Letter to the editor of The Texarkana Gazette

This was sent as a response to an oped (a very misinformed one) by Cal Thomas and published in the Gazette.

Climate change

TO THE EDITOR:

I am very disappointed in the Gazette for continuing to publish misleading opinion and information by climate change deniers. I am referring to the recent op-ed by Cal Thomas (June 30, Thirty years of 'global warming' panic). Mr. Thomas writes in a way that will make people think there is doubt about human-induced climate change and he cites material that mainstream climate scientists have refuted.

The facts are that the climate is warming and it is mainly due to human impact. We can see the signs already in rising sea level, heat waves, and many other important climate-related processes. Ninety-seven percent of the scientists who study climate agree that the change is occurring and it is human induced. Thomas writes like there is a debate. There is no debate as far as the science goes.

A good website for people to check is https://www.skepticalscience.com/.  This site shows reliable information that refutes the climate change denial. We must ask ourselves what kind of world are we leaving for our descendants and take action now.

David W. Allard

Texarkana, Texas

Plastics!!!

As Dustin Hoffman was told in "The Graduate", the future is plastics.  Well maybe not.  Plastics are a disaster for the environment. as can be seen by many recent stories.  One example is Henderson Island in the Pacific.  It has become an island of plastic.  I am sure there are probably many more like it.  We know about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch where the plastic is being accumulated by the oceanic gyres.  This is also probably occurring in the other oceans.  We must stop doing this to the environment. 

A recent study points out some alarming facts.

• 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic have been produced since the 1950s--half of it made since 2004
• 12 billion metric tons will accumulate in landfills or in the environment by 2050.
• five million to 13 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean each year.
• about 6.3 billion metric tons of plastic have been thrown away since 1950. 
• About 12 percent of that has been incinerated, which is the only way to permanently dispose of plastic; 
• 9 percent has been recycled, which only delays final disposal; 
• 60 percent — about 4.9 billion metric tons — is in landfills or scattered in the environment. 

Below are some items of interest, if this alarms you.

This Pacific island is covered in 38 million pieces of trash — mostly plastic

On a parasite binge.

Parasites are really fascinating critters.  They continue to amaze me.  I have read one book and am on another.  The current book is Parasite Rex by Carl Zimmer.  He is a terrific science writer for the New York Times.  Has written a number of great books.  Check out some of his other works at https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Carl+Zimmer

 

 

 

 

 

The first book was I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong.  He has a great TED Talk below.  He has a number of other talks on YouTube.  Goodreads also has a section on this book. 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27213168-i-contain-multitudes

 

 

 

Ted Talk


Enjoy.

The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee

I am in the process of reading this and it is an excellent book.  Dr. Mukherjee is a wonderful writer.  He is able to explain things to the general reader in an understandable way.

This is a review from Pretty-Hot.com (Yeah I know, sound funky)

"In this book summary of The Gene, An Intimate History, Siddhartha Mukherjee begins with a detailed history of the gene and finishes with a topical survey of the gene in the latter half of the 20th century. Part One, “The “Missing Science of Heredity,” begins with the discovery of the “gene” in 1864. It continues with Charles Darwin and the many 19th century scientists who raised controversial questions about the origins of life and the journey of mankind. In the 20th century, American and British scientists inverted theories of genetics to promote eugenics, the science of using genetics and hereditary to “improve” a population.
The British devised theories in response to the rise of the middle class, while the Americans initiated sterilization programs to combat the influx of immigrants threatening the gene pool. Propaganda about the role of genes and hereditary captured the American imagination. By the 1920s, children were examined like animals at agricultural fairs—the most perfect paraded around as ideal specimens—and laws had been passed to prevent the birth of “imbeciles” and to ghettoize “the feebleminded.”
The Gene: An Intimate History weaves together scientific studies, gripping narratives, personal prose, and demanding questions to tell one of human history’s most important stories, one with the greatest consequences to our past, present, and future."

Short Interview with Dr. Mukherjee. 

NeuroTribes

NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity by Steve Silberman with a Foreword by Oliver Sacks (http://stevesilberman.com/book/neurotribes/).  Penguin Random House LLC 2015.
ISBN-13   9781583334676 | 978-1-58333-467-6 ISBN   158333467X | 1-58333-467-X
This past semester I have had a couple of students whose behavior I considered to be somewhat odd.  Then I began noticing some other students, not in my classes, on campus who behaved in a similar fashion.  They would not look you in the eyes and some of them would not speak when greeted. I began to wonder if they might be autistic.  The only experience I had previously had with a person who I knew to be autistic was with the child of a fellow faculty member.
After thinking about these students a bit, I began to, as we all do now, search on the web for information.  I then ran on a Fresh Air podcast with Steve Silberman (http://tinyurl.com/ha2cs6w).  I immediately ordered the book and I learned much about the autism spectrum.  Silberman covered the entire tangled history of autism including the various ego battles involved. I now have a much better understanding of this phenomenon and some ideas about how to interact with these possibly autistic students.  I still do not know if they are autistic and I am certainly not going to ask them!
Silberman points out how much this condition can vary.  There are really brilliant people who are autistic.  One of the most well-know is Temple Grandin (http://templegrandin.com/) at Colorado State University.  While others have very limited abilities.  NeuroTribes was the first science book to win the Samuel Johnson Prize. It has also won a California Book Award and a Books for a Better Life Award.  I think that every educator should read this book for a better understanding of autism.

My DNA History

What is a well regulated milita?

The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution reads: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

What does this mean?  I have no idea but I think it is an amendment that has outlived its time and should be repealed--I don't expect a British soldier to come beating on my door! Does it mean that every Tom, Dick and Harriet should have all the guns they want--assault rifles etc.   I don't think it does.  Other countries seem to get along just fine without having guns rampant in the society.  Australia bought back guns and has had very few mass shooting after that.  Look at the number of gun deaths in the U.S. from the CDC.  And a number of these are children, some accidental, some not.

All firearm deaths in the U.S.

• Number of deaths: 33,636
• Deaths per 100,000 population: 10.6

I don't have a problem with hunters having a licensed firearm but we are overrun with guns and we are paying the price for it.  We need common sense gun control.