Rachel Carson: Hero or murderer?

Many people consider Rachel Carson to be a hero in the world of environmental policies. In the late 1950s, Carson turned her attention to synthetic pesticides. The result was Silent Spring, which brought environmental concerns to the American public. Silent Spring, while rejected by chemical companies, spurred a reversal in national pesticide policy, leading to a nationwide ban on DDT and other pesticides and led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. Carson was then awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work.

Many people claim, however, that Rachel Carson "sounded a false alarm" which caused the unnecessary ban of DDT. Because of this ban, many blaim the tens of millions of deaths from malaria on Rachel Carson. If she had not caused its ban, people would be allowed to use it in order to kill mosquitos and lower or eliminate malaria in continents like Africa. http://www.rachelwaswrong.org/

Statistics

Obesity in children has more than tripled in the past 30 years. If in 1980 the prevalence of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 years was 6.5%, in 2008 it reached 19.6%. In what concerns the adolescents, the prevalence of obesity in teenagers aged 12 to 19 years has increased from 5% to 18.1% in the same period of time. More than 70% of those who are obese during childhood will remain the same in their adulthood.

The definition of life.

Life is defined as a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased, or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate. The question of whether or not viruses and prions are alive is being debated among the scientific community. In my research of this question I saw that most people do not consider viruses to be alive becuase they are not made up of cells or even a single cell, it is simply RNA or DNA inside a protien coating. One man said this about prions, "No, I wouldn't class them as being alive as they're unable to change their structure through changes in the way they're made - there's no genetic code etc - it's just their influence on existing proteins that causes them to misfold and create more prions. There's no opportunity for novelty to arise."

Three Diets For Three Blood Types

There are certain things that people should not eat based on their blood types. People with Type O should stay away from foods such as wheat products, dairy products and certain types of beans. Type A people should avoid meats becuase their digestive system works better on a vegetarian diet. Type B people should avoid chicken, pork and shellfish. They should also stay away from certain types of cheese and some nuts. Type AB people do not produce enough stomach acid to digest meats well so they should avoid things like beef, chicken and veal.

Source: http://www.3fatchicks.com/blood-type-diet-three-banned-foods/

Mitochondrial Eve

Mitochondrial DNA is the DNA contained inside the mitochondria of the cell. Unlike our other DNA that is half our mother's and half our father's, mitochondrial DNA is 100% passed down from your mother and the only difference your mitochondrial DNA has from your mother's is mutation. Mitochondrial Eve is the person to whom we are all descended. Her cells contained mitochondrial DNA that passed through her to her children. Today, we are related to M. Eve and have mitochondrial DNA that is a mutated version of hers. It this theorized that her descendents traveled the world to settle and over many generations they each developed physical features more suited to their living area and became different races. They all have one thing in common though, M. Eve's mitochondrial DNA. Over time these descendents of M. Eve got so many mutations in their mitochondrial DNA that it could be distinguished from a person from a different region.
Video of Mitochondrial origins

China:

People from China generally look something like this. They have course black hair, tan or creamy yellow skin tones and high cheek bones. They have dark, slit-like eyes and are generally short in stature.

Scandinavia

Scandinavian people usually look something like this. They are generally very fair skinned with blonde hair and blue eyes.

Australia

Australian aboriginees look something like this. They are tall and skinny with dark skin. They also appear to have broad noses.

Ethiopia

Ethiopian people are taller and lean. They have dark skin and high cheek bones.

Mayans

People that are descendents of Mayans look like this woman. They have course black hair and tan skin. They also have broad noses and kind of resemble Mongolians or people from other Asian countries. Perhaps this is due to migration over the land bridge.

Organisms in extreme conditions...

I decided to do my blog on halophiles. "Halophiles are aerobic microorganisms that live and grow in high saline/salty environments. The saline content in halophilic environments is usually 10 times the saline/salt content of normal ocean water. Some environments that halophiles live in are the Great Salt Lake in Utah, Owens Lake in California, the Dead Sea. These microorganisms use osmotic pressure and chemical substances like sugars, alcohols, amino acids to help control the amount of salt inside the cell. Halophiles are like other extremophiles because the proteins inside the microorganisms play the most important role of making it possible for them to survive in extreme saline/salty environments" (Oracle Think Quest).

http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0212089/halo.htm

Plant...

Day 1: We got our plants today. I picked one of the smaller sunflower seeds. Unfortunately, I think I over watered it. I cut holes in the bottom but I don't know how much help that will be.

Day 2: It still looks a little over watered but the holes at the bottom seem to be working. I'm having a hard time finding a place in my apartment to put my plant in sunlight.

Day 3: still no sign of growth. I think it needs more sunlight.

Day 4: It sprouted!!

Day 5: It is getting bigger but it still has the seed stuck on the top of it.

Day 6: It was growing out of the cup but still had the seed covering stuck on it. I took the seed coat off and it has two leaves.

Day 7: It is still getting bigger. It is really far out of the cup now and I think its roots are getting to big for the cup. I need to repot it.

Day 8: It is pretty much staying the same size.

Day 9: Nothing new

Day 10: I'm taking him on a field trip to class today :)
Later that day... tragedy struck in the caf! my plant broke its neck.


New Plant
Monday: I got a new plant

Tuesday: I watered Little Timmy but nothing has happened yet

Wednesday: Still nothing

Thursday: I watered him again today but no signs of life from Little Timmy

Friday: I gave Little Timmy to Dr. Rood today to babysit during spring break.

SPRING BREAK!!

Monday: I got Little Timmy back and he has sprouted! He is a couple inches tall with 2 big leaves.

Tuesday: I watered him today and he is looking good! :)

Wednesday: He has two more leaves that are starting to grow

Thursday: His two smaller leaves are getting bigger and I think he is growing taller

Friday: I watered him today. He is starting to turn more yellow than green.

Saturday: He is still turning yellow but his two newest leaves are really fuzzy

Sunday: I dont see much change in him today. I watered him. Maybe he needs more TLC

Monday: Little Timmy is not lookin good :/

Tuesday: I think he is getting wilty

Wednesday: I came back from class today and Little Timmy was totally wilted and leaning to one side. I tried to revive him but his condition is critical