Pesticides Essays (522 words) - Pesticides, Soil Contamination

Pesticides Putting Aside Pesticides There are 2.5 billion pounds of pesticides being applied to agricultural products each year in the United States. This is ten times more than was applied forty years ago. It is still unknown as to what type of exact effects these chemicals may have on individuals. Some farmers that have been using pesticides in their fields and developed leukemia are finding that the cause of their disease is from inhaling pesticides. These chemicals are still in use today and most of them have never been tested for the short or long-term effects that they may have on humans. Each year there are 10,000 pesticide related poisonings. On July 4th 1985, over 300 Californians became sick after eating watermelons treated with the pesticide tenik. Testing supermarket produce is a way of determining the amount of exposure the consumer receives through common produce like carrots, tomatoes and lettuce. 44% of foods that were tested in supermarkets were found to have some traces of pesticide residue on them. Of all the pesticides found, nineteen of them were a pesticide called DDT. DDT was banned in this country 12 years prior to the testing. It was believed that these chemicals might have entered this country from another country that doesn't have pesticide restrictions as the U.S. does. Pesticides are contaminating the Earth's water supplies. There are seventeen pesticides found in twenty-three state's water supplies right now. Scientists at Cornell University conclude that 99% of pesticides miss the intended source and find their way into the water, air and soil. Most of the pollution isn't strong enough to create an immediate impact on humans so the wildlife is the primary target to these contaminates. Animals such as the European Starling birds are constantly being tested and found that they are greatly affected both behaviorally and psychologically. Farming practices that do not use pesticides/herbicides are slowly becoming introduced bit biologically created pesticides are not nearly as productive as found in preliminary testing. Biotechnology has shown to have successfully resisted pests in plants that were destroyed by pesticides but still hasn't proven itself as a better alternative. William Liebhardt Ph.D. is an Agricultural Specialist at the University of California, Davis and he says, ?When you start spraying with pesticides, you disrupt the natural balance that exists in nature. As a result, you end up killing beneficial insects, then insects that were not a problem become problems and this happens repeatedly? requiring more and more spraying. Spraying crops with chemicals may not have an immediate effect on humans but the environment needs to be preserved for years to come in order for crop production to remain a vital link to the human diet. By not treating the crops, you face a possible situation of a major reduction in agricultural produce. The non-chemical approach may be the answer but it is obvious that there needs to be a lot more testing done on these products as well and they are not economically reasonable yet. But then paying more now is a small price to pay to have fewer problems later. Environmental Issues

About Plato and His Philosophical Ideas

About Plato and His Philosophical Ideas Plato was one of the most famous, respected, and influential philosophers of all time. A type of love (Platonic) is named for him. We know the Greek philosopher Socrates mostly through Platos dialogues. Atlantis enthusiasts know Plato for his parable about it in Timaeus and other descriptions from Critias. He saw tripartite structures in the world around him. His social structure theory had a governing class, warriors, and workers. He thought the human soul contained reason, spirit, and appetite. He may have founded an institution of learning known as the Academy, from which we get the word academic. Name: Aristocles [dont confuse the name with Aristotle], but known as PlatoPlace of Birth: AthensDates 428/427 to 347 B.C.Occupation: Philosopher The Name Plato Plato was originally named Aristocles, but one of his teachers gave him the familiar name, either because of the breadth of his shoulders or his speech. Birth of Plato Plato was born around May 21 in 428 or 427 B.C., a year or two after Pericles died and during the Peloponnesian War. He was related to Solon and could trace his ancestry to the last legendary king of Athens, Codrus. Plato and Socrates Plato was a student and follower of Socrates until 399, when the condemned Socrates died after drinking the prescribed cup of hemlock. It is through Plato that we are most familiar with Socrates philosophy because he wrote dialogues in which his teacher took part, usually asking leading questions the Socratic method. Platos Apology is his version of the trial and the Phaedo, the death of Socrates. The Legacy of the Academy When Plato died, in 347 B.C., after Philip II of Macedonia had begun his conquest of Greece, leadership of the Academy passed not to Aristotle, who had been a student and then teacher there for 20 years, and who expected to follow, but to Platos nephew Speusippus. The Academy continued for several more centuries. Eroticism Platos Symposium contains ideas on love held by various philosophers and other Athenians. It entertains many points of view, including the idea that people were originally doubled some with the same gender and others with the opposite, and that, once cut, they spend their lives looking for their other part. This idea explains sexual preferences. Atlantis The mythical place known as Atlantis appears as part of a parable in a fragment of Platos late dialogue Timaeus and also in Critias. Tradition of Plato In the Middle Ages, Plato was known mostly through Latin translations of Arabic translations and commentaries. In the Renaissance, when Greek became more familiar, far more scholars studied Plato. Since then, he has had an impact on math and science, morals, and political theory. The Philosopher King Instead of following a political path, Plato thought it more important to educate would-be statesmen. For this reason, he set up a school for future leaders. His school was called the Academy, named for the park in which it was located. Platos Republic contains a treatise on education. Plato is considered by many to be the most important philosopher who ever lived. He is known as the father of idealism in philosophy. His ideas were elitist, with the philosopher king the ideal ruler. Plato is perhaps best known to college students for his parable of a cave, which appears in Platos Republic.