In with the Evo, out with the ID
Evolution triumphed over intelligent design as the verdict in the Dover, PA, school board trial was announced Tuesday morning. Judge John E. Jones III wrote in his 139-page decision, "As stated, our conclusion today is that it is unconstitutional to teach ID as an alternative to evolution in a public school science classroom." He went on to note that ID had not gained favor within the scientific community, and that ID could be interpreted as an espousal of a religious agenda, thereby violating the First Amendment if it were to be taught in schools.
A new study is underway to document menopause in gorillas. This biological occurrence challenges the "grandmother hypothesis"—the notion that women undergo menopause so that they can help raise their grandchildren rather than continuing to bear offspring. Seventeen zoos are involved in the research of the primates—who unlike humans—relocate after their kids are grown and don't generally interact with their grandchildren.
Advertisement
Change, change, change
The Department of Energy released a report Monday that noted a 2% increase in greenhouse gas emissions in the US from 2003 to 2004. The number of metric tons of the gases responsible for global warming that were expelled into the atmosphere rose from 6.98 billion to 7.12 billion.
Scientists at government agencies in both the UK and US are suggesting that smog caused by cars and manufacturing plants could be slowing global warming. According to the researchersÕ findings, the air pollution is scattering and absorbing sunlight before it reaches and warms the ground temperature.
New research shows that the USÕs trade agreements with countries like China may be increasing carbon dioxide emissions. A group at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, CO, says that following the Kyoto Protocol would shift more carbon-intensive production to developing nations, and that the countries would be utilizing less efficient methods with more CO2 being produced in the process.
While the US as a whole has still not committed to any Kyoto Protocol-styled commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, seven individual states are giving it a shot. Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Vermont formed the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, pledging to begin making cuts on carbon dioxide emissions in 2009.
On Tuesday, the EPA unveiled a campaign for stricter limits on the daily emission of soot from tailpipes and smokestacks nationwide. The new guidelines on air pollution would affect everything coast-to-coast from coal-based power to diesel engines.
Disinfection products, copper, barium, chloroform, and arsenic are all in our nation's drinking water, in addition to H2O and flouride, says a survey by the Environmental Working Group. The study found in the water supply a total of 141 unregulated chemicals and another 119 on which the EPA has already set limits.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan was awarded the presitigous Zayed Prize for his contributions to environmental policy. The award, named after former United Arab Emirates leader Sheikh Zayed, comes with a prize award of $1 million, which Annan will share with activists in Trinidad and Indonesia as well as the nearly 1,500 scientists involved with the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment.
Stop the drilling!
Republicans fell four votes short of passing a bill which included a provision for drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge. The measure was tacked onto a bill focused on defense spending, but a Democrat-led filibuster stopped the piece of legislation on the Senate floor. The Bush Administration estimates that there are over 10 billion barrels of crude oil in the refuge, home to 45 types of land and marine mammals. The defense bill did pass after the Alaska provision was dropped.