Plastic is everywhere, from shopping malls to restaurants to people’s homes. Recently, environmentalists are turning to banning single-use plastics as the solution to the buildup of single-use plastics in the ocean. However, what environmentalists do not realize is that banning single-use plastics can negatively impact both the economy and the environment. Governments should not ban single-use plastics because the plastic industry brings in a huge amount of taxes and revenue, the single-use plastics provide jobs for people, and alternatives to single-use plastics are also damaging to the environment.

Banning single-use plastics will lower the total taxes that the government collects, and the amount of revenue plastic industry makes. Solely in United States, the single-use plastic industry brought in 104 billion dollars in revenue in 2019. At least 30% of the 104 billion dollars will go to the government as taxes. If the government choose to ban single-use plastics, the government will lose about 30 billion dollars in taxes. In addition, the industry is expected to grow to be worth 1.2 trillion dollars by 2020. The fast-growing plastics industry will not only continue to bring in taxes and revenue, it could also possible help decrease the unemployment rate.

A recent United Nations proposal to ban single-use plastics might result in a significant increase in the number of jobless citizens living in America. As of 2019, more than 85,000 Americans are employed to only making plastic bags. If the government decides to adhere to United Nation’s proposal, this could be risking more than 85,000 people’s jobs. Additionally, Senator Elizabeth Warren also said that “with increasing household” and “corporate debt”, another financial crisis is on its way. If government choose to ban single-use plastics, it could mean further denting the employment rate while a financial crisis is about to occur.

Not only will banning single-use plastics increase unemployment rate, alternatives to single-use plastics are also damaging to the environment. Denmark Ministry of Environment and Food found that an organic cotton bag has to be reused 20,000 times to have the equal or less effects to the environment as the single-use plastic manufactured bag. Cotton is also a producer of C02 emission and is slowly whittling away the water on Earth. Skeptics might argue that plastic pollutes the ocean. Many people believe the plastic straws are a main pollutant of the ocean. However, Dr. Trevor Thorton, Professor of Environmental Science at Deakin University, says that plastic straws only accounts for a mere 0.03% of the total waste in the ocean while fishing nets account for half of the waste floating in the oceans. Banning single-use plastics might harm the environment in more negative ways.

Banning single-use plastics will cut down on the taxes the governments receive, reduce employment rate, and, unlike the words of many environmentalists, damage our environment. Banning single-use plastics will not go goof to the economy or the environment- governments need to solve the waste problem in the oceans, rather than looking to banning materials to save our environment.

A study discovered that 50% of teachers quit their jobs within four years. This highlights the importance of making good choices that can affect you, differing from days to decades. Rick Riordan’s book Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief, in attempting to incorporate Greek mythology into realistic fiction, created a character who has the typical personality of a hero; brave, loyal, determined, and selflessness. The protagonist and hero of the story, Percy (Perseus) Jackson, went through a number of changes to his personality throughout his quest to recover the master lightning bolt of Zeus before the Summer Solstice, which stopped the rising curtain of another war. Despite Percy being the hero of this story, he struggled with making quality choices. Percy could make better choices by choosing to recognize and control his emotions, having better plans, and to act after thinking.

Percy Jackson can make better decisions if he chooses to identify and regulate his emotions. On page 21, when Nancy Bobfit dumped her lunch onto Grover, Percy’s best friend, Percy was mad to the point that his “brain went blank” and “a wave roared in his ears”. The curtain on the argument closed with Nancy “pushed” into the water fountain by Percy who then gets into trouble with Mrs. Dodds, a “Fury” in disguise.  This eventually led to Percy’s mother’s death and his position in a quest. Had Percy not become enraged and pushed Nancy into the fountain, the sequential events might have never happened. According to an article written by Dr. Marci G. Fox, “your thinking impacts your anger, upset, or fear and colors how you see your situation”. She suggests the best way is too “give yourself a timeout” to prevent any strained relationships or guilt afterwards. This will greatly improve Percy’s patience which could lead to preferable choices.

In addition to preventing weak relationships, Percy can make better choices if he chose to progress in making good plans. Frustrated and annoyed, Percy seemed to have reached the limit for his patience, which caused him to “throw his Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology across his dorm room” and left him fuming. This caused a delay in reviewing his Latin and potentially lowered his grade.  Another example is the fight on the bus that occurred in chapter 10. Percy decided to stop the “Furies” from harming Annabeth and Grover by hitting on the emergence break, only to be nearly killed by the “Furies” when they attacked him. Tech Republic also wrote that “poor planning can cause serious problems later on”. Percy’s actions can be connected to this because he did not even think about what to do after the bus stopped on the road. This could possibly induce his satisfaction and infuse him with positive thoughts and decisions.

Reflection on all possible consequences of his actions is something that Percy needed to improve upon. When the trio visits the Garden Gnome Emporium, for example, Percy decided to send Medusa’s head to Mount Olympus. Even Grover, who’s usually shy, had warned Percy, saying ‘” they’re not going to like that […….] they’ll think you’re impertinent”’. Angering the gods will cause disastrous outcomes for the trio as they are very powerful beings. As Enotes mentioned, “some solutions to a problem can be quite obvious”, while the latter requires careful consideration before coming to a conclusion. Evidently, sending Medusa’s severed head to the Olympians to earn their approval was a double- edged sword- it could also be questioning to Zeus’ authority and power. Personally, I once had a misunderstanding with a classmate. I thought her words meant that she doesn’t care about her scores whereas she meant improving upon your mistakes is more important than scores. This caused tension between us in the weeks to come. As one can see, thinking thoroughly through actions before executing them can prevent misunderstandings and poor relationships. The same occurs with Percy since he was unable to consider the possible understandings of him sending Medusa’s head to Mount Olympus. Clearly, analyzing and thinking through the problem thoroughly is another important skill which Percy should progress upon.

Analyzation and thinking are only a fraction of the qualities needed to generate good decisions upon which Percy needed to improve upon. Ultimately, it will be beneficial to Percy for making better choices if he could discern and modulate his emotions, find qualitied strategies, and to react after evaluating the situation. The ability to make good decisions will not only be advantageous for a few situations- they can be beneficial throughout one’s entire life.

copious-adj. plentiful or abundant

Example: She sat in the front row and took copious notes during the lecture.

My own: There were copious crops to last the village until spring.

desiccate- v. to dry out completely.  v. to suck out the vitality and passion

Example: The old sailor’s skin has desiccated from years of being out in the sun and the wind.

My own: The carrot was desiccated from being left in the sun for a month.

diatribe- n. a rant or angry speech denouncing someone or something

Example: He launched a bitter diatribe against the younger generation.

My own: The book includes a long diatribe against the government.

elicit- v. to provoke a response

Example: They were able to elicit the support of the public.

My own: Nobody was able to elicit a word from him.

Exonerate – v. to clear of charges of wrongdoing

Example: He was totally exonerated of any blame.

My own: The bus driver was exonerated from blame of causing the bus accident which injured 5 people.

Percy would be happier if he took advice from his friends. In chapter 11, when the trio was about to leave Aunty Em’s Garden Gnome Emporium, Aunty Em wants a photo of them. Annabeth refuses and Percy said, ‘” It’s just a photo Annabeth. What’s the harm?’”. According to another study by University of Minnesota, “On the other hand, low social support is linked to a number of healthy consequences”. As we you can see, Percy is easily tricked by others and has little trust in his friend’s advice. This will weaken the relationships between he and his friends. Little friends can cause many healthy issues such as depression and high blood pressure. This will make Percy have an unhappy and shorter life.

gerontocracy- government ruled by old people.

Example: In contrast to India’s gerontocracy, there is a worldwide trend for having young leaders.

My own: The future society included a gerontocracy and absurd age rules for holding jobs or governmental posts.

Heterogeneous- diverse in character or content.

Example: Its population, then as at the present day, was a heterogeneous collection of all races.

My own: The rainforest has a heterogeneous collection of birds.

Catalyst- substance that causes speeding up

Example: His belligerent attitude toward car driving became the catalyst for this thought-provoking drama.

My own: The personal differences between the friends became to the catalyst for the end of their friendship.

Ameliorate- improve; make better

Example: She wanted to ameliorate the situation.

My own: Throwing rubbish into rubbish bins would ameliorate the current situation of community.

Ossified- turned to bone; hardened like bone; inflexible

Example: No batrachian is known to possess an ossified azygous supraoccipital.

My own: No invertebrate is known for having any bone or anything ossified.

1) Ectopic- Occurring or originating in an abnormal place.

Example: A pacemaker was installed to correct her ectopic heartbeat.

My own: The third room on the third floor in the hospital was filled with patients with an ectopic kidney.

2) Ethnocentric- Marked by or based on the attitude that one’s own group is superior to others.

Example: Some reviewers criticized the ethnocentric bias that came through in the way the film portrayed immigrants.

My own: The book was banned in many schools and libraries because of its ethnocentric portrayal of some races.

3) Retrofit- to furnish something with new or modified parts or equipment that was optional or unavailable at the time of manufacture

Example: The office building has been retrofitted with air-conditioning, but the result has been a mixed success.

My own: After much consideration, the school board decided to retrofit a library for advanced readers.

4) Anachronism- the error of placing a person or thing in the wrong time period. A person or thing that is out of its own time.

Example: A Model T Ford putt-putting down the highway at 25 miles per hour was an anachronism by 1940.

My own: A soldier wearing jeans appearing in the play would have been a great anachronism because the play was supposedly set in Ancient Greece.

5) Exacerbate- To make worse, more violent, or more severe.

Example: The increase in coal-burning power plants has greatly exacerbated the buildup of greenhouse gases.

My own: The increase in exercise before her sprained ankle fully healed naturally exacerbated the injury.

1)  Amalgamate- v. to combine to or mix together

Example: He amalgamated  his company with another.

My own: She amalgamated her essay with her classmate’s infographic to create a powerpoint.

2) Avaricious- adj. having or showing an extreme greed for wealth or material gain.

Example: Licentious and avaricious, he amassed great wealth; and when he died on the 25th of October 1292 he left numerous estates in Shropshire, Worcestershire, Somerset, Kent, Surrey and elsewhere.

My own: He was an avaricious and arrogant person whom everyone in his neighborhood resented.

3) Discrepancy- n. inconsistency

Example: There was a discrepancy between how much the buyer was allowed to buy that was stated in the contract and how much money the buyer actually spent.

My own: The discrepancy of answers during the interrogation caused the police to be further suspicious of the two teenagers who were discovered on a bench near the crime scene.

4) Ephemeral- adj. short-lived or transient

Example: Concentrate on remembering the ephemeral moments which will be the most precious 20 years from now.

My own: Her ephemeral moments with her mother was that most important thing after her mother died.

5) Innocuous- adj. harmless

Example: Cysticercus cellulosae may be comparatively innocuous in a muscle or subcutaneous tissue, but most hurtful in the eye or brain.

My own: Things that seems innocuous like a chocolate bar can lead to many consequences like heart disease if eaten without limitation.

Mathematics interest me more than biology.