Is it possible to be economically successful and have a clean environment? According to some, a country can be both wealthy and environmental friendly. By contrast, others state that these two goal cannot be combined. Generally, the former thinks that, nowadays, there is the opportunity to economically grow by acting in a sustainable way, whereas the latter that one excludes the second. Between the two, the first seems more likely, because sustainability will pay off over the long-term. Those who believe that is possible to be economically successful and have a clean environment say that renewable energies are source of business. Indeed, some countries which have been converted their energy system over the last decades are now richer than before. One example of this are the Scandinavian countries, like Norway, Sweden and Denmark, which have dramatically reduced their emissions and invested in hydroelectric or wind energy. These country are continuing to be among the wealthiest of the world and they are even improving their economic performances. Nevertheless, as the counterpart points out, there are nations richer than Scandinavian ones, which are increasing more rapidly their GDP. Some of these are the emerging countries like India, China or Saudi Arabia, which are known for their polluted environment due to massive emissions. People who argue that the two aims are not compatible say that if these countries moved to renewable energies, they would not produce so much. This is a noteworthy reflection, however, this growing cannot long enough, because of limited resources. Thus, some people believe that it should be followed the example of Scandinavia countries, that they have both improved their environment and their economic power. The opposite position, instead, says that the most rocketing economies are those based on a strategy which does not care of the environment. The last statement is true, but it will not work forever so. As a consequence, for being economically successful for a long time, you should pay attention to renewable energies and, hence having the goal of a clean environment. ----- Good morning everyone. Thank you in advance, as always.

In some countries owning a home rather than renting one is very important There are some places in the world where people prefer to buy a home instead of renting one. In these cases, owning a home is often considered crucial to lead a good life. Clearly, everything depends on personal choices and the cultural background, however one of the most likely reason of this is that buying a home is synonymous of stability and certainty. I partly share this position, because it can sometimes trigger unpleasant reactions in the real estate market, thus damaging the future of the potential tenants. As introduced, some countries are characterized by high rates of home-owners. One of this is Italy, where the percentage of them is just over 70, as recently shown by an Eurostat research. The reasons behind this phenomenon are at least two. The first is that houses in Italy are considered as a heritage which can be inherited in future by grandchildren. In this way, a certain grade of economic stability will be guaranteed for the family in future. The second is a cultural one. The number of owners is now so high that renting an apartment instead of buying is considered as a not suitable solution in any case, thus influencing the choices of the new families. In light of this, undoubtedly, owing a home can be intepreted as a form of richness, because constitutes an ever-present future support. However, not all that glitters is gold. Indeed, it should be taken in account the consequences on the entire housing market as well. In a context like this, it is not simple for who decides to rent an apartment to find suitable and affordable solutions. Even in this case, Italy represents an useful example. In Italy, the most of the market demand aspires to buy an house with the consequence that most of available ones will be used in that way. This not only widely reduces the proportion of house among which to choose, but also produces the effect of increasing prices of them, both for buying and, in particular, renting. The unavoidable consequence is that who was interested in renting will decide to change idea and to start searching for buying a home. This will produce a vicious circle. By summarizing, there are some countries in the world like Italy where being owner is considered an important step to do in order to build the future of the family. Moreover, this is seen as a symbol of safety. This is certainly reasonable. Nevertheless, there are some problematic effects: one of these is that the housing market results conditioned.

Environmental issues are an international problem It is often argued that authorities do not intervene with suitable means against people who damage environment, provoking strong reactions by international community. Personally, I share this point of view because some crimes should be considered international subject and, thus, should not concern only the country where the offense happens, but rather the entire world. Part of the problem is represented by the inadequate action of local governments. The goal of this essay is to discuss this vision. Firstly, it is necessary to refer to environmental crimes as international problems. The reason is that what happen in some country have an obvious backlash on the health of the whole planet. Nevertheless, offenders are often condemned by the national legislation, which may vary from country to country. One example is what has been happening in the Amazon Forest for the last twenty years. The phenomenon of the illegal deforestation is growing, nonetheless Brazilian government seems to be almost indifferent. In some cases, criminals paid just fines for their crimes. However, the consequence of these actions are global. Moreover, sometimes, even the same governments are not reliable because of their approach to the issue. Some countries in the world are themselves responsible for environmental damages. Two interesting examples are US and China which, in the last years, have been violated repeatedly international agreements on gas emissions through their companies. Nevertheless, this act of egoism related to their economic plans involves everyone on the planet and, in some occasions, offenders are even not punished. Therefore, considering all, there are not doubts that environmental problems are not only a national, but also an international problem. It is not a simply ideological issue, but also a practical one. If local governments payed concrete attention to tackle offenders, probably there would not also need of an external intervention. Contrariwise, increasingly, we are witnessing the necessary interference of the international community. ---- Good afternoon everyone.

Are mobile phones disrupting social interaction? Happy sunday everyone. This is my essay for today. Thank you in advance, as always. Some people say that technologies such as mobile phones are disrupting social interaction. Do you agree or disagree? ----- Over the last few years, it has been become ever-more-common the idea for which electronic devices damage traditional social life and, therefore, are a risk for social ties. I partly disagree with this point of view. Despite cutting-edge technologies are influencing the way in which people relate to others, social interactions are not being disrupted, but they are simply changing. In any case, it is necessary to pay a certain attention about the issue. The aim of this essay is to discuss carefully the question. Without a doubt, new technologies are transforming our relationships. Once there were few possibilities to get in touch with our friends and relatives. For example, when I was child I used to go directly to the homes of my peers because it was the only way to ask them if they would go out with me. Moreover, there were some spots in the city where we knew that, at certain time, you would meet people. By contrast, today, you can contact them trough social or instant messaging. It is just another manner, clearly easier and more functional, to interact with others. Nevertheless, it is true that, in some cases, it could be interpreted as a source of problems. Many people are now accustoming to mobile phones as the only way to communicate and this, instead, is a noteworthy question. Taking the precedent example, it is not so frequent as in the past to see a lots of children in the square of the city, waiting for their friends or potential new ones and that, it should be recognized, was a significant opportunity of interaction. Indeed, face-face moment is a crucial part of building strong relationships. In light of what has been said, saying that electronic tools are destroying social interactions may be considered as an excessive warning. Certainly, our way to relate to others is now different confronted to the past one, however it is just one among many ones, recent and not. Nonetheless, there is an unavoidable reflection which should be done, for example, about how some people exploit mobile phones. May it be a source of risk for social relationship? We will see it in future when the technological transition is completed.

Are long working hours the reason of the success of some countries? Good afternoon. Thank you in advance for your help. Countries with long average working hours are economically more successful than those countries which do not work long hours. To what extent do you agree or disagree? It is often believed that having long workday is the reason why some countries succeed in being wealthier than others which adopt shorter ones. Personally, I only partly agree with this statement because more time for working is not always synonym of better productivity. Indeed, there is a limit beyond which the capacity of employees tend to reduce. Certainly it is necessary to point out that when workers have got more available hours they allegedly have also more time to manage their workloads and, thus, to resolve problems and to reach their goals. Some researches of sociology of organizations have shown, in fact, that one of the secrets for increasing the product of companies is giving enough time to workers to control and to organize their schedules. Consequently, a greater benefit in terms of outcomes is obtained when they can exploit a bigger amount of time. Nevertheless, there is the other side of the coin as well. A stronger amount of work, indeed, can often generated stress-related conditions in employees. As introduced, too long workdays can even produce the opposite effect. For example, by looking to one of the last Eurostat research, we can find out that Italy is one of the European country where, on average, people spend more hours to work yearly. Italians workers spend approximately 300 hours for year more than French colleagues. Nonetheless, currently, there is a remarkably gap, in terms of gross product income, between this two countries: France is actually richer. By considering this two reflections, it is possible to say that the number of hours spent working are yes crucial for the economic outcome of the country, but obviously not the unique reason. Scientists think that what is more important is the quality of the work and not the quantity, which, in any case, should ever not be too little.

Three ideas to resolve some common problems which affect cities Good afternoon everyone. Thank you in advance for your help. ------ Over the last few years, living in the city has become more and more difficult as indicated by simple citizens and scientists specialized in urban issues. New problems are emerging and the number of who decide to relocate to the countryside is increasing all the time. Nevertheless, it is still possible to intervene in order to resolve them and the goal of this essay is discussing some possible solutions. Firstly, a problem which is shared by almost all big cities is traffic congestion. Since the early hours of morning it is frequent to witness to streets clogged up with vehicles with problematic consequences on the capacity of moving. To tackle this issue municipalities should introduce a charge for entering with the own car in the city centre, without to forgot to increase city public transport offer as alternative. Another considerable question is certainly the cost of living and, in particular, of housing. An ever-greater number of people, especially first-buyers, are priced out of the market because of the rising of properties, often due to gentrification process. However, if local governments allocated more resources on affordable housing projects, they would have more opportunities to find an adequate place reasonably priced. Lastly, some big cities are now experiencing a resurgence of the crime, especially the petty ones like drug-trafficking or pickpocketing. Numerous scared people are now claiming more and accurate controls, besides a zero-tolerance policy. In this case, probably reinforcing control could be an useful strategy, but only clamping down is not a valid answer. By contrast, it would be more efficient to invest more funds in local welfare by supporting social associations and creating new jobs. All things considered, as discussed, many are the problems which are affecting contemporary cities. Living in an urban environment could be extremely stressful, however there is not lack of suitable solutions. In this sense, it is evident that a crucial role is played by local authorities who, through legislation, can act so as to enhance the general quality of life.

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Advantages and disadvantages of working from home Last years have been characterized by significant changes of business due to technologies breakthrough. Cutting-edge approaches are allowing more and more people to choose to work from a comfortable environment like their homes, instead of usual offices. It is, without a doubt, a reached goal which many could only dream some years ago. However, there are obviously pros and cons. Clearly, one of the best advantages is exactly the possibility to stay at home. You can manage better your workload by feeling more relaxed and enjoying a homemade coffee. In many cases, this may enhance your productivity. Moreover, a great amount of time is daily saved by avoiding commuting and rush-hour traffic. As a consequence, you have more time which can be spent in other activities: not only more breaks during the daywork, but also more free time after it. These are incontestably two noteworthy aspects. Nonetheless, there are often some important advantages as well. For example, this lifestyle can turn in a monotonous one. Indeed, after an initial period, you could easily get into bad habits as getting up and going immediately to your desk, where you will pass the most of the day, avoiding even taking care of yourself. In addition, perhaps, the biggest disadvantage is being alone. When you work at home, you can suffer the lack of your colleagues, both for help about the work or just the fun time among breaks. Even these two are reasonable concerns. Therefore, considering all, it is impossible to say whether the advantages overcome the disadvantages and vice versa. Probably, everything would depend on what kind of person would experience this interesting new way of working. Perhaps, a solution could be to combine these two modalities. ----- Thank you in advance, as always, for yours corrections.

What are the advantaged and disadvantages of leaving your country to live or study abroad? Nowadays, the number of people who decide to move to another country to prosecute their studies or searching new job prospects is steadily rising. In a globalized world, this is a quite common choice which promise attractive opportunities, however often it can be a double-edged sword. Indeed, generally, there are obvious pros and cons about moving abroad. One of the biggest advantages is that it broaden the horizons. Mixing with new people and approaching new customs can have a positive effects on own personality by favouring personal maturation and the development of unexpected perspectives. For example, sampling local food may change rigid culinary ideas. Moreover, moving to another country represents a way to start afresh, leaving behind the past. Day by day, unpleasant memories tend to disappear and the individual can witness his own rebirth. It is always a good occasion to re-think oneself. Nevertheless, there are also some disadvantages which it is necessary to emphasize. Integrating in a new community can be extremely difficult, especially when there is a cultural barrier. This is often identified in the language, with which struggling may be a tough and complex experience. In addition, it should not be forgotten that homesick is usually a constant which emerges after some months spent in a foreign country. Everyone could feel the lack of support which a network of friends - and mostly family – can give in the everyday life. Considering all, there are both positive and negative aspects. Probably, everything could depend on what type of person has chosen to move away. Certainly, many are factors which should be considered such as the age of who moves and the moment of his life during which this happens. However, moving is always an experience which worths doing, despite difficulties. ----- Good afternoon everyone. Thank you in advance for your corrections.