges by instrument and location——in billions of US dollar14 Bibliography15 Internet Source16 List of abbreviations CHClearing HouseIMInitial Margin MBMargin Balance MM NMaintenance Margin No OTCOver The Count VM YVariation Margin Yes List of figures Figure 1: Structure of this paper2 Figure 2: P of each option position4 Figure 3: Flow chart of marking-to-market process5 Figure 4: P of each future position6 Figure 5: Hedging model on fuel oil of Air China11 List of tables Table 1: Summary for 4 option positions4 Table 2: Summary for future positions6 Table 3: Summary for 4 derivatives9 1Introduction 1. 1Problem and objective The risk of commodity price is a ferocious topic in corporate operation.Corporate profit is equal to total revenue minus total cost. For firms, because of the high volatility on commodity price, their inputs and outputs relating to commodity are unpredictable. As a consequence corporate profit will be imm ensely volatile, which will possibly lead the firm to go bankruptcy if no any preventive actions are taken. For example, producers of commodities probably need to assume unexpected losses, when the price of outputs goes down or the price of necessary raw materials goes up. The situations are similar to wholesale buyers, retailers, exporters and even governments.Volatility of commodities price has great impacts on corporate daily operation. The objective of this term paper is to introduce derivative hedging strategies for corporate managers to reduce or even eliminate future unpredictability, mainly from the perspectives of the role commodity price risks play, what the typical derivative instruments are, where and how to apply these different derivatives in terms of hedging principles thereof, and both advantages and disadvantages when applying each derivative in real business transactions. 1. Structure of this paper Firstly, this term paper highlights problems existing in real world . Secondly, it introduces advanced derivatives theory that can be applied to solve these problems. Thirdly, specific details on the theory will be presented, including explanation, application, as well as pros and cons of each derivative instrument. Then, an example is analyzed to show how companies apply derivatives to hedge commodity risks practically. Last is a summary of this term paper. Following figure shows the body of this paper. 2Background Information 2. Definitions of fundamental terms In financial markets derivative is a contract or security whose value is derived from the value of other more basic underlying variables . One of its most important functions is hedging. In corporate operation, hedging is to secure the companies against potential loss caused by variable risks that arise in international market, such as the commodity price risks. In this paper, commodity means any tangible goods or raw materials that may be sold or traded in the markets, such as energy, gold , or agricultural products. 2. Commodity price risk in different firms Volatility of commodities price influences firms’ daily operation significantly. Producers of commodities, such as farms, oil producers, mining companies, face price risk on output. Wholesalers and retailers, face price risk during the time period from buying from suppliers and selling to customers. Exporters, face the same price risk as well as currency exchange risk. And governments face price and yield risks generating from tax revenues that depend on firms’ operational conditions. 3Explanation of derivativesDerivatives are traded in exchange-traded markets and over-the-counter markets. (See recent derivatives transaction status in appendix 1 and appendix 2. ) Notably, exchange-traded derivatives are default risk free and liquid. However over-the-counter traded derivatives are the opposite. 3. 1Options An option is the contract that gives the buyer the right but not obligation to buy (call option ) or sell (put option) an underlying asset at a predetermined price (exercise price) for certain quantity during a fixed period of time (maturity).The buyer of the option pays a particular amount of money (option premium) to the seller to buy a right whereby he can decide whether or not to exercise this option, simultaneously the seller has the obligation to perform if the buyer exercises the option. European options only can be exercised on expiration day, and American options can be exercised at any time before maturity. The buyer of the call option is named long call, while the seller of the call option is named short call. Similarly, the buyer of the put option is named long put, while the seller of the put option is named short put.In commodity market, underlying of commodity option is a commodity, such as oil, wheat, or gold. Commodity options are both exchanges-traded and OTC traded. Following figure shows P of each option. Following table is the summary for these 4 option po sitions. Table 1: Summary for 4 option positions Market price expectationMaximum profitMaximum lossBreakeven point Long callupunlimitedoption premiumexercise price + option premium Short calldown or stableoption premiumunlimitedexercise price + option premium Long putdownexercise price – option premiumoption premiumexercise price – option premium Short putup or stableoption remiumexercise price – option premiumexercise price – option premium Source: author’s own. 3. 2Futures A future is a contract between two parties to buy or sell a specified amount of asset at a specified time period in the future for a certain price. Normally there are two types of futures, commodity futures whose underlying are commodities and financial futures whose underlying are financial assets. They are highly standardized, regulated, and traded in exchange markets with highly liquid and default risk free property. Because of the marking-to-market process, at maturity the settling price is the spot price at expiration date with profit gaining or loss paying from a margin account, which indirectly makes the effective bargain price equal to the predetermined price in the future contract. Notably, to ensure high liquidity of futures, marking-to-market process plays a significant role. The following figure shows the marking-to-market process. Generally there are two alternative ways at maturity to settle futures, either by cash or by actual delivery of underlying, which is clearly defined by futures exchange.Following figure and table show the details of a future. Table 2: Summary for future positions ?Maximum profitMaximum lossBreakeven point Long positionunlimitedexercise pricespot price + cost of carry Short positionexercise priceunlimitedspot price + cost of carry Source: author’s own. 3. 3Forwards A forward contract is a customized and over-the-counter agreement to buy or sell an asset at a specified time in the future for a specified price, where a long position has the obligation to buy and a short position has the obligation to sell. Compared with futures, no marking-to-market process are required.Counterparties can negotiate with each about the parameters of the contract. As a result, a firm who wants to make forward contract needs to find the counterparty by itself. 3. 4Swaps A swap is a customized and over-the-counter agreement to exchange a series of specified assets periodically in the future. Normally the counterparties of a swap contract are a large institution such as a bank and a company. Basically, we can view a swap as a complicated forward. Except currency swaps, counterparties just need to pay the differences between the cash flow they should exchange. Because swaps are bespoken as a result they are less liquid.There are commodity swaps, interest rate swaps and currency swaps. Interest rate swaps is an agreement of two counterparties to change fixed interest and floating interest on predefined nominal pr incipal in the future periodically. Commodity swaps normally vary tremendously among different markets. In a currency swap, counterparties change same value of different currencies in inception and termination, where the exchange rate of the tow currencies depends on the negotiation of counterparties. 4Hedging strategies with derivatives This chapter will focus on the principles of hedging strategies on commodities. . 1Hedging with options If a trader wants to procure a commodity with high volatile price, he can buy a commodity call option to hedge the price risk of going up. Similarly, if a company wants to sell a commodity product, it can buy a long put to hedge the price risk of going down. In practice, because investors want to bet more precisely on the future price of the underlying, and hedgers with long positions want to save option premiums, a few combinations of options come out, such as a long call and a short put with identical parameters except the different strike price . 4. 2Hedging with futuresWhen the objective of a commodity trader wants to neutralize the price risk as far as possible, usually he will choose to take a position on a future on commodity. A hedger who already owns a commodity asset or doesn‘t own right now but will at some future time expecting to sell it in the future without assuming any price risk, he can apple future hedging strategy to enter into a short position to become a short. Likewise, a hedger who has to buy a certain commodity asset in the future and wants to lock in spot price immediately, he can apply a future to enter into a long position to become a long. . 3Hedging with forwards The principles of hedging strategy with forwards are similar with futures'. Whether to use futures or forwards depends on different requirements. Generally, financial assets investors who need high liquidity prefer to choose futures, while commodity investors such as producers who need high customization prefer to choose forwards. 4 . 4Hedging with swaps When investors want to hedge risks of interest rates, currencies, or commodities, they can use swaps. In gold swaps, counterparties change fixed lease rate with variable lease rate.In swaps on base metals, counterparties change fixed metal price with average price of near dated metal future. In oil swaps, counterparties change fixed West Taxes Intermediate (WTI is a benchmark in oil price) price with average price of near dated WTI future. 5Pros and cons of hedging strategies with derivatives The following integrated summary of these derivatives depending on pervious analysis makes systematic comparisons. (The options here are exchanged-traded European options) Table 3: Summary for 4 derivatives SUMMERY OF DERIVATIVES FOR GENERAL TYPES OptionsFuturesForwardsSwapsTypes of contractstandardizedstandardizedcustomizedcustomized Settlementscash and deliverymost cash and few deliverydeliverydepends on individuals Trading marketExchange tradedExchange tradedOTCOTC Liqu idityhighhighlowlow Marketing-to-marginnorequirednono Time of settlementmaturitydailymaturityperiodically Initial investmentoption premiuminitial margin nodepends Default risk assumed byClearing houseclearinghouseBoth partiesBoth parties ProsDefault risk free & liquiditycustomization & no initial investment Consinitial investment & inflexibledefault risk for both party & illiquidity Source: author’s own. . 1Pros and cons of options The pros of options are obvious. Firstly, they have no risk to assume more loss than premium but have possibility to get unlimited potential profit. Secondly exchanged-traded options are highly liquid and OTC traded options are flexible. However, the cons of options are also explicit, such as the difficulty to decide when to enter into a long position.Because buying an option needs to pay option premium, if the spot price cannot go above (for a long call) or go below (for a long put) the breakeven point the hedger will suffer a loss, and depends on statistics the possibility of a long position to lose is about 66%. 5. 2Pros and cons of futures It definitely makes sense for most companies whose majors are in businesses but not professional in forecasting the price of commodities price volatility, which can make them pay more attention on their core competences instead of fearing about volatile price.Nonetheless, taking neutralized strategies make hedgers give up the possibility of both profit and loss. Moreover, instead of hedging risks by companies, shareholders can hedge themselves according to their preferences. Additionally, if other competitors of the same industry don’t apply hedging strategies, in fact, it is the hedging company itself that assumes risks, because competitive pressures are the same for other all competitors but different for the hedging company its own. 5. 3Pros and cons of forwards Basic pros and cons have been listed in the table in front of this chapter.Generally, compared to futures, the most explicit pro is that forwards are highly customized and therefore the con is that they are hardly liquid. 5. 4Pros and cons of swaps Basic pros and cons have been listed in the table in front of this chapter. Gernally, compared to futures and forwards the most precise pros is that both counterparties could reap benefits from a swap, such as in a currency swap where a firm with a low rate may get a cheaper loan as other firms with high rates, and the counterparty may get a payment as compensation.However the corresponding cons is that counterparty may need to pay commision to intermediary, because it is difficult to find an appropriate counterparty by itself. 6Practical example of corporate commodity price risk hedging 6. 1Introduction on firm's practical hedging strategy Air China is an airline company, whose cost of fuel oil occupies 44. 75% of total revenue in 2008. To hedge the fuel oil price risk, Air China bought a call option with strike K1, meanwhile sold a put option with st rike K2, where K1

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Analysis Of Feet First Into Hell - 1011 Words

â€Å"Feet first into hell†, one of the many sayings that describe a battle that has an unpredictable outcome. The screams of men bleeding from gunshot wounds and the vicious trigger happy soldiers firing away their rifles at the Japanese soldiers. The sound of airplanes fighting in the sky and missiles whistling their way down on the island blowing up multiple areas. The heart racing, horrified, and nervous soldiers fought for their country. Soldiers having only the thought of, â€Å"Am I going to make it home?†. Multiple American soldiers fighting this battle that would end the Japanese military from further advancing their support with Axis power. Eventually coming to an end, and the American flag being raised high. Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, the historical photograph taken on February 23, 1945 by Joe Rosenthal located on Iwo Jima island, a distance away from Japan. As the island got quieter by the minute and the count of live Japanese soldiers slowly decreased, s ix brave soldiers ran and climbed the highest point of Iwo Jima. Their objective now? Securely raise the American flag to honor America and the victory over the defeat of Japan. Throughout all the rubble and debris of the destroyed buildings and weaponry, the flag of America is being raised. The background of this photo sets the mood in a subtle way. What is viewable is only the sky with partially visible clouds and hills that travel distances on this island. The mood gives a peaceful feeling as there is no visibleShow MoreRelatedDantes Inferno vs. Miltons Paradise Lost901 Words   |  4 PagesParadise Lost The two stories, Inferno by Dante and Paradise Lost by Milton, were written about the biblical hell and its keeper: Satan. Both of these authors had different views about the hell and Satan. In Paradis Lost, Milton wrote that Satan used to be an angel of God. 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The Twilight Saga 4 Breaking Dawn 8. Waiting For The Damn … Free Essays

8. Waiting For The Damn Fight To Start Already â€Å"Jeez, Paul, don’t you freaking have a home of your own?† Paul, lounging across my whole couch, watching some stupid baseball game on my crappy TV, just grinned at me and then – real slow – he lifted one Dorito from the bag in his lap and wedged it into his mouth in one piece. â€Å"You betterVe brought those with you. We will write a custom essay sample on The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 8. Waiting For The Damn †¦ or any similar topic only for you Order Now † Crunch. â€Å"Nope,† he said while chewing. â€Å"Your sister said to go ahead and help myself to anything I wanted.† I tried to make my voice sound like I wasn’t about to punch him. â€Å"Is Rachel here now?† It didn’t work. He heard where I was going and shoved the bag behind his back. The bag crackled as he smashed it into the cushion. The chips crunched into pieces. Paul’s hands came up in fists, close to his face like a boxer. â€Å"Bring it, kid. I don’t need Rachel to protect me.† I snorted. â€Å"Right. Like you wouldn’t go crying to her first chance.† He laughed and relaxed into the sofa, dropping his hands. â€Å"I’m not going to go tattle to a girl. If you got in a lucky hit, that would be just between the two of us. And vice versa, right?† Nice of him to give me an invitation. I made my body slump like I’d given up. â€Å"Right.† His eyes shifted to the TV. I lunged. His nose made a very satisfying crunching sound of its own when my fist connected. He tried to grab me, but I danced out of the way before he could find a hold, the ruined bag of Doritos in my left hand. â€Å"You broke my nose, idiot.† â€Å"Just between us, right, Paul?† I went to put the chips away. When I turned around, Paul was repositioning his nose before it could set crooked. The blood had already stopped; it looked like it had no source as it trickled down his lips and off his chin. He cussed, wincing as he pulled at the cartilage. â€Å"You are such a pain, Jacob. I swear, I’d rather hang out with Leah.† â€Å"Ouch. Wow, I bet Leah’s really going to love to hear that you want to spend some quality time with her. It’ll just warm the cockles of her heart.† â€Å"You’re going to forget I said that.† â€Å"Of course. I’m sure it won’t slip out.† â€Å"Ugh,† he grunted, and then settled back into the couch, wiping the leftover blood on the collar of his t-shirt. â€Å"You’re fast, kid.I’ll give you that.† He turned his attention back to the fuzzy game. I stood there for a second, and then I stalked off to my room, muttering about alien abductions. Back in the day, you could count on Paul for a fight pretty much whenever. You didn’t have to hit him then – any mild insult would do. It didn’t take a lot to flip him out of control. Now, of course, when I really wanted a good snarling, ripping, break-the-trees-down match, he had to be all mellow. Wasn’t it bad enough that yet another member of the pack had imprinted – because, really, that made four of ten now! When would it stop? Stupid myth was supposed to be rare, for crying out loud! All this mandatory love-at-first-sight was completely sickening! Did it have to be my sister? Did it have to be Paul? When Rachel’d come home from Washington State at the end of the summer semester – graduated early, the nerd – my biggest worry’d been that it would be hard keeping the secret around her. I wasn’t used to covering things up in my own home. It made me real sympathetic to kids like Embry and Collin, whose parents didn’t know they were werewolves. Embry’s mom thought he was going through some kind of rebellious stage. He was permanently grounded for constantly sneaking out, but, of course, there wasn’t much he could do about that. She’d check his room every night, and every night it would be empty again. She’d yell and he’d take it in silence, and then go through it all again the next day. We’d tried to talk Sam into giving Embry a break and letting his mom in on the gig, but Embry’d said he didn’t mind. The secret was too important. So I’d been all geared up to be keeping that secret. And then, two days after Rachel got home, Paul ran into her on the beach. Bada bing, bada boom – true love! No secrets necessary when you found your other half, and all that imprinting werewolf garbage. Rachel got the whole story. And I got Paul as a brother-in-law someday. I knew Billy wasn’t much thrilled about it, either. But he handled it better than I did. ‘Course, he did escape to the Clearwaters’ more often than usual these days. I didn’t see where that was so much better. No Paul, but plenty of Leah. I wondered – would a bullet through my temple actually kill me or just leave a really big mess for me to clean up? I threw myself down on the bed. I was tired – hadn’t slept since my last patrol – but I knew I wasn’t going to sleep. My head was too crazy. The thoughts bounced around inside my skull like a disoriented swarm of bees. Noisy. Now and then they stung. Must be hornets, not bees. Bees died after one sting. And the same thoughts were stinging me again and again. This waiting was driving me insane. It had been almost four weeks. I’d expected, one way or another, the news would have come by now. I’d sat up nights imagining what form it would take. Charlie sobbing on the phone – Bella and her husband lost in an accident. A plane crash? That would be hard to fake. Unless the leeches didn’t mind killing a bunch of bystanders to authenticate it, and why would they? Maybe a small plane instead. They probably had one of those to spare. Or would the murderer come home alone, unsuccessful in his attempt to make her one of them? Or not even getting that far. Maybe he’d smashed her like a bag of chips in his drive to get some? Because her life was less important to him than his own pleasure†¦ The story would be so tragic – Bella lost in a horrible accident. Victim of a mugging gone wrong. Choking to death at dinner. A car accident, like my mom. So common. Happened all the time. Would he bring her home? Bury her here for Charlie? Closed-casket ceremony, of course. My mom’s coffin had been nailed shut†¦ I could only hope that he’d come back here, within my reach. Maybe there would be no story at all. Maybe Charlie would call to ask my dad if he’d heard anything from Dr. Cullen, who just didn’t show up to work one day. The house abandoned. No answer on any of the Cullens’ phones. The mystery picked up by some second-rate news program, foul play suspected†¦ Maybe the big white house would burn to the ground, everyone trapped inside. Of course, they’d need bodies for that one. Eight humans of roughly the right size. Burned beyond recognition – beyond the help of dental records. Either of those would be tricky – for me, that is. It would be hard to find them if they didn’t want to be found. Of course, I had forever to look. If you had forever, you could check out every single piece of straw in the haystack, one by one, to see if it was the needle. Right now, I wouldn’t mind dismantling a haystack. At least that would be something to do. I hated knowing that I could be losing my chance. Giving the bloodsuckers the time to escape, if that was their plan. We could go tonight. We could kill every one of them that we could find. I liked that plan because I knew Edward well enough to know that, if I killed any one of his coven, I would get my chance at him, too. He’d come for revenge. And I’d give it to him – I wouldn’t let my brothers take him down as a pack. It would be just him and me. May the better man win. But Sam wouldn’t hear of it. We’re not going to break the treaty. Let them make the breach. Just because we had no proof that the Cullens had done anything wrong. Yet. You had to add the yet, because we all knew it was inevitable. Bella was either coming back one of them, or not coming back. Either way, a human life had been lost. And that meant game on. In the other room, Paul brayed like a mule. Maybe he’d switched to a comedy. Maybe the commercial was funny. Whatever. It grated on my nerves. I thought about breaking his nose again. But it wasn’t Paul I wanted to fight with. Not really. I tried to listen to other sounds, the wind in the trees, it wasn’t the same, not through human ears. There were a million voices in the wind that I couldn’t hear in this body. But these ears were sensitive enough. I could hear past the trees, to the road, the sounds of the cars coming around that last bend where you could finally see the beach – the vista of the islands and the rocks and the big blue ocean stretching to the horizon. The La Push cops liked to hang out right around there. Tourists never noticed the reduced speed limit sign on the other side of the road. I could hear the voices outside the souvenir shop on the beach. I could hear the cowbell clanging as the door opened and closed. I could hear Embry’s mom at the cash register, printing out a receipt. I could hear the tide raking across the beach rocks. I could hear the kids squeal as the icy water rushed in too fast for them to get out of the way. I could hear the moms complain about the wet clothes. And I could hear a familiar voice†¦. I was listening so hard that the sudden burst of Paul’s donkey laugh made me jump half off the bed. â€Å"Get out of my house,† I grumbled. Knowing he wouldn’t pay any attention, I followed my own advice. I wrenched open my window and climbed out the back way so that I wouldn’t see Paul again. It would be too tempting. I knew I would hit him again, and Rachel was going to be pissed enough already. She’d see the blood on his shirt, and she’d blame me right away without waiting for proof. Of course, she’d be right, but still. I paced down to the shore, my fists in my pockets. Nobody looked at me twice when I went through the dirt lot by First Beach. That was one nice thing about summer – no one cared if you wore nothing but shorts. I followed the familiar voice I’d heard and found Quil easy enough. He was on the south end of the crescent, avoiding the bigger part of the tourist crowd. He kept up a constant stream of warnings. â€Å"Keep out of the water, Claire. C’mon. No, don’t. Oh! Nice, kid. Seriously, do you want Emily to yell at me? I’m not bringing you back to the beach again if you don’t – Oh yeah? Don’t – ugh. You think that’s funny, do you? Hah! Who’s laughing now, huh?† He had the giggling toddler by the ankle when I reached them. She had a bucket in one hand, and her jeans were drenched. He had a huge wet mark down the front of his t-shirt. â€Å"Five bucks on the baby girl,† I said. â€Å"Hey, Jake.† Claire squealed and threw her bucket at Quil’s knees. â€Å"Down, down!† He set her carefully on her feet and she ran to me. She wrapped her arms around my leg. â€Å"UncaJay!† â€Å"How’s it going, Claire?† She giggled. â€Å"Qwil aaaaawl wet now.† â€Å"I can see that. Where’s your mama?† â€Å"Gone, gone, gone,† Claire sang, â€Å"Cwaire pway wid Qwil aaaawl day. Cwaire nebber gowin home.† She let go of me and ran to Quil. He scooped her up and slung her onto his shoulders. â€Å"Sounds like somebody’s hit the terrible twos.† â€Å"Threes actually,† Quil corrected. â€Å"You missed the party. Princess theme. She made me wear a crown, and then Emily suggested they all try out her new play makeup on me.† â€Å"Wow, I’m really sorry I wasn’t around to see that.† â€Å"Don’t worry, Emily has pictures. Actually, I look pretty hot.† â€Å"You’re such a patsy.† Quil shrugged. â€Å"Claire had a great time. That was the point.† I rolled my eyes. It was hard being around imprinted people. No matter what stage they were in – about to tie the knot like Sam or just a much-abused nanny like Quil – the peace and certainty they always radiated was downright puke-inducing. Claire squealed on his shoulders and pointed at the ground. â€Å"Pity wock, Qwil! For me, for me!† â€Å"Which one, kiddo? The red one?† â€Å"No wed!† Quil dropped to his knees – Claire screamed and pulled his hair like a horse’s reigns. â€Å"This blue one?† â€Å"No, no, no†¦,† the little girl sang, thrilled with her new game. The weird part was, Quil was having just as much fun as she was. He didn’t have that face on that so many of the tourist dads and moms were wearing – the when-is-nap-time? face. You never saw a real parent so jazzed to play whatever stupid kiddie sport their rugrat could think up. I’d seen Quil play peekaboo for an hour straight without getting bored. And I couldn’t even make fun of him for it – I envied him too much. Though I did think it sucked that he had a good fourteen years of monkitude ahead of him until Claire was his age – for Quil, at least, it was a good thing werewolves didn’t get older. But even all that time didn’t seem to bother him much. â€Å"Quil, you ever think about dating?† I asked. â€Å"Huh?† â€Å"No, no yewwo!† Claire crowed. â€Å"You know. A real girl. I mean, just for now, right? On your nights off babysitting duty.† Quil stared at me, his mouth hanging open. â€Å"Pity wock! Pity wock!† Claire screamed when he didn’t offer her another choice. She smacked him on the head with her little fist. â€Å"Sorry, Claire-bear. How about this pretty purple one?† â€Å"No,† she giggled. â€Å"No poopoh.† â€Å"Give me a clue. I’m begging, kid.† Claire thought it over. â€Å"Gween,† she finally said. Quil stared at the rocks, studying them. He picked four rocks in different shades of green, and offered them to her. â€Å"Did I get it?’7 â€Å"Yay!† â€Å"Which one?† Vlaaaaw/obdem!!† She cupped her hands and he poured the small rocks into them. She laughed and immediately clunked him on the head with them. He winced theatrically and then got to his feet and started walking back up toward the parking lot. Probably worried about her getting cold in her wet clothes. He was worse than any paranoid, overprotective mother. â€Å"Sorry if I was being pushy before, man, about the girl thing,† I said. â€Å"Naw, that’s cool,† Quil said. â€Å"It kind of took me by surprise is all. I hadn’t thought about it.† â€Å"I bet she’d understand. You know, when she’s grown up. She wouldn’t get mad that you had a life while she was in diapers.† â€Å"No, I know. I’m sure she’d understand that.† He didn’t say anything else. â€Å"But you won’t do that, will you?† I guessed. â€Å"I can’t see it,† he said in a low voice. â€Å"I can’t imagine. I just don’t†¦ see anyone that way. I don’t notice girls anymore, you know. I don’t see their faces.† â€Å"Put that together with the tiara and makeup, and maybe Claire will have a different kind of competition to worry about.† Quil laughed and made kissing noises at me. â€Å"You available this Friday, Jacob?† â€Å"You wish,† I said, and then I made a face. â€Å"Yeah, guess I am, though.† He hesitated a second and then said, â€Å"You ever think about dating?† I sighed. Guess I’d opened myself up for that one. â€Å"You know, Jake, maybe you should think about getting a life.† He didn’t say it like a joke. His voice was sympathetic. That made it worse. â€Å"I don’t see them, either, Quil. I don’t see their faces.† Quil sighed, too. Far away, too low for anyone but just us two to hear it over the waves, a howl rose out of the forest. â€Å"Dang, that’s Sam,† Quil said. His hands flew up to touch Claire, as if making sure she was still there. â€Å"I don’t know where her mom’s at!† Til see what it is. If we need you, HI let you know.† I raced through the words. They came out all slurred together. â€Å"Hey, why don’t you take her up to the Clearwaters’? Sue and Billy can keep an eye on her if they need to. They might know what’s going on, anyway.† â€Å"Okay – get outta here, Jake!† I took off running, not for the dirt path through the weedy hedge, but in the shortest line toward the forest. I hurdled the first line of driftwood and then ripped my way through the briars, still running. I felt the little tears as the thorns cut into my skin, but I ignored them. Their sting would be healed before I made the trees. I cut behind the store and darted across the highway. Somebody honked at me. Once in the safety of the trees, I ran faster, taking longer strides. People would stare if I was out in the open. Normal people couldn’t run like this. Sometimes I thought it might be fun to enter a race – you know, like the Olympic trials or something. It would be cool to watch the expressions on those star athletes’ faces when I blew by them. Only I was pretty sure the testing they did to make sure you weren’t on steroids would probably turn up some really freaky crap in my blood. As soon as I was in the true forest, unbound by roads or houses, I skidded to a stop and kicked my shorts off. With quick, practiced moves, I rolled them up and tied them to the leather cord around my ankle. As I was still pulling the ends tight, I started shifting. The fire trembled down my spine, throwing tight spasms out along my arms and legs. It only took a second. The heat flooded through me, and I felt the silent shimmer that made me something else. I threw my heavy paws against the matted earth and stretched my back in one long, rolling extension. Phasing was very easy when I was centered like this. I didn’t have issues with my temper anymore. Except when it got in the way. For one half second, I remembered the awful moment at that unspeakable joke of a wedding. I’d been so insane with fury that I couldn’t make my body work right. I’d been trapped, shaking and burning, unable to make the change and kill the monster just a few feet away from me. It had been so confusing. Dying to kill him. Afraid to hurt her. My friends in the way. And then, when I was finally able to take the form I wanted, the order from my leader. The edict from the Alpha. If it had been just Embry and Quil there that night without Sam†¦ would I have been able to kill the murderer, then? I hated it when Sam laid down the law like that. I hated the feeling of having no choice. Of having to obey. And then I was conscious of an audience. I was not alone in my thoughts. So self-absorbed all the time,Leah thought. Yeah, no hypocrisy there, Leah,I thought back. Can it, guys,Sam told us. We fell silent, and I felt Leah’s wince at the word guys. Touchy, like always. Sam pretended not to notice. Where’s Quil andJared? Quit’s got Claire. He’s taking her to the Clearwaters’. Good. Sue will take her. Jared was going to Kim’s,Embry thought. Good chance he didn’t hear you. There was a low grumble through the pack. I moaned along with them. When Jared finally showed up, no doubt he’d still be thinking about Kim. And nobody wanted a replay of what they were up to right now. Sam sat back on his haunches and let another howl rip into the air. It was a signal and an order in one. The pack was gathered a few miles east of where I was. I loped through the thick forest toward them. Leah, Embry, and Paul all were working in toward them, too. Leah was close – soon I could hear her footfalls not far into the woods. We continued in a parallel line, choosing not to run together. Well, we’re not waiting all day for him. He’ll just have to catch up later. ‘Sup, boss?Paul wanted to know. We need to talk. Something’s happened. I felt Sam’s thoughts flicker to me – and not just Sam’s, but Seth’s and Collin’s and Brady’s as well. Collin and Brady – the new kids – had been running patrol with Sam today, so they would know whatever he knew. I didn’t know why Seth was already out here, and in the know. It wasn’t his turn. Seth, tell them what you heard. I sped up, wanting to be there. I heard Leah move faster, too. She hated being outrun. Being the fastest was the only edge she claimed. Claimthis, moron, she hissed, and then she really kicked it into gear. I dug my nails into the loam and shot myself forward. Sam didn’t seem in the mood to put up with our usual crap. Jake, Leah, give it a rest. Neither of us slowed. Sam growled, but let it go. Seth? Charlie called around till he found Billy at my house. Yeah, I talked to him,Paul added. I felt a jolt go through me as Seth thought Charlie’s name. This was it. The waiting was over. I ran faster, forcing myself to breathe, though my lungs felt kinda stiff all of a sudden. Which story would it be? So he’s all flipped out. Guess Edward and Bella got home last week, and†¦ My chest eased up. She was alive. Or she wasn’t dead dead, at least. I hadn’t realized how much difference it would make to me. I’d been thinking of her as dead this whole time, and I only saw that now. I saw that I’d never believed that he would bring her back alive. It shouldn’t matter, because I knew what was coming next. Yeah, bro, and here’s the bad news. Charlie talked to her, said she sounded bad. She told him she’s sick. Carlisle got on and told Charlie that Bella picked up some rare disease in South America. Said she’s quarantined. Charlie’s going crazy, ’cause even he’s not allowed to see her. He says he doesn’t care if he gets sick, but Carlisle wouldn’t bend. No visitors. Told Charlie it was pretty serious, but that he’s doing everything he can. Charlie’s been stewing about it for days, but he only called Billy now. He said she sounded worse today. The mental silence when Seth finished was profound. We all understood. So she would die of this disease, as far as Charlie knew. Would they let him view the corpse? The pale, perfectly still, unbreathing white body? They couldn’t let him touch the cold skin – he might notice how hard it was. They’d have to wait until she could hold still, could keep from killing Charlie and the other mourners. How long would that take? Would they bury her? Would she dig herself out, or would the bloodsuckers come for her? The others listened to my speculating in silence. I’d put a lot more thought into this than any of them. Leah and I entered the clearing at nearly the same time. She was sure her nose led the way, though. She dropped onto her haunches beside her brother while I trotted forward to stand at Sam’s right hand. Paul circled and made room for me in my place. Beatcha again,Leah thought, but I barely heard her. I wondered why I was the only one on my feet. My fur stood up on my shoulders, bristling with impatience. Well, what are we waiting for?I asked. No one said anything, but I heard their feelings of hesitation. Oh, come on! The treaty’s broken! We have no proof – maybe sheis sick†¦. OH, PLEASE! Okay, so the circumstantial evidence is pretty strong. Still†¦ Jacob.Sam’s thought came slow, hesitant. Are you sure this is what you want? Is it really the right thing? We all know what she wanted. The treaty doesn’t mention anything about victim preferences, Sam! Is she really a victim? Would you label her that way? Yes! Jake,Seth thought, they aren’t our enemies. Shut up, kid! Just ’cause you’ve got some kind of sick hero worship thing going on with that bloodsucker, it doesn’t change the law. They are our enemies. They are in our territory. We take them out. I don’t care if you had fun fighting alongside Edward Cullen once upon a time. So what are you going to do when Bella fights with them, Jacob? Huh?Seth demanded. She’s not Bella anymore. You gonna be the one to take her down? I couldn’t stop myself from wincing. No, you’re not. So, what? You gonna make one of us do it? And then hold a grudge against whoever it is forever? I wouldn’t†¦ Sure you won’t. You’re not ready for this fight, Jacob. Instinct took over and I crouched forward, snarling at the gangly sand-colored wolf across the circle. Jacob!Sam cautioned. Seth, shut up for a second. Seth nodded his big head. Dang, what’d I miss? Quthought. He was running for the gathering place full-out. Heard about Charlie’s call†¦. Were getting ready to go,I told him. Why don’t you swing by Kim’s and drag Jared out with your teeth? We’re going to need everyone. Come straight here, Quil,Sam ordered. We’ve decided nothing yet. I growled. Jacob, I have to think about what’s best for this pack. I have to choose the course that protects you all best. Times have changed since our ancestors made that treaty. I†¦ well, I don’t honestly believe that the Cullens are a danger to us. And we know that they will not be here much longer. Surely once they’ve told their story, they will disappear. Our lives can return to normal. Normal? If we challenge them, Jacob, they will defend themselves well. Are you afraid? Are you so ready to losea brother? He paused. Or a sister? he tacked on as an afterthought. I’m not afraid to die. I know that, Jacob. It’s one reason I question your judgment on this. I stared into his black eyes. Do you intend to honor our fathers’ treaty or not? I honor my pack. I do what’s best for them. Coward. His muzzle tensed, pulling back over his teeth. Enough, Jacob. You’re overruled.Sam’s mental voice changed, took on that strange double timbre that we could not disobey. The voice of the Alpha. He met the gaze of every wolf in the circle. The pack is not attacking the Cullens without provocation. The spirit of the treaty remains. They are nota danger to our people, nor are they a danger to the people of Forks. Bella Swan made an informed choice, and we are not going to punish our former allies for her choice. Hear, hear,Seth thought enthusiastically. thought I told you to shut it, Seth. Oops. Sorry, Sam. Jacob, where do you think you’re going? I left the circle, moving toward the west so that I could turn my back on him. I’m going to tell my father goodbye. Apparently there was no purpose in me sticking around this long. Aw, Jake – don’t do that again! Shut up, Seth,several voices thought together. We don’t want you to leave,Sam told me, his thought softer than before. So force me to stay, Sam. Take away my will. Make me a slave. You know I won’t do that Then there’s nothing more to say. I ran away from them, trying very hard not to think about what was next. Instead, I concentrated on my memories of the long wolf months, of letting the humanity bleed out of me until I was more animal than man. Living in the moment, eating when hungry, sleeping when tired, drinking when thirsty, and running – running just to run. Simple desires, simple answers to those desires. Pain came in easily managed forms. The pain of hunger. The pain of cold ice under your paws. The pain of cutting claws when dinner got feisty. Each pain had a simple answer, a clear action to end that pain. Not like being human. Yet, as soon as I was in jogging distance of my house, I shifted back into my human body. I needed to be able to think in privacy. I untied my shorts and yanked them on, already running for the house. I’d done it. I’d hidden what I was thinking and now it was too late for Sam to stop me. He couldn’t hear me now. Sam had made a very clear ruling. The pack would not attack the Cullens. Okay. He hadn’t mentioned an individual acting alone. Nope, the pack wasn’t attacking anyone today. But I was. How to cite The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 8. Waiting For The Damn †¦, Essay examples

Acid Rain (1878 words) Essay Example For Students

Acid Rain (1878 words) Essay Acid RainAcid Rain Acid rain is a great problem in our world. It causes fish and plants to die in our waters. As well it causes harm to our own race as well, because we eat these fish, drink thiswater and eat these plants. It is a problem that we must all face together and try to get rid of. However acid rain on its own is not the biggest problem. It cause many other problems such as aluminum poisoning. Acid Rain is deadly. WHAT IS ACID RAIN? Acid rain is all the rain, snow, mist etc that falls from the sky onto our planet that contains an unnatural acidic. It is not to be confused with uncontaminated rain that falls, for that rain is naturally slightly acidic. It is caused by todays industry. When products are manufactured many chemicals are used to create it. However, because of the difficulty and cost of properly disposing of these products they are often emitted into the atmosphere with little or no treatment. The term was first considered to be important about 20 years ago when scientists in Sweden and Norway first believed that acidic rain may be causing great ecological damage to the planet. The problem was that by the time that the scientist found the problem it was already very large. Detecting an acid lake is often quite difficult. A lake does not become acid over night. It happens over a period of many years, some times decades. The changes are usually too gradual for them to be noticed early. At the beginning of the 20th century most rivers/lakes like the river Tovdal in Norway had not yet begun to die. However by 1926 local inspectors were noticing that many of the lakes were beginning to show signs of death. Fish were found dead along the banks of many rivers. As the winters ice began to melt off more and more hundreds upon hundreds more dead fish (trout in particular) were being found. It was at this time that scientist began to search for the reason. As the scientists continued to work they found manypiles of dead fish, up to 5000 in one pile, f urther up the river. Divers were sent in to examine thebottom of the rivers. What they found were many more dead fish. Many live and dead specimenswere taken back to labs across Norway. When the live specimens were examined they were foundto have very little sodium in their blood. This is typical a typical symptom of acid poisoning. Theacid had entered the gills of the fish and poisoned them so that they were unable to extract saltfrom the water to maintain their bodies sodium levels. Many scientist said that this acid poisingwas due to the fact that it was just after the winter and that all the snow and ice was running downinto the streams and lakes. They believed that the snow had been exposed to many naturalphenomena that gave the snow its high acid content. Other scientists were not sure that this theorywas correct because at the time that the snow was added to the lakes and streams the Ph levelswould change from around 5.2 to 4.6. They believed that such a high jump could not b e attributedto natural causes. They believed that it was due to air pollution. They were right. Since thebeginning of the Industrial revolution in England pollution had been affecting all the trees,soil andrivers in Europe and North America. However until recently the loses of fish was contained to thesouthern parts of Europe. Because of the constant onslaught of acid rain lakes and rivers began tolose their ability to counter act their affects. Much of the alkaline elements; such as calcium andlimestone; in the soil had been washed away. It is these lakes that we must be worried about forthey will soon become extinct. A fact that may please fishermen is that in lakes/rivers they tend tocatch older and larger fish. This may please them in the short run however they will soon have tochange lakes for the fish supply will die quickly in these lakes. The problem is that acid causesdifficulties the fishs reproductive system. Often fish born in acid lakes do not survive for they areborn w ith birth defects such as twisted and deformed spinal columns. This is a sign that they areunable to extract enough calcium from the water to fully develop their bone. These young soon die. Legality Of Same Sex Marriages! EssayWith not enough food the older fish did not have the energy to reproduce. Upon reaching the pHof 5.1 it was noted that the trout became cannibals. It is believed this is due to the fact that theminnow was nearly extinct. At a pH of 5.6 the external skeletons of crayfish softened and theywere soon infected with parasites, and there eggs were destroyed by fungi. When the pH wentdown to 5.1 they were almost gone. By the end of the experiment none of the major species hadsurvived the trials of the acid. The next experiment conducted by the scientists was to try and bringthe lake back to life. They cut in half the amount of acid that they dumped to simulate a large scalecleanup. Soon again the cuckers and minnows began to reproduce again. The lake eventually didcome back; to a certain extent; back to life. THE NEW THEORY: A scientist in Norway had aproblem believing that it was the acid rain on its own that was affecting the lakes in such a deadlyway . This scientist was Dr Rosenqvist. Why is it that during heavy rain, the swollen rivers can beup to fifteen times more acid than the rain? It cannot be the rain alone that is doing it, can it? Manyscientist shunned him for this however they could not come up with a better answer. Soon thescientists were forced to accept this theory. Sulfuric acid is composed of two parts, know as ions. The hydrogen ion is what make a substance acid. The other ion is sulphate. When there are morehydrogen ions then a substance is acid. It is this sulphate ion that we are interested in. When therain causes rivers to overboard onto the banks the river water passes through the soil. Since theindustrial revolution in britain there has been an increasing amount of sulphur in the soil. In theriver there is not enough sulphur for the acid to react in great quantities. However in the soil thereis a great collection of sulphur to aid the reaction. When it joins the water the pH becomes muchlower. This is the most deadly effect of acid rain on our water!!! The water itself does not containenough sulphur to kill off its population of fish and plants. But with the sulphur in the soil it does. CONCLUSION: Acid rain is a big problem. It causes the death of our lakes, our rivers, our wildlife and most importantly us. As well it causes other problems that are very serious as well such asthe release of aluminium and lead into our water supplies. We are suffering because of it. InScotland there are many birth defects being attributed to it. We must cut down the releases ofchemicals that cause it. But it will take time, even if we were to stop today we would have theproblem for years to come because of the build up in the soil. Lets hope we can do something. BibliographyBibliography Penguin Publishing House, 1987 , Pearce Fred Acid Rain. What is it and what is it doing to us?New York Publishers, 1989, William Stone Acid Rain. Fiend or Foe? Lucent books, Inc. 1990,Steward Gail Acid Rain. Environmental Issues