In in his essay “What Can Be Done?,” Arthur Noll wrote : As someone with no power except my voice, I am aware that our human
society must change and change radically if we are to survive. It is
from this perspective that I ask, what can be done?

There are things we could do, no matter who we are, to get changes rolling. I’ve posted a set of principles for society, and a plan for getting there. …  

Scott Meredith
writes: “Actually this is true. Arthur has at least proposed something,
thus he’s done more than most of the rest of us have. I guess we all
remain silent in the teeth of our understanding the degree of inertia
that would need to be overcome to make the changes he has outlined ?” …

Jack Dingler writes: “If humans were rational, then I’d agree with you. As it
is, humans are not rational. Humans in general do not think, do not
exercise logic and have a great deal of difficulty understanding
ethics. If humans in general do not have these skills, then you must
first teach them these things, before they’ll even be able to
understand that there is a problem.”(10/26/08)
more…

Bill McKibben writes: The election campaign has (unofficially) lasted almost two years. It’s featured endless discussions on health care, the housing crisis, and who should get blamed for something their minister said. But when we elect a new leader, among his very first jobs will be figuring out how to deal with global warming.

He almost certainly won’t want it to rise to the top of his to-do list, but it will. He who comes next is the Climate Change President. Global warming is going to be the most important new foreign policy challenge of the Climate Change President’s tenure, because, unlike the Bush administration, the rest of the world hasn’t spent the last eight years ignoring the climate problem. In the other developed nations, it’s been diplomatic question number one.

What these governments have realized is that when the Northwest Passage opens for the first time in human history, it’s clearly time to do something. For the last five years, ongoing gatherings on the issue have all been working toward the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December of 2009. This is when the world is supposed to conclude a follow-up treaty to the Kyoto Protocol and really put the planet on the path to dealing with climate change. The conference is just eleven months after Inauguration Day.

This could be an agreement as key as those struck at Yalta or Versailles. It could determine the economic architecture of the 21st century. And the rest of the world’s leaders are not going to issue the new president a free pass. If America plans on getting back in the good graces of the international community, it’s going to have to start leading on the issue. (10/26/08)
more…

BBC Biotechnology — Pilot seaweed and algae farms are needed to assess Scotland’s marine biomass potential, experts have urged. The recommendation comes in a report on using biomass for heating and fuel while avoiding the use of valuable agricultural land. Scientists want to see pilot farms and research into the most energy-rich types of seaweed.

The report was carried out by the Scottish Association for Marine Science for The Crown Estate.

Prof Mike Cowling, science and research manager at The Crown Estate, said: “Given Scotland’s rugged western coastline and island groups, and relatively clean seas, it is sensible to examine the farming of seaweeds and sustainable harvesting of natural supplies as a source of energy, to heat our homes and fuel our vehicles. Heating and transport make up around three quarters of our energy use so it’s vital that we find new ways of meeting that demand. Extracting energy from seaweed is a particularly efficient and reliable method of producing green energy, and the growing of seaweed could have positive impact on local marine biodiversity.”

One key advantage of using seaweed is that it avoids the problems associated with agricultural crop biofuels such as pressure on arable land and fresh water.

Dundee University professor of microbiology Geoffrey Codd has also been promoting the idea of using seaweed and other algae as fuel.

He feels the practice could help revive traditional UK industries such as harvesting seaweed and create viable and sustainable biofuel sources. (10/26/08)
more…

BBC Technology – Indian newspapers have hailed the successful launching of the country’s first mission to the Moon on Wednesday.

The unmanned Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft blasted off smoothly from a launch pad in southern India to embark on a two-year mission of exploration.

Awesome headlined the Hindustan Times newspaper. The newspaper said that India’s premier space agency, Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) had become commercially successful, and that the Indian Moon mission had cost a lot less than Japan and China’s missions.

“Isro’s competitiveness lays the basis for making India a nation with a competitive space industry - far more difficult than making it merely space capable,” the newspaper said.

‘Our baby’s on its way’ headlined The Indian Express. …

The Pioneer said the mission was “essentially a tribute to India’s inherent genius”.

And The Hindu hoped that the mission would “catch the imagination of young Indian men and women who are to become tomorrow’s pool of talented scientists, the lifeblood of such programmes”.

“The Indian space agency is also looking at missions to Mars, to asteroids and comets, and even one to study the Sun. At the heart of such missions of space exploration is the ability to do good science,” the newspaper said.

The Asian Age said that “riding [on the mission] are not just the nation’s hopes and dreams, its mission is being keenly followed by space scientists in more advanced nations”.

The Telegraph said “the significance of Chandrayaan-1 goes beyond national pride”.

“This mission not only gives a measure of what scientists in India are capable of achieving, but also places their work in a global context. It is a matter of no less pride that other than the four indigenous instruments, the Chandrayaan-1 is carrying three made by the European Space Agency, two from Nasa and one from Bulgaria.”

“Although it is impossible to predict the outcome, the journey to the moon might change people’s lives radically. For one, it could unlock the mysteries of Helium-3, a rare source of nuclear energy.” (10/26/08)
more…

BBC Medical Science – Scientists have grown new prostate glands in mice, in another advance for stem cell technology. The team from San Francisco were able to isolate single cells with the ability to generate an entire prostate. The technique, reported in the journal Nature, could shed light on how prostate tumours develop.

However, any thoughts it could lead to transplants in men who have had the gland removed to beat cancer have been played down. The prostate is found near the bladder, and helps make and expel semen, but is a common source of cancer, especially in older men. A quarter of all new cancers diagnosed in men are prostate cancers, and 10,000 die from the disease every year in the UK.

The US researchers were able to track down a type of stem cell which divides to form the different cell types in the gland. When these mouse stem cells were transplanted back into mice, they developed into entirely new glands. …

John Neate, the chief executive of The Prostate Cancer Charity, said: “This study is an important piece in the jigsaw of our understanding of the role that stem cells play in the prostate. “It gives very clear evidence of the existence of stem cells in the prostate of mice. Scientists think they may work in a similar way in humans. Much research is being undertaken to unravel the role stem cells may play in the development of cancer and how they may respond differently to treatments.” (10/26/08)
more…