Incarcerating the Mentally Ill

Should mentally ill prisoners receive treatment while being incarcerated? “283,800 individuals with mental illnesses were confined in U.S. jails and prisons in 1998”, reported The Bureau of Justice Statistics. The Bureau also stated that 16% of inmates reported current mental health issues or overnight stays in mental hospitals. 14% of inmates had reported having mental health problems in the past. About 700,000 of the 10 million adults in jail currently have signs of a significant mental disorder. Many of these prisoners also suffered from substance abuse that was never treated. Many criminals who end up in prison are never examined for having mental health disorders. Because of this, these people cannot be provided with the treatment they need. Instead, they are just sent to prison. This is a problem that has been understated by many, and one that needs to be changed.

Having mentally ill prisoners presents a number of issues for our nation’s jails. Mentally ill prisoners tend to serve longer sentences than those who don’t have an illness, they are more likely to be victimized by other inmates, and they are more likely to be involved in violence while in jail. For those with a mental illness, prison is not a healthy environment for them to be in. It is necessary for mentally ill prisoners to be provided with the right treatment if they are to get better. Even when a prisoner has been diagnosed with mental health issues, they are unable to seek treatments (such as medicine) while incarcerated, making it even more impossible to care for these people correctly.

Some might argue that the mentally ill should be treated just like other criminals. However, research has proven that prisoners cannot improve their behavior in prison without also treating their mental condition. Another argument is that it is more costly to treat prisoners than to just send them to jail; especially since many believe that once they get out of jail, they will continue to commit crimes. Many don’t realize that these prisoners are continuing to commit crimes after jail time because they haven’t been treated properly. By having reassurance that criminals are receiving treatment, spending the money will help with re-incarceration rates.

Because jail officials are not trained to handle the thousands of mentally ill prisoners, they cannot supply them with the necessary help they need. As a solution to this issue, there needs to be a public mental health treatment system to keep mentally ill criminals out of jail. In order to achieve this solution, public officials need to do the following: reform mental illness treatment laws and practices, reform jail and prison treatment laws, implement and promote jail diversion programs, use court-ordered outpatient treatment, encourage cost studies, establish careful intake screening, institute mandatory release planning, and provide appropriate mental illness treatment.

In my opinion, mentally ill criminals should have a different option than just going to jail. They are unable to acquire the help they need if they are just sent to jail. Criminals should be evaluated to see if there is any special treatment needed for that individual prior to being sentenced to jail. Without this, mentally ill prisoners will be likely to continue their bad behaviors.

Sources:
-http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-mentally-ill-offenders-receive-treatment-instead-    of-jail-time
-http://tacreports.org/storage/documents/treatment-behind-bars/treatment-behind-bars.pdf
-http://www.coloradotech.edu/resources/blogs/june-2014/do-the-mentally-ill-belong-in-our-jails
-http://www.sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/sl_mentallyilloffenders.pdf
-http://www.jaapl.org/content/38/1/100.full

Wind Energy

The over-consumption of energy used around the globe has, and is, taking a huge toll on the health of our planet. There are many new products being created and used to find Earth-friendly ways to produce energy. Wind turbines are just one of the many inventions to help with finding Earth-friendly energy sources.

Long before wind turbines were used, people were using windmills. Windmills used wind power to pump water, grind grain, and help perform many other difficult tasks. Today, wind power has even more benefits. It is a clean fuel source and doesn’t pollute the air, unlike power plants. This means less smog, fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and less acid rain. Additionally, wind energy will not pollute our drinking water. Because wind energy uses no fuel, they are also very inexpensive to operate. Wind energy also benefits the U.S. economy by employing more than 70,000 people. Rural communities also benefit by leasing land to private investors of wind production.  

Wind turbines work similarly to fans, but they use the wind as energy instead of just blowing air. Wind causes the blades to rotate, which then spins a shaft. That shaft is connected to a generator which then makes electricity. Groups of wind turbines are called wind farms, and work together to deliver electricity to power grids. From the power grid, the electricity is then transmitted to where it is needed.

There are many things that must be considered when determining where you can build wind turbines. Developers must consider the best places to attain adequate wind, and they must have land rights, permits, financing, and buyers for the wind power that will eventually be created. For wind turbines to work, wind of at least 11 miles per hour is required.

Unfortunately, there is also a negative to wind turbines: they can be harmful to wildlife. Studies have been done to see how birds and bats are harmed by the propellers on the moving turbines. The “Maple Ridge” facility in New York performed a study in 2006 which estimated that 2,000 to 3,000 birds and bats were killed by their wind turbines over a five month period.

We have a very strong wind resource here in the United States. In fact, the wind energy potential is approximately 10 times the amount of our country’s electricity consumption. However, only about 4 percent of the United States’ electricity is currently generated from wind power. About 48,000 wind turbines were being operated across 39 states here in America by the end of 2014. This same year, enough electricity from wind turbines was generated to power 16.7 million American households. To give you an idea, this would be equivalent to all the homes in Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota put together. 

Wind turbines create countless benefits to our planet and assist in the creation of new energy. By continuing the use of these wind turbines, and by building more of them around the planet, we can create more energy than ever before. But most importantly, we can attain this energy in an environmentally conscious way.

 Sources:

http://www.awea.org/Resources/Content.aspx?ItemNumber=900

http://energy.gov/eere/wind/advantages-and-challenges-wind-energy

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/wind/pdfs/49053.pdf 

https://www.wind-watch.org/faq-wildlife.php

http://www.awea.org/Issues/Content.aspx?ItemNumber=853

http://energy.gov/eere/wind/how-do-wind-turbines-work

Powering the World's Homes with Bikes

                As the majority of us are aware, the amount of energy each individual person exploits in just one day is immense. On average, the typical person uses up to 531 kilowatts of energy per day. Utilizing so much energy is harmful to our environment, and is continually worsening the effects of global warming. In order to put an end to this epidemic, we need to take action.

                Manoj Bhargava, the creator of the popular 5-hour Energy drink is doing just that. Bhargava is an extremely wealthy man, and claims to have about 4 million dollars more than he actually needs. Rather than sit back and do nothing, Manoj has decided to put this excess money to good use and help with one of the Earth’s most prominent issues: the overuse of energy. 

                Bhargava has created a stationary bike which will be used to power a multitude of homes, while using little to no energy. He plans to put these bikes into action by distributing 10,000 of them next year in India. The bikes will be electric battery-equipped, and will keep lights and other basic appliances powered for one day after only riding the bike for one hour. In one interview, Bhargava says, “It’s so simple that we think we can make it for $100… A bicycle repairman anywhere can fix it.” 

Manoj Bhargava

                Using bicycles to provide power to homes will not only be extremely beneficial to our planet, but it will end up saving people money to power their homes as well. Manoj Bhargava’s idea comes with countless benefits. It is people like him that we should be thanking for putting in the work it takes to save our planet, and take the time to make a difference.

Sources: 
-By Wendy Koch, National Geographic PUBLISHED October 06, 2015. "Creator of 5-hour Energy Wants to Power the World's Homes-With Bikes." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2015. 
-"Energy Drinks Billionaire Says He's Going to Give Away 99% of His Fortune." Metro Energy Drinks Billionaire Says Hes Going to Give Away 99 of Hisfortune Comments. N.p., 07 Oct. 2015. Web. 08 Oct. 2015.