Biosolids!

What are biosolds you ask? They are nutrient-rich organic materials resulting from the treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment facility. When treated and processed, these residuals can be recycled and applied as fertilizer to improve and maintain productive soils and stimulate plant growth. (CWWA – Canadian Water and Wastewater Association). Who would have thought that our sewage actually serves a purpose? Many of us don’t know what happened to the water from storm drains, after we flush the toilet, wash our hands in the sink or take a shower. The use of biosolids as fertilizers is a very effective alternative to traditional fertilizers for numerous reasons.



-It is a sustainable source
For as long as people wash their hands, take showers, use the toilet and produce sewage, there will be biosolids.

-They are just as safe chemical fertilizers:
Before biosolids can be applied to use on land, they must meet strict regulations regarding their disposal as well as their amounts of metals and pathogens.

-They are good for plants.
Biosolids contain large quantities of nitrogen and phosphorus that are necessary for crop growth.



-What else would we do with our sewage?
If we didn’t use biosolids for plant fertilization they would be put in a landfill where would take up space and release harmful toxins into the atmosphere.

Despite all of the above advantages of the application of biosolids for land use, many people still just aren’t convinced that they should be used.

-Biosolids smell bad.
As a result of the ammonia in biosolids, they give off an unpleasant odour. The intensity of the odour depends on the type of treatment used.

-Biosolids contain pathogens which can find their way from crops into groundwater and eventually pose significantly harmful risks to the environment as well as human health.

Pathogens are organisms such as bacteria, and parasites that carry diseases. Pathogens are present in sewage, however with the very strict regulations regarding the land applications of biosolids, pathogens are removed in the secondary treatment in the waste water treatment process.



The above points are more misconceptions than they are disadvantages to biosolids. Many of the “disadvantages” of the use biosolids can just as easily be used to describe the use of cow manure in our gardens. Cow manure has an unpleasant odour just like biosolids and it also contains pathogens. Our opinion regarding the use of biosolids is apparent in the use of Toronto’s biosolids in 2008.
41% ended up in a landfill.
23% was incinerated.
Only 11% went towards land application.
So why are we so against the use of biosolids? They’re sustainable, safe for humans and the environment, good for plants, a safer alternative to chemical fertilizers and they save landfill space, there are virtually no disadvantages. I think we are influenced too much by the western view of human waste as unsanitary and disgusting. People find the use of biosolids to be unsettling and don’t like the idea of their sewage being used to grow the vegetables they eat. I think people need to accept the circle of life in a sense that and see it as just a natural process of decomposition, fertilization. At times like these, we can’t afford to be wasteful in any way. By choosing not to use biosolids we’re taking perfectly good sustainability for our crops and flushing it down the toilet!




Works Cited
http://www.cwwa.ca/faqbiosolids_e.asp
http://www.toronto.ca/water/biosolids/index.htm
http://www.toronto.ca/water/biosolids/quality.htm

Assess how societal needs (i.e. the need for healthy foods; active lifestyles) lead to scientific and technological developments related to internal systems.


The number of overweight Canadians has increased dramatically over the past 25 years (Health Canada). Why has obesity become such an issue in recent years? There are numerous contributing factors to obesity many of which can be blamed on technology;

-inactivity
Technology has enabled us to get from point A to point B without the need for physical activity.
Leisurely activities such as playing video games, using the computer and watching television are favoured over activities such as playing outside.



-Poor eating habits
Fast food places have made unhealthy food even more appealing with drive-thrus. Now we don’t even need to move to get our unhealthy fried food!



Over the past years, the trend of convenience has become increasingly popular. Many technological advancements have been made to make everything convenient to us, requiring little effort on our part. However with this trend of convenience comes laziness and unhealthy lifestyles.

Now the desire for a healthier lifestyle has become a fast growing market trend. It seems people will buy anything after watching a commercial that promises a healthier lifestyle. People not only want to be an ideal size, they want to be more active, have their nutritional needs met, have better overall wellness and live longer. Numerous technological developments have been made to keep up with the desire for healthier lifestyles.

I don’t know how many commercials I’ve seen promoting the Activia 14 day challenge. Activia is the tasty fat-free yogurt with BL Regularis. Activia’s unique probiotic BL Regularis culture is able to survive gastric acids and enzymes. It is still alive when it reaches your digestive tract and once it is there it helps metabolize proteins. The probiotic culture that is found in Activia is already found in our body, however consuming more of it benefits our digestive system.



Centrum has designed a wide range of vitamin supplements to cater to the needs of people from different age groups and genders. Centrum Kids contains nutrients such as iron and Zinc to support healthy growth, and antioxidants like vitamins A, C and E to support their immune systems. Centrum Silver (for adults 50+) contains vitamin D and Calcium to maintain strong bones, and vitamins B6, B12 and Lycopene to promote a healthy heart.






Splenda, its made from sugar, tastes like sugar, but it’s not sugar. Splenda was originally formulated so people with diabetes could have a sweet tooth without it affecting their blood sugar levels. However, many people don’t use Splenda because they have diabetes, it is preferred over normal sugar because it has zero calories. You can put it in your coffee, bake a cake with it and not feel guilty about the calories.




Contrary to many other game systems which require little physical activity, the Nintendo Wii features a number of interactive games such as Wii sports and Wii fit. Wii Sports consists of five different sports games; tennis, baseball, bowling, golf and boxing. Wii Sports also has a fitness test which calculates the player’s fitness age and takes into account their balance, speed, and stamina. A graph is formulated and the player can keep track of their progress. Wii Fit consists of four categories; strength training, yoga, aerobics and balance. Thanks to this technology, players are able to exercise and have fun while doing it.






Although our advancements in technology have lead to inactivity and fast foods that don’t meet our nutritional needs, we were very quick with our attempts to fix this issue. We have developed vitamin supplements to fill in the nutritional value that our food may be lacking. We implemented probiotic cultures in our yogurt to help with the digestion of unhealthy proteins. We have also made several alternative activities to sitting on the couch and watching television. Nowadays, there are so many ways to obtain a healthy lifestyle that we can’t really blame technology for our unhealthy habits. At this point, it is our choice. So will you take the Activia 14 day challenge, or hit the drive thru at McDonalds?


Works Cited
http://www.activia.ca/en/effect/digestive.aspx
http://www.centrum.com/productdetail.aspx?brandproductid=43
http://www.splenda.ca/diabetes-splenda.aspx
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/life-vie/obes-eng.php
http://wiifit.com/training/
http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/1OTtO06SP7M52gi5m8pD6CnahbW8CzxE

Artificial Selection: Leave well enough alone!

Artificial selection has resulted in plants that are more disease-resistant, cows that produce more milk, and racehorses that run faster. One must wonder what will come next. In the blog entry, answer the following question –under what circumstances should humans be artificially selecting plants or animals, if any?

So once upon a time, I was at the mall and went to PJ’s pet store to look at all the animals and decided to get a pet hamster! I saw such a wide variety of hamsters; the very common golden hamster, white, black, brown, fluffy and smooth. I thought that the idea of a black hamster was very strange, yet at the same time, interesting, I finally decided on a black Syrian hamster. Whenever someone would see him, they would
say
“I didn’t know hamsters came in black.”
So I decided to do a little research…

The many variations of the Syrian hamster originated from a single female and her litter of pups found in Northern Syria in April 1930. This female was used to establish a captive breeding program from which the first domestic hamsters were created. Syrian hamsters came in just one colour, golden brown, but through artificial selection have since developed a wide range of colours and patterns such as brown, white, black, blonde, banded, tortoiseshell, and calico. I couldn’t believe that my tiny little hamster was the product of many years of science and breeding.

After researching the origin of my hamster, I concluded that artificial selection was unnecessary, and that I wouldn’t care if my hamster was a different colour. Having a variety of hamster colours neither benefits or disadvantages me or my hamster, it’s just unnecessary.

What exactly is artificial selection?
Artificial selection, or selective breeding is the reproduction of individuals that have desirable traits. Two adults that possess a desired trait –such as two dogs that are small- are bred together and the next generation of dogs will be even smaller. If artificial selection is continued, the population will be small.

Many many years ago, the wolf was domesticated and became man’s best friend. The hundreds of different domestic dog breeds that are present today were created through artificial selection.

When I researched dog breeds I found that artificial selection in pets has disadvantages. Selective breeding can lead to selecting genetic defects. For example large breed dogs, such as Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds and Labradors are known to have a heritable condition called Canine Hip Dysplasia. Canine Hip Dysplasia is a very painful condition of abnormal formation in the hip socket which causes joint instability and sometimes arthritis. In the case of selective breeding within dogs, artificial selection demonstrates a disadvantage for the dog and owner.

Almost the entire farming industry from crops to livestock is based on the technology of artificial selection. Corn for example, didn’t exist until many many years ago. Before corn was in another form -teosinte- corn’s tinier and less tasty cousin. Artificial selection in agriculture is responsible for many modern day vegetables in addition to corn that we have come to know and love. Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, collards and kale are have all originated from the same wild mustard plant.

The meats we eat are yet another product of artificial selection. In the 1950s, it took 84 days to raise a 5 lb chicken, however thanks to selective breeding, scientists have made it possible to for a chicken to grow more than its full size in only 45 days. By accelerating the chicken’s growth rate, farmers’ profit is increased, but at the same time, many health problems arise amongst the chickens. These types of chickens are called broiler chickens, they are bred to eat a lot and have low levels of activity for the sole purpose of tender meat production. Since they are putting on weight so rapidly, a broiler chicken’ bone growth is outpaced by the growth of their muscles and fat which leads to many leg disorders causing crippling lameness. These birds are growing so quickly that many of them cannot walk very far, let alone stand up.

a broiler chicken alongside a layer hen (a hen This boiler chicken is unable to support itself

raised to lay eggs) at same age of six weeks

At first I was against artificial selection because of the heritable deformities in pets and the abusive ways it is used in meat production. I thought that the only positive use for artificial selection was in crops knowing that it is how corn and many other vegetables came to be. However, there is one more downside to artificial selection. Artificial selection reduces the genetic diversity in the gene pools in selectively bred populations. Species need their genetic variation to resist a variety of diseases, but without this variation, populations are vulnerable and could be wiped out by a small change in environmental conditions.

In conclusion, there are both disadvantages and advantages to artificial selection. Just as a knife can be used for good intentions (such as slicing vegetables), it can just as easily be used for bad intentions (like stabbing someone with it), artificial selection is good with good intentions (like breeding cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage from a mustard plant) and bad with bad intentions (like breeding chickens to grow in 45 days). Just as I have said in my previous blogs, humans are always striving towards perfection whether it is through designer babies or our other many advancements in technology. Artificial selection is another one of the many ways we have tried to alter nature to suit our preferences. When we try to perfect something, it is usually only “perfect” in our eyes and seldom does it benefit anyone else other than ourselves. To what extent are we willing to go to satisfy our desires? Is having a pure bred golden retriever worth your dog suffering from Canine Hip Dysplasia? Humans need to learn to leave well enough alone.

Works Cited

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A1097246

http://www.learner.org/courses/essential/life/session5/closer1.html

http://library.thinkquest.org/C0118084/Gene/Genetic_variation/artificialselection.htm

http://www.lycos.com/info/hamsters--golden-hamsters.html?page=2

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/lines/IVAartselection.shtml

http://animals.howstuffworks.com/pets/dog2.htm

http://www.chickenindustry.com/cfi/broilerindustryreport/selectivebreeding/

http://www.humanefood.ca/broilerchickens.html

http://www.dogtrainingpet.com/selective-breeding-can-sometimes-mean-selective-for-genetic-defects/

http://library.thinkquest.org/C004367/be3.shtml

http://www.aact.org.au/broiler_hens.htm

Designer Babies

“Designer Babies” is the term being used by the media to describe the future of modifying or selecting our children’s genes for desirable characteristics (medical and cosmetic). Are things getting out of hand with our research into genetic processes? In this blog investigate social and ethical implications of this research and technologies that have been developed from it.

When I first read this topic, I thought “Designer babies!? What a great idea!” I began to think of all the possibilities, beautiful people, and no disease. Could there really be a negative aspect to a perfect world? This was my opinion on designer babies, before I did some research and some thinking…

First of all, what is a designer baby?

A designer baby is a term used to describe children whose genetic make-up was selected by their parents before birth.

After pondering on the subject for a while, I thought about designer babies on a more global scale. I thought it wouldn’t make much of an impact if just one person were made into a tall, gorgeous, disease free person. However, it would start with one person and before we know it, our world would end up with a new generation of people all possessing what society believes to be beauty.

If gene modification were used for enhancing one’s appearances, it would come with a price. Only the wealthy would be able to afford the procedure. Bearing in mind that we are fixated on appearances so much that we would feel the need to fabricate such a procedure, people would develop a whole new level of segregation. Children born to parents who were unable to afford the gene modification would face discrimination versus wealthier parents. We have come such a long way from times such as the Holocaust and from great activists like Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi, for us to turn back and undo all their work.

Even if everyone could afford to give their children desirable characteristics, is it really their decision to make? It isn’t unheard of for parents to have some intentions for their children. They want us to be successful, go to university, get married and have a family of our own. But there is a difference between parents having good intentions and hopes for their children versus choosing their life for them.

What are parents teaching their children by altering their appearances? That looks are everything? Parents should love their children for who they are, not what they look like.

Aside from the many ethical problems with designer babies there are also an abundance of possible risks. The testing required to perfect the procedure would involve animal testing then it would eventually need to be tested on babies.

Testing on animals

...plus

testing on babies

equals,

a lot of unhappy protesters.

So far I’ve been talking about the future of gene modification and the possibilities of altering DNA to our preferences. However, modifying genes for cosmetic purposes is not yet possible, nor is it legal for use on humans.

There are only two types of advanced reproductive technologies that are legal for use on humans. The first involves choosing which sperm will fertilize an egg; this procedure is used to determine the gender and genes of the baby. The second technique screens the embryos for genetic diseases and only the selected healthy embryos are implanted into the mother’s womb. This is called Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD).

This second technique involves the termination of unhealthy embryos (in other words: abortion). PGD is already used to screen embryos for hundreds of diseases and disorders and with further research we could use this technology to screen virtually all disorders and terminate the unhealthy embryos. But who are we to decide that someone born without a disorder would live a more successful, productive and better life versus one who was born with a disorder? Think of it this way, by terminating unhealthy embryos, many of the people that are around today would never have had a chance at life. Some of our friends and family as well as people like Stevie Wonder, Nick Jonas, Beethoven (just to name a few) were all born with disorders. Can you imagine if their parents had used PGD, terminated them and instead gave birth to a healthier baby?

Having said this, I am totally against designer babies for cosmetic and medical purposes. There are too many ethical problems that come with designer babies for the idea to really take-off. We have already come too far with our efforts to accept people for who they are, for us to go back and repeat history. By creating designer babies, we are striving to create a perfect world. But what is left to do when everything is perfect already? Part of being human is about overcoming differences, battling problems and being unique if we were to live in an ideal world, none of these aspects would exist.

Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing. ~Harriet Braiker

Works Cited

http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/agar.html

http://www.bionetonline.org/English/content/db_cont1.htm

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/disorders/whataregd/

http://reproductivegenetics.com/single_gene.html

Humans Fail as Stewards

Many scientists consider humans as the most invasive species, as humans can greatly change an environment and impact living things that reside there. Are we being stewards of the world? Take a look at an issue in which human intervention has positively or negatively affected the biodiversity of our ecosystems.


Stewardship; the moral and ethical responsibility for care-taking on the behalf of others. In my opinion, forcing numerous species into extinction and releasing several tonnes of pollutants into the atmosphere each day, is neither ethical nor moral. As the most intelligent species on the planet, we felt it was only right that we appoint ourselves with the responsibility of managing Earth. If you asked the millions of other species that reside on our planet, I’m sure they’d disagree with us when we call ourselves "stewards".

In the book of Genesis, when God created the Earth he said;
Now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us. They will have power over the fish, the birds and all the animals, domestic and wild, large and small.
Do you think God would have given us this power if he knew we would abuse it in the ways we are today?

After seeing an image as astonishing as this, we may ask ourselves “Who could do such a thing to an animal so innocent?”
Well the truth is WE are doing this. Everyone is contributing to this horrible injustice. When we take a car to get to school, when we buy those pair of jeans that were manufactured halfway across the world and even when we purchase a bottle of water, we are consuming energy. Although you may not notice, most of our everyday activities require the use of an energy source. When we purchase a product, a lot of the time it wasn’t made locally, therefore energy was used not only in the production of this product but also in the transportation of it. A lot of the energy we use comes from burning fossil fuels. When we burn these fuels we are releasing CO2 gases into Earth’s atmosphere. These gases build up in Earth’s lower atmosphere and prevent heat from the sun’s rays from escaping into space. The build up of these gases results in the polar bear’s biggest threat to their survival: climate change.

Climate change is just one of the many ways human intervention has negatively impacted the biodiversity of our ecosystem. I think many of the environmental issues we face today are a result of our undying need as humans to intervene and change what doesn’t need changing. Humans have the belief that everything needs improving, and it’s this belief that has led to many changes in our world that we could have done without.
Lets take the bottled water industry as an example; we were fine with drinking tap water before the invention of bottled water. Beginning with the production process and ending in our vending machines at school; bottled water leaves a great deal of CO2 emissions along its path. Energy is used in the factory to make the plastic bottle, and then used again to ship these bottles to our school and once they’re here, even more energy is used to refrigerate them in our vending machines. Don’t you think this is a bit too much for a little plastic bottle that we’ll use for only a few minutes; then eventually throw away? 650 million water bottles are being thrown into Ontario’s landfills each year, only 35% of these bottles get recycled. Bottled water is not necessary for our survival, it is a luxury that we have and can do without.
I am not saying that evolution is bad. As a matter of fact, I’m both amazed and appreciative of the many inventions that are being used today. But at some point we need to ask ourselves “to what extent are we willing to go in order to satisfy our desires?” I strongly believe that it is possible to make new developments and at the same time be mindful of the millions of other species living on Earth. If all the other species of the world can coexist with one another, why should humans be an exception? Each day, we need to keep in mind that the Earth doesn't belong to us,
and what we do to it affects all of Earth's inhabitants. If we are going to accept the responsibility of being a steward, we are also responsible for the maintenance of Earth. As stewards we should be maintaining a symbiotic relationship with our planet, but until that happens, we cannot call ourselves stewards of the world. And now I leave you with a Native American Proverb!

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."

Works Cited

Clean Air and Energy

http://www.ec.gc.ca/cleanair-airpur/Clean_Air_and_Energy-WSEF1FB49E-1_En.htm

Polar Bear Conservation
http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/finder/polarbear/polarbear.html

The War Against Water Bottles
http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2009/01/25/8139291-sun.html

Causes of Global Warming
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-causes.html

Polar Bears
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/polar-bear.html