Biosolids: Embrace the Waste

Biosolids is the name given to our recycled waste. Yes, that's right. Our poop, and what is it being used for? Well it's being used as fertilizer to grow our foods. Now at first, this may appear to most of you as extremely disgusting. This makes sense, since we are taught from birth that certain things are just unsanitary and must be avoided, like poop. But maybe this is actually more natural than we think.

The first thing that came to my head was cows. When cows are allowed to graze the fields and eat grass, they'll poop all over the grass. However, farmers expect their cows to poop on the fields, because cow poop is an excellent fertilizer. Now, if this applies to cows, wouldn't it make sense for it to apply to humans too? Financially, biosolids are great. They are essentially low cost to free fertilizer. This low cost fertilizer would encourage more farming as well. The production of the biosolids would create jobs, meaning an even better financial situation. Also, it would mean recycling instead of land-filling, which in turn means less pollution since the transportation to the landfills would have been eliminated. These are all excellent reasons for biosolids to become a regular thing.

However, the health issue arises. People are worried that this is not safe. That the composition of the biosolids is uncertain, and that it could be potentially harmful. Now this would be a good argument, however, there is clear evidence that proves this theory wrong. To start, the treatment facilities of the waste are so thorough that there is no real proof of the biosolids being dangerous. There is real proof, however, that biosolids are completely harmless. In fact, in 2001, there was a study done proving the fact that biosolids would have little to no effect on human health. However, even though there is overwhelming evidence as to why biosolids are a good choice, there are still those who disagree.

It is true, however, that there is a smell in certain biosolids. This can mean that the usage of biosolids can greatly reduce property value in the area applied. However, the smell can be covered and it is not a good reason to be against the idea of biosolids, when they would promote more jobs and reduce pollution. There are actually very strict regulatory laws that concern biosolids, so health issues are not at all a concern when it comes to this concept. The main problem people tend to have is simply that they're uncomfortable knowing their own poop is being used to fertilize foods. But that was the way nature intended it, as examples like the cows show us. We need to stop being so influenced by the world around us and EMBRACE THE WASTE!

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Technology in the Human Body Field

It's an obvious statement to say that technology has improved greatly in the past decades, and with it has come a huge improvement in our understanding of the human body and it's systems in countless ways. Think big picture at first. What is one technology that has completely revolutionized that way in which doctors can easily look inside a patient?

The X- Ray was still being invented and played around with all the way back in the late 1800s, so it's not necessarily a new advancement. However, it completely changed the way in which your doctor could look inside your body to diagnose a number of diseases, especially those that have to do with your lung tissue. However, the x-ray is a rather old technology. Since then, we've continuously evolved technologically, and now, we have we is called the Magnetic Resonance Imaging technique. This is another way in which one can look inside the body of another without the need to preform surgery. However, this MRI technology can tell the difference between tissue all throughout your body, and has become a crucial factor is diagnosing cancer.

There are many smaller advances too however. Even though the microscope was in the process of invention since the 1500s, we've reached an age where there exists an electron microscope, that can provide magnifications up to 10,000,000 times! These kinds of magnification powers allow us to do many things, but mostly they reveal to us the subtleties behind the bodily systems, the cells. Cell study has allowed us to produce many different kinds of views on the human body and many other fields of work. For example, many different kinds of sicknesses, like cancer, were misunderstood before the theory of cells came to be. Microscopes are an important technology for another reason. Blood typing can be one of the most important and overall check ups since you doctor will be able to see what you've been eating, and most importantly he'll be able to check for diseases like leukemia or others that can be easily diagnosed through the counting of some blood cells. If anything, the rapid advancement of the microscope can be accredited to many of our discoveries about the body, since we now understand how each individual cell in each system works and is set up. With that kind of information, we can start to diagnose diseases we never understood before. For example, sickle cell anemia is a type of anemia where one has fewer red blood cells because they are sickle shaped blood cells. With the advent of the microscope, one's blood can be analyzed and the cells can be identified, and the sickness diagnosed.

Although it's known to cause harm to you body as well, chemotherapy is also an amazing breakthrough. Chemo is the main factor in the survival of certain cancer patients. And since our technology is ever growing, there may even be something called targeted therapy soon, that will only target the abnormal proteins in cancer cells.

However these breakthrough discoveries can happen at home too. For example, our very own Canadian Frederick Banting is the man who discovered a way to intake insulin, so as to offset the effects of diabetes. In his case, Frederick Banting saved the lives of countless, literally countless people who have to live with diabetes, as does my Grandma. This discovery has lengthened her life span considerably.

In the end, it's quite obvious that technology is one of the main reasons our understanding of the human body has reached such an advanced level. We continuously grow however, and there are definitely going to be more and more advancements that will even further our understanding of the body, and soon enough we will be able to diagnose and fix any sickness!

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Genetic Diversity in the Food We Eat

Before I begin to talk about genetic diversity, I would like to talk about the difference between sustainable agriculture and industrial agriculture. Industrial agriculture is the way most of our food is produced. It is the most profitable method of farming. It involves something called monoculture, which I will get into in a bit. Sustainable agriculture is a more ecological approach to farming. It applies knowledge that we now know to the idea of industrial agriculture for everyone's benefit. Now with that in mind let's talk about industrial agriculture. One problem that most people are unaware of is the genetic diversity of the foods we eat and crops we grow. Because of the dominance of fast food, and other factors, most foods are grown from almost one species. For example, all the way back in the 1990s, only two types of peas made up 96% of all pea crops in North America. Something even crazier is that only because of Mcdonald's preference, more than half of all of the potato crops in the world are of one breed, Russet Burbank. Farmers get pressure from all types of companies to grow certain crops, mostly because of those certain species' convenience. Unfortunately, this is creating a huge decline in the genetic diversity of our crops. What adds even more to this problem is monoculture. Monoculture is basically where most farmers grow only one type of crop on a very large region. The low genetic diversity means that the species of crop that is being mass produced doesn't have a chance to evolve into a better survivor, and that they are all susceptible to the same diseases. Monoculture is basically making it easier for a certain disease or other to infect huge amounts of crops more rapidly. In fact, it's even happened before. In 1970, the Southern Corn Leaf Blight epidemic took out an incredible 60% of the US corn crop in only one summer. So there is precedent that genetic diversity is important for the prosperity of our crops. Sustainable agriculture looks to fix these problems and more. People who support sustainable agriculture plant a diversity of crops and species. This can actually serve as a buffer towards pests and other problems, since certain species have resistances others don't. Sustainable agriculturists also believe in the use of diverse cover crops, crops that are grown only for the resistances against pests, and their attraction of beneficial arthropods. Diversity in these crops increases their efficiency, and can reduce the use of pesticide.

There are other factors when it comes to farms, such as the environmental effects industrial agriculture has, and the problem of soil erosion, which is becoming very detrimental. Genetic diversity is just another factor that adds to the case of sustainable agriculture. If companies like McDonalds have such a great impact on the choices of farmers, they should make the incentive of ordering many different types of potatoes. And if we want to do something, we need to make our point through our purchases. BUY SUSTAINABLY GROWN FOODS!

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Genetic Advancements: When is the Line Crossed?

Ever since I was a kid, I've seen movies and such that deal with genetically altered humans. It's an interesting idea, and it's one that we're going to have to deal with very soon, if not right now. Due to advancements in the understanding of the humangenome, genetically altering an embryo to become a more desirable baby is becoming a reality. In fact, in February of 2009, a fertility clinic in Los Angeles tried to offer the option to choose your baby's hair and eye color. They quickly stopped the service once they began to receive hate messages, because people did not agree with this idea. It can be a scary idea, but let's understand exactly how these procedures would work.

Procedure 1 -

There are currently two ideal ways in which one can genetically alter a baby's outcome. The first would be exactly what you would think this process would be. It is called In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).

This is basically modifying anembryos DNA before introducing it into the womb. We've discovered that certain genes result in certain traits. For example, in mice, the addition of an extra gene, NR2B, causes the mouse to learn faster and retain more knowledge. This same gene exists in humans, so it is possible that preforming the same surgery on a human embryo could result in a smarter child. However, there are quite a few problems with this. First of all, adding this extra gene could prove to have deadly affects by possibly interfering with the duties of other genes. It's also important to remember that genes can have more than one effect, so you may end up with some undesirable effects. In contrast to that, some genes only work in combination with others, so again, the effect may not be as wanted. Until a lot more research is done, this type of genetic modification will be very unstable. However this procedure can just as easily be used to cure genetic diseases by removing the deadly genes. The ethical and social problems come into play when we think about how this technology will work when perfected. We will be able to create perfect humans, a sort of super race, and what will happen to the regular people like you and me. Will we become inadequate?

Procedure 2 -

This procedure is currently being used to prevent genetidiseases and other similar problems. It's called Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD). Basically what happens here is that, a collection of embryos from the parents are taken. These embryos are grown to the eight cell stage, at which point the cells are checked to see if the desirable genes are there. Only the embryos that contain the desirable genes or lack the objectionable genes are introduced to the womb. This is great for couples that have a deadly genetic sickness which could easily passed down to a son or daughter, however it can be used for some questionable purposes. It can be just as easily used to check for the desirable genes like previously mentioned, so that you select the embryo that you believe will give you the best offspring. Another controversy is the fact that the disagreeable embryos are terminated. Just like abortion, the problem starts when people argue about how early it is until an embryo is considered life, and killing it is considered murder. Some may believe that all of those embryos have a right to life, and it is hard to decide where the line is.

Ethics -

There are a ton of very controversial arguments on this entire subject. For one, the idea that this will be possible means that we will have an even bigger gap in society. These procedures will most likely only be available to those with more money. This will mean that the children of the rich and wealthy will become perfect and disease ridden, while those less fortunate will be left even further in the dust. Another issue is the line where treatment for diseases and enhancements is made. This is more of a personal opinion than fact necessarily. Some people will not like the idea of humans being created to be in a certain way. There should be something divine about that. At the same time, it's true in some ways that we're already designing our babies. Parents choose things like school, programs, friends and many other aspects of their child's life with the hope to affect their child in a certain way. Those who fear this genetic modification must realize that genetics does not trump environment. In fact, it can be said that, even though a child may be genetically engineered to do certain things, depending on how they're raise by their parents and other factors, they could end up being completely opposite. In this way we already do have designer babies. The scarier part of the idea that humans can modify genes is warfare, in my opinion. It should be obvious that governments will immediately try to take advantage of technologies like this. We will have soldiers modified to serve specific duties. Even more frightening is the idea that we will be able to possibly mix our human species with another species to create an entirely new one!

In my opinion, technological advances are what makes us human. However, when it comes to choosing every detail of our being, I think that there is something very inhumane about that. At the same time, it is true that the environment of the child is just as important, maybe more. I think we should do what ever we can to prevent sickness in society, but there are many scary aspects to this technology. If anything is clear, this is not a resource we can allow to fall into the wrong hands.

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The Panda Problem

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The Panda Problem

It seems that one of the biggest issues of our time is the population of the Panda. Their entire population is estimated to be less than 2,500 in nature. Their future would only be one of the most uncertain and doubtful, only if it WAS NOT for human interaction. That's right. Sure, it is true that some of the reason's for the panda's jeopardy come from the poaching of the animal (which is now illegal) and more importantly, the deforestation of their habitat. Even so, it is important to remember that human interference is one of the primary reasons that the panda's future is starting to look better. The panda is now recognized as a national treasure in China and many initiatives have been taken to help them flourish.

One of the panda's biggest problems is their diet. They prefer bamboo, but unfortunately after it flowers, the bamboo dies back. This means that there is nothing left for the panda to it, so they must find another patch of bamboo for food.

Fortunately, the chinese government with the help of the international community has created over "50 panda reserves protecting more than 2.5 million acres - over 45 percent of remaining giant panda habitat – protecting more than 60 percent of the population" (WWF) . Protecting over 60 percent of the population means that we recognize that we have to put all of our resources into helping these rare one of a kind animals.

Not only are we protecting the existing population, but we are also encouraging its growth. The Wolong Nature Reserve in China's Sichuan province is an example this. The reserve is home to about 100 cubs, but the bigger accomplishment is what they have achieved in terms of breeding them. In 1986, the first panda cub was born at the reserve. Just recently, in 2006, they bred around 30 cubs. when the estimated population of this species is around 2000, 30 cubs is already a large number.

This cause is not some unimportant afterthought, it's a earnest attempt on our part to fix a problem that we caused. Organizations like WWF, whose logo is a panda, are only one of many who prioritize this special animal. As much damage as we may have done, there would be no hope for these exceptional creatures if we hadn't stepped in and interfered.

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