Current Event Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Current Event Assignment - Essay Example At present, we are at 385 ppm and increasing at 2 ppm each year primarily because of burning of fossil fuels. Because of this, the global temperatures have slowly been rising. The scientists claim that previous observations of melting ice in the polar region and the discovered release of greenhouse gases from our warming soils and waters indicate that the deterioration in our atmosphere is now moving at a faster pace. â€Å"Once CO2 gas is released, a large fraction of it stays in the air for hundreds of years† (Krajik). These same scientists believe that the dreaded process is still reversible if emissions from coal would be eliminated by the year 2030. The use of alternative fuel sources would also contribute a great deal to slowing down the process of global warming. Geoengineering solutions, which are said to artificially remove 50 ppm of carbon dioxide from our atmosphere, would cost a hefty amount of money. Directing said funds to reforestation would yield similar results. Our present age of industrialization has plunged our world into this environmental crisis and â€Å"the greatest danger is continued ignorance and denial, which would make tragic consequences unavoidable." (Sato & Karetcha as quoted by Krajik). The article presents a grim picture of our environment. Where before, our thoughts were in sparing the following generation of the effects of global warming, the article now points out that the devastating effects of global warming is something that our present generation may suffer. The article pointedly brings to our attention the alarming levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, and how these levels are speedily rising. We have no one to blame but ourselves with this grim occurrence. The strides that our industries have taken in the past few years have made us very vulnerable to global warming. Our demands for easier and

Vehicle Steering Wheel Heart Rate Monitor Assignment

Vehicle Steering Wheel Heart Rate Monitor - Assignment Example The system would be configured to contact emergency medical services providing the location of the patient and it can apply brakes to vehicle to prevent an accident. This system will require the following components for its successful implementation. The first one is a device that reads the driver’s heart rate from the grip of the steering wheel. These devices function by either counting pulses or recording the electrocardiogram signal. Secondly, it will be necessary to have a microcontroller for purposes of analyzing and processing signals from the device that records the heart rate. Thirdly, a device for providing voice alerts to the drowsy driver would be necessary. Similarly, a system mean for use by persons with medical conditions would require a GSM gadget for making calls to the emergency doctor would be required. It is also possible to have the alerting and medical emergency systems integrated into a single system. Figure 1: A block diagram for a vehicle’s steer ing wheel with a heart rate monitor The core of this system is the microcontroller. For the microcontroller to provide the intended functionalities, it has to be loaded with appropriate software. Such software can be written in a programming language such as C or C++. The program will be checking the input from the heart rate monitoring device and determining the appropriate output for the system if any output is required. For instance, if the heart beat reaches a level indicating that a driver is asleep, the microcontroller should send the appropriate signal to the voice alert system. This system has the benefit of saving lives in various ways. Firstly, the system reduces the chances of an accident due to a driver sleeping while driving. Without this system, there are chances of the driver causing an accident, which can result in the loss of his life, the lives of other people such as pedestrians or his life with that of another person. Secondly, the system, if implemented to monit or cardiac arrests, can help save the life of a patient by contacting a doctor immediately on behalf of the driver. Moreover, this system could also act on the brake system of the vehicle, hence preventing an accident from occurring. As a result, this would save lives and prevent of damage to property. Problems The two major problems that can be associated with drowsy drivers are the possibility of freewheeling as he or she falls asleep and the variation of blood pressure with different drivers, who use such a vehicle, during sleep. Considering that the heart beat can reduce with a percentage between ten and twenty, the system can provide wrong outputs for different drivers using the same car. For instance, this system could be installed on a car whose normal blood pressure is 130/80 mmHg, which reduces by 20% when he is drowsy. Therefore, the blood pressure for this driver when he is asleep would be 104/64 mmHg. The system could be configured to alert this driver that he is dosing off when his blood pressure reduces by about fifteen percent, whose numerical value is 111/68 mmHg. However, if a different person drives the car that has this system installed, the system could provide false outputs. For example, let us assume that the new driver has his blood pressure