Friday, August 29, 2008
In the beginning there was no plan. A speck of matter, trapped on a tiny
planet orbiting an undistinguished star among countless other stars in one
of billions of galaxies, replicated itself. And the replicas replicated
themselves. Because the replicas were not exact, endless variations
called "species" appeared in every niche of the environment. Eventually,
there came to be a dominant species that could push aside or eat all the
other species. That would be suicide, but the dominant species is well
known for its suicidal tendencies. Nevertheless, under a leader named
Richard Nixon, the dominant species developed a plan called the Endangered
Species Act of 1973. Pushed through during a period of extreme
environmental idealism, it doesn't save many species, but it's the only
weapon environmentalists have to block development. Under the Bush
administration the law is simply ignored.
The dominant species, which survives by eating other species or using them
for clothing and shelter, is endowed by evolution with a powerful instinct
to reproduce - or at least go through the first steps in the process.
Availability of the pill, however, makes it possible for women in the
developed world to be in control of their own lives and achieve their
potential. According to the Population Reference Bureau a record 4.3
million U.S. births were registered in 2007. ABC News says the biggest
factor is immigration, Huspanic immigration in particular.
As the crisis in science funding grows steadily worse we look for any hint
that our leaders are aware. In his inspirational acceptance speech last
night Barack Obama mentioned science once. It was at the end of a list of
things that government should do because we cannot do them for
ourselves: "protect us from harm, and provide every child a decent
education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools
and new roads and science and technology." It should be pointed out that
everything on that list is dependent on science. This is not exactly
the "Science Debate 2008" scientists hoped to have, but we take what we
can get.
A study of 193 traditional Indian Ayurvedic medicines bought on the
internet or from US stores contained high levels of lead, mercury or
arsenic. The traditional medicine of India, Ayurveda, is even older than
traditional Chinese medicine. Under the 1994 Dietary Supplement and
Health Education Act they cannot be regulated by the FDA unless they are
shown in court to be harmful. "Not until the bodies begin piling up" as
one FDA official put it.
In Ashland, LA a weather-beaten oysterman with "practical inventiveness"
has made the local papers with a car battery that runs a boat winch
connected to a bicycle wheel that turns a car alternator that recharges
the battery (WN 3 May 02) . It's not
new. I must tell you that I invented such a machine when I was 10. It
didn't work either.
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