What Is Borax and How Is It Used

Borax is a natural mineral with a chemical formula Na2B4O7 †¢ 10H2O. Borax also is known  as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate. It is one of the most important  boron  compounds. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) name for borax is sodium tetraborate decahydrate. Did You Know? The common usage of the term borax refers to a group of related compounds, distinguished by their water content:Anhydrous borax or sodium tetraborate  (Na2B4O7)Borax pentahydrate (Na2B4O7 ·5H2O)Borax decahydrate (Na2B4O7 ·10H2O) Borax Versus Boric Acid Borax and boric acid are two related boron compounds. The natural mineral, mined from the ground or collected from evaporated deposits, is called borax. When borax is processed, the purified chemical that results is boric acid (H3BO3). Borax is a salt of boric acid. While there are some differences between the compounds, either version of the chemical will work for pest control or slime. Where to Get Borax Borax is found in laundry booster, hand soaps, and in some kinds of toothpaste. You can also find it in one of these products: 20 Mule Team Borax (pure borax)Powdered hand soapTooth bleaching formulas (check labels for borax or sodium tetraborate) Borax Uses Borax has many uses on its own, plus it is an ingredient in other products. Here are some uses of borax powder and pure borax in water: Insect killer, particularly in roach killing products and as moth-preventative (ten percent solution on wool)FungicideHerbicideDesiccantLaundry boosterHousehold cleanerWater softening agentFood additive as a preservative (banned in some countries) Borax is an ingredient in several other products, including: Buffer solutionsFlame retardantsTeeth bleaching productsGlass, ceramics, and potteryEnamel glazesA precursor for boric acidScience projects such as green-colored fire, slime, and borax crystalsAnalytical chemistry  borax bead testFlux for welding iron and steel How Safe Is Borax? Borax in the usual form of sodium tetraborate decahydrate is not acutely toxic, which means a large amount would need to be inhaled or ingested to produce health effects. As far as pesticides go, its one of the safest chemicals available. A 2006 evaluation of the chemical by the U.S. EPA found no signs of toxicity from exposure and no evidence of cytotoxicity in humans. Unlike many salts, skin exposure to borax does not produce skin irritation. However, this doesnt make borax categorically safe. The most common problem with exposure is that inhaling the dust can cause respiratory irritation, particularly in children. Ingesting large amounts of borax can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The European Union (EU), Canada, and Indonesia consider borax and boric acid exposure a potential health risk, primarily because people are exposed to it from many sources in their diet and from the environment. The concern is that overexposure to a chemical generally deemed safe could increase the risk of cancer and damage fertility. While the findings are somewhat contradictory, its advisable children and pregnant women limit their exposure to borax if possible.

Benefits Of School Uniforms - 1640 Words

Are school uniforms benefitting or discouraging children? School uniforms has brought up a rather large controversy of how they are either positive or negative. Uniforms made people talk about two sides to this dilemma. They can show community and equality as well as a bad side where children are brought to tears because they do not have a choice to show who they really are. What about the children’s emotions? There are various opinions that lead to the outcome of having school uniforms. Student’s should not be forced to wear what they do not want to but also should dress to where they feel comfortable in their own skin. High school is a place where teenagers find who they are. â€Å"High school is all about being able to learn who you are as†¦show more content†¦They will be distressed with their kids not wearing a uniform, in addition, they’re not thinking of how they’re kids feel about wearing uniforms. Therefore, in end, kids should be able t o be kids and be who they want to be. â€Å"Whichever side you come down on, I think we can all agree that school uniforms shouldn’t prevent kids from being kids.† (Clarke, 2016, p. 1) Across the world, many schools require their students to wear uniforms. Uniforms are important to them because they are representing their beliefs and community. Various children strongly disagree on wearing uniforms for their own reasons and opinions. There is always two sides on one subject, a positive and a negative. With this subject, it seems there is more of a negative vibe on wearing them. Wearing uniforms, believe it or not, can cause gender stereotypes. It all comes down to a point where they are good, bad or in between. School uniforms, regarding to children, bring restrictions to their everyday life. School uniforms has brought inequality to some students that have to wear uniforms. â€Å"Children also dont like injustice.† Usually kids like to be equal with others. The y do not like to feel as if they are put lower and have unfairness lacking between them. (Bever, 2017, p. 2) â€Å"The directive is seen as a triumph for students campaigning for the freedom to not wear school uniforms or to defy certain school-imposed dressing codes that they deem unreasonable--such asShow MoreRelatedThe Benefits of School Uniforms703 Words   |  3 PagesThe benefits of school uniforms are countless. Uniforms can help eliminate peer pressure among students and can also help students and parents save time and money. Violence can also be greatly reduced simply by wearing school uniforms. Although the wearing of uniforms has been widely practiced throughout European, African, and South American public schools, the practice has primarily been within private schools systems throughout the United States until recently (West). All public schools shouldRead MoreBenefits Of School Uniforms In School798 Words   |  4 PagesBeneficial Clothing for Schools Around the world, several schools require their students to wear school uniforms. Many students do not adore this idea, but do they truly know how it benefits them. Some wonder if these uniforms actually improve their learning and experiences in school. Numerous questions have arisen when schools consider this idea. The debate today is growing, as schools try to figure out how they can enhance their school. There are various improvements in school systems when they reachRead MoreEssay on The Benefits of School Uniforms in Public Schools2132 Words   |  9 Pagesstudents’ attend public schools and face some sort of violence that is associated with that school. It can be gang related or just simply bullying in the school. Because of these rising issues, parents are being forced to pull their children out of public school and home school them for their safety. Is this the best action for the children? Will they be missing out on many life skills that are learned while attend ing schools with peers their own age? How can the schools make our children feelRead MoreGraduation Speech : Benefits Of School Uniforms1144 Words   |  5 Pages8, 2016 Benefits of School Uniforms School uniforms are a hotly debated topic among parents of school-age children. Some schools and school districts require them, some don’t. There are also school districts in which students in certain grades are told to wear uniforms whereas other students are not. Regardless, parents are in an uproar over the issue, and there are several key reasons. First of all, many parents speak on the cost factor involved in requiring school uniforms. DependingRead MoreBenefits of School Uniforms for American High School Students855 Words   |  3 PagesAmerican high school students being compelled to wear uniforms while attending school is very contentious. The role of uniforms in the lives of a student is a very difficult topic to approach. The school authorities have been at an impasse when the decision whether students should wear uniforms is brought up. Uniforms for high school students are purposefully designed to identify a child as a student to a particular school. A single unique design of garments will play the part of the uniforms. The factRead MoreEssay on The Benefits of Uniform Adoption in Public Schools1278 Words   |  6 PagesNowadays, public school and many districts are discussing the possibilities of enforcing the uniform policy. In most places, many private schools already require students to have their mandatory uniforms; however, there are only a few public schools adopting this mandatory school-uniform polices as one of their enrollment requirements. The reason why not all public schools participated was because people believe that they are violating the freedom of choice when enforcing this mandatory uniform policy; yetRead MoreSchool Uniforms859 Words   |  4 Pages24 September 2017 School Uniforms Should Be Used In Schools School uniforms should be utilized within schools. There are plenty of benefits, including they cost less than buying regular school clothes would, as well as drastically decreasing peer pressure and bullying in the student body. Uniforms give students a sense of respect and responsibility. They create the ability for students to succeed in areas without the hassle of what they’re wearing. School uniforms improve school spirit, and createRead MoreShould School Uniforms be Mandatory? Essay1090 Words   |  5 Pagesopinion of whether schools should require students to wear uniforms. Some schools go through the same argument annually of whether to enforce school uniforms the following school year. A number of people argue that uniforms take away from the students’ individuality, while other people concur that uniforms generate unity within the school. Even though many people disagree with school uniforms, countless reasons are evident that uniforms should be mandatory. School uniforms provide schools with many positiveRead MoreShould Schools Uniforms be Manadatory? Essay1090 Words   |  5 PagesOne social benefit school uniforms are responsible for is providing Many debates form over the opinion of whether schools should require students to wear uniforms. Some schools go through the same argument annually of whether to enforce school uniforms the following school year. A number of people argue that uniforms take away from the students’ individuality, while other people concur that uniforms generate unity within the school. Even though many people disagree with school uniforms, countlessRead MoreShould School Uniforms Be Mandatory? A School Setting?1071 Words   |  5 PagesTopic: Enforcement of uniforms should be mandatory in a school setting Thesis: School uniforms in private and public schools are very beneficial to the educational institution to help promote better learning and positive social skills. I. Introduction: Allowing school uniforms into an educational environment, whether it be a college, university, or elementary, or high school setting would be a benefit to the entire institution. In short, uniforms have many positive benefits: preventing violence,

Carbon Tax is Best Solution For Climate Change

Question: Write about theCarbon Tax is Best Solution For Climate Change. Answer: Thesis statement: Imposition of carbon tax is the best solution for climate change Carbon tax is a type of fees that is imposed on the pollutants that cause greenhouse gas pollution. This arises mostly from the burning of fossil fuels. In order to reduce global warming and restrict emission of green house gases, a monetary price is imposed upon them. One of the major green house gases that has caused various environmental problems is carbon dioxide. Carbon tax is one of the strategies under carbon pricing policy that imposes a certain amount of tax at a specific rate per ton of the carbon dioxide emitted in to the environment. The other way round is by imposing taxes on all the various sources of fossil fuels in proportion to the quantity of carbon level in them. The major objective behind imposing carbon tax is to improve the environment and prevent any further damages. The carbon emissions have caused serious environmental issues. Therefore, researchers have estimated a monetary value for the emission of carbon dioxide in order to prevent further environmental damages. Carbon tax is thus an attempt to control the emissions of carbon in the atmosphere by pricing carbon and prevent any further environmental damages. However, there have been many problems associated with the implementation of the carbon tax policy. Carbon tax accounts for almost 85% of the energy used worldwide. Around 85% of the energy comes from the fossil fuels. While only 15% of energy comes from hydro power, nuclear power, biofuels, solar energy and wind energy and there are very few sites where building dams for generation of hydro electricity is possible while the nuclear plants face various political issues. On the other hand, Vera Sauma (2015) stated that carbon taxes might encourage the development of hydro power and nuclear power. For example, the government can invest more in the generation of green electricity and provide it at subsidized rate by utilizing the revenues from carbon tax. This shall result in the reduction of environmental damages and increase in the use of renewable sources of energy. A few scholars have argued that focusing on the aspect of Benefit Certainty is is more necessary as it emphasizes on the environmental aspect instead of economic aspect (Ploeg Withagen, 2014). For example, implementation of carbon tax shall motivate the development of renewable resources such as solar energy, wind energy, hydrogen engines and many more. Nevertheless, although implementation of carbon tax could result in some negative effects but there is not enough evidence to support the fact. In accordance with the fast climatic changes and the increase in the popularity and acceptance of the carbon tax strategy, it can be stated that it is necessary to implement carbon tax on a global level. Thus, it can be summarized that the implementation of carbon tax shall encourage various firms to develop other alternatives. Some studies have shown that imposition of carbon tax has led to the reduction of green house gas emissions up to 15% (Hoberg Meadowcroft, 2015). Next in terms of economy, the increased burden of this tax might discourage the producers to continue their production in the same country. According to Parry (2015), this can encourage the producers to move to some other country where the carbon taxes are absent or comparatively lower. The shifting of the producers may adversely affect the economy of the country. This might also encourage the firms to keep their actual amount of carbon emission hidden from the government (Martin, De Preux Wagner, 2014). The implementation of carbon tax has also led to the shift from carbon intensive firms, toward information and service industry. Carbon tax would result in increase in the costs of goods and services as the production costs would tend to rise. This price hike would reduce the purchasing power of the households and hence reducing their real wages. The concept of providing rebate on the other taxes due to implementation of carbon tax seems to be a vague concept as it has been proved t hat once a tax has been imposed, they are never removed. There are arguments regarding tax swaps to reduce the income tax in order to implement carbon tax. It might sound good theoretically but practically it is not feasible. In case of the cap and trade policy, it becomes easy to track the amount of carbon emissions in the environment (Goulder Schein, 2013). On the other hand, Murray, Pizer Reichert (2016) have stated that the implementation of carbon tax is more efficient as it enables the government to generate revenues that can be utilized in developing the alternatives in order to repair the damages caused by carbon emission. For example, the revenue generated from the carbon tax has helped the government in reducing the deficits that would reduce the total cost of the taxes to the economy (Rezai Van der Ploeg, 2016). This could have a positive impact on the economy in the long-run. This revenue could even encourage the government to cut down marginal tax rates. This would allow the government to help the selected groups that are highly affected by taxes. This could lead to equilibrium in the economy. Many economists have stated that the falling emissions lead to a stable economy. Elgie and McClay have compared the green house gas emissions, per-capita fuel consumption and the gross domestic product in Canada (Elgie McClay, 2013). A sharp decline of around 19% in the fuel consumption has been observed after four years of implementation of the carbon tax policy. Nevertheless, although carbon tax seems to be a burden on the households but a uniform rate of carbon tax has the potentiality to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions to a large extent. However, the carbon tax policy is more effective than the cap and trade policy as under the cap and trade policy, the government often tends to issue pollution credits falling under the pressure of influential heavy industries. This proves the superiority of the carbon tax policy over the cap and trade policy. For example, carbon tax allows the government to reduce taxes through the policy of tax swaps. The revenue generated from the carbon tax has the capability of reducing the income tax rates. The carbon tax can also be used to pay the federal debt. These revenues can also be used to pay some lump-sum amount of dividends to the households. The revenue generated from the carbon tax can be utilized for research and development of the renewable sources of energy. Carbon tax can be very useful in improv ing the overall economy of a country. Conclusion: Thus, it can be concluded that the carbon tax policy is capable of reducing the adverse impacts of carbon emissions in the atmosphere. Carbon tax allows the government to generate revenues, which it can utilize in repairing the environmental damages and prevent any further damages. Implementation of carbon tax shall compel the firms to reduce their carbon emissions and use more renewable resources. Being a negative externality, the social cost of the carbon intensive industries become more than its private costs. The major objective of carbon tax is to internalize the externalities (Weitzman, 2014). The reason behind this is that a person due to whom environment is affected shall be responsible for paying the social costs of his activities. However, to achieve revenue neutral, rebates must be provided on the other taxes in order to reduce the burden of taxation. Though it is difficult to implement carbon tax, it is suggested to implement this tax in order to lower the adverse effect of carbon emissions on the environment and to prevent any further damages as this shall lead to sustainable development. References: Elgie, S., McClay, J. (2013). Policy Commentary/Commentaire BCs carbon tax shift is working well after four years (attention Ottawa).Canadian Public Policy,39(Supplement 2), S1-S10. Goulder, L. H., Schein, A. (2013).Carbon taxes vs. cap and trade: A critical review(No. w19338). National Bureau of Economic Research. Hoberg, G., Meadowcroft, J. (2015). Climate action: carbon pricing is an essential first step: this article is excerpted from Acting on Climate Change: Solutions by Canadian Scholars, Catherine Potvin et al, a position paper by the UNESCO-McGill Chair for Dialogues on Sustainability (March 2015).Alternatives Journal,41(1), 58-61. Martin, R., De Preux, L. B., Wagner, U. J. (2014). The impact of a carbon tax on manufacturing: Evidence from microdata.Journal of Public Economics,117, 1-14. Murray, B., Pizer, W. A., Reichert, C. (2016). Increasing Emissions Certainty under a Carbon Tax. Parry, I. (2015). Carbon Tax Burdens on Low-Income Households: A Reason for Delaying Climate Policy?. Ploeg, F., Withagen, C. (2014). Growth, renewables, and the optimal carbon tax.International Economic Review,55(1), 283-311. Rezai, A., Van der Ploeg, F. (2016). Intergenerational inequality aversion, growth, and the role of damages: Occams rule for the global carbon tax.Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists,3(2), 493-522. Vera, S., Sauma, E. (2015). Does a carbon tax make sense in countries with still a high potential for energy efficiency? Comparison between the reducing-emissions effects of carbon tax and energy efficiency measures in the Chilean case.Energy,88, 478-488. Weitzman, M. L. (2014). Can negotiating a uniform carbon price help to internalize the global warming externality?.Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists,1(1/2), 29-49.