Parasites

It is an amoeboid organism. The ameboid trophozoite form reproduces by binary fission and also gives rise to the encysted (when nutrients are limited) and flagellated forms (for swimming), which do not reproduce. It can be found all over the world. In the United States, it is mostly found in southern states usually in warm bodies of water. Several drugs have been found to be effective against the organism in the lab; however, most individuals die from infections even when treated such drugs.

Schistosoma mansoni

It is a trematode. It is also known as a fluke worm or flatworm. Eggs of the parasite that is infecting a human are released into fecal water, the miracidium hatches out of the egg. The form then searches for a suitable fresh water snail and penetrates it. After this, the parasite develops by a mother-sporocyst and daughter-sporocyst generation into the cercaria. This allows multiplication. From a single miracidium results a few thousand cercaria. Each of these can infect a human. They then migrate through the body in the blood. They try to find a partner of the opposite sex to reproduce. It occurs in Africa, South America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Southern China, and Southeast Asia. Anthelmintic drugs are used for treatment.

Trichinella spiralis

It is a nematode parasite. This is also known as a roundworm. The adult worm lives in the intestines of animals such as swine, bears, walrus, and rodents. Male and females mate. The male dies and the female develops offspring. The embryonic stage is in the uterus of the female. The larvae then make their way striated muscle. Those larvae will coil and enclose themselves in a cyst. These cysts can live up to 10 years in this form. It is more common in Europe, Asia, and Southeast Asia than in the United States. It is now considered endemic in Japan and China.Thiabendazole and Mebendazole can be given. However, these do not work on cysts. Corticoids can be used to reduce symptoms.

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karen silkwood

Karen Silkwood was a nuclear technician that was contaminated by radioactivity while working at the Kerr-McGee Cimarron River nuclear facility in Crescent, Oklahoma. While working at the facility, Karen began to document in a notebook a variety of safety violations that were occurring at the plant. Karen believed that the technicians were being contaminated by plutonium on a regular basis. After a local union meeting, Karen got in her car to drive to Oklahoma City to deliver the evidence that she had been documenting over a seven week period at the facility. However, after ten minutes on the road, Karen was in a fatal car crash. Though police concluded that she fell asleep at the wheel, a private detective stated that he believed that Karen was forced off the road. The manila folder with the evidence that Karen was delivering to Oklahoma was never found at the scene. After Karen peculiar death, there continues to this day in the on-going debate over the safety of nuclear technology and the regulation of the nuclear industry. (Yourdictionary, 2010)

This story is slightly similar to the more recent story and move called Erin Brokovich. Both stories focus on how the environment and human health are effected companies. However, Erin Brokovich was a paralegal that was working for a law firm. She was assigned an assignment where she proved that Pacific Gas and Electric Company contaminated drinking water with hexavalent chromium. 300 cancer cases were linked to this contamination. The case settled for 333 million dollars and brought environmental contamination to the headlines. This caused many regulation changes. (Bio, 2010)

Since the United States stopped investing in nuclear power, another source of energy production was focused on. This source of energy was fossil fuels. This includes oil, coal, and natural gases. These sources of energy are nonrenewable. They are usually converted into electricity before their energy is consumed. Currently, they provide about 90% of the world’s commercial energy. Oil is the principle source of energy. It supplies about 38% of the world’s energy needs. Coal follows with approximately 30%, and then natural gas with 20%. It has been scientifically proven that the combustion of fossil fuel is the single greatest cause of atmospheric pollution due to the fuels’ incomplete combustion. This includes CO2, what many scientists believe is the main cause of global warming (Yassi et al., 2001).

Nuclear power generates electrical power by nuclear reactors that use uranium and thorium. This power source consumes small amounts of fuel and is generally very cheap. It is also very pliable. It is also considered relatively safe with the few exceptions of Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and a handful of others. This type of energy produces far less atmospheric pollution (Yassi et al., 2001).

During the 1970’s, France, which was a country that was heavily dependent on imported oils for their electrical production, decided to break their dependence on Middle Eastern oil. Since France does not naturally have fossil fuel reserves, the country went towards a nuclear power infrastructure. In 2004, 78.8% of France’s electrical production was from nuclear power, the highest percentage in the world. They are also the world’s largest exporter of electricity (Enerpub, 2007). If one were to examine France’s production of carbon since its transition in the 1970’s, one would see that there has been a 40% reduction in carbon production, while the United States’ has increased dramatically (Dickey).

References

Bio, (2010). Karen silkwood biography. Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/articles/Karen-Silkwood-9542402

Dickey, M. Fear of nuclear power and global warming. Rebirth of Reason. Retrieved from
http://rebirthofreason.com/Articles/dickeymf/Fear_of_Nuclear_Power_and_Global_Warming.
html

EnerPub. (2007). France: energy profile. Spero News. Retrieved from
http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?idarticle=9839&t=France:+Energy+profile

Yassi, A., Kjellstrom, T., Kok, T., Guidotti, T. (2001). Basic environmental health. New York: Oxford University Press

Yourdictionary.com. (2010). Karen silkwood biography. Retrieved from http://www.yourdictionary.com/biography/karen-silkwood

We’ve all seen at least a similar picture regarding global warming over the past few years:

Though global temperatures have risen over the past few years, can this be attributed only to an increase in Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) emissions? I disagree. In a chart spanning the last decade, one can see global temperature fluctuations. The years of 1998-2008 show that CO₂ concentrations in the atmosphere have steadily increased, but Hadley and MSU temperatures show that global warming has dropped over the past decade. This shows that there is no correlation, negative nor positive, between the two factors.

One such explanation for this occurrence could be defended from the history of the Earth’s temperature change. An example that one could use to denounce the correlation between CO₂ and rising temperatures would be “The Little Ice Age”. The Little Ice Age was a period of time in the Earth’s history that consisted of unstable climatic conditions. This included increased rain and floods, crop failures and very cold winters. This period lasted from the 14th Century to the 19th Century. Before this change in climate, there was a period that is now referred to as “The Medieval Warm Period”. It lasted from the 9^th century to the 14^th century. For approximately 500 years the winters were mild and weather was considered stable.

These two examples can be given to show that the Earth’s climate frequently fluctuates over the centuries.

I also believe that there could be other factors that are causing global warming. I think it is too simplistic to give one singular reason if global warming is actually occurring. Once such additional explanation that could be added to the equation could be changes that are currently happening with the Sun. The following graph helps defend this stance:

To quote the website http://icecap.us/images/uploads/Solar_Changes_and_the_Climate.pdf: “Solar Changes and the Climate shows clear, graphic evidence that increase of solar magnetic flux decreases the ability of cosmic rays to penetrate the earth's atmosphere. This decreases low cloud formation which increases warming. Over the last 100 years, solar magnetic flux increased 230%, but it has plateaued at present. Also, solar cycle no. 24 is retarded and hasn't yet appeared. This last happened 400 years ago, before the Little Ice Age of the 1600's.”

More information can be obtained from the following cited that I used as sources:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.greenworldtrust.org.uk/Images/TPlanetSk/CO2-temp-recent.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.greenworldtrust.org.uk/Science/Social/Reconsider.htm&usg=__JWLsrVQGZX55XB390Xx3IipsWmA=&h=300&w=392&sz=21&hl=en&start=6&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=OzjuLkwBaxvzDM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=123&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcorrelation%2Bbetween%2Bcarbon%2Bdioxide%2Band%2Btemperature%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26tbs%3Disch:1

http://icecap.us/images/uploads/Solar_Changes_and_the_Climate.pdf

http://www.john-daly.com/hockey/hockey.htm

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art32201.asp