Death Penalty

Should the United States abolish capital punishment (death penalty)? 

Capital punishment has often been a argumentative social issue in the United States, while historically, a large majority of the American public has favored it in cases of murder, the extent of this support has varied over time, and there has long been strong opposition from some sectors of the population.

Capital punishment is a practice in which prisoners are executed in accordance with judicial practice when they are convicted of committing what is known as a capital crime. Capital crimes are crimes deemed so heinous that they should be punishable by death. At various points in history, a wide range of crimes have been punishable by death, including rape, murder, treason, mutiny and theft.

Supporters who oppose say the death penalty is an unusually severe punishment. There is no credible evidence that the death penalty deters crime more effectively than long terms of imprisonment. States that have death penalty laws do not have lower crime rates or murder rates than states without such laws. Retribution is just another word for revenge, and the desire for revenge is one of the lowest human emotions  perhaps sometimes understandable, but not really a rational response to a critical situation. To kill the person who has killed someone close to you is simply to continue the cycle of violence which ultimately destroys the avenger as well as the offender.

 87 people have been freed from death row because they were later proven innocent. That is a demonstrated error rate of 1 innocent person for every 7 persons executed. 

Using conservative rough projections, the Commission estimates the annual costs of the present system ($137 million per year), the present system after implementation of the reforms ... ($232.7 million per year) ... and a system which imposes a maximum penalty of lifetime incarceration instead of the death penalty ($11.5 million).

A shocking two out of three death penalty convictions have been overturned on appeal because of police and prosecutorial misconduct, as well as serious errors by incompetent court-appointed defense attorneys with little experience in trying capital cases.

Some supporters also argue that capital punishment provides closure to family members of victims. Furthermore, supporters argue, it is possible to administer the death penalty justly and humanely.

The United States stands increasingly alone among democratic countries in its continued use of the death penalty. By retaining capital punishment in a world that has largely turned its back on this barbaric practice, the US damages its reputation, causes friction with its closest neighbors and allies, and undermines its efforts to promote human rights at home and abroad.

I feel that capital punishment is necessary when certain crimes are committed. Example rapists, murderers, pedophiles, acts of terrorism and genocide, those types of people that commit such acts should be wiped off the face of the earth. Statistics tells us that the death penalty will deter murder. People fear nothing more than death. Therefore, nothing will deter a criminal more than the fear of death life in prison is less feared. Murderers clearly prefer it to execution otherwise, they would not try to be sentenced to life in prison instead of death. Therefore, a life sentence must be less deterrent than a death sentence.

Here is a video put together by the government.



FACTS
1. 87 people have been freed from death row because they were later proven innocent. That is a demonstrated error rate of 1 innocent person for every 7 persons executed. 

2. Two out of three death penalty convictions have been overturned on appeal because of police and prosecutorial misconduct, as well as serious errors by incompetent court-appointed defense attorneys with little experience in trying capital cases. 

3. Using conservative rough projections, the Commission estimates the annual costs of the present system ($137 million per year), the present system after implementation of the reforms ... ($232.7 million per year) ... and a system which imposes a maximum penalty of lifetime incarceration instead of the death penalty ($11.5 million).

http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/death-penalty/us-death-penalty-facts/death-penalty-cost
http://deathpenalty.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=002000

Is Solar Power Worth It?

Sunlight is free, but harnessing that radiant heat energy and converting it into usable solar power costs a pretty penny.
Jeffrey Grossman, an engineer with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has developed a 3-D solar cell model that could capture up to two and a half times more sunlight than flat panel photovoltaics arrays. A photovoltaic system (or PV system) is a system which uses one or more solar panels to convert sunlight into electricity. It consists of multiple components, including the photovoltaic modules, mechanical and electrical connections and mountings and means of regulating and/or modifying the electrical output.The 3-D shapes eliminate the need for the panels to tilt to follow the sun’s path, resulting in a relatively constant power input throughout the day. The California Energy Commission recently calculated the average cost of installing a commercial solar power system at $4.85 per watt, which represents a roughly 50 percent reduction from only five years ago.

Materials handling and manufacturing, production efficiency and installation all drive up the price of photovoltaic solar array systems, those sun-catching panels installed on roofs. Once in place, the amount of sunlight and array performance will determine how much of a return on investment solar power systems generate.

There is no perfect energy solution when all the variables are taken into consideration.  Issues related to materials cost and composition, reliability, efficiency, and even pollution all come into play. By reviewing the disadvantages of solar energy, we’ll see that there are actually more advantages to it than other traditional sources of power.
Despite the fact that there are generous tax incentives and rebates available, the upfront cost of purchasing and installing solar panels may be prohibitive for some people. Some people may think, why change from cheap fossil-fuels that are already at the front door.
Whether your house is shaded by trees or other buildings, or if its just plain not very sunny in your hometown, your solar panels will need some sunlight filtered or direct each day. Add to this requirement the need for decent space for a solar panel installation. This clean renewable energy source has a dirty little secret?  Most PV solar panels are made from silicon and include potentially toxic metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium.
Currently, most solar panels have a 40% efficiency rate.  That means that 60% of the potential energy from the sun is not harnessed.  Some higher-tech, advanced solar panels have increased efficiency of up to 80%.  Each year, more technological advancements are announced, however, that increase efficiency and decrease cost.



Although other types of cutting-edge solar power systems, including concentrated photovoltaics and solar thermal power, hold particular advantages, technology innovations for photovoltaic array systems are also contributing to a bright future for solar energy in the United States. “Where you have good sunlight and access to financing and a combination of federal and state incentives, you have a number of markets around the country that are very vibrant, and it’s very cost-effective with financial paybacks in the order of five and 10 years,” said Robert Margolis, a senior energy analyst at National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

“The sun provides to the Earth that entire 3 trillion barrels worth of oil energy in just two days,” Grossman said. “And yet, tapping into this enormous power to generate electricity is the least utilized renewable energy resource today.

Paying that extra money today, however, could serve as a crucial investment to protect our environmental future.

FACTS

1. The California Energy Commission recently calculated the average cost of installing a commercial solar power system at $4.85 per watt, which represents a roughly 50 percent reduction from only five years ago.
http://news.discovery.com/tech/is-solar-power-worth-it.html

2. “Where you have good sunlight and access to financing and a combination of federal and state incentives, you have a number of markets around the country that are very vibrant, and it’s very cost-effective with financial paybacks in the order of five and 10 years,”

http://news.discovery.com/tech/is-solar-power-worth-it.html
3. The California Energy Commission recently calculated the average cost of installing a commercial solar power system at $4.85 per watt, which represents a roughly 50 percent reduction from only five years ago.http://news.discovery.com/tech/is-solar-power-worth-it.html