Considering the Rebound Effects of Energy Conservation

Environmental conservatives pushed the “go green” movement to great success. This means trying to conserve and reduce the amount of energy we use every day. You can go green by engaging in simple tasks such as recycling, or ones that have a much more focused functions such as driving an alternative-fueled car. The article On the rebound demonstrates how there are rebounds effects that occur when we attempt to conserve energy. I disagree with the author because he does not adequately support his argument, he places too much emphasis on economics and not the environment, and it has been shown that it is best to try to conserve energy because it helps our environment and economy.

The author starts off the article by introducing the readers to the Jevons Paradox. This stems from the ideas beliefs of famous economist William Jevons and claims that “technological progress that increases the efficiency with which a resource is used, tends to increase, rather than decrease, the rate of consumption of that resource (On the rebound)." The author shares this belief and also believes increasing energy efficiency could backfire because it would allow and encourage further resource exploitation. This is the core of the author’s view on the subject. First the author supports his claim by stating that alternative fueled vehicles use more energy than they conserve. The author stated, “it takes energy to create and install energy-efficient equipment; and money saved on energy could be spent elsewhere, so ultimately contributing to economic activity, which drives up energy consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions.” Though they may use energy, it is not more than the amount it takes in and alternative fueled-vehicles a better for the environment because they produce less pollution in the air than gasoline or petroleum ( Will Going Green ). There is no type of further evidence to strengthen this point thereby devaluing the author’s thesis. The author focuses too much on the economics of energy conservation and does not think about the bigger picture and how these type of vehicles help our environment. Alternative fueled vehicles do not release harmful emissions like carbon monoxide and nitrous oxides. They are cleaner burning and renewable so they do not strain our environment as much.

In the second body paragraph of the article, the authors tried to support his claim by briefly stating that there have been recent findings from studies done by the Breakthrough Institute, based in Oakland, California, that shows the rebound effects of energy conservation are very grand and could possibly be overwhelming for America in the future. Once again, the author does not go into depth about the study, but instead gives one sentence of summary and provides a link to information on the study for reader interested (On the rebound).

Even though the author believes that our economy will suffer from the rebound effect, I think otherwise. Though some people may agree with this because they believe that the United States is still in a recession, energy conservation can excel the United States if executed correctly. If you look at the world economy, it is challenging for the United States to compete in many common industries such manufacturing and service. We can project our power and establish ourselves in the technology industry by making energy efficient technology. Green technology may be the new big thing for America. Green technology would cause the need for “green jobs”, which would help the environment. President Obama even agrees that our economy could benefit from green jobs. His economic plan includes the creation of 5 million green collar jobs over the next ten years. The United States could also save money from energy conservation. In 2008, $45 billion of global government subsidies was spent for renewable energy compared to the $557 billion of subsidies for fossil fuels (Winston 2).

Another flaw with the author’s argument is that his claim is based of Jevons Paradox that was initially based on the resource coal (On the rebound). In today’s world, there are much more resources, and how has it been proven that this Paradox is true for resources that concern energy-related resources.

In conclusion, the author of On the rebound believes that energy conservation is producing a rebound effect that is harming our economy. I do not agree with the author’s claim because it has been shown that energy conservation helps our environment and our economy, and the author does not present evidence well.

Works Cited

Winston, Andrew. “Going Green for the Economy." Harvard Business Review. Web. Feb. 2012. <http://blogs.hbr.org/winston/2010/08/going-green-for-the-economy.html>.

"On the Rebound." Nature.com. Nature Publishing Group. Web. Feb. 2012. <http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v470/n7335/full/470435b.html>.

"Will Going Green Save The US Economy? | Greenopolis." Home. Web. Feb. 2012. <http://greenopolis.com/myopolis/blogs/david-d/will-going-green-save-us-economy>.

Nuclear Data Could Threaten World Safety

Photo by: digit-al

The United States and Russia aimed over 30 thousand nuclear warheads at each other during the cold war. Over a thousand tests were used to assess these weapons prior to the partial weapons nuclear test ban of 1962. This ban stopped all atmospheric, underwater, and land testing of nuclear weapons. The United States and UN developed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) to enforce this ban. The CTBTO established an 81 station network to detect nuclear testing. These stations obtain atmospheric, isotopic content, and pressure systematic data. Recently, independent scientists have attempted to acquire this data to evaluate the Japanese nuclear incident. Only organizations capable of safely handling the data should access this data and keep it away from the general public to ensure their safety. This data falling into terrorist’s hands could cause development of nuclear weapons by terrorists.

CTBTO has sensitive information on nuclear isotopes that terrorists could use. In the event of a unauthorized nuclear test ,the United States and other peaceful countries must stop sensitive isotopes information going to terrorists. These unauthorized tests could take place in Iran or North Korea if either were to create nuclear weapons. These clues could give terrorists the tools they need to create an attack on America. The risk is not worth the small benefits that come from making the CTBTO data public and thus open to terrorists.

The CTBTO data, if released to the public would also be accessed by other countries. These rogue countries could use the data to fight allegations of nuclear testing. Scientists in other countries could skew data and make it seem like a nuclear test came from somewhere else. This would lose legitimacy of the system if people argued over the data. The system must be only looked at by neutral scientists who are not interested in world politics. These scientists at the UN Nuclear Regulatory Commission already have access to this data.

CTBTO data is already shared with specific, handpicked organizations that deserve it. The information must be closely protected, giving it out to only certain people can be useful, but giving it to the general public is again dangerous. CTBTO already shares this info with tsunami warning centers and the UN nuclear organization, and governments in emergencies, if it starts giving it out to everyone there is a free-rider problem (lots of people use something which they didn't contribute to). The CTBTO data can be extremely valuable to tsunami warning centers, thus it is given to them. Likewise the UN nuclear agency can use the data and is highly trustworthy organization, little risk is involved here. Finally governments like japan who have emergencies had access to the data, the original article argues that outside scientists would have found it useful too, but they would have just argued about policy decisions, the Japanese government had the right to do what they thought was the correct action, they had sovereignty. No other organizations need access.

CTBTO needs to focus on its main goal of enforcing the treaty’s goal and increasing international cooperation. All states that have signed the treaty receive data; thus allowing them to monitor each other. If the international community wants the data then more countries need to sign the treaty and contribute to its success. An increased number of participates in the treaty would first make it more successful in limiting nuclear testing and harmful effects to people close to testing locations. Second, more countries would contribute money to build and maintain the CTBTO network. If everyone got data, countries would have no need to sign a treaty that technically limits there sovereignty, as well as costs them money.

Nuclear test data is sensitive, but essential information. It would make sense why some would advocate for its release to the public, it would allow some scientists to add data to their research and possibly lead to findings. However the risk of terrorists or rogue nations taking advantage of this information is too high to disregard. The safety of human life must be taken into consideration, especially the amount of risk to human life posed by a nuclear weapon. Finally, the scientists who most need this information to protect human life, like tsunami warning centers, the United Nations, or the Japanese government, already have this information. Disclosing the data to the public offers such a small gain for such a colossal risk to world peace.

"Full Transparency." Nature.com. Nature Publishing Group, 15 June 2011. Web. 28 Feb. 2012. .

Brazilian Government's Attitude Toward Deforestation

               

                     

                                         Photograph By: Christopher Bayne
                      http://www.flickr.com/photos/8297608@N08/522058772/


Dating back to 1965, regulations maintaining 80% of South America’s amazon and preventing deforestation have been strictly enforced and upheld by South African governments. Although the government has been successful in combating deforestation, recent opposition from landowners towards deforestation has Brazilian authorities beginning to ponder how to respond. Currently, lobbying and political discussions are producing a bill that could change how the Amazon is protected in Brazil. The author of the Article “Defend the Amazon” believes that this is bringing along a sense of weakening political resolve that is already leading to more illegal clearing of Amazon forest. He argues that in order to sustain the continued protection of the Amazon, the government must create a policy that has wide support and commands respect instead of the newly proposed, more lenient policies. Although he may believe these policies represent a sentiment of relaxed protection for the Amazon, I believe they show the opposite. The new policies are backed with the same concern for the Amazon’s safeguard as those policies from the 1960’s and affectively combat deforestation.

Throughout the Article “Defend the Amazon” the author’s overlying argument suggests the possibility that the new deforestation codes would undermine the old code’s base and cause negative effects on the Amazon. He believes that based on this notion one can deduce that the Brazilian government’s attitude toward environmental protection has diminished. He most thoroughly supports this hypothesis with specific evidence regarding potential policy changes along with the environmental and political consequences they would bring. As further support, he uses conjectured statistics of future Amazon land destruction, such as the revised codes could legalize the destruction of 220000 square kilometers of the amazon. He does acknowledge that there are certain problems with existing laws that need to be fixed, but still argues that the newly proposed policies will do more harm than good. Although he gives what seem to be valid points, all his examples are extremely isolated problems that cannot be used to prove the government’s attitude to be apathetic or show any major flaws in the new policies.

The largest issue with this author’s argument is that it is based off of assumptions that were established from weak, minute evidence. The most major concern he purports is the possibility of loosening restrictions on specific regulations that are currently in place. One such example he gives is the outlawing of cutting tress in areas around rivers and steep hills. This specific law protects river health and prevents soil from being washed away, which is essential for the survival of agriculture and farms already in place. The author though doesn’t recognize the specific regulations that will remain in place and the new regulations that will protect the land. For example, the most important regulation of maintaining no less than 80% of a person’s land as forest will not only remain the center fold of deforestation prevention, but will have increased importance and dedication to. Also, in the mid 2008’s a resolution was enacted by the monetary council that requires farmers and ranchers in the Amazon to meet certain criteria in order to obtain loans from public and private banks. This constraint will continue to be enforced and have more strengthened, specific criteria.

The author also argues the new bill would give amnesty to those who committed crimes after 2008 which, as a result, could cause more illegal deforestation. If this were to happen, he believes it would give landowners the impression that the government can’t enforce the laws regarding deforestation. Yet when we look at the current government law enforcement, it shows that the government is more than willing and capable to enforce the laws. In the past year alone there has been a 32 percent increase in government inspections that has inhibited illegal deforestation in the Amazon. Due to this surveillance “around 230000 cubic meters of wood, 414 trucks and tractors, and embargoed 502000 hectares of land linked to illegal activities” have been ceased by the government. The violators associated with these illegal activities have either been arrested or issued fines. These are among the tools the government is using to financially constrain and punish those who contribute to the destruction of the forest. It is actions such as these that continue to bring farmers and landowners under submission to the government policies being put in place.

Not only does the author dwell on insignificant arguments, but he focuses on what the government may not end up doing. He never acknowledges any of the things the government does that shows Brazil is very committed to continuing their strict policies and implementing new ones concerning deforestation. For one, there are some thirteen government agencies working together to ensure deforestation rates continue to shrink, unlike the lack of involvement from the government suggested by the author. Their actions are increasing the percent of land that must be forest and creating harsher punishments to make farmers more accountable for illegal deforestation. This is in direct opposition to the author’s thought that the government’s apathy toward deforestation is causing much less fear of repercussions from the government. Additionally, in 2009 at the Copenhagen Climate Conference Brazil actually pushed to reduce deforestation and made it their goal to do so by 80%. Deforestation is one of Brazil’s biggest contributors to global greenhouse-gas emissions, accounting for nearly 75% of all Brazil’s emissions. By continuing to attempt to reduce deforestation as much as possible, Brazil could cut their emissions drastically. Tackling deforestation is at the center of Brazil’s strategy to combat global warming and is an incentive because that could allow Brazil to claim place at the front of the pack in terms of reducing carbon emissions. With such lucrative benefits for putting in place even more rigorous laws regarding deforestation, Brazil will maintain their dedication to protecting the Amazon.

In addition to not acknowledging future goals and implementations of the Brazilian government, the author does not mention any of the limitations that the Brazilian government faces in protecting against deforestation. Brazil’s Environmental Protection Agency, the governing body responsible for creating and maintaining laws that protect Brazil’s Amazon, is woefully underfunded. Last year they received only $9.5 million for law enforcement purposes and other necessary resources. With Brazil being the 5th largest country in the world and having the largest expanse of tropical wilderness of any country, the EPA has greatly exceeded what one should expect with such a small budget. The other large inhibitor for the Brazilian government is corp

All of the above arguments show the Brazilian government still places the Amazon’s conservation as a high priority, but the most convincing, irrefutable evidence for this are the statistics of recent years. Brazilian land surveys showed that from just August 2008 to July 2009 deforestation rates in the Brazilian Amazon dropped 45.7 percent. Further data based on analysis of satellite imagery showed that only about 2,700 square miles of the Amazon were cleared last year. This is the lowest rate recorded since deforestation monitoring of the Amazon began in 1988. There has also been a 32 percent increase in government inspections over the last year that has helped to inhibit illegal deforestation in the Amazon. There will always be some amount of deforestation in the Amazon, but looking at these statistics shows that the government is substantially covering those loses. The decrease in deforestation and the increase in government intervention show the government’s stringent attitudes toward their environmental policies are being strongly maintained.

Pressures for increased allowance of deforestation may be increasing, but it is in no means changing government’s attitudes or perceptions about protecting the Amazon. The author argues that the governments purposed policies indicate a shift in political opinions, but recent actions and statistics clearly show this is not the case. Furthermore, the awareness of the dangers of Amazon deforestation is continually increasing. Each year more and more possible solutions involving sustainable development, more efficient agriculture, and land policy reform are being introduced and readily utilized to preserve the Amazon. There will always be illegal deforestation to an extent, so the goal is to continue to lower the rate as much as possible. The government’s continued, dedicated efforts should maintain and even decrease current deforestation all while promoting greater respect for the policies being put in place.


                                                                       References

Braun, David. "Amazon Deforestation Slows as Brazil Tightens Prevention." News Watch. National Geographic, 13 Nov. 2009. Web. 23 Feb. 2012.

 Butler, Rhett. "Saving the Amazon Rainforest In Brazil." Monga Bay. 2008. Web. 22 Feb. 2012.

Reuters, Thomson. "Brazil Senate Oks Easing of Rules to Limit Amazon Deforestation." World News. MSNBC, 6 Dec. 2011. Web. 22 Feb. 2012.

 Turing, Alan. "Defend the Amazon." Nature 480.413-414 (2011): 195-202. Print

End of a Menace

Photo by Sanofi Pasteur http://www.flickr.com/photos/sanofi-pasteur/5280407684/sizes/l/in/photostream/

In the late twentieth century, smallpox finally stepped down from its pedestal as being the most deadly disease for mankind. Since the kings of Egypt, smallpox has been ravaging the human population killing hundred of millions, but now we are the ones with the power. The smallpox virus exists in only two places in the world: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, and the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology in Koltsovo, Russia. But why is the disease allowed to linger? Over the past few decades, acts of bioterrorism (the deliberate release of harmful of viruses, bacteria, or toxins into the public) have become a frightening reality and because of this, smallpox may have the opportunity to become a large threat once again. The only way to truly keep the people of the world safe from this virus is to eradicate it once and for all.

Since 1993 the World Health Organization has been pushing for the destruction of the disease, but clearly they have found no success in the matter. Each time the debate is brought up, both the US and Russian governments have pushed for an extension on the deadline of the destruction of the disease saying that there is still more research to be conducted for vaccines. There are two separate vaccines for the disease, but in very limited quantity so if an outbreak truly did occur, no one would be adequately fit to handle the situation.

As of right now, “the CDC claims that it has approximately 15 million doses available for immediate use” (Ajayi sec.6) in the US. Our government says that keeping the disease alive will end up protecting the American citizens, but last time I checked the US population was over 300 million. According to D.A. Henderson (the world renowned physician who helped lead the eradication of smallpox) “that due to damage, poor storage conditions and the passage of time, the amount of useful smallpox vaccine is actually closer to 6 or 7 million doses” (Ajayi sec.6). So in the best case scenario, only 5 percent of Americans could be protected leaving everyone else at the mercy of the virus. The situation is even worse when put on a global scale, with only about 90 million vaccines worldwide. Considering the fact that many of these doses could have been damaged over 20 years of being frozen, it can be said that the amount of vaccines is lower than 90 million to protect over 7 billion people. Knowing this, when an outbreak does occur many innocent lives will be lost. We are told that smallpox is kept alive in order to protect people, but as of right now the governments of the world are ill prepared and the smallpox virus has become to much of a threat to be kept alive. Experiencing another biterrorism scare thing our country needs right now.

A week after September 11th letters were sent to NBC, the New York Post, and several US senators all containing anthrax and resulted in a nation-wide panic. People become infected with anthrax when they come into contact with its spores, however, anthrax is not contagious making it relatively easy to contain. As mentioned before, smallpox is still considered a threat mainly because of its potential use in bioterrorism and if used as a weapon anthrax would not even come close to the damage smallpox could cause. Smallpox is easily transmittable between people leaping for person to person as they interact with each other. This allows the disease to spread rapidly making it almost impossible to keep contain. Also, once smallpox is contracted it cannot be cured by any means and has a higher mortality rate than anthrax at 30 percent (WHO Smallpox Facts Sheet sec 2). The point being if anthrax is seen as deadly what does that make smallpox the virus, the one that is clearly the bigger threat? Since we have the chance get rid of this disease, instead of wasting time and resources should we not just take the opportunity to be rid of it before there is another global pandemic?

With our government’s debt being higher than it has ever been, one would think that it would be a bad to time to spend money on a worthless product, however, “the Obama administration has aggressively pushed a $433-million plan to buy an experimental smallpox drug, despite uncertainty over whether it is needed or will work” (Willman par.1). From this move it can be seen that the government still thinks that the smallpox virus is a threat so why not just destroy the disease? The administration is spending money that the country does not have on a product that is not even guaranteed to be effective. The most logical move would be to get rid of smallpox. It is something that can be easily done, our government can stop wasting money, and the world can finally be at peace since the greatest virus in our history will be gone forever.

Although we have pushed smallpox to the brink of its destruction, it is still finding ways to negatively affect humanity. Smallpox has to be dealt with and the most logical and effective way to do this and to destroy smallpox.




Works Cited:


Ajayi, Toyin Stanford Journal of International Relations. 24 May 2006. 23 Feb. 2012 <http://www.stanford.edu/group/sjir/3.2.02_ajayi.html>.
William, David. "Cost, Need Questioned in $433-million Smallpox Drug Deal." Los Angeles Times 13 Nov. 2011: 1. Print.
World Health Organization. 2001. 23 Feb. 2012 <http://www.who.int/topics/en/>.

How Much for that Whale?

Photo by kohane http://www.flickr.com/photos/52786697@N00/5159560621/sizes/m/in/photostream/

There has been endless debate about the ethics and morality of whaling over the past decades. People have formed several anti-whaling groups fight for what they believe to be animal cruelty. They have made significant advancements reducing the amount of whaling around the world, but will not rest until they have eliminated all killing of whales. One new up-and-coming idea to prevent whaling is the concept of a quota-trading scheme. This involves ceasing all whaling and compensating the whalers for the number of whales they would have caught. This controversial issue has many anti-whaling organizations and conservationists split. The co-authors of the Nature article “Whaling: Quota trading won’t work” seem to believe that this innovative idea will fail to many reasons. They think that the cultural importance of whaling and the lack of ecological evidence behind the harm of the whaling population causing their doubts. Though these authors make valid points, they do not realize how significant this quota system could be in helping the cause of anti-whalers. The economic impact of this revolutionary policy would have a substantial influence of putting an end to whaling around the world.

The main culprits of this malice are Japanese who have a deep heritage of hunting whales dating back to the twelfth century. According to the authors, “for some countries, such as Japan, whaling is a symbol of national and cultural identity” (Verissimo, and Metcalfe). They believe that strong tradition that the Japanese, and other whaling groups with cultural roots in whaling, will refuse to accept the monetary offer in exchange for stopping their national past time. Some Japanese officials believe so strongly in the cultural importance that they refer to anti-whalers as racists. Joji Morishita of Japanese Fisheries Agency says that “singling out [Japan's] whaling is cultural imperialism – some people would say it's racism.” Though the authors of this article believe strongly in this “cultural importance,” others see through the cover and have exposed just how important this whaling is. One professor has researched and written how modern commercial whaling has very little resemblance to the subsistence whaling that is the basis for whaling culture. Several proponents of the quota system believe this argument and make it the focus as to why to create the program. They believe that the main reason the whalers insist on continuing this cruelty is for the financial gains. Therefore, with this logic, many of the hunters should go along with this policy because they would get paid for doing nothing. It would lead to a win-win situation for everyone, the whalers get paid and the anti-whaling groups prevent the killing of more whales.

Another reason that the authors from Nature do not think this scheme will work is because of the “specifications” of the hunting process. First, many of the whalers claim they are killing the whales for “scientific research.” As a loophole in previous whaling agreements, they have permission to hunt whales as long as it is solely for scientific advancement. These studies include “estimation of trends in abundance, estimation of stock of minke whales, and study effect of environment changes” (High North Alliance”. However, to some, it would be more effective to find other ways to examine these topics, instead of killing the heart for the research. Another interesting coincidence about these scientific killings is that all the meat from these scores is sold in markets like any other whale meat. Although at a certain time the Japanese diet was reliant on whale meat, they have found other sources of food diminishing the demand for this meat. This would allow the quota system to be more effective because the people would not be missing any crucial part of their existence and the whalers continue to get paid.

An additional specification that the whalers allegedly follow is what types of whales they hunt. According to them, they “only kill the common minke whale” (Verissimo, and Metcalfe). They are allowed to hunt these whales because they are not endangered and have a plentiful population. It is because of this that separates anti-whaler groups and conservationists. Anti-whaler organizations believe in stopping all harm, cruelty, and killing of any whales while conservationists are more concentrated on maintaining the correct populations of animals in all ecosystems. Because whale hunters are only killing whales with large populations, conservationists are not as involved as other groups would want them to be. However, there have been many observed violations of their specified condition. If more evidence of this can be found, then more conservationists will join in the effort to put the quota system into effect.

The main concern for some people on why this would not work is how it would be funded. There is a simple solution to this question. Large sums of money already exit in the anti-whaling industry. “Anti-whaling organizations spend millions of dollars every year trying to stop the Japanese whaling fleet from hunting the common minke whale” (Verissimo, and Metcalfe). This money normally goes to stopping the hunting directly with ships and crews of their own. However, this money can be converted to funding the quota system. The organizations would no longer need the money for ships and workers since the whalers would no longer be hunting. This straightforward reallocation of resources could easily be the starting point of this change. One could argue that the whalers will simply take the money and then still continue hunting. In order to prevent this, regulators can be spread around, and any indication of foul play will result in a cut in the payments.

Whales are some of the most majestic creatures that can be found in the deep blue seas. However, overall there is very little being done to preserve their existence in this world. Here at Chapel Hill, we do not currently have any clubs, groups, or organizations established that are fighting for this cause. However, with the wide variety of people one could easily be formed by one determined individual. They could have a significant effect on this issue, especially if the quota-system is put into place. They could raise money to buy into the quota and save even more lives of whales. This just shows another example of why UNC is so great.

Barcott, Bruce. "Save the Whales--By Hunting Them?." OnEarth. N.p., 11 Jan 2012. Web. 26 Feb 2012. <http://www.onearth.org/article/save-the-whales-by-hunting-them>.

Carpenter, Randal. "Anti-whaling groups unite against plan to undermine international ban on commercial whaling." Wildlife Extra. N.p., 26 Jan 2010. Web. 2 Feb 2012. <http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/iwc-meeting009.html

"Japan's Whale Research Programs." High North Alliance. N.p., 2000. Web. 27 Feb 2012. <http://www.highnorth.no/library/hunts/Other/ja-qu-an.htm>.

Verissimo, Diogo, and Kristian Metcalfe. "Whaling:Quota trading won't work." Nature. 09 02 2012: n. page. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v482/n7384/full/482162a.html>.

"whaling." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.britannica.co

ACL Injuries and Early Reconstruction Surgery

As an athlete cuts and changes direction, the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) helps control excessive motion of the knee joint and keeps the lower leg from sliding too far forward. Of the four major ligaments in the knee, the ACL is the most commonly and severely torn in all types of athletes. With such an extreme injury present, doctors and professors of exercise and sports science have researched the best methods of reconstructing an ACL tear. Early research initially revealed that early ACL reconstruction did not effectively restore normal leg rotation, caused chronic instability and episodes of the knee giving away. After analyzing certain data though, other Swedish researchers decided to conduct a study looking specifically at patients whose ACL surgeries were completed early in their injury. After utilizing a specific type of surgery, the Swedish researchers observed and monitored these patients for two years. They found that if done correctly, early ACL reconstruction can actually help the knee and ACL heal stronger than before and re-obtain all of its normal function.

When an ACL is completely torn, the torn ends of the ACL must be replaced by a different structure and congruently sewn into position. There are multiple options for the type of graft used, the most common being grafts from the patellar tendon in the front of your knee and a hamstring tendon from the back of your thigh. In the past Bone-patellar tendon-bone surgery was deemed to be the gold standard of ACL reconstruction, but recent studies have shown that quadruple hamstring auto-grafts are equally successful in restoring the ACL’s tissues and strength. In this specific study the quadruple hamstring auto-grafts were used on the patients because it is a relatively newer surgery and evaluating the degree of rotatory instability and rotatory load capacities of the knee is easier. They also only completed the surgeries on patients that have not experienced chronic ACL insufficiency. This helped to eliminate any complications that could occur and data that could be skewed by irregular effects from the chronic insufficiency.

To begin the study the researchers used 14 consecutive patients with a median age of 24 years old and a complete ACL tear. The patients received the quadruple hamstring auto-graft surgery approximately 8-10 weeks after their injury and were evaluated periodically during the first two years post-surgery. During the study there were multiple routine repairs made to different parts of the tissue to aid in the correct healing of the new ACL. Every patient was rehabilitated to good leg control following standard rehabilitation protocol that any patient would receive, no matter the type of surgery used. For the data collection they evaluated the internal/external tibial rotation, the knee joints angulations, and the laxity present in the knee. To do this they used digital radiographs and computations of 3-dimensional coordinates to take their measurements and visually see the connections of the ligaments and the tissue. After the two years after surgery had passed clinical tests were utilized to determine the strength and durability of the newly repaired ACL. This was tested by leg jumps and hops, using single and both legs, and then recording the distances and level of comfort/pain experienced by the patients.

When the researchers examined the results of their study they found that ACL repair during the early stage of injury seemed to protect the knee from abnormal motion after the injury. They were also surprised to find that in certain areas they tested the patients’ knees performed better than before the ACL injury and reconstruction. 6-8 weeks after surgery the patients’ knees functioned normally in all categories of stability and strength and remained this way after the 2 years. 90% of the patients saw improvement in the scores of their stability while every patient’s internal tibial rotations had no significant difference in the intact and injured knees. The tibial rotation patterns seemed to be normal and showed that when you had surgery within 8-10 weeks of your injury you actually had just a strong or stronger knee. Every patient scored the same while performing weight bearing and load bearing activities before and after surgery. All of these findings showed enough persuasive evidence to support the fact that early surgery may be very beneficial for patients with ACL injuries.

When they had completed their research they compared and discussed other conclusive research that was conducted during or recently after their initial experiments. Another prospective study examined early ACL reconstruction within 3 weeks of the injury. There were four different groups that had surgery within forty eight hours, seven days, 3 weeks, and after 3 weeks. The results gave insight that although early reconstruction may be beneficial, there must be sufficient time in between the injury and surgery. This study showed that every patient that had surgery less than 3 weeks after the injury required even more surgeries and experienced a drastic loss of motion. The patients that had surgery after 3 weeks displayed similar results as the patients of the Swedish researchers, experiencing normal motion, laxity, and fully restored stability. This study gave further proof that from 8-10 weeks early ACL reconstruction is good for the patient and provided additional evidence to show that having surgery too early would have negative effects.
Here at UNC we perform many experiments and studies such as this one. The exercise and sports science program at Chapel Hill has multiple labs with the cutting technology to do in depth research such as this. One of our specific concentrations is in injury prevention. We use many of the same technologies they use to measure the pressure and stress that results on the body from different movements and activities as well as the effects that factors such as lack of sleep, poor dieting, and aggravated injuries can have on an athlete. These types of studies are going on in Chapel Hill and helping to keep athletes safe and allow for their top level of performance.

"ACL Graft Choice - Patellar - Hamstring." About Orthopedics. Team Legs. Web. 9 Feb. 2012.

Cluett, Johnathon. "ACL Injury Prevention - ACL Injury Prevention Tips for Athletes." Sports Medicine, Sports Performance, Sports Injury - Information About Sports Injuries and Workouts for Athletes. Web. 9 Feb. 2012.

Eriksson, Ejnar. "My Last Editorial for KSSTA." Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy 16.6 (2008): 535. Print.

Quinn, Elizabeth. "ACL Injury Prevention - ACL Injury Prevention Tips for Athletes." Sports Medicine, Sports Performance, Sports Injury - Information About Sports Injuries and Workouts for Athletes. Web. 9 Feb. 2012

The Bed Bug Uprising

I believe I can safely say that no one in the entire world actually likes bed bugs. They’re like microscopic vampires and not like the ones from Twilight that try to seduce you and glitter in the sunlight. They sneak into bed, clothes, and furniture and start feeding on your flesh. Starting in 2009, bed bugs have made a startling resurgence spanning across the country from California to our nation’s capital. Because of their ability to spread rapidly, beg bugs are able to engulf entire communities affecting physical and mental health. Christopher Eddy and Susan Jones from the Advancement of Science wrote the journal “Bed Bugs, Public Health, and Social Justice” in order to educate the public on how the bed bugs affect our health, to give an idea where these outbreaks tend to occur, and make the claim that action has to be taken to deal with this crisis.

It is quite obvious if your home is infected with bed bugs. One more you’ll start waking up with tiny red bumps all over your body. This is caused by the “anticoagulant” that the bed bug injects when feeding. This prevents your blood from clotting making dinner time much more enjoyable for the bug. The bumps are actually an allergic reaction that, “the majority of humans (70%)”(pg.2) are allergic too. If left alone these bites will go away on their own, however the problems occur when people begin to scratch them. This exposes the wound, which can “become infected due to secondary bacterial agents” (pg.2) and can lead to even more serious skin infections. And these are only the physical problems they can cause. Bed bugs infestation can also create “anxiety, stress, insomnia, and depression” (pg.2) in their roommates. Although bed bugs can cause many discomforts, they are not able to transfer any diseases to the human body, however this should not dismiss them as a public health issue.

After laying out the health issues, Eddy and Jones move on to give an idea where the bed bugs thrive. It was thought that beg bugs were extinct after the creation of chemicals, like DDT, in the early 1950s that ravaged the bed bug population. However they survived and in that time our society changed quite a bit. Massive urbanization began creating giant cities like New York, which is a prime hunting ground for the bed bugs. This territory is perfect for them because of the “high percentage of residential rental units that allow for mobility of the city’s population” (pg.3). This allows them to spread quickly to new sources of food and with relative ease. Another area where bed bugs thrive is the low-income areas because people there may be unable “to pay for proper treatment” (pg.3). Eddy and Jones provide a starling example of how bad these urban infestations can truly become. “In Dayton, Ohio, where a downtown high-rise apartment building was so heavily infested that all residents had to be vacated so the premises could be fumigated” (pg.4). Now this is a drastic example, but it is still good to remember that any small infestation can lead to a major outbreak.

At the end of the journal Eddy and Jones suggest that in order to deal with the situation local health jurisdiction need to become more active in the battle against bed bugs by responds to all complaints that are made about bed bugs and there needs to be a “reporting system for bed bug infestations” (pg.5). Luckily, as of right now, there have been no reports of bed bugs on the UNC campus, however we must stay vigilant if we are to keep them away.

Works Cited:

Eddy, Christopher, and Susan C. Jones "Bed Bugs, Public Health, and Social Justice: Part 1 a Call to Action." Advancement of the Science 73.8 (2011): 1-14. Print.

Housing and Residential Information. 2010. 6 Feb. 2012 <http://housing.unc.edu/residence-life/your-room/bed-bug-awareness.html>.

Like Drugs? Like Sex? Like this Article

You wake up in the morning with a splitting headache, extreme nausea, and overall lousy feeling from a night out partying. You later find out that you have contracted a very unpleasant STD as a result of your night’s decisions to drink excessively. Sounds like a worst day ever. If only you had just done ecstasy instead. According to Association of MDMA/ecstasy and other substance use with self-reported sexually transmitted diseases among college-aged adults: A national study, consumption of alcohol leads to higher rates of STDs than the use of this powerful drug. The objective of this study was to concentrate and examine the correlation between the use of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine which is commonly called ecstasy or MDMA, and STD rates. This study, based on surveys, accounted for several factors and reported on all of them along with making numerous inferences from the data on possible links between these factors and STDs. The main goals of this experiment were to analyze any association between MDMA usage and STD rates, explore the odds of lifetime STDs with increased substance use, and lastly, to compare college students’ STD rates compared to non-students.

This experiment was done using an interesting method. It is called a “cross-sectional data analysis of a national survey” (Wu, L). It used data from the 2005-2006 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, which is a yearly survey that is used by several industries to assess the use of substance and health status of the American population. This is completely anonymous, and asks questions regarding all types of health issues. It uses two different methods of gathering the information, computer-assisted personal interviewing and audio computer-assisted self-interviewing. This survey usually polls around 68,000 people, of which 20,858 were used for this study. This is the number of people ranging in age from 18-22, the general ages of college students.

For an experiment that appears to just be asking questions and making inferences from the answers, a lot more care was taken to reduce any error of any kind. It took into account several variables. The first of these is defining what this study classifies as a sexually transmitted disease and when it was received. This experiment categorizes STDs just as chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes and syphilis. For the sake of this experiment, they excluded HIV/AIDS from the stats, mainly because their research shows that people in the 18-22 age group had less than 1% who reported having it. They also tried to find out if the participants had been diagnosed with the disease within the last year or much earlier in life. This was in hopes of gathering further data to make more accurate assumptions for results. Other variables considered were involving social characteristics and demographics. These include “age group, gender, race/ethnicity, college-attending status (college students vs non-students) and total annual family income” (Wu, L). One of the last variables this article clarifies which drugs in particular were studied. Along with ecstasy, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine/crack and methamphetamine were also accounted for and analyzed. After all the data was collected, the researchers evaluated it using a system called “SUDAAN – software designed specifically for statistical analyses of data from complex surveys” (Wu, L). By using this method, several different comparisons could be made easily.

The results found in this study were quite interesting. The first question the researchers were trying to answer was did the use of MDMA increase the chances of contracting an STD. They had hypothesized that this might be true because the use of ecstasy, along with other drugs, leads to an “increase in sexual arousal and also promotes unprotected/risky sexual behaviours” (Wu, L). However, the data from this lab disagrees with this theory. It showed that participants who admitted to using ecstasy were not more likely to receive an STD. Although MDMA did not increase the percentage, alcohol and marijuana usage did seem to have a much more dramatic impact on STD rates. The next question they faced was did substance use increase the lifetime chances of contracting an STD. The scientists concluded from the data that for both college students and non-students, “alcohol use, marijuana use, femail gender and African American race increase the odds of both past-year and lifetime STDs” (Wu, L). This proves that substance usage can lead to an increase chance of getting a STD, however not MDMA particularly. The last question was to compare student vs non-student STD rates. From this survey, “2.1% of college students and 2.5 % of non-students reported contracting an STD in the past year” (Wu L). These are so close that it can be assumed that the variable of student versus non-student does not affect STD rates. These are the results and conclusions made on the three main questions the researchers were hoping to answer. In general, that main this that affected STD rates were being female, African American, or having a history of alcohol use.

Though this study was done as accurately as possible, there are still several areas where error could have occurred. The first is that this cross-sectional nature of the data requires sever inferences to be made in order to make conclusions. Second, all the data collected was based on self-reports, leading to several areas of error, including lying, memory errors and also lack of knowledge by the participants. A third source of limitations comes from the inability to distinguish between different types of STDs that were reported. The last source of error comes from the failure to consider the homeless and active military personnel in the study. However, even with all these restraints, the data collected from this survey is still very useful in drawing conclusions about STDs, substance use, and student status.

This simple yet extensive survey and research has given a large amount of valuable data and statistics that can be used to determine important facts about the relationship between numerous substances, especially ecstasy, and how they affect STD rates. However, the main conclusion that can be derived from this data is that alcohol, not MDMA, is the biggest link to increased STD rates and that regardless of student-status, young women and African Americans have the highest levels of STDs.

STD awareness is very prominent in the UNC- Chapel hill student health program. They do their best to inform sexually active people of the dangers and also do all they can to prevent STDs by distributing condoms. They also run ads around campus to advise all students of the possible threats. However, even with all this work done, it is still up to the students to be responsible for our actions, regardless of circumstances.

AIDS study reveals college virus knowledge

The Joint United Nations Program on AIDS states that by the end of 2007, over 33 million people were infected with HIV/AIDS worldwide. Langford et al.’s study, “HIV Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Among College Students In the United States” takes a critical look at how college students regard the HIV virus. HIV is a virus which weakens a humans immune system. In the long term HIV leads to AIDS which causes death by simple infection. HIV/AIDS became a problem in the early 1980s with approximately 150000 new infections a year in the United States. New infections had fell to 40,000 by the mid-nineties (Langford et al.). These new cases are telling because half of them are in the age range of 13 to 25. These trends changed in the early two thousands. Only two cases were reported in 2000 in college males, but between 2001 and 2003 56 cases were reported. The researchers were concerned about this rise in college HIV cases because of the close proximity of many young people. Studies have already shown that college students often have careless and unsafe sex, especially without condom use. This combined with alcohol and drug use can lead to unsafe and dangerous decisions.

Langford et al.’s study focused on decisions and knowledge students had about HIV/AIDS. The studies goal was to see if students were informed enough to make good decisions to be safe from HIV/AIDS. The study sent out a questionnaire to the student body of a US college asking questions about HIV/AIDS. 650 students responded to the survey. The majority were white females. The responses to the survey were both positive and negative. 98.3% of respondents knew that having one sex partner decreased their risk of getting AIDS. This statistic let researchers know that students were relatively informed about sex practices with multiple partners. Although students knew that multiple partners were dangerous and increased the chance of a STD, 40% of students who had engaged in sexual activity in the last 12 months had done so with multiple partners. This is a surprising statistic because teaching students good practices only is effective if they follow through and act on their knowledge. Additionally, 93% of students knew that using a condom significantly made sex safer, but only 53% of sexually active participants used condoms, and only 33% with every sexual encounter (Langford et al.) This is again an example of students knowing what is best for them sexually, but not acting on it. These actions could be explained by high alcohol consumption or reportedly high marijuana use, both of which can impair judgment.

While students seem well educated about HIV/AIDS, there are some misconceptions which troubled researchers. 14.2% of respondents believed that mosquitoes could transmit HIV/AIDS. 55.1% believed that there were no medicines that could help prevent the transfer of AIDS from mother to child. These misconceptions indicate that students also could learn more. These misconceptions can help plan future education about AIDS to youth.

Overall, this study can help educators exploit popular media and television where most college students get their information on AIDS. If the media takes responsibility they can better educate students and hopefully decrease AIDS in the long run.

This study relates to UNC because UNC is in the same situation as the study describes. Education at UNC needs to be changed so that students actually use condoms if they engage in sex with multiple partners. Students need to take action, not just have knowledge.



Sara Langford, et al. "Hiv Knowledge, Attitudes And Practices Among College Students In The United States." Journal Of Health & Human Services Administration 32.3 (2009): 259-277. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Feb. 2012.

The Freshman 15: Fact or Fiction?

The freshmen 15 myth has generated a lot of buzz over the last couple of years. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Freshman 15 myth, it is said that a college student will gain 15 pounds over the course of their first year while attending school. This causes a lot of panic in students because they don’t want to gain wright and with fear that the freshman 15 will happen to them. Sometimes this causes students to alter their eating and exercise habits to prevent this from happening, and at times this can be detrimental to their health. Graham and Jones set out to see if this myth had any truth to it with their study “Freshman 15 : Valid Theory or Harmful Myth” and came up with a consuls base doff of their result, but I do not find this to be reliable.

The first thing the researchers did was raw a sample that was representative of the population of the small Mid-western liberal arts college. During the first two week, the researcher’s collected 153 completed surveys on eating attitudes out of the 175 freshmen. They all gave them consent forms that allowed the researchers to obtain their previous medical history. The researchers then wet to student health services and were able to obtain weight and body fat information of 81 of the 153 students. At the end of the participants first year of college, they were instructed to return to the student health center and measured their body fat and weight and asked them to complete another survey about their dietary habits. The researchers were able to obtain complete data on 49 of the 81 individuals. Their results showed no significant change from the beginning to the end of freshmen year, the average change in weight loss was 1.5 pounds, and the average .36% loss in body fat. The researchers also found out that many of their subjects had prior knowledge about the Freshman 15 weight gain myth. Twenty-nine percent of the participants were heavily concerned they were going to gain weigh over the course of their first year in college. Graham and Jones did find that the participants that had a fear of gaining weight had a higher perceived weight gain. This study therefore concluded that the Freshmen 15 rumor was indeed a myth.

Though the researchers were able to draw a reasonable conclusion from their data, I do not find this to be very reliable. There are many weaknesses with the way this was executed. Firstly, the main source of communication between the participants and the researchers was the questionnaire. What the participants answered in the questionnaire had to be taken as truth. They could have lied about all of their dietary habits and skewed results. Also there were not different variables being tested to show what happened in different situations. The researchers should have had the participants keep something daily to track their eating and exercise habits. And lastly, this study was done at a little Mid-western college where most of the study body is female. This is not representative of every college and university.

This study is very relevant to the students at UNC. Being a first year student myself, I had heard so much different information about gaining weight. Almost everyone on campus knows about the freshman 15 myth and is nervous it may happen to them. But after a couple of months on campus, all the students realize that this was something created out of the fears of college students. There are ample opportunities for students to gain weight amidst all of the ordering out, late night visits, social events, and dinning-hall runs during class change. Everything seems to work itself out to the point that nobody’s weight has drastically changed from the beginning to the en d of freshmen year.

Works cited

Graham, Melody A., and Amy L. Jones. "Freshman 15: Valid Theory Or Harmful Myth?." Journal Of American College Health 50.4 (2002): 171. Academic Search Complete. Web.