What's New Robert L Park Friday, March 12, 2010

WHAT=92S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 12 Mar 2010   Washington, DC

1.  TRIANA: WHERE IS THE DEEP SPACE CLIMATE OBSERVATORY?
You=92ve seen the snapshot of the sunlit face of Earth, taken by Apollo 1=
7=20
astronauts on 7 Dec 1972, more than 100 times.  It's the =93blue marble,=94=
 one=20
of the most widely distributed photographic images in existence.  It alwa=
ys=20
moves us, but never changes.  Al Gore dreamed of a continuous live image=20
transmitted from a solar satellite located at the L1 point between the=20
Earth and the Sun.  Gore chose to call it Triana after Rodrigo de Triana.=
,=20
the crew member on the Pinta who first sighted the New World.  But it has=
 a=20
far more important scientific purpose in the climate debate: is Earth's=20
climate determined entirely by the Sun, or is there a component of=20
anthropogenic warming?  Built and paid for, Triana=92s launch was delayed=
=20
into the Bush administration by the Challenger disaster.  Bush didn=92t w=
ant=20
anything to have Gore's initials on it, so the name was changed to the De=
ep=20
Space Climate Observatory.  But Bush didn't like that either, so the=20
mission was canceled.  But Triana, or DSCOVR, thankfully was not=20
destroyed.  It was locked up in Guant=E1namo, or a maybe a warehouse in=20
Greenbelt, MD.  A year ago Congress voted the money to refurbish DSCOVR,=20
but we=92ve heard little since.  WN finds it=92s getting an extreme makeo=
ver. =20
The opposition to DSCOVR is based on the fact that the L1 is a retro-
reflection (hotspot) point.  And so it is, but DSCOVR will not be exactly=
=20
at the L1 point. It will orbit the L1.   In any case it is possible to=20
analyze hotspot reflections.

2.  CLIMATE OF FEAR:   NATURE CALLS IT A "STREET FIGHT."
In an editorial this week, Nature acknowledges that "climate research has=
=20
taken a very public battering in recent months," and so it has.   A few=20
climate scientists ignored the simple rules of such a fight at considerab=
le=20
cost.  Rule one: never imagine that your e-mail conversation is bound to=20
remain private.

3. CELL PHONES: THE MAINE PROBLEM IS SCIENTIFIC IGNORANCE.
The use of cell phones has become ubiquitous in modern society.  There is=
=20
also a lot of brain cancer.  This has led to a lot of people to suggest=20
that the two are connected, and the state of Maine is considering=20
legislation that would require cell phone manufacturers to print a warnin=
g=20
on the product.  But has the incidence of brain cancer increased at=20
anything like the numbers of cell phones.  It is a troubling issue for mo=
st=20
physicists who recognize that cell phones almost certainly can=92t cause=20
cancer. All known cancer agents act by breaking chemical bonds in DNA,=20
creating mutant strands that may multiply to become cancers.  Microwave=20
photons are orders of magnitude short of being able to break chemical=20
bonds.  The Federal Communications Commission, the Food and Drug=20
Administration and the American Cancer Society recognize this, but for mo=
st=20
Americans the words =93quantum mechanics=94 are simply an announcement th=
at you=20
won't understand what follows.  Even a very bright high school student=20
probably won't have any idea what you're talking about.

4.  ACUPUNCTURE:  MAY IT GO THE WAY OF PRAYER.
BBC news this week reported that the British Fertility Society warns that=
=20
there is no evidence that acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine boosts t=
he=20
chances of getting pregnant through in vitro fertilization.  You will=20
recall that just a month ago we reported what we hope was the end to the=20
prolonged struggle between courageous California obstetrician Bruce Flamm=
=20
and the claim of fertility clinic owner Qwang Cha that prayer arranged by=
=20
his clinics contributed to success of the procedure.  Both cases involved=
=20
beliefs that began in early childhood when the brain was still open to it=
s=20
first language.=20

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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