Wednesday, December 03, 2003

Science Matters Adam Bly writes: Just over a year ago, on a continent that sometimes seems so far, far away, Prime Minister Blair delivered a speech entitled "Science Matters." "First, science is vital to our country's continued future prosperity," he said. "Second, science is posing hard questions of moral judgment and of practical concern, which, if addressed in the wrong way, can lead to prejudice against science, which I believe would be profoundly damaging. Third, as a result, the benefits of science will only be exploited through a renewed compact between science and society, based on a proper understanding of what science is trying to achieve. "Britain can benefit enormously from scientific advance .... We need a robust, engaging dialogue with the public. We need to re-establish trust and confidence in the way that science can demonstrate new opportunities and offer new solutions. This task will be aided if we can embed a more mature attitude towards science in our society. I absolutely reject notions of two cultures. There is a deep human need to understand, and science has revealed so much of our extraordinary world. Science is a central part, not a separate part, of our common culture, together with art, history, the social sciences, and the humanities." The "two cultures" notion Mr. Blair refers to is, indeed, no longer a reality. In 1991, author and literary agent John Brockman put forward the following contention in his landmark essay, "The Emerging Third Culture": "The playing field of American intellectual life has shifted, and the traditional intellectual has become increasingly marginalized. They are, in a sense, increasingly reactionary, and quite often proudly ignorant of the many truly significant intellectual accomplish-ments of our time. Their culture... is chiefly characterized by comment on comments, the swelling spiral of commentary eventually reaching the point where the real world gets lost." In a recent essay, "The New Humanists", Brockman writes, "Twelve years later, that fossil culture has been essentially replaced by the 'third culture.' " Indeed, we are in the midst of a renais-sance driven by science; and the third culture is bridging the sciences and the humanities. (12/03/03) Global Warming threatens Snow Sports BBC Environment -- Many ski resorts face economic hardship as a result of climate change, the UN environment programme Unep has warned. The winter climate warming means that snowfall is becoming less reliable, especially in lower altitude resorts. The Unep report is being presented at a conference about sport and the environment in Italy's city of Turin, the venue for the next Winter Olympics. It coincides with the annual international meeting on climate change which is taking place in Milan. The effects of climate change are already being felt in the world of winter sports. One ski resort in Scotland, Glencoe, where snow has never been very reliable, has just announced that it is suffering financial difficulties. But for skiers who can afford to go to the classic winter sports resorts in the Alps, good snow has been virtually guaranteed. Now the Unep report warns that if the snowline rises by 300 metres - a quite likely scenario - only 63% of Swiss resorts will reliably provide good skiing. Unep spokesman Nick Nuttall says that Italian and Austrian resorts will also be badly affected. "One of the classic ones is Kitzbuehl in Austria, a very well-known ski resort, and that is at a low altitude. And the findings seem to indicate that Kitzbuehl faces extinction as a winter sports centre," Mr Nuttall says. (12/03/03) Russia declines the Kyoto Agreement BBC Environmental Politics -- Russia says it will not ratify in its present form the Kyoto Protocol designed to mitigate global warming. "The Kyoto Protocol places significant limitations on the economic growth of Russia," presidential aide Andrei Illarionov has announced in Moscow. The landmark environmental pact cannot now enter into legal force, especially since the US has also repudiated it. It means the protocol will either have to be renegotiated or the nations that have signed will have to go it alone. The Russian decision will come as a devastating blow to many of the delegates at a meeting of the signatories to the United Nations Climate Change Convention, being held in Milan this week. ... The protocol requires industrialised countries to cut their emissions of six gases which scientists believe are exacerbating natural climate change. Signatories will by some time between 2008 and 2012 have to cut emissions to 5.2% below their 1990 levels. But many scientists say cuts of around 60-70% will be needed by mid-century to avoid runaway climate change. ... Some critics say President Bush's decision that the US, which emits more greenhouse gases than any other country, would not ratify the protocol had already condemned it to irrelevance. But enough other signatories have done so for it to have entered into force if Russia, another big polluter, had decided to ratify. (12/03/03) 10:20:01 AM

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