Snow Leopards

Snow Leopards Free Online Research Papers The snow leopard is on the endangered species list. The most serious threat to the snow leopard is loss of habitat. Snow leopards are also hunted for their fur. Hunting snow leopards is illegal, except in Mongolia. Researchers estimate that there are between 3,500 and 7,000 left in the wild. More than 600 snow leopards live in zoos. They are successfully bred in captivity. Snow leopards can live in captivity for 15 years. Snow leopards are medium sized cats, weighing between 60 and 120 pounds. Body length ranges from 39-51 inches, and their tails can be almost as long as their bodies. They have thick, smokey-gray fur patterned with dark gray open rosettes. In the mountains they blend perfectly with the rocky slopes, making them practically invisible. The snow leopard also has long hind-limbs for leaping and long flexible tail for balancing. Female snow leopards sexually mature at the age of 2 or 3. Males mature by age 4. The gestation period lasts from 90 to 103 days. Births occur in the wild and in zoos from April through June. Females can give birth to one to five cubs but usually two or three. Most often the mother gives birth in a rocky den lined with her soft fur. Life span in the wild is unknown for the snow leopard, but is 17 to19 years in zoos. Snow leopards live in alpine and sub-alpine areas. In summer months they range in high alpine meadows and rocky areas at elevations of 8,900 to 19,700 feet (2,715-6,009 m). During winter they follow prey to lower elevations. They usually sleep in rocky caves or crevices. Snow leopards have a territorial range of approximately 600 miles, which makes tracking and compiling data a real challenge. Snow leopards live in the high, rugged mountains of Central Asia. Their range extends through twelve countries; Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Snow leopards are crepuscular, which means they hunt when the sun rises and then when the sun sets. Their method of capture is to stalk their prey for twenty to fifty feet, and then ambush their victim. They generally feed on wild sheep, goats, wild boars, deer, and other small mammals and birds. They can prey on an animal two or three times its size. Some of the adaptations the snow leopards have are that they have a nice, thick coat to help it adapt to the grasslands, its surroundings. The surfaces of the snow leopards paws are entirely covered by a cushion of hair. It has a long, swift tail that stretches around its whole body. The snow leopard contains a tint of white, unlike other leopards, and has many dark-colored spots which help it camouflage in its ecosystem. The snow leopard helps keep other species from over populating. They do not hurt our environment and actually help by keeping other species from over populating. We can help snow leopard’s form becoming extinct by raising money for the â€Å"Coins for Cats† program. Also by keeping them in captivity and breeding them. The snow leopards are hunted by humans for their fur and supply fur bone to the illicit Asian medicine trade. We should save the snow leopards because we still have time to put them in captivity and breed them correctly before they go extinct. Research Papers on Snow LeopardsThe Spring and AutumnGenetic EngineeringWhere Wild and West MeetThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesMind TravelResearch Process Part One

Costs and Benefits of US Government Regulations

Costs and Benefits of US Government Regulations Do federal regulations – the often controversial rules enacted by federal agencies to implement and enforce the laws passed by Congress cost taxpayers more than they are worth? Answers to that question can be found in a first-ever draft report on the costs and benefits of federal regulations released in 2004 by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Indeed, federal regulations often have more impact on the lives of Americans than the laws passed by Congress. Federal regulations far outnumber laws passed by Congress. For example, Congress passed 65 significant bills laws in 2013. By comparison, the federal regulatory agencies typically enact more than 3,500 regulations every year or about nine per day. The Costs of Federal Regulations The added expenses of complying with federal regulations born by business and industries have a significant impact on the U.S. economy. According to the U.S. Chambers of Commerce, complying with federal regulations costs U.S. businesses over $46 billion a year. Of course, businesses pass their costs of complying with federal regulations on to consumers. In 2012, the Chambers of Commerce estimated that the total cost for Americans to comply with federal regulations reached $1.806 trillion, or more than the gross domestic products of Canada or Mexico. At the same time, however, federal regulations have quantifiable benefits to the American people. That’s where the OMB’s analysis comes in. More detailed information helps consumers make intelligent choices on the products they purchase. By that same token, knowing more about the benefits and costs of federal regulations helps policymakers promote smarter regulations, said Dr. John D. Graham, director of the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Benefits Far Exceed Costs, Says OMB The OMB’s draft report estimated that major federal regulations provide benefits of from $135 billion to $218 billion annually while costing taxpayers between $38 billion and $44 billion. Federal regulations enforcing the EPAs clean air and water laws accounted for the majority of the regulatory benefits to the public estimated over the last decade. Clean water regulations accounted for benefits of up to $8 billion at a cost of $2.4 to $2.9 billion. Clean air regulations provided up to $163 billion in benefits  while costing taxpayers only about $21 billion. Costs and benefits of some other major federal regulatory programs included: Energy: Energy Efficiency and Renewable EnergyBenefits: $4.7 billionCosts: $2.4 billion Health Human Services: Food and Drug AdministrationBenefits: $2 to $4.5 billionCosts: $482 to $651 million Labor: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)Benefits: $1.8 to $4.2 billionCosts: $1 billion National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTSHA)Benefits: $4.3 to $7.6 billionCosts: $2.7 to $5.2 billion EPA: Clean Air RegulationsBenefits: $106 to $163 billionCosts: $18.3 to $20.9 billion EPA Clean Water RegulationsBenefits: $891 million to $8.1 billionCosts: $2.4 to $2.9 billion The draft report contains detailed cost and benefit figures on dozens of major federal regulatory programs, as well as the criteria used in making the estimates. OMB Recommends Agencies Consider Costs of Regulations Also in the report, OMB encouraged all federal regulatory agencies to improve their cost-benefit estimation techniques and to carefully consider costs and benefits to taxpayers when creating new rules and regulations. Specifically, OMB called on regulatory agencies to expand use of cost-effectiveness methods as well as benefit-cost methods in regulatory analysis; to report estimates using several discount rates in regulatory analysis; and to employ formal probability analysis of benefits and costs for rules based on uncertain science that will have more than a $1 billion-dollar impact on the economy. Agencies Must Prove Need for New Regulations The report also reminded regulatory agencies they must prove that a need exists for the regulations they create. When creating a new regulation, OMB advised, Each agency shall identify the problem that it intends to address (including, where applicable, the failures of private markets or public institutions that warrant new agency action) as well as assess the significance of that problem. Trump Trims Federal Regulations Since taking office in January 2017, President Donald Trump has carried through on his campaign promise to cut the number of federal regulations. On January 30, 2017, he issued an executive order entitled â€Å"Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs† directing the federal agencies to repeal two existing regulations for every new regulation and to do so in such a way that the total cost of regulations does not increase. According to an update status report on Trump’s order from the OMB, the agencies are far exceeding the two-for-one and regulatory cap requirements, having achieved a 22-1 ratio during the first eight months of FY 2017. Overall, notes the OMB, the agencies had cut 67 regulations while adding only 3 â€Å"significant† ones. By August 2017, Congress had exercised the Congressional Review Act to eliminate 47 regulations issued by President Barack Obama. In addition, the agencies had voluntarily withdrawn over 1,500 of Obama’s regulations that were under consideration but not yet finalized. Under Trump, the agencies have generally been more reluctant to propose new regulations. Finally, to help business and industry deal with existing regulations, Trump issued the Streamlining Permitting and Reducing Regulatory Burdens for Domestic Manufacturing on January 24, 2017. This order directs the agencies to expedite federal environmental review approval of bridge, pipeline, transportation, telecommunications and other infrastructure improvement projects.