After a recent study by the U.S. government, chemical pollutants were discovered to be the cause behind the sex-changing fish that were found in the Potomac River outside Washington, D.C. These toxic wastes had caused many male smallmouth bass to produce eggs, which is supposed to be a female reproductive function. However, the research also showed that there were no female fish that produced sperms, much to the bewilderment of the many researchers.
In the article, these chemicals were also found in the waters in other parts of the United States, and even Europe. Other animals which habitats are along these areas are also found to have reproductive problems. As Dana Kolpin, a USGS research hydrologist (who is not involved in this study) had said, “What happens to them (after the toxic entered the river) is the million-dollar question.” I feel that this statement is very true, as it would be a great scientific breakthrough if scientists can find out how these chemicals can change the sex of animals, or even humans.
However, this environmental pollution could be a bad thing too – if it causes feminization in males through indirect consumption of these pollutants from the fish. Since these chemicals caused reproductive problems or sex change in many animals, it might also act up in men who had eaten fish which consumed these toxics. I feel that, although it can mean a great discovery, we should still find means to end this pollution and isolate the fishes for the benefit of mankind.
In my opinion, a good solution is to collect a sample portion of this chemical, mass replicate it inside laboratories, and test it on animals there (since it does not cause any physical damage to animals; but only a mutation in their genes). After this, environmentalists should trace these chemicals back to its origin and persuade these factories to stop their pollution by releasing their toxic waste into the sewage, or even release it into pipes that link to the laboratories for experiments, then find means to clean up the mess in polluted areas, using chemical solutions.
Hence, it would be a win-win situation if researchers can find a way to stop the toxic waste to enter water bodies, but use it for experiments instead. This way, it would not bring harm to mankind, but will benefit some of us if these scientists can find a relatively painless way to change sex – for breeding animals, and also for those who want to change their sexuality.
Signing off, [Ķσάιά ßέάŕ].
...
Thursday, March 1, 2007
「 posted on 9:32 PM 」
Why kids need sex education? Girl, 9, pregnant (Category: Educational Issues)
At a tender age of 9, a primary 3 girl was already pregnant, after she tried to “experiment with sex” when her parents were at work. This incident sparked debates whether sexual education should be implemented earlier in the educational system to educate younger students about sexual issues and raise their awareness on their sexuality. In my opinion, I support the idea to teach sexual education earlier in school, as it would prevent children from “experimenting” sex.
Quoting Ms Tan, head of the Students Service Hub, she said “Children need to be taught to take responsibility for their own actions, but this should be accompanied by providing them with the right information. I agree strongly with what she said, as we should not blame the children for “trying out” sex, if they were not taught about its consequences and why it was wrong. In the article, the “young couple” was reported to the police as a case of underage sex. I feel that it was not the girl’s fault for “experimenting with sex” out of curiosity, but her parents’ for allowing her to stay home alone at such a young age, and not teaching her about her sexuality.
However, her parents had felt that she was “too young to know at her age”. In our society, many parents also feel awkward at teaching “the birds and the bees” to their kids, and usually leave it to sexual educators and biology teachers to explain the process to their children when they are matured enough. But, through their peers in school and the World Wide Web, young students actually know much more about sex than what their parents thought they would know.
There is no such thing as being too young to know about sex. In fact, parents should take the initiative to educate their children about sex, instead of waiting for their teachers to do that, allowing the kids to find out about it themselves through pornography websites or by “experimenting” with it. According to statistics in the article, there were 1341 teen abortions in year 2004 and 1279 in year 2005. The article also stated that the youngest girl to give birth so far (before this incident) was only 12 years old. From these results, we can see that sexual education should also be taught earlier so the students can be mentally aware about their sex.
Therefore, from these reasons, I think that sexual education should be taught earlier in school so that such incidents would not happen again, and teen abortions will also decrease.
