The Historical, Current and Future Sustainability of Cork in Portugal Essay

The Historical, Current and Future Sustainability of Cork in Portugal - Essay Example It makes great contribution to the economic growth of the country also. Almost 800 companies related to the cork industry. Those companies employ over 20, 0000 workers. About 50% of total cork products are made in Portugal. Portugal is the leading country when it comes to the production of Cork. As on 2012, the average annual output was 157,000 tons. It also holds 60% of the overall worldwide exports. The country has Cork industry produces discs, fishing rods, handles, cigarette tips, discs, different kinds of packing, etc. Cork is also used for mattresses and cushion. Brief Overview of Cork Cork is buoyant, impervious material. It is a subset of the bark tissue yield for commercial use mainly from Quercus suber (the Cork Oak). Cork consists of a hydrophobic material called suberin. Due to the elasticity, buoyancy and impermeability cork is used in variety of products. However, the most common use of cork is for wine stoppers. Cork was first examined by Robert Hooke. This led to its discovery and the naming of the cell (Cork2, 2009, p.1). Uses of Cork The elasticity of cork combined with impermeability makes it a candidate for a material to be used as a bottle stopper; even more especially for wine bottles. As a matter of fact cork stoppers embody 60% of the cork productions. Even in the mid seventeenth century, cork stoppers were not used in the wine bottles. Rather oil soaked rags were staffed into the bottle necks. Things changed once the trading of the cork was initiated. Wine cork stop could be made of a single cork piece or from several composed particles. One prime example of such cork stop is the champagne corks. Natural corks were used for 80% of the 20 billion wine bottles produced round the globe. However, the usage percentage saw a dip due to the increase usage of other cheaper synthetic alternatives. However, still the percentage stand at a healthy 60%. A part from the usage of bottle stoppers, cork is also used in musical instruments to tighten se gments of different instruments. Corks can also be used for outer walls of the houses. Cork is used during the manufacturing of baseball and cricket balls. A part from this corks are used in space craft heat shields, printers and also in construction and automotive industry. Evolution of Usage of Cork in Portugal Cork happens to be one of the premier products of Portugal. It makes great contribution to the economic growth of the country also. About 50% of total cork product is made in Portugal. The Portuguese cork industry is a versatile and developed one. In Portugal, cork is used for various functions like developing buildings, architectures; in automobiles; military and aero-space industry. However it is very much needless to say that the just like any other part of the world corks are mainly used in Portugal as wine stoppers. This makes it evident, how significantly the cork production supplements the wine production in Portugal. Contribution of Cork to Portuguese Economy Portug al is the leading country when it comes to the production of Cork. As on 2012, the average annual output was 157,000 tons. It also holds 60% of the overall worldwide exports. The annual turnover is about â‚ ¬850m. It is quite obvious that the cork stoppers holds biggest share with â‚ ¬590m. This is followed by construction material making a contribution of â‚ ¬

Canadian history pre-confederation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Canadian history pre-confederation - Essay Example All the different groups of people who resided in geographical region of Canada added in one way or the other to the culture and identity that we recognize today. However, the popular version of history as it is taught to the masses often glosses over the contribution of and lifestyle followed by one set of people, that is, the slave groups who were also amongst the early settlers of the region. Canadian history, when it discusses the role of slavery and the slave trade within the region only highlights the fact that the government was amongst the first to hasten the demise of the abhorrent practice. The Canadian society as a whole has difficulty accepting the fact that slavery was actively practiced in New France and this fact has been documented as far back as 1629 with the arrival of the Kirke brothers and their young slave boy in Quebec2. The institution of slavery formed a significant part of Canadian society and hiding this fact is doing a disservice to the identity of the thousands of the African and Aboriginal men, women and children whose lives were impacted and molded by the practice. Slavery was a part of life in New France as well as under the Lower Canada during British rule. Slaves were owned by people from various demographics including religious, military and political leaders and the merchant class3. Popular historical narrative tended to portray that the slave trade had only reached the region after the British had conquered the region in 1760, however in the book â€Å"Canada’s Forgotten Slaves: Two Hundred Years of Bondage† historian Marcel Trudel provides extensive details of the people who lived as slaves before that time as well as the people who eagerly owned and ‘flaunted’ them. He states that â€Å"Slavery in Quebec was not some economic imperative, but rather a form of public extravagance which conferred