Animal Testing Research Paper free essay sample

Abstract With animal testing, the killing and harming innocent animals, being around for centuries with little change, will exploiting the facts that the public does not know about, help put an end to all the product and medication testing on animals? Introduction Animal testing has been around for centuries, when it really should be one of those â€Å"cruel memories† of things we have done in the past, but will not let in happen again in the future. Rats, Mice, Rabbits, and a whole slew of other animals are forced to endure massive quantities of testing substances or endure pain by having harmful chemicals applied to their bodies, even though the testing may have nothing to do with anything relatable for human use. My purpose for this subject is to let people think twice about buying a product, or hopefully helping put this inhuman testing to an end. When did animal testing originate? The history of animal testing goes back to the writings of the Greeks in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. We will write a custom essay sample on Animal Testing Research Paper or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Aristotle (384-322 BC) and Erasistratus (304-250 BC) were among the first group of people to perform experiments on living animals. A physician in 2nd-century Rome, dissected pigs and goats and is known as the â€Å"father of vivisection†, when his real name is Galen. Avenzoar, whom is also a physician but of Arabic, also practiced dissection in 12th-century Moorish Spain, and introduced animal testing as an acceptable experimental method of testing surgical procedures before applying them to human patients. (Cohen Loew, 2013) What is animal testing? Animal testing, a phrase that most people unsure of exactly what is involved but have heard it before. There are many names, animal testing, animal experimentation or animal research, it all refers to the experimentation carried out on animals. Its main purpose in why it is used, is to assess the safety and effectiveness of everything from medication to cosmetics. We also use it to help find a better understanding of how the human body works. Supporters believe it is a necessary practice and obliteration to animals for our bettering and the deaths of the animals are well worth the cause. Then there are those opposed to animal testing because they believe it involves the torture and suffering of innocent animals (Ian Murnaghan BSc (hons), 2011) Who does animal testing affect? Animal testing affects everyone in the modern world today. It is primarily used to help save lives. The testing is performed so that there is a better understanding of what reactions drugs may have, so that we can figure out which drugs help which diseases, as well as observe how certain drugs affect conditions such as pregnancy and other side effects they may cause like cancer. Another part of animal testing is to help promote a product or to understand the effects of those products and the percentile of which those effects may cause. This might include testing makeup, lotions, or food products. Animal testing main support is from those people that believe the animals in our world today, are a close link to humans, and therefore allow them to be tested to see what effects drugs, products, or foods have on our society. A second opinion humans have, is that animal testing is a cruel and inhumane, torturous act, and should not be done to anyone or anything, no matter what the benefit might be to the human species (Contributor, 2012). Animal Testing Funds The United States government spends up to the sum of $14. 5 billion in a year in any research involving experimentation on animals. These experiments will often lead to death or unwarranted consequences for the animals involved. Some projects are funded for decades by the siphoning of the US taxpayers dollars and resulting in cruel treatment and deaths of an unfathomable number of animals. About 47% of research grants have an animal research-based component according to NIH, National Institutes of Health, and documents. The number has been very consistent over the last decade (Newcomer, 2013). Where do companies get money for testing? Many companies today get their funding for research from the NIH. Other companies also receiving money from the NIH are numerous colleges around the U. S. A. whom are primarily receiving grants to experiment on animals. The NIH is a biomedical research facility located in Bethesda, Maryland. They are part of the United States department of Health and Human Services. These agencies are primarily used to do biomedical and health-related research. NIH uses the Intramural Research Program to conducts scientific research through. 80% of the NIH funding, is used as research grants to outside researchers. They give approximately 500,000 grants to an approximate 325,000 researchers that consists of more than 3000 institutions. In 2010 alone, NIH spent around $10. 7 billion on just clinical research. On top of that, they also spent $7. 4 billion on genetics-related research, $6. 0 billion on prevention research, $5. 8 billion on cancer research, and $5. 7 billion on biotechnology research which almost all include the torture of other species on Earth (Health, 2013). How much does it cost? Each year in the United States, there are approximately 100 million animals that are tormented and killed in experiments conducted to better humans. Much of this cruelty is highly supported by the National Institutes of Health, and the United State government, since the NIH is a department of the government. The NIH allocates a minimum of 40% of its annual research budget just towards animal experimentation. Based on the NIH’s 2010 budget, this accounts for more the $16 billion in US taxpayer money alone (PETA, 2013). Substitutes for Animal Testing There are nearly 50 different alternative methods and testing strategies that have been developed, validated and/or accepted by international regulatory authorities. These non-animal methods usually take less time to complete then using the crude, archaic methods animal testing that they meant to replace. In addition, these methods cost only a fraction of what animal experiments burn through, cash wise, and are not affected by a species differences from humans that make applying test results to humans difficult or impossible (PETA, Alternatives to Animal Testin, 2013). Corrositex Testing Corrositex is a non-animal alternative toxicology test. Although this is not a classical â€Å"in vitro† style test, Corrositex uses a synthetic membrane-based detection system to determine the UN packing group classification of chemicals, consumer products, or other hazardous materials. The results, expressed as a break-through time, correlate well with rabbit dermal corrosively tests. In the Corrositex testing system, a glass vial filled with a chemical detection fluid and is capped by a proprietary bio-barrier membrane. This membrane is designed to mimic the effect of corrosives on living skin. Corrositex measures the time required for a test article to pass through a hydrated collagen matrix and supporting filter membrane (Corrositex, 2010). Technological Advancements The NIH has recognized that animal models do not always accurately predict a drug efficacy in people, and they are starting to support the generation of more reliable and predictive models. The use of different human cell types, in series of combinations, will help generate micro-sized physiological systems which can â€Å"talk to each other† and better address the biological complexities of whole living organisms. This â€Å"human body chip† technology would start to allow scientists to look for specific profiles in cells and would help identify human safe compounds to allow testing on people. This technology represents significant advantages over animal models because it relies on human cells which is more like what they are going to be applied to then the use of a completely different species, and is more likely to be predictive of what happens in people in the product or drugs current form (Society, n. d. ). What happens during testing? The government describes an animal experiment as a â€Å"procedure† that is ‘likely to cause pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm. ’ Many experiments cause extreme suffering, often to the point of the animal’s death. Even when they are not being experimented on, animals suffer stress in laboratories where they are typically kept in barren containers or kennels, often in solitary confinement. After the animals have been used in experiments, they are usually killed to prevent being released and causing an evolutionary process in the wild that was created in the lab (Aid, 2013). Killings Injuries According the U. S. Department of Agriculture, in 2006 there were about 670,000 animals that were used in procedures which did not include more than a momentary pain or distress. About 420,000 were used in procedures in which pain or distress was relieved by anesthesia, while there were 84,000 which were used in studies that would cause pain or distress that would not be relieved. In the UK, research projects are classified as mild, moderate, and substantial which is measured in terms of the suffering that they, the researchers conducting the study, say they may cause. There is also a fourth category of â€Å"unclassified†, which means the animal was anesthetized and killed without recovering consciousness, according to researchers (Ryder, 2013). Subjected to horrible unsafe procedures Research reveals that only 5% to 25% of the animal tests and human results are agreeable! Most of the drugs passed by animal tests are discarded due to the fact that they are useless to humans. The conditions under which the animals are subjected to these human experimentations, have caused tumors in rodents, while the animal test results were declared to be of little relevance for humans! The only explanation being offered for this declaration, is the mere fact that there are anatomical and physiological differences between animals and humans. It is important to note that even though animals are almost always used in cancer research, they never get the human form of cancer which also affects membranes like the lungs. With all that research being done that only yield maybe 5% success, almost 9% of the anesthetized animals in the laboratory die. These animals have a better chance of dying then actually helping us develop something successful. Most medical experts agree that data from animal test cannot be extrapolated safely to human patients without any altercations to the drugs (Buzzle, 2013). Companies using and not using animal testing There are a lot of companies that test on animals that we buy from every day. Some of these companies are 3M, Air Wick, Almay, Band-Aid, Blue Buffalo, Febreze, and the list goes on. There are some companies though that do not test on animals such as Abercrombie Fitch, Absolute Green, Aloe Vera of America, and more. It seems like all the companies we know and buy from use some form of animal testing for their product, and yet there are others companies that we have not have hardly heard of, don’t test on animals. Companies use the warning labels saying â€Å"animal tested† Animal testing by manufacturers seeking to market new products may be used to establish product safety. In some cases, after considering available alternatives, companies determine that animal testing is necessary to assure the safety of their product or ingredient. FDA supports and adheres the provisions of applicable laws regulations, and policies the governing animal testing. FDA supports the developments and uses of alternatives to whole-animal testing, as well as adherence to the most humane methods available with the limits of scientific capabilities when animals are used for testing the safety of cosmetic products (FDA, 2006). Types of animals being tested on, and what is tested on them Researchers use many different types of animals, mice, rabbits, dogs, ferrets, and fish to name a few. The type of animal selected for study often depends solely depends on a combination of factors; previous research involving that animal type, scientific relevance, accessibility, and practical aspects of implementation of the product or item being tested. Government agencies also require that any drugs used in humans needs to be tested in at least two different types of animals, one of which is not able to be a rodent. The reason is that a drug can have very different effects on different species of animals (Nordin, 2009). All the animals used in testing/studies Right now, millions of mice, rats, rabbits, primates, cats, dogs, and other animals are locked inside cold, barren cages in an unfathomable number of laboratories across the country and even the world. Exact numbers are not available because mice, rats, birds, and cold-blooded animals- who make up over 95% of creatures used in experiments, are not covered by even the minimal protections of the Animal Welfare Act and therefore go uncounted (PETA, Animal Testing 101, 2013). Types of products used on animals during testing Mice and rats are forced to inhale toxic fumes, dogs are force-fed pesticides, and rabbits have corrosive chemicals rubbed onto their skin and eyes. Many of these tests are not even required by law, and have often produced inaccurate or misleading results that were pointless towards the end affect when the results had to be tossed and started over for being inaccurate towards the desired end result. Even if a product harms animals, it can still be marketed to consumers. Cruel and deadly toxicity tests are also conducted as a part of the massive regulatory testing programs that often funded by USA taxpayers’ money without them even knowing (PETA, Animal Testing 101, 2013). Conclusion Animal testing should not be something that is taken lightly, where as innocent animals are being tested with harmful products, and it is not fair to them. With our advancements in technologies every day, why are we still using innocent animals to test our products on which in turn may not even give us the results needed or give us false results which makes the tests of those animals useless and obsolete? With people knowing what many of these animals go through, would they sign their own pets up to go through that? Having a heart on this issue is what will end it, animals have lives, should be able to live it in their nature desired ways that is unaffected by humans.

History Of Egypt Essays - Ancient Near East, Civilizations

History Of Egypt Essays - Ancient Near East, Civilizations History Of Egypt The Egyptians had never willingly submitted to the rule of their Semitic shepherd kings and around 1600 A.D. a long patriotic movement got rid of these foreigners. Followed by a new phase or revival for Egypt, a period known to Egyptologists as the New Empire. Egypt, which had not been closely combined before the Hyksos invasion, was now a united country; and the phase of subjugation and insurrection left her full of military spirit. The Pharaohs became aggressive conquerors. They had now acquired the warhorse and the war chariot, which the Hyksos had brought to them. Under Thothmes III and Amenophis III Egypt had extended her rule into Asia as far as the Euphrates. We are entering now upon a thousand years of warfare between the once quite separated civilizations of Mesopotamia and the Nile. At first Egypt was ascendant. The great dynasties, the Seventeenth Dynasty, which included Thothmes III and Amenophis III and IV and a great queen Hatasu, and the Nineteenth, when Rameses II, supposed by some to have been the Pharaoh of Moses, reigned for sixty-seven years, raised Egypt to high levels of prosperity. In between there were phases of depression for Egypt, conquest by the Syrians and later conquest by the Ethiopians from the South. In Mesopotamia Babylon ruled, then the Hittites and the Syrians of Damascus rose to a transitory predominance; at one time the Syrians conquered Egypt; the fortunes of the Assyrians of Nineveh ebbed and flowed; sometimes the city was a conquered city; sometimes the Assyrians ruled in Babylon and assailed Egypt. Our space is too limited here to tell of the comings and goings of the armies of the Egyptians and of the v arious Semitic powers of Asia Minor, Syria and Mesopotamia. They were armies now provided with vast droves of war chariots, for the horsestill used only for war and gloryhad spread by this time into the old civilizations from Central Asia. Great conquerors appear in the dim light of that distant time and pass, Tushratta, King of Mitanni, who captured Nineveh, Tiglath Pileser I of Assyria who conquered Babylon. At last the Assyrians became the greatest military power of the time. Tiglath Pileser III conquered Babylon in 745 B.C. and founded what historians call the New Assyrian Empire. Iron had also come now into civilization out of the north; the Hittites, the precursors of the Armenians, had it first and communicated its use to the Assyrians, and an Assyrian usurper, Sargon II, armed his troops with it. Assyria became the first power to expound the doctrine of blood and iron. Sargons son Sennacherib led an army to the borders of Egypt, and was defeated not by military strength but by the plague. Sennacheribs grandson Assurbanipal (who is also known in history by his Greek name of Sardanapalus) did actually conquer Egypt in 670 B.C. But Egypt was already a conquered country then under an Ethiopian dynasty. Sardanapalus simply replaced one conqueror by another. If one had a series of political maps of this long period of history, this interval of ten centuries, we should have Egypt expanding and contracting like an amba under a microscope, and we should see these various Semitic states of the Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Hittites and the Syrians coming and going, eating each other up and disgorging each other again. To the west of Asia Minor there would be little Egan states like Lydia, whose capital was Sardis, and Caria. But after about 1200 B.C. and perhaps earlier, a new set of names would come into the map of the ancient world from the northeast and from the northwest. These would be the names of certain barbaric tribes, armed with iron weapons and using horse chariots, which were becoming a great affliction to the Egan and Semitic civilizations on the northern borders. They all spoke variants of what once must have been the same language, Aryan. Round the northeast of the Black and Caspian Seas were coming the Medes and Persians. Confused with these in the records of the time were Scythians and Samatians. From northeast or northwest came the Armenians, from the northwest of the sea-barrier through the Balkan peninsula came Cimmerians, Phrygians

Case study analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Case study analysis - Essay Example In this case, it is counter-productive for a company to internationalise a product without fundamentally seeking to acquire a large market segment of the local market. Despite these factors, a strategic analysis is crucial in the process of internationalising a product. To internationalise a product, an effective strategic analysis will involve the identification of the strengths that make the product a good option for new markets. Such strengths include the competitive advantage of the product over its competitors. Consequently, the competitive advantage determines whether the company will modify its product in order to be accepted in the new markets. In addition, the company may decide to introduce a new product for the new market or the company may decide to venture into the new international markets with the same product (Czinkota and Ronkainen 2007). In line with this, it is essential to point out that a good product does not require modification in order for the company to intr oduce it to new markets. As an alternative internationalisation of a good product should involve its introduction into the new market in its original form since it has the competitive advantages related to superior quality and a powerful brand name. The specific capability of a firm to produce a quality product is crucial in determining the internationalisation of a product. In this regard, efficiency in production and distribution systems determines whether the product will be offered to the customer when required (Lessard 2003). Case in point, investing in innovative technology was a crucial factor that helped Auer meet its customers’ demands since the company was able to offer its customers products when required due to continuous production. However, it is evident that the company failed to meet the demands of its customers once the distribution channels were affected. In this regard, the investing in effective distribution channels and innovative technology ensure that t he company will be able to meet the demand of its customers by offering the products on time. A good product for internationalisation should be a differentiated product. By differentiation, a company should offer new customers a product that is unique in order for the customer to easily adopt the new product in place of the one that they were consuming. In this regard, it is challenging for a customer to adopt a new product without experiencing uniqueness of the product. In line with this, a company that internationalises a product should ensure that the product is distinct from its competitors since an inferior product cannot replace a superior product in an international market. Lessard (2003) identifies these factors as responsiveness to the demands of the local customers by ensuring that the product was in line with the tastes and preferences of the customer. Without responding to the tastes and preferences of the local customer, it is challenging to internationalise a product t o new markets. A good product provides avenues for strategic partnership between various companies engaged in the international mar

Scottish society since 1914 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Scottish society since 1914 - Essay Example In these Wars, Scotland actually is a country engaged in a debate to determine if the aforementioned event is necessary. Scotland actively participated in every event that would somehow determine the fate of the eventual European colonizers. Moreover, The pre-war debates and development of policy had left much about the nature and form of welfare to be decided (Levitt, 1988, p.104). However, one cannot deny the fact that Scotland on that time was oppressed by other English nations- the state experienced unfair competitions on trade as they experienced low salary compared to their counterparts and the goods and services that were provided by this country was paid at a lower price. Being engaged in such activities, the economic side of Scotland was set aside while they are focusing much on the tactics rather than the welfare of the people. In this case, people of different classes aiming for social change "indirectly" ruled Scotland. Ofcourse, mixture of different classes would eventually give birth into an ideology and belief of "oneness" that would later be their uniting force in the next few years. Who would have known that such occurrences would turn this nation into one of Europe's largest financial centers. During the time interwar, the Scottish while experien... Let's take a closer look at the depression it suffered during the inter-war era. During that time, the Scottish people have only a few options on their employment. The armed force is perhaps the only thing that provides employment during that time. During these wars, while other European country were busy expanding their territories and scope, Scottish people has other things in mind- to develop a sense of oneness and to meet the challenges of the future Scotland. "In a relatively short space of time, the Scottish working class went from being one of the most highly organised working classes in the history of industrial capitalism, to a fragmented one as yet barely able to defend its economic and political interests" (Knox, 1995). Dealing with the present-day society of Scotland would further draw each one who wishes to have this study in their interwar experience. Their niche, in the business world has led them into a distinction, which other countries in the United Kingdom failed to do such a feat. The 1980s saw an economic boom in the Silicon Glen corridor between Glasgow and Edinburgh, with many large technology firms relocating to Scotland. The discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s also helped to transform the Scottish economy (wikepedia 2006). Perhaps, this is an indicator that the said state is in demand of providing services that are vital to the growth ouf European countries. Scottish were pressumed as "enemies" of most of the English people during the early years of the war and even before the war. However, they made a remarkable move by excelling on intelligence in the armed forces, Industry and economics which paved the way for

Negative Effects of Technology on Society

Negative Effects of Technology on Society Negative Effects of Technology There is no doubt that technology is playing a critical role in developing societies as countries depend on it in all disciplines of life. Countries all over the globe are competing to invent and develop the highest technological devices that can maintain the highest efficiency and accuracy of the work. Starting from 1980s, people started to use technology every day. The use of technology kept rising dramatically that people used it in tiny things. That overuse resulted in many negatives. There are many negative effects of overusing of technology on societies but the three major effects could be health problems, privacy problems and social problems. One of the negative sides of the rapid use of technology on societies is the health issue. There is no doubt that the technology is getting better and spreading around the world. That led societies to deal with it almost every day to get their work done resulting in many issues. These issues can mainly be divided into two main categories which are mental health problems and physical health problems. First of which is the physical health problem, there are many physical health issues that caused by dealing with technology but the critical ones are weaken the eyesight. People who usually deal with computers for a long periods of time like programmers suffer from blurry vision and eye soreness. According to Tripp (2013), people who usually use computers for long terms experience serious issues such as soreness of the eyes and blurring the vision. That can be clearly seen since eyes have to concentrate all the time on the screen that emits dangerous radiations that affects the eyes criti cally leading the eyes to start dropping tears which can make the eye blurry. Resulting in soreness of the eyes on long terms. In addition, technology can cause mental problems for some. Some people who usually spend hours dealing with TVs and Computers without interacting with people get discouraged and get an independent behavior which results in fear of talking to people resulting them to suffer from mental disease called anxiety. Unfortunately nowadays, parents are exposing their children to technology without taking in consideration the cruel effects of such an action. Causing their children to suffer from many mental diseases. Crawford (2011) mentioned that due to spending huge amounts of time; huge number of children were diagnosed by di polar disorder, anxiety and depression resulting in using enormous amounts of psychotropic medications. That can be clearly seen since the parents does not take in consideration that technology isolate the child from the outer world thus they get mental diseases. To sum up, technology has double edged effects which are mental and physical problems. The second negative effect of overuse of technology on the society is the deprivation of privacy and security. As the world experiencing many advancements in the technology it is also facing problems of privacy and security that can strip the world from personal information. Firstly, privacy issues. Privacy problems are considered as one of the critical issues. Privacy issues are concerned with tracking locations and spying on information. It is very easy for professionals to trace and spy on any electronic device that connects to a network by simply tracking the IP location using programs then establishing connections by dominating over foibles resulting in accessing data of the user. For example, some advertising websites can track location, watch what users do and see what the users like and dislike by s doing a survey of which products are more preferred, while some countries usually spy on another countries to maintain its internal security and spy on extremely important informa tion. According to Thai serves group (2012), minister of communication in Iran mentioned that the western are spying on the internet resulting in spreading of corruption. That is clearly seen since the west have more advanced instruments that can track and spy on anyone in the world with high accuracy. In addition to privacy problems, security problems can negatively affect anyone in the world, it is concerned with stealing of information. It is known that information of users of any website are saved in cloud storage of the website. Professionals aim for that cloud storage. If it is not well secured all of users information including ID and passwords will be threatened. For example, if a professional hacker login a bank database, he would cause a fatal damage to the users and the bank, running away leaving almost no trace. â€Å"Computer predators† (n.d.) mentioned that while computers are connected to the internet, hackers send malwares to seek for financial information and transfer it to them. That can be clearly seen since many hackers have used these malwares to penetrate banks systems in the west. Wrapping up, technology affects dramatically on the privacy and security The third negative effect of overuse of technology on societies is the social issue. Through these years technology was getting more advanced not only in business and work fields but for numerous number of fields. One of these important fields that gains enormous amount of profit is the games field, which has been modified many times to make the games more realistic and has more similarities to the real life. Games are so realistic that killing and other disgusting scenes are included in games. The serious effects of games can be divided into two main categories which are temper fluctuating and lack of social skills .Firstly, due to killing and blood scenes in the games aggression spread among all the teenagers. According to Alamy (2012), teens who usually play brutal games become extremely aggressive. That can be clearly seen because watching such dangerous scenes make the teenagers or children more likely to attack people or cause critical damage to their friends in schools or in n eighborhood. In addition to aggression, lack of social skills is another result of overuse of technology. Sitting all the day working on electronics such as computers could isolate the person. It is clear that technology boosted communications by easily contacting anyone by just pressing a button. But in fact it is responsible for the rapid loss of the relationships. Nowadays some people could be having a date and they are actually sitting next to each other but in reality they are not having any kind of contact. According to Howarth (2014), children social skills are decreasing dramatically because of spending long periods of time interacting with technology. That is clear because the more the child is attached to technology the less his social skills will be. Wrapping up, technology affects socializing of children. Finally, technology was made to serve the world but people used it in intensive levels that it caused serious problems that are health problems, privacy problems and social problems. Health problems are considered as critical issues which affects mental and physical health of the user. Moreover, privacy is negatively affected due to spying and stealing of information of users. Furthermore, socializing is affected by rapid change of temper and lack of social skills. People should spend less time and communicate with each other and use technology in rates that it doesn’t hurt people to avoid getting any problems in the future. Word Count -1198

Company Analysis: Northwest Airlines :: Essays Papers

Company Analysis: Northwest Airlines Introduction Northwest Airlines is one of the pioneers in the airline transportation industry and is ranked at the fourth largest air carrier in the United States today. The success of the carrier depends on the quality and reliability of the service at a reasonable price. Close competitors force Northwest to innovate their services by increasing efficiency. This essay will try to examine different perspectives in the services needed to successfully complete the company’s objectives. The analysis will explain historical and financial perspectives that may give a better understanding of the current market trend of the organization. Services â€Å"Northwest Airlines is engaged principally in the commercial transportation of passengers and cargo.† (5) NWA is a complete full service air transportation carrier that is the forth-largest air carrier in the world that services over 750 destinations located in 120 different countries on 6 continents. They operate 2,600 flights daily around the world and operate more than 200 nonstop between the United States and Asia each week. Headquarters is based in Minneapolis/St. Paul. The main connecting hubs are located at Detroit, Minneapolis, Memphis, and Tokyo. Northwest employs 50,600 employees nationwide as of Dec. 31, 1998. (6) NWA also has 1269 Stockholders as of Feb. 26, 1999. (6) Northwest continues to improve cargo shipping by proudly dedicating 12 Boeing 747 aircraft and easily becoming one of the largest cargo airlines in the world. (4) Cargo is very profitable for Northwest because â€Å"Northwest has predicted cargo revenue will top the 900 million mark in 2000 †. (3) The enormous fleet of aircraft contains 400 airplanes. (1) Northwest has subsidiaries wholly owned (Unless otherwise indicated by NWA) by Northwest Aircraft, Northwest Aerospace Training corps, MLT Inc, Express Airlines, and Express Airlines I. (6) History Northwest Airlines began service on October 1, 1926, flying mail between Minneapolis / St. Paul and Chicago. (2) They started passenger transportation in July 7, 1927. (2) Throughout the years Northwest has grown steadily by acquiring new system routes in the northwestern region of the USA. The year 1930 was a landmark in history because Northwest moved their home base operation to their present headquarters in St. Paul. The air service grew overnight with the acquisition of Southern Airways in 1936. Northwest’s famous red tail was introduced for the first time on February 1948.

Alternative Fuel Vehicles Feasibility Study Essay

As a leader in the rental vehicle industry for the past 30 years, ABC Rental Cars has continually remained a step ahead of its competition. To continue to set the pace for other rental agencies to follow, and to ensure ABC Rental Cars’ dominant position in the marketplace, alternative fuel vehicles (AFV), or more specifically, hybrid vehicles, should be evaluated as to the feasibility and consumer interest of introducing these types of vehicles into our fleet. Currently, gasoline prices are at an all-time high. The United States’ dependency on foreign oil is also at an extremely high level, and with the ever-shifting Middle Eastern political climate teetering at volatile levels, hybrid vehicles are an important avenue to be considered. While hybrid car sales currently lag behind sales of conventional vehicles, J. D. Power & Associates, a market research firm, estimates that hybrid vehicle sales will increase to half a million by the year 2006. In addition, nearly 20 new models of hybrid cars, SUV’s, and trucks will be rolled out to consumers in the next few years (Mossy Automotive Group, 2004). ABC Rentals can reap the rewards of providing these vehicles to its consumers, provided the cost associated with this program is mutually beneficial to both parties. Initially, the types of fuels that are available need to be researched to determine the viability of introducing hybrid vehicles into our fleet. While there are several options of alternative fuels available, most are not practical. The fuels analyzed included natural gas, biodiesel, electricity, ethanol, Fischer Tropsch, liquefied natural gas, methanol, and propane. Ultimately, the research concluded that the only practical, economical, and accessible fuel currently available is electricity, when used in the hybrid concept. There are many vehicles that use electricity. The most popular concept is used in hybrid vehicles. These vehicles have an electric motor, with a separate gasoline motor. One of the benefits is fuel economy. According to an EPA report, hybrids â€Å"can more than double the gas mileage of conventional gasoline or diesel-powered cars. † Also, this use of energy reduces emissions because gasoline consumption is reduced. Next, the gasoline motor charges the battery as the car is running, nullifying the need for recharging stations. Ultimately, the most practical fuel that can be considered at this time is electricity combined with gasoline, which is used in hybrid vehicles. (EPA, 2003) As a means to gauge consumer interest in these types of vehicles, we also needed to research our competitors to distinguish if hybrid vehicles would be a practical addition to our fleet. Currently, EV Rental Cars is the only company in the United States to rent hybrid cars to the public. At this time, there are a total of eight locations with hybrid vehicles: four locations in California: Los Angeles, Burbank, Ontario and San Diego, one location in Phoenix, Arizona, two locations in Virginia: Dulles and Arlington, and one in Washington D. C. With all of the locations above in mind, EV Rental Cars has grown in fleet size to more than 400 cars throughout the eight different locations (www. evrental. com, 2001). One of the vehicles available to rent at EV Rentals is the Toyota Prius, which is a full size family sedan. This vehicle rents for $49. 99 per day, or $299. 94 per week, and EV Rentals offers 150 free miles per day and . 25/mile thereafter (www. evrental. com, 2001). The Prius achieves 60 mpg in the city and 51 mpg on the highway (autos. yahoo. com, 2004). Comparatively, Honda has introduced the Honda Insight, which in the rental vehicle industry is considered to be a standard size car, and the Honda Civic hybrid, which is considered to be a compact car. These two cars are offered by EV Rentals at a similar price to the Toyota Prius (www. evrental.com, 2001). The Honda Insight achieves an EPA highway mileage of 66 mpg and 60 mpg in the city, while the Honda Civic hybrid can travel 650 miles with a full tank of gas (www. honda. com, 2004). As indicated above, these three cars are not only great when it comes to mileage, but another advantage they enjoy is that they are also environmentally friendly. For example, the Prius produces 90 percent less harmful emissions than a traditional car (www. ineed2know. org, 2004), which is important to those individuals that are concerned about the environment. Even President Bush seemed to agree that alternative fuel vehicles needed to be further investigated when he endorsed the concept of alternative fuel vehicles and allocated more than a billion dollars toward the transition to hydrogen fuels (www. evrental. com, 2001). On the other hand, these types of cars are not a practical investment if cost and availability are issues. Not only is the price higher, but due to limited interest in hybrids by consumers at this time, there is only a small geographic area where hybrids are being rented. Most locations are situated in California, Arizona, and Washington; therefore, if ABC Rental Cars is looking for a new rental opportunity that could expand quickly, hybrid vehicles may not be the ideal choice. Initial startup costs and maintenance costs are also important factors to consider. The price of a hybrid automobile is higher than that of a comparable gasoline engine powered automobile. According to the Website ineed2know. org, a consumer can expect to pay from $3,500 to $6,000 more for a hybrid vehicle. The money a consumer saves in purchasing a hybrid depends greatly on the cost of gasoline. For example, if gas is priced at $1. 80 per gallon, it might take the average driver between 10 and 15 years to make up a $3,500 increase in the initial price. The higher the gas prices go, the less time it will take to recoup the higher price of purchasing a hybrid (ineed2know. org, 2004). However, statistics detailing the amount of time needed to recoup initial investment costs for businesses were not available at this time. Batteries for hybrid vehicles cost considerably more than conventional car batteries. Hybrid batteries sport a price tag of $1,000 – $2,000, more than 10 ? 20 times that of a gasoline powered vehicle (ineed2know.org, 2004). While most hybrid batteries are covered under the vehicle warranty, once the warranty expires it will be the owner’s responsibility to cover the cost of a new battery. Below are some specific pricing examples of hybrids that are currently on the market: The Toyota Prius has a suggested retail price of $21, 708, which is comparable to the Corolla that retails at $15, 580. The hybrid Honda Civic cost $20, 650. That’s about $2,300 more than the Honda Civic with a gasoline powered engine. (Phelan, 2004) Eartheasy. com lists the Honda Insight with a base retail price of $19,080 to $21,280. (2004) The Pontiac Website (2004) lists the comparable Vibe at $17, 165. The Ford Website (2004) boasts the hybrid 2005 Ford Escape, available in August 2004, which will have a retail price of $26,970 for the front-wheel drive SUV. The four-wheel drive hybrid SUV will retail at $28,595. Comparable Ford Escapes with gasoline powered engines retail for $19,995 and $21, 605 respectively. Renewable energy has become the focus of many markets in today’s society. From solar panels to hybrid vehicles, Americans are interested in purchasing these types of technologies, but need financial help from the government in the form of tax credits and rebates. Hybrid vehicles are costly to manufacture, and automakers pass on this higher cost to consumers in the form of higher retail prices of the vehicle. To help offset these higher prices, automakers are encouraging the federal government to provide tax credits to those consumers who purchase hybrid vehicles. The reason for this push is there is currently no alternative technology planned for the future. In a speech given to the Automotive News World Congress, Ford Motor Company’s CEO William Ford stated: â€Å"Hybrid vehicles are a very good bridge between today’s technology and fuel cells. Fuel cells ? as promising as they are ? come with a tremendous infrastructure challenge. We do not have hydrogen on every corner like we do gasoline, and we also have storage issues. With hybrids, we do not have to invent anything ? we know they work. † (Kiley, 2004) To date, there are two types of tax credits available to those who purchase alternative fuel vehicles: ? If you purchase a certain type of electric vehicle, you may be entitled to a tax credit. ?If a vehicle qualifies as a â€Å"clean-fuel† vehicle, you may be entitled to a deduction from gross income. Currently, any clean-fuel vehicles that are manufactured after June 30, 1993 and before January 1, 2007, qualifies the owner for a deduction off of their gross income for a portion of the cost of the vehicle. Examples of these vehicles are natural gas, hydrogen and any fuel that is composed of at least 85% ethanol, alcohol or ether. Electric vehicles receive a 10% tax credit, based on the purchase price. The maximum dollar amount cannot exceed $4,000. These credits will be phased out gradually ? 25, 50 and 75 percent in 2004, 2005, and 2006 respectively, until it is phased out completely in 2007 (www. taxguide. completeax. com, 2004). These tax credits are targeted to the individual consumer, and not for rental vehicles. With the price of gasoline currently hovering around $2. 20 per gallon, the hybrid vehicle appears to be an attractive alternative. However, without a tax credit geared towards the business market, it is not a feasible option. Unfortunately, even with a tax credit, it would take years for the population to change their driving habits. To summarize, marketing alternative fuel vehicles to the consumer can be challenging, and most consumers are not aware of the types or manufacturers of these vehicles. If people are knowledgeable at all about alternative fuel environmental friendly vehicles, they may not be certain of where they can purchase or rent one of them. Purchasing an environmentally friendly vehicle is getting easier to do, with more car manufacturers jumping on the bandwagon. Honda and Toyota have led the way with hybrid vehicles, and Ford has also been in the market with its Ford Crown Victoria natural gas vehicles, with upcoming plans to debut their 2005 Ford Escape hybrid in August 2004. Pontiac is also throwing their hat into the ring with their new hybrid vehicle, the Vibe. Most consumers that are in the market for alternative fuel vehicles are looking at the new hybrids, which use both a combination of electricity and gasoline and can achieve 50 to 60 miles per gallon. The batteries on these vehicles automatically recharge themselves; consequently the vehicles never are required to be plugged in. Renting an alternative fuel vehicle can be more challenging than purchasing one, since at this time there is only one viable rental agency; EV Rental Cars, who has partnered with Budget Rent a Car, a major player in the rental car industry. If a person lives in, or is visiting California, Arizona or Washington D. C. , they can rent one of these vehicles at one of the major airports. The cost is $10 to $20 dollars more per day than renting regular gasoline powered vehicles. Most can be rented or reserved on the Internet, but some alternative fuel vehicles cannot. Consumers must request these in person at rental locations. There are a small amount of benefits for the consumer. For example, drivers can travel in the carpool lane even if they are driving alone in California, Arizona, Virginia and Georgia, thereby saving time. Additionally, when returning traditional rental vehicles, a renter is usually required to return the vehicle with the same amount of gas as was in the vehicle when first rented. Conversely, alternative fuel vehicles can be returned empty, incurring no extra surcharge. As far as refueling these vehicles, charging electric vehicles is free at the rental car recharging stations. Also, hybrid vehicles are more economical because they get more than 60 miles per gallon. Looking at the limited benefits, the overall cost and lack of convenience of purchasing or renting one of these alternative fuel vehicles, and the fact that there is limited availability, does not make it very appealing to the consumer. To investigate a hybrid vehicle consumer’s point of view concerning these types of vehicles, we conducted an interview with Dr. Mark Looper, a hybrid car enthusiast who operates the website altfuels. org. Dr. Looper holds an MS and PhD in physics from the California Institute of Technology, and an AB in physics from Princeton University. He has owned alternative fuel vehicles since 1993, and rents hybrid vehicles from the local EV Rental agency in his area. His website offers reviews of these rental vehicles, as well as real-life experiences of Dr. Looper’s travels utilizing alternative fuel vehicles. Dr. Looper’s primary reason for renting AFV’s is to provide information about alternative vehicles to the general public in the form of his reviews, as well as to promote and gain support for these vehicles with his friends, colleagues, and anyone interested enough to learn about alternatives to gasoline powered vehicles. While Dr. Looper’s rental charges exceeded the cost of gasoline powered vehicles, he stressed that cost was not much of a factor in his decision. Instead, Dr. Looper was far more interested in providing useful information to the visitors of his website. One of the questions asked of Dr. Looper was his comfort level while renting AFV’s. Specifically, did he feel nervous that alternative fuel may not be available, or that the vehicle would not handle as well as a traditional vehicle, two concerns of traditional vehicle owners. His reply was that while he was initially nervous when he decided to drive the vehicle across the country, he has never felt nervous while driving in his area. Fuel was always available, as were charging sources. Dr. Looper has stated that he would continue to rent alternative fuel vehicles, to not only â€Å"promote AFV’s by enhancing market demand and visibility,† but to also provide important feedback to consumers considering purchasing or renting these vehicles. Dr. Looper also feels very strongly about environmental issues, and considers this when making a decision of which vehicle to rent. If an alternative fuel vehicle is available, he will always choose this path, as opposed to the traditional vehicle. In conclusion, our research reveals that ABC Rental Cars should not consider introducing alternative fuel vehicles into its fleet at this time. The initial investment costs are much higher than those of traditional gasoline powered vehicles, and costs associated with the upkeep of these vehicles are also prohibitive. In addition, while tax breaks are available to consumers purchasing hybrid vehicles, our studies failed to reveal any tax savings for businesses purchasing, or renting hybrid vehicles. Furthermore, Dr. Looper’s enthusiasm and knowledge notwithstanding, the demand for hybrid vehicles is not currently at a level that would justify the amount of capital necessary to launch this program. However, ABC Rental Cars should continue to monitor developments in the hybrid vehicle industry, as well as gauge consumer interest in these vehicles, and be prepared to move forward with this program should it become economically feasible in the future. References Eartheasy. com (2000 – 2004) The new hybrid cars. Retrieved June 19, 2004 from http://www.eartheasy. com/live_hybrid_cars Environmental Protection Agency, (March 2003). Clean Alternative Fuels: Electric Vehicles. Retrieved, June 18, 2004 from http://www. epa. gov/otaq/consumer/fuels/altfuels/altfuels. htm#fact EV Rental Cars (2002) Website. Retrieved June 19, 2004 from http://www. evrental. com/index. html Fordvehicles. com (2004) Escape Hybrid. Retrieved June 19, 2004 from http://www. fordvehicles. com/escapehybrid/home/index. asp? bhcp=1 Ineed2know. org (2003 – 2004) We Know: 5 important facts about hybrid cars. Retrieved June 20, 2004 from http://www. ineed2know. org/hybrid_cars. htm Kiley, D. (April 8, 2004) Top auto execs turn to tax code to boost fuel efficient vehicles. USA Today Looper, M. , (2004) Owner and Webmaster of www. altfuels. org Interviewed June, 2004 Mossy Automotive Group, (January 22, 2004). Alternative fuel vehicles would add powerful new dimensions to any auto fleet. Mossy Automotive Group Online. Retrieved June 24, 2004 from http://www. mossy. com/news_show. html? item_num=10 Phelan, M. (June 3, 2004). Cutting the hybrid hype. The Detroit Free Press. Retrieved June 20, 2004 from http://www. freep. com/money/autoreviews/hybrid3e_20040603. htm Pontiac. com (2004) Pontiac Vibe. Retrieved June 19, 2004 from http://www. pontiac. com/vibe/index. jsp? brand=home&pagename=home Taxguide. com (2004) Website. Retrieved June 18, 2004 from http://www. taxguide. completetax. com Yahoo! Autos (2004) 2004 Toyota Prius. Retrieved June 22, 2004 from http://autos. yahoo. com/newcars/toyota_prius_2004/3809/model_overview. html.