Tuesday, March 18, 2003

Adversity, Neutrality and Synergy Timothy Wilken, MD writes: When we examine the relationship between self and other, we discover that we can choose actions that result in our being worse off, actions that result in our being unchanged, or actions that result in our being better off. We can choose to hurt each other, we can choose to ignore each other, or we can choose to help each other. These three choices result in Adversity, Neutrality or Synergy. (03/18/03) The Real Cost of the WAR! Timothy Wilken, MD writes: The total costs to American, including both the direct and indirect expenses of a new war with Iraq, might exceed $1 trillion ( 1 million million dollars) plus the unquantified suffering of the American combatants their families, and the rest of us. But this is not the true cost of the war. As Andrew J. Galambos stated: “Humans develop evermore powerful knowledge and therefore evermore powerful tools. When tools are used to harm other humans they are called weapons. Since human knowledge can grow without limit then tools themselves can be made without limit. And limitless tools can will produce limitless weapons.” And, limitless weapons (progress) combined with leveraged adversity (warfare) must by all definitions and understanding of science produce human extinction. In the 1983 movie WARGAMES, NORAD’s computer — Joshua realizes after playing out all possible outcomes for Global Thermonuclear War: “A strange game, the only winning move is not to play.” (03/18/03) Don't Flush! BBC Science -- A growing number of academics argue that the traditional Western sewage method is no longer sustainable. ... "The Western way of going to the toilet is an incredible waste of water resources," says Timothy Claydon, country representative of Water Aid Bangladesh. He added: "Because it involves piping clean water to someone's home, pouring it into a white ceramic bowl and then flushing the dirty water away with more clean water, it's not environmentally or financially sustainable." (03/18/03) The Game of Golf is a Water Hazard BBC Science -- The United States is the most wasteful water user in the world, according to figures released at the Third World Water Forum in Kyoto, Japan. And a key reason behind America's placing is the country's love of golf. Keeping fairways lush and greens green requires vast amounts of water. But the overall benefit of such water use is largely restricted to the golfers and the club owners. In other words, golf is a highly inefficient use of water. The US has about 23,000 golf courses - far and away the largest number in the world. What is more, a great many of them are located in the western United States, an area classed by the World Water Assessment Programme as under "severe water stress." (03/18/03) Oklahoma lands a # 1 Seed for March Madness My Alma Mater: After winning last year’s Big 12 Tournament, Oklahoma sat stunned when it received a No. 2 seed to the NCAA Tournament rather than an anticipated No. 1. After winning this year’s Big 12 Tournament, 49-47 over Missouri on Sunday, the Sooners erupted when they received a No. 1 seed rather than an anticipated No. 2.  “It’s strange,” OU coach Kelvin Sampson said. “Last year, we thought we might have been the best team in the country going into the NCAA Tournament, and we proved it by getting to the Final Four, though we came up a little short. This year, I don’t think we were as good as last year, and we’re a No. 1 seed. (03/18/03) Water Crisis in Pakistan New York Times -- Millions of people in southeastern Pakistan are seething with anger and despair — and not over the American threat to attack Iraq, the plight of fellow Muslims in Kashmir or the political role of the mullahs. The life-and-death matter that has provoked hundreds of irate demonstrations in Sind Province in the last three years is water. More precisely, what farmers and politicians alike here charge is that "water robbery" has been committed by Punjab, the more powerful Pakistani province upstream. "Punjab isn't giving us the water we are owed and our lives are being destroyed," said Muhammad Usman, a 40-year-old father of 10, who has received enough water this year to plant only one of his 50 acres. To keep his family alive he has opened a tea hut along the roadside, where he earns less than a dollar a day. "Of course we are angry at Punjab," he said. (03/18/03) 6:13:38 AM

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