Thursday, March 12, 2009

Are We Seeing the End of Lead Ammunition?

It was Friday evening and my friend Wayne and I were having one of our usual survival topic conversations and the topic eventually got around to lead shot for shells. It seems that Wayne had notice something somewhere which stated that many of the states are considering banning Lead content in bullets and shotgun shells.

This of course got my creative juices flowing and after our conversation ended I decided to investigate this situation a little bit further. Since lead was a toxic type material it certainly would hold some merit at outlawing it for the sake of the environment and personal health. My first question that I asked myself was what are the alternatives? Do we currently have a lead free bullet at all?

Upon doing my research I discovered that some states such as California has already taken the liberty to ban lead ammunition in any area where endangered California condors may possibly reside. These large birds have been known to feed upon the various scrapes of meat which are usually left behind by the hunters after they field dress their kill. The problem stems from these scrapes containing residual lead shot. Lead position has been cited as the primary cause of Condor deaths in the area. In addition they have expressed some concern about the bullets not only contaminating the ecosystem but possibly affect people as well. Other states are actively promoting the non-use of lead shells and ammo such as Arizona, Utah, Minnesota and North Dakota. It would be only at matter of time before many other states will start to follow suit.

That still did not answer my inquiry as to an alternative material for creating bullets. Additional web searching revealed the use of copper as the alternative of choice for lead. Without doubt whenever there is controversy there are several sides to the issue. Major gun lobbies argue that the bans on lead bullets are simply unfounded and the lead poses no risks what so ever.

Lead free bullets have been around now for a number of years however it is just during the current green demands that they have gained visibility to the public. As any gun fan knows lead is the major component of ammo and has been pinpointed as a compound which lowers the IQ of many children in America today. There are numerous groups which desire to eliminate lead in any way, shape or form in the interests of the habitat and protecting the environment.

Hunters complain that the alternates proposed to replace lead in bullets have increased the cost of the shells. In America alone the gun groups spend in excess of $1.08 billion dollars per year on bullets alone.

As of late there has been a tremendous leap in the number of manufacturers of the lead free ammo. Most of the companies which make the copper bullets claim that the new style ammo outperforms the older lead type. In the market place today you can readily find major name businesses such as Winchester or Remington creating their own lead free ammunition.

It is even getting to the point where some of the nations firing ranges have begun to ban the use of the lead ammo for various safety concerns. Since the largest user of lead ammunition has always been the military is it contended that these lead bullets have contaminate major military training areas across the nation and are quickly becoming the primary concern of many environmental agencies.

Although recent tests and research conducted upon meat shot with lead bullets have been conducted the findings are not completely conclusive. It does appear that the meat can contain some what of an elevated level of lead further testing will need to be completed. Even with these meager facts several health departments have advised that meat shot with lead bullets not be given to high risk groups such as young children or to pregnant women.

Copyright @ 2009 Joseph Parish

For more information relating to survival visit us at http://www.survival-training.info

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

What You Need to Know to Improve Your Study Skills

Improving your study skills will make you a better student when taking tests and exams for any subject. Students who struggle to perform on tests do so for a variety of reasons. A big reason why certain students struggle is a failure to prepare properly. Students may be studying but not fully using their time wisely. This article will talk about how motivation and a desire to be great is the fundamental building block to success.

Tiger Woods is a classic example of motivation and a desire to be great, having that motivation and desire means going to the driving range and hitting 1000 golf balls everyday. But how do you get motivated or if you perceive to not have motivation how do you develop it. The answer is to find what motivates you. What I mean by that is what do you want to accomplish. Not knowing what you want to achieve makes it very difficult to get motivated.

Motivation and desire are often not always the difference between a great student and a good student. Its the difference the majority of times between a good student and a student who just gets by. Improving your study skills takes commitment and a desire to want to change. In essence you have to be motivated to make that change. Motivation can happen very quickly if you make the conscience decision to embrace it. That is the point of this article and how it relates to improving your study skills. To improve you must focus on it, set goals and get motivated to learn new study skills and then apply them. If you do you will see results in the classroom and exams guaranteed.

I have written a ton of articles on tips and study suggestions but without goals, desire and motivation all these tips will not help you. Students who graduate Magna Cum Laude have the desire to be great in school. They have a focus, they make sacrifices and they are motivated to complete a task to the best of their ability. If you want to be great at whatever you do strive for it and don't stop until you reach your goals.

My motivation was to become a better student by learning how to improve my study skills and also learning how to increase my study speed. Motivation will help you become a better student guaranteed but you have to find it and use it. As mentioned before becoming a better student is learning how to increase your study speed. A website you can go to to learn the benefits of speed studying is here SpeedStudyMethod.com Imagine how well of a test taker you will be when you can study twice the material in half the time. My motivation was because I had more time to focus on other things. There are many benefits to using this method of studying. I used this method and was able to finish my undergrad in 3 and half years and currently I carry a 3.79 in my MBA program. If you want to be a better student follow these tips and check the website out you won't regret it.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Online College Degrees - A Choice For Advance Degrees

Getting an online college degree has become a reality in present technologically driven world. Gone those days when you took break from school and couldn't comeback to finish the school. Now is the chance to get online degrees without leaving your job or other commitments.

The best part of online college degrees is that you can study by your pace and timings are also best suited to your time schedule. Ever since internet has become the part of life, imparting education through internet has become easy, cost effective and has added new dimension to teaching. With course material, video presentation and projects all uploaded and readily available by 7/24 schedule to students. The ease, flexibility and hands on experience have taken online education to new heights.

The benefits of online colleges are plenty. First registering for courses through online has become easy. Anytime by going online one can register for classes, check status, get course details, apply for exam or cancel the courses. The online interaction makes work so easy that you don't have to make personal visit to campus for any course related work.

The online degrees are also for people who want to better their education credentials. There are masters program available in business, healthcare, criminal justice or information technology. These online courses are accredited and are recognized by both private companies and government departments.

The only thing you need to ensure from your side is the discipline to complete assignments and submitting them on time. Since courses are done from home, you need to separate home environment with your study environment. The strong discipline is needed to ensure you remain in academic mood while reading courseware online.

Although the social factor may be missing in online courses as compared to traditional education system, were you will bump to many students at campus. In online course you have a degree of social interaction through e-mail, chat sessions and discussion forums. Many employers have started imparting online education policy to allow employees to obtain advance degrees or simply upgrade their skill sets to suit organization's needs.

However be careful when choosing the online college on internet. It is important to note that select only those colleges, which are accredited and their degrees should be honored by private and public companies. You must ensure that your money and time is invested in good online college degree.

Popular Online College Degrees

  • Health care

  • Nursing
  • Psychology
  • Criminal justice
  • Counseling
  • Paralegal studies
  • Accounts
  • Information Technology
  • Business

It is possible to complete all above degrees in a timely fashion without disturbing other commitments related to any other activity in life. The Online college degrees is the way for modern education.

More on online learning .... Read more

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Saturday, February 07, 2009

Choosing an Online Degree - 5 Tips to Find a Degree Program

If you type "Online Degree Search" into Google, you will get approximately 51,200,000 results. There are dozens of degree programs and online degree search sites that claim to have the right degree for you, but unfortunately many of these recommendations are based on the college's advertising budgets, not their credentials. So how do you know which online degree program is right for you? And where can you find objective information to help you make a decision? The following tips will help you navigate the sea of online degree options:

1. Protect Your Contact Information: Do you know online colleges will spend as much as 100 dollars per name to purchase the contact information of prospective students? When you search for an online degree, remember you have a giant bull's eye on your forehead. Don't be afraid to offer your contact information to colleges you are interested in, but take precautions to prevent unwanted direct mail, spam and telemarketing.

2. Don't Drown in Google Ads: As I mentioned, Googling "Online Degree Search" will yield over 50,000 results. Instead of sifting through these ads one by one, consider narrowing your search by including your preferred degree type and at least two other additional criteria. Also, understand the difference between "sponsored" and "organic" links. The "sponsored" links have paid to be there and may or may not have the most relevant information.

3. Start with a College Matching Service: The best way to get a quick list of potential degree programs is to visit a college matching site. There are dozens of college search sites that claim to help you find the right degree program, but unfortunately, many of these sites base their recommendations solely on the college's willingness to pay for a listing, not students' needs. To get a list of potential degree programs, start with an online degree search that will offer honest and objective recommendations. Avoid college search sites that request your contact information upfront, understand that "sponsored" or "featured" recommendations have paid to be listed there and make sure to read the terms of service.

4. Don't Get Sticker Shock: Students often immediately rule out certain degree programs because of cost, but don't be so quick to give programs the ax. The price of a degree program is affected by many different factors, so don't cross off any degree programs until you fully understand your financial aid and scholarship opportunities, and additional costs that may not be included.

5. Understand Accreditation: One of the biggest mistakes students make when choosing an online degree is ignoring accreditation. Many employers will not hire applicants with non-accredited degrees, nor will most colleges and universities accept non-accredited transfer credits. Additionally, you need to pay attention to the type of accreditation. Most colleges have either regional or national accreditation. There are advantages to both, but make sure you understand which one is right for you.

While choosing an online degree may be overwhelming, choosing the right degree will be well worth it. Happy Hunting!

Author Elizabeth Kudner is the co-founder of myUsearch.com, the Honest College Matchmaker, a free online service that helps students find their college match.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

What is the Goal of Academia?

Have you ever wondered what the true goal of school and college is? Most would say it is to educate the masses, and that indeed, in itself is a completely noble cause, one which should ensure and guarantee the ongoing strength of our nation right? Sure, but there is a lot more to it than that.

The overall goal of academia is not just to educate, it appears to also be to train little humans to be subservient to authority and to execute the future vision that those behind the curriculum demand and want to build, usually out of self-interests (surprise! they are humans).

Additionally, the longer people are in school the longer they are out of the workforce historically and that was also a use of academia, but with demographics changing (cite: Futurecast), shortages in some industries (truck drivers, nurses, law enforcement, auto mechanics, FAA, etc.) that may not work in the future and the list will grow.

Meanwhile we are going to need more technically qualified students in many sectors. For instance the complicated nature of auto maintenance, you practically need a degree in Computer Science. And who is going to fix, maintain, and build all these high tech, nanotech, biotech, robotics, and alternative energy technologies in the future?

America seems to have lost her way in the process of educating our citizenry, indeed in many ways we are failing. We've spent too much time brainwashing our next generation, than actually preparing them for the realities they will face once they graduate and that is really a shame. Think on this.

Lance Winslow - Lance Winslow's Bio. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Why You Should Get a Paralegal Degree Online

There are many different ways, nowadays, to go about getting your degrees. However, one of the best ways to go about getting a degree is to get it online. This is a statement that holds true for paralegal degrees a well. Today we are going to cover the basic information on why you should choose to get your paralegal degrees online. In the end, you will see that online degree classes are just the overall best way for people to get degrees, no matter what field you are trying to get into.

First of all, when you get paralegal degrees online, you get to study when it's most convenient for you! No more trying to get your current job to try and work around your school schedule and so on. Now you can choose to take classes when it is convenient for you, and that means that you can study when you have the time to do so. For example, if you work during the day, then you could take your classes during the night from the comfort of your own home. This pretty much gives everyone the shot to be able to go back to school and do whatever they want to do. For the longest time, paralegal degrees were not offered online. However, nowadays they are, and they are pretty easy to come by. Just make sure you choose to get your online degree from an accredited school.

Not only do you have the ability to study when you want when getting online paralegal degrees, but you also have the ability to study wherever you want! This can be done, because your campus can be located anywhere, or at least anywhere that you can find an internet connection. As long as you are able to find a cable internet connection, you can attend class, submit work, and interact with your teacher. See, a lot of people think that when you take internet courses, you are taking the class alone, however, that is not the case at all. In fact, with online degrees, now you can interact with other classmates and contact your teacher in real time. Of course, you can email your teacher whenever you want to, but if you are online at the same time, you have the ability to actually live chat with your teacher, and it's almost as if they are standing in the same room with you.

The overall best reason to get your paralegal degrees online is because you can choose from a variety of schools. You no longer have to settle with a school, because it's in the area that you live. When you take classes online, you are able to attend those classes from anywhere in the world. You can actually choose a school based on its overall recommendation from other students, and not just choose a school because of its location. This is something that gives you a sense of power whenever you do it. It makes you feel as if you are in control of your own future for the first time in your life.

Kelly Hunter owns and operates http://www.paralegal-degrees.net and writes about Paralegal Degrees

Monday, January 05, 2009

Making Your College Application Stand Out

Accredited online colleges across the Internet are bombarded with applications for programs all year long. Luckily, because they are accredited online colleges, they generally have more space than a traditional brick and mortar college, but you will still need to go through the applications process. How do you make sure that an admissions officer notices your application? There are hundreds of thousands of applications pouring in, and you need yours to be one of the best so that you can continue your education. Use these tried and true ideas for making your application a success so you can be on your way to a new career.

Most colleges will have you write an application essay. Make sure your essay is well thought out and thought provoking. Plan to spend time on it, and start early so you don't feel rushed. Make sure your thesis is clear and original. Use your transcript to your advantage. Your GPA should be solid and above a 2.0 to be considered. Take challenging classes so that your transcript is more impressive.

If you find that you need letters of recommendation, only include the most enthusiastic letters that are well written by intelligent people. Although your Uncle Bob's opinion of you may be wonderful, it's best to include the recommendation of a trusted and respected teacher instead. Finally, include your activities outside of schoolwork, such as charity work or work in the community. This will show that you have interests and are willing to use them to benefit other people. Good luck with your application!

DegreeSearch.org (http://degreesearch.org/portal/degrees) is an online portal for finding accredited online degrees. Billings Farnsworth is a freelance writer.