WHAT'S NEW Friday, November 12, 2004

WHAT'S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 12 Nov 04   Washington,
DC

1. SHELL GAME: INDUSTRY PLAYS ITS PART IN THE HYDROGEN CIRCUS.
They installed the nation's first public hydrogen pump in the
Shell station at 525 Benning Road in Washington, DC, just 5.2
miles from the U.S. Capitol Building.  We thought you'd like
to know just in case you're in town driving your hydrogen
powered car.  Oh! I forgot -- you can't buy one, can you?  GM
has six hydrogen prototype minivans in Washington, parked by
the Capital for what a GM executive calls "educational
outreach."  Parked, because a round trip to the Shell station
will use a third of a tank of hydrogen.  No matter, GM isn't
trying to sell hydrogen cars.  Here's a WN educational
outreach: the Bush administration points to the hydrogen car
to show that while other countries sign treaties, we do
something about the environment.  Here's more education: even
if they solve all the problems with the hydrogen car, it won't
do squat for the environment.  Pollution comes from making the
hydrogen.  GM will turn out a handful of hydrogen concept-cars
with government subsidies while selling thousands of
profitable SUVs, and Shell's gasoline sales will climb filling
up those SUVs, at the cost of putting up with a few little-
used hydrogen pumps, paid for with government subsidies.

2. FOSSILIZED: ASSESSING ENERGY TRENDS FOR THE FORESEEABLE
FUTURE  There was an Exxon Mobil ad on the op-ed page of the
Washington Post yesterday titled "Energy through 2030."  It
was an ad by a fossil-fuel company, not a research paper, but
it was sobering: "Fossil fuels meet more than 80% of world
energy needs," it concluded, "and we expect this trend to
continue through 2030."  There was no mention of a hydrogen
initiative.  
                                   
3. MORAL VALUES: DARWINISM CONTINUES TO STIR UP THE FAITHFUL. 
 In Cobb County Georgia, a sticker on science textbooks warns
that evolution is "a theory, not a fact."  It's being
challenged in court.  The Grantsburg School District in
Wisconsin wants
"Various theories of origins" (read "intelligent design")
taught.  The move is overwhelmingly opposed by higher
education groups in the state.  In Charles County, Maryland,
several school board members want creationism on the
curriculum and American History to stress our roots as "a
Christian nation."  They are also considering inviting Gideons
to provide each students with a bible.  The Washington Post
says one board member is a member of Gideons.  Another hosts a
conservative religious radio talk show.
The Raelians http://www.aps.org/WN/WN02/wn122702.cfm note
that, "The Theory of Intelligent Design does not lead to a
supernatural designer but to an extraterrestrial human-
civilization designer."


THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.  
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
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