Cloning

Life on Earth over the Years Ala Z. Shbib WRI 102: Reading Across Currclm Zofia Reid American University of Sharjah May 3th, 2010 I pledge that this is entirely my own work Signature God has created earth for mankind to build and live together in their home harmoniously, peacefully and innovatively. Human beings are social creature and cannot live in isolation, so they lived in groups that have developed their lifestyle over ages and years. As well, group-working ended up with tremendous advancements especially over the past 200 years.  However, could man maintain his home “the Earth” good in terms of environment' And has he maintained healthy social values during the developmental process' Good and bad is a relative measurement as what can be seen positive by some group or individuals could be considered bad or negative by the other. Global warming that has resulted from increase of gas emission and social values that were impacted by the materialistic and vast technological lifestyle are issues that were subject to strong debates in the world.  Global warming is known as an increase in the average temperature of the Earth and seen by some scientists as a positive environmental change that does not negatively impact human and animal life. Health related issues such as the spread of diseases and malnutrition due to global warming were defied by some scientists. They believe that relating an upsurge in disease and early mortality stemming from climate change is baseless and exaggerated. They argued that diseases that cause death such as malaria, dysentery, and tuberculosis are mostly founded in the places where there is poverty and bad governments. Thomas Gale Moore (2002) elaborated his view point relating deaths to poverty rather than to global warming happened in 1996 saying: “Another 17 million, most of them in poor countries, succumbed in the same year to disorders caused by infections or parasites, such as diarrhea, tuberculosis, measles, and malaria. Many of those diseases are unrelated to climate; most have to do with poverty.” At the time that scientists attempting to prove harmful effects Moore went extremely opposite, in the same article, saying that global warming is beneficial for public health as physicians in some cases recommend patients escape to a more clement climate, never to a colder one. Similar to the high concerns given to public health, malnutrition and food supply issue were subject to deep investigations. Scientists argued that global warming will increase food supply. Margaret Haerens (2009) said that: “As the world warms, the climate becomes generally wetter, providing irrigation of crops in areas that have not been farmed for centuries…Warmer weather has always improved the growth of crops, and will always do so”. Although Carbon dioxide is a major cause behind global warming, it is necessary for the growth of plants and its elevation helps plants cope with low levels of essential resources such as light, water and minerals. “…atmospheric CO2 enrichment can actually mean the difference between life and death for vegetation growing in extremely stressful circumstances. “ (Benefits to plants, n.d.). Moreover, the emission of CO2 causes dimming of sunray preventing an access of it from entering the atmosphere and forms what is known as “greenhouse”. They said it is necessary to avoid icing of land that is needed for farming. During the 17 century Europe had face what is called "Little Ice Age". The slight decrease of temperature caused icing of vast lands in Europe pushing farmers to leave their lands.  Dr. Drew Shindell (2002) said that:  “we have proposed a solution to the apparent paradox of extreme cold with only a marginally dimmer Sun.” Filtering sunray makes earth also appropriate for the living of animals because direct exposure to sunray is harmful for animals. “… during the summer it will be burning because the sun would be up with no atmosphere to filter it, so … animals would be exposed to all the light and heat.” (Global Warming, n.d.). Furthermore, greenhouse gases keep the land and oceans warmer especially in winter and at night offering ideal environment for animals to live in. On the other hand, many other scientists and analysts argued that global warming is harmful for human’s life, environment, and animals’ wildlife. The vast spread of diseases in recent decades was due to global warming. Malarial mosquitoes that cause malaria breed in hot conditions. So as the temperature increases, more malarial mosquitoes will be found leaving hot countries such as the African’s ones with high rate of deaths. Paul Kingsnorth (2002), a journalist and deputy editor of Ecologist magazine, said: “Malaria is the world's most prevalent mosquito-borne disease: two million people die from it every year.” Also, the increase of deaths and malnutrition is attributed to floods as it damages habitat, crops, and food supplying resources. Kingsnorth mentioned in the same article that among direct effects of global warming is death and malnutrition occurrences due to flooding saying: “In 1996, North Koreans were reduced to eating leaves and grass, following flash floods that destroyed their crops. Many suffered from malnutrition. ”Although increasing incidents of floods occur in poor countries, global warming defenders should be aware that most of the poor countries are within the hot tropical zone so any slight acceleration of heat temperature affects these countries mostly rather than the cold ones. Logically, governments of poor and tropical countries cannot prevent the occurrence of environmental disasters. Hence, deaths, malnutrition, flooding are not a matter of poverty or bad governments but rather an environmental issue that is directly related to global warming. Environmental changes have occurred due to damaging the Ozone layer, which protect the Earth. John Horel and Jack Geisler (1997) said “The environmental problem is that the ozone content of the stratosphere is decreasing, and this decrease has been shown conclusively to be the result of the industrial use of substances known as the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)”. More ultraviolet ray is getting through the atmosphere and causing forests blaze which are paramount for absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. As well, ultraviolet ray is absorbed by water and accordingly damaging marine life. Due to the increase in temperature the coral reefs for example get bleached. Coral reefs are important creature for marine life as it offers shelters for many other creatures such as fishes. Moreover, they control carbon dioxide in the ocean. Studying coral bleaching, Ove Hoegh-Guldberg (2005) a marine biology professor found out: “ocean temperatures will continue escalating, causing massive coral bleaching events to increase in frequency and intensity.” Not only creatures in the sea are threatened by the increase of temperature, but also the ones that live on land. Polar bear is a significant example for animals that are vulnerable to extinction. As a result of the increase in temperature the percentage of ice melting in the Arctic and Antarctic is rising. This made the polar bears to swim long distances in order to find ice to stand on. Albert Arnold Al-Gore the previous vice president of the United States said in the documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” (2006)  that: “A new scientific study shows that for the first time they are finding polar bears that have actually drowned swimming long distances up to 60 miles to find the ice and they didn’t find…”. Changes that happened over the years were not only environmental but also social as values and morals have changed due to the development of lifestyle, the use of the internet and technological advancement applications. With the world growing materialistic and with many societies such as America having tendencies supported by culture to promote individualism which is basically a self-centred approach. Sociologists supporting this approach argued that children should be prepared to handle life issues efficiently and independently. These elements are essential to meet modern life competencies. This has ended up with having nuclear family opposing to extended types of families. The nuclear family is self caring and self advocacy type of family that does not extend help to others nor it does accept intervene of the surroundings including parents and grandparents and even friends in the family affairs. David Leake and Rhonda (2005) Black professors in University of Minnesota said: “In individualistic cultures, expectations tend to fall at the independent end of the continuum; adults should be self-sufficient, set and pursue personal goals, be true to their personal values, and meet their civic responsibilities …” (Essential Tools, 2005). A part from bolstering personal skills, internet is used as a source of information that helps in enhancing knowledge and even influences decision making for a nuclear family member. The use of the internet as a source of knowledge is also encouraged by schools and faculties with many providing distance learning opportunities. Stressing the importance of instructing on a web based learning environment, Maggie McVay Lynch (1998) a professor in the University of North Carolina said “Providing students with an introduction to distance learning is of primary importance, and they must be shown more than a “how to” of hardware and software”. Moreover, not only internet improves an individual knowledge but it also helps in connecting people of different places. Jeffrey Boase et al (2007) agreed that internet assist in uniting people by saying: “With the help of the internet, people are able to maintain active contact with sizable social networks, even though many of the people in those networks do not live nearby”. The easy accessibility to knowledge resources provided by the internet encouraged innovative researching and building on others’ achievements that led to an age characterized with rapid technological advancement in different fields such as medicine. In the 1944, the first human egg was fertilized in a lab and this captured the admiration of the whole world encouraging researchers to even attempt reproduction outside the mother’s body. Infertile husbands and wives have been given hope to have babies by doctors and researchers who reached technological revolution “test-tube babies”. This advancement “has changed the lives of thousands of Americans and offered new hope for families around the globe.” (American Experience “Test Tube Babies”, n.d.). Scientists went beyond to research the possibility of producing babies of certain characteristics as per parents request by applying cloning. Scientist could actually produced cloned animal such as Dolly, the cloned sheep that has captured the admiration of people in the world. However, answering social and religious opposition Raymond K. DeHainaut. (2001) a defender of cloning argued that there is nothing inherently wrong with cloning itself, but the motive should be judged for being ethical or unethical. He also believes that cloning is an inevitable practice for the good of the human race and any decision taken against it would have temporary impact. In contrast, many other sociologists argue that individualist societies and nuclear family patterns have results in having different social problems including not providing care to unmarried family members and the elderly. Taking care of a family member in extended is an obligation in collectivist societies and extended families patterns which are found in the far Eastern and the Middle Eastern countries. Such a care is essential for an unmarried or an elderly to feel self esteem and existence. “An individual who remains single and never marries feels out place, socially and culturally. Traditionally, single persons were supposed to be the responsibility of the extended family, and this tradition still continues.” (India – Status Of Single And Divorced Persons In India, n.d.). As well, having extended family pattern helped in lesser divorce cases as the younger generation value and respect the opinion of elder family members and relatives and allow their intervene in family affairs. William A. Galston (1998) said regarding the increase of divorce rates that: “Between 1960 and 1980, the U.S. divorce rate surged by nearly 250 percent. It has since leveled off at a rate that is by far the highest in the industrialized world. About half of all marriages undertaken today will end in divorce.” Divorce leave children inappropriately attended and vulnerable to the internet threat as single mothers have to go out to work. Some adults have dirty ends and trap and abuse children via the internet by initially pretending a child wants to socialise with them then drag innocent children into sexual practices or at best case expose them to pornographic websites. Cindy Mur in its editing for Janet Stanley article (2005) said: “… children are being involved in activities considered to be abusive in other contexts, such as sexual exploitation.” Nowadays, both children and adults have addicted the internet world and are dragged into a totally virtual life. Real life and social communication have been badly affected and interactions have become weaker or nil even within the same family and whether were needed to be directly or over the phone. The professors of political science Norman H. Nie and Lutz Erbring (2005) said that “internet users spend much less time talking on the phones to friends and family: the percentage reporting a decrease exceeds 25 percent”. Internet is counted one of the least socially harmful advancement compared to other ones such cloning which due to moral considerations was strongly opposed by some scientists, religious and social leaders who called on taking prompt action against its application on human beings in particular since cloning may allow duplication of people. They argued that such makes life lose its meaningful notions, the idea of pursuing happiness would vanish and passion of living experiences would disappear. Laurie DiMauro and Tina Grant (2006) who strongly objected cloning from religious perspective when said: “The biblical view of man as a special creation in the image of God will be deconstructed, and the idea that we are no more than our genes will take life.” Furthermore, genes are not only used in cloning but also in tube babies. This scientific advancement harmed the morals and values as people started thinking to apply it not as a way to help infertile couples but to have a baby with certain features. Taking sperms from other man, not the husband, and plant it in the wife’s womb leads to a huge moral issue regarding determining the baby’s identity. Moreover, this may lead to another ethical problem as any failure in such experiment makes the child vulnerable to cancer. Francis Fukuyama (2005) stressed that “… child whose parents, seeking to give her greater intelligence, will saddle her with a greater propensity for cancer, or prolonged debility in old age…” Mankind should know that causing any imbalance in the components of the environment: air, water and soil would definitely harm us and the home that God has carefully and intelligently made for us to live on. As well, man should be aware of the fact that he cannot live in his cabin enjoying a virtual world away from those who surround him because what matters the individual should be the highest concern of the family and the society as a whole. As well, arrogance always leads to destruction. Technological advancement should not be arrogantly deployed but only for the good of mankind. Reference list American Experience "Test Tube Babies", (n.d.). Retrieved April 30, 2010, from Pbs Web site: http://www.pbs.org/previews/amex-testtubebabies/ Benefits to plants, (n.d.). 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