TED Community » Tina Zhu

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• A reply on Conversation: Should shark fishing be banned?

  May 28 2012: Yes, shark finning is pretty wasteful, I agree. However, I don't think that the people that use shark fins as food thought about the wastefulness of it. And now, that they've built a tradition and a cultural meaning around it, the question becomes a lot more complicated than just wastefulness. But I agree, a balance between culture and responsible fishing practices is much needed.

• A reply on Conversation: Should shark fishing be banned?

  May 28 2012: If you ban shark finning, you'd be breaking the traditional culture of what the Chinese people have been doing for centuries. I think this would be one of the most difficult things we'd have to do, however, because sharks play such an important role in our ecosystem, I think some attention should be brought upon saving shark populations. So as Heath said, I think regulations is where we should start. That could help ease the Chinese into slightly changing their traditions and then maybe eventually, if needed, we could ban it all together. But I think if we ban it right away, there'd be a lot of disagreement and chaos because many people don't understand the damage they are doing and the importance of sharks.

• A reply on Conversation: If green roofs were mandatory in cities would there be less development and building?

  May 27 2012: This was exactly what I was thinking. If we did have to cut back on development and building for this new requirement, it would only be for short term.

• A reply on Conversation: If green roofs were mandatory in cities would there be less development and building?

  May 27 2012: I agree with you Bre. If people are worrying about green roof requirements hurting the economy to the point where they would have to decrease spending on housing developments, they should consider the jobs that green roof construction would open. And in the long run, the money we save from energy expenditure, could be used for other important investments.

• A reply on Conversation: Should Cannabis be legalized as a medicine?

  May 20 2012: I agree with you Lauren that medically, cannabis is an extremely beneficial. Also, that if it were to be legalized, the dangers of dealing with it illegally (such as drug dealing) would decrease. I think many people have such a strong opinion on keeping marijuana illegal is because of the social norm behind the word "illegal". Because of this, people automatically assume that marijuana is all bad and can never be used for good. But of course, as more more research supports it, it can be used for good, and that in some situations, it has been used for good. Sure, people abuse it. But it also seems that its in our human nature to abuse things and by making it illegal won't ever stop people from abusing it. However, this doesn't mean that everything should be legalized just because people will abuse it either way. There are things that are harmful to human health that should be kept illegal such as cocaine and such.

• A reply on Conversation: Given that chimpanzees are endangered, is it ethical to use them in biomedical research?

  May 13 2012: I was thinking about the Zebrafish facility as well trying to answer this question. I also think biomedical research has a very minimal effect on the entire endangered population of chimps as wild populations have very little similarities to captive populations. And for something that is so detrimental to the human population, it seems logical for them to continue research on chimps as they are the only model organism for this viral infection. However, this doesn't mean decreasing chimp populations are not a problem. I think a few ways to where we could save their populations is to enforce hunting laws, reintroduction projects, etc.

• A comment on Conversation: What is more important: Our drugs or our ecosystems?

  May 7 2012: It is true that the discovery of pharmaceuticals was extremely successful in decreasing disease and deaths in the human race. It is also true that many people rely on drugs like anti-depressants and pain killers to get from one day to the next. We are now in a world where things like this have become a major part of our daily lives. Its interesting to think that something that has helped our specie succeed so much is at the same time preventing other species from doing the same. Nevertheless, even though pharmaceutical companies are doing much of us a favor by relieving us of our pain and disease, I think they should take responsibility for causing harmful effects on the environment. And after seeing what effects drugs have on the rest of the environment, pharmaceutical companies should try thinking of alternative ways to make medicine that is helpful but also will not harm the environment. I understand that this is a lot easier said than done, but with an advancement such as stated, we would be one step closer to conserving what matters, ourselves as well the environment and biodiversity. Also, I don't think the pharmaceutical companies are not the only ones to blame, as us, the general population are the ones that use the drugs. Like I mentioned earlier, people rely on these kind of drugs to get from one day to the next. I always wonder, is it really necessary? Do we even know when is necessary or not anymore? As the general population, I think its important to realize that its not healthy to rely on medication everyday as well.

• A comment on Conversation: What are ecosystem services that you rely on everyday? Are you willing to pay for them?

  May 1 2012: Before I took this biodiversity class, I never know what ecosystem services were. And I never thought about the organic products in this way before either. I knew organic products were good for the environment but a little over priced, so I never bothered with them. However, since this class, and learning about the impact us humans have on biodiversity and how important biodiversity was for this planet, I have considered doing my share of work to protect this planet. It was hard for me to think of ways to make a good impact, but this is a way. Its never about making a big impact from the start, but more about making incremental changes at a time and watching them pile up. Nevertheless, the money aspect of this is a factor. I believe this is a good way to help protect Earth's biodiversity, but because it is slightly more expensive than the regular products, it is only limited to the people that can afford it, therefore limiting its potential impact. I would pay extra for organic products that serve as a way that conserves biodiversity, but to increase its impact, I think it would be beneficial to make it more accessible by lowering the cost.

• A comment on Conversation: How does affluence impact biodiversity?

  Apr 29 2012: There are over 7 billion people on the Earth today. The energy used to keep this place we call home functioning is 259,000,000 MWh and counting. More than 90% of that energy comes from a non-renewable source. If we take a second to think about the what this means, not only are we denying future generations the use of natural resources such as coal and natural gas, but we are also emitting so much greenhouse gases into the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels that it is starting to affect the climate. This drastic climate change is affecting not only the animals and the overall biodiversity of our planet but also affecting us humans. If this isn't enough, the timber we are using per year to heat those big houses that we built are knocking out a number of species at a time. A lot of people are avoiding this topic because it doesn't seem like a big enough issue. And we have plenty of money, technology, and even intelligence to fix the problem when it gets here. And its true, we are a smart and if we all put our minds to it, we could fix the problem when its at its worst. But will it be too late? Will we have lost too much by that time? I believe we could have a positive impact on the environment and biodiversity but only if we start soon.