What are biosolids?
Biosolids are treated domestic sewage that is nutrient rich organic materials. Basically, it is human waste that has been treated. This nutrient rich material can be used as fertilizer to improve and maintain soil, as well as stimulate plant growth.
Does biosolids act as an alternative to current agricultural practices or is it viewed as an unsanitary nuisance?
Pros
Biosolids are a cost effective way of disposal and can be used as a fertilizer for farmers. It’s better to recycle waster rather than burning it or dumping it in a landfill.The Ontario Ministry of the Environment concluded that "the MOE has approved the land application of sewage biosolids for more than 25 years with no documented adverse impacts on agricultural production, or human and animal health where Ministry Guidelines were followed". Environment Canada also stated, "There is little evidence to incriminate treated biosolids in disease outbreaks when treatment and application are performed in a careful and controlled manner”. Biosolids are also tested for any traces of metal and Ontario do not permit applications of biosolids that contain metal.
Cons
My main concern is the composition of the biosolids. We know it is basically human waste but what do humans eat? What can humans produce out of their system? It could contain a hazardous chemical. Another concern is the odour. If you were to use biosolids in your front garden, would you want to smell it every time you walk out of your house?
In Toronto, wastewater treatment allows solids in the sewage to settle. Microorganisms consume the solids as food. The digestion of this process produces carbon dioxide, ammonia and methane. The methane is collected and is used as boiler fuel to run the sewage plant. The biosolids are also reused and disposed in other ways. Below is a chart the methods Toronto used to dispose or reuse biosolids in 2008.
My Opinion
I think that Toronto is doing a fine job of using and disposing biosolids. They are planning to take action and use a future plan to efficiently use and dispose biosolids in an eco friendly way in 2025. I think it’s wonderful that people reuse biosolids as an efficient fertilizer. There were no documents of disease outbreaks and adverse impacts on agricultural production so what is the harm of using it? If there was a way to remove or lower the strength of the smell of biosolids, then a lot more people will choose to use it.
References
"Evaluate the importance of various technologies, including Canadian contributions, to our understanding of internal body systems (digestive, circulatory or respiratory)"
Various technologies benefit humans of our understanding of the internal body systems such as the digestive, circulatory, and respiratory system. It gives us an image of what our body looks like and what can be done to improve the health of humans.
The endoscope one of the many tools used to view the internal body system. It is a medical device of a long, thin tube that has a light and camera at the end. Images from the camera are shown on a screen to examine the internal surfaces of organs and tissues. It can be used to diagnose any illnesses such as stomach ulcers, chronic diarrhea, urinary tract infections, etc. There are even specialized endoscopes with different names for different purposes. Examples are bronchoscopes that examine the air passages of lungs, arthroscopes that examine the joints and colonoscopies that examine the colon. The endoscopes give humans a view of the internal system as well as a useful tool to diagnose some illnesses. 
Magnetic resonance imaging or MRI is a medical imaging technique used to provide a detailed imaging of the internal system. It can create 2D images and even 3D models. It can be used to diagnose many types of injuries as well as the details of body tissues. MRI systems can also provide an image of flowing blood of the circulatory system. The MRI gives us a huge advantage in viewing the body system and provides detailed imaging for a better understanding.
An external pacemaker was invented by a Canadian engineer John Hopps in 1950. This device used vacuum technology temporary external pacing. It was powered by an AC wall socket; it was painful to the patient and is a hazard of electrocution. There were many innovations to this invention that improved the external pacemaker. A pacemaker is used to maintain the regular beat of the heat. While inventing the pacemaker, it gave us a better understanding of the heart and how it beats. By using MRI it gave a better understanding of the human body to create the pacemaker.
Various technologies gave us a better view of our internal system. By using medical technology, the treatment can by improved and changed to better suit the patient gives us an expand of our knowledge about the human body, thus giving us new ideas and inventions to improve our health. Even though humans are creating a new strain of diseases and sicknesses, medical technology can help to improve the health of the world.
Topic
"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. Under what circumstances should humans be artificially selecting plants or animals, if any?"
What is Artificial Selection?
Artificial selection is basically a process of changing features of plants or animals artificially. For example, animal breeders can change the characteristics of animals by choosing animals with the best qualities such as milk production. In other terms, a human can breed plants and animals for desirable traits, not necessary traits for survival in the wild.
Another example is plants. Humans use pesticides and fertilizers to increase the growth of plants to make it so that it grows with desirable results. Plants without the help of humans are less likely to survive.
Artificial selection saves time and we could get better results. We get more milk produced from cows, larger amount of crops, and superior qualities from animals. Look at the image to the left, do you see the difference? I would rather eat the corn on the right than on the left.
What’s so bad about it?
Killer bees! Yes, killer bees, a perfect example of a negative consequence of artificial selection. A scientist by the name of Warwick Estevam Kerr crossbred African bees with European honeybees and poof! This gives you Africanized bees, also known as killer bees. Why did he breed two different kinds of bees? It’s because he wanted more honey! Killer bees have caused great fear to people because of its sting, which kills 1 to 2 people per year in America.
Another downside to artificial selection is variation. This process basically removes variation in a population, so selectively bred organisms are vulnerable to new diseases or changes in the environment.
The term selective breeding is equal with artificial selection, so let’s take a look at animal breeding. By breeding the best of the best, we can achieve the best of results and achieve a superior bloodline. For example, the selection of breeding for race horses different and particular performance traits.
Also, single trait breeding, breeding for only one trait over another, causes many problems. Temple Grandin, a doctor of animal science found out that roosters that are bred for better muscles lost their knowledge of typical rooster dances, which is used to attract a mate. This alienated the roosters from the hens, causing the roosters to “rape” the hens. Yes, the roosters would rape the hen, then kill it.
Should humans be artificially selecting plants or animals?
If there wasn’t anything artificially selected in our world, would we have the same life? Is it wrong to create a better product for people to eat and use? Artificial selection has indeed improved our quality of life with better products, better results, more food, and is cost efficient. It gave farmers cows that produced more milk, and more amount of crops which equals to more profit. But artificial selection has caused quite a number of problems, from killer bees to “raping” roosters. Everything has its good and bad, and we have to accept that. Humans are given the power of creation, which we are all capable of using. I just hope that humans don't come up with crazy selections and modifications to the natural, like flying bears.
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