Controversial topics in contemporary discourse

Global warming has been an issue of debate for decades, however, today there seems to be more evidence pointing to its reality. Type in "global warming" on Google search engine and access to more than fifteen million web sites will appear. One such web site is "Natural Resource Defense Council" at http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/default.asp, which contains a wealth of information concerning global warming (Global pp). Those who believe in global warming assert that higher temperatures will produce dangerous consequences such as drought, disease, floods, and lost ecosystems (Global pp). According to the theory, carbon dioxide and other air pollution from sources such as coal-burning power plants and automobiles, collects in the atmosphere and creates a "thickening blanket" that traps the sun's heat and causes the planet's temperature to increase (Global pp). Over the past fifty years the average global temperature has increased at the fastest rate in recorded history and scientists predict that unless these emissions are curbed, the average U.S. temperatures could increase by 3 to 9 degrees by the end of the century (Global pp).

Over the decades, skepticism has decreased, however, on May 10, 2005, the World Climate Report web site at http://www.worldclimatereport.com / reported research that contradicts the global greenhouse theories. New studies suggest that the "increase in solar radiation absorbed at the earth's surface had almost ten times as much warming power during that time as the concurrent increases in carbon dioxide, the main global warming gas" (Global1 pp).

Stem cell research is seen by many as a promising treatment for diseases and disabilities. According to the National Institutes of Health web site at http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/, stem cells have the potential to develop into numerous different cell types within the body (Stem pp). Serving as a repair system for the body, these cells can theoretically divide without limit to replenish other cells as long as the person or animal is still alive (Stem pp). When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential to remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell or a brain cell (Stem pp). Stem cell research is perhaps the most promising area of science and is leading scientists to investigate the possibility of cell-based therapies to treat disease, which is often referred to as "regenerative or reparative medicine" (Stem pp). One disease being researched is Parkinson's Disease, in which "successful generation of an unlimited supply of dopamine neurons could make neurotransplantation widely available for Parkinson's patients at some point in the future" (Stem pp).

On June 12, 2005, it was reported in the Kansas City Star that Nancy Duff from Princeton Theological Seminary, expressed that the "debate over human stem-cell research forces the question of who is the most vulnerable neighbor, the human embryo or the suffering patient (Tammeus pp). The majority of the opposition to stem cell research comes from religious areas, such as Richard Land, prominent Southern Baptist, who, like others, believe that the Bible is very clear that God is involved whenever conception takes place (Tammeus pp).

The Natural Therapies for Chronic Illness web site at http://www.cqs.com/cell.htm reports an article that appeared in The Australian Newspaper on April 20, 1997, by Stewart Fist concerning the dangers of cell phone use (Do pp). The study was conducted at the Royal Adelaide Hospital by Dr. Michael Repacholi, Professor Tony Basten, Dr. Alan Harris, and statistician Val Gebski (So pp). The research which was conducted on two hundred mice, half exposed and half not exposed to pulsed digital phone radiation, revealed a highly-significant doubling of cancer rates in the exposed group (Do pp). A significant increase in B-cell lymphomas, which are implicated in approximately 85% of all cancers, was evident early in the experiment and continued to rise of the eighteen month study (Do pp). According to Dr. Alan Harris from the Walter and Eliza Institute in Melbourne, "This is important because at present, there was no convincing evidence that radio fields (in contrast to X- and Gamma-rays, ultraviolet and atomic radiation) can directly cause the changes in genes responsible for cancer development" (Do pp).

According to a 2002 study by the Washington University School Of Medicine in St. Louis, radiation from cell phones do not appear to cause cancer in rats (Cell pp). The rats were exposed to the two most common types of cell phone radiation for four hours a day, five days a week for two years (Cell pp). The researchers tried to mimic a high level of exposure that humans might experience, and "found no statistically significant increases in any tumor type, including brain, liver, lung or kidney, compared to the control group" (Cell pp).

The common theory behind evolution is the idea that living things have come into existence through "unguided naturalistic processes starting from a primeval mass of subatomic particles and radiation, over approximately 20 billion years" (What pp). A more precise understanding of this statement divides the "atoms to people" transition into four realms: cosmology, abiogenesis, micro-evolution, and macro-evolution (What pp). The popular mechanisms for explaining micro-evolution are mutation and natural selection (What pp). Mutation are mistakes that are introduced into the genetic material used for reproduction that can occur, for example as a result of exposure to radiation (What pp). Naturally occurring mutations are very rare, and those that do occur usually have a negative effect, however, the occasional positive mutation, provides the "new material" for natural selection to operate on (What pp). Natural selection states that those individuals that posses some advantage in the environment are more likely to leave more offspring, thus increasing the probability of passing the advantage to future generations (What pp).

In May 2005, a group of scientists who support the idea of intelligent design, told the Kansas State Board of Education that Darwinian theory relies too much on unproven reasoning, and the gaps in science leave open the possibility that a creator, or an unidentified designing mind is responsible for earthly development (Slevin pp). A Kansas City researcher said "educators who teach Darwinian evolution effectively introduce religion by rejecting the possibility that God created the universe and all living things" (Slevin pp).

Although no one has found actual Martians wandering over the planet, many scientists believe that Mars is probably the best place to look for simpler forms of life, because of all the planets in the Solar System, Mars is the most similar to Earth (Science pp). Mars has a similar temperature, and although at present, it is too cold for liquid water to exist on the surface, the planet may have been warmer in the past (Science pp). Mars' atmosphere is much thinner than Earth's, and there is not much ozone to protect the planet from the Sun's harmful UV rays, yet the atmosphere may have been thicker millions of years ago (Science pp). Mars has a rocky surface, and on rocky planets, all the necessary chemicals for life can collect in one place, rather than floating freely through the atmosphere (Science pp). And Mars has polar ice caps, that expand and contract with the planet's seasons, and although the ice is mostly frozen carbon dioxide, there is probably water there too, thus, Mars could also have a water cycle (Science pp).