Halon fire extinguishers have now disappeared into the ozone hole. Air travel is still safe, however, because the airlines have been given permission to use their CFC-based wing and cabin fire extinguishers until they use up their current CFC supply. Remember the Challenger Shuttle O-rings that were modified for the asbestos ban?
Public backlash is so severe, however, that the EPA has asked Du-pont to continue CFC production for another year through 1995. Science, vol. 262, p 1953 and 1958-1959 has selected molecule "p53'' as Molecule of the Year. This substance has enormous potential for the control of cancer. That is the good news. Bad news is that AAAS picked, as part of one of the runner-up discoveries of the year, the Toronto UV "trend'' paper that we dissected in AtE last month.
The AAAS is scrambling for a place at the Clinton medical plan table. So far, they are being ignored. (See D.E. Koshland, Jr., Science, vol. 262, p1495.) Science is doing, however, its politically correct best to qualify. They even published a letter (vol. 262, p1497) byRichard D. Lamm, former governor of Colorado who once announced that older people have "a duty to die.'' Lamm's letter ridicules Michael DeBakey for saying that "the most effective way to improve health is to gain new medical knowledge.'' Remember the Weekly Reader? This newspaper, distributed to young public school children, warns (vol. 72, November 1993, p3) the kids to wear sunscreen on all exposed areas of their skin - all year around, so that they will be protected from cataracts, premature skin aging, and immune breakdown caused by UV penetration through holes that CFCs have punched through the ozone layer. What protects them from the holes these people are punching in their brains?
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Vol. 21, No. 6
Newsletter: Access to Energy Newsletter Archive Volume: Issues Issue/No.: Vol. 21, No. 6 Date: February 01, 1994 04:41 PM Title: Wild Cards
Copyright © 2004 - Access to Energy Newsletter Archive
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