Ethics of Hydraulic Fracturing Essay Example for Free

Ethics of Hydraulic Fracturing Essay Large gas companies have been wreaking havoc on Midwestern United States. These companies’ practices of hydraulic fracturing have been very detrimental to the local populace. Hydraulic fracturing has been known to damage the environment through earthquakes and gas spills. In addition, it has been said that these companies have certain law exemptions that only they enjoy. These unsafe practices have contaminated local’s water supplies. There have even been cases where people have been able to light the water from their faucets on fire. Stricter government regulation should be enforced on these gas companies. Hydraulic Fracturing, or fracking, has recently (in the last ten years) been used extensively by gas companies (â€Å"The Facts About Fracking†). Fracking involves drilling down below shale formations (over a thousand feet) in the ground and pumping water, sand, and chemicals until the rock fractures. When the rock fractures it releases natural gas that can be collected at very inexpensive cost. The problem is that this can contaminate local water supplies, including lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, and ground water. The documentary Gasland stirred up interest in the American population to the effects of fracking. After being offered one hundred thousand dollars for his land from a gas company, the director Josh Fox traveled around America investigating the effects of fracking on the local rural populace. Josh Fox did an excellent job at exposing the gas industry for what it really is. The film won an Oscar nomination and has been praised by environmentalists nation-wide. One of the environmentally damaging effects of hydraulic fracturing is that it has been known to cause earthquakes. Reports of minor tremors of no greater than 2. 8 on the Richter scale were reported on June 2, 2009 in Cleburne, Texas, the first in the towns 140-year history† (Fox). On the other side of the argument, they claim â€Å"Given the ubiquity of fracking without seismic impact, the risks would seem to be remote† (â€Å"The Facts About Fracking†). This is irrelevant considering that earthquakes are happening where they otherwise would not have occurred. In addition to earthquakes, they also damage the environment by causing environmentally damaging oil spills. In the past two years alone, a series of surface spills, including two blowouts at wells operated by Chesapeake Energy and EOG Resources and a spill of 8000 gallons of fracking fluid at a site in Dimock, Pa. , have contaminated groundwater in the Marcellus Shale region. The amount of water required to drill all 2916 of the Marcellus wells permitted in Pennsylvania in the first 11 months of 2010 would equal the amount of drinking water used by just one city, Pittsburgh, during the same period, says environmental engineering professor Jeanne VanBriesen (qtd. n McGraw). Spills like these cause water contamination for the locals. In this case, a large portion of the spilled fracking fluid flowed into a nearby stream (McGraw). The level of contamination is still being investigated. These irresponsible and selfish practices must be regulated before irreversible collateral and environmental damage occurs. Gas companies have even been able to exploit certain loopholes in the law. An employee from the Environmental Protection Agency stated that the fracking industry enjoy certain legal exemptions from the Clean Water Act – courtesy of Dick Cheney (qtd. in Fox). The federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 contained a provision that has come to be known as the Halliburton Loophole, an exemption for gas drilling and extraction from requirements in the underground injection control (UIC) program of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Other exemptions are also present in the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act (Fox). This is an injustice to the local people whose water has been contaminated by these companies. If the government will not regulate these large companies, what will stop these large companies? Furthermore, chemicals contaminating the locals’ water supply have been shown to be a serious health risk. It is reported that â€Å"Last year the EPA found that some chemicals known to be used in fracturing were among the contaminants detected in 11 residential drinking water wells†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Lustgarten). These chemicals have even been known to be carcinogenic (Lustgarten). Contaminated groundwater becomes a problem for locals when their cattle have to drink the contaminated water. There are even cases of sick animals where all their hair falls out (Fox). Many farmers worry about the welfare of their cattle’s health which is sometimes their only source of income (Fox). Landowners in shale gas drilling areas have reported foul smells in tap water, and toxic chemicals, such as benzene, have been detected in water from wells near drilling sites (Fox). In addition, there are cases of air pollution from the machinery from the drill sites (Fox). Many claim that the air pollution is the cause of a lot of cancer in the locals (Fox). In Dish, Texas, Mayor Calvin Tillman claimed that the fracking industry created carcinogenic pollution in his town (â€Å"The Facts About Fracking†). He then quit his job and left his hometown to protect his sons from this pollution (â€Å"The Facts About Fracking†). These unsafe practices can be very harmful to the local rural populace, and must be regulated. Scientific studies have shown that the drilling has caused local drinking water to be contaminated with methane. In fact, it has been shown that locals can light their water on fire. â€Å"â€Å"Our results show evidence for methane contamination of shallow drinking water systems in at least three areas of the region and suggest important environmental risks accompanying shale gas exploration worldwide. A scientific study has linked natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing with a pattern of drinking water contamination so severe that some faucets can be lit on fire. While most of the wells had some methane, the water samples taken closest to the gas wells had on average 17 times the levels detected in wells further from active drilling† (Lustgarten). This shows that their gas drilling in fact causes this contamination. The contamination can get so bad that it directly affects the local’s safety. There is a case that is being investigated where a large portion of a river is highly contaminated from seeping methane gas; it is so highly contaminated that all wildlife has died along a large portion of the river (Fox). Along the banks of the river are dead bodies of birds, squirrels, and other wildlife (Fox). One local even claims that her father died from drinking the water many years earlier (Fox). In Josh Fox’s documentary, it shows a clip of someone lighting seeping gas coming out of the ground on fire (Fox). â€Å"In several cases, homes blew up after gas seeped into their basements or water supplies. In Pennsylvania, a 2004 accident killed three people, including a baby† (Lustgarten). This irresponsible, disregard for basic human rights must be stopped. Large corporations that run free and unregulated will do whatever it takes for their own gain. The local rural populace has been very badly affected by the practices of hydraulic fracturing. It is clearly shown that these locals are not being heard and little is being done for compensation for the locals (Fox). These gas companies have too much freedom to operate and must be put to stricter government regulation. The question is not whether we should frack or not, but rather how do we regulate these practices to minimize the collateral and environmental damage.

Identification of unknown soil bacteria

Identification of unknown soil bacteria INTRODUCTION Microorganisms play an extremely important role in soil ecology. Soil bacteria break down organic matter into simpler compounds (Clark). Bacteria in the soil play important roles in different biochemical cycles such as the carbon cycle (Clark). Decomposition is another important role that different bacteria take part in. Without bacteria the ecology of soil would be completely disrupted. The nutrient requirements that different bacteria need to survive decide where each bacteria can be found. Agricultural soil would have a completely different array of microorganisms then soil found in a forest would have. Different conditions such as moisture, nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, temperature and pH of the soil will all determine which types of bacteria will live in thrive in agricultural and forest soil. The objective of this experiment was to try to isolate and identify one specific soil bacteria from either forest or agricultural soil. The bacteria in this report was isolat ed from agricultural soil and using the morphology of the individual cells and colony along the types of chemicals that would react with the bacteria along with what type of extremes the bacteria could survive in the bacteria was identified. METHODS Starting from an original one gram sample of agricultural soil a 10-2 dilution was created and used to create a Tryptic Soy Agar (TSA) streak plate (Robertson and Egger 2010). The cultures that arose from the streak plate were observed and the morphology of a specific colony was described and recorded (Egger 2010). A subculture was created from one colony on a new TSA streak plate. A gram stain was prepared using the original colony of soil bacteria and whether it was gram negative or gram positive was recorded (Robertson and Egger 2010). Using the new subculture several biochemical tests were performed. A single line of bacteria was streaked onto a starch agar plate and after incubation drops of iodine were added to the culture and if starch is hydrolyzed a color change occurred, results were recorded (Robertson and Egger 2010). On a Sulfide, Indole, and Motility (SIM) deep the bacteria isolate was stabbed into the tube  ¾ of the way down (Robertson and Egger 2010). After incubati on the deep was observed for movement away from the original line and three drops of Kovacs Reagent was added to see if a color change occurred (Robertson and Egger 2010). The results of the motility and H2S reduction tests were recorded. The bacteria isolate was also mixed in a peptone broth tube and after incubation a drop of Nesslers reagent and the loop of broth solution were mixed in a spot plate and the results were recorded (Robertson and Egger 2010). A loop of bacteria was put into ammonium sulfate and nitrite broth tubes. In a spot plate on loop of the ammonium sulfate broth was mixed with 1 drop of Nesslers reagent and another loop was mixed with three drops of Trommsdorfs reagent and a drop of dilute H2SO4 (Robertson and Egger 2010). Also in the spot plate the nitrite broth was tested with Trommsdorfs reagent and dilute H2SO4 as well as with concentrated H2SO4 and phenylamine (Robertson and Egger 2010). The results for the four tests were recorded. To test for denitrifica tion reagents A and B were added to the nitrate broth tube with the unknown bacteria and the color change of the tube was recorded (Robertson and Egger 2010). The unknown isolate was inoculated in a tube of thioglycollate medium and after incubation any growth in the tube was noted and recorded (Robertson and Egger 2010). To test the bacteria for catalase and oxidase bacteria was streaked on a TSA plate and after incubation drops of 3% hydrogen peroxide was put on one end of the streak and the formation or lack of bubbles was recorded for catalase, and oxidase was tested on the opposite end of the streak and the results were noted (Robertson and Egger 2010). To test what temperature the unknown bacteria grow best at 4 TSA plates were streaked with the bacteria and each plate was incubated at a different temperature, after incubation any growth on the plates was recorded (Robertson and Egger 2010). To test the optimal pH for the bacteria to grow the bacteria was inoculated into tubes that were each at a different pH (pH 3, 5, 7, 9) after incubation the pH that the bacteria grew the best in was recorded (Robertson and Egger 2010). TSA plates were also streaked with the unknown bacteria to test in what amount of sodium chloride it could grow in, plates with concentrations of 0,0.5, 2 and 5% sodium chloride were used any growth was recorded (Robertson and Egger 2010). RESULTS The unknown bacterium is rod shaped and gram positive and the colony formed is a raised white circle (Table 1). Tests showed that the bacterium was positive for ammonification and denitrification from NO3- to NO2- (Table 1). Catalase and oxidase test also were positive for this bacteria (Table 1). The bacterium is also a facultative anaerobe (Table 1). Table 1 also shows that the unknown bacterium does not exhibit motility. The unknown bacteria was found to hydrolyze starch, but was negative for reducing H2S (Table 1). The unknown bacterium also does not exhibit nitrification (Table 1). The optimal temperature of the unknown bacteria was found to be about 37 °C and had an optimal pH of 5 its optimal salt concentrations was also found to be at 0-0.5% sodium chloride (Table 1). DISCUSSION The soil bacteria key created by KN Egger (2010) was used to identify what family the unknown bacteria belongs to. The closest match that could be found using the Common Soil Bacteria Key was Actinomyces. A match could not be made to a genus. Actinomyce are a Gram positive, rod shaped family. Actinomyces are not found to reduce H2S or have significant motility. From the results in Table 1 we can conclude that the bacterium is a mesophile as well as an acidophile. We can also conclude from Table 1 that the bacterium is osmotolerant and a facultative anaerobe. Many different tests could have been used to further help identify the bacterial isolate; the most accurate tests would have been to test the DNA or nucleic acids of the bacteria. Many different biochemical tests could have been used such as lactose and glucose. No test result can be considered completely accurate the bacteria could have been contaminated as well as not every bacteria colony will behave exactly the same. It is ex tremely hard to classify a specific bacterium without several more tests to safely conclude that it belongs in the chosen group Actinomyces. REFERENCES Clark, FE. 1951. Bacteria in the Soil. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences. 7:78-80. Egger, KN. 2010. Common Soil Bacteria Key. UNBC Robertson, S and Egger, K. 2010. BIOL 203 Microbiology Laboratory Manual. UNBC.

Fight Club and I Essay -- Fight Club Novel Essays

Fight Club and I "What you see at fight club is a generation of men raised by women . . .. I'm a thirty-year-old boy, and I'm wondering if another woman is really the answer I need." These words are from Chuck Palahniuk's novel Fight Club. Tyler Durden is the alter ego, and only known name of the fictional narrator of the novel. Tyler suffers from Dissociative Personality Disorder, Antisocial Personality Disorder, Primary Insomnia, and probably a host of other disorders that I am not qualified to properly diagnose. "Women have caused me nothing but trouble for twenty-one years. That's it, I'm swearing off women . . . at least for a little while." These words were spoken by me, about two months ago. I am Aaron Mobley, a very real former U.S. Marine. I suffer from Antisocial Personality Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, and abnormally high testosterone levels (yes, this was all medically verified). So what do Tyler and I have in common besides similar views on relationships? Quite a bit, actually. Tyler was raised by his mother. His father abandoned them early in his life and only had sporadic contact with his son. I, too, was raised by my mother. She divorced my father early in my life, and he made little effort to further his involvement in my life from that point forward. " If you're male . . . your father is your model for God. And if you never know your father, if your father bails out or dies or is never at home, what do you believe about God?" Also from Fight Club. As you can see, I really connected with this novel. Let's start with the most obvious similarity: antisocial personality disorder, or APD. APD is, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a pervasive pa... ...t. Grand Slam, baby! That 2-1 count had me worried for a second there. This essay is entitled "To my Father." It should read "To my Fathers," because it's for all of them. It's for the one who didn't give a shit. It's for all the ones who would've cared if they'd known. It's for the one that made me what I am today. And most of all it's for me, the only man I've ever had around to fall back on when things got too rough. It is 6:30 in the morning, and my paper is done. Works Cited Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th ed. Washington: American Psychiatric Association, 1994. Palahniuk, Chuck. Fight Club. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 1996. Twaite, James A., et al. Children of Divorce: Adjustment, Parental Conflict, Custody, Remarriage, and Recommendations for Clinicians. Northvale: Jason Aaronson, Inc., 1998.

Truman Show Essays -- essays papers

The Truman Show Manipulation and delusion are at the heart of the movie The Truman Show. Carefully crafted, this movie portrays television and its producers as producing a fake environment with a â€Å"real person† designed to appeal to the American masses. The smooth packaging lulls the audience into being in on the joke, but perhaps the joke is on the audience to even sit through the almost two hours of bland entertainment. In fact, the story of Truman Burbank is small town boring, taking place on Seahaven, a diminutive island. Truman believes that he is an insurance broker with a loving wife, Meryl, a nice suburban home, and a best friend. Slowly through a series of unusual events, Truman becomes aware that this quiet, tame life is a fraud. Everyone on the island is not true – not his wife, friend, mother, and the â€Å"father† he thought dead- all are actors playing a role performing as told by the producers. Ironically, it is the malfunction of another media form, the radio, which helps clue him in to the fact that his every move is being broadcast. The media corporation promoting The Truman Show and Cristof, the TV producer, are shown focused on the job to create entertainment for the mass market, even if seeing the dull life of Truman is their definition of entertainment. Does filming a real life make for exciting viewing? Generally, no, although one has only to remember the millions of views fascinated by the sight of O.J. Simpson in a white Bronco traveling down...

World War Two and Its Impact on the Role of American Women in Society E

World War Two and Its Impact on the Role of American Women in Society World War II is an event that has marked history like no other. Originating from a European struggle, war broke out in 1939 and continued for six years. From the years 1939 through 1945 more than half the earth's surface was battling in war. American society was greatly affected. People of every age, race and class were deeply affected. Women's place in society took a leap forward like it never had before. As an effect of the second world war women's traditional roles in society were drastically altered. The 1940's brought innovative opportunities along with hardships to American society. After the Depression it looked as though there was no hope for the traditional role of women to be changing. Women had very few job opportunities, especially married women. In William Henry Chafe's book The American Woman, he explains: Legislative bodies enacted laws restricting the employment of married women. Labor, government, and the mass media all joined in a campaign urging females to refrain from taking jobs. And the overwhelming majority of average citizens--including women--showed little interest in modifying the existing distribution of sexual roles. (Chafe 135) The role of women in society was unchanging. It was quite remarkable how stable their role remained for so long (135). While still recovering from the Depression, Europe managed to mark the beginning of the biggest war in history. They first took over Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. And after Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese, the United States entered the war. The main transformation World War II made for women in American society was there were man... ...o work, keeping the economy going while the men were fighting the war. Other women joined the army and navy out in combat. Organizations that are still present to this day were founded, such as the American Red Cross Association, the Women's Army Corps (WAC), the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES), and the Army Nurse Corps. Overall, World War II changed the role of American women for the better. It marked the beginning of an ongoing advancement of women's economic position in American society. Works Cited Brokaw, Tom.  The Greatest Generation.  New York: Random House, 2004. Print. Chafe, William H. The American Woman; Her Changing Social, Economic, and Political Roles, 1920- 1970. New York: Oxford UP, 1972. Print. Daniel, Robert L.  American Women in the 20th Century. The Festival of Life. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1987.

Corporate america

Corporate America People in todays society probably think that the government runs our country. The sad thing about this is that they are completely wrong. What if the one and only great United States of America was in fact, ran by its massive corporations. As a whole, America has fallen from their past virtues and qualities on how to properly run a government. Nowadays giant corporations can often persuade the government into their favor.Within the picture, some of the top companies in America that supply people with uxuries, have become so accustomed to our culture, they have become essentials and have a bigger say in our lives. Some of these essentials are: Internet Explorer, Nike, and 18M. For the most part, the corporate logos on the flag are some of our major and most dominant companies. With the amount of currency that the companies produce and contribute to the national debt they easily can do what they want and when. The particular logos shown in the picture are mainly the w orlds most successful businesses.The altered American flag could also be acknowledged for the fact that it is the opulation that builds the corporate businesses into the empires they are today. All of the corporate logos are examples of the businesses with the most say. Nike, influences athletes that they wont be good or cool without it. Camel represents that no one will be calm without a cigarette. They range from Gas/Oil companies, Fast Food, and to pornography. Each one of these logos attracts a different emotion to a different audience; Camel to cigarette smokers, Nike to athletes, McDonalds to fast food eaters.This could encourage rage, confusion, and a bit of regret in Americans bout their decisions and what they invest in. Most people can agree that instead of this picture having a negative connotation, it is almost a patriotic accomplishment, of how far we have come with corporate America. It can show that not only do those companies do very well in one area, but even more s uccessful and powerful internationally. America has come very far and distant from its natural virtues and ideas. The multi-billion dollar companies having some of the biggest, if not the biggest, influences in the world mainly caused this.As time has gone on, companies have become the driving factor in our decision making process in our country. With the power capitalized in large companies, they can easily persuade our government into anything that benefits their businesses. When our country was first founded we had a strict democracy planned out where the people would vote on many things going into act. As time has gone on, ideas and decisions have gotten less and less strict, and the companies have learned how to take advantage of the government easier and easier.

Imagination vs Reality in Literature Essay

â€Å"Aren’t grown-ups supposed to read realistic fiction? What good are these wild tales, anyway? † (â€Å"Speculative† 200). In author Vandana Singh’s â€Å"A Speculative Manifesto†, she describes how important speculative fiction is in the education of students in literature. Speculative fiction is combination of several different genres of literature, such as mystery, science fiction, historical fiction and fantasy. Vandana Singh asks in her manifesto if education is based on the truth then â€Å"[w]hy not discard the old myths, legends, tall tales, and their modern counterparts, as we discard other childish things† (200). Vandana Singh believes that both children and adults need the literature for their imagination. In the manifesto, she describes who imagination allows us as humans to dream. Although science fiction and fantasy can also help ones with their imagination, through our imagination we can make up â€Å"ingenious thought-experiments, through asking ‘what-if’ questions and attempt[] to answer them† (202). According to Vandana Singh, speculative fiction allows us to question our lives and â€Å"live out possible futures before we come to them† (202). Speculative fiction and feminist literature can be intertwined together to make stories as well. Vandana Singh uses a blend of these two literature genres in order to write her short story The Woman Who Thought She Was A Planet. Although these two genres may be viewed as two separate pieces of literature, Vandana Singh uses her imagination and her background in her Indian culture to create the story. In one of Vandana Singh’s short stories, The Woman Who Thought She Was A Planet, she uses her speculative fiction beliefs and her imagination to describe a story about a woman going through â€Å"changes†. This story starts off at the kitchen table where Ramnath Mishra is partaking in his usual morning routine when his wife announced, â€Å"’I know at last what I am. I am a planet’† (39). Shocked and confused about his wife’s announcement, Ramnath believed that his wife, Kamala, had merely lost her mind. Ramnath believed that the only way for his wife to get better was to phone the doctor, however Kamala did not think she was ill. Kamala states to Ramnath, â€Å"’I am a planet. I used to be a human, a woman, a wife and mother’† (40). Ramnath could not understand how he did not actually know the person whom he has lived with for the past forty years, â€Å"[s]he looked like a stranger† (43). He thought that a planet has to be â€Å"an inanimate object circling a star† and that there was no way Kamala, a human, could be a planet (40). Living in an Indian culture, Ramnath was extremely embarrassed by his wife’s actions. She constantly tried to undress her clothes because she believed that planets do not need a sari. As Ramnath described how his great aunt went mad, â€Å"[w]hat a terrible dishonor the family had suffered, what indignity† (41). He worried that Kamala was going to create great embarrassment, not only for him but for his family’s name as well. At night, Ramnath found himself wishing Kamala dead, even began plotting different ways for going about killing her, â€Å"[h]e could not live like this† (46). One evening, as Kamala was sleeping, Ramnath noticed that she seemed to be coughing something up, which was exciting for Ramnath because he believed that she was going to die on her own, without his help. Moments later, Ramnath observed some â€Å"jelly-like† substance coming out of her mouth. He realized that this substance was made up of â€Å"small, moving things† (47). These â€Å"aliens† began pouring out of Kamala’s mouth attacking Ramnath, but not waking Kamala. In the morning, still terrified by what happened last night, Ramnath laid in bed until his wife woke up. Once awake, she explained that if she knew what was happening she would have explained to these creatures not to hurt him. Kamala explained to Ramnath that these creatures were â€Å"inhabitants† and reminded him that she is a planet. Kamala then went on to describe how the younger â€Å"inhabitants† were trying to colonized and asked Ramnath to be a planet with her. Kamala explained to Ramnath that â€Å"[a] planet needs sun†¦ My journey is just beginning† (50). Later, Ramnath and Kamala went on a walk, where Kamala ran into the park where there was a man selling balloons, which she is fascinated by. After being captivated by the way the balloons floated into the sky when letting them go, Kamala began â€Å"[s]lowly and majestically†¦ rise over the ground† (52). Her clothing slowly began to fall from the sky, as she was rotating and floated higher and higher. â€Å"For a moment [Ramnath] almost envied her† as she floated into the starts, he ran into the house and as he went to scream, â€Å"the insectoids were already marching up his back, over his shoulder and into his terrified, open mouth† (54). In an interview, Vanadana Singh was asked what her appeal to speculative fiction was, her response being, â€Å"[t]he best speculative fiction demands a boldness of imagination and a vastness of scope that no other literature can offer (Tan). In Vandana Singh’s short story, The Woman Who Thought She Was A Planet, it is shown that her imagination was used enormously in order to not only come up with the story, but to use such great detail. Speculative fiction, â€Å"with its aliens and magic and warp drives, set against the backdrop of the universe itself. † (â€Å"Manifesto† 203). In the interview, Vandana Singh also adds that â€Å"the sense of wonder that [speculative fiction] evokes, the engagement with ideas, and the fact that it provides a two-way mirror for looking at the world one wonders why everyone doesn’t read the stuff† (Tan). Not only does Vandana Singh’s short story, The Woman Who Thought She Was A Planet, use great imagination, it also includes the truths behind the Indian culture in marriage. The man of the house is the â€Å"leader† of the family. Also this story shows how it is extremely embarrassing for a woman to not only get nude in public, but in the house. The Woman Who Thought She Was A Planet is a wonderful example of a piece of feminist literature. Feminist Literature is described as a question of women’s role in society and complex conceptions of gender. In this short story, it shows that Kamala was trying to become her own woman. She believed that there were â€Å"inhabits† inside of her. She routinely attempted to take her clothing off, which infuriated Ramnath and also embarrassed him to an extreme end. An additional example of how The Woman Who Thought She Was A Planet was used for feminist critique is that it shows that in other cultures besides our own, woman are always trying to be themselves and not have to be held down to the â€Å"norms† that are expected of them. Although in this story Kamala may not have been able to control her actions completely, it shows the way the Indian culture views people when they act out and how one little action can be viewed as such an embarrassment. Works Cited Singh, Vandana. A Speculative Manifesto. Framingham: n. p. , 2008. 200-04. Print. Singh, Vandana. The Woman Who Thought She Was a Planet: And Other Stories. New Delhi, India: Zubaan, in Collaboration with Penguin India, 2008. 39-54. Print. Tan, Charles. â€Å"The World SF Blog. † The World SF Blog. The World SF Blog, 2012. Web. 10 Oct. 2013. .