GMOs

                They have been debating GMOs (genetically modified organisms) for a long time; it is one of the most controversial subjects in science. Changing the makeup and DNA of an organism to make them different is now a routine thing in science. Most of the foods we see in the grocery store are these modified organisms. They are all classified as these mutants, their genetic code or makeup is changed to give those better characteristics or traits that make them more than the rest of the farming environment.

There is a major controversy over whether or not these genetically modified organisms help or hurt humanity. They have helped us by creating so much more food.  Millions of people are eating today instead of starving because of these discoveries and scientifically modified and advanced crops. Each crop can yield so much more along with farming being much less work and hassle, creating cheaper and easier food supplies. Crops also can be modified to create healthier foods, resistance to pests, diseases, and pollution make produce much better compared to organic foods. You can read more about genetically modified organisms here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_organism).

                GMO’s have been fought over since they were first being used in the 1970’s. People argue that genetically modified foods could have side-effects that effect out health. While most, if not all, studies have shown no correlation or side effects of genetic modification, there are still concerns surrounding these foods.  Changing an organism’s DNA is dangerous because we may not know what we are doing when we change an organism’s genetic code. Like I have said in past posts, we do know a lot about our world but we far from know all of it. Strict regulations also must be taken to protect our farms and our supply of food. The government has to set strict rules to limit companies from either completely taking over the world’s food or completely destroying it with GMO’s. Gigantic farms and companies cannot run the food of the world; small farms and nice people need to be in charge of the food of the world. There might not be any scientific evidence that tells us that eating organically makes us healthier, but we should still be worried about the threat genetically modified organisms possess.

                I personally believe the advantages out weight the disadvantages, almost a billion people are fed because of genetically modified crops. Problems could arise though but based on current evidence and science, I think that we should eat and be thankful for these mutants.   

Oil and water

                Oil and water do not mix well. It’s nearly impossible to separate them and they don’t blend at all. Oil is not good for the environment; it kills animals, makes them extremely dirty, and can totally wipe out a species. Oil is important to the world and economy though, so major ecosystems are risked to get more oil through deep-sea drilling.

                The BP oil spill is still the major example of this. In 2010, the worst oil spill in history happened off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf. Oil gushed into the Gulf after a giant explosion of a deep sea oil rig. Read more here (http://ocean.si.edu/gulf-oil-spill). The animals and Louisiana’s oceanic habitat took a major hit from the spill.  Turtles, fish, geese, and other animals that rely on water for their habitats were devastated.  Their water turned into oily grossness and many smaller organisms were killed, completely messing up the food chain. We really don’t hear much about the oil spill anymore; BP mostly covered it all up even though they are extremely less credible now.  Just because we don’t hear about it anymore doesn’t mean everything is better.

                Completely messing up an ecosystem like that changed that area forever. There is still oil in the gulf, although there isn't much anymore, it’s still enough to have an effect on the state of the organisms that call the gulf home. Populations of fish, birds, turtles, and others are at an all-time low due to the spill. Read more here (http://www.nwf.org/what-we-do/protect-habitat/gulf-restoration/oil-spill/effects-on-wildlife.aspx). Generations were killed off causing total chaos in the food pyramid. Eggs were polluted, animals were lost without their prey because population dropped, and some many other consequences occurred and are still occurring 4 years after the spill.  

                Oil runs our modern economy. It’s known as black gold and is becoming far more valuable and important due to a higher demand and a lower supply.  Deep sea oil is prevalent because of how cheap and big the drilling area can be. Land drilling costs more because of the cost to buy land and drill while deep sea drilling is cheaper to get than land, but it is hard to get to. Deep sea drilling isn’t absolutely essential for our modern world. With advancing technology of other energy sources, we might see the dependence on oil become less and less.  That is a good thing because one disaster from these oil rigs can cause the whole environment around it to go black. 

Ebola

                You know about it Ebola if you haven’t been living under a rock for the past month.  It is a Bacterium that is having a serious outbreak in western Africa and now it is causing a major concern for, not only the African countries, but everyone else around the world. It’s a huge conversation starter.  When someone coughs you always hear someone say “It’s Ebola”. It interests me that although it has killed a few thousand in Africa and a few foreigners, it gets so much more publicity than something like Malaria or Tuberculosis which kills so many more people every year, especially in Africa.

                We can all thank video games, Hollywood, and some good traits for pandemics for causing this giant popularity and scare of the disease. Pandemic movies and video games have imprinted in our minds the ability that one super bug has, which is wiping out humanity. Although pandemics have been overhyped, they are still something to be prepared for. Any microorganism that is very good at spreading and killing can kill us all off just like that. The United States government and hospitals has really taken some heat lately for how it’s controlled the very minimum Ebola outbreak here at home. The way everything was handled made it seem like we really aren’t ready if something threatening our country was spreading in the US. There were no major procedures or rules set in place to help quarantine the patients, most hospitals don’t have the equipment to take care of an epidemic.  It is scary how unprepared we were, patients and people who have the disease could walk around town and were not quarantined for a long period of time. We need to step up our control of diseases like this, it is really important and if we aren’t ready for a super bug, bad things could happen.

                There are many other illnesses and diseases that cause major problems and kill a lot more people. Ebola is just an example of a disease that can turn into a pandemic if we aren’t careful. Steps must be taken to eliminate diseases like this before the spiral out of control and become a threat to humankind.