Issues in Science and Technology articles from September 2000

Issues in Science and Technology archives from September 2000

Pest management.
September 22, 2000... "The Illusion of Integrated Pest Management" (Issues, Spring 2000) by Lester Ehler and Dale Bottrell raises some interesting points regarding the Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs, and deserves a...

Key steps taken to preserve the U.S.'s marine heritage.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... In the relatively short time since Issues published two articles on the state of marine conservation ["Saving Marine Biodiversity," by Robert J. Wilder, Mia J. Tegner, and Paul K. Dayton (Spring 1999)] and my article ["Creating Havens for...

Property rights debate cools, but does not end.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... In "Takings Policy: Property Rights and Wrongs" (Issues, Fall 1993), Sharon Dennis and I argued that the rise of the "takings" or "property rights" agenda represented a significant threat to the public's ability to adopt and enforce...

Is the nation's top talent opting out of science and engineering?(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... The "Real Numbers" section in the Spring 1997 Issues analyzed data collected by the Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology (CPST) (www.cpst.org) in its Best & Brightest report about the quality of students pursuing education in...

Greater cooperation sought in protecting critical infrastructure.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... In a further effort to improve the security of the nation's computer infrastructure, a bill has been introduced in the House that would encourage private-sector participation in government-created information-sharing centers. The Cyber Security...

House bill would expand protection of personal health information.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... The House Banking and Financial Services Committee passed the Medical Financial Privacy Protection Act (H.R. 4585) on June 29, bringing protection of personal health information a step closer to passage. H.R. 4585 would require insurance...

Potential for discrimination debated in wake of genome breakthrough.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... On June 26, the Human Genome Project announced that approximately 85 percent of the entire human genome had been sequenced, laying out a draft road map for future research into potential therapeutic applications. On July 20, the Senate Health,...

DOD, NIH slated for big increases in R&D spending.(Department of Defense, National Institute of Health, research and development)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... The Department of Defense (DOD) and NIH will both receive big increases in R&D spending in FY 2001. However, as of mid-September, Congress had not decided on funding for other major federal R&D funding agencies. The DOD appropriations...

The Hidden Presidential Campaign Issues.
September 22, 2000... Bush and Gore are eager to promote ideas with wide appeal, but where do they stand on more controversial questions. I'm for mom, apple pie, and science. Al Gore and George W. Bush both recognize that American voters like science. It...

The UN's Role in the New Diplomacy.
September 22, 2000... As a new form of international diplomacy develops to deal with a number of emerging issues in which science and technology play a central role, the United Nations (UN) risks being relegated to the sidelines. The influence and effectiveness of...

Eliminating Tuberculosis: Opportunity Knocks Twice.
September 22, 2000... The United States flubbed its chance to eliminate TB in the 1960s; it shouldn't let that happen again. It is said that opportunity knocks only once, but when it comes to the opportunity to eliminate tuberculosis (TB) in the United States,...

Enhancing the Postdoctoral Experience.
September 22, 2000... The growing population of postdoctoral scholars needs better working conditions, compensation, and benefits. In recent years, this nation's science and engineering research has come to depend increasingly on the work of postdoctoral...

The Science of Biotechnology Meets the Politics of Global Regulation.(Editorial)
September 22, 2000... Global regulation should be guided by science, not unsubstantiated fears. These are difficult times for agricultural biotechnology. Outside the United States, there is widespread public and political opposition to importing grains grown...

Suburban Decline: The Next Urban Crisis.
September 22, 2000... With their small, outmoded, and deteriorating housing, many post-World War II bedroom suburbs are in urgent need of help. The old urban crisis, characterized by the decline of central cities, still has not been addressed adequately by...

New Threat to Coral Reefs: Trade in Coral Organisms.
September 22, 2000... As the world's largest importer of coral reef organisms, the United States has a major responsibility to promote nondestructive, sustainable harvesting practices. Coral reef ecosystems are a valuable source of food and income to coastal...

The Human Genome and the Human Community.
September 22, 2000... Advances in genetics highlight the individual, but medicine should be directing its attention to the community. In 1957, the year I entered college, the American Medical Association issued its "Principles of Medical Ethics." Section 10...

Environmental politics.(Review)
September 22, 2000... Earth Rising: American Environmentalism in the 21st Century, by Philip Shabecoff. Washington, D.C., and Covelo, Calif.: Island Press, 2000, 224 pp. The Land That Could Be: Environmentalism and Democracy in the Twenty-First Century, by William...

The Superfund debate.(Review)
September 22, 2000... Calculating Risks: The Spatial and Political Dimensions of Hazardous Waste Policy, by James T. Hamilton and W Kip Viscusi. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1999, 326 pp. In Calculating Risks, James Hamilton and Kip Viscusi apply sophisticated...

The ecosystem illusion.(Review)
September 22, 2000... Defending Illusions: Federal Protection of Ecosystems, by Allan K. Fitzsimmons. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999, 330 pp. The protection of nature is a goal easier to embrace than to explain. If by "nature" we mean everything in the...

Technology and people.(Review)
September 22, 2000... The Social Life of Information by John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid. Boston Mass.: Harvard Business School Press, 2000, 320 pp. Have you ever been in an airline lounge so crowded that you couldn't avoid overhearing people in a loud,...

The Birth of Military Aviation Research.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... When it entered World War I in April 1917, the United States had an air service of negligible size. In June 1917, the Signal Corps, which at the time controlled the Army air arm, won an appropriation of $640 million to be put toward aviation....