What's New Robert L. Park 16 JuL 2010

WHAT=92S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 16 Jul  2010   Washington, DC

1. POPULATION: RE-EMERGENCE OF THE POPULATION ISSUE IN THE UK.=20
The world slept through two decades as if forbidden to utter the=20
word "population."  No American politician would dare speak the dangerous=
=20
word even now.  It=92s being voiced once again in the UK, however, not on=
ly=20
by such high-profile intellectuals as Sir David Attenborough, but also by=
=20
Fred Pearce, a prominent science writer, who tells us, presumably with a=20
straight face, that "the problem is not population but consumption." =20
Dominic Lawson, also with a straight face, writes in the Independent=20
that, "Affluence is the answer."  The rich, he notes, have fewer offsprin=
g;=20
all we have to do is make everybody rich.  Between Pearce and Lawson, a=20
bunch off basic conservation laws must get mangled.  Not a moment too soo=
n,=20
the UK's Royal Society is launching a comprehensive review of the evidenc=
e,=20
led by Sir John Sulston, who was awarded the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physiolo=
gy=20
for his contributions to the Human Genome Project.  Just the person.

2. WARMING: IT=92S HOTTER THAN THE ARM PIT OF FAHRENHEIT=92S MISSUS.
Only the US and Belize still use this archaic Fahrenheit temperature scal=
e,=20
but Washington, DC just hit 100 F (about 38 C).  Not to worry.  I have an=
=20
ad torn from Parade magazine. Parade has the highest circulation of any=20
print news. The ad, configured to look like a news story, is about=20
a "miracle air cooler."  It's on wheels and you can roll it around anypla=
ce=20
you want cool air. If you buy one quick you might get another one free. =20
But heck, they're "a real steal at just $298 and shipping."  So if it=20
doesn't have to be in a window, where does the heat go? They come equippe=
d=20
with two reusable ice blocks. Just fill =91em up and plug =91em in.  This=
 is=20
what we did back in the 30s.  On unbearably hot days you put a block of i=
ce=20
in front of a table fan. Taking into account the energy required to make=20
ice, it's much less efficient than your air conditioner.

3. NASA:  SENATE AUTHORIZATION CANCELS THE RETURN TO THE MOON.
The Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation yesterday=20
agreed unanimously on a blueprint for NASA that is devoid of any new=20
science.  The bill does get rid of the pathetic return-to-the-moon progra=
m,=20
but it is otherwise just a plan to avoid adding to unemployment in the=20
space industry. It calls for development of a spacecraft capable of=20
carrying a crew beyond low Earth orbit, but there's no place to go=20

4. NUCLEAR WEAPONS: WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH THE STOCKPILE?
Under the Obama administration's 20-year plan the US nuclear arsenal woul=
d=20
reduce the 5000 deployed and stored warheads by about 40%.  The US has no=
=20
conceivable need for the remaining 3000 nuclear warheads. Additional cuts=
=20
however would be too expensive.  As Lisbeth Gronlund of the Union of=20
Concerned Scientists is quoted in today's Washington Post, "nuclear weapo=
ns=20
are now a liability not an asset." We can't get rid of them fast enough.=20

5. CELL PHONES: PROXIMITY TO TOWERS DOESN=92T RAISE CANCER RISK.
Of course it doesn't, for the same reason that the phones don't cause=20
cancer: the frequency of microwave radiation is far, far below the=20
photoelectron threshold.

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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