Love organic? Then love yourself!

Biosolids…sounds pretty environmentally friendly right? But guess what it’s composed of....sewage wastes! Yes, from domestic and industrial lives, including toxic wastes…and yes, your own poop! But as your mother would say, poop is a very good fertilizer, as it still contains nutrients and minerals that the soil needs. Human feces do contain nutrients, but it may contain pathogens and the chemicals that we’ve ingested. Even if it’s used as fertilizer, it has to be treated correctly.

Sewage wastes are treated by a wastewater plant which goes through physical, chemical and biological processes, and biosolids are the nutrient-rich organic matter results. In the process, they eliminate pathogens and heavy metals from the wastes. Biosolids can act as a soil amendment or fertilizer, which improves the physical properties of the soil leading to better growth of crops. It enriches forests and land that has been worn down. In Canada, biosolids are classified by its quality which affects where it’s going to be used, so there is quality control! Because of wastewater treatments, it has made our fresh waters cleaner and safer for all living organisms. With biosolids as fertilizers, we won’t have to waste space in landfills or burn it to rid of it, rather, we recycle! Biosolids reduces the need for chemical fertilizers on farms, plus it’s a much less cost efficient alternative for farmers. It’s also been tested that there hasn’t been any dangers to our health.

Even though sewage wastes are treated, they’re a huge combination of chemicals from…who-knows! They contain countless contaminants, including metals, pesticides, and just anything that’s been dumped into a sewer, which becomes sewage sludge. Even though sewage treatments reduce the number of pathogens to a minimum, there are still some that are left which can affect us! Also, heavy metal accumulation in soils is toxic for living organisms. There has been an investigation on airborne pathogens, which can affect workers causing them to be exposed to pathogenic organisms. Of course, a mixture of thousands of wastes would lead to unpleasantly pungent odors. These fertilizers may get into our foods, but then again, most of our foods are contaminated with pesticides already.

There are pros and cons to biosolids, but the major thing we should look upon is for our health. It may corrupt our foods, and create new diseases along the line, but right now there hasn’t been any sign of dangers. I say biosolids pass, because either way, this waste is going to be created daily (healthy person = 3 times a day!!!!) and it’s not going anywhere so why not put it to good use. I know that it’s gross, because I’ll feel like I’m eating my own poop, or someone else’s, but…food is food, and if it tastes the same and does the work, we just have to overlook the process it’s been through. Some people may say it’s risky because we don’t actually know what biosolids are made of, but there’s nothing in this world that comes without a risk factor.

References

"About Biosolids." Biosolids. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2010.
     <http://www.biosolids.com/basics.html>.

"FAQ - Biosolids." CWWA. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2010.

     <http://www.cwwa.ca/faqbiosolids_e.asp>.

"Heavy Metal Soil Contamination." Soil Quality. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2010.
     <http://mail.ilconservation.com/IUMPDF/appendix/u03.pdf>.

"Human waste shouldn't be fertilizer?" Poop Report. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2010.
     <http://www.poopreport.com/BMnewswire/189.html>.

"A Perspective on Biosolids Management." The Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases . N.p., n.d.

Web. 9 Dec. 2010. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2094821/>.

"Where does my poop go?" Portland Mercury. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2010.
     http://www.portlandmercury.com/news/where-does-my-poop-go/Content?oid=28160.

Comments

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It’s true…we can’t live without technology.

Technology is everywhere! I’m using it right now to complete my assignment! It’s great, and it saves lives! ( http://www.tomsguide.com/us/twitter-toilet-yodobashi-tweet-japanese,news-6780.html haha, just kidding! ) Technology is used daily by surgeons, doctors, nurses and has saved many lives. Doctors don’t have x-ray vision, so they need technology to help them.

 From Stethoscopes to Magnetic Resonance Imaging, they assist doctors to understand our internal body system because everyone’s body works differently. Let’s not forget about the Computerized Axial Tomography Scan, blood pressure reading devices, heart/pulse rate monitors, endoscopes, thermometers, x-ray machines and the list just goes on and on. They’re crucial to the diagnosis and follow up of medical treatments. Without technology, there’s no way anyone could figure out the cause of diseases/sickness. Yearly full body scans can help humans be aware of their health, and it could prevent long-term illnesses if problems are detected early. Most of the time people think that they’re strong, fit, healthy, and have the (mental) and physical ability of a 15 year old, but in reality, their internal mechanisms may be rusting, and they discover it when it’s too late. Normally, we can’t look at a person and sentence them to cancer or kidney failure, etc. This is where technology kicks in, it’s vital to our understanding of what’s happening inside us.

Insulin’s a hormone produced in the pancreas, which helps the body store/use the blood sugar from food. People with type 1 diabetes’s body can’t produce insulin and those with type 2 either don’t have enough insulin produced or have insulin resistance. In 1992, Frederick Banting and Charles Best at the University of Toronto discovered a way to treat diabetes. They isolated insulin and tested it on a diabetic dog, and the results were successful! It effectively lowered the dog’s blood sugar level and soon after, the first dose of insulin was used on a young boy dying of diabetes. Insulin saved him and the millions of people afterwards.

Technology moves forward with each era getting better. It continues to help human beings discover cures to new diseases that keep coming. It also helps find more efficient, less painful ways of treatments.

Check this out! http://www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/17470/ Swallowable Sensors are sensors that’re ingested, and as it goes along the digestive system, gathering information, then sends it to a transmitter. This is a big step forward, because previously, they would use invasive and unpleasant ways to study the digestive system, but this method, is convenient and hassle-free.

With technology, this is happening too! http://www.scienceahead.com/entry/top-10-artificial-technologies-ready-to-create-a-real-human-being/ They’ve made artificial body parts which work with our bodies, functioning inside us, and they’ve use the artificial heart in dying patients to give them hope, as it keeps them alive temporarily while seeking for a heart donor.

Technology is unpredictable and surprising. Technology brings us places where our grandparents would have never thought to have happened! Technology improves and enhances medical procedures and gives us the ability to understand the human body and the internal systems. We all love technology, don’t we?  

References

"Insulin Discovered, 1922." About.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2010.
     <http://history1900s.about.com/b/2008/01/17/insulin-discovered-in-1922.htm>.

"Insulin Discovered, 1922." About.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2010.
     <http://history1900s.about.com/b/2008/01/17/insulin-discovered-in-1922.htm>.

"Top 10 Artificial Technologies Ready to creath a Real Human Being." Science ahead. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2010. <http://www.scienceahead.com/entry/top-10-artificial-technologies-ready-to-create-a-real-human-being/>.

"What are the different types of hospital equipment." Wisegeek. N.p., n.d. Web.
     8 Dec. 2010. <http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-different-types-of-hospital-equipment.htm>.

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