Overpopulation :: Papers

Overpopulation The twentieth century has drawn to a close and civilization faces the dilemma of supporting an overpopulated world. Throughout time, mankind has lived as though there were no consequences for his actions. But now, as people of the future, we see what is happening to the world we live in. Despite our knowledge, these straightforward problems are still being ignored. Our actions in the past have dictated the present, and our actions now will determine our future, and generations to come. We caused the overpopulation problems we are now facing; so we must also be the ones to solve the problems. The link between population growth and environmental impact seems obvious. More people, consume more resources, damage more of the earth, and generate more waste. In the book Earth Odyssey, by Mark Hertzgaard, he quoted Paul Ehrlich’s statement, â€Å"The United States is the most overp opulated country in the world† (197). Today’s children are likely to see a tripling of the global population within their lifetimes unless, solutions emerge decreasing population growth. Hertzgaard points out â€Å"the world’s population will stabilize at much less than eight billion people, and an eventual total of ten or twelve billion is quite possible† (220). We must take action to save our planet. One crisis the earth and its inhabitants fear today is lack of resources due to the increasing number of people. Justifications for our path of destruction are; destroy trees for more farmland; excessive consumption of food sources by over harvesting and overgrazing causing barren wastelands; continued use of fossil fuels and chemicals needed for transportation, creation of electricity, and heating our homes; and more people means more homes will be built again forests and natural habitats of animals.

The Air Traffic Controllers Strike of 1981

In this study, I intend to provide an overview of the air traffic controllers' strike that occurred in 1981. This strike came at the peak of increased tension between the air traffic controllers union, PATCO, and the FAA, a federal agency charged with overseeing the management of all civil air flights. The strike occurred on August 3, 1981. On that day, approximately 12,000 air traffic controllers went on strike, effectively crippling the civil air industry. As members of PATCO, these individuals certainly felt they had the right to strike; however, under the terms of certain laws affecting federal employees, the air traffic controllers, in fact, did not have this right. As a result, President Reagan immediately threatened that any air traffic controller not back at work within 48 hours of the start of the strike would lost his or her job. Three days later, the FAA issued 12,000 dismissal notices and the strike officially came to an end (Spector, 1982, p. ). Of particular interest to me is not only the details and particulars of this strike, but also the structural circumstances that precipitated it and why compensation negotiations were ineffectual. Therefore, I will focus the remainder of this overview on several key points: the internal and external environmental forces that led to the strike, specific human resources issues that made air traffic controllers apt to strike, and a review of the negotiation process and the failed proposals on both sides. In the course of this evaluation, I will discuss some of the major players in the strike, analyze some of the fundamental causes of this strike, and even present at least one alternative solution that was proposed at the time and should have probably been implemented without fail. In this, I intend to illustrate the nature of the air traffic controllers' strike of 1981 and the factors that made it all but inevitable. To begin with, let's consider some of the major players who were involved in the air traffic controllers' strike. First, there is the FAA. This is the federal agency that was established in 1958 to manage all civilian air flights in the United States. At the time of the strike, all air traffic controllers in the United States were trained, certified, and employed by the FAA (Spector, 1982, p. 1). In other words, the FAA had a literal stranglehold on the market for air traffic controllers in the United States. To work in the United States as an air traffic controller, thus, meant that one had to work with the FAA and abide by their prescriptions for how air traffic controllers should be employed. Second, we should consider PATCO, or the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization. This group was affiliated with the AFL-CIO and was created in 1968. It was, in short, a union of air traffic controllers. During the 1970s, in particular, PATCO grew at a tremendous rate (Spector, 1982, p. 2). By the time the potential strike rolled around, most of the air traffic controllers in the United States were members of PATCO. Third, we should consider the head of PATCO, the man who lead the organization down the more militant path towards strike and whose ultimate negotiations with the FAA would precipitate the strike in the first place. Robert Poll took the reins at PATCO in 1980, partially in response to attitudes within the organization that felt a more aggressive stance was needed towards the FAA on the part of unionized air traffic controllers (Spector, 1982, p. 2). In this context, we can see that Poll and PATCO were immediately at odds with the FAA, which as an organization naturally wanted to maintain its monopolistic control over the supply of air traffic controllers. The conflict between the two primary players in this strike-the FAA and PATCO-was only exasperated by certain pieces of federal legislation that prohibited federal employees from using strikes, sit-ins, or work slow downs to affect changes in their employment status. Legislation such as the Federal Relations Labor act prevented federal unionized employees to use their union status for anything other than collective bargaining (Spector, 1982, p. 2). This structural component of the issue further tied the figurative hands of PATCO and the air traffic controllers. It may even have precipitated a strike if the air traffic controllers felt cornered and desperate in their dealings with the FAA. If the air traffic controllers did not think there was any possibility of seeing their demands met-and how could they, if they were not permitted to use the threat of a strike? -then it is possible that they would have instigated the strike in desperation. There were a number of other issues that certainly led to a strike-style conflict between the FAA and PATCO. For example, of the 17,275 air traffic controllers employed in July 1981, all had to take part in a seventeen-week training course and then participate in on-the-job training for an additional two to four years. The FAA estimated that the total cost of training an air traffic controller amounted to $175,000 (Spector, 1982, p. 4). From the perspective of the FAA, labor negotiations were unlikely to result in higher pay rates or other forms of compensation. From the federal perspective, a significant amount of money had already been invested in these individuals; more was not a viable option. For the air traffic controllers, however, increased pay was the least of their concerns. As air traffic controllers knew all too well, the job of managing dozens of aircraft from the ground simultaneously was not easy. When PATCO went to the negotiation table with the FAA prior to the strike, they listed a number of concerns and problems that they wanted to see corrected. These included, but were not limited to, the following. One, PATCO was concerned about access. The FAA gave unfettered access to airports at any time, to anyone. The result was extremes of traffic during peak and off hours of the day or week. PATCO also cited poor supervision from individuals who were often paid more than the air traffic controllers to do nothing more than shift paperwork around. Safety responsibility was also a concern-given the demands of the job and the life-or-death nature of it, some air traffic controllers felt that there should be a better system of managing and accepting responsibility. Finally, the air traffic controllers were concerned about their pay scale, especially lost overtime hours according to federal mandate (Spector, 1982, p. 10-11). Salaries for air traffic controllers were reasonable for the period, however some federal regulations placed a cap on the amount that any individual could earn as a federal employee. Additionally, limitations were made regarding the amount of pay that could be awarded during any two week period, regardless of hours worked. This fact, combined with the extremely stressful nature of the job, upset many at PATCO (Spector, 1982, p. 4,6). The fact that the FAA rated as one of the poorest employers of air traffic controllers worldwide in terms of hours worked per week, vacation days, and sick leave only made matters worse (Spector, 1982, p. 5). Thus, when the FAA and PATCO went to the negotiation table in the days and weeks preceding the strike on August 3, there were a number of issues that had to be resolved between them. The air traffic controllers felt overworked, overstressed, and under appreciated in general. The FAA felt that it had the upper hand because the air traffic controllers were unable, by federal law, to go on strike. For this reason, the eventual strike-in hindsight-seems all but inevitable. In fact, the assumption that the FAA had the upper hand in the negotiations may have led directly to their counter offer which was much more conservative than the original PATCO demands. PATCO wanted an increase in salaries, a new maximum salary limit, a reduction in the work week, earlier retirement benefits, and cost of living adjustments to be made twice a year. The FAA negotiator, John Helms, estimated that this package would cost the government around $744 million the first year. He countered with a proposal that would only cost $40 million the first year, but which was a significantly watered down version of PATCO demands (Spector, 1982, p. 10). The union rejected this offer and went back to the negotiation table. When the second counter offer from the FAA was also not to their liking, they voted 95% in favor of going on strike (Spector, 1982, p. 11). The consequent strike on August 3, 1981 cost most of PATCO members their jobs and ended up costing the aviation industry, as well as associated industries such as tourism and hotels, millions of dollars in lost profits. Given these myriad environmental forces, symptoms and causes, and the inherent conflict between the FAA and PATCO, it is little wonder that a strike was the ultimate result between the negotiations between the FAA and PATCO. But what might have been done differently, what other solution might have worked in the past to alleviate the problems that occurred? For an answer I turn to Lane Kirkland of the AFL-CIO who said at the time, â€Å"The air traffic control system is a purely subsidized service the government is providing for the private airline industry. Under the Reagan doctrine of getting the government off people's backs, you'd think they might try to turn the whole thing over to the industry to run instead of using the might and majesty of the government to suppress a strike† (Spector, 1982, p. 4). In fact, this is exactly the solution that I would have suggested at the time and would advocate today as a solution to the mess that the FAA found itself in in 1981. If the FAA had been privatized, the concerns and issues that air traffic controllers were having could have been easily resolved between PATCO and the airline industry, in whose best interest it would have been to resolve the matter to keep planes in the air and profits in the black. Instead, the government used an ineffective law to force almost 12,000 people out of work who were simply trying to use the power of the strike to leverage themselves better working conditions. Especially when we consider the magnitude of the job that air traffic controllers did (and do) and the safety of countless lives that could have been at stake, it is even amazing that the government responded to the legitimate concerns of air traffic controllers in the way that it did.

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Candide Essay example - 608 Words

Candide is a French satire novel written by Voltaire during the Enlightenment period. The novel tells the life story of Candide, a young and honest man from Westphalia. He falls in love with Cundegonde , the beautiful daughter of the Baron of the Thunder-ten-Thronckh. Later he is forced to leave Westphalia therefore begins his adventures throughout many different countries. Throughout his advantures, Candide’s beliefs and experiences have changed dramatically. The novel reflects a type of writing known as bildungsroman. Bildungsroman is a story in which the main character moves from a state of innocence and inexperienced to a state of wisdom and maturity through his or her experiences. The beginning course of bildungsroman is that the†¦show more content†¦One of the most important reason for Candide to want to marry Cundegonde is that he wants to keep his promise and doesn’t want the society view him as an untrustworthy man. He has sacrificed his needs for the judgments of the society. In bildungsroman, the character is usually be able to make a smooth movement away from conformity throughout major conflicts such as individuality vs. conformity. During his adventures, Candide acquires wealth and experiences about the world. These factors cause Candide to question his belief in optimism. After Candide listened to Martin’s philosophy of pessimism, he has changed his views from optimism of Pangloss to Martin’s pessimism. At the end of the novel, Candide rejects Pangloss’ philosophy and Martin’s philosophy. He begins aware of both good things and bad things. He starts to forms his own life opinions by becoming a gardener. This is an example of individuality vs. conformity. In this novel, Voltaire is able to use bildungsroman to moves Candide from an innocence and honest man to a man of wisdom and maturity. After being forced away from Westphalia, Candide is able to acquired some knowledge about the world. He is now matured enough to be able to sacrificed his needs for his reputation. He has gained wisdoms to develop some opinions for himself. Finally, the novel Candide can be considered as a bildungsroman because of theseShow MoreRelatedVoltaire s Candide And `` Candide ``936 Words   |  4 PagesEven though, the broadway play complements Voltaire’s novel, Candide, there are noticeable changes made. These changes are made in order to captivate the audience. Considering the change in time period when Voltaire originally wrote Candide, the changes needed to be made in order to contain more modern aspects that the audience would be drawn to. These changes will be discussed throughout the deliberation of the play, but the most important noticed change would be the doubling of the narrator toRead More Voltaires Candide: The Transformation of Candide Essay1105 Words   |  5 PagesVoltaires Candide: The Transformation of Candide   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Candide (1991), which is another version of Voltaire by French writer Francois-Marie Arouet, is a short but diverse story that tells of a young mans journey for love and the hardships he faces all the while keeping a very strong, positive and philosophical outlook on life. The book starts in an unknown year, hinted sometime around the Renaissance, with a young man named Candide. Candide loves the princess of a Baron and is banished fromRead MoreThe Novel Candide 1535 Words   |  7 PagesCandide, a story written by Voltaire, is a travel literature that takes away women’s freedom. This story talks about the concept of optimism in the characters’ lives. According to Margaret A. Bodena man may make no claims, but merely (habitually) describe situations in a positive rather than a negative way, and the question of justification may not even arise† (A. Boden). Women in this story fail to accept the principle of optimism. This is because everything in their lives is not for theRead MoreCandide Essay1302 Words   |  6 PagesCandide Essay Compare/Contrast of 2 Characters Throughout the story of Candide, the author Voltaire uses many of the characters to portray important things in life. The two characters that Voltaire used the most were Candide and Pangloss. Voltaire used these two characters to represent a particular idea or folly that he had about the world. In the story Candide, Voltaire is always portraying his own ideas by using the characters to illustrate his own ideas. 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The novel even goes on to make fun of the art of literature by giving ridiculous chapter headings. Just about everything Voltaire put into CandideRead MoreCandide and Free Will1653 Words   |  7 PagesVoltaires Candide is a novel that is interspersed with superficial characters and conceptual ideas that are critically exaggerated and satirized. The parody offers cynical themes disguised by mockeries and witticism, and the story itself presents a distinctive outlook on life narrowed to the concept of free will as opposed to blind faith dri ven by desire for an optimistic outcome. The crucial contrast in the story deals with irrational ideas as taught to Candide about being optimistic by PanglossRead MoreCandide by Voltaire948 Words   |  4 PagesVoltaire’s novel, Candide, encompasses a lot of things. This includes mockery of the beliefs of an opposing philosopher of the Enlightenment period . But perhaps the most powerful of his satires in his novel is on religion. Voltaire believes in God, but rather a forceful disapproval of religion. He believes that all people should serve God in their own way instead of being told how to believe God through religious officials. The first example of Voltaire mocking religion is after Candide leaves the castleRead More Candide Essay1648 Words   |  7 Pages Francois Marie Arouet de Voltaire’s novella, Candide, incorporates many themes, yet concentrates a direct assault on the ideas of Leibniz and Pope. These two well-known philosophers both held the viewpoint that the world created by God was the best of all possibilities, a world of perfect order and reason. Pope specifically felt that each human being is a part of God’s great and all knowing plan or design for the world. Voltaire had a very opposite point of view in that he saw a world of needlessRead MoreMWDS Candide4817 Words   |  20 Pages Major Work Data Sheet: Candide Title: Candide Author: Voltaire Date of Publication: 1759 Genre: Satire, ‘Conte Philosophique’ (Philosophical Fiction) Biographical information about the author: Francois-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire, was born in 1694 in Paris, France. Though his father wanted him to become a lawyer, Voltaire long held a great passion for writing, and rather than going to law school, spent his time extensively composing poetry, essays, and historical studies. His widespread

Analysis Of Northrop Frye s The Educated Imagination

Northrop Frye s the Educated Imagination, published in 1963, attempts to bring out the meaning and effect of possessing an educated imagination in contrast to its opposite. Dr. Frye analyses how his theory advances society’s interests and overcomes its limits through the three levels of the human mind. In his essay, the three levels are broken down in a detailed manner, which links it directly its thesis. Frye presents definitive answers to his questions in the beginning of his essay, â€Å"What good is the study of literature? Does it help us to think more clearly, or feel more sensitively, or live a better life than we could without it?† Conclusively, the education of an individual’s mind is critical to understand the world we live in and to the advancement of our society. Educating the mind consists of absorbing and modifying literature, understanding and evolving art, and placing science within context without having data as the boundaries of our imagination. Unlike Socrates, Frye believes that the written word is fundamental, even critical, for the advancement of society and its members to express their most inner thoughts, beliefs and ideas in which the verbal system of communication is incapable of capturing. As he mentions, â€Å"there s the level of imagination, which produces the literary language of poems and plays and novels.† (p. 8) Which is a clear contrast to the â€Å"technological language of teachers and preachers and politicians and advertisers and lawyers andShow MoreRelatedThe Glorious Faculty: a Critical Analysis of Addison’s Theory of Imagination in ‘the Pleasures of Imagination’2701 Words   |  11 PagesThe Glorious Faculty: A Critical Analysis of Addison’s Theory of Imagination in ‘The Pleasures of Imagination’ Declaration: I declare that this is my original work and I have acknowledged indebtedness to authors I have consulted in the preparation of my paper. (I) An auxilier light Came from my mind which on the setting sun Bestow’d new splendor †¦[1] - William Wordsworth (II) Ah ! from the soul itself must issue forth ARead MoreKhasak14018 Words   |  57 PagesMonday, 26 October 2009 Preface This dissertation titled ART AS A RENDEZVOUS OF MYTH AND MIND: A PSYCHOANALYTIC AND MYTHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF O V VIJAYAN’S THE LEGENDS OF KHASAK explores how the judicious selection and use of literary theory can account for the universal appeal of The Legends of Khasak, a belated self translated rendering of a famous regional work in Malayalam, Khasakkinte Ithihasam authored by the eminent writer O V Vijayan, and thus assert its artistic value. Divided into fourRead MoreCleanth Brookss Essay Irony as a Principle of Structure9125 Words   |  37 PagesMarx’s economic theories as such: we shall confine our discussion to their methodological premises and implications. It will in any case be obvious to the reader that the present writer upholds the validity of their content. Secondly, a detailed analysis of Rosa Luxemburg’s thought is necessary because its seminal discoveries no less than its errors have had a decisive influence on the theories of Marxists outside Russia, above all in Germany. To some extent this influence persists to this day. ForRead MoreThe Analysis of the Mythic Dimension in ‘a Streetcar Named Desired’6094 Words   |  25 PagesThe Analysis of the Mythic dimension in ‘A Streetcar Named Desired’ Background This paper tells about American South which exposed in A Streetcar Named Desire written by Tennesse Williams. The changes were drawn from the life experience of the main characters in the play, named Blanche Du Bois. Here, we try to explore about the analysis of the main character, Blanch Du Bois. Problem and its Scope This study principally constitus the analyze of the myth in a play that written by Tennese WilliamRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pagesand permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain permission(s) to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions Department, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458, or you may fax your request to 201-236-3290. Many of the designations by manufacturers

The Man to send Rain Clouds Free Essays

â€Å"The Man to Send Rain Clouds† Leslie Mormon Silks wrote â€Å"The Man to Send Rain Clouds† in 1969. The story details the death of an old Indian named Teflon. During one point of the story Leon prepares Topsoil’s body for burial. We will write a custom essay sample on The Man to send Rain Clouds or any similar topic only for you Order Now Leon proceeds to paint Topsoil’s face yellow. In the Native American Culture the color yellow stands for mourning or death. Teflon may be dead, but Silks presents him as a transitional character going through the three stage process. Silks uses the three stage process to demonstrate the importance of vying a full life and leaving a lasting impression upon the world. The first stage of the process is Separation. Separation is the character moving away into the unfamiliar. Teflon is literally, physically separated from his tribe. In the beginning of the story Teflon is found dead in the sheep pasture under a tree. Teflon was an old shepherd who tended the sheep alone at night. Silks presents Teflon as a lonely, neglected, poor man. â€Å"They found him under a big cottonwood tree. His Levi Jacket and pants were faded light blue so that he had been easy to find. The big cottonwood tree stood apart from a small grove of winter bare cotton woods which grew in the wide, sandy arroyo. He had been dead for a day or more, and the sheep had wandered and scattered up and down the arroyo. † Silks illustrates the tree as being isolated from the other trees because it parallels Topsoil’s separation from the others. â€Å"The people stood close to each other with little clouds of steam puffing from their faces. † The next stage of the process is transition. Transition is the character going through trials and tribulations that stimulates personal growth ND knowledge. Topsoil’s burial process is his Journey of change. Teflon went from being a weathered lively old man to being a fragile decomposing corpse. Topsoil’s fragility and age is illustrated when the young people dress him in his burial clothes. â€Å"He looked small and shriveled, and after they dressed him in the new shirt and pants he seemed more shrunken. † â€Å"They laid the bundle in the back of the pickup and covered it with a heavy tarp before they started back to the pueblo’ The other characters do not even look at Teflon as a human anymore. Topsoil’s death transitioned other characters as well. But there he was, facing into a cold dry wind and squinting at the last sunlight; ready to bury a red wool blanket while the faces of his parishioners were in the shadow with the last warmth of the sun on their backs. † Throughout the story the priest transitioned from religious to spiritual. Teflon taught the Father Paul the importance of having a spiritual life. Teflon transition was physical and spiritu al. The last stage of the process is reintegration. Reintegration is the character turning to the place where he started or a better place than where he started. Teflon returned to the earth from which he came from. â€Å"They lowered the bundle into the ground, and they didn’t bother to untie the stiff pieces of new rope that were tied around the ends of the blanket. † In the King James Version of the bible it is stated in Genesis chapter thirteen verse nine, â€Å"By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return. † Teflon is returning from what he was made from. I believe that Silks wrote this story to show her readers that she believes life is short. I know life is short. I have seen many people die in my twenty years of life. After I read this short story I went to visit my mom’s grave. It seems that after you die no one remembers you. I wandered through the older part of the cemetery fixing headstones. So many were turned over, broken and abandoned. I wondered where the decease’s loved one was. The optimism in me wants to believe that I will leave a lasting impression on the world around me. In reality I will probably die and be ergot as soon as my casket hit the bottom of my grave Just like Teflon. I think that Silks is trying to inspire her readers to live fully because one day it will all be over. I want to leave this world a better place. Also another question is, â€Å"Can someone give a greater gift from the beyond then from life itself? † I’m sure the rain did come and replenish the crops so that the Indians had plenty of food and agriculture to sell. Teflon gave a greater gift to his tribe then what he would have been able to give them during life. Teflon also gave Father Paul the gift of Spiritual learning. After watching the burial Father Paul realized that religion isn’t the only thing in life. Father Paul expanded his view on death and life after death because of Teflon. Teflon gave everyone a greater gift then what was expected. â€Å"The Man to Send Rain Clouds† shows readers how life after death really is. At one point or another everyone ponders how the world is going to react in response their death. I think everyone should read this story because it really changes ones perspective about death after life. â€Å"The Man to Send Rain Clouds† will motivate and fresh you outlook on life. After reading this a reader will respond to life in a more conscientious way. This story could improve the quality of our world if it was well- known. â€Å"The Man to Send Rain Clouds† is an inspiring tale of death. How to cite The Man to send Rain Clouds, Papers

Cloning Essay Introduction Example For Students

Cloning Essay Introduction The biological definition of a clone is an organism that hasthe same genetic information as another organism or organisms(Cloning, 1997). From this definition and from informationabout the science behind cloning, my current view on cloning isthat it is ethical. This statement ignores information about howwe can misuse cloning and what consequences occur when theprocedure is unsuccessful. I currently do not think cloningshould be used until it is perfected. I doubt however that wewill allow cloning to be misused, and think most people wouldprobably have this opinion on cloning, but their lack ofknowledge on cloning, or their belief that cloning would bemisused, is the reason for differences of opinion. Thus, anelaboration on the history, techniques, ethics, and reasons forresearching the technology of cloning is necessary. The first thing that must be cleared up is what is cloning,and what is a clone. A clone is an organism derived asexuallyfrom a single individual by cuttings, bulbs, tubers, fission, orparthenogenesis reproduction (Cloning, 1997). Parthenogenesisreproduction is the development of an organism from anunfertilized ovum, seed or spore (Parthenogenesis, 1997). Hence, cloning, biologically speaking, is any process in whichproduction of a clone is successful. Thus, the biological termcloning is the production of a genetically identical duplicate of an organism. However, people can use the word cloning tointend other meanings. For instance, we generalize many olderand new techniques as cloning. This is not a good practicebecause these techniques are different and impose unique concernsIn the world of scientific technology, cloning is theartificial production of organisms with the same geneticmaterial. Scientists actually call the transferring of a nucleusfrom the cell of one organism to an enucleated egg cell nucleartransfer (Wilmut, 1997). This will produce an organism that hasthe exact genetic material as that of the donor cell. Scientistsare using current techniques exceedingly more, and with a varietyof species. Astonishingly, more clones are present in the worldIn nature, and even in the lives of humans, clones arepresent. As stated earl ier, a clone is an organism that has thesame genetic information as another organism. From this we cansay that cloning occurs with all plants, some insects, algae,unicellular organisms that conduct mitosis or binary fissions,and occasionally by all multicellular organisms, includinghumans. Monozygotic twins, or identical twins, are clones ofeach other. They have the same exact genetic information due tothe division of an embryo early in development which produces twoidentical embryos. About eight million identical twins are alivein the world, thus, already eight million human clones inhabitthe world. In unicellular organisms, a cell will produce twodaughter cells that have the same genetic material. Today, the only cloning research is occurring in scientificmodel organisms. These are organisms that research scientistsfrom around the globe have collected copious amounts of data. All this data is necessary so that advancements in research cancontinue more efficiently. The most common scientific models areE. coli, mice, fruit flies, and frogs. The first organisms that were cloned using nuclear transfer were frogs. This is becausethey have large egg cells and scientists can obtain up to twothousand of them from one ovulation. (McKinnel, 1979) Successful cloning has occurred with livestock. The drivetoward success is not because livestock like cows and sheep aremodel organisms. Instead, the farming industry has made andcontinues to make a big effort toward finding a way to implementthe technique of nuclear transfer for livestock. Research incloning is also occurring in primates. The reason for studyingprimates is the similarities with humans. This leads us to themost talked about aspects of cloning, the use of the techniquesThroughout this century, conversation, novels, magazinearticles, newspaper reports, and movies have focused on theimplications of cloning humans. Part of this media createsthoughts of a utopian society, while some a horrific world; theFor those who have had these frightening thoughts, Dr. Richard Seed states he can accomplish the task of cloning a humanusing nuclear transfer. Dr. Seed is a physicist who researchedfertility sciences in the 1980s and is now specializing inembryology. He states that he has set up a fertility clinic thatcan conduct nuclear transfer. Dr. Richard Seed is creating anuproar regarding the ethics of cloning. This is ironic becausecloning has occurred. (Flock, 1998) Cloning of humans in a biological sense already has and isoccurring. Scientists are researching by splitting embryos toexecute experiments to find data relating to celldifferentiation, the use of stem cells, and genetic screening. Amazingly, genetic screening is occurring in Britain quite often. Fertility clinics aim this service toward couples where themother or father has a genetic disorder. A fertility clinic willclone an embryo, then test it for genetic disorders. If theembryo is tested negative for genetic disorders, then thefertility clinic implants a clone of that embryo. This shouldguarantee that the child will not have any genetic disorders. That is the current work with cloning. It is becoming apart of our society already. Cloning is currently a technologythat many people could use. I believe it will become morepopular as prices for the technique decreases, and as the use ofcloning becomes increasingly acceptable. That is if we humansconsider cloning an acceptable technology, and that we would liketo use for the twenty-first century. Cloning has progressed soquickly, few of us know if we should be even fooling with thistechnology. Some scientists say that we put technologies to useonce the pros outweigh the cons. A good place for us to findthat information is to look at the past and current researchresults with cloning and why scientists research it. Amazingly, the first attempts at artificial cloning were asearly as the beginning of this century. Adolph Eduard Drieschallowed the eggs of a sea urchin develop into the two-blastomerestage. Then he separ ated it by shaking it in a flask andallowing them to grow. The cells developed into dwarf seaurchins. Driesch could not explain his experiments and gave upembryology for philosophy (McKinnel, 1979). The first implantation of a nucleus into an egg celloccurred in 1952 by Robert Briggs and Thomas J. King inPhiladelphia. They had transferred the nuclei of Leopard Frogseggs (McKinnel, 1979). The egg cells did not develop. Successful cloning of embryo cells was accomplished later in the1970s by Dr. John Gurdon. The frogs did not develop beyondtadpoles. In 1981, investigators announced they had transplantednuclei from mouse embryos into mouse eggs. However, otherscientists tried to duplicate the experiments, but found thatthey fabricated the cloning results. (Kolata, 3 March 1997) During the late seventies and early eighties, there were fewscientists still studying cloning. Many had predicted that itwas impossible to clone embryonic mammal cells. Few continuedwith research. Many gave up a nd went into other fields. However, some persisted and were rewarded for their efforts. In 1984, Dr. Steene Willadsen announced that he hadsuccessfully transferred nuclei from embryos of sheep to produceclones (Kolata, 1997). He also was successful with cows and evenmonkeys. He advanced his methods, and began cloning embryos thatwere in the 64-128 cell-stage. This suggested that perhapsnuclear transfer was possible with differentiated cells. Moreexciting was when Dr. Neal First produced cows by nucleartransfer from more developed embryos in 1994 (Kolata, 3 June1997). Dr. First produced four calves. Two years later, Dr. IanWilmut and Dr. Keith Campbell, of the Roslin Institute inEdinburgh, Scotland, produced for the world Megan and Morag, thefirst cloned sheep from embryo cells. Their new techniqueinvolved the starving of the donor embryo. This would put thecell in the right moment in the cell cycle, thus allowing thegenetic material to integrate more successfully with the eggcell. T his was the integral step of nuclear transfer. Dr. Firsthad executed the same step, but a laboratory staff member did itaccidentally, and First did not realize the significance of hisstaff members blooper (Kolata, 3 March 1997). Dr. Wilmut andDr. Campbell became world famous. Their fame was not finishedOn July 5 at 4:00 P.M. lamb number 6LL3 (Campbell, 1997), orDolly, was born in a shed down the road from the Institute. Sheweighed in at 14 pounds and was healthy. Scientistsaccomplished this by using frozen mammary cells taken from asix-year-old pregnant ewe and fusing them with an enucleated egg. The trick to fusing the cells is giving a small electric currentto the petri dish on which the egg cell is. This stimulates theegg much like a sperm would, and usually takes the geneticmaterial from the cell and becomes a zygote. They let thiszygote grow into an embryo, and then transplanted the embryo in arecipient ewe, acting as a surrogate mother. This procedureoccurred late in January o f 1996. This was the day of fusion datefor Dolly, which is the natural equivalent to a conception date. An interesting note is that three different sheep were involvedin producing Dolly, versus the usual two or one (in-vitrofertilization). Furthermore, the Roslin scientists used threedifferent breeds for each sheep to prove that the experiment wasAfter Dolly came other sheep, cows and even rhesus monkeyscloned using similar techniques but with slight variations. These cloned animals came from Roslin and many universities fromacross America. They even produced clones which had genes thatwould produce certain proteins. For instance, at Roslin,scientists are trying to produce sheep that produce milk withbeneficial proteins for Cystic Fibrosis patients.(Kolata, 24The goals and purposes for researching cloning range frommaking copies of those that have deceased to better engineeringthe offspring in humans and animals. Cloning could also directlyoffer a means of curing diseases or a techn ique that could extendmeans to acquiring new data for embryology and development oforganisms as a whole. Currently, the agricultural industrydemands nuclear transfer to produce better livestock. Cloningcould massively improve the agricultural industry as thetechnique of nuclear transfer improves. Currently, change in thephenotype of livestock is accomplished by bombarding embryos oflivestock with genes that produce livestock with preferredtraits. However, this technique is not efficient as only 5percent of the offspring express the traits (Kolata, 25 July1997). Scientists can easily alter adult cells. Thus, cloningfrom an adult cell would make it easier to alter the geneticmaterial. A transgenic organism has had its genetic informationartificially altered. The goal of transgenic livestock is to produce livestock with ideal characteristics for theagricultural industry and to be able to manufacture biologicalproducts such as proteins for humans. Farmers are attempting toproduce transg enic livestock already, but not efficiently, due tothe minimal ability to alter embryos genetically. Scientists canharvest and grow adult cells in large amounts compared withembryos. Scientists can then genetically alter these cells andfind which ones did transform and then clone only those cells. Scientists also ponder the idea of cloning endangered species toincrease their population. The possibilities are endless. However, we are actually doing much of this research for theimprovement of life for humans. Embryologist Dr. SteeneWilladsen, when talking of past research, stated, I was checkingfences, looking for holes in the scientific fabric, ways to breakthrough what others considered dogma. (Kolata, 3 June 1997). Tamed Shrews And Twelfth Nights: The Role Of Women EssayAt this point, I believe we should not use cloning. However, if we are to venture into cloning we must make manyprecautions. I think the best way to do this is to research theconsequences. Yet, I do not believe cloning of animals isacceptable. Thus, I do not think we should conduct cloningexperiment on animals. In summary, cloning is ethical, unlessthere is lack of respect for the lives of animals and humans, andfor the ongoing inhabitation of life on earth. Bibliography: