What's New Friday August 3, 2007

WHAT’S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 3 Aug 07   Washington, DC

1. CLIMATE: WILL THE WALL STREET JOURNAL JOIN THE CONSENSUS?
Last week, WN predicted that if news mogul Richard Murdoch was successful 
in acquiring the WSJ, its editorial policy on climate would not get 
greener.  Several readers, however, pointed out that Murdoch may have had 
a recent epiphany on climate.  Indeed, Monday’s New York Times quoted a 
May 8 Murdoch speech, "Climate change poses clear, catastrophic threats."  
To demonstrate his conversion, he went out and bought a Prius – for a lot 
less than it cost him to buy Dow Jones.  "The debate is shifting," he 
said, "from whether climate change is really happening to how to solve 
it."  Is that enough to change the WSJ?  I don’t know.

2. FUEL ECONOMY: HOUSE BILL LEAVES OUT BOOST IN CAFE STANDARDS. 
Debate on The New Directions for Energy Independence, National Security, 
and Consumer Protection Act begins today.  The 720 page bill has a lot of 
good stuff, but fails to boost the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) 
standard.  John Dingell, the Representative from Chevrolet and Ford, who 
chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, killed any increase in 
CAFE.  That sets up a Conference fight with the Senate, which included an 
increase in its version.  Dingell will probably win.  The rest of us will 
lose.

3. PLANTING THE FLAG: THE NORTH POLE IS CLAIMED FOR RUSSIA. 
A Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker and two mini-submarines planted the 
Russian flag on the sea floor at a depth of 2.6 miles.  No one takes that 
flag stuff seriously anymore, but the North Pole has more recoverable 
resources than the Moon.

4. MARTIANS: THE PHOENIX MARS LANDER IS TO BE LAUNCHED TOMORROW.
How can it be that 30 years after the Viking landings on Mars we still 
don’t know if there is life on our nearest neighbor?  What have we been 
doing?  Life to which we are not related may be the most important quest 
in science.  It would put in perspective the foolish philosophical musings 
about “purpose” that over the ages led to spilling the blood of countless 
millions - and still takes lives.  Perhaps then we could get on with 
making the most of the wonderful cosmic accident of life on Earth.  
Phoenix is not meant to search for life, but to see if conditions on Mars 
justify a search.  If all goes well, Phoenix will touch down in the 
Martian arctic in May, 2008.  Thirty years ago, two Viking Landers put 
Martian soil in nutrient solutions and analyzed evolved gas for evidence 
of life.  It seemed positive, but was later identified as just a chemical 
reaction.  

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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