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Can even mere knowledge be a threat?
OLR (1982)29 (12)
F. General
Judgments handed down in the case resulting from the IXTOC I oil well blowout include: (1) Pemex, as an arm of a foreign government, is immune from prosecution under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act; (2) Permargo, a private corporation, is subject to prosecution in accordance with the Texas long-arm statute; and (3) Sedco's motion for Partial Summary Judgment declaring the oil drilling platform a vessel is granted, thus limiting Sedco's liability to the value of that vessel. (bwt)
F290. International concerns and organizations 82:6343 Peterson, Jeannie (ed.), 1982. Nuclear war: the aftermath. Special double issue. Ambio, 11(2/3): 76-176; 15 papers. A scenario that describes a major nuclear exchange (the authors will not acknowledge the possibility of a 'limited' war) on a weekday in early June 1985 is the basis for this collection of 15 papers by authors from the USA, USSR, and eastern and western Europe. The issue is 'presented in the belief that a realistic assessment of the possible human and ecological consequences of a nuclear war may help to deter such a catastrophe.' The topics covered range from effects on human behavior--'one-third of the survivors or more will suffer more-or-less severe mental and behavioral disturbances'--to economic results and medical consequences--survivors would suffer 5.4-12.8 million fatal cancers; 17-31 million would be rendered sterile; 6.4-16.3 million children would be born with birth defects in the following 100 years. The impact on marine ecosystems would be 'relatively less than upon terrestrial ecosystems...[there is] the potential for large-scale reductions of marine populations at the bottom of the food web.' As for the atmospheric consequences resulting from the many fires, it is 'estimated that for most of the Northern Hemisphere the average intensity of sunlight reaching the surface of the Earth would be reduced by a large factor...[and that] this darkness would persist for as long as the fires burn, which is expected to be many weeks.' Includes a glossary and 4 fold-out world maps of fallout, military targets, and oil and gas fields. (dgs) 82:6344 Seymour, A.H., 1982. The impact [of nuclear war] on ocean ecosystems. Ambio, 11(2/3): 163-173. The impact of ionizing radiation on marine ecosystems following a nuclear war will be relatively less than that upon terrestrial ecosystems. Reduction in
809
transmission of solar radiation by light-absorbing atmospheric particles or from increased ultraviolet light flux has been predicted to have the potential for large-scale reductions of marine populations at the bottom of the food web. Most vulnerable are inshore and coastal regions. Fish. Center, Univ. of Washington, Seattle, Wash. 98195, USA. 82:6345 Wakefield, Penny, 1982. Is UNEP still a good investment? Environment, 24(4):6-13, 34-38. Ten years after its beginnings in Stockholm, UNEP was evaluated. Designed to serve mainly as a catalyst, it has increased awareness of the interdependence of the world's social, economic, technological and environmental systems, provided better information and better methodologies to solve problems, and removed traditional barriers to intergovernmental cooperation. UNEP must now try to make the world aware of the serious environmental issues it was intended to address, develop a way to insure that progress already made on these issues 'does not stop with an agreement to agree,' and continue to overcome political differences. Proposed for UNEP's next half-decade is SWMTEP --System-Wide, Medium-Term Environmental Program--which, if approved, will be significant by outlining the cooperation needed between UNEP and other UN agencies in advance, rather than after the fact. (dgs)
F310. Contemporary development of science (especially o c e a n o g r a p h y ) 82:6346 Abelson, P.H., 1982. Employment of engineers and scientists. Editorial. Science, 216(4551):p.1177. While scientists and engineers are somewhat immune to a recession now marked by a 10% unemployment rate, only one of ten major firms surveyed is hiring more people this year than last. The lower third of the graduating class will have some difficulty finding employment. However, the situation in non-science fields is worse because, e.g., 60% of all job offers will go to engineers (comprising only 8% of graduates) who will be offered annual salaries of $22,000 and up. (fcs) 82:6347 Anonymous, 1982. Can even mere knowledge be a threat? Nature, Lond., 295(5847):269-270. The Reagan Administration fears that academic freedom endangers the security of the United States
810
F, General
and has issued guidelines for restrictions on the free international exchange of ideas--inimical to academic research. Rather than merely protesting, the National Academy of Sciences must teach the Administration by example and describe what American universities are for, so that reasonable steps can be taken if any action is necessary. (dlf) 82:6348 Bartholomew, G.A., 1982. Scientific innovation and creativity: a zoologist's point of view. Am. Zool.,
OLR (1982) 29 f12)
82:6351 Hirano, Toshiyuki (ed.), 1981. Oceanographical study in Japan: its progress in the last decade. 40th anniversary volume. J. oceanogr. Soc. Japan, 37(6):299-408; 9 papers. (In Japanese.) This perspective on the activities of the Oceanographical Society of Japan 1971-1981 covers ocean engineering, preservation of the marine environment, instrumentation, fisheries, and physical, chemical, geological and biological oceanography. (isz)
22(2):227-235. If you wish to make significant contributions to a scientific field, develop at an early point 'clear and exploitable ideas' in the sector you wish to enter; develop criteria to help in evaluating the quality of your research; and place yourself in a pioneering field. Most important, let the field and its elements pose your propositions for you, rather than allowing any formalism or protocol to do so. This advice is offered to students by a past president of the American Society of Zoologists. Dept. of Biol., Univ. of California, Los Angeles, Calif. 90024, USA. (fcs) 82:6349 Chalk, Rosemary, 1982. Maintaining scientific independence in a bureaucratic society. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., 387:11-21. Discussion here is primarily concerned with an examination of 3 cases (and the issues surrounding them) in which scientific or technical professionals 'clashed with their supervisors regarding appropriate ways of communicating to the public potential risks and hazards' of which the professional had become aware. In these cases supervisors insisted that such communication was a matter of policy and authority and not the business of the scientists, while the scientists insisted that they had 'a right and possibly a professional duty' to openly and directly communicate with the public. Comm. on Sci. Freedom and Respons., AAAS, Washington, D.C. 20005, USA. (fcs) 82:6350 Culliton, B.J., 1982. The academic-industrial complex. Science, 216(4549):960-962. Increasing industrial sponsorship of academic research in recent years has raised ethical and moral questions, resulting in the development of a variety of contractual agreements designed to protect the integrity of basic academic research while providing a return on investment for industry. Examples of such agreements are described, and various points of view are discussed regarding the implications of expanded industrial-academic interactions. (jch)
82:6352 Horrobin, David, 1982. In praise of non-experts. New Scient., 94( 1311 ):842-844. There cannot, by definition, be an expert in an unresearched area, because research must necessarily antedate the expertise. So who are these people posing as experts? Prima donnas of a sort, who have a vested interest in the status quo and plenty of 'respect from their peers,' a like-minded group, who would lose their jobs if the problems on which they labored were solved. The author recommends that research funds be allocated by lay committees if we want to solve problems rather than provide employment. Efamol Res. Inst., Kentvilte, Canada. (fcs)
82:6353 Kellogg, W.W. and Robert Schware, 1982. Society, science and climate change. Foreign Affairs, 60(5): 1076-1109. For some 3.5 to 4 billion years, the Earth's climate has maintained remarkable stability; such changes as it has undergone have been largely very gradual and non-catastrophic responses to the interactions of ice, land, oceans, atmosphere, biosphere and to changes in both planetary orbit and solar radiation. Now it appears likely that human activities (primarily the burning of fossil fuels) will have induced a major climate change within less than 2 centuries, unimaginably fast by Earth age standards. The atmospheric CO 2 level continues to climb (280 ppm prior to 1900, 340 ppm now; rate of increase of release from fossil fuel 2.3% per year since 1973); while exact predictions and implications cannot be made, scientists are generally agreed that a warming trend will be evident by the next decade. A climatologist and a political scientist endeavor to detail the possible future climate and to discuss its implications 'for the habitability of specific regions and nations...in terms of...agricultural productivity, ecology and human health.' Some elements of a rational approach to the problem are suggested. NCAR, Boulder, Colo., USA. (slr)
F. General
Judgments handed down in the case resulting from the IXTOC I oil well blowout include: (1) Pemex, as an arm of a foreign government, is immune from prosecution under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act; (2) Permargo, a private corporation, is subject to prosecution in accordance with the Texas long-arm statute; and (3) Sedco's motion for Partial Summary Judgment declaring the oil drilling platform a vessel is granted, thus limiting Sedco's liability to the value of that vessel. (bwt)
F290. International concerns and organizations 82:6343 Peterson, Jeannie (ed.), 1982. Nuclear war: the aftermath. Special double issue. Ambio, 11(2/3): 76-176; 15 papers. A scenario that describes a major nuclear exchange (the authors will not acknowledge the possibility of a 'limited' war) on a weekday in early June 1985 is the basis for this collection of 15 papers by authors from the USA, USSR, and eastern and western Europe. The issue is 'presented in the belief that a realistic assessment of the possible human and ecological consequences of a nuclear war may help to deter such a catastrophe.' The topics covered range from effects on human behavior--'one-third of the survivors or more will suffer more-or-less severe mental and behavioral disturbances'--to economic results and medical consequences--survivors would suffer 5.4-12.8 million fatal cancers; 17-31 million would be rendered sterile; 6.4-16.3 million children would be born with birth defects in the following 100 years. The impact on marine ecosystems would be 'relatively less than upon terrestrial ecosystems...[there is] the potential for large-scale reductions of marine populations at the bottom of the food web.' As for the atmospheric consequences resulting from the many fires, it is 'estimated that for most of the Northern Hemisphere the average intensity of sunlight reaching the surface of the Earth would be reduced by a large factor...[and that] this darkness would persist for as long as the fires burn, which is expected to be many weeks.' Includes a glossary and 4 fold-out world maps of fallout, military targets, and oil and gas fields. (dgs) 82:6344 Seymour, A.H., 1982. The impact [of nuclear war] on ocean ecosystems. Ambio, 11(2/3): 163-173. The impact of ionizing radiation on marine ecosystems following a nuclear war will be relatively less than that upon terrestrial ecosystems. Reduction in
809
transmission of solar radiation by light-absorbing atmospheric particles or from increased ultraviolet light flux has been predicted to have the potential for large-scale reductions of marine populations at the bottom of the food web. Most vulnerable are inshore and coastal regions. Fish. Center, Univ. of Washington, Seattle, Wash. 98195, USA. 82:6345 Wakefield, Penny, 1982. Is UNEP still a good investment? Environment, 24(4):6-13, 34-38. Ten years after its beginnings in Stockholm, UNEP was evaluated. Designed to serve mainly as a catalyst, it has increased awareness of the interdependence of the world's social, economic, technological and environmental systems, provided better information and better methodologies to solve problems, and removed traditional barriers to intergovernmental cooperation. UNEP must now try to make the world aware of the serious environmental issues it was intended to address, develop a way to insure that progress already made on these issues 'does not stop with an agreement to agree,' and continue to overcome political differences. Proposed for UNEP's next half-decade is SWMTEP --System-Wide, Medium-Term Environmental Program--which, if approved, will be significant by outlining the cooperation needed between UNEP and other UN agencies in advance, rather than after the fact. (dgs)
F310. Contemporary development of science (especially o c e a n o g r a p h y ) 82:6346 Abelson, P.H., 1982. Employment of engineers and scientists. Editorial. Science, 216(4551):p.1177. While scientists and engineers are somewhat immune to a recession now marked by a 10% unemployment rate, only one of ten major firms surveyed is hiring more people this year than last. The lower third of the graduating class will have some difficulty finding employment. However, the situation in non-science fields is worse because, e.g., 60% of all job offers will go to engineers (comprising only 8% of graduates) who will be offered annual salaries of $22,000 and up. (fcs) 82:6347 Anonymous, 1982. Can even mere knowledge be a threat? Nature, Lond., 295(5847):269-270. The Reagan Administration fears that academic freedom endangers the security of the United States
810
F, General
and has issued guidelines for restrictions on the free international exchange of ideas--inimical to academic research. Rather than merely protesting, the National Academy of Sciences must teach the Administration by example and describe what American universities are for, so that reasonable steps can be taken if any action is necessary. (dlf) 82:6348 Bartholomew, G.A., 1982. Scientific innovation and creativity: a zoologist's point of view. Am. Zool.,
OLR (1982) 29 f12)
82:6351 Hirano, Toshiyuki (ed.), 1981. Oceanographical study in Japan: its progress in the last decade. 40th anniversary volume. J. oceanogr. Soc. Japan, 37(6):299-408; 9 papers. (In Japanese.) This perspective on the activities of the Oceanographical Society of Japan 1971-1981 covers ocean engineering, preservation of the marine environment, instrumentation, fisheries, and physical, chemical, geological and biological oceanography. (isz)
22(2):227-235. If you wish to make significant contributions to a scientific field, develop at an early point 'clear and exploitable ideas' in the sector you wish to enter; develop criteria to help in evaluating the quality of your research; and place yourself in a pioneering field. Most important, let the field and its elements pose your propositions for you, rather than allowing any formalism or protocol to do so. This advice is offered to students by a past president of the American Society of Zoologists. Dept. of Biol., Univ. of California, Los Angeles, Calif. 90024, USA. (fcs) 82:6349 Chalk, Rosemary, 1982. Maintaining scientific independence in a bureaucratic society. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., 387:11-21. Discussion here is primarily concerned with an examination of 3 cases (and the issues surrounding them) in which scientific or technical professionals 'clashed with their supervisors regarding appropriate ways of communicating to the public potential risks and hazards' of which the professional had become aware. In these cases supervisors insisted that such communication was a matter of policy and authority and not the business of the scientists, while the scientists insisted that they had 'a right and possibly a professional duty' to openly and directly communicate with the public. Comm. on Sci. Freedom and Respons., AAAS, Washington, D.C. 20005, USA. (fcs) 82:6350 Culliton, B.J., 1982. The academic-industrial complex. Science, 216(4549):960-962. Increasing industrial sponsorship of academic research in recent years has raised ethical and moral questions, resulting in the development of a variety of contractual agreements designed to protect the integrity of basic academic research while providing a return on investment for industry. Examples of such agreements are described, and various points of view are discussed regarding the implications of expanded industrial-academic interactions. (jch)
82:6352 Horrobin, David, 1982. In praise of non-experts. New Scient., 94( 1311 ):842-844. There cannot, by definition, be an expert in an unresearched area, because research must necessarily antedate the expertise. So who are these people posing as experts? Prima donnas of a sort, who have a vested interest in the status quo and plenty of 'respect from their peers,' a like-minded group, who would lose their jobs if the problems on which they labored were solved. The author recommends that research funds be allocated by lay committees if we want to solve problems rather than provide employment. Efamol Res. Inst., Kentvilte, Canada. (fcs)
82:6353 Kellogg, W.W. and Robert Schware, 1982. Society, science and climate change. Foreign Affairs, 60(5): 1076-1109. For some 3.5 to 4 billion years, the Earth's climate has maintained remarkable stability; such changes as it has undergone have been largely very gradual and non-catastrophic responses to the interactions of ice, land, oceans, atmosphere, biosphere and to changes in both planetary orbit and solar radiation. Now it appears likely that human activities (primarily the burning of fossil fuels) will have induced a major climate change within less than 2 centuries, unimaginably fast by Earth age standards. The atmospheric CO 2 level continues to climb (280 ppm prior to 1900, 340 ppm now; rate of increase of release from fossil fuel 2.3% per year since 1973); while exact predictions and implications cannot be made, scientists are generally agreed that a warming trend will be evident by the next decade. A climatologist and a political scientist endeavor to detail the possible future climate and to discuss its implications 'for the habitability of specific regions and nations...in terms of...agricultural productivity, ecology and human health.' Some elements of a rational approach to the problem are suggested. NCAR, Boulder, Colo., USA. (slr)