Why is 97% of the water on earth undrinkable?

I have heard different values about this myself.  And, the only thing I could gather was it depends upon your perspective.For instance, water is water, so you should be able to drink water.  However, what about the water in the oceans?  That isn't just H2O.  For example, there is also salt in that ocean.  And, that water wouldn't be considered drinkable by many, even though some are trying to cure that with desalinization plants....

I have heard different values about this myself.  And, the only thing I could gather was it depends upon your perspective.

For instance, water is water, so you should be able to drink water.  However, what about the water in the oceans?  That isn't just H2O.  For example, there is also salt in that ocean.  And, that water wouldn't be considered drinkable by many, even though some are trying to cure that with desalinization plants.

Or, what about the water in our bodies.  For instance, even though I can drink water, I can't "get at the water" to drink in my brother's body.  And, much of what we are is made of water.  So, that water wouldn't be drinkable.

But, then, if you consider the water in the streams, natural streams, that water should be drinkable.  Yes, unless a factory has been throwing its toxic pollutants into it.

In summary, the reason why so much water isn't drinkable is because of what that water is already combined with.  We would have to separate the water in order to drink it.  And, much of that we still can't affordably and efficiently do.

Why are the stones important in "The Lottery"?

In "The Lottery," the stones are important for a number of reasons. Firstly, the stones foreshadow the murder of Tessie Hutchinson at the end of the story. This foreshadowing begins in the second paragraph of the story when the narrator describes the children stuffing their pockets with stones, selecting the "smoothest and roundest" ones, and making a pile of them in the corner.

Secondly, the stones act as a symbol of human violence throughout the...

In "The Lottery," the stones are important for a number of reasons. Firstly, the stones foreshadow the murder of Tessie Hutchinson at the end of the story. This foreshadowing begins in the second paragraph of the story when the narrator describes the children stuffing their pockets with stones, selecting the "smoothest and roundest" ones, and making a pile of them in the corner.

Secondly, the stones act as a symbol of human violence throughout the story. Through the use of this symbol, Jackson makes the point that every human has a capacity for violence. Note, for example, that even children are involved in the stoning of Tessie Hutchinson. Nobody is too young or too old to be involved in this barbaric ritual.

Similarly, the stones are the only surviving relic of this historic tradition:

Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones.

The stones, therefore, represent the darker side of human nature. Jackson argues that humans cannot escape their propensity for extreme and illogical acts of violence. 

In relation to George J. Carroll v. State of Maryland No. 126, September 2011: Please discuss the topic of merging inchoate offenses with the...

Merged Offenses

In this case, the court determined that the inchoate offenses of four counts of conspiracy should be merged into one count of conspiracy. However, the court did not agree that the remaining conspiracy count should be merged with the underlying offense of attempted armed robbery. When discussing the issue of merging inchoate offenses with an underlying completed offense, it is necessary to make the distinction between conspiracy and other types of inchoate offenses.

Standards for Inchoate Offenses

Inchoate law often results in confusion due to the different standards that apply to different types of inchoate offenses. There are three primary types of inchoate offenses, including attempt, solicitation and conspiracy. Both attempt and solicitation are merged into the target crime if a conviction is made, while conspiracy is lawfully punished as a related yet distinct crime. According to current inchoate laws, it is reasonable to punish an offender for conspiracy as well as the target offense.

In the case of George J. Carroll v. State of Maryland No. 126, the court found the defendant clearly responsible for both attempted armed robbery and conspiracy. Multiple convictions of conspiracy would not have been justified, but the merged conspiracy convictions satisfied state standards for fairness. Conspiracy is unique among other inchoate offenses in the sense that it is possible to conspire to commit a crime without successfully committing it.

The Legal Purpose of Multiple Offenses

Without the ability to punish conspiracy in addition to a target offense, the state would be at a loss in dealing with cases in which there is clear evidence of conspiracy but not sufficient evidence for the conviction of the target crime.

Academic Support for Conspiracy Convictions

Cornell University Law School supports this argument in its documentation on inchoate offenses, which affirms that conspiracy is treated differently from solicitation and attempt. Cornell defines conspiracy as "an agreement between two or more people to commit an illegal act, along with an intent to achieve the agreement's goal." It is clear by these standards that, while conspiracy relates to a target act, the act of conspiring to break the law is in itself punishable by law.

When Parris says that "these people have great weight in society," what does he mean?

In act 4, Reverend Parris tells Deputy Governor Danforth that he ought to consider postponing the hangings scheduled to take place today.  He says that "it were another sort that hanged till now," by which he means that the people that have already been hanged were not as respected in the town; those people were outcasts, but these people are known to be upstanding citizens and good Christians.  He says,

I would to God it...

In act 4, Reverend Parris tells Deputy Governor Danforth that he ought to consider postponing the hangings scheduled to take place today.  He says that "it were another sort that hanged till now," by which he means that the people that have already been hanged were not as respected in the town; those people were outcasts, but these people are known to be upstanding citizens and good Christians.  He says,

I would to God it were not so, Excellency, but these people have great weight yet in the town.  

In other words, the people about to be hanged—Rebecca Nurse and John Proctor, among others—are still thought of as good people.  The citizens of Salem already question their guilt and could riot if Rebecca "send[s] up some righteous prayer" as she is about to die.

Was European exploration a good thing?

It can certainly be argued that European exploration was a good thing for Europeans. Exploration contributed to rapid and profound economic expansion by pumping massive amounts of wealth into the European economy. The influx of new crops like potatoes and corn contributed to rapid population growth and longer lifespans for European peoples. The knowledge and contact with other peoples gained through exploration was arguably instrumental in the so-called Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment. But whatever...

It can certainly be argued that European exploration was a good thing for Europeans. Exploration contributed to rapid and profound economic expansion by pumping massive amounts of wealth into the European economy. The influx of new crops like potatoes and corn contributed to rapid population growth and longer lifespans for European peoples. The knowledge and contact with other peoples gained through exploration was arguably instrumental in the so-called Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment. But whatever gains were made by Europeans must be balanced against the almost inconceivable costs borne by millions of Native and African peoples. Native Americans suffered staggering population losses (perhaps as high as 90% of their pre-contact numbers) due to contact with European disease. Contact with Europeans also set a process in motion by which virtually all indigenous Americans were driven from their lands. European exploration also created the Atlantic slave trade, which saw millions of African people kidnapped and sold into slavery in the Americas. So if exploration was "good" for Europeans, it was disastrous for many ordinary West African people and for almost all Native Americans.

How did Darwinism effect immigration in America?

Social Darwinism did indeed affect American immigration policies in the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act restricted Chinese immigration to the United States: for ten years, Chinese laborers were not allowed to enter the United States. After the law expired in 1892, Congress extended the restrictions on Chinese immigration in the form of the Geary Act. Under the Geary Act, immigrants of Chinese descent had to obtain certificates of residence or...

Social Darwinism did indeed affect American immigration policies in the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act restricted Chinese immigration to the United States: for ten years, Chinese laborers were not allowed to enter the United States. After the law expired in 1892, Congress extended the restrictions on Chinese immigration in the form of the Geary Act. Under the Geary Act, immigrants of Chinese descent had to obtain certificates of residence or face deportation.

Meanwhile, Charles Darwin's "survival of the fittest" theory became the basis of a pseudo-scientific movement called eugenics. Eugenicists believed that the human race could be rehabilitated or improved by a process of selective breeding. 

Since those of northern European stock were said to be superior in terms of intelligence, emotional stability, and physical endurance, eugenicists believed that America should admit only immigrants of European descent. The term "eugenics" was first coined by Sir Francis Galton, Darwin's half-cousin. Shockingly, two of the main supporters of the eugenics movement were Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.

In 1924, eugenicists were successful in helping to pass the Immigration Restriction Act of 1924. The law created quotas for immigration to the United States. Immigrants from northwest Europe and Scandinavia were allowed to enter in larger numbers than those from eastern and southern Europe. Accordingly, the 1924 law remained in place until it was repealed by the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act.

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/30/sports/golf-disabled-golfer-may-use-a-cart-on-the-pga-tour-justices-affirm.htmlWhat does this case have to do...

In the case of PGA Tour, Inc. v. Casey Martin (2001), the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that Martin was being denied his rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) by virtue of the Professional Golfers' Association's insistence that Mr. Martin walk the entirety of the golf courses on which he competed under the association's sponsorship. Martin suffers from a painful, debilitating circulatory condition that makes walking any distance inordinately difficult. Under the ADA, employers and public facilities must make appropriate accommodations for the disabled, a requirement that the PGA argued was not applicable in this case. The association's attorneys argued that the physical challenge of walking the entirety of a golf course was an integral component of the broader athletic competition and that allowing Martin to drive the course in a golf cart provided him an unfair advantage over his competitors. 

Many professional golfers opposed Casey Martin's efforts to be allowed to use a golf cart, arguing that professional athletes are expected to be capable of performing the acts associated with the sport in question without any special accommodations. The PGA, in its opposition to Martin, enlisted the support of two of the game's most venerated personalities, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. Some prominent professional golfers, namely Tom Lehman and Greg Norman, supported Martin's cause. 

The implications of Martin's case for others with disabilities was minimal. The ADA had already become law, and its application has been widespread in public and private facilities. A history of case law exists irrespective of Martin's legal efforts. With respect to professional sports, the impact has also been minimal. Either an individual is physically and emotionally capable of performing at the level required or he or she is not, and physically-disabled golfers generally make little effort at competing at the professional level. Most athletes accept that a requirement to make accommodations for their individual physical conditions is irrational considering the multitude of injuries they endure during the course of their careers anyway. Players with torn ligaments or broken bones, for example, do not expect the leagues in which they compete to allow the use of wheelchairs or crutches on fields of play. While the use of a golf cart hardly qualifies as such an example, the underlying rationale remains sound: either an individual can meet the physical standards necessary to compete with his or her colleagues or he or she cannot. Those who cannot compete because they are too small, cannot jump high enough or have a medical condition that precludes competition on a professional level generally move on to other pursuits.

There are other situations that complicate the debate surrounding the case of Casey Martin, and those involve the use of banned medications to address legitimate medical conditions like depression and anxiety and respiratory ailments. Inhalers and anti-depressants may contain controlled substances that are listed under "performance-enhancing" medications, and their presence in urine analyses or blood tests has, in the past, led to problems for athletes. The debate over the long-term implications of PGA Tour, Inc. v. Casey Martin, consequently, continues.