Hard Determinism

Hard Determinism Hard determinism is a philosophical position that consists of two main claims: Determinism is true.Free will is an illusion. The distinction between â€Å"hard determinism† and â€Å"soft determinism† was first made by the American philosopher William James (1842-1910). Both positions insist on the truth of determinism: that is, they both assert that every event, including every human action, is the necessary result of prior causes operating according to the laws of nature. But whereas soft determinists claim that this is compatible with our having free will, hard determinists deny this. While soft determinism is a form of compatibilism, hard determinism is a form of incompatibilism. Arguments for hard determinism Why would anyone want to deny that human beings have free will? The main argument is simple. Ever since the scientific revolution, led by the discoveries of people like Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, and Newton, science has largely presupposed that we live in a deterministic universe. The principle of sufficient reason asserts that every event has a complete explanation. We may not know what that explanation is, but we assume that everything that happens can be explained. Moreover, the explanation will consist of identifying the relevant causes and laws of nature that brought about the event in question. To say that every event is determined by prior causes and the operation of laws of nature means that it was bound to happen, given those prior conditions. If we could rewind the universe to a few seconds before the event and play the sequence through again, we’d get the same result. Lightning would strike in exactly the same spot; the car would break down at exactly the same time; the goalkeeper would save the penalty in exactly the same way; you would choose exactly the same item from the restaurant’s menu. The course of events is predetermined and therefore, at least in principle, predictable. One of the best-known statements of this doctrine was given by the French scientist Pierre-Simon Laplace (11749-1827).   He wrote: We may regard the present state of the universe as the effect of its past and the cause of its future. An intellect which at a certain moment would know all forces that set nature in motion, and all positions of all items of which nature is composed, if this intellect were also vast enough to submit these data to analysis, it would embrace in a single formula the movements of the greatest bodies of the universe and those of the tiniest atom; for such an intellect nothing would be uncertain and the future just like the past would be present before its eyes. Science cannot really prove that determinism is true. After all, we often do encounter events for which we don’t have an explanation. But when this happens, we don’t assume that we are witnessing an uncaused event; rather, we just assume that we haven’t discovered the cause yet. But the remarkable success of science, and especially its predictive power, is a powerful reason for supposing that determinism is true. For with one notable exception–quantum mechanics (about which see below) the history of modern science has been a history of the success of deterministic thinking as we have succeeded in making increasingly accurate predictions about everything, from what we see in the sky to how our bodies react to particular chemical substances. Hard determinists look at this record of successful prediction and conclude that the assumption it rests on–every event is causally determined–is well-established and allows for no exceptions. That means that human decisions and actions are as predetermined as any other event. So the common belief that we enjoy a special sort of autonomy, or self-determination, because we can exercise a mysterious power we call â€Å"free will,† is an illusion. An understandable illusion, perhaps, since it makes us feel that we are importantly different from the rest of nature; but an illusion all the same. What about quantum mechanics? Determinism as an all-encompassing view of things received a severe blow in the 1920s with the development of quantum mechanics, a branch of physics dealing with the behavior of subatomic particles. According to the widely accepted model proposed by Werner Heisenberg and Niels Bohr, the subatomic world contains some indeterminacy.   For instance, sometimes an electron jumps from one orbit around its atom’s nucleus to another orbit, and this is understood to be an event without a cause.   Similarly, atoms will sometimes emit radioactive particles, but this, too, is viewed as an event without a cause. Consequently, such events cannot be predicted. We can say that there is, say, a 90% probability that something will happen, meaning that nine times out of ten, a specific set of conditions will produce that happening. But the reason we can’t be more precise is not because we are lacking a relevant piece of information; it is just that a degree of indeterminacy is built i nto nature. The discovery of quantum indeterminacy was one of the most surprising discoveries in the history of science, and it has never been universally accepted.   Einstein, for one, could not countenance it, and still today there are physicists who believe that the indeterminacy is only apparent, that eventually a new model will be developed which reinstates a thoroughly deterministic point of view.   At present, though, quantum indeterminacy is generally accepted for much the same sort of reason that determinism is accepted outside quantum mechanics: the science that presupposes it is phenomenally successful. Quantum mechanics may have dented the prestige of determinism as a universal doctrine, but that doesn’t mean it has salvaged the idea of free will. There are still plenty of hard determinists around. This is because when it comes to macro objects like human beings and human brains, and with macro events such as human actions, the effects of quantum indeterminacy is thought to be negligible to non-existent. All that is needed to rule out free will in this realm   is what is sometimes called â€Å"near determinism.† This is what it sounds like–the view that determinism holds throughout most of nature.   Yes, there may be some subatomic indeterminacy. But what is merely probabilistic at the subatomic level still translates into deterministic necessity when we are talking about the behavior of larger objects. What about the feeling that we have free will? For most people, the strongest objection to hard determinism has always been the fact that when we choose to act in a certain way, it feels as if our choice is free: that is, it feels as if we are in control and exercising a power of self-determination. This is true whether we are making life-altering choices such as deciding to get married, or trivial choices such as opting for apple pie rather than cheesecake. How strong is this objection?   It is certainly convincing to many people. Samuel Johnson probably spoke for many when he said, â€Å"We know our will is free, and there’s an end to it!†Ã‚   But the history of philosophy and science contains many examples of claims that seem obviously true to common sense but turn out to be false. After all, it feels as if the earth is still while the sun moves around it; it seems as if material objects are dense and solid when in fact they consist mainly of empty space. So the appeal to subjective impressions, to how things feel is problematic. On the other hand, one could argue that the case of free will is different from these other examples of common sense being wrong. We can accommodate the scientific truth about the solar system or the nature of material objects fairly easily. But it’s hard to imagine living a normal life without believing that you are responsible for your actions. The idea that we are responsible for what we do underlies our willingness to praise and blame, reward and punish, take pride in what we do or feel remorse. Our whole moral belief system and our legal system seem to rest on this idea of individual responsibility. This points to a further problem with hard determinism. If every event is causally determined by forces beyond our control, then this must include the event of the determinist concluding that determinism is true. But this admission seems to undermine the whole idea of arriving at our beliefs through a process of rational reflection. It also seems to render pointless the whole business of debating issues like free will and determinism, since it is already predetermined who will hold what view. Someone making this objection doesn’t have to deny that all our thought processes have correlated physical processes going on in the brain. But there is still something odd about treating one’s beliefs as the necessary effect of these brain processes rather than as the result of reflection. On these grounds, some critics view hard determinism as self-refuting. Related links Soft determinism Indeterminism and free will Fatalism

The Peloponnesian War - Causes of the Conflict

The Peloponnesian War - Causes of the Conflict Many excellent historians have discussed the causes of the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BCE), and many more will do so in the future. Thucydides, however, wrote the most important contemporary chronicle of the war. Importance of the Peloponnesian War Fought between the allies of Sparta and the empire of Athens, the crippling Peloponnesian War paved the way for the Macedonian takeover of Greece by Philip II of Macedon and, following that, Alexander the Greats empire. Before the Peloponnesian War, the city-states (poleis) of Greece had worked together to fight off the Persians. During the Peloponnesian War, they turned on each other. Thucydides on the Cause of the Peloponnesian War In the first book of his history, participant-observer and historian Thucydides recorded the causes of the Peloponnesian War: The real cause I consider to be the one which was formally most kept out of sight. The growth of the power of Athens, and the alarm which this inspired in Lacedaemon, made war inevitable.I.1.23 History of the Peloponnesian War While Thucydides seemed quite certain that he had settled the question of the cause of the Peloponnesian War for all time, historians continue to debate the origins of the war. The main reasons proposed are: Sparta was jealous of other powers and desired more power for itself.Sparta was unhappy at no longer having all the military glory.Athen bullied its allies and neutral cities.There was a conflict among city-states between competing political ideologies. Historian Donald Kagan has been studying the causes of the Peloponnesian War for decades. His 2003 book provides a detailed breakdown of the politics, alliances, and events that led to the war. Athens and the Delian League Many historical accounts make brief mention of the earlier Persian Wars, which undervalues their importance as a contributing factor to the later war. Because of the Persian Wars, Athens had to be rebuilt and it came to dominate its group of allies politically and economically. The Athenian empire started with the Delian League, which had been formed to allow Athens to take the lead in the  war against Persia, and wound up providing Athens with access to what was supposed to be a communal treasury. Athens used these communal funds to build up its navy and, with it, its importance and power. Spartas Allies Earlier, Sparta had been the military leader of the Greek world. Sparta had a set of loose alliances by means of individual treaties that extended to the Peloponnese, excepting Argos and Achaea. The Spartan alliances are referred to as the Peloponnesian League. Sparta Insults Athens When Athens decided to invade Thasos, Sparta would have come to the aid of the north Aegean island, had Sparta not suffered a natural disaster. Athens, still bound by alliances of the Persian War years, tried to help the Spartans, but was rudely asked to leave. Kagan says that this open quarrel in 465 BCE was the first between Sparta and Athens. Athens broke off the alliance with Sparta and allied, instead, with Spartas enemy, Argos. Athens Gains an Ally and an Enemy When Megara turned to Sparta for help in its boundary dispute with Corinth, Sparta, which was allied with both city-states, declined to come to their aid. Megara broke its alliance with Sparta and proposed a new one with Athens. Athens needed a friendly Megara on its border since it provided gulf access, so it agreed in 459 BCE. Doing so, unfortunately, set up lasting enmity with Corinth. About 15 years later, Megara joined back up again with Sparta. Thirty Years Peace In 446 and 445, Athens, a sea power, and Sparta, a land power, signed a peace treaty. The Greek world was now formally divided in two, with two hegemons. By treaty, members of one side could not switch and join the other, although neutral powers could take sides. Historian Kagan writes that, for possibly the first time in history, an attempt was made to keep the peace by requiring both sides to submit grievances to binding arbitration. Fragile Balance of Power A complicated partially ideological political conflict between Spartan-ally Corinth and her neutral daughter city and strong naval power, Corcyra, led to Athenian involvement in Spartas realm. Corcyra appealed to Athens for help, offering to Athens the use of its navy. Corinth urged Athens to remain neutral. But since Corcyras navy was powerful, Athens was concerned that it would fall into Spartan hands and disrupt whatever fragile balance of power the city-states were maintaining. Athens signed a defense-only treaty and sent a fleet to Corcyra. Fighting ensued and Corcyra, with Athens aid, won the Battle of Sybota against Corinth in 433. Athens now knew that direct battle with Corinth was inevitable. Spartan Promises to Athens Ally Potidaea was part of the Athenian empire, but also a daughter city of Corinth. Athens feared a revolt, with good reason, since the Potidaeans had secretly acquired a promise of Spartan support, to invade Athens, in violation of the 30 years treaty. Megarian Decree Athens former ally, the polis Megara, had allied with Corinth at Sybota and elsewhere, and Athens, therefore, put a peacetime embargo on Megara. Historians are not clear on the embargos effects, some saying that Megara was merely made uncomfortable, while others claim that it set the polis on the brink of starvation. The embargo was not an act of war, but Corinth took the opportunity to urge all allies disaffected with Athens to pressure Sparta now to invade Athens. There were enough hawks among the ruling bodies in Sparta to carry the war motion. And so the full-fledged Peloponnesian War began. Sources Kagan, Donald. The Peloponnesian War. Viking, 2003Sealey, Raphae. The Causes of the Peloponnesian War. Classical Philology, vol. 70, no. 2, April 1975, pp. 89-109.Thucydides. The History of the Peloponnesian War. Translated by Richard Crawley, J.M. Dent and Sons, 1910.

Health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Health - Essay Example ling students that if we want to go for a monthly pregnancy test we visit a gynecologist and tell various other designations related to the field of medicine. Give students a fortnight to complete their task and ensure that every kind of help they might need will be appreciated. Keep students morale high by asking about their background knowledge of the subject. By encouraging their effort. By providing a healthy environment in which they don’t feel insecure. Also, make sure that every student participates in the class. Before starting the video ask questions about the topic. Ask questions in such a way that students try to be productive in a class. Try keeping the attention of children by making it fun but avoid using open words, keep intact. Don’t use unnecessary details. If you are talking about prosthetics, try using such words that are understandable by every student. If you are telling about birth control pills make sure that it must not be a challenge for other student that follows different society. Providing extra knowledge helps student to learn more. Advances in the field can be shown by using different animations and websites. Children relate to cartoons and videos and sound effects more than a mere lecture by a teacher Use your own knowledge, you are the teacher and you should be familiar enough with various techniques and approaches used in surgery and reproductive health. Share stories or insight from latest cases. Share personal experiences in a professional manner. Always give your students some extra knowledge of the subject. Conclude the topic in more generative way. Don’t use conventional methods. Always use such methods that influence students. Remember to make the conclusion discussion based so the output from the children can be recorded. Children need to be vocal about such educations and need to know right from wrong and should be able to remember the lesson in long term life for practical

Hawaii Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hawaii - Research Paper Example The islands present a variety of features from volcanic eruptions to glacial features on Mauna Kea volcano as well as abundant rain forests of tropical trees, ferns and flowering plants to desert grass and cactus. Hawaiian physical geography has a number of components that include: In physical geography, according to Gabler, Peterson & Trapasso (2006), earth is taken as a system with inputs of energy. Earth is otherwise a closed system to the input and output of matter. Other than meteorites and gas molecules, nothing can enter the earth’s surface. Another example of earth’s system being a closed one is hydrosphere. Water in the atmosphere is present in all its three forms – liquid, gas and hard ice. It can change shape from one state to another but the output remains the same in the system. The same is not true of the earth’s sub systems. That’s why they are called open systems. Flow of energy is unhindered over a sub system’s physical boundaries as inputs and outputs. Taking the example of a stream as an open sub system where energy remains in the form of soil, rock fragments, solar energy and precipitation; all these forms of energy enter the stream excluding heat energy that scatters into the atmosphere and the str eam bed. Water and the matter of the stream ends into the ocean and the stream system get input from the precipitation. Same is true of the physical geography of Hawaii. Due to continuous eruption of lava from with in the ocean body, Hawaii islands have come into form. Hawaii’s coastlines present one of the most vivid and changing environment. All spheres of earth meet at its coastline—hydrosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. In the Hawaii islands, the movement of energy and processes happen the same, as energy release from lava eruption and sun energy warms water bodies and oceans; water evaporates into the atmosphere and releases back in the form of rain on land and pass through streams and rivers, and finally enter

Population & The Environment Essay Example for Free

Population The Environment Essay Discussions regarding the environmental impact of increasing population densities across the globe never lose their currency. From Thomas Malthus to Paul R. Erlich and onwards, there is a persistent concern that a growing international population may not only reach a tipping point in which the planet’s ability to provide for it is stretched to its limit, but begin to experience detrimental effects in the form of environmental problems. This concern is not simply a matter of numbers, but a matter of how industrial civilizations have consistently failed to curtail anthropogenic impacts. As Donella Meadows (199) opines, â€Å"not only are there so many more of us, but each of us is bigger† when one measures the amount of energy and material we use and the amount of pollutants and waste created by the industries we have created to support our energy and material use. In effect, â€Å"The number of people is not what degrades the earth; its the number of people times the flow of energy and material each person commands. † One of the most frequently cited means by which highly dense populations negatively impact the environment is through intense car use. Alex Steffen (2008) notes that intensive car use within a finite geographic territory is not only a massive contributor to greenhouse emissions that are warming the planet, but they also command a large amount of resource use through the inputs necessary to maintain highway infrastructure, build the actual cars and fuel them. Granted, the resource consumption and greenhouse emissions caused directly by private automobile ownership is absolutely no surprise to anyone, but the less obvious implication that Steffen reports is that exhaust emissions are only a fraction of the environmental impact of the automobile. Over the course of the mid-20th century onwards, the increasing prominence of the automobile as part of modern living has necessitated the construction of massive highway infrastructure. The result is that when you factor dense populations with intense private ownership and use of automobiles is that not only is there a massive amount of greenhouse emissions, but the amount of pavement this infrastructure commands can contribute significantly to the heat island effect which has become a concern among urban planners as of late. Heat islands not only increase the amount of energy expended on indoor air conditioning, but they can worsen air quality. (Steffen, 2008) As such, Steffen argues that no matter the great lengths that today’s automobile manufacturers go to in order to make their automobiles into shiny fuel-efficient emissions-reduced green things to sate the eco-minded consumer, it will not be enough to remediate environmental impacts brought about by car use. Take for example the push towards biofuels, which is essentially, a push for auto manufacturers, in collaboration with energy companies, to make automobiles that run on renewable agricultural products that emit a reduced amount of greenhouse gases. While there is much fuss in the mainstream press about the extent to which the biofuel industry is cannibalizing the food supply, a more overlooked concern is the manner in which the expansion of industrial agriculture to such a massive scale negatively impacts the environment. Simply put, the principal concern is not the ability of agriculture to feed populations, but rather how the expansion of the food supply, combined with the accommodations made for biofuels, has a deleterious effect on the environment. Manning (85-89) notes that the homogenous and unsustainable approach of industrialized corn-based agriculture is detrimental to the health of the soil. As such, there is a possibility that the massive conversion of lands towards the production of corn could recreate the conditions of The Great Dust Bowl, a period in the American heartland which saw hundreds of thousands of would-be wheat farmers plow the soil to death to profit from golden grain. Thus, as civilizations increase in population density, so too do their demands in food and automobile use, effectively exerting a greater toll on the planet’s natural environment. In any case, we must be mindful to remember that the problems inherent with a massive human population should not lead us to conclude that humans have no ecologically acceptable place in the planet. Humanity is not a virus on the operating system of the planet. Rather, what human society should begin to acknowledge is that it must begin to take a more comprehensive look at its impacts in order to correct them thoroughly. REFERENCES Meadows, Donella. â€Å"The Deep Six. † Grist. 12 October 1999. Retrieved online on March 14, 2009 from: http://www. grist. org/comments/citizen/1999/10/12/deep/index. html Steffen, Alex. â€Å"My Other Car is a Bright Green City. † Worldchanging. 23 January 2008. Retrieved online on March 14, 2009 from: http://www. worldchanging. com/archives/007800. html Manning, Richard. Against the Grain: How Agriculture Has Hijacked Civilization. New York: North Point Press, 2004.

European Social Classes :: essays research papers

An unknown poet in the medieval times described the three social classes of European society of his time in this way: â€Å"One toils, one prays, and one defends.† Let us examine these social classes, their lives and what part they played in building their Europe. One Toils   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The common place peasants were referred to as toilers, because they held the base positions of workers (farmers, welders, herders, barbers). Their lives consisted of ever changing working assignments that were dictated by season and need by superior officials (clergy or political). Their homes were of simple design made of wood frames, which were stuffed with straw and rubber then plastered over with clay. The roof was simply thatched together. Homes of the poorer had but one room, while others consisted of two, one for eating and activities and one for sleeping. Their food was adequate if resources permitted, grown from their own backyard and meat was only consumed on special occasions because it was not readily available. An interesting fact was that the bread that the peasants grew was highly nutritious because it contained not just wheat and rye but it was also made with barley, millet, and oats. These grains served another purpose as well, they were used to m ake ale. Ale was the poor man’s liquor, and according to records a large sum was consumed and was responsible for a lot death tolls in medieval court records. All in all the â€Å"toilers† were a simple people, but in their simplicity were the foundation of European for who sewed the clothes together to clothe the superiors and who grew the food that was fed to the superiors. One Prays   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This is an obvious description of the clergy of Europe. A strong example of how important religion was to Europe was and still is the Gothic Cathedral, it ascended stretched out to the heavens, symbolic of the people’s passion for God. The cathedral was build through the hands of everyone in the community, some by using their architectural skills, others by donating the needed funds for completion of the project. Sound management by the popes, along with new characteristics of religious life, made the Catholic church a forceful authority in every area of European citizen’s life. One Defends   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The defenders of Europe, her soldiers, ever changing the flow of their motherland. The role of solders was clear. As seen in the many battles that formed Europe.

Uranium Mining in Australia

In the last forty years, Uranium has become one of the worlds most important energy minerals. Primarily, Uranium produced in Australia has used for the sole production of electricity. However a small proportion of the Uranium mined is for important medical isotopes. It is for this reason that Uranium mining is an ever-important and pressing point of discussion. Mining itself has been criticized for the massive effect it on the environment around it. Uranium mining is no different, and more often then not, the after effects of Uranium mining are more detrimental to the environment. Unlike other mining, Uranium mining has also caused a major stir in the actual use of the Uranium after it has been mined. The environmental problems of Uranium mining go further then the actual mining and by products. The uses of Uranium have been seen as risky and dangerous. Using Uranium as a source of energy has already shown the disastrous effects. The melt down at Chernobyl is still causing health problems in citizens after 30 years. On the upside, Uranium mining creates employment and boosts the Australian Economy. It is for these reasons that Uranium Mining is a process that needs to be looked at carefully before any judgements are made on it's future in Australia. Chemistry Of Uranium and Uranium Mining In the Earth's crust, mineral Uranium averages about two parts per million. Traces of Uranium occur just about everywhere on earth. In Australia, the existence of uranium has been noted since the 1890's. In 1930, ores were mined at Radium Hill in South Australia for minute deposits of Radium. The Radium was used for medical purposes. As a result of the Radium mining, a couple of hundred kilograms of uranium was obtained and used exclusively to produce colours in glass and ceramics. In 1954 the Government started up a major uranium producer in Run Jungle, known as Rum Jungle Mine. Because of this Australia began to emerge as a potential source of uranium for the world's nuclear electricity production. 1970's large amounts of Uranium deposits were found dotted around Australia. This signaled the start of mines in the Northern Territory such as Ranger and Jabiluka, and also in South Australia with Olympic Dam. Uranium is found rocks of the earth's crust, at 4 parts per million. The extraction (removal) or mining process varies from where the uranium ore deposits are found. Surface cut techniques are used where the uranium ore if found close to the surface. Surface cut mines involved the uranium being found close to the surface, so the uranium is removed from a shallow pit. Fig 1. 0 Ranger Mine found in the Northern Territory. The uranium ore is removed via the open cut mining method. Underground mining is used when the ore is found deep underground. In this process, the ore is removed in a similar fashion to copper; the mine is built in the ground. Olympic Damn Mine in South Australia, relies on the underground mining process. Another way to remove ore is called In-Situ Leaching. It is a popular way to mine Uranium, as it doesn't affect the landscape as much as open cut or underground mining. It is used to remove Uranium filled sand that is found in water in a porous rock, which itself confined in a non-porous rock. In situ leaching involves a leaching liquid (ammonium-carbonate or sulfuric acid) pumped through drill- holes into underground uranium deposits, with the uranium bearing liquid is pumped out from below. Ore mined in open pit or underground mines, unlike in situ leaching, has to be crushed and leached in a uranium mill. A Uranium mill is a chemical plant designed to extract uranium from ore. It is usually located near the mines to limit transportation. In the most cases, sulfuric acid is used as the leaching agent, but alkaline leaching can also used. As the leaching agent not only extracts uranium from the ore, but also several other constituents like molybdenum, vanadium, selenium, iron, lead and arsenic, the uranium must be separated out of the leaching solution. The final product produced from the mill, commonly referred to as â€Å"yellow cake† (U3O8 with impurities), is packed and shipped in casks. The reaction between the uranium ore and sulfuric acid. The UO2 is then oxidised. In some cases uranium has been removed from low-grade ore by a process called heap leaching. This may be done if the uranium contents are too low for the ore to be economically processed in a uranium mill. Heaping leaching is performed by using a leaching liquid (often sulfuric acid) being introduced to the top of the pile of ore. The acid or leaching liquid, percolates down until it reaches a liner below the pile or ore, where it is caught and pumped to a processing plant. This liquid contains the uranium. During leaching, the piles of ore present a hazard because of the risk of release of dust, radon gas and leaching liquid. (referenced from Hardy, C J, 1978, The Chemistry of Uranium Milling, Radiochimica Acta 25, 121-134) Nuclear Mining and Milling has a serious social relevance. The tailings from the Uranium mining have serious health risks and environmental hazards. There are many serious environmental arguments over the mining of Uranium. The mining process itself in Australia has strict guidelines, yet the waste products from the mining process still have an extremely detrimental effect on the environment. Uranium mill tailings (or waste products from the crushing and leaching of the ore) are normally dumped as sludge in special ponds or piles (heaps). These piles/ponds are then abandoned. The amount of sludge produced is roughly equal to that of the ore milled. Long-living decay products such as the radioactive elements Thorium-230 and Radium-226 are not removed from the sludge. This means that the sludge contains over half of the initial radioactivity of the ore. As well as this, unfortunately, due to mainly technical limitations not all of the Uranium present in the ore can be removed in the milling process. Therefore, the sludge (which is the waste product) still contains at least 5% of the uranium present in the ore to start off with. The sludge also contains a variety of heavy metals and other contaminants. These include arsenic, as well as the highly corrosive chemical reagents used during the milling process (such as the sulfuric acid used in leaching). The mining and milling process fundamentally removes the hazardous constitutes in the ore from their relatively safe underground location. Mined Uranium itself does not emit hazardous radiation. Radium-226 found in the tailings continuously decays to the radioactive gas Radon-222. Radon-222 has a decay product that has been thought to cause lung cancer. Radon releases are a major hazard that continues even after uranium mines are shut down. The Radon can escape from the interior of the tailing piles or sludge. Since radon spreads quickly with the wind, many people receive small additional radiation doses. However, in Australia the majority of mines are based away from residential or populated areas. It is a concern for workers though, but with safety apparatus, the risk factor is non-existent. Tailing deposits are also subject to many different kinds of erosion. During and after a heavy rainfall, erosion gullies can form where the tailing deposits are left. Floods can destroy the whole deposit, leaving it dispersed everywhere. Interestingly enough, plants and burrowing animals can penetrate into the deposit and disperse the material, which subsequently enhances the radon emanation and make the deposit more susceptible to erosion. When the surface of the pile dries out, the fine sands are blown by the wind over adjacent areas. Erosion leaves the tailing deposits at a risk of dispersion. Seepage from tailing piles is another major hazard. Seepage poses a risk of contamination to ground and surface water. This water can be transferred to fish that swim in the water, then to whoever consumes the fish. Tailings dams are more often then not, not of stable construction. In most cases, they were made from sedimentation of the tailing sludge. Some are even built on geologic faults. This means that they are at greater risk of an earthquake. Strong rain or snowstorms can also cause dam failures. It is of no surprise that time after time dam failures have occurred. It was thought that bringing the tailings back to where the ore was mined would be an acceptable solution for the tailing disposal. Even though most of the Uranium was removed from the material, it did not mean the material was less hazardous. Most of the contaminants are still present. It is because of the processes the materials have to go through to extract the uranium which leaves the material in a condition where the contaminants are much more mobile (sludge and sand), therefore the material susceptible to migration into the environment. In most cases, tailings have to be dumped on the surface for lack of other options. Here, the protection requirements can more easily be controlled by appropriate methods, but additional measures have to be performed to assure protection from erosion. Uranium mining has also caused some concerns because of where the ore deposits are located. Jabiluka mine is in the heart of Kakadu, a National Park, and also in the mines in the Arnhem region. Aboriginal communities are against the mine sites as they are on their cultural land and heritage. It can be argued however, that with strict regulations in the mining and milling of Uranium, the environmental effects and cultural disturbances can be minimal. The mine-tailing dam should for one not be built on a geological fault. This itself is an obvious way of minimizing the risk of contaminants being released. The site should not be located anywhere near or in the flood plain of rivers, and the level of the dam should be deep. If there is any seepage from the tailing dam, it shouldn't pose a risk to the ground water. During investigation of the site, ground water flow has to be monitored, to allow development of computer based three- dimensional ground water models. These models can be used for prediction of effects of supposed or real contaminant releases. This in itself can show the health and risk factor in the mine tailing. With this technology, we can work towards finding out ways in which to minimize the risks involved with the tailings. The deposits of the clay appropriate for lining and covering the deposit should not be located too far away, and the site should be remote from residential areas. It's these basic guidelines, that when followed, make Uranium mining and milling quite safe and not hazardous to the environment or people (taken from OECD NEA 1993, The Safety of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle, ch 2) To increase the safety of a tailing deposit area, be it a damn or a pile, certain management are applied to reduce the risk of hazardous contaminants being released into the environment. Dewatering of the sludge, smoothing of the slopes, and installation of erosion protection. On top of the pile, an appropriate cover should be installed for protection against release of gamma radiation and radon gas, beginning of precipitation, intrusion of the plants and animals, and erosion. This cover in most cases consists of several different layers to meet all requirements. Moreover, the catchement collection and treatment of seepage water is necessary to release purified waters to the surface water only. In the long term however, water treatment should no longer be necessary. Uranium mining, despite the outcry against the environmental problems it can cause, is quite a positive and good thing for the Australian society. Through the mining and milling process, jobs are created and new skills gained. Unemployment is a big issue in Australia, and by boosting the employment rate, essentially boosting the economy. Uranium mining also brings Australia money through exports. In 1997-98 Australian Uranium accounted for 15 per cent of world production, worth about $288 million to Australia. (Lambert et al, 1996, Australia's Uranium Resources, BRS (expenditure, early resource) Fig 1. 1 Showing the amount of money Uranium export brings Australia Taken from: ‘Australia's Uranium and who owns It' Briefing Paper (Found at http://www. uic. com. au/nip01. htm) Advancements in mining technology will mean that hazardous contaminants in the Uranium tailings can be removed before the sludge is dumped in dams or piles. By doing so, the sludge piles/dams would be of no hazard to the environment and could be used to fill back up the mining sites. At the moment there are strict laws that govern Australian these laws and mine sites, are in place to minimize the risk of hazardous radiation being released from the waste piles (tailing dams, sludge piles etc). Only the future can tell what Uranium holds for us. Uranium mining at the present moment has a lot of controversy surrounding it, and the effects on the environment and cultural groups. It has to be realised that the laws governing Uranium Mining in Australia are strict and dictate how Uranium mining is undertaken. This means that there is little to no risk of the tailings being deposited on ‘risky' sites, and the risk of hazardous contaminants being released into the environment are small. By being sensitive to the views and culture of the Indigenous people, and involving them in decisions surrounding the mine, it won't be long until mining companies and these people come to an understanding or agreement.