My baby's eyes are blue.. Green!

As humans continue to live on the planet they continue to generate more and more ideas, these ideas sooner or later prove to be the truth. Since the dawn of man we have learned to easily harness the power of electricity as well as how to easily look inside of human bodies. We have almost reached a point where we are able to even create our own idea of a perfect person. A person who's physical traits are determined well before they are even born. Although it is very possible to use these methods to remove diseases from unborn children, the human species is very vain and research pertaining to these children's appearance is just as explored as the research removing disease. Through recent scientific endeavors we may look more into this kind of genetic science. Similar to many other scientific endeavors this arises the question...is this ethical? Is it playing God to remove diseases from unborn children? Is it right to decide what color the child's eyes are or how large their nose will be before they are born? Is it morally right to decide the child's sex before they are born? People have already had these kinds of children predetermined and the future likely holds many more.

A designer baby is the term for any child born who's embryo was manipulated in some manner which changes anything about the child's genetic make up. In order to develop a designer baby InVitro Fertilization(IVF) is performed. IVF is when scientists have a sperm fertilize an egg inside a test tube. Before the sperm and egg undergo IVF another process must first occur. This process is called Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis(PGD). This new process is where scientists either select sperms with certain traits or implant said sperm with the genetic information that the parents want the child to have. After implanting the correct information the newly created zygote is screened for genetic disease. Upon completion of this step any embryo created that proves to most closely match in genetic material as well as to not have any diseases is implanted into the future mother's womb.

Some parents eagerly await the birth of their children hoping for a certain gender of child. Scientists nowadays can decide which gender the child will be. By screening the sperm of the father, they can choose to only fertilize the egg with male or female sperm depending on whether a male or female is desired. This has already been tested and has provided the world with a girl named Jessica (news article at bottom). Even though this process is safe I believe that the decision should not be put in the hands of the parents. I believe every child should have an equal chance to fulfill their dreams, thus I believe it is right for parents to remove life-threatening or hindering diseases before they are born. It is very possible that the only way to improve ourselves even further is to use science and do it directly. In the future maybe every child will have the same leg up, making the whole society greater by comparison to what we are now. Although if it were God's will for us to become greater in this manner would he have given mammals everywhere the ability to naturally adapt? But maybe we have grown to a point where our intelligence IS our ability to adapt.

In my opinion it is a magnificent thing for humans to be able to save lives before they have even begun and I think this type of research should be further explored so that we may become even better as a race.

I also read and commented on:
Alex Cabaj's Bio Blog
Amanda Kennedy's Bio Blog

References:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,989987,00.html
http://www.bionetonline.org/english/content/db_cont1.htm
http://www.bionetonline.org/english/content/db_cont2.htm
http://www.bionetonline.org/english/content/db_cont3.htm

Toronto and the Environment

Us humans are always berating ourselves for the little that we do to help the environment. People also constantly complain about the state of the world and what little we do to help it. The media is not very helpful in telling us otherwise about the positive that we do either. This clip is from 'The Matrix' where Agent Smith classifies humans based upon what he has noticed.

The scene from The Matrix

Although it is true that people are for the most part hurting the planet, there are many people everywhere who are helping the environment more than they hurt it. In Toronto there are many initiatives being taken to reduce the amount of harm we do to the environment. The long term effects of these initiatives can greatly help in keeping our planet from rotting away and becoming a dirty, garbage filled wasteland. A very pressing problem Toronto has attempted to take on is the people's awareness of the issues we face. Toronto has instituted an event that they call 'Community Environment Days'. During this event people all over Toronto can dispose of unused and unwanted household items to different places all over Toronto where they will either safely dispose of it or give it to others in need so that these items may be reused. Items brought may range from old ski equipment and clothing to old batteries and electronics that no longer have any use. There is more information about 'Community Environment Days' here:

City of Toronto Website

Danforth Greens Website

Perhaps the most famous action that both Toronto as well as the rest of Canada has taken in hopes of reducing the damage done to the Earth is the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto protocol is
an international agreement that the United Nations decided upon which targets numerous countries promising for them to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions significantly. More information can be found about the Kyoto Protocol on the website found here:

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Website


In hopes of following through with the Kyoto Protocol Toronto has been planning the 'Climate Change, Clean Air and Sustainable Energy Action Plan'. This plan works to reduce emissions caused by Toronto's internal operations such as factories. Regardless of the greenhouse gases reduced in internal operations, the program also plans to help reduce emissions caused by the people of Toronto as a whole. The government of Toronto has many plans to reduce emissions for and with the people from promoting local food production to increasing Toronto's tree canopy. There is more information about 'Climate Change, Clean Air and Sustainable Energy Action Plan' here:

Climate Change, Clean Air and Sustainable Energy Action Plan

In conclusion, people all over the world at some point or another take the planet's resources for granted. Toronto however has many issues which resulted in helping the progression of global warming. However it is important to note that we have recognized our faults and are working together toward a cleaner future together.


I commented on Derek's Blog The Boreal Forest, and Everything Good

I also commented on Denise Gabuya's Blog The Futile Efforts of Conservation by the Human Race