COULD THERE BE A MORAL USE OF A CONDOM?

"THOSE WHO ARE USING A CONDOM TO AVOID THE TRANSMISSION OF HIV SHOULD FOLLOW OUT THE LOGIC OF THEIR THOUGHT. THE REASON THEY’RE USING A CONDOM IS BECAUSE THEY DON’T WANT TO GET OR DON’T WANT TO TRANSMIT A SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE. THEIR NEXT THOUGHT SHOULD BE: WHY AM I ENGAGING IN AN ACT THAT MIGHT TRANSMIT THE HIV AND KILL SOMEBODY OR MYSELF? MAYBE MY PRIORITIES ARE WRONG HERE, MAYBE SEXUAL PLEASURE SHOULDN’T BE THAT KIND OF PRIORITY THAT LEADS ME TO ENGAGE IN ACTS THAT COULD TRANSMIT A SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE, A LETHAL ONE."

- JANET E. SMITH, A PROFESSOR OF MORAL THEOLOGY AT THE SACRED HEART MAYOR SEMINARY IN DETROIT IN THE UNITED STATES, IN AN INTERVIEW WITH DIANNE PENN FROM UNITED NATIONS RADIO IN NEW YORK, FOLLOWING COMMENTS BY POPE BENEDICT XVI ON CONDOM USE.

GRANDES ANIMALES EN FRÍO

LOS CIENTÍFICOS HAN SABIDO QUE LOS ANIMALES SE HACEN MÁS GRANDES EN LATITUDES ALTAS QUE EN LATITUDES CERCANAS AL ECUADOR.

AHORA, ECOLOGISTAS DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DE HOUSTON TIENEN UNA NUEVA EXPLICACIÓN. ELLOS YA SABÍAN QUE LOS INSECTOS HERVÍBOROS PREFIEREN LAS PLANTAS DE LATITUDES ALTAS SOBRE LAS MISMAS, DE LATITUDES BAJAS. RESULTA QUE SUS PREFERENCIAS REVELAN DIFERENCIAS EN LA CALIDAD DEL ALIMENTO. EL ALIMENTO DE LATITUDES ALTAS ES MEJOR.

AHORA, ELLOS REPORTAN QUE TRES HERVÍBOROS DIFERENTES, SE HICIERON MÁS GRANDES CON UNA DIETA CON PLANTAS DE LATITUD ALTA QUE CON UNA DIETA CON PLANTAS DE LATITUD BAJA. ELLOS DICEN QUE LAS PLANTAS DE CLIMAS FRÍOS PARECEN TENER MÁS NITRÓGENO, QUE LAS HACE MÁS NUTRITIVAS Y CON MENOS QUÍMICOS TÓXICOS DE DEFENSA; TAMBIÉN SON MÁS SUAVES Y MÁS FÁCILES DE COMER.

PUEDE SER QUE LOS HERVÍBOROS GRANDES HACEN A LOS DEPREDADORES QUE LOS COMEN, GRANDES TAMBIÉN.

OXYGEN MINIMUM ZONE

THE OXYGEN MINIMUM ZONE (OMZ) IS THE ZONE WHERE OXYGEN SATURATION IN SEAWATER IN THE OCEAN IS AT ITS LOWEST. THIS ZONE OCCURS AT DEPTHS OF ABOUT 200 TO 1000 METERS, DEPENDING ON LOCAL CIRCUMSTANCES.

SURFACE OCEAN WATERS GENERALLY HAVE OXYGEN CONCENTRATIONS CLOSE TO EQUILIBRIUM WITH THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE. THIS WATER IS EXPOSED TO A RAIN OF ORGANIC MATTER FROM ABOVE, DECREASING SHARPLY ITS DOWNWARD FLUX WITH DEPTH. AEROBIC BACTERIA FEED FROM THIS ORGANIC MATTER, CONSUMING 80% TO 90% OF IT IN THE TOP 1000 METERS. OXYGEN IS USED AS PART OF THE BACTERIAL METABOLIC PROCESS LOWERING ITS CONCENTRATION WITHIN THE WATER. THEREFORE, THE CONCENTRATION OF OXYGEN IN DEEP WATER IS DEPENDENT ON THE AMOUNT OF OXYGEN IT HAD WHEN IT WAS AT THE SURFACE MINUS DEPLETION BY DEEP-SEA ORGANISMS.

THE DEEP OCEAN THUS HAS HIGHER OXYGEN BECAUSE RATES OF ITS CONSUMPTION ARE LOW COMPARED WITH THE SUPPLY OF COLD, OXYGEN-RICH DEEP WATERS FROM POLAR REGIONS. DEPTHS IN BETWEEN, HOWEVER, HAVE HIGHER RATES OF OXYGEN CONSUMPTION AND LOWER RATES OF SUPPLY OF OXYGEN-RICH WATERS.

THE LARGE-SCALE OCEAN CIRCULATION CONTROLS THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE OPEN-OCEAN OXYGEN MINIMUM ZONES. ESSENTIALLY, WATERS THAT ARE PART OF THE WIND-DRIVEN SUBTROPICAL GYRE CIRCULATIONS, ARE RAPIDLY EXCHANGED WITH THE SURFACE AND NEVER ACQUIRE A STRONG OXYGEN DEFICIT. HOWEVER, ALONG THE EQUATORIAL EDGE OF THE GYRES, ONE FINDS A STAGNANT POOL OF WATER THAT HAS NO DIRECT CONNECTION TO THE OCEAN SURFACE. AS A RESULT, THESE ZONES HAVE VERY LOW OXYGEN CONCENTRATIONS EVEN THOUGH IN REGIONS SUCH AS THE EASTERN TROPICAL OR THE NORTH PACIFIC, THERE MAY BE RELATIVELY LITTLE ORGANIC MATTER FALLING FROM THE SURFACE.

OXYGEN-POOR CONDITIONS HAVE FAR-REACHING IMPACTS ON ECOSYSTEMS BECAUSE IMPORTANT MOBILE MACROORGANISMS AVOID OR CANNOT SURVIVE IN HYPOXIC ZONES. CLIMATE MODELS PREDICT DECLINES IN OCEANIC DISSOLVED OXYGEN PRODUCED BY GLOBAL WARMING. REDUCED OXYGEN LEVELS MAY HAVE DRAMATIC CONSEQUENCES FOR ECOSYSTEMS AND COASTAL ECONOMIES.