Quality Management

Environmental Protection Agency: Quality Management Plan

This plan can be found in a pdf format at: http://www.epa.gov/quality/qs-docs/r2-final.pdf 

"EPA is increasingly involved in the use of environmental technology for pollution control and waste clean-up, the use of particular technologies is often specified in permits and regulations. If decision makers are to have the necessary confidence in the quality of environmental data used to support their decisions or that environmental technology successfully performed its intended role, there must be a structured process for quality in place" (epa.gov).

The quality management plan is not only for projects directly performed through the EPA and its counterparts, but for the many organizations/companies conducting environmental programs funded by EPA are required to establish and implement the same quality system. This structured quality system ensures that the highest quality work is completed though an organized and conscientious approach.

Ethical Debate

Topic: Should sales of raw milk be allowed
The current argument in favor of raw milk sales in Wisconsin rests on whether the health benefits of consuming un-pasteurized, un-homogenized out weight the potential health risks. The current laws regarding sales of raw milk vary from state to state, some states prohibit consumption for anyone outside of the farm owners and family, and some allow raw milk to be sold in stores with an appropriate warning label. Raw milk contains a variety of potentially health beneficial bacteria and protein that are destroyed during the pasteurization process.

The argument on the other side is that there just is not any testing or regulations in place to protect the average consumers from the possible health dangers of un-pasteurized milk. Raw milk can contain disease containing bacteria which would otherwise be removed during the pasteurization process. Currently it is legal for farm families in Wisconsin to consume their own milk or give away milk, but illegal for the sale of raw milk.

Coming from a family dairy farm and drinking raw milk my entire life I am in favor of the sales of raw milk. It is ridiculous that our state government is concerned about this issue seeing that the Food and Drug Administration even has trouble catching E coli contamination in our meats that have already been through a handful of inspections before reaching the grocery store. Raw milk purchases should be up to the consumer to decide. If a person visits a dairy farm and personally sees their operation, they should be able to decide whether or not it is a safe place to buy milk from. Instead of people blindly trusting most the food they buy from the grocery store in which they have no idea where it came from, what is in it, or what kind of processing it went through; is it really that dangerous to buy milk directly from the producer?

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_raw_milk_debate#Legal_status
http://www.wisconsinwatch.org/2011/06/26/should-raw-milk-sales-be-legalized/
http://www.channel3000.com/news/29285037/detail.html

Project, Title, Issue, and Action Plan

The project my group is working on is a new wood treatment product called Apinee. The product is currently under development headed by Joe Stark and his team of dedicated scientists, lawyers and investors.

The issue we are working on is concentrated on regulations and other start-up issues they will need to resolve before this product can be released to the public for commercial and industrial use.

Our plan is to research what types of wood treatments are currently out there and which are the most popular. Also, we will gather information on the regulations and safety concerns associated with release of a new chemical product. Among these ideas we are approaching the project under the idea that this product will be released to consumers for commercial and in-home use. 

Ethical Decisions

 Is it ethical for a physician to accept Wild tickets from a pharmaceutical rep to take her family to the game?

This is a situation that happens extremely often when a sales rep is trying to coax any buyer into considering their product. In some cases this may seem completely innocent, however it could be viewed as unethical when involving pharmaceutical drugs. "Bribes" like tickets to a pro sporting event may skew a physicians professional opinion on a new drug. So, completely depending on the circumstance, this could either be ethical or unethical.

Ethical Statement

The Nature Conservancy: USA

Our Philosophy and Criteria

The Nature Conservancy is working across all sectors of industry and society to help advance our mission of protecting the natural world. We apply strict guidelines and a rigorous due-diligence approach to identify which relationships best align with our mission. There must be clear conservation benefits with lasting, measurable outcomes and a direct connection to our mission.
The Conservancy will turn down opportunities and gifts that come to us from companies or company foundations that do not meet these key criteria.

The Ministry of Environment & Forests: Government of India

The primary concerns of the Ministry are implementation of policies and programmes relating to conservation of the country's natural resources including its lakes and rivers, its biodiversity, forests and wildlife, ensuring the welfare of animals, and the prevention and abatement of pollution. While implementing these policies and programmes, the Ministry is guided by the principle of sustainable development and enhancement of human well-being.

Friends of Nature: China

Friends of Nature (FON) is the oldest environmental NGO in China. We have been working for over a decade to promote environmental awareness about China^,s most pressing environmental problems. In particular, we have focused on protecting endangered species such as the Tibetan antelope and the snub-nosed monkey; environmental education through camps, field trips, and most importantly, teacher-training; and awareness-raising campaigns such as photo exhibitions and publications. Though we have achieved some important victories for nature, possibly FON^,s greatest achievement is helping to foster a growing network of grassroots environmental NGOs throughout China. We firmly believe that environmental education increases awareness, and awareness increases citizen participation. It is through the participation of all Chinese citizens that China can achieve the dream of an environmentally harmonious society.

EcoPeace Friend of the Earth Middle East: Israel

Environmental Peacemaking is based on the principle that our common dependency on natural resources and a healthy environment facilitates cooperation between societies and nations and can therefore foster the process of peacemaking in conflict regions. The concept of environmental peacemaking (or environmental peacebuilding) draws upon the three pillars of sustainable development: economic sustainability, socio-cultural sustainability and ecological sustainability. Cross-border environmental cooperation integrates the processes of economic and socio-cultural development and societies benefit mutually from the common management of shared resources. Furthermore, cooperation between societies offers a platform for ongoing intercultural dialogue, enables a process of trust building and fosters the establishment of peaceful cross-border societal linkages.

Saudi Environmental Society: Saudi Arabia

Focus, sharing, activeness, responsibility, and respect: all foundations of our values; knowing that accomplishment goes beyond words, our vision grows across horizons., bringing our values to life and translating them to a reality within our reach through our environmental awareness programs, environmental capacity building, and environmental research and development; takin our organization on a journey towards world-wide levels of excellence.


World Wildlife Foundation: Thailand
WWF and the American Red Cross have partnered to make sure that recovery programs include environmentally sustainable considerations - from design through implementation - which are essential for ensuring a long-lasting recovery for the affected communities.

Diversity

Diversity to me means not only people from different ethnic backgrounds; I like to think of diversity in the broader spectrum of things. With uniqueness among individuals in the workplace you end up with a diverse collection of employees and employers alike. The more variation in peoples gender, ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds can greatly affect the quality and overall character of the workplace. A diverse collection of people bring with different opinions, skills, and perspective which can help better any business.

 

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM):

The BLM understands the importance of serving a diverse American public with personnel who represent them. As an organization, we're dedicated to building a workforce with unique perspectives - representing different cultures and ethnicities, geographic regions, genders, ages, interests, skills and more.  To successfully fulfill our mission - and manage public lands for recreation and other uses for the American public - it's critical that we employ a diverse array of talent.

 

U.S Forest Service:
Achieving a Single Mission Through Diverse Perspectives
The Forest Service is made up of thousands of employees from very different backgrounds. But we're all working toward the same goals. For those of us in the Forest Service, diversity means much more than ethnicity, gender or culture. We believe that diverse perspectives help us solve problems more effectively. That's why we maintain an environment in which people from different backgrounds feel comfortable, and in which people feel free to express their opinions and share their viewpoints.

 

The Department of Natural Resources:

The DNR values diversity and actively seeks to attract individuals from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. We recognize that a diverse workforce is essential for innovation and growth. The DNR has more than 4,000 employees who bring with them a rich mix of cultural backgrounds and points of view. These employees work collectively to meet the needs of the department and its increasingly diverse customer base.Moreover, we are committed to recruiting and maintaining a diverse workforce because we believe it's the right thing to do.  

 

The Nature Conservancy:

The Nature Conservancy has a strong and abiding commitment to diversity in its workforce and in the people and groups with which it works. In fact, diversity is one of the Conservancy's unique core values.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):

At the Environmental Protection Agency, diversity is our strength - and a vital element in bringing a balance of perspectives to bear on every challenge we face. We are committed to employing people as diverse as the nation we serve.

 

When dealing with environmental conservation, policy issues, and any natural work for that manner, diversity plays a huge role in these occupations. Most environmental work stretches beyond your backyard and the practices and policies of other cultures can give insight into solving problems in your area of study. Collaboration among people from different backgrounds allows for sharing of ideas bringing a well rounded approach to many issues facing land management and conservation specialists today. 

Carbon Dioxide Paper Evaluation

2. Reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of the criteria established. Where these good criteria, or should there have been different criteria established?
 The class only established two criteria for proving a papers legitimacy. The criteria were good, however, I believe it would have been helpful if there had been more so it was not so broad. The "is this paper legitimate currently" criteria made it a little difficult to prove the papers legitimacy because I personally believe that the paper is not legit today, however, may have more been legitimate when it was first published.

3. Reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of the presentations as a whole. Consider the "yes" and "no" groups as a whole.

Of the yes and no presentations I found that overall the no groups went into the least detail when explaining many topics of the paper. This seemed like a good strategy because it seemed to bring about the least debate. The yes groups did a good job of explaining the specifics on why some graphs and figures were not legitimate, but they also dug themselves a hole in this manner because of a lack of proof. Both sides had their strengths and weaknesses, but in my opinion their was a larger percentages of the class that did not personally believe the paper to be legitimate.  

4. Reflect on the group management of your group. What went well, what did not?

The effort of my group members was pretty much even between all of us. Outside of class we did most of our work through google docs to share ideas and put together the presentation. We had Jake present on our material because he is generally a clear and  composed speaker, also he spent a little less time on the research portion. We could have spent a little more time researching the legitimacy of some of the graphs seeing that was a hot topic.

5. Reflect on the personal "ethic" you felt in your group. Did you believe in your position? Where you arguing against your beliefs?

 I did not believe in my position. From the start I found the paper to be very poorly written when compared to many of the other research papers I have read. Once I started researching the paper I found myself believing less and less of its legitimacy.

6. Did the class make the correct decision when considering the broader impacts of the global warming/climate change debate? Why?

I believe the class made the correct decision in the end. However, I also think people true vote was pretty skewed by the fact that points were awarded to the side that won. 

7. Explain the statement, "What we do in the US, soon will not matter." Provide evidence to justify this statement. 

This statement touches on the fact that the U.S. is quickly being shadowed out by developing countries such as China and India in our overall contribution to global climate change.

8. Explain this statement, "What we do as individuals matters." Provide evidence to justify this statement.

What we do as individuals matters 

What we do as individuals matters because collectively changes in peoples lifestyles and habits can have the largest positive impact on the environment. Whether someone personally believes in climate change; less wasteful and environmentally harmful habits can eventually improve all peoples quality of life.