Sewage Renewage

Biosolid pellets

Biosolids are created as a result of the wastewater treatment process. They are digested sewage solids that are organic and nutrient-rich. Around 195,000 tonnes of biosolids are created per year in Toronto.

During the process, the solids that have settled are transported into tanks called ‘digesters’, where microorganisms consume the solids as food. By consuming the solids, the by-products of the microorganisms are carbon dioxide, ammonia, and methane. They are called ‘stabilized’ due to the fact that the new solids are less likely to undergo further microbial activity.

Most harmful bacteria pathogens are removed by the end of the process.

Here is a diagram of the wastewater treatment process:

http://www.toronto.ca/water/wastewater_treatment/pdf/wastewater_poster.pdf

PROS

-          Are rich in nutrients and is organic; can be used as valuable fertilizer

o   Since they are derived from our daily wastes, they are 100% organic and many nutrients are scavenged from these biosolids that are very appropriate for plants.

-          So far shows no significant risks

-          Promotes rapid timber growth

o   Promotes the evolution of the timber industry

-          Reduce the amount going to landfills and to the incinerators

       o   Using biosolids as fertilizer reduced the harmful chemicals that are by-products of incinerating it,   

                      and it also reduces waste going to the landfills, which poses to be very environmentally friendly.

Most of the 'nuntrient-rich' biosolids are sent to the landfill and incinerated.

CONS

-          Will most likely still contain odours, which will be repulsive to many people

o   The idea of our wastes having an actual beneficial use is repulsive to many, afterall .

-          May still contain harmful chemicals

o   It is still not proven that the biosolids are 100% safe to use

o   Possible threat from remaining pathogens

-          The metals in the biosolids may pose a toxic threat to plants, humans, and/or animals if there are excess, such as nickel and cobalt

o   There are possibilities that the biosolids may contain an excess amount of a specific metal, it may pose a threat to the plants that use it for nutrients, or for the creatures that consume these plants.

Nickel can be toxic to plants, but not animals nor humans.

Biosolids prove to have a positive and innovative approach to recycling waste, so it should be a great alternative to our current agricultural practises. Although it is a great idea, I think that it should not be used in excess, since most of biosolids’ health hazards arise from excess of something in them that may cause living things harm. Cow manure and our other current fertilizers has been safe all of these years, and they should not be replaced by anything that is not 100% safe.

A brand of cow manure

Picture Sources:

http://www.toronto.ca/water/biosolids/images/chart.gif

http://www.toronto.ca/water/biosolids/images/pellets_thumb.jpg

http://evergreengardensvt.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/Composted_Cow_Manure.28982554_std.jpg

http://www.amazingrust.com/experiments/how_to/Images/Ni_metal_big.jpg

Comments:

http://jayy-tan.blogspot.com/2011/05/poo-poo-is-good.html?showComment=1307030132958#c7665883981156462493

http://adorablogs.blogspot.com/2010/12/love-organic-then-love-yourself.html?showComment=1307034718259#c6165300468531420352

Sources:

“Biosolids stink: Why waste our waste?” The Daily News Online. 29 May 2011. Web. 1 Jun. 2011.

            <http://tdn.com/news/opinion/article_c286d348-8984-11e0-8b2c-001cc4c03286.html>

“What are Biosolids?” Toronto. Web. 1 Jun. 2011.

            <http://www.toronto.ca/water/biosolids/index.htm>

“FAQ – Bioslids.” CWWA. Web. 1 Jun. 2011.

            <http://www.cwwa.ca/faqbiosolids_e.asp>

“Nutrients in Biosolids.” Toronto. Web 1 Jun. 2011.

            <http://www.toronto.ca/water/biosolids/quality.htm>

How to Save a Life

Over many years, technology has advanced in order to combat new illnesses. Suffering from a cold? Then pop a Tylenol or Advil. The cold was much easier to cure, in contrast to the past, where a simple flu can wipe out a whole community. Cancer used to be a one-way ticket to the light at the end of the tunnel before, but now it can be cured if diagnosed early enough. Humans were able to fight against death because of amazing medical breakthroughs. Here are a few.

You may have heard of Sir Frederick Banting, or Charles Best, or even attended the Banting and Best Elementary School, but do you know why these Canadians are honoured? You probably do, if you know what insulin is. Insulin helps people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is when the pancreas is not creating sufficient insulin hormones to regulate blood sugar, and type 2 diabetes is when people develop resistance against their own insulin. Insulin helps absorb calories and glucose from the bloodstream. Insulin shots help people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes regulate their blood sugar.

The heart is a vital organ that is necessary for survival. The pacemaker is a device that helps monitor the heart and regulate the heart’s beat rhythm. It is literally a life saver for those with weak hearts and/or irregular heart beat patterns. There are temporary and permanent pacemakers. Temporary ones are used to treat temporary and emergency heart problems, while permanent pacemakers are used for long term heart weakness.

Important equipment used for diagnosis is the x-ray. The radiation emitted has small wave-length and high energy radiation. Different types of x-ray tests can be used for different diagnostics. Usually, it is for skeletal problems, due to the denser bones absorbing the radiation to produce an image on film. Barium x-rays, are used for digestion diagnostics. A barium solution is swallowed to stain the digestive system, which is visible on x-rays.

Barium X-Ray test at the esophagus.

Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is used in treating asthma. It helps reduce constrictions of muscles that surround the airways during an asthma attack. It opens the airways to promote airflow. It is quick acting, so it is ideal for emergencies. Although it is effective, it should not be the primary source of asthma medication due to its possible side effects (such as cardiac stimulation). Adrenaline can be given by injections or inhalation. The injection method is commonly known as an EpiPen.

Needle tip of the EpiPen

Without a doubt, advanced medical technology has already become an important part of our lives. These new inventions, and much more, allow everyone to have a chance to potentially live longer. With the speed of today's medical technological advancements, more and more cures and solutions are found at a greater rate. Who knows, maybe incurable diseases such as AIDS will have a cure in the future.

Picture Sources:

http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/files/imagecache/news/files/20080313_pacemaker.jpg

http://www.midwesthealthstrategies.org/ADAM/doc/graphics/images/en/19566.jpg

http://www.szote.u-szeged.hu/radio/nyelocs/nyel5a.gif

https://www.mountainside-medical.com/product_images/uploaded_images/epipen-injection-needle.bmp

http://ehealthmd.com/yms_images/insulin.jpg

Sources:

Norman, James. “Diabetes: What is Insulin?”. Endocrine Web. 13 Oct. 2010. Web. 30 Apr. 2011.

            <http://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/diabetes/diabetes-what-insulin>

“Pacemaker”. MedicineNet.com. Web. 30 Apr. 2011.

            <http://www.medicinenet.com/pacemaker/article.htm>

Gillson, Sharon. “Barium X-rays”. About.com. 4 Feb. 2008. Web. 30 Apr. 2011.

            <http://heartburn.about.com/od/diagnosingheartburn/a/bariumxray.htm>

Roberts, Susan. “Why is Adrenaline Used in the Treatment of an Asthma Attack?”. eHow. Web. 30 Apr. 2011.

<http://www.ehow.com/facts_6006421_adrenaline-used-treatment-asthma-attack_.html>

Comments on other blogs:

http://jayy-tan.blogspot.com/2011/04/technology-most-revolutionary-thing-in.html?showComment=1304209446528#c5030734719508667976

http://jamie-bioblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/surgeons-no-thanks-i-prefer-robots.html?showComment=1304210221992#c7663068758855479478

How Agri-vating!

Sustainable Agriculture is what most people would call a natural and original way of doing things. Where farmers are actually doing the farming manually, and cows are seen in a lush, green, pasture. As much as we thought that they are still the majority of today’s farms, it’s not true. On the contrary, they are pretty obsolete.

Beautiful, isn't it?

            These days, most of the agricultural process has been mostly taken over by Industrial Agriculture, which focuses on mass production, to feed all of the humans of the world. Industrial Agriculture is much faster, efficient, and probably more economic friendly than the old fashioned method.

Some differences between Industrial and Sustainable methods:

           

• Pesticides are used in industrial agriculture to maximize outputs, whereas sustainable agriculture produces organic products.
• Livestock are more prone to diseases due to many animals being cooped up into a small space in industrial agriculture. This fact is supported by the recent outbreak of diseases (H1N1, H5N1, etc.)
• Biodiversity is encouraged with sustainable agriculture, but it is not encouraged with industrial agriculture, as a mass production method usually requires the same crop or livestock to be grown every year.
• The farmland doesn’t get a chance to restore itself to its original richness due to mass production.

As one can clearly see, sustainable agriculture is obviously much better for our environment than industrial agriculture, but the problem doesn’t lie in the benefits of sustainability, but what it lacks compared the industrial method.

The popular saying, “Money makes the world go round,” can be easily incorporated into the reason why we, as people, rather disturb nature for our food. It is simply more efficient to mass produce products, rather than get small amounts of multiple crops, and it costs less as well. Ever since industrial agriculture was introduced, the job opportunities for farmers have been steadily dropping, as their experience is not needed anymore, because they are replaced with high-tech machinery. Also, what is the point of making so much food, if most of the world’s population are suffering from starvation?

      Industrial Agriculture is already chosen over nature and human needs, let alone biodiversity. “Who needs animals when we have money?” is what I feel the people who run this industry thinks. They may make some publicity stunt to make them seem environment-friendly, but honestly, do they really care? They should. After all, animals, like us, just want to survive.

      I think that the true evil behind this deviated method of agriculture originates from money. Everything in this world is all about money now. Why is industrial agriculture preferred over sustainable agriculture? It’s because it provides a higher income. Why do people support industrial agriculture rather than sustainable agriculture? That’s because the organic products are more expensive compared to the inorganic. People need to put aside money for once, and think about the bigger picture. Don’t take nature for granted, especially because it is so fragile.

Sources:

http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/concept.htm

http://www.economywatch.com/agriculture/types/industrial.html

http://eap.mcgill.ca/sustain.htm

http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/science_and_impacts/impacts_industrial_agriculture/industrial-agriculture-features.html

Picture Sources:

http://www.strandtea.com/shop/images/uploads/inline-images/sustainable-agriculture.jpg

http://www.treehugger.com/Pesticides_Farming_Cancer_Potatoes.jpg

http://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/factory_organic_farming.jpg

Comments:

http://jayy-tan.blogspot.com/2011/01/its-not-farmits-factory.html?showComment=1296870495353#c3413986291773817986

http://waynebioblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/reap-as-we-had-sown.html?showComment=1296871374537#c8767073960128766986

Shopping for Traits

People shop for clothes, furniture, electronics, and more every now and then, but now our technology had advanced to the point where people can shop for the traits of their baby. Gender and phenotypic traits are all up for grabs.

Designer Babies, how?

InVitro Fertilization is the technique that allows an egg to be fertilized in a test tube, outside of the mother’s body. After the egg is removed from the body, the scientist can choose which sperm to fertilize it. Then they screen the embryo for possible genetic diseases. After these two steps, the newly fertilized embryo is implanted back into the mother’s womb. This process is called Pre-implantation genetic Diagnosis (PGD).

Curiosity killed the Embryo

InVitro Fertilization was meant for avoiding diseases and to aid the infertile. Because of the miraculous method, people began to become curious of what else could be done during this process. Actually, one can choose the sperm to fertilize the baby, for the choice of the gender, and the genes. During the second step, which was meant to screen for diseases, scientists are able to screen the other traits as well. Because of this technological outbreak, many healthy and fertile couples are visiting clinics to see if they can choose the gender of their baby. Although gender choice is all the hype now, true designer babies will most definitely come in due time.

The Benefits

The original goal of IVF was to help detect and remove deadly and unwanted diseases and to aid the infertile, which are still the biggest benefits of designer babies. Designer babies can relieve the pain and sadness of parents who lose their children early, due to genetic diseases, and decrease the death rate of children who die near birth. Predetermination of gender is a benefit for some people, especially in China, who are currently under the law of one child per family, unless both parents were only children. Predetermining the gender can decrease the numbers of unwanted children due to their gender. Predetermining the traits is also a benefit, but it is also the topic that made designer babies so debatable.

The Arguments

            For people who believe in God, designer babies are like playing with life, which is apparently against the will of God and they are an unnatural occurrence. Only the second point applies to the non-believers. Due to the selection process of embryos, many which are deemed imperfect or unhealthy are discarded, and this is like abortion in the eyes of some people. Also, no matter how good the embryo looks and sounds on screen, it may grow up to be a person whom was not what you intended to be.

Here is a fun little interactive flash where designer babies are explained in a nutshell: http://www.bionetonline.org/english/content/babygame.htm

            I think that the randomness of the outcomes of a baby is one of the fun and beautiful aspects of childbirth, and it’s kind of disappointing that the randomness would be phased out. Although I feel that designer babies shouldn’t be what they are going to become, I am not entirely opposed to it. 

Resources

http://singularityhub.com/2009/02/25/designer-babies-like-it-or-not-here-they-come/

http://www.bionetonline.org/english/content/db_cont1.htm
http://www.bionetonline.org/english/content/babygame.htm

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/03/designerdebate/

http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20101108/bc_ctv_investigates_making_babies_5_101108/20101116?hub=BritishColumbiaHome

Image Resources

http://www.tylermedicalclinic.com/icsi_3.jpg

http://nwso.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/logo-baby.jpg

http://library.thinkquest.org/C0122429/pictures/embryo.gif

Comments on other blogs

http://bio-blob.blogspot.com/2010/11/ill-have-one-baby-thanks-hmm-black-hair.html

http://jamie-bioblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/buildababy-workshop.html

Broken Connections

Introduction

Rivers are a source of freshwater and they are a part of many ecosystems. The way many people see water, as a possession, is wrong, because it isn't. Water constantly flows, and is subject to change. The flows of rivers are very important, because it gives us information about the conditions or state of freshwater ecosystems, and freshwater abundance.

Factors

Many factors can put rivers at risk. Increased population means increased demands for water consumption. Food production requires a lot of water, from growing crops, to processing and making the meal. The demand of water for consumption has increased drastically as well. Climate change is another heavy factor in damaging weathers. Direct human activity like dams that alter natural patterns will also cause damage.

Climate Changes

Water is very sensitive to climate changes. Droughts, floods, excessive glacier melting, and changes in precipitation patterns can devastate the natural patterns of rivers. Frequent droughts will cause the river to evaporate, often leaving the river to dry up. Floods will increase the water level temporarily, but in that time it can do a lot of damage, like destroying habitats. If a glacier melts, not only do we lose our ice shelves, but it also permanently increases water levels, which will be very disruptive to ecosystems. These natural disasters and frequent changes in climates are indirectly caused by humans via Global Warming. In addition, when temperatures rise, the demand for water also rises.

Melting Himalayan Glacier

The dry riverbed of the Gan River,
 near Nanchang, China.

Dam, where’s the flow?  

There are many things that humans have done or created that have damaged the rivers, some are pretty obvious. These structures include dams, locks, weirs, and dykes. These structures were formed to prevent flooding, produce hydropower, and store water for irrigation and consumption.

These structures were designed to alter the flow of rivers for human use by changing the timing of the flow, the quantity of water flowing through, and the quality of the water that flows through. Sure, these inventions help reduce flooding and produce hydropower, but the price is the health of the river. The river flows are made useful to us, by altering their natural flow. This is devastating for not only the river, but also for organisms and ecosystems that relied on the natural water flow to survive. Sometimes, a river can be disconnected from its watershed (The water storage). Some rivers are in danger of not having enough water for a river because of excessive withdrawals for consumption and irrigation.

Mississippi River Lock

 

Yangtze River Dam

Help Can We Give

A way we can help is to take action on preventing dangerous climate changes. Another way is to alter the flows of the rivers back to a more natural state, and compromise its well-being with our needs. We can educate others about this problem, because they have the right to know what is happening to their world. We can keep water usage within nature’s limit. You can also help organizations like WWF to help protect our rivers. 

Resources

http://www.wwf.ca/conservation/freshwater/riversatrisk/

http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/St-Ts/Streamflow-Variability.html

http://www.internationalrivers.org/node/1590

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/economics/195153/partnerships-fuelling-supply-chain-innovation

Picture References

http://www.canada.com/business/1655256.bin?size=620x400

http://www.theresilientearth.com/files/images/himilayan_glacier_2.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Mississippi_River_Lock_and_Dam_number_25_large.jpg

http://www.clarkmorgan.com/en/images/stories/client/wwf-logo.jpg

Comments on Other Blogs

http://jayy-tan.blogspot.com/2010/09/keep-energizer-bunny-out-of-our-soil.html#comments
http://kicksurface.blogspot.com/2010/09/wings-of-liberty-bully-bullies.html