REVIEWER IN GED 109 FINALS energy whenever man demands

them to do so. “Challenging” as a

TECHNOLOGY AS WAY OF REVEALING
mode of revealing nature could be
Martin Heidegger wrote an essay entitled sharply contrasted “Physis” which is
“The Question Concerning Technology” the arising of something from itself, a
which addresses modern technology and its bringing-forth or poieses. The mode
essence as an instrumental way of of revealing in modern technology
revealing the world brought about new world ordering.
This kind of ordering is best
o First, the essence of technology described as “artificial” in contrast to
is not something we make; it is a “natural ordering. It sees nature as
mode of being, or of revealing an object of manipulation and not
o The second point is that anymore as an autonomous reality
technology even holds sway over demanding respect and admiration.
beings that we do not normally The network of things is now reduced
think of as technological, such as into the network of manipulation.
gods and history.
o Third, the essence of technology • The second characteristic of
as Heidegger discusses it is modern technology as a
primarily a matter of modern and revealing process is that the
industrial technology. challenging that brings forth the
energy of nature is an
o Fourth, for Heidegger, technology
“expediting”. In the modern use
is not simply the practical
of word, expediting means to
application of natural science hasten the movement of
Two characteristics of Modern something. However, in its
Technology original sense, expediting is also
a process of revealing inasmuch
• First, the mode of revealing of as it “unlocks” and “exposes”
modern technology is a something. But what is exposed
challenging. Things are revealed or is still directed towards
brought forth by challenging or something else,i.e. toward the
maximum yield at the minimum
demanding them. It is putting to
expense. In short, things that are
nature the unreasonable demand revealed in an expedited manner
that it supply energy that can be are brought forth as resources
extracted and stored. The mining that must be used efficiently. In
technology today is a good example mining for example, man digs
for this mode of revealing things. coal not simply to know what
Tracks of land reveal as something coals are. Yes, man “exposes”
challenged because man sees them these coals but not simply to
as objects where coal and ore can know them. They uncover them
be demanded. Man sees them as because he wants to use them.
source of energy. These energies Coals are mined from track loads
can be stored so that man can of land so as to use their energy.
This is the characteristic of the
summon them at his bidding. Shortly,
things revealed in modern
nature reveals itself in modern
technology. They are there “for”
technology as things of something.
manipulation, as things that yield

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➢ Heidegger uses a technical word to the rational and spirited parts.
name the things that are revealed in Virtue ensues
modern technology as “standing in ➢ Aristotle, in the Nicomachean
reserve”. Things as standing in Ethics, states that Eudaimonia is
reserve are not “objects”. Objects on constituted not by honor, or wealth
the other hand, are things that power, but by rational activity in
“stand against us” as things with accordance with excellence in the
autonomy. They are revealed mainly virtues of character including
in human thinking and do not allow courage, honesty, pride, friendliness
further manipulations. Things as and wittiness, the intellectual virtues
standing in reserve, on the other notably rationality and judgment, as
hand, are called to come forth in well as mutually beneficial
challenging and expediting. They are friendships and scientific knowledge,
reduced into the objectlessness of particularly of things that are
modern technology. fundamental and unchanging
➢ For Heidegger enframing is the
➢ According to Aristotle, all
“essence” of modern technology.
humans seek to flourish. It's the
Enframing simply means putting into
proper and desired end of all of
the frame of modern technology our actions. Flourishing,
everything in nature. This “frame” of however, is a functional
modern technology is the network or definition. To understand
interlocking things standing in something's function, you have to
reserve. It is the world centered on understand its nature. In
man's caprices and demands. It is a Aristotle's schema, there are
world of manipulation and four aspects of human nature:
demystification. In here nothing is physical, emotional, social and
mysterious anymore. This is what rational. As physical beings, we
Heidegger was afraid of, that the require nourishment, exercise,
process of truth will revert back into rest and all the other things that it
takes to keep our bodies
the realm of erring. It must be
functioning properly. As
remembered that for truth to be, it emotional beings, we have
must retain its sense of mystery. wants, desires, urges and
➢ Human flourishing is said to be the reactions. We perceive
best translation for the Greek word something in the world that we
Eudaimonia, which for both Plato want and we have the power of
and Aristotle, means not only good volition to get it; likewise, we have
fortune and material prosperity but a the power to avoid the things we
situation achieved through virtue, don't want. For humans, these
knowledge and excellence. wants can get pretty complex, but
➢ Plato in the Republic, contends that at rock bottom we all have
the soul, or mind, has three emotional needs and wants that
spring from rather basic sources.
motivating parts: rational, spirited
As social beings, we must live
or emotional and appetitive. Each of and function in particular
these have their own desired ends, societies. Our social nature
and Eudomenia or human stacks on top of our emotional
flourishing requires an ordering of nature, such that we have wants
this tripartite structure of the soul: and needs that we would not

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 have were we not social piety will not be in vain. martyrs
creatures. As rational beings, went singing to their deaths
we are creative, expressive, confident that they would soon be
knowledge-seeking and able to in heaven. Hindus expect that the
obey reason. We might not law of karma will ensure that their
always obey reason and we may good deeds and intentions will be
sometimes not want to exercise rewarded, while evil actions and
our minds, but a large part of our desires will be punished, either in
existence relate to our being this life or in future lives.
rational animals. An individual ➢ Epicurus was one of the first to
cannot truly flourish if he is not declare, bluntly, that what makes
flourishing in one of the four life worth living is that we can
aspects of human nature. experience pleasure. Pleasure is
➢ Socrates and Plato both gave enjoyable, it's fun,
absolute priority to being a it's...well...pleasant! The view
virtuous person over all other that pleasure is the good, or, to
supposedly good things such as put I another way, that pleasure
pleasure, wealth, or power. is what makes life worth living, is
➢ In Plato's dialogue Gorgias, known as hedonism. The word
takes this position to an extreme. “hedonist,” when applied to a
He argues that it is much better to person, has slightly negative
suffer wrong than to do it; that a connotations. It suggests that
good man who has his eyes they are devoted to what some
gouged out and is tortured to have called the “lower” pleasures
death is more fortunate than a such as sex, food, drink, and
corrupt person who has used sensual indulgence in general.
wealth and power dishonorably. ➢ “Epicure” is someone who is
In his masterpiece, the Republic, especially appreciative of food
Plato develops this argument in and drink. But this is a
greater detail. The morally good misrepresentation of
person, he claims, enjoys a sort Epicureanism. Epicurus certainly
of inner harmony, whereas the praised all kinds of pleasures.
wicked person, no matter how The good life has to be virtuous.
rich and powerful he may be or Although Epicurus disagreed
how many pleasure he enjoys, is with Plato about the value of
disharmonious, fundamentally at pleasure, he fully agreed with him
odds with himself and the world. on this point.
➢ Both the Gorgias and the ➢ Key to this hedonistic
Republic, Plato bolsters his conception of the good life is
argument with a speculative that it emphasizes subjective
account of an afterlife in which experiences. On this view, to
virtuous people are rewarded and describe a person as “happy”
wicked people are punished. means that they “feel good,” and
Many religions also conceive of a happy life is one that contains
the good life. A person who lives many “feel good” experiences
this way——is pious. And in most ➢ Aristotle, the good life is a happy
religions, such piety will be life
rewarded. Obviously, many ➢ Michael Soupios and Panos
people do not receive their Mourdoukoutas wrote a book
reward in this life. But devout entitled “The Ten Golden Rules
believers are confident that their on Living a Good Life” where

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 they extracted “ancient wisdom
from the Greek philosophers on 8. Don't Be a Prosperous Fool.
living the good life” and mapped Prosperity by itself is not a cure-all
it into modern times. against an ill- led life and may be a
Ten Golden Rules on Living a Good source of dangerous foolishness. Money
life is a necessary but not a sufficient
1. Examine life, engage life with a condition for the good life, for happiness
vengeance; always search for new and wisdom.
pleasures and new destinies to reach
with your mind. 9. Don't Do Evil to Others. Evildoing is
2. Worry only about the things that are a dangerous habit, a kind of reflex too
in your control, the things that can be quickly resorted to and too easily justified
influenced and changed by your actions, that has a lasting and damaging effect
not about the things that are beyond your upon the quest for the good life. Harming
capacity to direct or alter. others claims two victims—the receiver
of the harm, and the victimizer, the one
3. Treasure Friendship, the reciprocal who does harm.
attachment that fills the need for
affiliation. Friendship cannot be acquired 10. Kindness towards others tends to
in the market place, but must be nurtured be rewarded. Kindness to others is a
and treasured in relations imbued with good habit that supports and reinforces
trust and amity. the quest for the good life. Helping others
bestows a sense of satisfaction that has
4. Experience True Pleasure. Avoid two beneficiaries—the beneficiary, the
shallow and transient pleasures. Keep receiver of the help, and the benefactor,
your life simple. Seek calming pleasures the one who provides the help.
that contribute to peace of mind. True
pleasure is disciplined and restrained. ➢ Existence. derived from
philosophical and
5. Master Yourself. Resist any external religious contemplation
force that might delimit thought and and scientific inquiries about,
action; stop deceiving yourself, believing social ties, consciousness and
only what is personally useful and happiness.
convenient; complete liberty ➢ Aristotle that each man's life has
necessitates a struggle within, a battle to a purpose and that the function of
subdue negative psychological and one's life is to attain that
spiritual forces that preclude a healthy purpose. He explains that the
existence; self-mastery requires ruthless purpose of life is earthly
candor. happiness or flourishing that can
be achieved via reason and the
6. Avoid Excess. Live life in harmony acquisition of virtue.
and balance. Avoid excesses. Even ➢ In Platonism, the meaning of life
good things, pursued or attained without is in attaining the highest form of
moderation, can become a source of knowledge, which is the Idea of
misery and suffering. the Good, from which all good
and just things derive utility and
7. Be a Responsible Human Being. value.
Approach yourself with honesty and ➢ Rolando Gripaldo, a Filipino
thoroughness; maintain a kind of spiritual philosopher, argues that the
hygiene; stop the blame-shifting for your concept of the public good carries
errors and shortcomings. largely the politico-ethical sense,

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 which subsumes the politico-
ethical senses. The public good
is public in the sense that the
beneficiaries are the general ➢ Social Robot. These robots are
public. by no means what the servant
➢ Elements of unity (bonding robots of Greek mythology have
together for individual interests) led many people to hope for;
and subsidiarity (working rather they are infant versions, at
together for the common good) best, of the long-hoped-for
are significant aspects of a androids.
national public good from the ➢ Rodney Brooks is an expert in
communal or national people's robotics and artificial intelligence
point of view. The second level ➢ The basic tenets of Aristotle's
comes from the local or national view are that an organism has
government, which believes or both “matter” and “form.
assumes with the utilitarian ➢ Materialism does not entertain
perspective particular project or any notion of organism having a
service is desired by the “form” or “soul” rather organism
populace as necessary for their are made simply of various types
common welfare. of matter.
➢ Unlike Aristotle's philosophical
The Ethical dilemma of Robotics view, which was embraced by
➢ The development of human-like various religions, perhaps most
and self-aware robots, often notably by the Roman Catholic
referred to as androids. Church and more specifically by
➢ it is commonly accepted that St. Thomas Aquinas,
contain combination of materialism often finds itself at
the following: mobility, odds with most religious views in
intelligent behavior, sense, the world. Catholicism being a
and manipulation of prime example of this, one will
environment not find a favorable description of
History of Robot materialism when looking at the
➢ The commonly accepted first opening lines of its definition in
used of the word robot was in the the Catholic Encyclopedia. The
play written by Karel Capek in encyclopedia's entry begins by
1920 The play was entitled defining materialism as “a
R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal philosophical system which
Robots) and involves the regards matter as the only reality
development of artificial people in the world, which under takes to
➢ Hephaestus had built robots out explain every event in the
of gold which were “his helpers, universe as resulting from the
including a complete set of life- conditions and activity of matter,
size golden handmaidens who and which thus denies the
helped around the house”. existenceof God and the soul”
➢ Pygmalion, who is said to have ➢ Three Laws of Robotics, which
crafted a statue of Galatea that were published in his short story
would come to life. “Runaround.” The laws Asimov
➢ Leonardo Da Vinci’s Journal formulated are: First, a robot
which contained detailed plans may not injure a human being or,
for the construction of a through inaction, allow a human
humanoid robot being to come to harm. Second,

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 a robot must obey any orders Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carrs
given to it by human beings, discusses the effects that the
except where such orders would Internet may be having on our
conflict with the First Law. Third, ability to focus, the difference in
a robot must protect its own knowledge that we now have,
existence as long as such and our reliance on the Internet.
protection does not conflict with ➢ Henrik Christensen is a
the First or Second Law. While member of the European
these laws are part of science Robotics Research Network and
fiction history, the current state of stated in 2006 that he expects
robotic technology demands that that “people are going to be
they be considered in a new light having sex with robots within five
➢ Asimov“s laws presuppose that years” The expectations in regard
human life is of greater value to a robot’s ability to provide
than that of the androids being sexual pleasure for humans
developed could change the sexual
➢ South Korea is considered one tendencies of the world. It will be
of the most high-tech countries in no surprise if the adult
the world and they are leading entertainment industry were to
the way in the development of seize the opportunity robotics will
such a code. Known officially as soon provide, as they have with
the Robot Ethics Charter. It is past technological
being drawn up “to prevent advancements, namely, robots
human abuse of robots—and designed specifically for
vice versa”. The main focus of pleasure.
the charter is said to be on the ➢ In fact, this is exactly what has
social problems the mass begun to happen, confirming that
integration of robots into society Christensen prediction was
is bound to create. It is the correct. In January 2010, at the
beginning of a modern-day Adult Entertainment Expo in Las
implementation of Asimov’s Vegas, Nevada, Douglas Hines
Three Laws of Robotics. introduced Roxxxy to the world.
➢ Stefan Lovgren“s words, CNN journalist Brandon Griggs
human control over robots and comments that “to some men,
humans becoming addicted to she might seem like the perfect
robot interaction”. Beyond the woman: She's a willowy 5 feet 7
social problems robots may bring and 120 pounds. She'll chat with
with them, there also is an array you endlessly about your
of legal issues, the primary one interests. And she'll have sex
in the charter being what and how whenever you please -- as long
information is collected and as her battery doesn't run out”
distributed by robots. (Griggs). Roxxxy is scheduled to
➢ Mark Tilden goes on to claim ship later this year, and while a
that when we do reach that point, price tag of $7000 may deter
the interactions will be less than many potential customers, Hines
pleasant, stating that “as many of claims that pre-orders have been
Asimov's stories show, the rolling in (Griggs). Moreover, if
conundrums robots and humans the product reaches mass
would face would result in more production the price will surely
tragedy than utility”. drop.
➢ The article “Is Google Making ➢ Inevitably the days will soon be

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 upon us when people seek out went on to master Latin, the
robots for sexual pleasure on a universal language of
larger scale, and why not? The scholarship, the law, and the
robots will be designed to be Roman Catholic Church. Books,
completely customizable to all hand-copied, were rare,
satisfy the tastes of every expensive, and almost always in
customer. The greater adoption Latin. They were so valuable that
of sex robots could very likely universities chained them to
lead to a drop in both prostitution reading tables. Most people
and sexually transmitted passed their lifetime without ever
diseases, which would be seen gazing at a book, a calendar, a
as a positive by many. However, map, or written work of any sort.
there are also negatives to the ➢ Memory and memorization ruled
adoption of using robots for daily life and learning. Poets,
sexual pleasure which must be actors and story tellers relied on
carefully considered. rhyming lines to remember vast
amounts of material.
➢ The Information Age began ➢ Craftsmen memorized the
around the 1970 and still going secrets of their trades to pass on
on today. It is also known as the orally to apprentices. Mechanics
Computer Age, Digital Age, or kept their accounts in their heads.
New Media Age. This era Even scholars who are literate in
brought about a time period in Latin used memory devices to
which people could access remember what they had
information and knowledge learned.
easily. ➢ Scribes, each labored for up to a
year to copy a single book,
usually in Latin. The scribes
Pre-Gutenberg copied books on processed
➢ Most people lived in small, calfskin called vellum and later on
isolated villages. paper.
➢ If people travelled at all, they ➢ Specialists or the scribes
typically ventured only a few themselves “illuminated’ (painted
miles from where they were born. large capital letter and the
➢ The only source of both margins of many books with
religious and worldly colorful designs were very costly.
information was the village Gutenberg Revolution
Catholic priest in the pulpit. ➢ Johannes Gutenberg turned the
➢ News passed from one person to printing world upside down and
another, often in the form of brought on a new era of print with
rumor. his revolutionary innovation of
➢ Written documents were rare movable type in 1445.
and often doubted by the ➢ Movable type printing used
common people as forgeries. metal stamps of single letters that
What counted in important could be arranged into words,
matters was oral testimony based sentences and pages of text.
on oaths taken in the name of Using a large manually operated,
God to tell the truth. the stamps would be arranged to
➢ Almost no one could read or write read a page of text so that when
the language they spoke. Those covered with ink, it would print out
few who were literate usually a page of text.

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➢ Before Gutenberg, all texts had circulation of information and
been printed with woodblocks or revolutionary ideas transcended
fixed text stamps, both of which borders, captured the masses in
were complex and time- the Reformation, and threatened
consuming processes. the power of political and
➢ Movable type kept the metal religious authorities; the sharp
stamp letters separate, which increase in literacy broke the
allowed printers to reuse the monopoly of the literate elite on
letters quickly on succeeding education and learning and
pages. As a result, more pages bolstered the emerging middle
could be efficiently printed in a class.
shorter amount of time with much ➢ Across Europe, the increasing
less effort. From here, the cultural self-awareness of its
opportunity to share ideas and people led to the rise of proto-
knowledge brought on a new era nationalism, accelerated by the
of change and enlightenment flowering of the European
never seen before. vernacular languages to the
➢ Gutenberg’s amazing invention detriment of Latin’s status as
made books the internet of the lingua franca.
time. The printing press made it ➢ The printing press was also a
possible to produce books much factor in the establishment of a
more quickly and cheaper than community of scientists who
ever before. By1463, printed could easily communicate their
Bible cost one-tenth of hand- discoveries through widely
copied Bibles. The demand for disseminated scholarly journals,
books exploded. By 1500, helping to bring on the scientific
Europe had more than 1,000 revolution.
printers and 7,000 books in print. ➢ Because of the printing press,
➢ Like the internet, books spread authorship became more
new ideas quickly and sped up meaningful and profitable. It was
the process of change. For suddenly important who had said
example, as a young sailor in or written what, and what the
Genoa, Christopher Columbus precise formulation and time of
read Marco Polo’s famous information.
Travels, in which he described Post Gutenberg
his journeys to China. Columbus ➢ The emergence of the internet
was thrilled by Polo’s and the World Wide Web in the
descriptions. 1990s was initially hailed by
➢ As it became easier to produce many as ushering in new
books and pamphlets, democratic age, driven by much
information started to spread. greater access to information.
Previously, only religious leaders ➢ While the internet had a dramatic
and royalty had access to books, impact, the revolutionary shifts
and few people were literate. The predicted did not occur. This is
printing Renaissance opened the because, in its earliest days, the
realm of learning and reading to World Wide Web still conformed
the local populations as schools to the Gutenberg principle.
were built and books about ➢ Building a website, accessing
education were written and print server space and publishing
published. information required both money
➢ The relatively unrestricted and technical expertise and was

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 therefore still the preserve of frequently because we tend to
institutions rather than engage more in new portable
individuals. The reality of much technology tools
greater access to information ➢ Public vs. Private. New
was not matched by a greater technologies blur the line
ability to publish it. between what is public and what
is private. People may talk on the
Paradoxes of Technology phone or message someone
➢ Empowerment vs. among a circle of acquaintances,
Enslavement. New technologies which may be disturbing.
allow us to be connected to and ➢ Illusion vs. delusion. We tend to
reachable by everyone. think new communication
However, as a result, our privacy technologies make our lives
is threatened and technology better. However, the more we
starts controlling us. Whether we communicate, the more trivial our
want or not, we feel socially conversations become. In other
obliged to take phone calls, words, more communication
answer emails, and send does not always equal better
responses to messages on communication.
Facebook.
➢ Independent vs. Dependence. ➢ Speed of access also limited the
New gadgets such as cell phones ability of the internet to be a
allow us to do many things on our channel for all forms of media,
own. However, this situation restricting its use to text based
creates dependency, as we can't and transactional forms. As a
go even one day without our result, much of the initial
phones and we feel helpless investment in the web went into
when the Internet is down. servicing and creating
➢ Fulfill needs vs. Creates institutional opportunities, with e-
Needs. Technology resolves commerce emerging as the major
some problems but also new web-based phenomena.
introduces new ones, e.g. we
need devices with longer battery ➢ This changed with two
life, we need antivirus software to developments. First, the spread
be safe, we need to learn new of broadband internet access
skills, etc made it possible to easily both
➢ Competence vs. upload and download all forms of
Incompetence. We can get any media: video, images and audio
information we want and reach as well as just text and
anyone we want with the help of transactions. Second, tools
new technologies. However, we emerged which made it simple for
lose our ability to remember people to publish or spread
phone numbers and our ability to information. Blogging was the
articulate thoughts. first example, followed by social
➢ Engaging vs. Disengaging. networking and distribution and
When we are engaged in an sharing sites like YouTube and
activity that involves the use of Flickr.
new technology, we need to
disengage from whatever we are ➢ There has been a third trend
doing. We directly interact with which is gathering significance,
our family and loved ones less based around attaching

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 relevance and content to all of the security of food and nutrition.
otherwise random pieces of
information now being published. ➢ Biodiversity provides
This concerns practices such as important resources for
tagging, rating and commenting, medical research. Studies of
as well as services such as social wildlife anatomy, physiology and
bookmarking and news-sharing biochemistry can lead to
sites which allow individuals to important developments in
store and share information. This human medicine. Examples of
trend is responsible for creating species of interest to medical
forms of collective intelligence science include bears (for
and what has been called ‘crowd insights into osteoporosis,
wisdom' and is probably the most cardio-vascular disorders, renal
important area to watch going disease and diabetes), sharks
forwards because of its ability to (osmoregulation and
allow individuals to create the immunology), cetaceans
trust and connections necessary (respiration and treatments for
to transact and communicate divers suffering from
amongst themselves without any decompression sickness) and
institutionalized intervention. horse-shoe crabs
(optometry/ophthalmology and
molecular biology).
➢ Biological diversity or ➢ Biodiversity provides
biodiversity is the variety of life, important resources for
and refers collectively to variation traditional and modern
at all levels of biological medicine. Biodiversity loss can
organization. The term impact on community traditions
biodiversity refers to the full and livelihoods centered on
abundance or variety of life – traditional medicinal practices
plant, animal and microbial. that utilize wild animals and
plants, particularly for indigenous
➢ Biodiversity supports food and local communities. Millions of
security, dietary health, people depend upon traditional
livelihood sustainability. medicines for their primary health
Genetic diversity in food systems care.
provides the foundation of crop ➢ Biodiversity plays a role in the
development and food security, regulation and control of
and promotes resistance and infectious diseases Biodiversity
resilience to environmental loss and ecosystem change can
stresses including pests and increase the risk of emergence or
diseases of crops and livestock. spread of infectious diseases in
Diets based on a diversity of food animals, plants and humans,
species promote health, and can including economically important
help to protect against disease by livestock diseases, zoonotic
addressing the problem of outbreaks and global pandemics.
micronutrient and vitamin In recent years outbreaks of
deficiencies. Loss of agricultural SARS, Ebola, Marburg,
biodiversity can therefore Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome,
threaten health, livelihood avian influenza and malaria have
sustainability and our future been attributed to human impacts
on biodiversity, the wildlife trade

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 or unsustainable land use technology to modify their environment
change. Without a greater and make it habitable. Other species
understanding of disease cannot do this. Elimination of their
ecology, there is also a risk that habitat—whether it is a forest, coral reef,
programmes to tackle infectious grassland, or flowing river—will kill the
diseases may impact negatively individuals in the species. Remove the
on biodiversity, through use of entire habitat and the species will
biocides and other chemicals and become extinct, unless they are among
wildlife culls. the few species that do well in human-
➢ Biodiversity has social, built environments.
cultural and spiritual Invasive species. Exotic species
importance within are species that have been
communities Ecosystem intentionally or unintentionally
change can result in introduced by humans into an
disconnection of populations ecosystem in which they did not
from open spaces or the wider
evolve. Most exotic species
countryside, with negative
implications for physical and introductions probably fail because of
mental well-being and loss of the low number of individuals
“sense of place”. This has been introduced or poor adaptation to the
linked to an increased prevalence ecosystem they enter. Some species,
of ‘disease of affluence' however, have characteristics that
(diabetes, obesity, cardio- can make them especially successful
pulmonary illness) and in a new ecosystem. These exotic
psychological disorders in many species often undergo dramatic
communities. Conversely, population increases in their new
access to ‘greenspace' (natural habitat and reset the ecological
and artificial) are associated with
better health outcomes, shorter
conditions in the new environment,
hospital visits and reduced threatening the species that exist
convalescence time for patients there. When this happens, the exotic
than purely urban environments. species also becomes an invasive
An awareness of environmental species. Invasive species can
values and respect for other threaten other species through
species has been associated with competition for resources, predation,
reduced propensity towards anti- or disease.
social behavior in children and Climate change. Climate change, and
young adults. specifically the anthropogenic warming
Threats to Biodiversity trend presently underway, is recognized
Habitat loss. Humans rely on as a major extinction threat, particularly
technology to modify their environment when combined with other threats such
and make it habitable. Other species as habitat loss. Anthropogenic warming
cannot do this. Elimination of their of the planet has been observed and is
habitat—whether it is a forest, coral reef, due to past and continuing emission of
grassland, or flowing river—will kill the greenhouse gases, primarily carbon
individuals in the species. Remove the dioxide and methane, into the
entire habitat and the species will atmosphere caused by the burning of
become extinct, unless they are among fossil fuels and deforestation. Scientists
the few species that do well in human- overwhelmingly agree the present
built environments. warming trend is caused by humans and
Habitat loss. Humans rely on some of the likely effects include

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dramatic and dangerous climate renders them resistant to weed-killers.
changes in the coming decades.

Genetically Modified Organisms

(GMOs)

Biotechnology is a set of techniques

that involves the use of biological
processes and living organisms for
industry, agricultural or other activities.
Its purpose is to modify the natural and
biological processes of living organisms
without necessarily altering the genes or
genetic construct of the living organisms.
It has four major industrial processes
based on biological systems, namely cell
and tissue culture, fermentation, enzyme
technology, and genetic engineering –
also referred to as modern technology.

Intended uses of GMO

Biomedical. Used as specific models for
many different human diseases,
including multiple infectious diseases,
such as HIV, immune system defects,
blood and metabolic disorders, muscular
dystrophy, cancer immunotherapies
among others
Farm / food animal. Engineering of
animals used for food. Examples include,
chickens producing only female offspring
for egg laying, cows producing only male
offspring for better meat yield, pigs who
can be fattened with less food, cashmere
goats for producing more meat from
greater muscle mass and longer hair for
wool yield; and efforts to facilitate greater
stocking density, such as cattle without
horns and animals with greater
resistance to disease.
Agriculture. Genetic engineering
provides a quicker and more precise way
to achieve the same goal in one
generation. Genetically modified crops
offer improved yields, enhanced
nutritional value, longer shelf life, and
resistance to drought, frost, or insect
pests. Examples of GM crops include
corn varieties containing a gene for a
bacterial pesticide that kills larval pests,
and soybeans with an inserted gene that

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