Human wastes goes green!?

In other parts of the world, biosolids (human waste) from sewage treatment plants are treated and used as sustainable agricultural fertilizer. Research the pros and cons of this method and take a stand whether this can be a realistic alternative to our current agricultural practices. Who are the potential stakeholders in this issue? Are we influenced by the western view of human waste as an unsanitary and disgusting nuisance?

Wow! So many questions to answer... Well, lets start off by trying to understand how biosolids are processed. So basically when we release our wastes, from the heavy dinner that we ate, it goes through many pipes that are connected to a plant. It varies in the type of treatment plant your situated in. Some wastes are directly transported to the plant, while there are others, larger systems that go through pre-treatment processes. Find out which you're in, if you are really curious! But if you are in a larger treatment system, regulations require that industrial facilities pre-treat their wastewater to remove many hazardous contaminants before it is sent to a wastewater treatment plant. Once the waste water reaches the power plant, it is still wastewater but, it is clean from any hazardous materials and chemicals.

If you live in Toronto, according to [toronto.ca], water that drains through our showers, sinks and toilets all go through the same pipes which make up 9,000 kms that transport it to one of the four plants in Toronto. Here, the waste water is cleaned to remove solids, chemicals and any other undesirable materials. Once it is cleaned, the water is sent to Lake Ontario. In the plant, bacteria and other microorganisms break down waste water into simpler forms of organic matter. From here, these materials get transported to many places, and those places are included in the following chart :

Landfill- 41%
Incineration at Highland Creek- 23%
Land Application- 11%
Pelletization- 16%
Alkaline Stablization- 5%
Site Remedation- 4%





Since we have that down, lets get into the Pros and Cons of this process being used as a sustainable agricultural fertilizer.

Pros:
(According to biosolids.com)
- improve crop production
- reduce soil erosion and protect water quality
- enrich forestland
- conserve landfill space
- provide economic incentives.

These are very good benefits for human waste, which isn't that valuable and can be created any time, by anyone. As I mentioned above, biosolids really help crop production by adding important nutrients, boosting soil water-holding capacity and reducing topsoil runoff. In the case of reducing soil erosion, biosolids help combine soil particles. The result is improved soil properties, including texture and water-holding capacity, which enhances root growth and increases the drought resistance of vegetation. The list goes on and on, but just like any idea in our world, it needs to have its consequences and the consequences of human wastes are as follows:

Cons:
(According to http://www.sencer.net/Outreach/pdfs/DCSymposium08/Posters/LUbiosolids.pdf)
- potential health hazard
- effects may be irreversible
- contamination resulting in accumulation of industrial waste
- may contain hazardous chemicals that can be transferable
- decreases property value
- ODOR!

As you know, this is not 100% guaranteed clean fertilizers so, there are potential hazards, contamination and hazardous chemicals that come into play. Also knowing that a product is growing off human wastes, automatically decreases its value. Sadly from the many benefits of using biosolids as fertilizers, there are some consequences if you carry this out.

Take A Stand as to whether this can be a realistic fertilizer. Well after learning so much about this topic, I can conclude that this COULD be a realistic fertilizer because it saves a lot of money and opens up jobs for many people, and also helps crops grown in many ways. Once this is completely tested 100% safe (removal of chemicals and hazardous materials etc.), you should go ahead and start using it as fertilizers. Of course, the next problem would be the odor. The only solution that I can come up to this problem would be to use it in farms that are far away from the city life so that other people aren't affected, and also for the farmers to wear masks to protect them from the bad smells.

Potential Stakeholders in this issue

Before any new idea comes into play in our society, it needs to go through governement officials. So you can say that one potential stakeholder is the governement. The next stakeholder in this idea are the people who do the dirty work- the farmers and gardeners. They have the choice whether or not to use biosolids as agricultural fertilizers. And last but not least, we the people of the Earth, have the final say in whether or not biosolids need to be used as agricultural fertilizers. Therefore there are four potential stakeholders in this issue and they are : the govemernment, the farmers, the gardeners and finally us, the PEOPLE of this Earth.

Are we influenced by the western view of human waste as an unsanitary and disgusting nuisance?

I think that definetly is not the case, especially at such a time, when the world is trying its best to be environmental friendly. In fact, the other parts of the world are going to think that we are trying our best to take care of the Earth and prevent it from any disasters. Althought it may smell a little and may be a LITTLE unsanitary, if the right precautions are taken, this idea should be a really good way to improve the western world's image in the trying to prevent global warming.

Sources:

http://www.toronto.ca/water/biosolids/index.htms/index.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosolids http://www.sencer.net/Outreach/pdfs/DCSymposium08/Posters/LUbiosolids.pdf

Blogs Commented On:

Christina Chong & Rosemary Ku

You are what you eat!

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

What we do everyday makes us the person we are both on the inside and on the outside. The more activity we do, the better in shape we are! But these requirements are to much for some people. It's not that hard to devote a couple of hours a day to exercise. Instead, people devote themselves to watching a movie and shoving their mouths with buttery and fattened popcorn, or hitting the bar for a few drinks, or just sit at home and watch tv or surf the internet. There are so many advertisements these days for 6-pack abs or nice built arms. You don't really need those things. Keeping yourself in shape is a great achievement itself. Running, Biking, Skating or just kicking a ball around is good enough to keep your internal and external body in good shape (if its being done on a reguar basis). Doing those things such as staying home and watching tv, or surfing the internet or watching a movie is sad because this has no positive effect to the body. You gain calories, destroy your health and soon enough start regretting the things you have done. But like every other problem, we, humans find a cure for it. These societal needs have led to the scientific and technological developments which relate to the internal systems of our body. Three developments that come to mind that relate to the internal systems are the Bodybug calorie counter, liposuction, the sauna and the steam.

The Bodybug calorie counter is a weight loss gadget that has been promoted by the reality TV series, "The Biggest Loser". This is a very unique show where contestants compete for their spot to stay and keep exercising and getting fit. Who stays and who goes is determined by how much weight the contestant loses that week. The people here are examples of what i mentioned before. They don't live a healthy lifestyle, they gain calories and soon enough regret what they did and that is why they end up on this show. So next time, think before you do anything that will affect your body in a bad way. Once the show is over or your eliminated and you want to live a healthy lifestyle, you are back to the person you were long time ago. That is such a waste of time. Anyways, kinda going off track.... So the Bodybug gadget is worn around the user's arm and basically it detects the calories you burned that day with over 92% accuracy. Inside of the gadget are heat sensors and pedometers which detect heat that escape from your body. This keeps track of the number of calories that you burned and when you log onto the website, you can input this data into your page. Here you basically have a picture of how much calories you consumed that day (through the selection of food items in the system), how much you burned (through the information in your BodyBug gadget) and the difference between the two to see whether or not you need to gain calories or reduce more calories in a day. The video below describes the following device. By the way if you never knew this gadget does not come cheap. This wonderful gadget comes at a price tag of about $249.99!


One technique that comes to mind in terms of technological devices that have to do with our body is liposuction. Liposuction is a type of surgery that improves the shape of your body by removing excess fat from deposits located between the skin and muscle. According to [1] liposuction involves the use of a small stainless steel tube, called a cannula. The cannula is connected to a powerful suction pump and inserted into the fat through small incisions in the skin. Fat removal is accomplished as the suction cannula creates tiny tunnels through the fatty layers. After surgery, these tiny tunnels collapse and thus result in a better body. Why would you go through all this? Waste money, time and effort. Just live your life! Stop being lazy. We need to get out more and exercise. I am looking outside and the weather is PERFECT! I can think of 5 things that i can do right now to get my body moving and everyone should be thinking the same thing! These societal needs are just costing you money, time and effort. By the way liposuction costs about $2500.00. Set your foundation to being healthy and it will get you a long way in life (in terms of health) or pay $2500.00. You decide?

Another technological equipment (i guess you could call it that) that comes to mind, in terms of working your body would be a sauna. If you don't know what a sauna is, it is basically a hot and humid room where you just sit down and sweat automatically pours down your body. Sauna's are located in many gym and fitness centers so they have to be an advantage in terms of our body. I googled the effects of the sauna and apparently it is recommended by many doctors. According to [2], the effects of the sauna are: weight loss without effort, ease sore and tired muscles, releave back pain or arthiritis , combat cold and sinis problems, improved skin, look and feel (OH NICE!). Check out the 2nd website. It has more information on the benefits of the sauna. I used to go to the sauna rarely when i went to the YMCA but, these benefits just make me want to go everyday!

Thinking of the sauna, another technological equipment which is related to our body and the sauna is the steam room. The benefits of the steam room are similar to the sauna but one thing that I just found out, according to [3], that the steam room helps speed up your metabolism. A sauna/steam will heat your body and therefore raise your heartbeat and metabolism. When your metabolism is raised, your body burns calories quicker and more effectively. The website [4] provided an example: In a 20 minute sauna session, you can burn up to 300 calories which is the same as a short jog or a long walk.

Therefore our societal needs of having a healthy lifestyle, or need for healthy foods has led to these 4 examples i mentioned above (BodyBug, Liposuction, sauna and steam) and more... But personally I feel that we could avoid these things. As kids we run around and play, but once we get older, that starts to disappear. I keep hearing stories of how our generation is going to be obese by a really young age (like 25 or something), but that reason is because there are so many technological devices (e.g. cellphones, tv, internet, facebook, ps3) that give us internal pleasure (i guess you could call it that) but that does not need to take us over. Just keep in mind that exercising and eating healthy benefits yourself in many ways and that your foundation is what will carry you along when you get older. So, next time you decide to stay at home and watch TV like a couch potato, get your bum off that couch, and go for a jog and if you can't jog, ride a bike!


[1] http://www.liposuction.com/
[2] http://www.123saunas.com/health/#weight
[3] http://www.ehow.com/about_5100620_purpose-steam-rooms.html
[4] http://sauna.lifetips.com/ http://www.24hourfitness.com/training/bodybugg/

Artificial Selection

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?

First of all, we need to understand what Artificial Selection is. Artificial Selection is another term for selective breeding, and the word itself is self-explanatory... you select your breed with a combination of traits. This term was made up by Charles Darwin in contrast to natural selection which is inherited from generation to generation to improve things such as survival and reproductive ability. As grade.11 Biology students, we have learned about Gregory Mendel and his studies into Monohybrid and Dihybrid crosses and Charles Darwin's study of evolution and natural selection. These studies by these two great scientists has revolutionized our lives. We are now able to manipulate certain phenotypes of offspring by selectively breeding or artificial selection of plants and animals.

Artificial Selection plays such an important role in our lives, even though we don't know it. This break through is having so many positive impacts to what we do in our daily lives. In today's world, people are looking to produce plants and animals that possess desirable traits through artificial selection. Benefits such as high crop yields, being resistant to disease, high growth rate, size and many other phenotypical characteristics are being created so that the organism and species will benefit, and in turn benefit us, humans. The daily vegetables that we eat such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, collards, and kale are all members of the same species, Brassica oleracea. Therefore, artificial selection has started to impact vegetables. In terms of animals, dogs are good examples of artificial selection. For example, artificial selection for increasingly large heads in bulldogs means that many bulldog puppies must now be born by Cesarean Section, where they cut open the mother's womb. This is not a trait that occurs in nature, but with the aid of veterinary medicine, it's possible to select an animal's characteristics. Pigs are also artificially selected by man to produce the largest amount of meat. Right there, is another benefit for humans.













There are boundaries to everything we do in our daily lives. Its unbelievable to know that horses are being artificially selected to run faster in horse races. Why would you want to do that? There has to be a reasonable purpose to what some people do. You can't just go around artificially selecting phenotypes of animals and creating it according to what you want. Animals have their rights too. We shouldn't abuse anything, just keep it under control and be reasonable to what you want. Angela mentioned in her blog that chickens are such a great demand they have enhanced chickens to be more convenient by adding more meat and no feathers. This change causes a lot of problems because now the chickens will be more prone to diseases and parasites, and also mate unsuccessfully due to their disabled wing. Like come on! Are you kidding me? Looking at this picture disturbs me. How selfish can you be? Leave the poor chicken alone! Just let them live their lives properly.

Therefore, as I conclude my bio blog, I would just like to say that there is nothing wrong with artificially selecting phenotypes prior that they are in good hands (taken care by professionals), there is a reasonable purpose (e.g. disease-resistant) behind selecting the phenotypes, and that no harm comes to them. These are reasonable circumstances under which humans should artificially select plants and animals.



Work Cited:

http://animals.howstuffworks.com/pets/dog2.htm
http://www.learner.org/courses/essential/life/session5/closer1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_selection
http://www.biology-online.org/2/12_selective_breeding.htm