Comments on: The next President’s science

By: scottb

scottb — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 03:25:16 +0000

@kanimal wrote: “Another load of BS by science”

And you have provided a fine example of science ignorance. Did you actually read what Phil wrote or any of the examples he has given over the past year (or more) of science suppresion?

I didn’t think so…

By: Education,Personal,Science,Uncategorized | Freehold Regional school board erred in limiting lab science time — Recycle Email

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:36:44 +0000

[...] The next President’s science By Phil Plait The Hive Overmind — I mean, Discover Magazine – was wondering the same thing, so they created Discover’s Science Policy Project, giving “the country’s most celebrated scientists and thinkers the chance to respond to the following … Bad Astronomy – http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy [...]

By: kanimal

kanimal — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:04:18 +0000

Oh, waaaahhhhh. Cry baby scientists. How has this administration stepped on sciences throat? By not funding fetal stem cell research, one of the biggest boondoggles in history? Or by not funding ‘alternative’ fuels because were all going to fry in 20 years? Another load of BS by science. All of you scientists keep whining about the money. It’s all about the money. If you don’t get your piece of the pie then the ‘administration’ is stepping on your ‘throat’. Science moves along quite nicely without government interference or money, thank you. Bunch of whiners…let me get you a tissue.

By: IVAN3MAN

IVAN3MAN — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:52:24 +0000

@ Gary Ansorge

I’m glad you liked it. If only our politicians were to suffer the same fate, as portrayed in the above video clip, whenever they failed to live up to their promises, then the World would be a better place.

By: Jay Warner

Jay Warner — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:42:02 +0000

The blogging discussion seems to have gotten off track a little. Par for that course. [Aside: LukeL says that drilling for oil and more nukes is the only valid idea, because wind, etc. will take 30 years to come on stream. (a) drilling more won't last 30 more years. It might not last 10; that's after it comes on line, in about 10 years from the day they get the go-ahead. Not going to get the price of crude down soon that way. How will we make plastic items (replacing wood) when that little is gone? (b) nuclear fusion plant builders have not yet explained to me how they will handle the 'effluent' - the spent fuel, the 'hot' equipment and other detritus that we have no place to permanently store today. I once knew a fuel reprocessing plant worker; if you are willing to condemn him to an early death from cancer or radiation sickness, then maybe you can do it.]

I _think_ that alternate energy sources, wind, solar direct conversion, methane recovery from digested manure, etc., qualify as “applied science.” If so, the government needs to encourage their development, without focusing on one alternative. The best way to do that is to expand the market – the potential demand – for alternate energy. The next President could, on Jan 20, 2009, issue a directive to the General Services Administration. He would specify that the GSA will pay say 25% _more_ for alternate energy supplies of electricity to run the gov’t offices, compared to bids for ‘traditional’ energy. I’m sure the owners of the electric grid will find a way to get that power to the offices, if they have it to provide. In five years time we won’t need that 25% incentive. It is only to get the market started.

A portion of the funds in NSF and Dept. of Energy, and other gov’t ‘research’ funds, could be allocated for serious questions about those alternate forms. There is a heck of a lot of work going on already, by companies that make the equipment. Techniques to cut the area of solar cells by 75% by concentrating the light on them. Sharp reductions in cost of refining solar grid silicon. Redesign of power plant control logic to make hybrid busses far more fuel effective. Alloy development to resist corrosion in critical parts of coal power plants (that may allow higher operating temperatures, increasing efficiency) No government, NSF type agency, or person can predict which ones are going to be most effective. So you assure a market is available during this initial stage, and let them all try out their stuff.

LukeL says it will take 30 years for these things to come on line. Yet he has been able to buy an all electric car for the last 15 years; and windmills are working in Wisconsin now (N. B.: The electronic controls, generator, and blades all come from Denmark). We need to build some of these things, find out what’s right and wrong with them, and see if we can fix the ‘wrong’ parts.

We need to do it now. Jan. 20, 2009 will be OK.

By: Todd W.

Todd W. — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:16:45 +0000

I’d also mention regarding teacher salaries, that in a lot of places, teachers must buy their own supplies for class, especially in the lower grades.

By: Gary Ansorge

Gary Ansorge — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:10:58 +0000

LukeL:
Last I heard, we only do DNA substitutions FROM humans TO animal embryos, not the other way round,,,so we’re not making human hybrids, we’re making ANIMAL hybrids. There is a tremendous ethical difference between those two approaches.

Ivan3Man: LOVED the Monty Python skit and it’s SOOOO true,,,

GAry 7