Animal Rights and the Ethics of Testing

Animal Rights and the Ethics of Testing Animals have been used as test subjects for medical experiments and other scientific investigations for hundreds of years. With the rise of the modern animal rights movement in the 1970s and 80s, however, many people began to question the ethics of using living creatures for such tests. Although animal testing remains commonplace today, public support for such practices has declined in recent years. Testing Regulations In the  United States, the  Animal Welfare Act  sets certain minimum requirements for the humane treatment of non-human animals in laboratories and other settings. It was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1966. The law, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, sets minimum standards of care and treatment be provided for certain animals bred for commercial sale, used in research, transported commercially, or exhibited to the public. However, anti-testing advocates rightfully claim that this law has limited enforcement power. For example, the AWA explicitly excludes from protection all rats and mice, which make up approximately 95 percent of the animals used in laboratories. To address this, a number of amendments have been passed in subsequent years. In 2016, for example, the Toxic Substances Control Act included language that encouraged the use of non-animal alternative testing methodologies. The AWA also requires institutions that perform vivisection to establish committees that are supposed to oversee and approve the use of animals, making sure that non-animal alternatives are considered. Activists counter that many of these oversight panels are ineffective or biased in favor of animal experiments. Furthermore, the AWA does not prohibit invasive procedures or the killing of the animals when the experiments are over. Estimates vary from 10 million to 100 million animals used for testing worldwide on an annual basis, but there are few sources of reliable data available. According to The Baltimore Sun, every drug test requires at least 800 animal test subjects.   The Animal Rights Movement The first law in the U.S. prohibiting the abuse of animals was enacted in 1641 in the colony of Massachusetts. It banned mistreatment of animals kept for mans use. But it wasnt until the early 1800s that people began advocating for animal rights in both the U.S. and the U.K. The first major animal welfare state-sponsored legislation in the U.S. established the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in New York in 1866. Most scholars say the modern animal rights movement began in 1975 with the publication of Animal Rights by Peter Singer, an Australian philosopher. Singer argued that animals could suffer just as humans do and therefore deserved to be treated with similar care, minimizing pain whenever possible. To treat them differently and say that experimentation on non-human animals is justified but experimentation on humans is not would be  speciesist. U.S. philosopher Tom Regan went even farther in his 1983 text The Case for Animal Rights. In it, he argued that animals were individual beings just as humans are, with emotions and intellect. In the following decades, organizations such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and retailers such as The Body Shop have become strong anti-testing advocates. In 2013, the Nonhuman Rights Project, an animal rights legal organization, petitioned New York courts on behalf of four chimpanzees. The filings argued that the chimps had a legal right to personhood, and therefore deserved to be freed. The three cases were repeatedly rejected or thrown out in lower courts. In 2017, the NRO announced it would appeal to the New York State Court of Appeals. The Future of Animal Testing Animal rights activists frequently argue that ending vivisection would not end medical progress because non-animal research would continue. They point to recent developments in stem-cell technology, which some researchers say could one day replace animal tests. Other advocates also say  tissue cultures, epidemiological studies, and ethical human experimentation with fully informed consent could also find a place in a new medical or commercial testing environment. Resources and Further Reading Davis, Janet M. The History of Animal Protection in the United States Organization of American Historians. Nov. 2015. Funk, Cary and Raine, Lee. Opinion About the Use of Animals in Testing.  Pew Research Center. 1 Jul. 2015. United States Department of Agriculture. Animal Welfare Act. USDA.org Should Animals Be Used for Scientific or Commercial Testing? ProCon.org. Updated 11 Oct. 2017.

How to Advertise an Event in College

How to Advertise an Event in College College campuses are legendary for the high number of programs that take place on campus every day. Whether its an internationally acclaimed speaker or a local film screening, theres nearly always something happening on campus. If youre the one planning an event, however, you know that getting people to come can be as much of a challenge as coordinating the program itself. So just how can you advertise your event in a way that inspires people to attend? Answer the Basics: Who, What, When, Where, and Why You could spend hours painting a poster advertising your event ... but if you forget to write down what date the program is, youll feel like a chump. Consequently, make sure the basic information is available on each and every piece of advertising you put out. Who is going to be at the event, and who is sponsoring it (or otherwise putting it on)? What will happen at the event, and what can attendees expect? When is the event? (Side note: Its helpful to write both the day and the date. Writing Tuesday, October 6th can make sure everyone is clear about when the event is happening.) How long will it last? Where is the event? Do people need to RSVP or buy tickets in advance? If so, how and where? And most important, why will people want to attend? What will they learn/experience/take away/gain from going? What will they miss out on if they dont go? Know the Best Places to Advertise Is social media big on your campus? Do people read emails announcing events or just delete them? Is the newspaper a good place to put an ad? Will a poster in the quad catch peoples attention, or will it just get lost amidst a sea of butcher paper? Know what will stand out on your campus and get creative. Know Your Audience If youre advertising something thats, for example, political in nature, make sure you reach out to people on campus who are more likely to be politically involved or interested. When youre planning a political event, posting a flyer in the politics department might be a particularly smart idea even if youre not posting flyers in any other academic department. Go to meetings of student clubs and talk to other student leaders to promote your program, too, so that you can personally get the word out and answer any questions people might have. Advertise Food if Youre Going to Have it Available Its no secret that providing food at a college event can drastically increase attendance. Having food, of course, can be a definite draw but it isnt an absolute necessity. If you are providing food, make sure its done in a way that encourages people to stay for the whole event and not just sneak in and grab a slice of pizza from the back of the room. You want event attendees, after all, not just moochers. Find Other Student Groups to Cosponsor Your Event Theres a pretty direct correlation between the number of people who know about your program and the number of people who show up. Consequently, if you can work with other student groups in the planning, you can outreach directly to each groups members. On many campuses, too, cosponsorship can lead to increased funding opportunities meaning youll have more resources to promote and advertise your event. Let Your Professors Know While it can be scary to figure out how to talk to your professors, its usually just fine once you try it. Remember: Faculty members were college students at one point, too! Theyll likely find your program interesting and may even advertise it in their other classes. They can also mention it to other professors and help get the word around. Let Administrators Know The hall director in your residence hall may know you by name, but she may not know that youre super involved in a certain club and planning a major event next week. Drop by and let her know whats going on so she can let other residents know when she interacts with them, too. You likely interact with lots of administrators throughout the day; feel free to promote your program to them (and anyone else who will listen) as much as possible!

Case study in space flight class Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

In space flight class - Case Study Example According to P.T. Crutzen, humans today are in a new geologic epoch, â€Å"Anthropocene,† where they are significant and intelligent, possessing the power of reshaping the planet’s face (Board 2007). Space plays a major role in seeking to understand the behavior of the earth and the objects in it. The existent phenomena on the face of the earth led to understanding the world we live. Features such as the sun, stars, and the moon raised the attention of scientists to investigate Space. Prior the introduction of the concept of space in the science world, astronomy played a great role in seeking to understand the ongoing outside earth. The desire to explore Space resulted from the worry of occurrence of various catastrophes. Human beings believed that they could alter these happenings and save life and property from damage. In this way, they could also be in a better position in regards to understanding the incidence and existence of phenomena. In regards to Earth Science, Space would help scientists improve their efficiency in predicting calamities, such as volcanic eruptions, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, among others. It could help them gain much knowledge, and enable them predict these calamities. Space applies to various fields, as depicted, and its understanding can help eliminate the existent uncertainty among human beings in regards to the world. Formation of physical features was also a vital forecast in the applications of Space. These factors led to the development of an interest to explore space. It would consequently be of many benefits in the future (some of which we enjoy today) (Board 2007). Space has a variety of applications in Earth Science today. The world has been able to tackle some of the most hazardous issues, resulting from the endless concern and involvement in space exploration. Space science helps forecast calamities such as earthquakes, eclipses, floods before their occurrence. In this way,