The use of biosolids

There are many persepctives on this situation, and the U.S environmental protection agency (EPA), the Water Environment Federation (WEF) and Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies all believe that biosolids are a good thing.  Some say the use of biosolids help improve, replenish and mantain healthy soil, and some say when using biosolids, the product is usually filled with a low amount of nutrient.  In my opinion, I believe bio solids are a convention way for growing.  All my life, I have been appalled by the fact we have been using manure for growing crops.  Until a few years, I have learned that growing in manure was a good thing.  So this argument between bio solids being a good thing or a bad thing is making me think because im left with a question: if using manure is a good thing, why isnt using bio solids?  Isn't bio solids kind of the same thing?  Other than the fact what is bring flushed down, or going through the sink is dirty, Im pretty sure the components are being filtered by something, or at least being cleaned in some way. On another note, I have read that bio solids also have a big downside.  Many people have been intoxicated by the use of biosolids, but no one knows for sure if those are cases of the bio solids or just mere coincidences.   Because of the minimum research on bio solids, researches dont know if the symptoms of rashes, allergies or others are actually caused because of bio solids, and once again, mere coincidences.

Biosolids have been used for many years, and apart from that, I have only heard of good things happening.  I have learned that bio solids land application and composting can reduce soil erosion and improve the water quality.  Adding biosolids to the soil can also supply organic nautrients that are released slowly to growing plants.  Aside from reducing erosion, and protecting or enhancing water quality, the bio solids are also able to provide topsoil for recreational uses, as well as reclamining or rejuvenating land.  As an oraganic fertilizer, biosolids meet EPA'S requirments, also providing nutrient rich materials for uses on golf courses, sport fields, public parks, and other recreational areas.  For many coal strip mines, gravel pits, quarries, construction sites, and landfills, biosolids become a very good topsoil.  Using bio solids on these areas replaces lost topsoil and improves soil fertility and stability, while decreasing erosion.  The view of human waste as an unsanitary and disgusting is influencing to those who are concerned of where their food comes.  I dont believe many people are influenced by the western view, considering we are still using biosoilds, but there are occasions where people are very much influenced.

The use of biosolids have been around for a very long time, and because of the small amount of research on this topic, there are not many perspectives.  All we know is that bio solids have been very beneficial, and we should ask ourselves, if what were using is working, why stop? The bio solids could be the future of farming, and could be the future of soil quality.  Why end something that only helps us?  The thought of bio solids can be very disturbing, considering is what we once threw down the toilet, but this quick and efficient way could be the pathway to a more  efficient and sustainable future.  


SOURCES
http://www.biosolids.com/benefits.html
http://www.epa.gov/region8/water/biosolids/
http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/Sewage-Sludge-Pros-Cons.htm

COMMENTS
Mae

Kendra

Technologies understanding the human body.

It's obvious over the course of time, the development of technology has grown by quite a lot.  The important of various technologies to contributes our understanding of the internal body systems is critical because of the power it grants us to help treat or cure diseases unable to be seen, or fractures and tears inside the body.  Technology has been a great contributer to the medical field, due to all the different equipment used to measure different things inside the body, as well as being able to just look into the body.

         There are many different types of equipment out there used in the medical field, and the most common, is the X-ray.  The X-ray allows someone to see through anyone's body, allowing them to see any bone or organ.  That's like having super powers!  The X-ray is a huge contribution to the medical industry because it allows doctors to search for diseases like tumors, cancer, fractures in bones or any abnormal sightings.  The x-ray has saved many lives, because of the ability to see through the body, we are now able to catch different cancers in our body at an earlier time, giving doctors more time to treat the patient.

A patient with a type of lung cancer

The photo above may seem as if there is just tiny smudge in the photo and there is nothing wrong, but with the power of the X-ray, we are able to see things like lung cancer or any other abnormalities such as a tumor. That little smudge may seem harmless, but if not caught in a certain time, it may be able to kill.

It's hard to say where technology will go, but from where it has come from, and how it has developed, there is no telling what will be next.  In the past, when someone got pregnant, people probably went crazy thinking of what in a womans stomach -- I know I would have, if I was uneducated on the situation.  With the equipment now, we can now see what gender the baby will be, how old it is, and how big it is.  

We all thought the X-ray, being able to see the bones was fascinating.  But now, technology has come up with something new, creating the Magnetic Reonance Imaging (MRI).  With the X-ray only being able to see down to the bone, the MRI is able to show detailed photos of soft tissues, any organ and virtually anything in the body an X-ray cant.

The creation of technology in our medical industry has dramatically changed our lives.  In the past, there were no forms of technology being able to see into a body for different disease or abnormalities.  Now, we have changed the world with the development of these items.  We do not know where technology will go next, but we do know that next time, there will be something bigger and better than the last.

SOURCES:

http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=bodymr

http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=bodyct

http://congenital-heart-defects.co.uk/noninvasivetests.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-ray_computed_tomography

http://science.hq.nasa.gov/kids/imagers/ems/xrays.html

COMMENTS:

Kendra's Blog

Carmina's blog

Sustainble Agriculture over Industrial!

Recently, for another course, I have watched a film on how our meat is processed, where it comes from, and who is leading everything.  I have learned that there are basically a handful of companies that run and process everything we eat, and theres no running from it.  There are now many farmers who rely on highly productive livestock breeds to keep the income coming in.  But because they rely on a certain breed, such as a cow for beef, they often forget about other varieties of choices, thus leaving most for extinction.  The types of cows who were used for both milk and beef in the past have now dropped dramatically in the numbers.  I would say relying on highly productive livestock outweighs the reducing of less productive breeds because like the questions ask, they are less productive.  In the modern day, no one is really wondering if their food was from a different cow than a now high productive livestock, all that matters is that it tastes good to them.

          While watching the same movie, I have learned that the livestock of farms have been grown differently.  In the past, you were able to grow a full grown chicken in a certain amount of time.  Today, in that time, a full grown chick would be twice as big, in half the amount of time.  It's clear that they did not magically grow twice their size; it's obvious something as been helping them grow -- farmers have been injecting livestock with hormones to grow twice as big, and lay twice as many eggs.  Before watching this movie, I was not familiar with anything I have eaten.  I was convinced that beef came straight from a cow, with no chemicals involved, no extra growth involved, just straight livestock. I have now learned that this is not the case.  The way chickens are grown dramatically stuns their ability to walk.  Because their body grows too fast for their bones, they're unable to keep balance.  Also, cows are being fed corn.  This is unusual because cows were born to eat grass only.  This may seem very convenient because corn is one of the highest production crop to this day, but there are downsides to every good situation.  Because the cows are not built to eat corn, they developed a disease called E. Coli.  A deadly disease that has killed many people.  Considering the past and how things are run today, there is a big change with the livestock and the processing of these animals.

         With the technology being created today, I know for a fact the agriculture industry can definitely keep up with the rapid growth of the global human population.  Livestock is now being produced at twice the speed.  Chickens are now being grown twice their size, in double the amounts, with many more eggs behind laid.  The agriculture industry will always have enough livestock to keep up with the growth of the human population. BUT, because of the fast growing products, as I said earlier, there is always a downside to a good situation.  Because of the fast growing products, the food will become less nutritious. For example, tomatoes are now picked while still green, and chemicals are used to grow them into a ripe state faster.  This process basically makes you eat a tomato without getting the full nutrients of an actual tomato.

          Industrial agriculture is a form of moderm farming that uses the industrailized production of livestock.  Industrial agriculture is a term used to describe how livestock is processed or how the farm is ran.  It's not the most appealing way to approach farming but its the fastest. Industrial agriculture usually focueses on the domination of nature, or the specialization of few species on a farm.  They also focus on the competition of other industrial farms, not really paying attention to the quality of the product.  On the other hand, sustainable agriculture is the right way.  They are the total opposite of industrial.  Instead of focusing on the domination of nature, the specialization of species, the competition of the farmers, sustainable agriculture focuses on harmony with nature, diversity, the community and quality of quantity.  In my opinion, I would choose to keep sustainable agriculture around more, with less industrial, but people in the world are not so educated on the situation.  No one pays attention to their food, so it is quite obvious that they would choose industrial agriculture of sustainable agriculture.

REFERENCES
http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/heritage/

http://www.rense.com/general94/results.htm

http://scienceblogs.com/worldsfair/2009/05/industrial_agriculture_v_susta.php

BLOGS I HAVE COMMENTED ON
Melanie: http://catnippp.blogspot.com/2011/02/hormones-in-our-foooooood.html#comments

Vanessa: http://vanezzabioblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/massive.html?showComment=1306481787609#c4239147065568308350

Designer Babies

In my opinion, this topic shouldn't even exist.  Designer babies?  They're looking into ways for producing babies of your likings.  I find this completely ignorant because you should not be able to choose what type of baby you want.  You should not be able to choose what color eyes it should have, if it should be a boy or girl, or if it should be smart, funny, cute, or anything else.  This way of choosing a baby totally defeats the purpose of even having one.  Having a baby is a way of showing how much a couple loves each other.  Enough for them to bring a life into the world.  That's what defines the baby, through their parents and through their genes.  Being able to choose what your baby looks like ruins the essence of having a kid you will love.  You should love your child regardless of their looks or personality.  Why? Because that baby is created from you.

There are many reasons as to why this may be a reasonable idea, and there are many pros and cons to this topic.

The pros of having  designer baby would to be creating a baby with slim chances of having a disease.  With designer babies, you can alter the genetic processing of the child so it will not end up with Down Syndrome or  a rare blood disease such as Diamond Blackfan Anaemia.

Another pro with designer babies would to be able to choose the types of organs or blood to be able to be donors to family members in need.  The first designer baby, named Adam Nash was born wit ha specific selected embryo in order to save his dying sisters life.

Although the pros may seem to be compelling, there are also cons to the topic.  Many people see creating designer babies is a way of playing with God.  Since you are being able to choose the color of skin, hair, and eyes, with the world we live in, the level of discrimination with most likely increase. 

The thought of designer babies seem very appealing but no one truly knows how designer babies are created.  As an untested project, your baby can end up with a biological disease because of the alterations in womans eggs. 

           On the other hand, those who are deemed worthy of using the concept of a designer baby should be able to use it.  But there should always be restrictions.  Basic genetic processes should be available, but not to the point where there WHOLE entire baby is changed, it should always have a human resemblance to the parents.

There is also another thing I am worried about when it comes to genetic processing.  The ability to abuse this gift is also open.  The concept of the idea is reasonable in some sense, but there is always limitations, and those are easy to surpass.  There will be one day when a person decides to completely morph a child, with things such as extra fingers, an extra leg, two brains, two hearts, and so on.  But regardless of the creation, a life is still worth a lot, regardless of the appearance.  I just don't approve of choosing how your baby should look like, the appearance should reflect the parents and how much they appreciate their child God has given them.

REFERENCES 

Priya Johnson. (n.d). Pros and Cons of Designer Babies. In Intelligent life on the web. Retrieved February 2, 2011, from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/pros-and-cons-of-designer-babies.html.

Nicholas Agar. (April 6, 2006). Designer Babies: Ethical Considerations. In ActionBioScience. Retrieved February 5, 2011, from http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/agar.html.

Blogs I commented on

Kendra: http://itsbiotime.blogspot.com/2010/11/build-baby.html?showComment=1298605427002#c4476832194309834120

Vanessa: http://vanezzabioblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/designer-babies.html?showComment=1298605947841#c8289239184677262808

        Facts have shown that the tiger population throughout Asia has dropped from 100,000 to around 3,200 in a short period of time. As world world leaders around the world gather to help save the tigers from extinction, actor Leonardo DiCaprio has committed $1 million to the World Wildlife Fund to urgent tiger conservation efforts through his fund at the California Community Foundation. 

Leonardo helping set up sensors on tiger habitat ground.

Leonardo has recently visited countries such as Nepal and Bhutan with WWF experts, touring tiger habitats with the anti-poaching staff, while being educated on how the WWF scientists monitor the tigers.  Not only has he been learning about the park's and tigers, Leonardo DiCaprio, joined forces with the WWF to help raise $20 million for tiger conversation through the Save Tigers now campaign. 


        It's easy to believe that Leonardo's money is going straight to helping build new habitats and homes for the tigers, but it's also hard to say that the money is going to be used to build houses for the tigers to live in.  Although Leonardo's money is going towards funding the 12 main tigers shelters,   The money seems as if it will not be used to build homes but the money will be spent on the necessities tigers need to survive.


        It is shown that Leonardo DiCaprio is proof that human intervention is being used positively to affect the biodiversity of our ecosystems.  Although he is a celebrity and has committed $1 million to the WWF, normal people like us have the power to help the bio diversity of our ecosystems as well (donating small amounts of money will also help any organization.) There are many ways us humans can help, such as preventing yourself and other to not buy products made from tiger skin or teeth.  This method doesn't strictly inform you to not buy only tiger skin, but also trying to prevent yourself from buying any animal made product.  Studies show that after poaching, habitat destruction is the next biggest threat to the tigers.  Buying forest-friendly products made from sustainable forestry and agriculture operations will also help the prevention of tigers.


Kaitlin  : http://yay4bio.blogspot.com/2010/09/eight-year-old-receives-wwf-philippines.html?showComment=1295402032927#c4648112281950686918

Vanessa: http://vanezzabioblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/unit-2-bio-blog.html