Healthy Lifestyle Essay Sample free essay sample

Education is of import or wellness is of import?Answer:Health: Health is the degree of functional or metabolic efficiency of a life being. In worlds. it is the general status of a person’s head and organic structure. normally intending to be free from unwellness. hurt or hurting ( as in â€Å"good health† or â€Å"healthy† ) . The World Health Organization ( WHO ) defined wellness in its broader sense in 1946 as â€Å"a province of complete physical. mental. and societal wellbeing and non simply the absence of disease or frailty. † Education: Education in its general sense is a signifier of acquisition in which cognition. accomplishments. and wonts of a group of people are transferred from one coevals to the following through learning. preparation. research. or merely through autodidacticism. By and large. it occurs through any experience that has a formative consequence on the manner one thinks. feels. or Acts of the Apostless. Health is more of import than instruction:Health is one of those things that people tend to take for granted. We will write a custom essay sample on Healthy Lifestyle Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Until you are confronting disease or hurt. your good wellness. like a clean house. greatly goes unnoticed. When all your organic structure parts are working decently. there is no hurting to catch your attending. no chronic unwellness to enfeeble your day-to-day life. Health is a province of mental and physical wellbeing in which everything is working decently and you experience a general feeling of verve. Good wellness allows you to execute the undertakings necessary and desirable to your day-to-day life. Work. household. place and interests can be enjoyed and conducted without hurting or break. Good wellness is of import because it allows people to concentrate on their involvements and duties. Poor wellness. in the signifier of hurts. disablements. chronic hurting. mental unwellness or disease. prevents 1000000s of people from back uping. caring for or showing themselves efficaciously. Anyone who has lived with chronic hurting can state you how the status clouds every facet of your life. doing even the most everyday undertakings into ordeals of agony and desperation. Mental unwellness and dependence are merely every bit unhealthy as any other debilitating disease. Judgment and abilities are lost. attempts wasted and relationships destroyed as the patient flounders through life. incapable of recovering that good wellness they thought was their birthright. For the bulk of people who suffer with hapless wellness. it is the solitariness and desperation that finally destroy their lives. Peoples can non last in isolation. Condemned to a infirmary bed. a mental ward or a alone place. unhealthy people are instinctively. albeit below the belt. shunned and ignored. Misery may love company but most of us see a lizard-brain antipathy to passing any important sum of clip in the company of the unhealthy. The solitariness and isolation contribute to the mental and physical agony experienced by the unhealthy. On the other manus. people who are vibrantly healthy seem to pull success and regard without attempt. Possibly it is the same lizard-brain. which is invari ably seeking s superior mate or spouse. who fauns over and offers particular intervention to the athletically fit. Peoples who are healthy get promoted at work more readily. they are treated better socially and professionally and they tend to earn more regard. Personal Life: The importance of wellness in personal life can non be minimized. It has come to be regarded as a requirement for optimal socio-economic development of adult male. Health attention as a right of every person has been recognized in many states. In the â€Å"Universal Declaration of the Human Rights† . there are 30 articles. The Right to better life conditions and the Right to Health and Medical service are critical. Though the wellness is now recognized as a cardinal right of every human being. it is basically an single duty. It is the person who has to accept certain duties in order to achieve good wellness. i. e. duty about diet. personal hygiene. cultivation of healthful wonts. transporting out specific disease bar steps. It is besides desirable that in the personal life every person should be acquainted with the indispensable wellness accomplishments to remain healthy. Family Life: The household is a primary societal group. It is a group of biologically related persons. The household is like a ‘shock absorber’ to the emphasis and strains of life. At the clip of emotional disturbances. concern. anxiousness. economic insecurity. the household provides an chance for release of tenseness. The household hence plays an of import portion both in wellness and disease in the bar and intervention of single unwellnesss. in the attention of kids and dependent grownups. and in the stabilisation of the personality of both grownups and kids In most societies the household is the fulcrum of wellness services Medical schools are developing learning coders in household medical specialty ; because. as Florence Nightingale had said. â€Å"the secret of national wellness prevarications in the places of the people† . Social Life: Society is a group of persons drawn together by a common bond of closeness and who act together in general for the accomplishment of certain common ends. The society plays an of import function in the wellness every bit good as in disease ; public wellness is an built-in portion of the societal system. It is influenced by society and society by public wellness. Many public wellness jobs are societal jobs and vice-versa. Health is related profoundly to life-style. Ideal wellness will nevertheless. ever remains a mirage. because everything in our life is capable to alter. Health may be described as a potentiality—the ability of an person or a societal group to modify himself or itself continually. in the face of altering conditions of life non merely. in order to work better in the present but besides to fix for the hereafter. A ) Give the construct of Healthy life manner. How can I take healthy life style? Answer:Concept of Healthy life manner: A healthy life style is one which helps to maintain and better people’s wellness and wellbeing. Components of a healthy life styleHealthy life style is. largely. associated with:* Family traditions* Health instruction* Sympathetic business* Safe environment* Adequate nutrition* Physical fittingness* Absence of bad wonts* Personal hygiene* Love and tenderness* Positive societal communicating How can I take healthy life style:A healthy life style means keeping a balanced and alimentary diet every bit good as prosecuting in athleticss or other fittingness related activities. A healthy diet entirely nevertheless is unequal to guarantee a healthy organic structure as physical activity helps to maintain one in form and free of illness and disease. Harmonizing to the World Health Organization. merely one in 10 people exercise on a regular basis and a bulk do non follow a healthy diet. The chief perpetrator is our preference for debris nutrient as can be seen from the popularity of fast nutrient ironss and other western restaurants. even local nutrients such as fried noodles. friend rice and bites and savories are loaded with fat and Calories. Therefore. devouring this type of nutrient on a day-to-day footing can lend to weight addition. Overweight and corpulent people suffer from many wellness complications such as diabetes. high blood force per unit area. high cholesterin and even malignant neoplastic disease. Hence. the accent on healthy life style should get down at a immature age. Parents must press their kids to eat more veggies. fruits. juices. wholemeal and wholegrain nutrients. Many parents. due to clip restraint. normally find the easy manner out by cooking two-minute noodles or heading towards the nearest fast nutrient articulation for speedy repast. They do non recognize nevertheless that sets the phase for an unhealthy lfestyle for their kids who rapidly go addicted to such nutrients. Therefore. parents can counter this job by cooking or fixing repasts that do non take up clip such as cheese sandwiches. soup. splash friend vegetables or purchase pre-packed repasts from supermarkets which can be warmed up in the microwave oven. Dining out normally involves eating to a great extent and unhealthily. Most of us are prone to telling deep fried nutrient and oily dishes as opposed to steamed or baked nutrient. Thus. though eating out is ineluctable. parents of kids and grownups as a hole should order fresh nutrient and nutrients that are alimentary and non loaded with oil. fat or sugar. Once a form of healthy feeding is established. it would be easier to transport through such a life style and for the kids to follow suit. School canteens must be urged to sell merely extremely alimentary nutrient and drinks. Peddling machines that sell soft drinks and drinks that are spiked with sugar should be banned. Hence. school traveling kids would be exposed to healthy eating signif ier immature. Daily exercising is critical. In fact. schools should implement Physical instruction on a day-to-day footing instead than twice hebdomadal. Merely the minority are actively involved in athleticss. Most pupils are sedentary and prefer to concentrate on their surveies as they consider indulging in physical activities a waste of clip. By implementing regular exercising daily. these pupils would be exposed to the importance and benefits of exercising. Many parents and grownups do non apportion clip for physical activity. A big figure of them work long hours and return place tardily thereby striping themselves of the benefits of exercising. Parents must take an model life which can profit their kids by increasing consciousness on the wellness benefits of exerting on a regular basis. Bringing their kids for walks in the forenoon or eventide is a good start to accomplish this end. They should go members of nines which have swimming pools and gym installations. During the weekend. the household can beef up their bond by recessing to clubs for exercising and a healthy repast after that. In short. taking a healthy life style is a witting determination. One can disregard that and take a life that exposes one to many healthy jeopardies. it is of import to acknowledge that a healthy life ensures a longer life span every bit good as a life free of disease and complications. Essential Ways to Live HealthyDo you desire to hold a organic structure that can back up you good into your old age? Do you wish to hold mental lucidity. quality relationships. good working internal maps. or even an overall feeling of good being? Well. populating a healthy life style is what can acquire you at that place. or at least better your status. There are three specific things that you should make: 1. Exercise You shouldn’t be surprised that this one is on the list. It is ineluctable. Physical activity is indispensable to healthy life. The organic structure was meant to travel. and when it does non. it can go unhappy and sick. Physical activity stimulates the body’s natural care and fix systems that keep it traveling. It improves circulation to our bosom and lungs. It gives us strength to stave off hurts. and it increases the mobility in our musculuss and articulations. Physical activity besides releases endorphins ; the feel good endocrines that create a sense of general well being. Physical activity is good for the organic structure and the head. Exercises include alert walking. cycling. dance. swimming. rowing. egg-shaped exercises and jogging. Yoga. and Pilates are besides good exercising exercises ; nevertheless. they should be performed in concurrence with the cardiovascular-type exercises mentioned above. 2. Eating healthyEating a healthy diet is another portion of the healthy life style. Not merely can a clean diet aid with weight direction. it can besides better your wellness and quality of life as you get older. You can utilize the new MyPlate to find how many Calories you need and what nutrient groups you should concentrate on or. if you’re looking for smaller alterations. you can utilize these tips for simple ways to alter how you eat: * Eat more fruit. Add it to your cereal. your salads or even your dinners * Sneak in more vegetables. Add them wherever you can–a tomato on your sandwich. Piper nigrums on your pizza. or excess vegetables in your pasta sauce. Keep pre-cut or canned/frozen vegetables ready for speedy bites. * Switch your salad dressing. If you eat full-fat dressing. exchange to something lighter and you’ll automatically eat less Calories. * Eat low-fat or nonfat dairy. Switch overing to plane milk or fat free yoghurt is another simple manner to eat less Calories without holding to alter excessively much in your diet. * Make some replacements. Look through your cabinets or electric refrigerator and pick 3 nutrients you eat every twenty-four hours. Write down the nutritionary content and. the following clip you’re at the shop. happen lower-calorie replacements for merely those 3 points. 3. Simple Ways to Travel Your Body You can get down the procedure of weight loss now by adding a small more activity to your life. If you’re non ready for a structured plan. get down little. Every small spot counts and it all adds up to firing more Calories. * Turn off the Television. Once a hebdomad. turn off the Television and make something a little more physical with your household. Play games. take a walk†¦almost anything will be more active than sitting on the sofa. * Walk more. Look for little ways to walk more. When you get the mail. take a walk around the block. take the Canis familiaris for an excess outing each twenty-four hours or walk on your treadmill for 5 proceedingss before acquiring ready for work. * Do some jobs. Shoveling snow. working in the garden. raking foliages. brushing the floor†¦these sorts of activities may non be ‘vigorous’ exercising. but they can maintain you traveling while acquiring your house in order. * Pace while you talk. When you’re on the pho ne. gait around or even do some cleansing while gabbing. This is a great manner to remain traveling while making something you enjoy. * Be cognizant. Make a list of all the physical activities you do on a typical twenty-four hours. If you find that the majority of your clip is spent sitting. do another list of all the ways you could travel more–getting up each hr to stretch or walk. walk the stepss at work. etc. 4. Reduce emphasisWe have got to acquire rid of all of this emphasis. Stress happens when your life becomes out of balance physically. mentally or emotionally. This instability can be caused by internal emphasis like worrying excessively much. environmental emphasis like force per unit area from work. household or friends. or by emphasis from being fatigued or overworked. Bing stressed out has the possible to impact your wellness in a assortment of ways. You can go tired. sick. tense. cranky. and unable to believe clearly. If you want to populate a healthy life style. you will necessitate to pull off the emphasis in your life so that it does non catch you. This means taking charge of your ideas. emotions. undertakings. and environment to acquire your organic structure back in balance. Action Items Here are some specific action points for populating a healthy life style: 1. Use the nutrient pyramid as a usher to how much of what to eat 2. Eat less processed nutrients3. Reduce your sugar consumption4. Grill. furuncle. or bake nutrients instead than frying them5. Reduce the sum of meat you eat6. Eat a batch of fresh locally produced veggies and fruits 7. Avoid adding salt to your repasts after they have been cooked 8. Regulate your part sizes ( a part is about the size of your fist ) 9. Reduce your intoxicant ingestion 10. Reduce caffeine ingestion11. Don’t eat nutrients that have a lifetime guarantee ( unless we have some kind of catastrophe and you have been hive awaying them in your cellar for merely that instance ) 12. Stop smoke13. Laugh a batch14. Exercise at a moderate strength. for at least a half an hr three to five times per hebdomad. 15. Find ways to extinguish emphasis ( meditate. exercising. guided imagination. music ) 16. Give to others with no stringsattached 17. Smile at aliens18. Learn to state no19. Avoid people who put their emphasis on you20. Take control of your life

Definition of Air Pollution Essay Example

Definition of Air Pollution Essay Example Definition of Air Pollution Paper Definition of Air Pollution Paper 1. Definition of air pollution Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere. The atmosphere is a complex dynamic natural gaseous system that is essential to support life on planet Earth. Stratospheric ozone depletion due to air pollution has long been recognized as a threat to human health as well as to the Earths ecosystems. Indoor air pollution and urban air quality are listed as two of the worlds worst pollution problems in the 2008 Blacksmith Institute Worlds Worst Polluted Places report. [1] Define Air pollutants Pollutants Main articles: Pollutant and Greenhouse gas Before flue gas desulfurization was installed, the emissions from this power plant in New Mexico contained excessive amounts of sulfur dioxide. Schematic drawing, causes and effects of air pollution: (1) greenhouse effect, (2) particulate contamination, (3) increased UV radiation, (4) acid rain, (5) increased ground level ozone concentration, (6) increased levels of nitrogen oxides. A substance in the air that can cause harm to humans and the environment is known as an air pollutant. Pollutants can be in the form of solid particles, liquid droplets, or gases. In addition, they may be natural or man-made. [2] Pollutants can be classified as primary or secondary. Usually, primary pollutants are directly emitted from a process, such as ash from a volcanic eruption, the carbon monoxide gas from a motor vehicle exhaust or sulfur dioxide released from factories. Secondary pollutants are not emitted directly. Rather, they form in the air when primary pollutants react or interact. An important example of a secondary pollutant is ground level ozone  - one of the many secondary pollutants that make up photochemical smog. Some pollutants may be both primary and secondary: that is, they are both emitted directly and formed from other primary pollutants. About 4 percent of deaths in the United States can be attributed to air pollution, according to the Environmental Science Engineering Program at the Harvard School of Public Health. [citation needed] Major primary pollutants produced by human activity include: * Sulfur oxides (SOx) especially sulphur dioxide, a chemical compound with the formula SO2. SO2 is produced by volcanoes and in various industrial processes. Since coal and petroleum often contain sulphur compounds, their combustion generates sulfur dioxide. Further oxidation of SO2, usually in the presence of a catalyst such as NO2, forms H2SO4, and thus acid rain. [2] This is one of the causes for concern over the environmental impact of the use of these fuels as power sources. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) especially nitrogen dioxide are emitted from high temperature combustion. Can be seen as the brown haze dome above or plume downwind of cities. Nitrogen dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula NO2. It is one of the several nitrogen oxides. This reddish-brown toxic gas has a characteristic sharp, biting odor. NO2 is one of the most prominent air pollutants. * Carbon monoxide is a colourless, odorless, non-irritatin g but very poisonous gas. It is a product by incomplete combustion of fuel such as natural gas, coal or wood. Vehicular exhaust is a major source of carbon monoxide. * Carbon dioxide (CO2) a colourless, odorless, non-toxic greenhouse gas associated with ocean acidification, emitted from sources such as combustion, cement production, and respiration * Volatile organic compounds VOCs are an important outdoor air pollutant. In this field they are often divided into the separate categories of methane (CH4) and non-methane (NMVOCs). Methane is an extremely efficient greenhouse gas which contributes to enhanced global warming. Other hydrocarbon VOCs are also significant greenhouse gases via their role in creating ozone and in prolonging the life of methane in the atmosphere, although the effect varies depending on local air quality. Within the NMVOCs, the aromatic compounds benzene, toluene and xylene are suspected carcinogens and may lead to leukemia through prolonged exposure. 1,3-butadiene is another dangerous compound which is often associated with industrial uses. * Particulate matter Particulates, alternatively referred to as particulate matter (PM) or fine particles, are tiny particles of solid or liquid suspended in a gas. In contrast, aerosol refers to particles and the gas together. Sources of particulate matter can be man made or natural. Some particulates occur naturally, originating from volcanoes, dust storms, forest and grassland fires, living vegetation, and sea spray. Human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels in vehicles, power plants and various industrial processes also generate significant amounts of aerosols. Averaged over the globe, anthropogenic aerosols- those made by human activities- currently account for about 10 percent of the total amount of aerosols in our atmosphere. Increased levels of fine particles in the air are linked to health hazards such as heart disease,[3] altered lung function and lung cancer. * Persistent free radicals connected to airborne fine particles could cause cardiopulmonary disease. [4][5] * Toxic metals, such as lead, cadmium and copper. * Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) harmful to the ozone layer emitted from products currently banned from use. * Ammonia (NH3) emitted from agricultural processes. Ammonia is a compound with the formula NH3. It is normally encountered as a gas with a characteristic pungent odor. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to foodstuffs and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or indirectly, is also a building block for the synthesis of many pharmaceuticals. Although in wide use, ammonia is both caustic and hazardous. * Odors  - such as from garbage, sewage, and industrial processes * Radioactive pollutants produced by nuclear explosions, war explosives, and natural processes such as the radioactive decay of radon. Secondary pollutants include: Particulate matter formed from gaseous primary pollutants and compounds in photochemical smog. Smog is a kind of air pollution; the word smog is a portmanteau of smoke and fog. Classic smog results from large amounts of coal burning in an area caused by a mixture of smoke and sulfur dioxide. Modern smog does not usually come from coal but from vehicular and industrial emissions that are acted on in the atmosphere by ultraviolet light from the sun to form secondary pollutants that also combine with the primary emissions to form photochemical smog. Ground level ozone (O3) formed from NOx and VOCs. Ozone (O3) is a key constituent of the troposphere. It is also an important constituent of certain regions of the stratosphere commonly known as the Ozone layer. Photochemical and chemical reactions involving it drive many of the chemical processes that occur in the atmosphere by day and by night. At abnormally high concentrations brought about by human activities (largely the combustion of fossil fuel), it is a pollutant, and a constituent of smog. Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) similarly formed from NOx and VOCs. Minor air pollutants include: * A large number of minor hazardous air pollutants. Some of these are regulated in USA under the Clean Air Act and in Europe under the Air Framework Directive. * A variety of persistent organic pollutants, which can attach to particulate matter. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are organic comp ounds that are resistant to environmental degradation through chemical, biological, and photolytic processes. Because of this, they have been observed to persist in the environment, to be capable of long-range transport, bioaccumulate in human and animal tissue, biomagnify in food chains, and to have potential significant impacts on human health and the environment. Sources Main article: AP 42 Compilation of Air Pollutant Emission Factors Dust storm approaching Stratford, Texas Controlled burning of a field outside of Statesboro, Georgia in preparation for spring planting Sources of air pollution refer to the various locations, activities or factors which are responsible for the releasing of pollutants into the atmosphere. These sources can be classified into two major categories which are: Anthropogenic sources (human activity) mostly related to burning different kinds of fuel * Stationary Sources include smoke stacks of power plants, manufacturing facilities (factories) and waste incinerators, as well as furnaces and other types of fuel-burning heating devices * Mobile Sources include motor vehicles, marine vessels, aircraft and the effect of sound etc. * Chemicals, dust and controlled burn practices in agriculture and forestry management. Controlled or prescribed burning is a technique sometimes used in forest management, farming, prairie restoration or greenhouse gas abatement. Fire is a natural part of both forest and grassland ecology and controlled fire can be a tool for foresters. Controlled burning stimulates the germination of some desirable forest trees, thus renewing the forest. * Fumes from paint, hair spray, varnish, aerosol sprays and other solvents * Waste deposition in landfills, which generate methane. Methane is not toxic; however, it is highly flammable and may form explosive mixtures with air. Methane is also an asphyxiant and may displace oxygen in an enclosed space. Asphyxia or suffocation may result if the oxygen concentration is reduced to below 19. 5% by displacement * Military, such as nuclear weapons, toxic gases, germ warfare and rocketry Natural sources * Dust from natural sources, usually large areas of land with little or no vegetation * Methane, emitted by the digestion of food by animals, for example cattle * Radon gas from radioactive decay within the Earths crust. Radon is a colorless, odorless, naturally occurring, radioactive noble gas that is formed from the decay of radium. It is considered to be a health hazard. Radon gas from natural sources can accumulate in buildings, especially in confined areas such as the basement and it is the second most frequent cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoking * Smoke and carbon monoxide from wildfires * Vegetation, in some regions, emits environmentally significant amounts of VOCs on warmer days. These VOCs react with primary anthropogenic pollutants- specifically, NOx, SO2, and anthropogenic organic carbon compounds- to produce a seasonal haze of secondary pollutants. 6] * Volcanic activity, which produce sulfur, chlorine, and ash particulates Emission factors Main article: AP 42 Compilation of Air Pollutant Emission Factors Air pollutant emission factors are representative values that people attempt to relate the quantity of a pollutant released to the ambient air with an activity associated with the release of that pollutant. These factors are usually expressed as the weight of pollutant divided by a unit wei ght, volume, distance, or duration of the activity emitting the pollutant (e. g. , kilograms of particulate emitted per megagram of coal burned). Such factors facilitate estimation of emissions from various sources of air pollution. In most cases, these factors are simply averages of all available data of acceptable quality, and are generally assumed to be representative of long-term averages. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has published a compilation of air pollutant emission factors for a multitude of industrial sources. [7] The United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and many other countries have published similar compilations, as well as the European Environment Agency. [8][9][10][11][12] Indoor air quality (IAQ) Main article: Indoor air quality A lack of ventilation indoors concentrates air pollution where people often spend the majority of their time. Radon (Rn) gas, a carcinogen, is exuded from the Earth in certain locations and trapped inside houses. Building materials including carpeting and plywood emit formaldehyde (H2CO) gas. Paint and solvents give off volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as they dry. Lead paint can degenerate into dust and be inhaled. Intentional air pollution is introduced with the use of air fresheners, incense, and other scented items. Controlled wood fires in stoves and fireplaces can add significant amounts of smoke particulates into the air, inside and out. [13] Indoor pollution fatalities may be caused by using pesticides and other chemical sprays indoors without proper ventilation. Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and fatalities are often caused by faulty vents and chimneys, or by the burning of charcoal indoors. Chronic carbon monoxide poisoning can result even from poorly adjusted pilot lights. Traps are built into all domestic plumbing to keep sewer gas, hydrogen sulfide, out of interiors. Clothing emits tetrachloroethylene, or other dry cleaning fluids, for days after dry cleaning. Though its use has now been banned in many countries, the extensive use of asbestos in industrial and domestic environments in the past has left a potentially very dangerous material in many localities. Asbestosis is a chronic inflammatory medical condition affecting the tissue of the lungs. It occurs after long-term, heavy exposure to asbestos from asbestos-containing materials in structures. Sufferers have severe dyspnea (shortness of breath) and are at an increased risk regarding several different types of lung cancer. As clear explanations are not always stressed in non-technical literature, care should be taken to distinguish between several forms of relevant diseases. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO)[dead link], these may defined as; asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma (generally a very rare form of cancer, when more widespread it is almost always associated with prolonged exposure to asbestos). Biological sources of air pollution are also found indoors, as gases and airborne particulates. Pets produce dander, people produce dust from minute skin flakes and decomposed hair, dust mites in bedding, carpeting and furniture produce enzymes and micrometre-sized fecal droppings, inhabitants emit methane, mold forms in walls and generates mycotoxins and spores, air conditioning systems can incubate Legionnaires disease and mold, and houseplants, soil and surrounding gardens can produce pollen, dust, and mold. Indoors, the lack of air circulation allows these airborne pollutants to accumulate more than they would otherwise occur in nature. Health effects The World Health Organization states that 2. 4 million people die each year from causes directly attributable to air pollution, with 1. 5 million of these deaths attributable to indoor air pollution. [14] Epidemiological studies suggest that more than 500,000 Americans die each year from cardiopulmonary disease linked to breathing fine particle air pollution. . . [15] A study by the University of Birmingham has shown a strong correlation between pneumonia related deaths and air pollution from motor vehicles. [16] Worldwide more deaths per year are linked to air pollution than to automobile accidents. citation needed] Published in 2005 suggests that 310,000 Europeans die from air pollution annually. [citation needed] Causes of deaths include aggravated asthma, emphysema, lung and heart diseases, and respiratory allergies. [citation needed] The US EPA estimates that a proposed set of changes in diesel engine technology (Tier 2) could result in 12,000 fewer premature mortalities, 15,000 fewer heart attacks, 6,000 fewer emergency room visits by children with asthma, and 8,900 fewer respiratory-related hospital admissions each year in the United States. citation needed] The worst short term civilian pollution crisis in India was the 1984 Bhopal Disaster. [17] Leaked industrial vapors from the Union Carbide factory, belonging to Union Carbide, Inc. , U. S. A. , killed more than 25,000 people outright and injured anywhere from 150,000 to 600,000. The United Kingdom suffered its worst air pollution event when the December 4 Great Smog of 1952 formed over London. In six days more than 4,000 died, and 8,000 more died within the following months. citation needed] An accidental leak of anthrax spores from a biological warfare laboratory in the former USSR in 1979 near Sverdlovsk is believed to have been the cause of hundreds of civilian deaths. [citation needed] The worst single incident of air pollution to occur in the United States of America occurred in Donora, Pennsylv ania in late October, 1948, when 20 people died and over 7,000 were injured. [18] The health effects caused by air pollution may include difficulty in breathing, wheezing, coughing and aggravation of existing respiratory and cardiac conditions. These effects can result in increased medication use, increased doctor or emergency room visits, more hospital admissions and premature death. The human health effects of poor air quality are far reaching, but principally affect the bodys respiratory system and the cardiovascular system. Individual reactions to air pollutants depend on the type of pollutant a person is exposed to, the degree of exposure, the individuals health status and genetics. citation needed] A new economic study of the health impacts and associated costs of air pollution in the Los Angeles Basin and San Joaquin Valley of Southern California shows that more than 3800 people die prematurely (approximately 14 years earlier than normal) each year because air pollution levels violate federal standards. The number of annual premature deaths is considerably higher than the fatalities related to auto collisions in the same area, which average fewer than 2,000 per year. [19] Diesel exhaust (DE) is a major contributor to combustion derived particulate matter air pollution. In several human experimental studies, using a well validated exposure chamber setup, DE has been linked to acute vascular dysfunction and increased thrombus formation. [20][21] This serves as a plausible mechanistic link between the previously described association between particulate matter air pollution and increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Effects on cystic fibrosis Main article: Cystic fibrosis A study from around the years of 1999 to 2000, by the University of Washington, showed that patients near and around particulate matter air ollution had an increased risk of pulmonary exacerbations and decrease in lung function. [22] Patients were examined before the study for amounts of specific pollutants like Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Burkholderia cenocepacia as well as their socioeconomic standing. Participants involved in the study were located in the United States in close proximity to an Environmental Protection Agency. [clarification needed] During the time of the study 117 deaths were associated with air pollution. Many patients in the study lived in or near large metropolitan areas in order to be close to medical help. These same patients had higher level of pollutants found in their system because of more emissions in larger cities. As cystic fibrosis patients already suffer from decreased lung function, everyday pollutants such as smoke, emissions from automobiles, tobacco smoke and improper use of indoor heating devices could further compromise lung function. [23] Effects on COPD Main article: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) includes diseases such as chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and some forms of asthma. 24] A study conducted in 1960-1961 in the wake of the Great Smog of 1952 compared 293 London residents with 477 residents of Gloucester, Peterborough, and Norwich, three towns with low reported death rates from chronic bronchitis. All subjects were male postal truck drivers aged 40 to 59. Compared to the subjects from the outlying towns, the London subjects exhibited more severe respiratory symptoms (including cough, phlegm, and dyspnea), redu ced lung function (FEV1 and peak flow rate), and increased sputum production and purulence. The differences were more pronounced for subjects aged 50 to 59. The study controlled for age and smoking habits, so concluded that air pollution was the most likely cause of the observed differences. [25] It is believed that much like cystic fibrosis, by living in a more urban environment serious health hazards become more apparent. Studies have shown that in urban areas patients suffer mucus hypersecretion, lower levels of lung function, and more self diagnosis of chronic bronchitis and emphysema. [26] Effects on children Cities around the world with high exposure to air pollutants have the possibility of children living within them to develop asthma, pneumonia and other lower respiratory infections as well as a low initial birth rate. Protective measures to ensure the youths health are being taken in cities such as New Delhi, India where buses now use compressed natural gas to help eliminate the â€Å"pea-soup† smog. [27] Research by the World Health Organization shows there is the greatest concentration of particulate matter particles in countries with low economic world power and high poverty and population rates. Examples of these countries include Egypt, Sudan, Mongolia, and Indonesia. In the United States, the Clean Air Act was passed in 1970, however in 2002 at least 146 million Americans were living in non-attainment areas- regions in which the concentration of certain air pollutants exceeded federal standards. [28] Those pollutants are known as the criteria pollutants, and include ozone, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and lead. Because children are outdoors more and have higher minute ventilation they are more susceptible to the dangers of air pollution. Health effects in relatively clean areas Even in areas with relatively low levels of air pollution, public health effects can be significant and costly. This is because effects can occur at very low levels and a large number of people breathe in such pollutants. A 2005 scientific study for the British Columbia Lung Association showed that a small improvement in air quality (1% reduction of ambient PM2. 5 and ozone concentrations) would produce a $29 million in annual savings in the Metro Vancouver region in 2010. 29] This finding is based on health valuation of lethal (death) and sub-lethal (illness) effects. Reduction efforts There are various air pollution control technologies and land use planning strategies available to reduce air pollution. At its most basic level land use planning is likely to involve zoning and transport infrastructure planning. In most developed countries, land use planning is an important part of social policy, ensuring that land is used efficiently for the benefit of the wider economy and population as well as to protect the environment. Efforts to reduce pollution from mobile sources includes primary regulation (many developing countries have permissive regulations),[citation needed] expanding regulation to new sources (such as cruise and transport ships, farm equipment, and small gas-powered equipment such as lawn trimmers, chainsaws, and snowmobiles), increased fuel efficiency (such as through the use of hybrid vehicles), conversion to cleaner fuels (such as bioethanol, biodiesel, or conversion to electric vehicles). Control devices The following items are commonly used as pollution control devices by industry or transportation devices. They can either destroy contaminants or remove them from an exhaust stream before it is emitted into the atmosphere. * Particulate control * Mechanical collectors (dust cyclones, multicyclones) * Electrostatic precipitators An electrostatic precipitator (ESP), or electrostatic air cleaner is a particulate collection device that removes particles from a flowing gas (such as air) using the force of an induced electrostatic charge. Electrostatic precipitators are highly efficient filtration devices that minimally impede the flow of gases through the device, and can easily remove fine particulate matter such as dust and smoke from the air stream. * Baghouses Designed to handle heavy dust loads, a dust collector consists of a blower, dust filter, a filter-cleaning system, and a dust receptacle or dust removal system (distinguished from air cleaners which utilize disposable filters to remove the dust). * * Particulate scrubbersWet scrubber is a form of pollution control technology. The term describes a variety of devices that use pollutants from a furnace flue gas or from other gas streams. In a wet scrubber, the polluted gas stream is brought into contact with the scrubbing liquid, by spraying it with the liquid, by forcing it through a pool of liquid, or by some other contact method, so as to remove the pollutants. * Scrubbers * Baffle spray scrubber * Cyclonic spray scrubber * Ejector venturi scrubber * Mechanically aided scrubber * Spray tower * Wet scrubber * NOx control Low NOx burners * Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) * Selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) * NOx scrubbers * Exhaust gas recirculation * Catalytic converter (also for VOC control) * VOC abatement * Adsorption systems, such as activated carbon * Flares * Thermal oxidizers * Catalytic converters * Biofilters * Absorption (scrubbing) * Cryogenic condensers * Vapor recovery systems * Acid Gas/SO2 control * Wet scrubbers * Dry scrubbers * Flue gas desulfurization * Mercury control * Sorbe nt Injection Technology Electro-Catalytic Oxidation (ECO) * K-Fuel * Dioxin and furan control * Miscellaneous associated equipment * Source capturing systems * Continuous emissions monitoring systems (CEMS) Legal regulations Smog in Cairo In general, there are two types of air quality standards. The first class of standards (such as the U. S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards and E. U. Air Quality Directive) set maximum atmospheric concentrations for specific pollutants. Environmental agencies enact regulations which are intended to esult in attainment of these target levels. The second class (such as the North American Air Quality Index) take the form of a scale with various thresholds, which is used to communicate to the public the relative risk of outdoor activity. The scale may or may not distinguish between different pollutants. Cities Air pollution is usually concentrated in densely populated metropolitan areas, especially in developing countries where environmental regul ations are relatively lax or nonexistent. However, even populated areas in developed countries attain unhealthy levels of pollution. Governing Urban Air Pollution – a regional example (London) In Europe, Council Directive 96/62/EC on ambient air quality assessment and management provides a common strategy against which member states can â€Å"set objectives for ambient air quality in order to avoid, prevent or reduce harmful effects on human health and the environment . . . and improve air quality where it is unsatisfactory†. 30] On 25 July 2008 in the case Dieter Janecek v Freistaat Bayern CURIA, the European Court of Justice ruled that under this directive[30] citizens have the right to require national authorities to implement a short term action plan that aims to maintain or achieve compliance to air quality limit values. [31] This important case law appears to confirm the role of the EC as centralised regulator to European nation-states as regards air pollution control. It places a supranational legal obli gation on the UK to protect its citizens from dangerous levels of air pollution, furthermore superseding national interests with those of the citizen. In 2010, the European Commission (EC) threatened the UK with legal action against the successive breaching of PM10 limit values. [32] The UK government has identified that if fines are imposed, they could cost the nation upwards of ? 300 million per year. [33] In March 2011, the City of London remains the only UK region in breach of the EC’s limit values, and has been given 3 months to implement an emergency action plan aimed at meeting the EU Air Quality Directive. [34] The City of London has dangerous levels of PM10 concentrations, estimated to cause 3000 deaths per year within the city. 35] As well as the threat of EU fines, in 2010 it was threatened with legal action for scrapping the western congestion charge zone, which is claimed to have led to an increase in air pollution levels. [36] In response to these charges, Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, has criticised the current need for European cities to communicate with Europe through their nation state’s central go vernment, arguing that in future â€Å"A great city like London† should be permitted to bypass its government and deal directly with the European Commission regarding its air quality action plan. 34] In part, this is an attempt to divert blame away from the Mayors office, but it can also be interpreted as recognition that cities can transcend the traditional national government organisational hierarchy and develop solutions to air pollution using global governance networks, for example through transnational relations. Transnational relations include but are not exclusive to national governments and intergovernmental organisations [37] allowing sub-national actors including cities and regions to partake in air pollution control as independent actors. Particularly promising at present are global city partnerships. [38] These can be built into networks, for example the C40 network, of which London is a member. The C40 is a public ‘non-state’ network of the world’s leading cities that aims to curb their greenhouse emissions. [38] The C40 has been identified as ‘governance from the middle’ and is an alternative to intergovernmental policy. [39] It has the potential to improve urban air quality as participating cities â€Å"exchange information, learn from best practices and consequently mitigate carbon dioxide emissions independently from national government decisions†. 38] A criticism of the C40 network is that its exclusive nature limits influence to participating cities and risks drawing resources away from less powerful city and regional actors. Carbon dioxide emissions Total CO2 emissions Main article: List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions Per capita CO2 emissions[41] Main article: List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions per capita Atmospheric dispersion Main article: Atmospheric dispersion modeling The basic technology for analyzing air pollution is through the use of a variety of mathematical models for predicting the transport of air pollutants in the lower atmosphere. The principal methodologies are: * Point source dispersion, used for industrial sources. * Line source dispersion, used for airport and roadway air dispersion modeling * Area source dispersion, used for forest fires or duststorms * Photochemical models, used to analyze reactive pollutants that form smog Visualization of a buoyant Gaussian air pollution dispersion plume as used in many atmospheric dispersion models The point source problem is the best understood, since it involves simpler mathematics and has been studied for a long period of time, dating back to about the year 1900. It uses a Gaussian dispersion model for buoyant pollution plumes to forecast the air pollution isopleths, with consideration given to wind velocity, stack height, emission rate and stability class (a measure of atmospheric turbulence). [42][43] This model has been extensively validated and calibrated with experimental data for all sorts of atmospheric conditions. The roadway air dispersion model was developed starting in the late 1950s and early 1960s in response to requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act and the U. S. Department of Transportation (then known as the Federal Highway Administration) to understand impacts of proposed new highways upon air quality, especially in urban areas. Several research groups were active in this model development, among which were: the Environmental Research and Technology (ERT) group in Lexington, Massachusetts, the ESL Inc. group in Sunnyvale, California and the California Air Resources Board group in Sacramento, California. The research of the ESL group received a boost with a contract award from the United States Environmental Protection Agency to validate a line source model using sulfur hexafluoride as a tracer gas. This program was successful in validating the line source model developed by ESL inc. Some of the earliest uses of the model were in court cases involving highway air pollution, the Arlington, Virginia portion of Interstate 66 and the New Jersey Turnpike widening project through East Brunswick, New Jersey. Area source models were developed in 1971 through 1974 by the ERT and ESL groups, but addressed a smaller fraction of total air pollution emissions, so that their use and need was not as widespread as the line source model, hich enjoyed hundreds of different applications as early as the 1970s. Similarly photochemical models were developed primarily in the 1960s and 1970s, but their use was more specialized and for regional needs, such as understanding smog formation in Los Angeles, California. What Are the Six Common Air Pollutants? The Clean Air Act requires EPA to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards for six common air pollutants. These commonly found air pollutants (also k nown as criteria pollutants) are found all over the United States. They are particle pollution (often referred to as particulate matter), ground-level ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and lead. These pollutants can harm your health and the environment, and cause property damage. Of the six pollutants, particle pollution and ground-level ozone are the most widespread health threats. EPA calls these pollutants criteria air pollutants because it regulates them by developing human health-based and/or environmentally-based criteria (science-based guidelines) for setting permissible levels. The set of limits based on human health is called primary standards. Another set of limits intended to prevent environmental and property damage is called secondary standards. Click on one of the pollutants below for information on sources of the pollutant, why the pollutant is of concern, health and environmental effects, efforts underway to help reduce the pollutant, and other helpful resources. * Ozone * Particulate Matter * Carbon Monoxide * Nitrogen Oxides * Sulfur Dioxide * Lead Air Pollution Trends For each of these pollutants, EPA tracks two kinds of air pollution trends: air concentrations based on actual measurements of pollutant concentrations in the ambient (outside) air at selected monitoring sites throughout the country, and emissions based on engineering estimates of the total tons of pollutants released into the air each year. Despite the progress made in the last 30 years, millions of people live in counties with monitor data showing unhealthy air for one or more of the six common air pollutants. For EPAs most recent evaluation of air pollution trends for these six pollutants, click on the following: * Latest Findings on National Air Quality: Status and Trends Health Effects Information Exposure to these pollutants is associated with numerous effects on human health, including increased respiratory symptoms, hospitalization for heart or lung diseases, and even premature death. Try these helpful resources: * Air Quality Index (AQI) * Ozone Good Up High, Bad Nearby * Ozone and Your Health * Particle Pollution and Your Health * Air Quality Guide for Ozone Air Quality Guide for Particle Pollution * Smog Who Does it Hurt? State Implementation Plan Status and Information EPA must designate areas as meeting (attainment) or not meeting (nonattainment) the standard. The Clean Air Act (CAA) requires states to develop a general plan to attain and maintain the NAAQS in all areas of the country and a specific plan to attain the standards for each area designated nonattainment for a NAAQ S. These plans, known as State Implementation Plans or SIPs, are developed by state and local air quality management agencies and submitted to EPA for approval. Detailed information about state SIP elements and their status can be found on the State Implementation Plan Status and Information page. Pollutants in the Ambient Air ;;Previous Next;; | + Air Pollution Menu The composition of unpolluted air is unknown to us. Humans have lived on the planet thousands of years and influenced the composition of the air through their many activities before it was possible to measure the constituents of the air. Air is a complex mixture made up of many chemical components. The primary components of air are nitrogen (N2), oxygen (O2), and water vapor (H2O). About 99 percent of air is nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (21%). The remaining percent includes trace quantities of substances such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), hydrogen (H2), argon (Ar) and helium (He). Figure:Whats in the air? In theory, the air has always been polluted to some degree. Natural phenomena such as volcanoes, wind storms, the decomposition of plants and animals, and even the aerosols emitted by the ocean pollute the air. However, the pollutants we usually refer to when we talk about air pollution are those generated as a result of human activity. An air pollutant can be considered as a substance in the air that, in high enough concentrations, produces a detrimental environmental effect. These effects can be either health effects or welfare effects. A pollutant can affect the health of humans, as well as the health of plants and animals. Pollutants can also affect non-living materials such as paints, metals, and fabrics. An environmental effect is defined as a measurable or perceivable detrimental change resulting from contact with an air pollutant. Human activities have had a detrimental effect on the makeup of air. Activities such as driving cars and trucks, burning of coal, oil and other fossil fuels, and manufacturing chemicals have changed the composition of air by introducing many pollutants. There are hundreds of pollutants in the ambient air. Ambient air is the air to which the general public has access, i. e. any unconfined portion of the atmosphere. The two basic physical forms of air pollutants are particulate matter and gases. Particulate matter includes small solid and liquid particles such as dust, smoke, sand, pollen, mist, and fly ash. Gases include substances such as carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NO2), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Pollutants can also be classified as either primary pollutants or secondary pollutants. A primary pollutant is one that is emitted into the atmosphere directly from the source of the pollutant and retains the same chemical form. An example of a primary pollutant is the ash produced by the burning of solid waste. A secondary pollutant is one that is formed by atmospheric reactions of precursor or primary emissions. Secondary pollutants undergo a hemical change once they reach the atmosphere. An example of a secondary pollutant is ozone created from organic vapors given off at a gasoline station. The organic vapors react with sunlight in the atmosphere to produce the ozone, the primary component of smog. Control of secondary pollutants is generally more problematic than that of primary pollutants, because mitigation of secondary pollutants requires the identification of the precursor compounds and their sources as well as an understanding of the specific chemical reactions that result in the formation of the secondary pollutants. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has further classified ambient air pollutants for regulatory purposes as hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) and criteria pollutants. Criteria pollutants are pollutants that have been identified as being both common and detrimental to human welfare and are found over all the United States (ubiquitous pollutants). EPA currently designates six pollutants as criteria pollutants. These criteria pollutants are: carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), ozone (O3), lead (Pb), and particulate matter (PM). On the other hand, EPA refers to chemicals that cause serious health and environmental hazards as hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) or air toxics. Hazardous air pollutants are those pollutants that are known or suspected to cause cancer or other serious health effects, such as reproductive effects or birth defects, or adverse environmental effects. Units 5 and 6 of this module discuss in more details the criteria pollutants and the hazardous air pollutants. Causes of air pollution Air pollution is something that we cannot really ignore now-a-days. This is evident from the moment we step out of our house and are greeted with black colored smog that hits us directly reminding us that breathing clean air is more of a distant dream. It is so easy for us to endlessly rant and rave about the causes of air pollution and its ill effects, but little do we realize that each person is responsible for all the causes of air pollution and the situation that we face today. Take a look around you at the dismal state of affairs. The thick smog that is seen in the morning hours is not really due to somebody else but rather due to each and every one of us. Here is a look at the causes of air pollution and how it can affect us if the matter is not taken care of at this stage itself. Causes of Air Pollution: Carbon dioxide is one the main pollutants that causes air pollution. This is because, although living beings do exhale carbon dioxide, this gas is harmful when emitted from other sources, which are caused due to human activity. An additional release of carbon dioxide happens due to various such activities. Carbon dioxide gas is used in various industries such as the oil industry and the chemical industry. The manufacturing process of most products would require the use of this gas. There are various human activities that add to the increased proportions of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The combustion of fossil fuels and the harmful effects of deforestation have all contributed towards the same. show that amongst the various gasses emitted during a volcanic eruption, carbon dioxide remains to be at least 40% of the emission. Scientists have now therefore identified carbon dioxide as one of those elements that have contributed to global warming. Causes of air pollution are not limited to this. The combustion of fuels in automobiles, jet planes etc all cause the release of several primary pollutants into the air. The burning of fossil fuels in big cities which is seen at most factories, offices and even a large number of homes, it is no wonder that air pollution is increasing at an alarming rate. The release of other harmful gases all adds to the state that we see today. Although carbon dioxide plays an important role in various other processes like photosynthesis, breathing an excess of the same also causes harmful effects towards one’s health. The various causes of air pollution that releases harmful gases into the atmosphere are caused due to the increasing number of power plants and manufacturing units or industries that mostly have activities related to the burning of fuels. Besides, as mentioned earlier, most automobiles, marine vessels, activities that involve the burning of wood, fumes that are released from aerosol sprays, military activities that involve the use of nuclear weapons, all are the numerous causes of air pollution. Carbon monoxide is another such gas which, although was present in the atmosphere earlier, is now considered to be a major pollutant. An excess of the same has a harmful effect on our system. There are many reasons why carbon monoxide can be released into the atmosphere as a result of human activities. This is also produced due to any fuel burning appliance and appliances such as gas water heaters, fireplaces, woodstoves, gas stoves, gas dryers, yard equipments as well as automobiles, which add to the increased proportion of this gas into the atmosphere. Sulfur dioxide is yet another harmful pollutant that causes air pollution. Sulfur dioxide is emitted largely to the excessive burning of fossil fuels, petroleum refineries, chemical and coal burning power plants etc. Nitrogen dioxide when combined with sulfur dioxide can even cause a harmful reaction in the atmosphere that can cause acid rain. Nitrogen dioxide is one more gas that is emitted into the atmosphere as a result of various human activities. An excess of nitrogen dioxide mainly happens due to most power plants seen in major cities, the burning of fuels due to various motor vehicles and other such sources, whether industrial or commercial that cause the increase in the levels of nitrogen dioxide. These and a number of other hazardous air pollutants are emitted with the various numbers of activities that we carry out during the day which are the main causes of air pollution. How you can help to prevent Air Pollution: * Carpool- This will help to reduce the number of vehicles on the already congested roads. * Always keep your car tuned properly so that it remains in a good condition. * Save energy- Try to use minimum amounts of natural gas and even electricity. Whenever possible, avoid the use of air conditioner and use a fan instead. * Always buy recycled products. * Reuse things such as paper and plastic bags, paper etc. This will contribute a lot towards reducing the effects of air pollution and global warming. * Avoid the use of firecrackers. You don’t really need it to express your feeling of happiness. * Go in for water-based paints instead of varnishes. * If you really cannot avoid using your car, plan your work systematically to reduce air pollution. The causes of air pollution can be many to name if one really scrutinizes this subject closely. With a little effort from our side, we can help to reduce the harmful effects of air pollution so that we can breathe in a clean and healthy environment. | Causes continue 10 Causes of Air Pollution By Nicky LaMarco, eHow Contributor 1. * Air pollution is caused by a wide variety of things. The earth is great at cleaning the air on its own. However, air pollution has grown so much, the earth can no longer clean all of it. This is starting to have adverse effects on the environment such as causing acid rain, smog and a wide variety of health problems. 2. Combustion Engine Exhaust * Cars, trucks, jet airplanes and other combustion engine vehicles cause air pollution. The exhaust from these contains carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide and gaseous oxide. This type of air pollution creates smog (as seen in Los Angeles) which causes respiratory health problems and holes in the ozone layer, which increases the exposure to the suns harmful rays. Factories * Factories, office buildings, homes and power-generating stations burn fossil fuels, which cause air pollution. The burning of oil and coal (fossil fuels) also contributes to smog. This air pollution destroys plants, damages buildings and creates oxidation on iron. Petroleum * Petroleum refineries release hydrocarbons and various particulates that pollute the air. Power Lines * Some power lines are not insulated and are high voltage. This creates air pollution. Pesticides * Pesticides used to kill indoor and outdoor pests, insecticides used to kill insects and herbicides use to kill weeds all cause air pollution. Radioactive Fallout * Radioactive fallout causes air pollution from the nuclear energy dispersed, which is a dust. Fertilizer Dust * Dust from fertilizers used to help plants grow causes air pollution. Indoor Air Pollution * Sick building syndrome (SBS) is the term used when there is indoor air pollution. This happens when there is not enough ventilation to disburse the toxic fumes from new carpet, paint and/or cleaning chemicals that are used indoors. Mold can also cause SBS. Mining Operations * Mining causes air pollution by releasing a variety of particles. Mills and Plants * Mills and plants, include paper mills, chemical plants, iron mills, steel mills, cement plants and asphalt plants, release emissions into the air causing air pollution. * Diabetes Typestalabidiabetescentre. org Understanding the types of Diabetes easily

Education as discussed by Jon Spayde Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Education as discussed by Jon Spayde - Essay Example Spayde (1998) further adds that formal training is a vital necessity, however power and class simultaneously plays significant role in the sector of education. For instance, the graduates from world class universities like Stanford and Harvard would be offered the designations at workplace to prepare the work schedules for those who have acquired their degree from a not so famous, regional college. The eminent journalist and novelist, Earl Shorris (Spayde, 1998, p.67) realized the flaws of the modern educational system and took initiative for starting up an Ivy League adult education course which was meant for the â€Å"Asians, whites, blacks and Hispanics† (p.67). On the first day of his lecture, Shorris (Spayde, 1998, p.67) addressed his students and let them know that â€Å"humanities† is not just a subject to be studied by the Rich strata of the society. The term â€Å"Humanities† embraces the entire world and its people. The concept of humanities teaches the students how to live, how to think and how to enjoy life. The subject enriches the readers by providing them a new perspective towards life. Spayde (1998) further recognizes several misconceptions about the term â€Å"education†. ...suitable for fighting the â€Å"global competitiveness† but Spayde (1998) states that despite of possessing specialized skills, these contemporary graduates lack â€Å"intellectual breadth† (p.68) which can only be learnt by the practice of humanities. The professor of environmental studies of Oberlin College defines the recent trend of education as â€Å"fast knowledge† (p.68) which is mainly imparted through the means of information technology. He claims that â€Å"Slow knowledge† (p.68) is much essential for saving the earth from the environmental disasters. Thus in the process of imparting â€Å"fast knowledge†, the education system is generating a bunch of head filled machines (human beings) with little int ellect and creativity. In this context, Goethe stated â€Å"people cannot learn what they do not love† (p.69). Spayde (1998) in the initial parts of his essay mentioned that the entire world is a learning place and the same idea has been reestablished throughout the writing. In the words of Elizabeth Sutton Lawrence, â€Å"ancient Greek education came largely from firsthand experience†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p.69) which means unless there is practical knowledge, the theory won’t turn out to be helpful and education is nothing but knowing what’s happening around us. Education is the means through which people learn to be alert. Education must inform a person about the changes which took place in the history and it must remind them their roots. Therefore, it can be concluded that training create machines while humanities create human beings.

Critical Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Critical Analysis - Essay Example The purpose of writing such a text was basically to open minds and indicate that times have changed and that society has moved forward. What may have been unacceptable to people in the past, may not be criticized today. The prevalence of democracy and freedom of expression allows individuals to make decisions based on their own judgment, without having restrictions placed on social activities, events, or in this case, screening of movies. The writers’ style of writing is highly argumentative, where he presents various points in support of his idea that there should be freedom of media that should not, in any way, be restricted by control boards. The author displays confidence when he argues for his point of view. His style of writing can easily persuade readers into supporting what he has to say about this particular issue The text is written in a tone that is bridging on bringing about a revolution and is trying to broaden the horizons of the readers’ thoughts. This tone gains strength as the text progresses towards the end. For example, in the 14th paragraph, we can see the writer speak about how control boards should extend their control beyond playhouses and theaters, if they really want to suppress an issue that they have deep reservations about. This argument is taken a step further by the author in paragraph 15 where he cautions about being careful when imposing such restrictions on society. In paragraph 16, he also goes on to state how people should not miss out on an opportunity to speak out their views about what they think is right or wrong, because freedom of speech is now a very significant part of the society, and to a greater extent, the world we live in. In order to support his argument, the author has cited the example of â€Å"God and the Naked Nigger†, and the audiences’ favorable response to the play, despite the lack

Terrorism in gobal world Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Terrorism in gobal world - Essay Example This paper seeks to examine some of the advantages of coercion as an instrument of counterterrorism policy. The paper will draw from examples where coercion has been applied to extract information regarding terrorism. As a counterterrorism policy instrument, coercion has some significant advantages that accompany it. Coercion plays the role of deterrence and preventing any likelihood of terrorists to engage in criminal activities. For example, the United States counterterrorism strategy and policy advocates for the intimidation of suspects through the use of coercion and force. In its counterterrorism policy, the United States advocates for the capturing of suspects and holding them prisoners (Bolz et al., 2005). Besides, the US advocates for the application of forceful means to get information from terrorists. Such coercion works since no terrorist dares engage in terrorist activities due to the harsh conditions attributed with coercion. Most governments perceive the use of coercion as an effective way of fighting terrorism. There may be a tendency to rely on threats of punishment as a way of countering the likelihood of terrorist attacks. For example, such acts as kidnapping terrorists with a view to extract information play an essential role of punishment. Through such strategies, the terrorist will provide information, which can help in the prevention of a terrorist attack. Strategies such as cover and overt paramilitary and military action play an essential role in pre-empting and preventing terrorist groups (Crank & Patricia 2005, p. 26). Coercion can also be effective when gathering information from countries and people believed to be harboring terrorists. Through coercion, people who harbor terrorists fear the consequences of being caught. As a result, they tend to refrain from harboring dangerous terrorist groups that may pose a danger to the world. For example, the United States applies trade sanctions on countries believed to host

Ethical Issues in Cloning

Ethical Issues in Cloning Thesis Statement: Although cloning has been successful to a certain extent, there have also been a high percentage of failures which has raised some ethical issues. Preface I was in a dilemma whether to choose teen pregnancy or cloning. When I did some research for these 2 topics, I realized cloning has been around for decades and I thought it was only quite recent. My misunderstanding led me to further research on the topic. However, I was also researching on teen pregnancy as it is quite common these days. There are cases of teen pregnancy in the newspapers. It is shocking to see cases with pregnant girls as young as nine-years old. There are human cloning and animal cloning. Some pets are also cloned. It is quite surprising that people would want to clone their pets as it is very costly. Human cloning has caused a debate. Certain religions such as Protestants, Catholics, Buddhism and Islam think that cloning a human is like being God. They do not think it is right. Also, there are many risks involved. On the contrary, there are some who thinks that it is peoples own decision. It is like your freedom rights. You can make the decision. After much deliberation, I decided cloning is much more interesting. I am sure not many people know a lot about cloning. Teen pregnancy is a common topic, one that you have heard many times. Therefore, ultimately, I chose the topic cloning. Introduction Cloning describes the processes used to create an exact genetic replica of another cell, tissue or organism. The copied material, which has the same genetic makeup as the original, is referred to as a clone. There are three different types of cloning: Gene cloning, Reproductive cloning and Therapeutic cloning. Gene cloning creates copies of genes or segments of DNA. It can identify genetic abnormalities. Reproductive cloning creates copies of whole animals. Therapeutic cloning creates embryonic  stem cells. It is for medical use. Researchers hope to use these cells to grow healthy tissue to replace injured or diseased tissues in the human body. (National Human Genome Research Institute viewed 31 July 2010) The purpose of reproductive cloning is for research. It uses a method called Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT). It can repopulate endangered species or make breeding of certain animals less difficult and can produce creatures with particular traits, such as genetically special animals. (Therapeutic cloning vs. reproductive cloning, viewed 31 August 2010) In 1996, scientists at the Roslin Institute in Scotland have successfully cloned a sheep, named Dolly. However, Dolly was produced only after 276 attempts. The success rate ranges from 0.1 percent to 3 percent, which means that for every 1000 tries, only 1 to 30 clones are made. (What are the risks of cloning, viewed 7 August 2010) Cloning has its disadvantages and advantages. Some advantages are solution to infertility; provide treatments for variety of diseases and genetic modification. Some disadvantages are the uncertainty of science technology, the great diseases and leading to extinction. There are also ethical issues such as unnatural acts, changing the diversity of society and risks of abuse and exploitations. Although cloning has been successful to a certain extent, there have also been a high percentage of failures which has raised some ethical issues. 1. Advantages of cloning 1.0 Provide organs for transplantation If it is possible to clone the essential organs or body parts of the human body, then they may be able to operate as support systems. The cloned body parts can act as human beings lifesaver. For example, when a kidney or any other organ fail to act properly, it may be possible to use the newly cloned organ and take out the spoiled organ. Cloning can make new organs required for organ transplants. It offers hope to people needing organ transplants since people requiring them often have to wait for years for an appropriate donor. There are many cases whereby patients die waiting because of the numerous people requiring organs. (Human cloning viewed 31 July 2010) Also, patients with an implanted organ must take loads of medicine that can cause side effects everyday as long as they live. This is to guarantee that their body does not reject the implanted organ. These side effects can decrease their life quality. Anyone can clone his or her own organs. The cloned organ would be produced from the body cell of the person who needs the transplant. This will reduce the high risk of the body rejecting the cloned organ since it has the same genetic code. This will be harmless and directly help the patients. Cloning can get rid of this problem by creating more animals who can be suitable donors. There are successful cases of pig livers being transplanted to humans as a temporary measure while waiting for a human liver. In addition, a burn victim can be helped by growing skin using his or her own skin cells and cloning them. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) 1.1 Solution to infertility Approximately 15% of Americans are infertile. Most of the time, doctors are unable to help them. Federal statistics reveal that in-vitro fertilization and other related technologies have a success rate of less than 20%. These technologies cannot help many couples. Couples are having a hard time trying to have children and they must go through painful procedures. In addition, they are also expensive and take up a lot of time. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) Due to the ethical issues of cloning, some states have prohibited human cloning. However, couples struggling to have children are now beginning to mull over the promises that cloning presents. The current infertility treatments are not improving as many people think that infertility is not a medical problem. Thus, cloning can be the answer to infertility. Doctors can implant the cloned embryos into the bodies of infertile women. Hence, these women can have their own babies and it can remove the mental and physical pains of many infertile couples. (The advantages of cloning viewed 31 July 2010) 1.2 Increasing populations of endangered species Cloning can help to increase the populations of species who are in danger of extinction. It may be even possible to reverse the extinctions that by now would have occurred. Even though conservationists worldwide are doing their best already, there are still some species that are near to extinction. To save the scarce species, conservations have used captive propagation programs. There is a need for further propagation programs due to limitations such as constrained physical space for animals, problems with animal husbandry, and common reproductive failure of the animals. (CLONING: Bringing Back Endangered Species viewed 7 August 2010) A majority of ethicists who disagree strongly with human cloning spots no trouble in using this method to save endangered species. Since 1973, the bucardo was listed as an endangered species. However, officials were unable to stop the poaching and the total destruction of their habitats that finally led to the bucardos extinction. In another case, there are a few remaining Chinese panda which will most probably be cloned. (CLONING: Bringing Back Endangered Species viewed 7 August 2010) 1.3 Genetic engineering It is achievable to produce a particular characteristic in humans. Parents have the chance to select the traits that they want present in their child. For example, they want their child to be as smart as Albert Einstein. This makes it possible to produce people with certain merits, particular pleasing personality, thus humans become a man-made being. Some scientists believe that cloning is good as humans can be in charge of their evolvement so the world can produce more artists, athletes and scientists. Cloning can bring back peoples dead ancestors to life. For example, if you want to produce your great-grandmother, you only need to preserve some samples of her body cells. It is that simple. (Human cloning viewed 31 July 2010) 1.4 Provide treatments for different diseases Cloning of stem cells can provide treatments for different diseases. With the proper prompts, stem cells are able to change into other cell types. Hence, it is possible for doctors to replace the tissues and injured organs to reinstate healthy function. Therapeutic applications of stem cells potentially could treat illnesses including: Parkinsons disease, diabetes, Alzheimers disease, stroke, heart attack, multiple sclerosis, blood, bone and bone marrow ailments, severe burns by providing skin grafts, spinal cord injuries, and cancer patients who have lost cells and tissue to radiation and chemotherapy. (The advantages of cloning 31 July 2010) Cloning can cure terminal diseases. Patients may be cured if doctors try to develop a helpful gene therapy. 1.5 Research purposes Scientists are able to take modified organisms and utilize them for the health benefits of society. Duplicating animals by cloning can be used for research purposes. This can help researchers in genetics as they may understand more on the arrangement of genes and the effects of hereditary constituents on human characteristics. They can simplify their study of genes since they can change the genetic components in the human being who is cloned. (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/pros-and-cons-of-cloning.html) It is crucial to research on cloning so that well-matched tissues and organs can be created for the patients who are being treated with stem cell therapy. Stem cells must be obtained from embryos created by a patients own cells. This will not allow any rejection problems related to organ and tissue transplants. This would require research cloning. If research cloning is restricted, therapies helpful to millions of people could be delayed. Delays cannot be allowed in the progress of techniques that could save many lives or put a stop to suffering. It is intolerable to restrict and form of medical research in a free society. People have their rights to practice any scientific investigation, especially medical investigation. Our lives have already been enhanced immeasurably by medical technology. Therefore, we ought to maintain continuous improvement. (Research Cloning Arguments Pro and Con viewed 10 August 2010) 1.6 The healthiness of infants Cloning can abolish the worries concerning the health of a child. Scientists can modify the genes to guarantee a healthy child. For example, if a mother has given birth to a child who suffers from Downs syndrome. Doctors will be able to control and balance out the number of chromosomes in the embryo so that the child may be normal and healthy. (The advantages of cloning viewed 31 July 2010) This will ensure that the child will grow up with no disorders and will be a normal child. 1.7 Improving food supply In the agricultural business, people can improve the quality and quantity of beef by simply cloning the farm animals with desired characteristics. Diseases like foot and mouth disease could be eliminated. Cloning can also cultivate crops that are tougher and more resilient to diseases. Therefore, cloning may successfully resolve the worlds food problem and lessen or if possible, eliminate starvation. (The advantages and disadvantages of cloning, viewed 7 August 2010) 1.8 Reverse the aging process Cloning can reverse the effects of aging and our aging process. The anti-aging market is already a multibillion industry. Every cloned body cell is a brand new cell. It is the precise replica of an existing cell. However, the difference is it is not as old as the model. A person could make his body younger by cloning his body cells and implanting these cells into his body when he is older. This method can allow humans to live up to any age they want. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) 1.9 Cosmetic surgery Cloning can help improve reconstructive and cosmetic surgery. Even until now, cosmetic surgery may be dangerous as the used equipments are unknown to the body. For example, silicone breast implants can cause immune disease. Doctors have the skill to construct bone, fat and connective tissue that can precisely match the patients tissues. Therefore, if a person wants to change his or her appearance, there would be no risks involved. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) 2. Disadvantages of cloning 2.0 Loosing the diversity of genes Human beings need DNA variety for survivability in future particularly if there are unpredictable things. Cloning can drastically hinder that. This is because matching genes are created by cloning and it is procedure of duplicating the entire genetic constitution. Humans will be so alike in human cloning. They will have the same type of genes. The genetic characteristics of its ancestor will be passed on to the next human clone. This will include genetic abnormalities and diseases. (Pros and cons of cloning, viewed 31 July 2010) For example, some think that Dolly the sheep had signs of premature aging, but her developers confidently denied it. There is a risk of the whole population getting infected by the similar kind of pathogen. Everyone cannot have the same type of genes and be close to one another otherwise they might not be able to protect themselves against the similar type of severe disease. People cannot foresee or guess when viruses or other harmful agents grow. So, the cloned species will not know how to respond to it. It will be a huge disaster if everyone gets affected. For example, all the rice in the world is cloned. Gradually, only one type of rice is produced but with more nutrition. Soon, the other types of rice are not produced anymore and its DNA variants cease to exist. Later in the future, the rice crop is hit by a disease and is totally wiped out. The world will be lack of rice. (What are the pros and cons of cloning? viewed 31 July 2010) 2.1 Inbreeding Parents have special sets of genes and this leads to the diversity of genes. Cloning can cause inbreeding as human cloning copy the matching genes. The diversity of genes will lessen. So everyone will have similar genotype and keep on procreating among themselves. Finally, it leads us to our own extinction. The differences that we see in people are the splendor of humanity and cloning will get rid of surprises since all look alike.(Disadvantages of cloning, viewed 31 July 2010) 2.2 Risk of abuse If man is allowed to meddle with genetics in humans, then cloning can increase the probability of intentional reproduction of unattractive characteristics in humans if it is so preferred. This may cause open up likelihood of abuse in medical fraternity. Scientists might misuse the technology. If a couple is not happy with their clone, what is the next step they might choose? Some people say that clones can be grown in a farm-like approach just for harvesting organs or stem cells. We must not ignore the prospect of devaluing human life for life is precious. (The advantages and disadvantages of cloning, viewed 7 August 2010) 2.3 The uncertainty of science and technology Science and technology cannot provide solutions for every problem. Not even the scientists can promise that they can solve everything. Behind every problem, there are clearly several possible crises. Naturally, these doubts are not practical to bring to a standstill all the developments of science and technology. There is no guarantee that if the human clone survives, it will develop normally. (Disadvantages of cloning, viewed 31 July 2010) The incident of trying to clone new mammals indicates that most of the human clones would have genetically related diseases. If there was creation of embryos, majority of them would have critical deformity, several of which only will be evident late in pregnancy. Testing for genetic deformity would eradicate a percentage of such deformities, but only at the expense of getting rid of the unborn baby itself. Out of the many babies born alive, many will have disabilities being inflicted on them negligently due to the methods used to create them. (Cloning and Stem Cell Research, viewed 10 August 2010) 2.4 The element of uncertainty Dolly, the cloned sheep, was regarded as an achievement story. However, before Dolly was cloned, there were actually many embryos which were destroyed. The cloning process began with 277 eggs, of which only Dolly is the successful result. The field of cloning still needs to improve a lot apart from the success in other areas. For example, for infertile couples, if in-vitro fertilization failed, they may go through the similar distress. (The advantages and disadvantages of cloning, viewed 7 August 2010) 2.5 Potential costs At the moment, reproducing animals by other ways are much cheaper than to clone. Although the failure rate of cloning is expected to reduce, it still remains high if cloning is taken on a wider scale in addition to the cost. There will be many disabled babies and many pregnant women who have suffered a lot to make cloning safe. Some people may be unwilling to eat the cloned meat. Hence, the value of the cloned animals will decrease. (What are the pros and cons of cloning? viewed 31July 2010) 2.6 Research cloning Several studies have proposed that research cloning would not be an essential or attractive method to overwhelm immune rejection. Developing stem cells are shown to be less expected to encourage rejection following transplantation than other cell types. If this is verified to be true, beneficial tissues can be developed from obtainable embryonic stem cell lines rather than from the cell lines modified for an individual patient. Another current investigation suggests that by reprogramming a few of the patients individual cells, it may ultimately accomplish identical results. (Research Cloning Arguments Pro and Con, viewed 10 August 2010) Research cloning would be very expensive if it is used in the routine medical measures. It would be very labor demanding and costly to create the cloned embryos. Womens health supporters are apprehensive about the healthiness and social justice implications of creating a human eggs market where most of the donors are probably poor women. (Research Cloning Arguments Pro and Con, viewed 10 August 2010) 2.7 Health risks It is not only the child who would be mistreated in such untried reproduction but also those women who want to gestate a cloned child. The women would be in danger of trauma of an extremely high rate of miscarriage, the shock of being offered abortion when serious deformities were found in the uterus, and the wellbeing risks of a hard and unusual pregnancy. It would be reckless of the scientists to inflict such risks on any human no matter what the motives of the women who decided to take part. (Cloning and Stem Cell Research, viewed 10 August 2010) 2.8 A type of parental control The cloned child would have no genetic parents. The child would be a replica of some live person, perhaps someone who had only just died. Even though the clone has survived and is in good shape, he will most likely live in the shadow of the original person, under pressure to be alike that person he was created to be similar to. The childrens interest in establishing their own identity is compromised. The childs freedom is subjected unfairly to the parents wishes. This makes cloning a type of extreme parental control because the child is created as a replica of a person selected by the parents. (Cloning and Stem Cell Research, viewed 10 August 2010) 3. Ethical issues of cloning 3.01 ‘Closed future Some people believe that cloning will cause children to not have an open future as they will become exactly like the person they are a clone of. They may also be exactly the opposite of the person they are a clone of. Religious organizations think that cloning gives humans a lot of power and that cloning does not care about the truth that every human has matchless soul. (Cloning, viewed 11 August 2010) 3.02 Unnatural way A lot of people think that cloning is unnatural as cloning needs a considerably bigger level of participation and meddling with animals reproductive performance than traditional production methods. Some religious groups, such as Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist faiths, do not accept animal cloning. They view cloning and genetic modification as equivalent to playing God. Many others perceive this as an infringement of the distinctiveness of a human life, which each of us and no one else have received from God. (Cloning information, cloning ethics) Can we play God? Some think that we should just let things be the way they are as that is the way they are meant to be and we should not try to change that as it is natures creation. Others think that the world can be free of cancers and tumors and perhaps save lives too. Others believe in restricting the means of unique types of cloning using harmless ways. (Understanding the issues of cloning, viewed 31 July 2010) 3.03 Risk of abuse People fear that someone would form armies of military or even create huge amounts of human resources. This would result in clones being treated as the lower class people or the second class people and compromising individualities. Human cloning can bring serious jeopardy of abuses to human self-esteem and misuse by corrupt people. (Cloning information, cloning ethics, viewed 31 July 2010) 3.04 Morally wrong to kill or extend life Although therapeutic cloning presents the possibility for caring for humans who are suffering from ailment or wounds, the procedure of taking out stem cells is the same as killing the human being as it will involve the annihilation of embryos. Religious and morally traditionally people think that is morally wrong to take the life of one person just to save or extend another persons life. However, other people believe that embryos do not need any ethical thoughts as it is just a cluster of cells that holds the DNA when is cloned, and are similar to the millions of skin cells that we discard daily. At that stage, the embryonic cells should not be thought of as the same as humans as the brain, feelings, inner organs, body and so on are not present. They believe that only when the brain grows and becomes conscious of itself then it has attained human personhood. (Rita Putatunda) 3.05 Not the exact same animal Every creature that is shaped by life experience is more than an incarnation of his DNA. The cloned animal would look identical and bring pet lovers happy memories but it is not the same animal that they are looking at. Only the DNA is the same. (Wayne Pacelle) 3.06 Genetic disorders If a particular animal is cloned several times and it has a virus, then its clones would bear the identical virus and this may cause a food shortage. It is likely that genetic disorders will occur. If a section of DNA is taken from a person to be duplicated, that person may be bearing a code for some kind of ailment which the symptoms of it would not show till later in that persons life. Thus, that same code would be duplicated to make another person carry the same ailment. (Understanding the issues of cloning, viewed 31 July 2010) 3.07 Pollute the diversity Reproducing traits that parents want would pollute the diversity of the world. If people can decide what traits their child should have, majority would choose the traits of well-known people who are very clever or gorgeous. Cloning can cause designer babies as the fertilized egg cell can be made better with additional genes for particular traits. The cloned people would be so alike in characteristics and their thinking that the world would be a very dull place if this were the case. (Understanding the issues of cloning) Moreover, the egg cell can be checked for genetic diseases. If the disease does not exist, it can be placed in the womans womb, or else it will be destroyed. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) 3.08 Unknown identity of the child There are some who think that cloning is not safe for delivery of the baby. They are of the opinion that babies should not be created by unnatural ways and should have a variety of genes different from his parents. For the cloning purposes, the egg is obtained from a different woman; sperm is obtained from a different man who is not the father of the baby and is inseminated in the laboratory. The fertilized embryo is then placed in another mother who is not the one whom the egg was obtained. It will be unsure who the biological parents of the child are when the child is born. The childs identity will continue to be a mystery. (Ethical issues related to human and animal cloning, viewed 1 July 2010) 3.09 Clash with religious principles There is a possibility that reproductive cloning may create a human that is genetically matching to a person who was formerly alive or who now currently is live. This might clash with ancient religious and common principles on self-respect, perhaps violating the main beliefs of individual liberty, individuality and sovereignty. However, some people disagree with that. They believe that infertile couples can achieve their vision of parenthood by reproductive cloning. Other people think human cloning is a method to steer clear of a destructive gene that is hereditary in the family without having to go through embryo testing. (What are some of the ethical issues related to cloning, viewed 3 August 2010) 3.10 Worsen the wellbeing of animals Cloning may cause people to treat animals like an object. People may treat these living emotional beings as plain machinery for human creation. Also, communities are becoming more and more conscious of the handling of farm animals. A lot of people are worried for cloning worsens the wellbeing of animals as the animals are likely to bear hurting infections of udder, lameness and also production related diseases. (Ethics, viewed 3 August 2010) 3.11 Different personalities Cloning cannot make sure that the genetically similar humans will have the similar individual thinking or goals as the model. For instance, it is not certain that the baby whose embryo was made better with genes for musical talent will become a well-known pianist one day. Even if the child has a musical flair, it is for him to decide whether he will use them or not. If the child has no interest in going for piano lessons, then the talent will remain undiscovered. It is the same problem when one tries to replace the one he loves. Impractical hope on how the personality will be may cause disappointments. Obviously the outer appearance of the clone will be closely identical but the character may be poles apart. The clone cannot be a replacement for another person. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) 3.12 Two classes of people There will be two classes of humans if most of the people are cloned, the one whos gene is enhanced and the one who is produced naturally. The one whose gene is enhanced will definitely have many advantages in life as they were given particular flairs. They will be rich as only the rich ones will have enough money to improve their child with particular genes. They also have a higher chance of obtaining better jobs than other people due to their particular talents so they will be even wealthier. Affluent people always have loads of power. Sooner or later, the well-off gene-enhanced people may be the most influential ones. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) Conclusion Given the advanced technology and the success of the cloned sheep, Dolly, more scientists will be trying their best to improve the process of cloning. As seen from the information above, cloning is still not an advanced technology. There are a lot of risks involved that concern the health of the humans and the clones. I feel that it is unfair for us to intervene in choosing the special talents for our children. We should be happy with what we have and our own talents. It is unfair to other people if we enhance our own genes. Cloning costs a lot and only those wealthy people can afford it. What about those less wealthy people? This may cause an even bigger inequality in our society which we would want to avoid. Also, it is unnatural. Although cloning can make us immortal, in the long run, it will cause overpopulation in the world. There are both sides to cloning which we must consider very seriously before we legalize or ban it. It is an issue which must be handled carefully. Cloning can bring the world benefits but can also destroy us. Both sides of the arguments seem very convincing. Everyone will have different opinions to cloning based on their religious values or their own principles. It is difficult to say whether cloning is ethically right or wrong. If the government decides to legalize it, there will definitely be some people who will protest against it and vice versa. The government must ensure that cloning is not used for the wrong and unethical purposes. It can be dangerous if the technology of cloning is in the wrong hands. Who knows what hidden motives they have? Human lives are very important. We must not devalue our lives. Ethical Issues in Cloning Ethical Issues in Cloning Thesis Statement: Although cloning has been successful to a certain extent, there have also been a high percentage of failures which has raised some ethical issues. Preface I was in a dilemma whether to choose teen pregnancy or cloning. When I did some research for these 2 topics, I realized cloning has been around for decades and I thought it was only quite recent. My misunderstanding led me to further research on the topic. However, I was also researching on teen pregnancy as it is quite common these days. There are cases of teen pregnancy in the newspapers. It is shocking to see cases with pregnant girls as young as nine-years old. There are human cloning and animal cloning. Some pets are also cloned. It is quite surprising that people would want to clone their pets as it is very costly. Human cloning has caused a debate. Certain religions such as Protestants, Catholics, Buddhism and Islam think that cloning a human is like being God. They do not think it is right. Also, there are many risks involved. On the contrary, there are some who thinks that it is peoples own decision. It is like your freedom rights. You can make the decision. After much deliberation, I decided cloning is much more interesting. I am sure not many people know a lot about cloning. Teen pregnancy is a common topic, one that you have heard many times. Therefore, ultimately, I chose the topic cloning. Introduction Cloning describes the processes used to create an exact genetic replica of another cell, tissue or organism. The copied material, which has the same genetic makeup as the original, is referred to as a clone. There are three different types of cloning: Gene cloning, Reproductive cloning and Therapeutic cloning. Gene cloning creates copies of genes or segments of DNA. It can identify genetic abnormalities. Reproductive cloning creates copies of whole animals. Therapeutic cloning creates embryonic  stem cells. It is for medical use. Researchers hope to use these cells to grow healthy tissue to replace injured or diseased tissues in the human body. (National Human Genome Research Institute viewed 31 July 2010) The purpose of reproductive cloning is for research. It uses a method called Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT). It can repopulate endangered species or make breeding of certain animals less difficult and can produce creatures with particular traits, such as genetically special animals. (Therapeutic cloning vs. reproductive cloning, viewed 31 August 2010) In 1996, scientists at the Roslin Institute in Scotland have successfully cloned a sheep, named Dolly. However, Dolly was produced only after 276 attempts. The success rate ranges from 0.1 percent to 3 percent, which means that for every 1000 tries, only 1 to 30 clones are made. (What are the risks of cloning, viewed 7 August 2010) Cloning has its disadvantages and advantages. Some advantages are solution to infertility; provide treatments for variety of diseases and genetic modification. Some disadvantages are the uncertainty of science technology, the great diseases and leading to extinction. There are also ethical issues such as unnatural acts, changing the diversity of society and risks of abuse and exploitations. Although cloning has been successful to a certain extent, there have also been a high percentage of failures which has raised some ethical issues. 1. Advantages of cloning 1.0 Provide organs for transplantation If it is possible to clone the essential organs or body parts of the human body, then they may be able to operate as support systems. The cloned body parts can act as human beings lifesaver. For example, when a kidney or any other organ fail to act properly, it may be possible to use the newly cloned organ and take out the spoiled organ. Cloning can make new organs required for organ transplants. It offers hope to people needing organ transplants since people requiring them often have to wait for years for an appropriate donor. There are many cases whereby patients die waiting because of the numerous people requiring organs. (Human cloning viewed 31 July 2010) Also, patients with an implanted organ must take loads of medicine that can cause side effects everyday as long as they live. This is to guarantee that their body does not reject the implanted organ. These side effects can decrease their life quality. Anyone can clone his or her own organs. The cloned organ would be produced from the body cell of the person who needs the transplant. This will reduce the high risk of the body rejecting the cloned organ since it has the same genetic code. This will be harmless and directly help the patients. Cloning can get rid of this problem by creating more animals who can be suitable donors. There are successful cases of pig livers being transplanted to humans as a temporary measure while waiting for a human liver. In addition, a burn victim can be helped by growing skin using his or her own skin cells and cloning them. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) 1.1 Solution to infertility Approximately 15% of Americans are infertile. Most of the time, doctors are unable to help them. Federal statistics reveal that in-vitro fertilization and other related technologies have a success rate of less than 20%. These technologies cannot help many couples. Couples are having a hard time trying to have children and they must go through painful procedures. In addition, they are also expensive and take up a lot of time. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) Due to the ethical issues of cloning, some states have prohibited human cloning. However, couples struggling to have children are now beginning to mull over the promises that cloning presents. The current infertility treatments are not improving as many people think that infertility is not a medical problem. Thus, cloning can be the answer to infertility. Doctors can implant the cloned embryos into the bodies of infertile women. Hence, these women can have their own babies and it can remove the mental and physical pains of many infertile couples. (The advantages of cloning viewed 31 July 2010) 1.2 Increasing populations of endangered species Cloning can help to increase the populations of species who are in danger of extinction. It may be even possible to reverse the extinctions that by now would have occurred. Even though conservationists worldwide are doing their best already, there are still some species that are near to extinction. To save the scarce species, conservations have used captive propagation programs. There is a need for further propagation programs due to limitations such as constrained physical space for animals, problems with animal husbandry, and common reproductive failure of the animals. (CLONING: Bringing Back Endangered Species viewed 7 August 2010) A majority of ethicists who disagree strongly with human cloning spots no trouble in using this method to save endangered species. Since 1973, the bucardo was listed as an endangered species. However, officials were unable to stop the poaching and the total destruction of their habitats that finally led to the bucardos extinction. In another case, there are a few remaining Chinese panda which will most probably be cloned. (CLONING: Bringing Back Endangered Species viewed 7 August 2010) 1.3 Genetic engineering It is achievable to produce a particular characteristic in humans. Parents have the chance to select the traits that they want present in their child. For example, they want their child to be as smart as Albert Einstein. This makes it possible to produce people with certain merits, particular pleasing personality, thus humans become a man-made being. Some scientists believe that cloning is good as humans can be in charge of their evolvement so the world can produce more artists, athletes and scientists. Cloning can bring back peoples dead ancestors to life. For example, if you want to produce your great-grandmother, you only need to preserve some samples of her body cells. It is that simple. (Human cloning viewed 31 July 2010) 1.4 Provide treatments for different diseases Cloning of stem cells can provide treatments for different diseases. With the proper prompts, stem cells are able to change into other cell types. Hence, it is possible for doctors to replace the tissues and injured organs to reinstate healthy function. Therapeutic applications of stem cells potentially could treat illnesses including: Parkinsons disease, diabetes, Alzheimers disease, stroke, heart attack, multiple sclerosis, blood, bone and bone marrow ailments, severe burns by providing skin grafts, spinal cord injuries, and cancer patients who have lost cells and tissue to radiation and chemotherapy. (The advantages of cloning 31 July 2010) Cloning can cure terminal diseases. Patients may be cured if doctors try to develop a helpful gene therapy. 1.5 Research purposes Scientists are able to take modified organisms and utilize them for the health benefits of society. Duplicating animals by cloning can be used for research purposes. This can help researchers in genetics as they may understand more on the arrangement of genes and the effects of hereditary constituents on human characteristics. They can simplify their study of genes since they can change the genetic components in the human being who is cloned. (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/pros-and-cons-of-cloning.html) It is crucial to research on cloning so that well-matched tissues and organs can be created for the patients who are being treated with stem cell therapy. Stem cells must be obtained from embryos created by a patients own cells. This will not allow any rejection problems related to organ and tissue transplants. This would require research cloning. If research cloning is restricted, therapies helpful to millions of people could be delayed. Delays cannot be allowed in the progress of techniques that could save many lives or put a stop to suffering. It is intolerable to restrict and form of medical research in a free society. People have their rights to practice any scientific investigation, especially medical investigation. Our lives have already been enhanced immeasurably by medical technology. Therefore, we ought to maintain continuous improvement. (Research Cloning Arguments Pro and Con viewed 10 August 2010) 1.6 The healthiness of infants Cloning can abolish the worries concerning the health of a child. Scientists can modify the genes to guarantee a healthy child. For example, if a mother has given birth to a child who suffers from Downs syndrome. Doctors will be able to control and balance out the number of chromosomes in the embryo so that the child may be normal and healthy. (The advantages of cloning viewed 31 July 2010) This will ensure that the child will grow up with no disorders and will be a normal child. 1.7 Improving food supply In the agricultural business, people can improve the quality and quantity of beef by simply cloning the farm animals with desired characteristics. Diseases like foot and mouth disease could be eliminated. Cloning can also cultivate crops that are tougher and more resilient to diseases. Therefore, cloning may successfully resolve the worlds food problem and lessen or if possible, eliminate starvation. (The advantages and disadvantages of cloning, viewed 7 August 2010) 1.8 Reverse the aging process Cloning can reverse the effects of aging and our aging process. The anti-aging market is already a multibillion industry. Every cloned body cell is a brand new cell. It is the precise replica of an existing cell. However, the difference is it is not as old as the model. A person could make his body younger by cloning his body cells and implanting these cells into his body when he is older. This method can allow humans to live up to any age they want. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) 1.9 Cosmetic surgery Cloning can help improve reconstructive and cosmetic surgery. Even until now, cosmetic surgery may be dangerous as the used equipments are unknown to the body. For example, silicone breast implants can cause immune disease. Doctors have the skill to construct bone, fat and connective tissue that can precisely match the patients tissues. Therefore, if a person wants to change his or her appearance, there would be no risks involved. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) 2. Disadvantages of cloning 2.0 Loosing the diversity of genes Human beings need DNA variety for survivability in future particularly if there are unpredictable things. Cloning can drastically hinder that. This is because matching genes are created by cloning and it is procedure of duplicating the entire genetic constitution. Humans will be so alike in human cloning. They will have the same type of genes. The genetic characteristics of its ancestor will be passed on to the next human clone. This will include genetic abnormalities and diseases. (Pros and cons of cloning, viewed 31 July 2010) For example, some think that Dolly the sheep had signs of premature aging, but her developers confidently denied it. There is a risk of the whole population getting infected by the similar kind of pathogen. Everyone cannot have the same type of genes and be close to one another otherwise they might not be able to protect themselves against the similar type of severe disease. People cannot foresee or guess when viruses or other harmful agents grow. So, the cloned species will not know how to respond to it. It will be a huge disaster if everyone gets affected. For example, all the rice in the world is cloned. Gradually, only one type of rice is produced but with more nutrition. Soon, the other types of rice are not produced anymore and its DNA variants cease to exist. Later in the future, the rice crop is hit by a disease and is totally wiped out. The world will be lack of rice. (What are the pros and cons of cloning? viewed 31 July 2010) 2.1 Inbreeding Parents have special sets of genes and this leads to the diversity of genes. Cloning can cause inbreeding as human cloning copy the matching genes. The diversity of genes will lessen. So everyone will have similar genotype and keep on procreating among themselves. Finally, it leads us to our own extinction. The differences that we see in people are the splendor of humanity and cloning will get rid of surprises since all look alike.(Disadvantages of cloning, viewed 31 July 2010) 2.2 Risk of abuse If man is allowed to meddle with genetics in humans, then cloning can increase the probability of intentional reproduction of unattractive characteristics in humans if it is so preferred. This may cause open up likelihood of abuse in medical fraternity. Scientists might misuse the technology. If a couple is not happy with their clone, what is the next step they might choose? Some people say that clones can be grown in a farm-like approach just for harvesting organs or stem cells. We must not ignore the prospect of devaluing human life for life is precious. (The advantages and disadvantages of cloning, viewed 7 August 2010) 2.3 The uncertainty of science and technology Science and technology cannot provide solutions for every problem. Not even the scientists can promise that they can solve everything. Behind every problem, there are clearly several possible crises. Naturally, these doubts are not practical to bring to a standstill all the developments of science and technology. There is no guarantee that if the human clone survives, it will develop normally. (Disadvantages of cloning, viewed 31 July 2010) The incident of trying to clone new mammals indicates that most of the human clones would have genetically related diseases. If there was creation of embryos, majority of them would have critical deformity, several of which only will be evident late in pregnancy. Testing for genetic deformity would eradicate a percentage of such deformities, but only at the expense of getting rid of the unborn baby itself. Out of the many babies born alive, many will have disabilities being inflicted on them negligently due to the methods used to create them. (Cloning and Stem Cell Research, viewed 10 August 2010) 2.4 The element of uncertainty Dolly, the cloned sheep, was regarded as an achievement story. However, before Dolly was cloned, there were actually many embryos which were destroyed. The cloning process began with 277 eggs, of which only Dolly is the successful result. The field of cloning still needs to improve a lot apart from the success in other areas. For example, for infertile couples, if in-vitro fertilization failed, they may go through the similar distress. (The advantages and disadvantages of cloning, viewed 7 August 2010) 2.5 Potential costs At the moment, reproducing animals by other ways are much cheaper than to clone. Although the failure rate of cloning is expected to reduce, it still remains high if cloning is taken on a wider scale in addition to the cost. There will be many disabled babies and many pregnant women who have suffered a lot to make cloning safe. Some people may be unwilling to eat the cloned meat. Hence, the value of the cloned animals will decrease. (What are the pros and cons of cloning? viewed 31July 2010) 2.6 Research cloning Several studies have proposed that research cloning would not be an essential or attractive method to overwhelm immune rejection. Developing stem cells are shown to be less expected to encourage rejection following transplantation than other cell types. If this is verified to be true, beneficial tissues can be developed from obtainable embryonic stem cell lines rather than from the cell lines modified for an individual patient. Another current investigation suggests that by reprogramming a few of the patients individual cells, it may ultimately accomplish identical results. (Research Cloning Arguments Pro and Con, viewed 10 August 2010) Research cloning would be very expensive if it is used in the routine medical measures. It would be very labor demanding and costly to create the cloned embryos. Womens health supporters are apprehensive about the healthiness and social justice implications of creating a human eggs market where most of the donors are probably poor women. (Research Cloning Arguments Pro and Con, viewed 10 August 2010) 2.7 Health risks It is not only the child who would be mistreated in such untried reproduction but also those women who want to gestate a cloned child. The women would be in danger of trauma of an extremely high rate of miscarriage, the shock of being offered abortion when serious deformities were found in the uterus, and the wellbeing risks of a hard and unusual pregnancy. It would be reckless of the scientists to inflict such risks on any human no matter what the motives of the women who decided to take part. (Cloning and Stem Cell Research, viewed 10 August 2010) 2.8 A type of parental control The cloned child would have no genetic parents. The child would be a replica of some live person, perhaps someone who had only just died. Even though the clone has survived and is in good shape, he will most likely live in the shadow of the original person, under pressure to be alike that person he was created to be similar to. The childrens interest in establishing their own identity is compromised. The childs freedom is subjected unfairly to the parents wishes. This makes cloning a type of extreme parental control because the child is created as a replica of a person selected by the parents. (Cloning and Stem Cell Research, viewed 10 August 2010) 3. Ethical issues of cloning 3.01 ‘Closed future Some people believe that cloning will cause children to not have an open future as they will become exactly like the person they are a clone of. They may also be exactly the opposite of the person they are a clone of. Religious organizations think that cloning gives humans a lot of power and that cloning does not care about the truth that every human has matchless soul. (Cloning, viewed 11 August 2010) 3.02 Unnatural way A lot of people think that cloning is unnatural as cloning needs a considerably bigger level of participation and meddling with animals reproductive performance than traditional production methods. Some religious groups, such as Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist faiths, do not accept animal cloning. They view cloning and genetic modification as equivalent to playing God. Many others perceive this as an infringement of the distinctiveness of a human life, which each of us and no one else have received from God. (Cloning information, cloning ethics) Can we play God? Some think that we should just let things be the way they are as that is the way they are meant to be and we should not try to change that as it is natures creation. Others think that the world can be free of cancers and tumors and perhaps save lives too. Others believe in restricting the means of unique types of cloning using harmless ways. (Understanding the issues of cloning, viewed 31 July 2010) 3.03 Risk of abuse People fear that someone would form armies of military or even create huge amounts of human resources. This would result in clones being treated as the lower class people or the second class people and compromising individualities. Human cloning can bring serious jeopardy of abuses to human self-esteem and misuse by corrupt people. (Cloning information, cloning ethics, viewed 31 July 2010) 3.04 Morally wrong to kill or extend life Although therapeutic cloning presents the possibility for caring for humans who are suffering from ailment or wounds, the procedure of taking out stem cells is the same as killing the human being as it will involve the annihilation of embryos. Religious and morally traditionally people think that is morally wrong to take the life of one person just to save or extend another persons life. However, other people believe that embryos do not need any ethical thoughts as it is just a cluster of cells that holds the DNA when is cloned, and are similar to the millions of skin cells that we discard daily. At that stage, the embryonic cells should not be thought of as the same as humans as the brain, feelings, inner organs, body and so on are not present. They believe that only when the brain grows and becomes conscious of itself then it has attained human personhood. (Rita Putatunda) 3.05 Not the exact same animal Every creature that is shaped by life experience is more than an incarnation of his DNA. The cloned animal would look identical and bring pet lovers happy memories but it is not the same animal that they are looking at. Only the DNA is the same. (Wayne Pacelle) 3.06 Genetic disorders If a particular animal is cloned several times and it has a virus, then its clones would bear the identical virus and this may cause a food shortage. It is likely that genetic disorders will occur. If a section of DNA is taken from a person to be duplicated, that person may be bearing a code for some kind of ailment which the symptoms of it would not show till later in that persons life. Thus, that same code would be duplicated to make another person carry the same ailment. (Understanding the issues of cloning, viewed 31 July 2010) 3.07 Pollute the diversity Reproducing traits that parents want would pollute the diversity of the world. If people can decide what traits their child should have, majority would choose the traits of well-known people who are very clever or gorgeous. Cloning can cause designer babies as the fertilized egg cell can be made better with additional genes for particular traits. The cloned people would be so alike in characteristics and their thinking that the world would be a very dull place if this were the case. (Understanding the issues of cloning) Moreover, the egg cell can be checked for genetic diseases. If the disease does not exist, it can be placed in the womans womb, or else it will be destroyed. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) 3.08 Unknown identity of the child There are some who think that cloning is not safe for delivery of the baby. They are of the opinion that babies should not be created by unnatural ways and should have a variety of genes different from his parents. For the cloning purposes, the egg is obtained from a different woman; sperm is obtained from a different man who is not the father of the baby and is inseminated in the laboratory. The fertilized embryo is then placed in another mother who is not the one whom the egg was obtained. It will be unsure who the biological parents of the child are when the child is born. The childs identity will continue to be a mystery. (Ethical issues related to human and animal cloning, viewed 1 July 2010) 3.09 Clash with religious principles There is a possibility that reproductive cloning may create a human that is genetically matching to a person who was formerly alive or who now currently is live. This might clash with ancient religious and common principles on self-respect, perhaps violating the main beliefs of individual liberty, individuality and sovereignty. However, some people disagree with that. They believe that infertile couples can achieve their vision of parenthood by reproductive cloning. Other people think human cloning is a method to steer clear of a destructive gene that is hereditary in the family without having to go through embryo testing. (What are some of the ethical issues related to cloning, viewed 3 August 2010) 3.10 Worsen the wellbeing of animals Cloning may cause people to treat animals like an object. People may treat these living emotional beings as plain machinery for human creation. Also, communities are becoming more and more conscious of the handling of farm animals. A lot of people are worried for cloning worsens the wellbeing of animals as the animals are likely to bear hurting infections of udder, lameness and also production related diseases. (Ethics, viewed 3 August 2010) 3.11 Different personalities Cloning cannot make sure that the genetically similar humans will have the similar individual thinking or goals as the model. For instance, it is not certain that the baby whose embryo was made better with genes for musical talent will become a well-known pianist one day. Even if the child has a musical flair, it is for him to decide whether he will use them or not. If the child has no interest in going for piano lessons, then the talent will remain undiscovered. It is the same problem when one tries to replace the one he loves. Impractical hope on how the personality will be may cause disappointments. Obviously the outer appearance of the clone will be closely identical but the character may be poles apart. The clone cannot be a replacement for another person. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) 3.12 Two classes of people There will be two classes of humans if most of the people are cloned, the one whos gene is enhanced and the one who is produced naturally. The one whose gene is enhanced will definitely have many advantages in life as they were given particular flairs. They will be rich as only the rich ones will have enough money to improve their child with particular genes. They also have a higher chance of obtaining better jobs than other people due to their particular talents so they will be even wealthier. Affluent people always have loads of power. Sooner or later, the well-off gene-enhanced people may be the most influential ones. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) Conclusion Given the advanced technology and the success of the cloned sheep, Dolly, more scientists will be trying their best to improve the process of cloning. As seen from the information above, cloning is still not an advanced technology. There are a lot of risks involved that concern the health of the humans and the clones. I feel that it is unfair for us to intervene in choosing the special talents for our children. We should be happy with what we have and our own talents. It is unfair to other people if we enhance our own genes. Cloning costs a lot and only those wealthy people can afford it. What about those less wealthy people? This may cause an even bigger inequality in our society which we would want to avoid. Also, it is unnatural. Although cloning can make us immortal, in the long run, it will cause overpopulation in the world. There are both sides to cloning which we must consider very seriously before we legalize or ban it. It is an issue which must be handled carefully. Cloning can bring the world benefits but can also destroy us. Both sides of the arguments seem very convincing. Everyone will have different opinions to cloning based on their religious values or their own principles. It is difficult to say whether cloning is ethically right or wrong. If the government decides to legalize it, there will definitely be some people who will protest against it and vice versa. The government must ensure that cloning is not used for the wrong and unethical purposes. It can be dangerous if the technology of cloning is in the wrong hands. Who knows what hidden motives they have? Human lives are very important. We must not devalue our lives.