Saving world for a latte - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1224 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? Saving the World for a Latte Its trash day in Everett, Mass., and the streets are lined with garbage cans. But as a white truck rumbles through this working-class suburb of Boston, theres something overshadowing the roadside cans: huge 96-gallon maroon recycling containers. At each stop, workers wheel the bins onto hydraulic lifts on the back of the truck. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Saving world for a latte" essay for you Create order They pull a lever and a clanging mix of beer bottles, soup cans, milk jugs and newspapers spills into the truck. Before swallowing up that waste, the high-tech system scans radio-frequency ID tags embedded in the containers and weighs how much each household recycled that week. That data is instantly transmitted to a Web site, where its converted into points that homeowners can redeem for discounts at stores like CVS or on national brands like Coke. Basically, its like a frequent-flier program for recyclers. Turning trash into treasure is the premise behind RecycleBank, a four-year-old green-tech startup out of New York that runs the Everett program. The brainchild of two high-school science partners, RecycleBank hopes to be serving 1 million U.S. homes by the end of 2009. The logo on those binsa piggy bank with a garbage can stuck to its rumpgets at the companys simple proposition: What if you could be rewarded for recycling? The answer: soaring recycling rates in the East Coast markets where the company has rolled out. Wilmington, Del., has seen its recycling rate jump from 3 percent to 32 percent since RecycleBank arrived a year ago. In Everett, where the program launched citywide in July, the average household now recycles the equivalent of 830 pounds a year, up tenfold since the program launched. The recycling buzz is out there, says Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria. Its fun filling that thing up to the top. Perhaps its a commentary on the woes of Wall Street, but investors are seeing gold in garbage. With rising demand from markets like China and India, prices for scrap material like aluminum and paper have soared, which makes the economics of recycling more compelling than ever. Thats why venture capitalists dumped a record $161 million into recycling firms last year, up from just $17 million in 2001, according to Cleantech Group, a green-investing consultant. And RecycleBank is one of the hottest plays, attracting $40 million from backers like Silicon Valley venture-capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, former American Express CEO James Robinson III and Coca-Cola. The company was conceived six years ago when Fordham law student Patrick FitzGerald became transfixed by a New York Times story describing how Gotham was considering ditching recycling because it wasnt working economically. FitzGerald wondered: Would people recycle more if you gave them a financial incentive? He took that idea to his old high-school chum Ron Gonen, then an MBA student at Columbia University. Gonen worked up a Web-based business plan and convinced Columbia to kick in $100,000 to incubate the idea. Today, RecycleBank has 80 employees and operates in nine states, mostly on the East Coast. (FitzGerald left RecycleBank last year to start up two other green ventures). Now, though, RecycleBank is testing its appeal by expanding into unfamiliar territorythe South and Midwest, where recycling rates are the lowest in the country. This fall, RecycleBank bins are wheeling into Texas, Ohio, Minnesota and South Dakota. Nationally, Americans recycle 32.5 percent of the mess we make, double the rate we recycled in 1990. Fueling that growth lately has been the move to single-stream recycling, where you throw all your recyclables into a single bin, rather than separating them, a convenience that made RecycleBank possible. But recycling is most prevalent on the coasts. In the Midwest and South, recycling rates are often in the single digits to nonexistent. Thats not driven by some regional lack of virtue. Its all about economics. In the wide-open spaces in the countrys interior, building a landfill is a cheaper propositionand so are the fees cities pay to dump there. So theres less motivation to fill those blue bins. Technically, everybody is supposed to recycle, says Bob Novak, a Sioux Falls, S.D., waste hauler whos bringing RecycleBank to town this month. But very few are doing everything they could. Theres lots of room for growth. Gonen, 33, remains undaunted by the lack of conservation culture in the center of the country. His companys appeal has never been solely about doing the right thing. Its a pocketbook play: Households get 2.5 points for every pound they recycle and can earn a maximum of 450 points a month. Each point is worth a dime, so the monthly max is $45. You can redeem those points for a Latte at Dunkin Donuts or to cut your grocery bill. I dont think culturally its a tough sell, says Gonen. Our customer is anyone who lives in a home and buys stuff. Anyone Ive met in the Midwest lives in a home and is a consumer. RecycleBank makes its money from fees paid by its retail partners for online advertising and other marketing support. It also can make millions splitting the savings cities realize from diverting trash from the dump to materials recovery facilities that sort it, crush it and ship it out for reuse. Take Everett, which pays $76 for every ton of garbage it tips into landfills. Since RecycleBank arrived, garbage trucks are picking up 14 tons of recycling a day, instead of 3 tons. Thats 11 tons of trash no longer going to the dump daily. RecycleBank also is compiling a vast database of green consumers it can sell to marketers; the company hopes to service 10 million homes within five years. RecycleBank doesnt run the trucks, says Scott Vitters, a recycling exec at Coke, which has invested $2 million. They are a marketing tool. Green as it is, RecycleBank is still running in the red. SEC documents from RecycleBanks only publicly traded investor, Casella Waste Systems, indicate the company lost about $2.5 million in the three months ended July 31, suggesting an annual burn rate of $10 million. RecycleBank says those numbers are outdated, and Gonen promises profits by the first quarter of 2010. Thats just fine with his investors. If we wanted it to be a smaller, more profitable company, we could do that right now, says Stuart Ellman of RRE Ventures. Wed rather build out the company and lose some money early on. To RecycleBank customers, the goal is to build up the points as quickly as possible. Sure, some have tried gaming the system, hiding bowling balls in the bottom of the bin, but many are simply confused about what you can toss. The waste haulers are trained to spot contaminated loads and can reject them by pushing a red button on the truck, which automatically generates a letter to that home on what can be recycled. On Winslow Street, the workers reject a container weighed down with wood. As they head off, the elderly homeowner comes hobbling after them on a cane. Wood is not recyclable? he asks. Told its not, he scurries back, removes the wood and wheels his bin back to the truck to be weighed and dumped. And most important, so he can earn his points. After all, saving the planet is fine. But saving a buck is even better.

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight In Heaven Essay

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight In Heaven Defining exactly what shapes ethnic identity in the United States is the hardest question I can imagine being asked. As a child born in the United States, I find this question so difficult because I have been exposed to a large variety of cultures within the small boundaries of my own family. This makes it very difficult to determine one, or even a few characteristics that define ethnic identity. In the case of many of these novels, the task of defining ethnic identity is not so complicated. The list of determinants that I believe to define ethnic identity includes language, geographic location, and tradition. Language is the most obvious determinant of ethnic identity, especially†¦show more content†¦In the book that I chose to read, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven, by Sherman Alexie, this was the chief determinant of ethnicity. In this novel, the main character spends much of his life on an Indian Reservation. The Reservation facilitates only Indians, and each inhabitant of the Reservation seems to know what the others are thinking. They all seem to accept the fact that the entire Reservation suffers with alcoholism, which was a burdening theme of the entire novel. The fact that all of the Indians live in the same area, with limited interaction involving non-Indian people, defines them as an ethnic race. In the case of this novel, they may have been poorly defined as alcoholics, but the Reservation defined them, nonetheless. Part of the definition of ethnic identity can often times be the common rejection of other ethnic values for a specific reason. This rejection of influence from other ethnicities seemed to be quite a common theme in all of the novels reviewed in our selection, but most abundant in Coming of Age in Mississippi, by Anne Moody. In this novel there was consistent conflict among black slaves due to the turmoil endured throughout lives in which rich, white plantation owners were served. Many slaves, and freed slaves that maintained the same duties with pay when awarded their freedom, were fed up with working for men that had treated them so poorly in the past. Lack of employment optionsShow MoreRelated Sherman Alexie’s The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven956 Words   |  4 Pagesa person tried to be unique, the society would try to drag that person down to society’s hopeless status. Personally, I couldn’t stand a minute in a world like that. Unfortunate ly, worlds like these exist. In Sherman Alexie’s The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven, Alexie writes about a typical Indian reservation in the United States without hope, diversity, uniqueness, heroes and role models. A large majority of the Native American population are hopelessly drinking their lives away withRead More Comparing Black Elk Speaks and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven1679 Words   |  7 PagesComparing Black Elk Speaks and The Lone Ranger and Tonto FistFight in Heaven      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Traditionally, Native American Literature has been an oral genre. Although Native American Literature was the first American literature created, it has been the last to be recognized -and, to some extent, is still waiting for full recognition (www.usc.edu). With the Indian being forced to assimilate, their literature was forced to take on a written form. Although the traditional way of storytelling has changedRead MoreThe Lone Ranger And Tonto Fistfight In Heaven Analysis993 Words   |  4 PagesThe Wrong American Dream: Struggling to Assimilate in â€Å"The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven† â€Å"Kill the Indian and save the Man,† sounds more like something out of a dystopian novel than an educational campaign slogan, but in 1887 those were the words chosen by Army Lt. Richard Henry Pratt to garner public support for government’s attempt to forcefully â€Å"Americanize† Native Americans. Native Americans that survived violence were coerced into wearing white man’s clothes, cutting their hairRead MoreSherman Alexie s The Lone Ranger And Tonto Fight984 Words   |  4 Pages In Sherman Alexie’s, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven the author grabs the attention of the reader when he focuses on moments of racism and discrimination of Indian characters, these situations can be applicable to modern day American society. In the collection, Alexie depicts the life of several Indian’s lives, living on the Spokane Indian reservation many of whom face discrimination on a daily basis. The ideas behind the bigotry in the assortment of stories are backed by Alexie’sRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem The Lone Ranger And Tonto Heaven 804 Words   |  4 PagesWithin â€Å"The Lone Ranger and Tonto in Heaven†, Victor is the main character of the stories in the book. Though his character, Victor was the young teenager who grows up in the Indian Reservation, and he is observing his society and struggle of the Indian Identity, alcoholic behavior, and family relationships. Sherman Alexie is the author s of the book, and he grows up in t he Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington. He also wrote books, poems, and movie scripts. In his writing, he is rememberingRead MoreAnalysis Of Sherman Alexie s The Lone Ranger And Tonto Fistfight 1233 Words   |  5 Pages Throughout â€Å"The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven† the theme of resilience is deliberately presented. Native Americans past and present continue to face stifling issues such as racism, alcoholism, isolation and suicide. Sherman Alexie makes it his obligation in his stories and poems to show Native American resiliency through humor. By using his characters to show resiliency through humor Alexie presents humor as an integral part of Native American survival. In Sherman Alexie’sRead MoreEssay Sherman Alexie1140 Words   |  5 Pagesgraduated in American Studies from Washington State. He then received two consecutive Fellowships in 1991 and 1992, and shortly thereafter wrote six poetry and poem/short story books. Two of these, The Business of Fancy Dancing and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven, earned him literary awards (What 1). By 1998, his list of accomplishments grew to include Reservation Blues (1995), which earned him Granta’s Best of Young Novelists, the Before Columbus Foundations Book Award, and the Murray MorganRead MoreSpecial Talents: Story Telling and Imagination 568 Words   |  2 Pagesthe same as imagination in that it again is a debatable topic. Some people think it is useful and entertaining, while some people believe otherwise and think it is ignorant and a waste of time. But to Sherman Alexie author of, â€Å"The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, â€Å" it was much more than tha t. It was perhaps more like a lifestyle or something that has been passed down for centuries like Thomas Builds-The-Fire and his family. Imagination creates storytellers who then tell stories which isRead MoreThe Lone Ranger And Tonto Fistfight Essay1521 Words   |  7 PagesThe Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is a book written by; Sherman Alexie. In this book, Alexie writes about a group of Native Americans who live on the Spokane Indian Reservation. As this novel may be fiction, some of the stories that are portrayed in the text have some very real meaning the them. These Native Americans endure lots of heartache and tragedy in this book as they are faced with problems like alcoholism, car accidents, loss of loved one and houses burning. In the face of adversityRead MoreAn Analysis Of Sherman Alexie s The Lone Ranger And Tonto Fight Heaven 1119 Words   |  5 PagesMake It Out Alive In Sherman Alexie’s ‘The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven’ (2005 edition) alcoholism plays a huge role throughout the book. Particularly in the short stories ‘Amusement’, ‘The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn’t Flash Red Anymore’ and ‘A Train is an Order of Occurrence Designed to Lead to Some Result’. Kids on the reservation always start off good with school and sports keeping them busy, but somewhere along the way they always seem to fall off track. That is

Outlook Towards Maintenance of Liquid Assets to Ensure That Adequate Cash in Hand Is Available free essay sample

How to maintenance of liquid assets to ensure frm has adequate cash? Asking the above-referenced question without statistics makes it impossible for anyone to give you a proper answer. Generally speaking, you must limit expenses and ensure that some of your assets are in the form of short term assets. The higher your short term assets and the less your short term debt, the better your ability to pay the debt (short term liquidity ratio / liquidity ratio help you determine this). There is no perfect number or ratio for every firm. Each industry/business is unique. Strive to control debt (some debt is very good since it helps a business grow) and to maintain enough assets in the form of cash and cash equivalents Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules, 1975 Maintenance of liquid assets (1) Every company shall, before the 30th day of April of each year, deposit or invest, as the case may be, a sum which shall not be less than 23[fifteen per cent] of the amount of its deposits maturing during the year ending on the 31st day of March next following in any one or more of the following methods, namely: a) in a current or other deposit account with any scheduled bank, free charge of lien; (b) in unencumbered securities of the Central Government or of any State Government; (c) in unencumbered securities mentioned in clauses (a) to (d) and (ee) of section 20 of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 (2 of 1882); 24[(d) in unencumbered bonds issued by the Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited, Bombay, a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956), and notified under clause (f) of section 20 of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 (2 of 1882)]: 5 [Provided that with relation to the deposits maturing during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1979, the sum required to be deposited or invested under this sub-rule shall be deposited or invested before the 26[30th day of September, 1978]. We will write a custom essay sample on Outlook Towards Maintenance of Liquid Assets to Ensure That Adequate Cash in Hand Is Available or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page ] Explanation. For the purpose of this sub-rule, the securities referred to in clause (b) or clause (c) shall be reckoned at their market value. 2) The amount deposited or invested, as the case may be, under sub-rule (1), shall not be utilized for any purpose other than for the repayment of deposits maturing during the year referred to in that sub-rule, provided that the amount remaining deposited or invested, as the case may be, shall not at any time fall below 23[fifteen per cent] of the amount of deposits maturing until the 31st day of March of that year. ] Maintainence of Liquidity in Business One of the principal aims of a Manager is the maintenance of liquid assets. Maintenance of liquid assets connotes that the firm always has enough cash in hand to pay for 1. Recurring Expenses 2. To make unexpected large purchases 3. To meet emergencies at all times The best way to maintain a cash flow is to prevent overdue accounts and avert a blockage in the inflow of income. The ideal way to do this would be avoiding doing business with customers who have proven bad credit histories however, on the other hand rigid customer policies limiting the firms business with companies having only irreproachable credit records would deplete the firms pool of potential customers. With the Management looking at expanding the business it becomes necessary to do business with most people who want to do business with you. The reality of a growing business is that the biggest and best clients also want sufficient billing period and then ask for two months time for making payments. Here is where the Manager is caught between two horns. While the firm does not want to lose clients or destroy any potential or established business relationships by laying down harsh payment terms, it is also necessary for the Manager to take some control of accounts receivable to avoid causing chaos with the cash flow. Expansion of business requires extension of credit and when a firm extends credit, it is in effect loaning customers money, which in turn affects liquidity as any company wants to be reasonably sure that the money will be paid back. The primary step towards maintenance of liquid assets therefore commences with verification of ‘customer credit worthiness’. Certain steps can be taken to check whether the customer is good enough on his payments.