Literature Review Methane

Methane Recovery from Landfills Utilization as a Potential Energy Source and Impact on Reduction of Green House Gasses According to The Conference Board of Canada, current Canadian municipal solid waste (MSW) generation levels are approximately 30 million tonnes per year, with a rate of 894 kg per capita, 67 percent of which is landfilled. (Jones L. et al. 2002) Sanitary landfills burry MSW under soil, sanctioning a complex series of reactions to occur, where anaerobic microorganisms decompose a portion of the organic fraction of the waste producing methane and carbon dioxide.Methane generation and emission from landfills are topics of major interest due to methane's role in the greenhouse effect, migration of hazard potential, health and safety issues and energy applications. The objective of this literature review is to provide a concise relationship between MSW and landfill gasses (LFG), details of potential methods used for capturing methane as appose to emitting the gas as well as the benefits of doing. Rendering to information written by D. R. Reinhart and T. G. Townsend (1998), MSW contains approximately 50 – 70 % of biodegradable material, such as food, paper, wood, and garden trimmings.Once MSW is deposited into a landfill, it undergoes a number of biological, physical and chemical changes. These changes are greatly dependent on site conditions, waste characteristics, temperature, quantity of oxygen, moisture content and other factors. (Nozhevinikova et al. 1993) The most important reactions occurring within the landfill are those involving the microbes which begin to consume the carbon in the organic material, in turn causing the decomposition and eventually leading to the evaluate of LFG.In sanitary landfills, the process of burying waste and regularly covering deposits with a low permeability material creates an internal anaerobic environment that favors methane producing bacteria since the presence of oxygen is lacking. Pathways leading to t he production of methane and carbon dioxide from anaerobic digestion of organic fraction of solid waste are briefly described bellow: 1) Decomposition of organic matter- In this preliminary process, compounds of higher molecular mass (Lipids, proteins, nucleic acids etc. are transformed into intermediate mass compounds making them much more suitable for the microorganisms as a source of energy and cell carbon 2) Conversion of decomposed matter to Organic Acid- In this phase, the existing microorganisms convert the intermediate molecular mass compounds into lower molecular mass compounds such as compel organic acids. 3) Conversion of Acetic Acid to Methane Gas- During this stage, the microorganisms transform the acetic acid into methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) gasses. Cassia de Brito Galvao, T. and Pos, W. H. 2002) As the solid waste decomposes in landfills, the gas which is emitted is composed of approximately 50 percent CH4 and 50 percent CO2, both of which are green house g asses (GHG) (Bingemer, H G. , ; Crutzen, P. J. 1987) With Landfilling being the primary source of disposal of MSW around the world, (Encyclopedia Britanica 2012) methane emissions from landfill represent the largest source of GHG emissions from the waste sector, contributing around 700 Mt CO2-e. United Nations Environmental Programme 2012) As recorded by Environment Canada (2010), similar trends exist nationally with emissions from Canadian landfills accounting for 20% of the total national methane emissions. Information gathered in a thesis prepared by Palananthakumar, B. (1991) outlines the proportion of methane produced world wide from landfills, and can be seen illustrated graphically below in Figure 1. 0. Figure 1. 0: % of Methane Production Contributions Worldwide from Landfill Existing research leads to the confident statement that methane is a potent greenhouse gas.As summarized in a 2009 article from the Municipal Solid Waste, the Journal for Municipal Solid Waste Professio nals, In its Fourth Assessment Report (2007), The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that, on a 100-year time frame, each molecule of methane has a global warming potential 25 times higher than that associated with a molecule of carbon dioxide. (Duffy, D. P. et al 2009) Table 1. 0 summarizes the enumerated global warming potential for the primary greenhouse gasses discussed. Table 1. : Global Warming Potential (GWP) for a Given Time Horizon Greenhouse Gas| GWP20-yr (kg CO2-e| GWP (IPCC 2007) 100-yr (kg CO2-e)| GWP 500-yr (kg CO2-e)| Carbon Dioxide (CO2)| 1| 1| 1| Methane (CH4)| 72| 25| 7. 6| (Forster, P. et al 2007) In the last decade, attention to methane emissions from landfills has grown significantly with increased and ongoing awareness of global warming. The efforts of individual landfills as well as the nations as a whole are closely monitored for the control of methane emissions.A trend has been observed that the magnitude of methane emission has been slightly decreasing, which is potentially due to the development of LFG to energy projects. Contrary to the negative perception associated with all greenhouse gasses, capturing this LFG can lead to beneficial outcomes. Generally, recovered methane either flares or is used as source of energy. The use of the gas as a source of energy is economical and environmentally friendly method to reduce LFG emissions. There are three primary approaches for the utilization of LFG.They include; 1) Direct use of gas locally 2) Generation of electricity and distribution through power grid 3) Processing and injection into a gas pipeline. (Palananthakumar, B. 1991) The captured LFG has the potential to provide a continuous source of energy and improve local air quality. In addition, using LFG can significantly reduce GHG emission, making the option of exploiting this alternative energy source a very viable option to MSW management. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has utilized this M SW management option and continues to encourage it.They have created a program that aims to help reduce methane emissions from landfills by assisting and encouraging the recovery and use of LFG as an energy resource. Since the programs inception, Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) has assisted 520 LFG energy projects in the United States reduce landfill CH4 emissions and avoid CO2 emissions by a combined 44 million metric tons of carbon equivalent. The reduction of methane emission through this program has slightly influenced the overall emission of LFG in USA.The success of LMOP can be reckoned by observing statistics from 2010 where reductions from all operational LFG energy projects were equivalent to Annual GHG emissions from 18. 5 million passenger vehicles. (United States Environmental Protection Agency 2012) A variety of technologies exist to generate electricity from collected methane including, internal combustion engines, gas turbines, and microturbines. Although the re is a diversity of technologies, approximately eighty five percent of existing LFG electricity generation projects use internal combustion engines or turbines. United States Environmental Protection Agency 2012) â€Å"How much energy can Municipal solid waste produce? † is a common question among existing research. According to â€Å"An Overview of Landfill Gas Energy in the United States† published by U. S. Environmental Protection Agency Landfill Methane Outreach Program, one million tons of landfilled MSW can produce an electricity generation capacity of approximately 0. 8 MW. To further quantify this value, allowing the magnitude of the electricity generation to be understood, Focus on Energy (2003) outlines that 0. 8MW would be drawn to power approximately 8 000 100w light bulbs.It can be concluded that LFG recovery wreaks benefits environmentally, socially and economically. LFG recovery, particularly methane, also makes an impact on the larger issue termed gree n house effect, as it is amongst the most cost effective and feasible measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The recovered LFG can be directly or indirectly utilized to produce energy, which is a perpetually small, however; a very important component of an integrated approach to the solid waste management given that the use of landfills continues to remain the predominant method of municipal solid waste disposal in most countries. Global Methane 2012) References Bingemer, H G. , ; Crutzen, P. J. (1987). The Production of Methane from Solid Wastes. † Journal of Geophysical Research, 90(D2), 2181–2187. Cassia de Brito Galvao, T. and Pos, W. H. (2002) â€Å"Landfill Biogas Management: Case of Chilean Sanitary Landfills. † Recovering Energy from Waste, 183-194. Conference Board of Canada. (2011). â€Å"Municipal Waste Generation. † How Canada Performs, ; http://www. conferenceboard. ca/hcp/details/environment/municipal- waste-generation. aspx#_ftnref3; ( Sept. 28th, 2012) Duffy, D.. P et al (2009). â€Å"Moving Up†¦ to the Top of the Landfill. Municipal Solid Waste Management. 19(2), 36-39. Encyclopedia Britanica (2012). â€Å"Solid Waste Management. † ;http://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/553362/solid-wastemanagement /72390/Sanitary-landfill; (Sept. 29th, 2012) Environment Canada (2010). â€Å"Municipal Solid Waste and Greenhouse Gases. † ;http://www. ec. gc. ca/gdd-mw/default. asp? lang=En;n=6F92E701-1; (Sept 29th, 2012) Focus On Energy (2003). â€Å"Electricity Basics for Renewable Energy Systems†, Focus on Energy, Wisconsin. Forster, P. et al (2007) â€Å"Changes in Atmospheric Constituents and in Radiative Forcing. Climate Change 2007:The Physical Science Basis. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA. Global Methane (2012). â€Å"Basic Concepts of Integrated Solid Waste Management. † International Best Practices Guide for LFGE Projects, Global Methan e Initiative, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. Jones, L. et al. (2002). â€Å"Environmental Indicators 5th Edition. † Critical Issues Bulletin, The Fraser Institute: Vancouver, BC Landfill Methane Outreach Program (2012). â€Å"An Overview of Landfill Gas Energy in the United States† U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC.Nozhevinikova, A. N. , et al. (1993). â€Å"Microbiological Process in Landfills. † Water Science Technology, 27(2), 243-252. Reinhart, D. R. , and Townsend, T. G. (1998). Landfill Bioreactor Design ; Operation, CRC Press LLC: Boca Raton, FL, USA. Palananthakumar, B. (1991). â€Å"Modeling of Methane Generation, Oxidation and Emission in Landfills. † M. Eng. Thesis, Asian Institute of Technology School of Environment, Resources and Development, Bangkok, Thailand. United States Environmental Protection Agency (2012). â€Å"Landfill Gas Energy:A Guide to Developing and Implementing Greenhouse Gas Reduc tion Programs. Local Government Climate and Energy Strategy Guides, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. United States Environmental Protection Agency (2011). â€Å"Landfill Methane Outreach Program. † Environmental Protection Agency, ;http://www. epa. gov/lmop/ faq/ lmop. html; (Sept 29th, 2012) United Nations Environmental Programme (2012) â€Å"Waste and Climate Change: Global Trends and Strategy Framework. † United Nations Environmental Programme Division of Technology, Industry and Economics International Environmental Technology Centre, Osaka, Japan.

Night World : Daughters of Darkness Chapter 16

After that, things happened very fast, and at the same time with a dreamy slowness. Mary-Lynnette felt her arms grabbed from behind. Something was pulling her hands together-somethingstrong. Then she felt the bite of cord on her wrists, and she realized what was happening. Tied up-I'm going to be helpless-I've got todosomething fast†¦. She fought, trying to wrench herself away, trying to kick. But it was already too late. Her hands were secure behind her back-and some part of her mind noted distantly that no wonder people on cop shows yell when they're handcuffed. Ithurt. Her shoulders gave a shriek of agony as she was dragged backward up against a tree. â€Å"Stop fighting,† a voice snarled. A thick, distorted voice she didn't recognize. She tried to see who it was, but the tree was in the way. â€Å"If you relax itwon't hurt.† . Mary-Lynnette kept fighting, but it didn't make any difference. She could feel the deeply furrowedbark of the tree against her hands and back-and now she couldn't move. Oh, God, oh, God-1 can't get away. Iwas alreadyweak from what Ash and I did-and now I can't move at all. Then stop panicking andthink, her inner voice said fiercely. Use your brain instead of getting hysterical. Mary-Lynnette stopped struggling. She stood panting and tried to get control of her terror. â€Å"I told you. It only hurts when you fight. A lot of things are like that,† the voice said. Mary-Lynnette twisted her head and saw who it was. Her heart gave a sick lurch. She shouldn't havebeen surprised, but she was-surprised and infi nitely disappointed. â€Å"Oh, Jeremy,† she whispered. Except that it was a different Jeremy than the one she knew. His face was the same, his hair, his clothes-but there was something weird about him, something powerful and scary and †¦unknowable. His eyes were as inhuman and flat as a shark's. â€Å"I don't want to hurt you,† he said in that distorted stranger's voice. â€Å"I only tied you up because I didn't want you to interfere.† Mary-Lynnette's mind was registering different things in different layers. One part said, MyGod, he's trying to be friendly, and another part said, Tointerferewith what? and a third part just kept saying Ash. She looked at Ash. He was lyingverystill, andMary-Lynnette's wonderful new eyes that could seecolors in moonlight saw that his blond hair was slowly soaking with blood. On the ground beside himwas a club made of yew – made of the hard yellow sapwood. No wonder he was unconscious. But if he's bleeding he's not dead-oh, God, please,he can'tbe dead-Rowan said that only staking and burning kill vampires†¦. â€Å"I have to take dare of him,† Jeremy said. â€Å"And then I'll let you go, I promise. Once I explain everything, you'll understand.† Mary-Lynnette looked up from Ash to the strangerwith Jeremy's face. With a shock, she realized what he meant by â€Å"take care of.† Three words that were just part of life to a hunterto a werewolf. So now I know about werewolves. They're killers and I was right all along. I was right and Rowan was wrong. â€Å"It'll only take a minute,† Jeremy said-and hislips drew back. Mary-Lynnette's heart seemed to slam violently inside her chest. Because his lips went farther up than any human's lips could. She could see his gums, whitish-pink. And she could see why his voice didn't sound like Jeremy's-it was his teeth. White teeth in the moonlight. The teeth from herdream. Vampire teeth were nothing compared to this. The incisors at the front were made for cutting fleshfrom prey, the canines were two inches long, the teeth behind them looked designed for slicing and shearing. Mary-Lynnette suddenly remembered-somethingVic Kimble's father had said three years ago. He'd said that a wolf could snap off the tail of a full-grown cow clean as pruning shears. He'd been complaining that somebody had let a wolf-dog crossbreed looseand it was going after his cattle†¦. Except that of course it wasn't a crossbreed, Mary-Lynnette thought. It was Jeremy. I saw him everyday at school-and then he must have gone hometo look like this. Tohunt. Just now, as he stood over Ash with his teeth all exposed and his chest heaving, Jeremy looked completely, quietly insane. â€Å"But why?† Mary-Lynnette burst out.†Whydo youwant to hurt him?† Jeremy looked up-and she got another shock. His eyes were different. Before she'd seen them flash white in the darkness. Now they had no whites at all. They were brown with large liquid pupils. Theeyes of an animal. So it doesn't need to be a full moon, she thought. He can change anytime. â€Å"Don't you know?† he said. â€Å"Doesn't anybody understand?This ismy territory.† Oh.Oh †¦ So it was as simple as that. After all their brainstorming and arguing and detective work. In the end it was something as basic as an animal protectingits range. â€Å"For a hunting range, it is small,† Rowan had said. â€Å"They were taking my game,† Jeremy said. â€Å"My deer, my squirrels. They didn't have any right to dothat. I tried to make them leave-but they wouldn't.They stayed and they kept killing†¦.† He stopped talking-but a new sound came fromhim. It started out almost below the range of MaryLynnette's hearing-but the deep rumbling of itstruck some primal chord of terror in her. It was asuncanny and inhuman as the danger-hum of an at tacking swarm of bees. Growling. He was growling. And it wasreal.The snarling growl a dog makes that tells you to turn and run. The sound it makes before it springs at yourthroat†¦. â€Å"Jeremy!† Mary-Lynnette screamed. She threwherself forward, ignoring the white blaze of pain in her shoulders. But the cord held. She was jerked back. And Jeremy fell on Ash, lunging down, head darting forward like a striking snake, like a biting dog, like every animal that kills with its teeth. Mary-Lynnette heard someone screaming â€Å"No!†and only later realized that it was her. She was fight ing with the cord, and she could feel stinging and wetness at her wrists. But she couldn't get free andshe couldn't stop seeing what was happening in frontof her. And all the time that eerie, vicious growling that reverberated in Mary-Lynnette's own head and chest. That was when things went cold and dear. Some part of Mary-Lynnette that was stronger than the panic took over. It stepped back and looked at the entire scene by the roadside: the car, which was still burning, sending clouds of choking white smokewhenever the wind blew the right way; the limpfigure of Ash on the pine needles; the blur of snarling motion that was Jeremy. â€Å"Jeremy!† she said, and her throat hurt, but hervoice was calm-and commanding. â€Å"Jeremy-before you do that-don't you want me tounderstand? You said that was what you wanted. Jeremy,help me understand.† For a long second she thought in dismay that it wasn't going to work. That he couldn't even hear her. But then his head lifted. She saw his face; she saw the blood on his chin. Don't scream, don't scream, Mary-Lynnette toldherself frantically. Don't show any shock. You have to keep him talking, keep him away from Ash. Behind her back her hands were working automatically, as if trying to get out of ropes was something they'd always known how to do. The slick wetness actually helped. She could feel the cords slide a little. â€Å"Please help me understand,† she said again, breathless, but trying to hold Jeremy's eyes. â€Å"I'm your friend-you know that. We go back a long way.† Jeremy's whitish gums were streaked with red. He still had human features, but there was nothing at all human about that face. Now, though-slowly-his lips came down tocover his gums. He looked more like a person andless like an animal. And when he spoke, his voicewas distorted, but she could recognize it as Jere my's voice. â€Å"We do go back,† he said. â€Å"I've watched you sincewe were kids-and I've seen you watching me.† Mary-Lynnette nodded.She couldn'tgetany words out. â€Å"I always figured that someday, when we wereolder-maybe we'd be together. I thought maybe I could make you understand. About me. About everything. I thought you were the one person who might not be afraid†¦.† â€Å"I'm not,† Mary-Lynnette said, and hoped hervoice wasn't shaking too badly. She was saying it to a figure in a blood-spattered shirt crouching over a torn body like a beast still ready to attack. MaryLynnette didn't dare look at Ash to see how badly hewas hurt. She kept her eyes locked on Jeremy's. â€Å"And I think I can understand. You killed Mrs. Burdock, didn't you? Because she was on your territory.† â€Å"Nother; † Jeremy said, and his voice was sharpwith impatience. â€Å"She was just an old lady-she didn't hunt. I didn't mind having her in my range. Ieven did things for her, like fixing her fence andporch for free†¦. And that's when she told methey were coming. Those girls.† Just the way she told me, Mary-Lynnette thought, with dazed revelation. And he was there fixing the fence-of course. The way he does odd jobs for everybody. â€Å"I told her it wouldn't work.† Mary-Lynnette couldhear it again-the beginnings of a snarling growl. Jeremy was tense and trembling, and she could feel her self start to tremble, too. â€Å"Three more hunters in thislittle place †¦ I told her, but she wouldn't listen. She couldn't see. So then I lost my temper.† Don't look at Ash, don't call attention to him, Mary-Lynnette thought desperately. Jeremy's lips were drawing back again as if he needed something to attack. At the same time the distant part of hermind said, So that's why he used a picket=Ash was right;it was an impulse of the moment. â€Å"Well, anybody can lose their temper,† she said, and even though her voice cracked and there were tears in her eyes, Jeremy seemed to calm a little. â€Å"Afterward, I thought maybe it was for the best,† he said, sounding tired. â€Å"I thought when the girls found her, they'd know they had to leave. I waited for them to do it. I'm good at waiting.† He was staring past her, into the woods. Heart pounding, Mary-Lynnette grabbed the opportunity todart a look at Ash. Oh, God, he's not moving at all. And there's so muchblood†¦.I've never seen so much blood†¦. She twisted her wrists back and forth, trying to find some give in the cords. â€Å"I watched, but they didn't go away,† Jeremy said.Mary-Lynnette's eyes jerked back to him. â€Å"Instead youcame. I heard Mark talking to Jade in the garden. She said she'd decided she was going to like it here. And then †¦ I got mad. I made a noise and they heard me.† His face was changing. The flesh was actually moving in front of Mary-Lynnette's eyes. His cheekbones were broadening, his nose and mouth jutting. Hairwas creeping between his eyebrows, turning them into a straight bar. She couldsee individual coarse hairs sprouting, dark against pale skin. I'm going to be sick†¦. â€Å"What's wrong, Mary-Lynnette?† He got up and she saw that his body was changing, too. It was stilla human body, but it was too thin-stretched out.As if it were just long bones and sinews. â€Å"Nothing's wrong,† Mary-Lynnette got out in a whisper. She twisted violently at her cords-and felt one hand slide. That's it. Now keep him distracted, keep him moving away from Ash†¦. â€Å"Go on,† she said breathlessly. â€Å"What happenedthen?† â€Å"I knew I had to send them a message. I cameback the next night for the goat-but you were there again. You ran away from me into the shed.† Hemoved closer again and the moonlight caught his eyes-and reflected. The pupils shone greenish-orange. Mary-Lynnette could only stare. That shadow in the clearing-those eyes I saw. Nota coyote.Him.He was following us everywhere. The very thought made her skin creep. But there was another thought that was worsethe picture of him killing the goat. Doing it carefully, methodically-as a message. That was why he didn't eat the heart and liver,Mary-Lynnette realized. He didn't kill it for foodit wasn't a normal werewolf killing. And he's not a normal werewolf. He wasn't at all like what Rowan had described-a noble animal that hunted to eat. Instead he was †¦ a mad dog. Of all people,Ash had it right. Him and his jokes about rabies †¦ â€Å"You're so beautiful, you know,† Jeremy said suddenly. â€Å"I've always thought that. I love your hair.† He was right in her face. She could see the individual pores in his skin with coarse hairs growing out of them. And she couldsmellhim-the feral smell ofa zoo. He reached out to touch her hair, and his handhad dark, thick fingernails. Mary-Lynnette could feelher eyes getting wider. Say something †¦say some thing †¦ don't show you're afraid. â€Å"You knew how Mrs. Burdock's husband was killed,† she got out. â€Å"She told me a long time ago,† Jeremy said almost absently, still moving his fingers in her hair. He'd changed so much that his voice was getting hard to understand. â€Å"I used little sticks from my models †¦you know I make models. And a black iris forhim.Ash.† Jeremy said the name with pure hatred. â€Å"I saw him that day with his stupid T-shirt. The Black IrisClub . . . my uncle belonged to that once. Theytreated him like he was second-class.† His eyes were inches from Mary-Lynnette's; she felt the brush of a fingernail on her ear. Suddenlyshe had the strength to give a violent wrench behind her back-and one hand came free. She froze, afraid that Jeremy would notice. â€Å"I threw the goat on the porch and ran,† Jeremysaid, almost crooning the words as he petted MaryLynnette. â€Å"I knew you were all in there. I was somad-I killed that horse and I kept running. I smashed the gas station window. I was going to bum it downbut then I decided to wait.† Yes,and yes, and yes, Mary-Lynnette thought, even as she carefully worked her other wrist free,even as she stared into Jeremy's crazy eyes andsmelled his animal breath. Yes, of course it was youwe heard running away-and you didn't fall into the hole in the porch because you knew it was there, because you were fixing it. And yes, you were the one who smashed the window-who else would hate the gas station but somebody who worked there? 0Her fingers eased the cord off her other wrist. She felt a surge of fierce triumph-but she controlled her expression and clenched her hands, trying to thinkof what to do. He was so strong and so quick †¦ if she just threw herself at him, she wouldn't have a chance. â€Å"And today you all came to town together,† Jeremy said, finishing the story quietly, through a mouth so inhuman it was hard to believe it could speak English. â€Å"I heard the wayhe was talking toyou. I knew he wanted you-and he wanted to change you into one of them. I had to protect you from that.† Mary-Lynnette said almost steadily, â€Å"I knew youwanted to protect me. I could tell, Jeremy.† She was feeling over the furrowed hemlock bark behind her.How could she attack him when she didn't even have a stick for a weapon? And even if shehad,wood was no good. He wasn't a vampire. Jeremy stepped back. Relief washed over Mary-Lynnette-for one second. Then she saw with horror that he was plucking at his shirt, pulling it off. And underneath †¦there was no skin. Instead there was hair. A pelt that twitched and shivered in the night air. â€Å"I followed you here and I fixed your car so you couldn't leave,† Jeremy said. â€Å"I heard you say youwanted to be a vampire.† â€Å"Jeremy-that was justtalk†¦.† He went on as if she hadn't spoken. â€Å"But that was a mistake. Werewolves are much better. You'll understand when I show you. The moon looks so beautiful when you're a wolf.† Oh,Godand so that was what he meant by pro tecting her, by making her understand. He meant changing her into something like him. I need a weapon. Rowan had said silver was harmful to werewolves,so the old silver-bullet legend must be true. But she didn't haveasilver bullet. Or even a silver dagger †¦ A silver dagger†¦ a silverknife †¦ Behind Jeremy the station wagon was almost invisible in the clouds of smoke. And by now the smoke had the red glow of uncontrolled fire. It's too dangerous, Mary-Lynnette thought. It'sabout to go. I'd never make it in and out†¦. Jeremy was still talking, his voice savage now.†You won't miss the Night World. All their stupid restrictions-no killing humans, no hunting too often. Nobody tells me how to hunt. My uncle tried,but I took care of him-â€Å" Suddenly the creature-it wasn't really a personanymore-broke off and turned sharply. Mary-Lynnette saw its lips go back again, saw its teeth parted and ready to bite. In the same instant she sawwhy-Ash was moving. Sitting up, even though his throat was cut. Lookingaround dazedly. He saw Mary-Lynnette, and his eyes seemed to focus. Then he looked at the thing Jeremy had become. â€Å"You-get away from herl† he shouted in a voiceMary-Lynnette had never heard before. A voice filledwith deadly fury. Mary-Lynnette could see himchange position in a swift, graceful motion, gathering his muscles under him to jump But the werewolf jumped first. Springing like ananimal-except that Jeremy still had arms, and onehand went for the yew club. The club smashed sideways into Ash's head and knocked him flat. And then it fell, bouncing away on the carpet of needles. The werewolf didn't need it-it was baring itsteeth. It was going to tear Ash's throat out, like the horse, like the hiker †¦ Mary-Lynnette was running. Not toward Ash. She couldn't help him barehanded. She ran toward the car, into the clouds of choking smoke. Oh, God, it's hot. Please let me just get there†¦. She could feel the heat on her cheeks, on her arms. She remembered something from an elementary school safety class and dropped to her knees, scrambling and crawling where the air was cooler. And then she heard the sound behind her. The most eerie sound there is-a wolf howling. It knows what I'm doing. It's seen that knife everytime I pry off my gas cap. It's going to stop me†¦. She threw herself blindly into the smoke and heat,and reached the car. Orange flames were shooting crazily from the engine, and the door handle burnedher hand when she touched it. She fumbled, wrenching at it. Open,open†¦ The door swung out. Hot air blasted around her. If she'd been completely human she wouldn't havebeen able to stand it. But she'd exchanged blood withfour vampires in two days, and she wasn't completely human anymore. She wasn't Mary-Lynnette any more †¦but was she capable of killing? Flames were licking up beneath the dashboard. Shegroped over smoking vinyl and shoved a hand under the driver's seat. Find it! Find it! Her fingers touched metal-the knife. The silverfruit knife with the Victorian scrolling that she'd borrowed from Mrs. Burdock. It was very hot. Her handdosed on it, and she pulled it from under the seatand turned †¦ just as something came flying at her from behind. The turning was instinctive-she had to face whatwas attacking her. But what she would always know afterward was that she could have turned withoutpointing theknife at what was attacking her. There was a moment in which she could have slanted it backward or toward the ground or toward herself. And if she'd been the Mary-Lynnette of the old days,she might have done that. She didn't. The knife faced outward. Toward the shape jumping at her. And when the thing landed on top of her she felt impact in her wrist and all theway up her arm. The distant part of her mind said, It went in cleanlybetween the ribs†¦. And then everything was very confused. Mary-Lynnette felt teeth in her hair, snapping for her neck. She felt claws scratching at her, leaving welts on her arms. The thing attacking her was hairy and heavy and it wasn't a person or even a half-person. It was a large, snarling wolf. She was still holding the knife, but it was hard to keep her grip on it. It jerked around, twisting her wrist in an impossible direction. It was buried in the wolf's chest. For just an instant, as the thing pulled away, she got a good look at it. A beautiful animal. Sleek and handsome, but withcrazy eyes. It was trying to kill her with its last panting breath. Oh, God, you hate me, don't you? I've chosen Ashover you; I've hurt you with silver. And now you're dying. You must feel so betrayed†¦. Mary-Lynnette began to shake violently. She couldn't do this anymore. She let go of the knife and pushed and kicked at the wolf with her arms andlegs. Half scrambling and half scooting on her back, she managed to get a few feet away. The wolf stood silhouetted against a background of fire. She couldsee it gather itself for one last spring at her There was a very soft, contained poof. The entirecar lurched like something in agony-and then the fireball was everywhere. Mary-Lynnette cringed against the ground, halfblinded, but she had to watch. So that's what it looks like. A car going up inflames. Not the kind of big explosion you hear in the movies. Justa poof. And then just the fire, going up and up. The heat drove her away, still crawling, but she couldn't stop looking. Orange flames. That was allher station wagon was now. Orange flames shooting every which way out of a metal skeleton on tires. The wolf didn't come out of the flames. Mary-Lynnette sat up. Smoke was in her throat,and when she tried to yell â€Å"Jeremyl† it came out as a hoarse croak. The wolf still didn't come out. And no wonder, with a silver knife in its chest and fire all around it. Mary-Lynnette sat, arms wrapped around herself,and watched the car bum. He would have killed me. Like any good hunter. I had to defend myself, I had to save Ash. And thegirls †¦ he would have killed all of them. And thenhe'd have killed more people like that hiker†¦. He was crazy and completelyevil, because he'd do anything to get what he wanted. And she'd seen it from the beginning. Somethingunder that â€Å"nice guy† exterior-she'd seen it over and over, but she'd kept letting herself get convinced it wasn't there. She should have trusted her feelingsin the first place. When she'd realized that she'dsolved the mystery of Jeremy Lovett and that it wasn't a happy ending. She was shaking but she couldn't cry. The fire roared on. Tiny sparks showered upward. I don't care if it was justified. It wasn't like killingin my dream. It wasn't easy and it wasn't naturaland I'll never forget the way he looked at me†¦. Then she thought,Ash. She'd been so paralyzed she'd almost forgotten him. Now she turned around, almost too frightened to look. She made herself crawl over to where he was still lying. So much blood†¦ how can he be all right? But if he's dead †¦ if it's all been for nothing †¦ But Ash was breathing. And when she touched hisface, trying to find a clean place in the blood, he moved. He stirred, then he tried to sit up. â€Å"Stay there.† Jeremy's shirt and jeans were on the ground. Mary-Lynnette picked up the shirt and dabbed at Ash's neck. â€Å"Ash, keep still†¦.† He tried to sit up again. â€Å"Don't worry. I'll protectyou.† â€Å"Lie down,† Mary-Lynnette said. When he didn't, she pushed at him. â€Å"There's nothing to do. He's dead.† He sank back, eyes shutting. â€Å"Did I kill him?† Mary-Lynnette made a choked sound that wasn't exactly a laugh. She was trembling with relief-Ash could breathe and talk, and he even sounded like hisnormal fatuous self. She'd had no idea how good thatcould sound. And underneath the swabbing shirt she could see that his neck was already healing. Whathad been gashes were becoming flat pink scars. Vampire flesh was incredible. Ash swallowed. â€Å"You didn't answer my question.† â€Å"No. You didn't kill him. I did.† His eyes opened. They just looked at each other for a moment. And in that moment Mary-Lynnette knew they were both realizing a lot of things. Then Ash said, â€Å"I'm sorry,† and his voice had never been less fatuous. He pushed the shirt awayand sat up. â€Å"I'm so sorry.† She didn't know who reached first, but they were holding each other. And Mary-Lynnette was thinking about hunters and danger and laughing at death. About all the things it meant to really belong to the night. And about how she would never look in the mirror and see the same person she used to see. â€Å"At least it's over now,† Ash said. She could feel his arms around her, his warmth and solidity, his support. â€Å"There won't be any more killings. It's over.† It was, and so were a lot of other things. The first sob was hard to get out. So hard thatshe'd have thought there would be a pause beforethe next-but, no. There was no pause between that one and the next, or the next or the next. She cried for a long time. And the fire burned itself out and the sparks flew upward and Ash held her all the while.

As You Like It †the Play Essay

As You Like It is considered by many to be one of Shakespeare’s greatest comedies, and the heroine, Rosalind, is praised as one of his most inspiring characters and has more lines than any of Shakespeare’s female characters. Rosalind, the daughter of a banished duke falls in love with Orlando the disinherited son of one of the duke’s friends. When she is banished from the court by her usurping uncle, Duke Frederick , Rosalind switches genders and as Ganymede travels with her loyal cousin Celia and the jester Touchstone to the Forest of Arden, where her father and his friends live in exile. Observations on life and love follow (including love, aging, the natural world, and death) friends are made, and families are reunited. By the play’s end Ganymede, once again Rosalind, marries her Orlando. Two other sets of lovers are also wed, one of them Celia and Orlando’s mean older brother Oliver . As Oliver becomes a gentler, kinder young man so the Duke conveniently changes his ways and turns to religion and so that the exiled Duke, father of Rosalind, can rule once again. â€Å"All the world ‘s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts† As You Like It – (Act II, Scene VII). â€Å"Can one desire too much of a good thing? â€Å". As You Like It (Act IV, Scene I). â€Å"True is it that we have seen better days†. As You Like It – Act II, Scene VII). â€Å"For ever and a day†. As You Like It – (Act IV, Scene I). â€Å"The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool†. (Act V, Scene I). The play is fictitious, but shakespeare is said to have taken the traits if rosalind from ‘Rosalynde’ by thomas lodge. One of Shakespeare’s early plays, As You Like It (1598-1599), is a stock romantic comedy that was familiar to Elizabethan audiences as an exemplar of â€Å"Christian† comedy. Although the play does include two offstage spiritual conversions, the â€Å"Christian† designation does not refer to religion itself. Instead, it denotes the restoration and regeneration of society through the affirmation of certain Christian values such as brotherly love, marital union, tolerance for different viewpoints, and optimism about life at large. The plot is very simple: the resolution of the dramatic problem in the warped attitudes of two evil brothers toward good brothers, and related obstacles to marriage for several couples in the play (most notably Rosalind and Orlando) are easily overcome, and a happy ending is never in doubt. On one level, the play was clearly intended by Shakespeare as a simple, diverting amusement; several scenes in As You Like It are essentially skits made up of songs and joking banter. But on a somewhat deeper level, the play provides opportunities for its main characters to discuss a host of subjects (love, aging, the natural world, and death) from their particular points of view. At its center, As You Like It presents us with the respective worldviews of Jaques, a chronically melancholy pessimist preoccupied with the negative aspects of life, and Rosalind, the play’s Christian heroine, who recognizes life’s difficulties but holds fast to a positive attitude that is kind, playful, and, above all, wise. In the end, the enjoyment that we receive from the play’s comedy is reinforced and validated by a humanistic Christian philosophy gently woven into the text by a benevolent Shakespeare.

Ethics Final Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics Final - Term Paper Example However, the challenge of the project lies with its side effects to the locals and to the environment. The keystone pipeline project entails transportation of oil from the extraction site to the storage facilities, hence passing through many regions before reaching final destination. Therefore, it has many disadvantages based on its environmental degradation in the areas. Similarly, the process of extracting oils is very difficult and risky to the locals in cases measures are not placed to curb any uncertainty that may arise (Figueiredo and Brent 8). Hence, many factors require consideration before embarking on the project. Accommodating different players involved will be crucial in the management of the project and reducing the negative impacts associated with it. One of the key people for the successful implementation of this project are engineers who have different function. One of the roles of engineers is to conduct an environmental assessment to evaluate all the claims that might hinder the implementation of the project (Figueiredo and Brent 8). It is true that oil pipelines are hazardous, especially when they break and leak into the environment. Their impacts are always immense and make people oppose them whenever they hear about their construction. Therefore, engineers must conduct an environmental assessment to determine risk and mitigation measures. Secondly, engineers have a role of informing the community where the pipeline is to be constructed on the benefits of the projects. They also need to know the risk involved and their duties for the success of the project (Figueiredo and Brent 8). This will be essential since it will give the locals an opportunity to contribute and participate in the construction of the projects. Creating awareness to the surrounding communities is critical to the implementation of any project since it becomes inclusive, and people have to give

Lloyds Bank Building and the Northern Rock Building Essay

Lloyds Bank Building and the Northern Rock Building - Essay Example The pillars have connotations of classical antiquity, while the carvings are reminiscent of an age when craftsmanship was valued and used as a demonstration of wealth and success. Ordinary buildings like homes and shops did not have these features, and they were reserved for the aristocracy and for civic buildings, imparting an air of authority and â€Å"establishment†. This is the origin of the rather conservative cultural meaning that the building conveys (Rotenberg, 1993).   Quite apart from these historic features of the Lloyds bank building, there are also distinctive visual elements which convey meanings to the observer. The building is taller than it is broad, which suggests a towering presence that dwarfs the viewer. The implication is that the bank is both strong and dominant, providing a stable, if somewhat stern, or even forbidding presence on the high street. The rather narrow door is brought slightly forward of the main building and set to the left, with a series of steps leading up to it. This suggests that entry to the bank is a privilege granted only to those who are worthy to climb the steps and enter its narrow frame. The entrance is dark and reveals nothing of the interior. This increases the mystery of the institution for the uninitiated, and the feeling of privilege for insiders, and this illustrates the contested nature of meaning when it comes to architectural spaces (Gieryn, 2000).   The bank’s name is positioned in modestly proportioned uppercase letters above the door as if to emphasize the act of entering this special portal. There is no distraction or adornment to the name, which is allowed to stand as the main advertising feature of the whole building.

Hospital Financial Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Hospital Financial Management - Essay Example By developing fixed and variable expenses PPD strategies they find it efficient in paying long-term expenses without running out of all the operational cash. During their 1st Qrt, they expected a fixed cost structure of 20% which in actual budget shifted to 19% making a point value of 1. The same way by budgeting for variable cost structure of 80% and gaining an actual of 81% giving them a point value of 1, it means that the operation of the hospital is very strategically planned. The other reason for the better financial performance of the hospital is because of the better turn out of patients both in and outpatient, the benefits are given to them and the services performed. Despite good profit generation from the hospital, it is still advisable that they develop the good strategy based on the indicators shown by the office of the statewide health planning development (OSHPD). The indicators require the hospital financial management to develop corrective measures such as volunteer t ime so that the salaries benefit can be reduced by at least 10%, the need also to give professional training to lower the professional fee they provide for. The hospital management should be determined in developing ways of reducing their supplies from 15% to some reasonable percentage. The main issue the hospital management should focus on to help their performance is the salaries, variable patients benefit, and the supplies they receive. They should develop strategies that enable them to reduce the cost of professionals pays.

Pottery Statues of Ancient Chinese Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Pottery Statues of Ancient Chinese Art - Essay Example There are various arts like painted potteries, folk arts, script, monuments, metal arts etc. Very expensive materials are used for the art works like granite, marble, lime stone, etc and even gold, silver and other precious materials are used. In early times they were not much aware about the materials used for arts and they used stone and rock for doing arts. These antique collections of ancient period are now placed in the museums. â€Å"The museum houses collections of various color-painted potteries of Neolithic Age and treasures of ancient grottoes. The design of these potteries is gorgeous and has the characteristic of the local culture.† (Gansu Provincial Museum). In museums there are varieties of wonderful art works which were done in the past. The Chinese culture hasn’t altered much from before and the people are still continuing with their traditional customs. The temples in China are considered as precious art wealth which signifies the prosperous culture of China. Chinese people have some beliefs with regard to their traditional arts. There are varieties of statues which symbolize different significances and faiths. Laughing Buddha is one among them which symbolizes health, prosperity, happiness, and so on and they believe that it brings all these goodness if it is placed somewhere and there are also other different kinds of laughing Buddha and each one has got some particular concept. The arts like Swastika, fengshui are some of the other Chinese artifacts which are used for good luck and to improve the life. Chinese people believe in such things; so most of them use these types of artifacts. The people from other countries prefer to use the Chinese arts mainly because of their quality and beauty. The ancient Chinese art is very gorgeous and superior which is totally different from other art works; so it has high demand. Not only the Chinese people buy this; people from every nation are now buying