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Showing posts from June, 2020

Ethical Dilemma #3 - Is it Time to Ban Zoos?

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The debate on whether or not zoos should be allowed to exist have gone on for years.  The history of zoos is a long one, ranging all the way back to 1500B.C in Egypt.  In terms of modern zoos, the first zoo in North America was the Philadelphia Zoo, coming into business in 1874.  Granted the rights of animal welfare have exponentially increased since these first zoos, there is quite a debate around the ethics of private ownership of exotic animals.   There is a clear difference in quality of caregiving when comparing a zoo such as the Greater Wynneword Exotic Animal Zoo (Joe Exotic's zoo down in Oklahoma) to an establishment such as the Toronto Zoo but, when it comes down the ethical debate, I ask you; should exotic animals be kept in captivity?  Do we have the right to make a profit off of their captivity?   https://www.oldest.org/animals/zoos/   A zoologist's View on Joe Exotic's Zoo https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel/2017/05/hot-topic

Let me introduce myself.....

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Hello! My name is Ms. Browne and I am the teacher of the BBI1O summer class.  I have taught this course for a number of years and am excited to, once again, be teaching it. I live in Lakefield, Ontario with my husband and son and have been at LCS for 9 years.  I have one dog, one cat, and a squirrel that lives in our garage (we co-exist)! My favourite ice cream flavour is mint chocolate chip, I love to ride my bike, and my favourite colour is green. Looking forward to getting to know you all!  Please comment below this post with a short introduction of yourself as well. Ms. Browne

Ethical Dilemma #2: The Canadian Tar Sands and the Keystone Pipeline

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Canada's Tar Sands In 2019, Alberta's Athabascan Tar Sands were the largest industrial project in the world.  Just to put this in perspective, according to National Geographic, if Alberta (population of 4 million people) were a country, they would be within the top five oil-producing countries in the world.  Although this is great for the economy as it provides jobs and allows Canada to reap the benefits of international trade, with such a focus on global climate change and environmental awareness, it seems contradictory to be one of the top producing oil countries.  According to National Geographic, " even as Canada promotes action on climate change on the world stage, the Canadian and provincial governments are pushing to expand oil sands operations—which brings substantial economic benefits to the region—in the face of a chorus of opposition from environmentalists and indigenous people". Now with the Keystone XL pipeline (1897 km pipeline running