What's News -- Friday, May 28, 2004 by Bob Park


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Topic: Science > Physics
User: "Sam Wormley"
Date: 28 May 2004 03:54:13 PM
Object: What's News -- Friday, May 28, 2004 by Bob Park
Friday, May 28, 2004
1. ENERGY: GAS PRICES ARE SHOOTING UP, AND THAT'S THE GOOD NEWS!
Just a few years ago, the sound of China was incessant honking as an
occasional car tried to push its way through a sea of bicycles and
pedestrians. The car won. Beijing traffic now looks like LA or DC,
adding enormously to world demand for oil, most of which is beneath
countries that don't like us very much. Bush's short-term solution is
to drill in the arctic wildlife refuge (caribou don't vote).
Long-term, Bush has the hydrogen-initiative (See POPA study), but it
can't be made competitive. Kerry's short-term solution is to use the
strategic reserve. Sigh! WN liked him better when he wanted a 50 cent
tax hike on gasoline. We need conservation. High gas prices are
already pushing SUV sales down, but it was OPEC that pushed the price
up. If we plan to declare war on every country led by a bad guy,
we'll need tax revenue. We could also think about making CAFE
standards apply to all passenger cars, even if they're SUVs and weigh
as much as cement trucks. As the price of gas goes up, the air gets
cleaner, people return to the inner cities, traffic is reduced, less
time is wasted commuting.
2. DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY: WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE ELECTION IS OVER?
The Washington Post yesterday disclosed that a May 19 White House
budget memorandum directs agencies preparing their 2006 budgets to
assume spending levels that are sharply reduced for virtually every
domestic program. This includes programs of the National Science
Foundation and the Environmental Protection Agency.
3. PLACEBO EFFECT: USE OF ALTERNATIVE REMEDIES CONTINUES TO GROW.
A new government survey of adult Americans found that 36 percent of
us use some kind of "complementary or alternative" therapy. The
number jumps to 62 percent when prayer is included. I find it
surprising that the percentages are not higher; you make the list if
you take vitamins, or meditate, or get a massage, or go on some fad
diet. Echinacea turns out to be the most popular herbal supplement,
although studies stubbornly refuse to uncover any benefit. Wisdom has
it that echinacea wards off colds, but when adults taking echinacea
three times a day inhaled a strain of common cold virus, ninety
percent came down with a cold.
4. HOMEOPATHY: CAN YOU DO PLACEBO-CONTROLLED STUDIES OF PLACEBOS?
Four years ago, a guest on "Superquark," an Italian television
science program, observed that relying on homeopathy could be
dangerous for someone who actually has a serious illness. The Italian
Association of Medical Homeopathy sued the host of the program. But
last month, according to Nature, the court in Catania ruled that the
opinions of the guest were "justified" and "could not be considered
offensive or defamatory."
Bob Park can be reached via email at

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
Opinions are the author's and are not necessarily shared by the
University, but they should be.
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