My Chu Do you know the organic compounds found in our saliva can be such useful substances? PICTURE 1. Enzyme (from Upadhye, S. P. 2015. Know more your metabolism.) Nowadays, the use of enzyme is being applied in a broader range of industrial processes. Enzyme application helps to improve the current industrial processes such as in cosmetic products and food processing. The emission of carbon dioxide by the food production in recent time is significantly larger than emission from personal transport. These are strongly influenced by the use of energy in agriculture plus the release of greenhouse gases. In brief, enzymes are protein molecules, which function as particularized catalysts in chemical reaction and can be found in nature and human body. They destroy and create molecules such as nutrients and speed up all important biological processes. Enzymes work in a moderate condition so that it is environmental friendly than most industrial chemicals. Even though they are quite expensive compounds, enzymes can be immobilized and re-used. The applications of enzymes in food industry are numerous and commonly known. Our favorite drink Beer, is one of the first famous products, using enzymes in manufacture. Amylase are vital in brewing beer and liquor, even in bread-making (yeast production) because they catalyze the hydrolysis of starch into sugars. Baby foods cannot be produced without enzyme Proteases. It will pre-digest some of the protein in food so that babies can easily absorb the nutrients. Lipases, a cheap and versatile catalyst which also appear in our saliva, play an important role in yogurt and cheese fermentation. According to Gupta (2004), Lipases can act as biocatalysts in forming fuel from vegetable oil. Some enzymes even take charge of modifying the color of food or beverage during the process. Enzymatic processes are very exclusive, fast and effectively save raw materials as well as chemicals, energy, and water, producing less waste compared to conventional processes. The circumstance of acidification, eutrophication, photochemical ozone formation and land use have been researched to be improved recently with the assistance of potential enzyme technology. The study is using mostly Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as an assessment tool, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is also taken in to consideration (Jegannathan and Nielsen, 2013). In Oxenboll’s and Ernst’s research, they found out that there are significant benefits that we could gain from using enzymes in the food industry. Using the enzymatic process will reduce 44 tons greenhouse gases per 1000 tons refined oil comparing with the caustic process in removing phospholipids from vegetable oil. The increased yield of enzymatic process is the major factor for the amazing results. In the baking industry, enzyme Novamyl (a special Amylase) would help the bread to stay fresh and moist longer. As the consequence, the industry can save money and energy thanks to the decrease in the amount of waste bread. Apart from this, enzymes can also advance the digestibility of animal feed. For example, with using Xylanase for feeding of pigs in all Europe, the carbon dioxide reduction would equal to the emission of nearly 1 million cars, which is about 4 million tons of CO2. The use of enzymatic processes and enzymes is very promising. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimation in 2030, the reduction of 139 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent could be made due to the uses of enzymes in food industry. REFERENCES: Bang, J.K., Foller, A., Buttazzoni, M. 2009. Industrial Biotechnology: More than green fuel in a dirty economy?. WWF. Read on 19/11/2017. http://www.iwbio.de/fileadmin/Publikationen/IWBio-Artikel/WWF_28-10-2009.pdf Gupta, R., Gupta, N., Rathi, P. 2004. Bacterial lipases: an overview of production, purification and biochemical properties. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. Jegannathan, K. R., Nielsen, P.H. 2013. Environmental assessment of enzyme use in industrial production – a literature review. Journal of Cleaner Production. Elsevier. Volume 42. p228-240. Oxenboll, K., Ernst, S. Environment as a new perspective of enzymes in the food industry. FS&T. Vol 22, issue 1. https://www.google.fi/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwikpo3j2a_XAhXRh7QKHTNBDl4QFgg1MAE&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.novozymes.com%2F-%2Fmedia%2FProject%2FNovozymes%2FWebsite%2Fwebsite%2Fdocument-library%2FLCAs%2FEnvironment-as-a-new-perspective-of-enzymes-in-the-food-industry.pdf%3Fla%3Den&usg=AOvVaw0KSqzLlqeae_wrTkJBgWhO Shuang, L. 2012. Technology prospecting on enzymes: Application, Marketing and Engieering. Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal. Volume 2, Issue 3. Article e201209017. Upadhye, S. P. 2015. Know more your metabolism. Science Domain. Read on 19/11/2017. https://domainofscience.wordpress.com/2015/02/28/know-your-metabolism/ Huan Nguyen The Great Barrier Reef is the largest and most beautiful coral reef system in the world located in Coral Sea, Australia. According to a report of Australia Government in 2013, the Great Barrier Reef stretches over 2300 kilometers, covering an area of 344,440 kilometers square, to make the readers imagine how big that would be, that area is bigger than the size of United Kingdom, Switzerland and Netherlands combined, while just slightly smaller than the Baltic Sea. In addition, you can see the Great Barrier Reef from outer space. This area has a very large bio-diversity. The reef is home to 600 types of soft and hard corals, more than 1600 types of fish, 100 types of sharks and rays, 100 types of jellyfish and so on. However, this beautiful gift from Mother nature is at risk of being destroyed due to the consecutive damage from human activities. In these recent years, BBC News reported that two-thirds of the reef damaged in ‘unprecedented’ bleaching. The main reasons for the destruction of the reef are human activities and even from natural causes. PICTURE 1. Beautiful scenery of the Great Barrier Reef (Source: Earth911 & Shutterstock) Everyday, hundreds of cruises and sightseeing vessels pass through the waters of the reef. According to Marines Insight (2016), even though sailing the ships from the insides of the reef seems to be more dangerous than outsides the reef because the reef is a great obstacle to the ships, sailors tend to choose the dangerous route. They claim that the internal reef structures are good spots to anchor the ship in case of emergency. In addition, the ships docking inside the reef also cause some problems. This action kills many corals, especially the ones that lies under the ships, as they may release a lot of waste that pollutes the ocean. For example, the ships and vessels are covered by Tributyl, a substance used to preserve the hull while Tributyl is very toxic to the corals and other marine species in the ocean. Oil spill is also another threat to the reef. Although the Australian Government have put an act on banning drilling oil on the reef, the oil spill happens occasionally due to shipping accidents and each accident is very destructive to the coral reef. Unfortunately, there have been nearly 300 oil spill incidents happened to the Great Barrier Reef since 1987. For example, in 2010, the Chinese bulk coal carrier Shen Neng 1 crash itself into the reef, causing massive grounding scar over 3 kilometers in length on the reef. After that, some parts of the reef became uninhabitable for the marine life and experts claim that it should take 10 to even 20 years for the reef to recover, which is too long compare to the rate of destruction of the reef. Australia is well known for its tourism. Each year, millions of visitors come to the Great Barrier Reef to experience the great wonder, bringing a large portion of income for the country. However, tourist tend to be unaware of how their activities can ruin this wonder. Tourism activities to the reef such as tour vessel traveling, reef-walking or even using submersibles are the main factors contributing to the pollution of the ecosystem of the reef due to the emissions of the transportation. In addition, some impolite visitors would throw their litter right into the ocean. To combat this situation, in 1991, the Australia government decides to introduce Eco Tourism Accreditation which includes strict regulations concerning environmental protection. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority only permits tourists operators that obtained this certification. This ensures the tourists can enjoy high quality nature while the Great Barrier Reef is under good protection and management. Industry is an important aspect of development for any country. The industrial activity near the Great Barrier Reef is coal mining, which does not sound eco-friendly already. According to The Guardian, on July this year, the Charmichael coal mine, which is the largest coal mine project of the country has been approved by the Federal and State government as the last regulatory hurdle facing its development has been removed. The news page states that the raw coal from the mines would be another pollutant than other pollutant that is affecting the reef. Coal dust and fragments comes stockpiles, conveyor belts into the water of the reef. This leads to carbon pollution to the environment around the reef and affect all the creatures living there. The increased emission will rise the temperature of the ocean which buffs the coral bleaching that is happening. This is alerting because any dead part of the coral reef dies it cannot recover. As irony as it sounds, even the mother nature has some factors that damages the reef. One of the greatest phenomenon is coral bleaching. Coral bleaching means the corals lose all their beautiful colors and turn to have pale white color. Naturally, the coral reef gets beautiful colors from the algae that is living on them. In 2012, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology explained that the rise of seawater temperature is the primary cause of coral bleaching. As the water get warmer, the corals have to expel their zooxanthellae while the algae cannot survive in such condition so the corals lose their vibrant colors. Furthermore, the disappearance of those algae would cause the death of those organisms use them as a source of food, this results in the destruction of the food chain in the ecosystem. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology suggest other natural events such as tropical cyclones, freshwater inflows or anthropogenic relates to coral bleaching. In general, starfish looks like beautiful creature that adds to the magnificence of the underwater environment. However, not all starfishes are beautiful and friendly, there is a specie of starfish called the Crown of Thorns Starfish which is a predator to the corals. This type of starfish feeds on the polyps of corals, releasing neurotoxin to absorb the coral’s tissue. These starfishes are very dangerous to the coral, according to the Great Barrier Reef website, if there are just more than 30 adult starfish of this specie appear in an area of 10 meters squared, it can be considered as an “outbreak” since they will destroy large portion of coral system. Luckily, the number of Crown of Thorns starfish can be reduced by other predators such as the “Giant Triton”. Overall, although there are surprisingly some factors of nature contributing to the damage to the Great Barrier Reef, the human impact on the reef seems to be more serious. However, since this is our human activities towards the reef, we can change our actions to protect this wonder and recover it back to its former glory. In my opinion, the regulation for tourism operators to protect the environment was a brilliant idea since it mitigated the effect of tourism on the environment of the reef. On the other hand, I would disagree with the approval of the Charmichael coal mine development, as the Great Barrier Reef has been in its worst condition so far, therefore I believe we should not risk the health of the coral reef in trade for the money from the coal mine industry and focus on preservation, protection and recovery of the Great Barrier Reef and its ecosystem instead. References BBC. 2017. Great Barrier Reef: Two-thirds damaged in 'unprecedented' bleaching. Read 16.11.2017. Available at http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-39524196 Bureau of Meteorology. 2012. Coral Bleaching in the Great Barrier Reef. Read 17.11.2017. Available at http://www.bom.gov.au/oceanography/oceantemp/GBR_Coral.shtml Flannery, T. 2014. The Great Barrier Reef and the coal mine that could kill it. The Guardian. Read 16.11.2017. Available at https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/aug/01/-sp-great-barrier-reef-and-coal-mine-could-kill-it Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. 2013. Facts about the Great Barrier Reef. Read 15.11.2017. Available at http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/about-the-reef/facts-about-the-great-barrier-reef Great Barrier Reef. 2012. Threats to the Great Barrier Reef. Read 15.11.2017. Available at http://www.greatbarrierreef.com.au/information/great-barrier-reef-threats/ Greene, L. 2017. Unprecedented Bleaching Leaves the Great Barrier Reef Terminal. Read 23.11.2017. Available at: http://earth911.com/living-well-being/great-barrier-reef-bleaching/ MI News Network. 2016. Threats to the Great Barrier Reef from the Shipping World. Read 16.11.2017. Available at https://www.marineinsight.com/environment/threats-to-the-great-barrier-reef-from-the-shipping-world/ Hang Nguyen
Nail polish is a common worldwide beauty product nowadays, especially to females and young generation. According to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., the global nail polish market is forecast to reach USD 15.55 billion by 2024, which makes nail polish industry a potentially big industry in the future. Nail polish consisting of enamel/varnish/lacquer is going to be the fastest growing colour cosmetics segment of development of innovative textures and effects. The growing number of professional nail salons, new products and collaborations between manufactures and salons prove. (Nail polish market size… 2017.) However, even considered as a highly beneficial industry, nail polish industry has received negative and positive reviews from users, health experts and scientists in several fields (Turner 2016). Among these, a list of harmful chemicals can be found, especially the ‘toxic trio’ including toluene, dibutyl phthalate and formaldehyde (Quach 2015). Formaldehyde is a colourless, flammable and strong odour gas at room temperature. It is commonly found in building materials, household products, preservatives to fertilizers and nail polish products. It is also a by-product of natural processes and combustion such as cigarette smoke and emissions from fuel burning. (Facts about Formaldehyde.) In outdoor air, levels of formaldehyde are below 0.001 mg/for remote areas and below 0.02 mg/ for urban areas. Meanwhile, in indoor air, the figure for formaldehyde fluctuates from 0.02 to 0.06 mg/. (IARC Monographs volume 88 2006.) When the amount formaldehyde present in air exceeds 0.1 ppm, human beings may suffer from adverse effects including watery eyes, burning sensation in eyes, nose, throat, coughing, wheezing, nausea and skin irritation. Although the acute effects of Formaldehyde are widely accessed, there is not much information about its chronic effects. Laboratory studies in 1980 showed that exposure to Formaldehyde can lead to nasal cancer in rats, which raised the question of it also resulting in cancer in humans. (Formaldehyde and Cancer Risk.) According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), formaldehyde causes nasopharyngeal cancer in humans after studying the death of seven case-control studies of industrial workers in USA. The organization also found the association between exposure to formaldehyde and the risk of sinonasal cancer after 12 case-control studies. Many studies by this organization also found the link between exposure to formaldehyde and cancers at many parts of the body including lung and brain. (IARC Monographs volume 88 2006.) According to National Toxicology Program, formaldehyde is classified as a known human carcinogen (Formaldehyde and Cancer Risk). In cosmetics industry, it is rather commonly used in water solution form called formalin and methylene glycol than its pure form as a gas (Nail Care Products). Formaldehyde is released in insignificant amounts over a period to preserve the products and expand their usage span with the help of preservatives. Formaldehyde can be found in nail polishes, nail hardeners, eyelash glues, hair gels, makeup, shampoos, lotions and so on. When it comes to nail polishes, the chemical is not used for preservation, but also used as coats to nail and strengthen the surface of brittle or cracked nails. (Mejia 2011.) According to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), many nail products that contain harmful ingredients are still on market because these chemicals are toxic when swallowed but not considered as toxic when put on nails. The FDA accepts the level of formaldehyde under 5% in nail polish products (Mejia 2011). In addition to Formaldehyde, the other two chemicals form the ‘toxic trio’, which poses serious health impact on human being, especially on salon workers (Quach 2015):
References: Dibutyl Phthalate. Fact Online Sheet. U.S National Library of Medicine. 05.12.2017 Tampere, Finland. https://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search/a?dbs+hsdb:@term+@DOCNO+922 Formadehyde and Cancer Risk. Fact Online Sheet. National Cancer Institute. 05.12.2017 Tampere, Finland. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/substances/formaldehyde/formaldehyde-fact-sheet Formaldehyde, 2-Butoxyethanol and 1-tert-Butoxypropan-2-ol. 2006. Monographs Online, volume 88, Formaldehyde, chapter 5. International Agency for Research on Cancer. http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol88/mono88-6E.pdf Gerea, A. Last updated on 03.05.2016. How to see if nail polish is toxic. ZME Science. Read on 05.12.2017. https://www.zmescience.com/science/domestic-science/nail-polish-toxic/ Grand View Research, Inc,. 10.2017. Nail polish market size worth $15.55 billion by 2024 | CAGR: 9.5 %. Read on 05.12.2017. https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-nail-polish-market Mejia, L. 04.10.2011. Formaldehyde in Cosmetics: What’s the Verdict? Rodale, Inc. Read on 05.12.2017. https://www.womenshealthmag.com/style/formaldehyde-in-cosmetics-whats-the-verdict Quach, T. Last updated on 22.05.2015. How your NAIL POLISH could be damaging your health: Cosmetic contains chemicals linked to fertility problems and cancer, scientist warns. Associated Newspapers Ltd, part of the Daily Mail, the Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. Read on 05.12.2017. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3091001/How-NAIL-POLISH-damaging-health-Cosmetic-contains-chemicals-linked-fertility-problems-cancer-scientist-warns.html Toluene. OSH Answers Fact Online Sheets. Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS). 05.12.2017 Tampere, Finland. http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/chemicals/chem_profiles/toluene.html Turner, K. 24.08.2016. Is nail polish bad for your health? We asked the experts. Telegraph Media Group Limited 2017. Read on 05.12.2017. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/beauty/nails/is-nail-polish-bad-for-your-nails-we-asked-the-experts/ U.S. Food & Drug administration (FDA). Nail care products. Read on 05.12.2017. https://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/ProductsIngredients/Products/ucm127068.htm#forma United Sates Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). Facts about Formaldehyde. Read on 05.12.2017. https://www.epa.gov/formaldehyde/facts-about-formaldehyde Westervelt, A. 10.02.2015. Phthalates are everywhere, and the health risks are worrying. How bad are they really? The Guardian, Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Read on 05.12.2017. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/feb/10/phthalates-plastics-chemicals-research-analysis Plastic has been introduced to human life almost 150 years ago. At that time plastic was a derivative from plants and later it was produced in a synthetic form from fossil fuels. Thousands of everyday use objects are entirely or partially made of plastic material: chairs, bags, toys, kitchen devices, cutleries, bottles, etc, because it is durable, light and cheap. But plastic is also one of the generated solid waste which is endangering not only the human health but also aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. According to United Nations, 220 million tons of plastic waste are produced every year. Even though a part is recycled, most of the plastic is buried in landfills. Unfortunately, a dramatic amount of plastic ends in the oceans, where more than 45 000 pieces of plastic can be found floating in one square kilometre. The most common plastic debris found in the oceans or on the beaches is the plastic bottles and their caps used for beverages. The caps are made of a different plastic material than the bottles. They are highly buoyant and degrade slower than the plastic bottles. The UNESCO agency refers that around 100 000 of marine mammals and more than a million of seabirds die because of plastic residues. The powerful images of photographer Chris Jordan showing carcases of seabirds after being chocked to death by the bottle caps, shocked the world eight years ago. Picture 1. Sea birds chocked to death from plastic debris in oceans. (Photo: Chris Jordan 2009) Many universities and researching centres are making a broad effort to substitute the source of synthetic plastic with an environmentally friendly recycled material or making it efficiently fully degradable material. A revolutionary material which aims to change the source of plastic production is the alga. Few years ago, the design engineers Rodrigo García Gonzalez and Pierre Paslier from Skipping Rocks Lab of Imperial College in London, introduced their edible beverage packaging called Ooho!. Ooho! is a soft material made of a mix of edible plants and seaweed. The material is suitable for different drinks, water and even cosmetics. The covering Ooho! membrane gives to the drinks a spherical shape easy to swallow. The membrane can be flavoured or coloured. If the Ooho! membrane is not eaten, it can be disposed of in bio-waste. It biodegrades within six weeks and its production requires nine time less energy than the plastic of beverages bottles. Whereas, a year ago, a design student from the Academy of Arts of Iceland, Ari Jónsson, designed an algae-based water bottle. The bottle is made of agar, a powdery substance formed from the red algae Gelidium and Gracilaria. When agar powder is mixed with water it creates a gelatine material. The bottle made of this material will keep its shape as long as it is filled with liquid. When the bottle is emptied, it will start to break down. Jónsson suggests that the bottle is edible, even though the agar taste might not be everyone’s favourite. Picture 2. An algae water bottle designed by Ari Jónsson. Source:https://www.dezeen.com/2016/03/20/ari-jonsson-algae-biodegradable-water-bottles-iceland-academy-arts-student-designmarch-2016/ Innovative ideas such as the above mentioned, promise that the day when the synthetic plastic made of fossil fuels would be a past is approaching. Despite that, there is a long way till the total eradication of plastic from our lives. First, the amount of plastic disposed of in the environment is enormous, and it will take many centuries for it to decompose. Second, there are still many problems to be solved regarding the above-mentioned materials, such as the protection of the product during the transport, their life span in the shops’ shelves, the protection of the liquids from light and heat, the hygienic issue of the water balls, etc. However, these initiatives can be considered as significant steps in tackling the plastic waste and minimizing all the impacts that its components lead to.
REFERENCES Jónsson, A. Agari. Biodegradable water bottle. Read on 17.11.2017 http://www.arijons.com/ Knight, L. Business reporter. Released 17.05.2014. A brief history of plastics, natural and synthetic. BBC News. Read on 13.11.2017. http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27442625 Morby, A. Released 20.13.2016. Ari Jónsson uses algae to create biodegradable water bottles. Dezeen magazine. Read on 17.11.2017 https://www.dezeen.com/2016/03/20/ari-jonsson-algae-biodegradable-water-bottles-iceland-academy-arts-student-designmarch-2016/ Ooho! What is Ooho? Skipping Rocks Lab. Read on 13.11.2017 http://www.skippingrockslab.com/ooho!.html The editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. Updated 25.10.2017. Agar. Seaweed product. Encyclopedia Britannica. Read on 17.11.2017 https://www.britannica.com/topic/agar-seaweed-product UNESCO. Facts and figures on marine pollution. Read on 13.11.2017. http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/ioc-oceans/focus-areas/rio-20-ocean/blueprint-for-the-future-we-want/marine-pollution/facts-and-figures-on-marine-pollution/ Petri Sihvonen
I was walking in the forest in my childhood scenery. My aim was to find some berries and mushrooms. Instead of these treasures of the Finnish nature I found something disturbing. Bright plastic peeped from the bush. With closer observation I noticed that it was a lemonade bottle from the 80`s. I picked it up and it almost looked brand new. It had been in the forest more than 30 years but natural conditions had not been able to degenerate it. That was an awakening experience for me. Usage of goods made from plastics have increased rapidly for many years. At the same the amount of plastics found from the nature has increased alertly. Before the age of plastics most of the material was taken from the nature. Natural fibers from plants like cotton, linen, hemp and animal fur and skin and wood were used to make everyday goods. Even though these goods ended up in nature after usage they weren’t lying there for centuries unchanged, but disappeared. Ingredients returned to the nutrient cycle of the nature, they biodegraded. Biodegradation: A natural process Biodegradability is a word that is becoming more and more popular in everyday language and advertisements. To understand right what is going on we need to carefully study what that fashionable word means. Biodegradation is a natural process. It happens when some material ends up into nature. For example leaves of the trees fall to the ground. There the degradation organisms, bacteria, fungi and vertebrates start to eat dead leaves. Sunlight and water softens and helps break leaves to smaller pieces. Chemical reactions finish the work and soon the leaves disappear. They turn into water, carbon dioxide, nutrients and minerals. Those are then available for the plants to grow new leaves. The principal sounds simple. Natural material biodegrades itself by nature. Materials that have been made by modifying raw materials chemically or artificially are harder to burn for the degeneration organisms. Like 'that lemonade bottle from the 80`s. It is made of plastic. It was made to be durable, water and air proof. But at the same it was made to resist natural decomposing process. It should not have ended up into nature, but unfortunately it did. That happens more and more often to plastic items. Especially in undeveloped counties. Plastics degenerate slowly and when they do so, they break into very small pieces forming so called micro plastic. Plastics are found everywhere on the earth. It is one of the biggest pollution problems in the world. Is there hope? People and companies are starting to open their eyes and realize that we need to find more environmental friendly options to make and pack our daily products. Biodegradable products are one possible solution to reduce plastic pollution. There are several products made of natural ingredients that can replace plastic ones. For example; Disposable plates and cups can be made of starch. Potato, corn and wheat are the most common sources of starch. (https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1074-potato-plates) Wooden composites can be used to manufacture packing materials. Companies have a competition on making environmental friendly products, because people value them more. Whoever invents a material that has the same properties than commonly used plastics can have huge advantage in markets. Some manufacturers have already started to use the word biodegradable in their advertisements even though the product may not really be biodegradable. To fight against disuse of that word, authorities have developed standards that prove biodegradability of the product. Finnish Standards Association gives standards to products that meet the criteria of biodegradability. (https://www.sfs.fi/en) US authorities have their own certificate system. (http://www.bpiworld.org/BPI-Public/Program.html) All of us should reduce use of the plastics and choose biodegradable products. When doing so rely only on certified products. References: Biodegradable Products Institute 2017; http://www.bpiworld.org/BPI-Public/Program.html Finnish Standards Association 2017; https://www.sfs.fi/en Science Learning Hub, Published 16 December 2008, Updated 9 February 2017; https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1074-potato-plates Soran Faisal Khdr 2013; https://www.slideshare.net/soranrawandzes/biodegradation-59792055 Topi Tanttu Since the beginning of Industrial Revolution in the early 19th century world’s human population has grown significantly, new cities have been built, new technologies discovered, and the quality of living elevated to a standard, that couldn’t have been imagined before. Now with over 7 billion people on the planet we are about to face a new kind of problem to challenge us, natural resource depletion. So, what does natural resource depletion mean? To put it simply, humankind is using more resources, faster than the resources can replenish themselves. Examples of such resources are water, oil, deforestation, living- and farming habitats and minerals. There are rough estimations about when some resources are going to run out, for example aluminum, coal and iron are expected to run out within the 21st century as seen in Picture 1. With the constantly increasing population, consumption and building rates this problem is only going to get worse. Picture 1. Estimations how long different resources last Consequences of resource depletion are vast but at the same time hard to predict accurately due to constant development in technology and constantly changing society. As of now the most dire consequences seem to be water- and food shortage, due to lack of freshwater and soil erosion, and the effect that oil and highly used metals such as iron running out, are going to have on global economy and basically everything we take for granted in day to day life. What to do Even though it might not feel like it, an individual can do something to ease the depletion rates.
Sources: https://flowingdata.com/2009/04/24/how-long-will-the-worlds-natural-resources-last/ Physical genomics: Combining the exergy and Hubbert peak analysis for predicting mineral resources depletion, Alicia Valero, Antonio Valero https://www.environment.co.za/environmental-issues/natural-resource-depletion.html http://www.theworldcounts.com/stories/consequences_of_depletion_of_natural_resources Tran Ngo Along with the exploding of the world’s industrialization and modernization, the Earth has to suffer the severe damages of excessive greenhouse gas emission from the industry for economic developments. As soon as people realizes this is a global issue related to the survival of human kind that need strong interests from all countries, the United Nations have decided to fight against climate change globally with the establishment of the world environmental convention. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international environmental treaty entered into forces in 1994 with the mission to bind its member nations to act in the interests of human safety. In particular, its specific goals are to stabilize the greenhouse gas concentrations at the level that the ecosystems can adapt naturally to climate change; to ensure the economic development to proceed sustainably and to prevent the dangerous effects of climate change. Till 1995, every year, a conference of the parties (COP) was held to assess the progress of the nations on fighting climate change under the convention. Moreover, during every COP, the member states have a chance to discuss and improve the agreement between the parties and also implement the global supports to climate change activities in developing countries technically and financially. Throughout 23 years of development, there are many advance breakthroughs in the convention and in the way the involved nations act with it. The first remarkable agreement which con be considered as the base for the further development of the Convention was the “Kyoto Protocol”. It was first introduced in 1997 during COP 3 and officially put into force in 2005. In general, Kyoto Protocol worked on the Convention by binding industrialized countries to limit and decrease the greenhouse gases emissions with agreed individual targets. Since the ordinary Convention only inquires the countries to adopt policies, measures on mitigation and to report periodically about the progress on fighting against climate change, Kyoto Protocol is like an additional commitment that forces the countries to put the convention into real actions by setting and following the national targets. Under the principle of “common but differentiated responsibility and respective capabilities”, Kyoto protocol only binds the developed countries and applies larger burden on them because they have more responsibility for the current excessive amount of greenhouse gases emissions in the atmosphere. The protocol sets binding emission reduction targets up to 5% in compared with 1990 levels within five years period (2008-2012) for about 36 developed countries and the European Union. A rigorous monitoring, review and verification system, as well as a compliance system were established by Kyoto protocol to support the agreement by ensuring transparency and hold Parties to account. Till now, there are 192 Parties signing to the Kyoto Protocol. The other significant agreement reached between the Parties, the latest and also the most innovative one is the “Paris Agreement”. During COP 21 in Paris in 2015, the landmark agreement was reached to intensify the actions and investment to combat climate change. This called “Paris Agreement was opened for signature in April 2016 and entered into force on November 2016. It was the first time that the convention built up to bring all the nations into a common source with the ambitious efforts to fight against climate change globally, to adapt to its effects and to enhance the supports for the developing countries to approach it as well. The core purpose of the Paris Agreement is to empower the global actions to the threat of climate change’s effects by limiting the global temperature rise of this century below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels with the further efforts to bound the increase down to below 1.5 degree Celsius. Moreover, the other aim of the agreement is to intensify the ability of the all countries to cope with the impacts of climate change by appropriate mobilization and provision of financial resources, a new technology framework and enhanced capacity-building from the developed countries to support the developing countries and the most vulnerable countries. An enhanced transparency framework for action and support was also provided by the agreement to purse these ambitious goals. Since then, a total of 170 Parties were ratified this agreement and the world together keeps acting to purse and continuously approach more and more sustainable goals to combat climate change. Nowadays, the world must realize its problems since human activities have been substantially increasing the effect of climate change by rising the global temperature due to the excessive emission of greenhouse gases, which may badly affect the natural ecosystems and human kind. The attitude of each person toward climate change is the core of moving the world better. Hence, the efforts of the United Nations on fighting climate change need to be widely spread and recognized by every person in the world. REFERENCES: Climate Get the Big Picture. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Read 20.11.2017. http://bigpicture.unfccc.int/#content-the-paris-agreemen. Truc Nguyen
Wood is considered a great source for architecture, buildings and can act as material for various items in modern day. Furthermore, it plays an important role in the era of bio-economy where renewable resources are involved. However, everything has its pros and cons, as wood production is considered to be contributing to forest loss, and is blamed for Green House effect at some point. As a more cost-effective and furthermore, a renewable resource, wood as a material is an ideal choice to reduce carbon footprint as well as environmental impact and at the same time, balancing the cost objective and functionally efficiency. To assess from environmental perspective of a product, Life Cycle Assessment procedure or LCA is usually implemented. Through which, the environmental impact of wood production from the very first state of harvesting to the end of life of the product, can be studied and compared to other materials. Unsurprisingly, the assessment procedures have shown that wood as material contributes less pollution in term of environment compared to concrete or steel. Studies have stated that wood products have less embodied energy and are more environmental friendly as they are involved in less carbon footprint as well as air and water pollution. Furthermore, residues of wood industries are utilized in either by-product manufacture or fuel and clean bio-energy. As forests act as carbon sink and give a hand in preventing climate change and green-house gas, by using wood products that store carbon and having reasonable forest management plans, we can deal with carbon print problem for a long term. (rethinkwood.com.) Despite being an ideal alternative material because of its more environmental friendly characteristics, wood production is not fully approved by environment groups (Wood I-Joist Manufacturers Association). The disastrous effect caused by wood harvesting and logging, especially unplanned operation, includes loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, desert encroachment and many more problems. Harvesting operation would influence the population and habitat of many species which are residing in the forest. If the removal of trees goes on without management, it can cause extinction to many plant and animal species. On the other hand, taking away from soil the protection of trees cover would lead to soil erosion. (Fuwape 2003.) Furthermore, the effect on land use of forestry operation and the use of bioenergy also require attention since they directly affect the emission of green-house gas. As trees sequester CO2 from the atmosphere, it is released back to the atmosphere when the plants biomass is converted to fuel and used. Additionally, as land use affects the relationship between GHGs cycle and the environment, there is possibility that it will trigger the emission. (Agricultural Ecosystem Research group.) According to the Finnish Forest Forestry, Wood production in Finland is growing very rapidly through years. However, at some point, this is considered to be a contributing factor in increasing emission. In fact, Finnish forest resources are still developing and act as essential carbon sink to the environment. To sum up, from Finish perspective, increasing wood use is a chance to enhance sustainable development by reducing emission, increasing renewable wood use, and at the same time, straightening national economy. (Fagerblom 2017.) REFERENCES: Ecological and Environmental Impacts of Bioenergy. Agricultural Ecosystem Research group. Article. Read 19.11.2017. http://www.wgbn.wisc.edu/conservation/ecological-and- environmental-impacts-bioenergy Effects of Wood Production on the Environment. Wood I-Joist Manufacturers Association. Article. Read 19.11.2017. http://i-joist.org/benefits/effects-of-wood-production-on-the- environment Fagerblom, A. 2017. Member State Reach Agreement Regarding Forest Carbon Sinks – Finland Need To Continue To Find A Reasonable Solution. Article. Published by: Finnish Forest Forestry. Read 26.11.2017. Fuwape,J. The Impact Of Forest Industries And Wood Utilization On The Environment. XII World Forestry Congress. 2003. Québec City. Canada. Reduced Impact. reThink Wood. Article. Read 19.11.2017. https://www.rethinkwood.com/wood-renewable/reduced-impact Thao Nguyen In your opinion, where would you rather be, indoors or outdoors? You may think choosing the indoor environment is always the best option, since outdoor air is not always fresh and can carry multiple health risks. However, I can be certain that after reading this post, you might have to think again. We spend most of our time indoors, since the majority of our activities happen indoors: sleeping, eating, studying, working (except the case you work outdoor). If there is any risk found in indoor air, it’s most likely that we have already been exposed to it for a long period. We are, most of the time unconscious of the health risks that the indoor environment presents, which makes the situation worse. According to WHO, 4,3 million people annually die of poor indoor air quality (WHO. N.d). Therefore, it is extremely important to monitor the indoor air quality properly to ensure out safety. (source: How stuffs work. How indoor air pollution works.) The hazards of indoor environment are divided into 3 categories: Microbial, Chemical, and Physical.
Clean your living space is the first thing to do if you want to improve indoor air quality. In this photo, we have a gamer’s natural habitat. (source: Things life. 2016) Before starting to panic and stop breathing, think about the ways to protect yourself! To eliminate the risks, you can either remove the source of the hazards, or avoid contact with them. I won’t get into the details, because each type of hazard requires different monitoring, which will take plenty of time to discuss. But generally, what you can do in your household is to keep it clean by regular sweeping and moping, monitor the humidity, reduce the use of synthetic fragrances… You can read more here (WebMD. 2009). Legislation is a firm tool to monitor the air in work places or schools, since the building structure must pass certain requirements to be accepted. For example, to minimize the exposure to radon gas (a chemical hazard of indoor air) in workplaces, employers must review the potential radon hazard risk in their premise (HSE. N.d. Radon in the workplace.) Next week, I will be discussing the microbial hazards in indoor environment in more details. Don’t forget to check my blog on Sunday for more knowledge! Reference: How stuffs work. N.d. How indoor air pollution works. Read on 19.11.2017. https://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/household-safety/tips/indoor-air-pollution.htm HSE. N.d. Radon in the workplace. Read on 19.11.2017 http://www.hse.gov.uk/radiation/ionising/radon.htm#legalrequirements Things life. 2016. Neckbeard Nests And PC Gamer Battlestations. Read on 27.11.2017. http://www.thingslife.com/neckbeard-nests-and-pc-gamer-battlestations/4/ WebMD. 2009. 5 Ways to Improve Indoor Air Quality. Released on 08.01.2009. Read on 19.11.2017. https://www.webmd.com/lung/features/12-ways-to-improve-indoor-air-quality#3 WHO. N.d. Household (Indoor) Air Pollution. Read on 18.11.2017. http://www.who.int/indoorair/en/ Tri Phung Let's imagine: Philly the Plankton lived a not-so-happy life. He was exposed to the oil, chemicals, waste, toxicity present in the water. Until he was consumed by Timmy the Tuna. Timmy the Tuna lived a not-so-happy life. He grew up consuming numerous Philly the Plankton each and every day; same as Philly, he was exposed to the oil, chemicals, waste, toxicity present in the water. Until he was consumed by US Humans. Then, there was Chang the Chicken. Chang lived a not-so-happy-life. He grew up being fed with genetically modified and pesticide-filled grains; he was injected with hormone so he could grow bigger in a shorter time; he was confined in a crowded cage with other Changs. Until he was consumed by US Humans. Consuming numerous Timmy the Tuna and Chang the Chicken days through days, We the Human live a happy life, because he will not be eaten by Mammy the Mammoth or Tiny the T-rex?! At present, We seem to live a happy life. However, We are suffering from bioaccumulation and biomagnification, which is bound to bring disease in future time. Bioaccumulation is the process of the toxicity level accumulating more and more inside an individual's body. This happens either because the individual consumes contaminated foods or is exposed to polluted sources for an extended time. (Hoop 2013.) Back to your imagination, bioaccumulation is when Philly the Plankton and Timmy the Tuna accumulating toxic during their life underwater, when Chang the Chicken gathering hormone during his life in the farm. Biomagnification indicates the process of toxic being “transferred”. When a prey is consumed by its predator in the food chain, all the harmful substances bioaccumulated in the prey is delivered directly to the consumer. (Hoop 2013.) So, Timmy the Tuna eats Philly the Plankton and gets biomagnification. Illustrations for bioaccumulation and biomagnification (Source: http://mercurypolicy.scripts.mit.edu/blog/?p=499 ) Because bioaccumulation and biomagnification happen in the food chain, We Humans, stand on top of the food chain (no more Tiny the T-rex wandering around anymore), suffers all the damage. In the beginning, the toxics (pesticides, for examples) is margin in dose and does not pose immediate symptoms. Nevertheless, over time, these poisons bioaccumulate in the body, affect our health and welfare, cause diseases, malfunctions, and failures. Let's look at an unfortunate example, shall we? Japanese people are famous for their consumption of fish. But, from 1932 - 1968, a factory released industrial waste into water of Minamata Bay, marine life got bioaccumulated, then the locals ate the seafood. The consumption of methylmercury contaminated seafood had resulted in methylmercury poisoning among Minamata locals. The poisoning is known as the Minamata disease, infecting 2,265 victims, of whom 1,784 had died. (Ministry of the Environment Government of Japan 2002.) It is not advisable to display a disturbing picture of this symptom on here, so instead I will include this caricature. Heavy Metal in The Marine Environment (Source: http://www.theperiodicelements.com/elements/view/Hg/index.html) We Human, now acknowledge these problems, must take actions to protect ourselves. A blogger shared that We should thoroughly wash fruits and vegetables before eating and cooking. A better solution is to opt for organic or local grown products to minimize the amount of industrial hormone, pesticides, and chemicals. Such products may be more expensive, but the price is worth it, especially it will be much cheaper than hospital and medicine pills later on. Planting our own gardens and producing our own foods is another great option. In the long-term. Ultimately, We can GoGreen (feel free to contact me for sponsorship, GoGreen!). An eating plan consists of foods lower in the food chain means a lower the concentrated toxic dose compared with a lifestyle with hefty consumption of meat (The Vegan Naturopath 2012). The more We the Human concern about the environments, the more actions We take to improve it, the less bioaccumulation and biomagnification occur in the food chain, and We will be the ultimately beneficiaries. Help the environments, and the environments will help us back. References How Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification of Pollutants is Affecting Our Food Supply. Updated 3.10.2016. Read on 19.11.2017. https://soapboxie.com/social-issues/Bioaccumulation-and-Biomagnification Hoop, J. 2013. Bioamplification, Bioaccumulation and Bioconcentration. Read on 16.1.2017. http://mercurypolicy.scripts.mit.edu/blog/?p=499 Ministry of the Environment Government of Japan. 2002. Minamata Disease the History and Measures – Chapter 2. Read on 19.11.2017 http://www.env.go.jp/en/chemi/hs/minamata2002/ch2.html. The Periodic Elements. Mercury. Read on 19.11.2017. http://www.theperiodicelements.com/elements/view/Hg/index.html The Vegan Naturopath. 2012. Is Organic Produce Essential? Read on 19.11.2017. https://vegannaturopath.wordpress.com/2012/05/25/is-organic-produce-essential/ Have you ever heard of deep learning or artificial intelligence? As you may know, deep learning is machine learning about billions of images like monitoring a traffic, of facing expression, and of detecting obstacles in front of or back of a car. In this article, machine learning studies soil grain particle sizes, which causes a problem for heavy machines in forest in Finland. What is soil particle grain size? There are many types of soil such as clay, silt, sand, and gravel. Each type of soil has different particle size. The smallest one is clay, which is about . The biggest one is a type of gravel, which is about . Billions of different soil particles are in ground. Many scientists study what those soils particles are about every day. There is a science team, which studies forest soil. In Finland, heavy machines, which are logging machines, forwarder, harvester-processor, feller-buncher, shovel logger, and skidder, go into forest to cut trees, and a truck carries the trees to a factory and a port. Those machines weigh is several tons minimum. When those heavy machines travel in forest, those create deep ditch, which damages forest. In order to estimate the strength of the ground, a team focuses on soil grain particle size. Studying soil grain particle size prevents heavy machines from accidents. The finer the grain particle size is, the deeper ditch is created in forest when working with a heavy machine because fine grain size holds more water, which affects the strength of the ground. The strength of ground is weaker when the grain size is finer. You may imagine the difference between wet mud in your hand and wet sand in your hand. Which one holds more moisture? It is mud, which is finer than sand. At present, many soil samples are collected in forest, and then a laboratory analyzes those samples and issues grain size particles report. It takes some time and costs a lot of money. What if we can omit the process in a laboratory? What if it can be analyzed instantly? Machine learning is one way to improve our work life and our environment. If grain particle size in an image are accurately estimated by machine learning, not only forest workers but also construction workers and farmers can easily, cheaply and quickly analyze the condition of soil. The more data is stored in brain, the smarter it gets. The machine might take over some laboratory work, but it will surely help us improving our work life and our environment. Image of soil (Saito, 2017) References Butcher, S. 30.5.3017. J.P.Morgan’s massive guide to machine learning and big data jobs in finance. EfinancialCareers Ltd. Read (27.11.2017) https://news.efinancialcareers.com/uk-en/285249/machine-learning-and-big-data-j-p-morgan Lewis-Kraus, G. 14.12.2016. The Great A.I. Awakening. The New York Times Magazine. Read (13.11.2017) https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/14/magazine/the-great-ai-awakening.html 2013. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2006-1195: Nomenclature. U.S. Department of the Interior & U.S. Geological Survey. Read (19.11.2017) https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1195/htmldocs/nomenclature.htm Anh Nguyen When it comes to rabbit, people might just imagine an adorable and furry “ball”, chewing berries and hopping around. Yet, not many, probably most outsiders of Australasia, ever consider that this diminutive species is harming the environment indeed, especially in Australia. PICTURE 1. Bunnies in 3D Crush Café (taken by author)
How rabbits appeared in Australia Australian rabbits have their origin in Europe (Oryctolagus cuniculus), which were first introduced into the region in early 19th century. The first feral colony were brought by the First Fleet to Tasmania as provisions by 1827. Following that, in 1859, Thomas Austin – a landowner in Winchelsea, Victoria, released 24 wild rabbits imported from England with a view to proceeding his hunting hobby as well as helping other settlers feel comfortable. This incident was the root of all detrimental impacts rabbits would cause on the fragile ecology in the future. They accelerated in population, spreading to the Queensland – New South Wales border by 1886 and reached to Western Australia as well as the Northern Territory by 1900. Rabbits had covered 4 million square kilometers of Australia in just a few decades. Today, rabbits are distributed relatively equally throughout the country, except for the northernmost areas. Why rabbit population escalates Insufficient quantity of predators coupled with ideal conditions smoothed the path for the rodents to do their best job – breeding. The tropical climate of Australia is one of the main factors contributing to rabbit increase. With mild winters, they can breed all year round. In addition, humans’ sprawling agriculture resulted in vast areas with low vegetation, which are ideal habitat for feral rabbits. What is more, before rabbits arrived in the country, red foxes and feral cats were regarded as invasive mammalian predators to native wildlife and farming. Hence, the government responded to these hindrances by culling them. This, in fact, caused a boomerang effect. Let’s take Macquarie Island as an example. When the rabbits and cats were introduced into Australia, they formed a perfect predator-prey relationship. However, that relationship was interrupted by a rabbit-killing virus. The cats turned to eating a great deal of native birds when rabbit numbers decreased. The locals then decided to wipe out the cats. Thus, between 1985 and 2001, felines no longer existed on the island. Birds were not in danger anymore, and so were the rabbits, which fortunately survived from the virus. Their population boomed again! Rabbits’ effects and the Australians’ solutions Excessive grazing of rabbits leaves the soil empty with no vegetative covers, allowing the wind to erode the top fertile soil away. Soil erosion leads to water absorption and the vegetation reproduction. In addition, agricultural run-off and salinity of soil are also likely to occur when top soil is diminished. Rabbit warrens contribute to soil degradation as their burrowing disturbs the soil and damages the flora. As consequences, some plant species go extinct, which also leads to decrease in native birds, mammals or insects that feed on them and use them as shelter. The Australian livestock is in danger as well, since they have to compete with rabbits for available pasture. Feral rabbits have hindered both the economic growth and nature development of Australia. The latter issue is much more severe; the outcomes cannot be compensated. Around much of 19th century, human tried to control the rabbits by trapping and shooting. Hunting them for sports or food just makes a drop in the ocean compared to their exponential growth. To early 20th century, the government decided to establish rabbit-proof fences to protect the farming regions in Western Australia. However, the plan was unsuccessful as multitude of rabbits invaded the land during the construction. Some could even have dug through the fences. The government went on with the biological control measurement. In 1950, they experimented a virus to kill the feral rabbits. The virus was myxomatosis, carried by the fleas and mosquitoes into the wild. This time, it first brought some considerable achievements, as about 90% of rabbits was wiped out, but not continued any longer. The fleas and mosquitoes were not able to exist in arid areas, so some rabbits survived, and they went on reproducing. The survivals and their successors developed natural genetic immunity to the virus. The same happened to RHD, which was released in 1995. In 2011, a new rabbit eradication program comprised of three stages was implemented. Another virus, rabbit calicivirus, was released. Then 307 tons of brodifacoum baits was dropped for rabbits that survived from virus. Poisons were used later to kill ones that survived from both virus and baits. Even so, the rabbits went on existing because of coevolution between the virus and the host. Biological controls are never enough, plus they literally affect the whole nature. Many species die because of eating poisoned baits or poisoned bodies of dead rabbits. A considerable amount of vegetation dieback was possibly resulted from hazardous chemicals released into the environment. Future eradications of rabbits are still in the process of completing, yet it also needs cooperating with other protection programs such as preservation of on-ground threatened flora and fauna, controlling other invasive animals work as rabbit predators, to name but a few. The control should not only focus on one species but the whole ecosystem. Humans should learn from the mistakes in the past that, the nature is an integrated system, so when one part is affected the whole “machine” is drastically under the impacts as well. After all, it was not the rabbits’ responsibility for ruining the environment from the beginning; it was because of the human’s egocentric satisfaction. References Office of Environment & Heritage. 2015. Rabbits – Fact sheet. NSW Government. Read 18.11.2017. http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/pestsweeds/RabbitFactsheet.htm Ypte. Rabbit: Oryctolagus cuniculus. Young People's Trust For the Environment. Read 18.11.2017. http://ypte.org.uk/factsheets/rabbit/overview#section Wendy Zukerman, ABC Science. 08.04.2009. Australia's battle with the bunny. ABC. Read 18.11.2017. http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/04/08/2538860.htm The Conversation. 12.06.2015. Killing cats, rats and foxes is no silver bullet for saving wildlife. The Conversation Trust (UK) Limited. Read 18.11.2017. https://theconversation.com/killing-cats-rats-and-foxes-is-no-silver-bullet-for-saving-wildlife-42754 Elisa Pekkola For decades, the GMO technology has helped scientists to meet the modern human’s needs and to find answers to some of the most critical issues in the world. So, what does GMO stand for? GMO stands for genetically modified organisms. In practice, a wanted gene, for example drought-resistance, is manually inserted into the DNA of an existing organism to create a new species. In fact, GM-technology can be considered as an advanced form of breeding. PICTURE 1. GMO corn in Yellow Springs, Ohio. (Photo: Lindsay Eyink, 2013. Wikimedia Commons) One of the first products created by genetical engineering was Insulin, a pharmaceutical used to regulate blood sugar levels of people with diabetes. This happened in 1982 and after this many life-changing GMO’s have been invented. A good example of this would be the vitamin A-enriched golden rice, which was created to prevent blindness in children in the developing countries. This technology that has helped many people, and even saved lives, is the same that is being harshly judged. Nowadays GM-foods and -crops are widely used, especially in the U.S. There over 90% of all the soybeans planted are herbicide-tolerant. In 2017, the percentages of planted acres of genetically modified corn, soybeans and cotton has reached over 75%, which means that the vast majority of these crops are GMOs. PICTURE 2. Anti-GMO activism. (Photo: Pixabay free images)
The phenomenon is globally spread, although it has not gained popularity everywhere. GMOs are grown in 28 countries, but some nations are cautious about new GMOs. In the EU countries have had the right to ban or restrict GMO cultivation from 2015. This is not a terrible thing, since it is important to be careful when it comes to health and environmental risks. However, prejudice that is based on rumours and assumptions can be harmful. Many believe that GMOs are not safe to eat but do not search for scientific proof for this. They believe allegations of other people that their illnesses are caused by GM-foods when actually, the safety of many GMOs has been scientifically proved. National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine published a report on genetically engineered crops in 2016 and it was one of the largest studies done on this field. It concluded that there is no clear evidence that non-GMO-crops would be safer than GMO-crops. A major question in the future will be how to feed the growing population sustainably. This means that patches need to yield more crops without land overuse. Also, climate change brings additional challenge to agriculture with changing weather conditions. So, it is needless to say that all methods have to be taken into account in finding the answers. As an EU study stated: “Undeniably GM technology is an important tool in the fight against global poverty and food insecurity.”. This is a statement that should encourage every anti-GMO-activists to read the research and start opening their eyes for the possibilities of genetical engineering. Resources: Alliance for Science. 2016. Cornell University. GMO safety debate is over. Released on 23.5.2016. Read on 19.11.2017. https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/blog/mark-lynas/gmo-safety-debate-over Science Literary Project. 2016. Where are GMOs grown and banned? Released on 2016. Read on 19.11.2017. https://gmo.geneticliteracyproject.org/FAQ/where-are-gmos-grown-and-banned/ Science in the News. 2017. Harvard Graduate School of the Arts and Sciences. From Corgis to Corn: A Brief Look at the Long History of GMO Technology. Released on 9.8.2015. Read on 19.11.2017. http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2015/from-corgis-to-corn-a-brief-look-at-the-long-history-of-gmo-technology/ European Commission. 2010. European Commissions monthly magazine Research*eu. A decade of EU-funded GMO research. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. Food Evolution. 2016. Documentary (USA) |
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