Show Page 2 October 28 1993 Automobile depency is destructive by Joshua Ulibarri viewpoint editor An old Indian proverb that has been passed from generation to generation adds insight to the new environmental philosophy that has been taking America by storm since the early 80s It states that we as inhabitants of the Earth arc only borrowing this planet from tomorrow's inhabitants This means we arc not the true owners of this land and when wc relinquish the Earth it should be given back in at least the same shape received With the election of Bill Ginton and environmentalist A1 Gore Americans believed that this proverb could indeed be met A changing environmental ethic however is not that simple Everyday Americans must take steps in saving the environment One of those everyday changes must be overcoming this country’s reliance upon the automobile Americas reliance upon the automobile is devastating The environment is violated the economy is brought to its knees and the public's health is endangered All of these harms though can be overcome with a little “American persis- tence" In 1960 there was one car for every three Americans Today a little over 30 years later there is one car for every woman man and child alive Thirty-fiv- e percent of Americans own two cars and 20 percent own three or more cars The question begs to be asked what can you possibly do with three or more cars? Only one can be driven at a time Yet transportation is not the premiere reason Americans purchase an automobile Today the bigger the car the more affluent the driver looks Cars are no longer used as a means to get from point A to point B Automobiles are now being judged by different means The fastest The most attractive sports cars are also the most biggest strongest trucks are the most environmentally unsound Still these are the cars that most Americans will buy The automobiles dominance over American society is greatly damaging the environment Air conditioners in automobiles contain coolant materials which contribute to the increasing depletion of the earth's ozone layer The US Environmental Protection Agency has slated “Driving a private car is probably the typical American's most 'polluting' daily activity" Air pollutants released by automobiles account for SO percent of all toxic compounds in the air Automobile tail pipe emissions account for a principle increase in air pollution and fuel-inefficie- nt urban smog As a country the US releases more carbon monoxide than any country of similar population size Automobiles account for 30 percent of that gas which causes the “Greenhouse Effect" A 1992 study estimates that if this trend continues in the next 40 years dioxide emissions will increase by 38 percent The environment is not the only threatened American institution The economy already hurting is also taking a beating Current of America's total petroleum imports account for nearly trade deficit That is an incredible fact but consider that over 40 percent of the oil used in the US comes from foreign countries The vehicles have larger engines and cost more to produce On a personal level it is estimated that one out of every $3 Americans spend goes towards an automobile That is tragic but over a five-yeperiod a car that costs $10000 will finally cost $20000 after interest and repairs Terrible numbers that can all be overcome with a little two-thir- ds fucl-incfTici- ar persistence America’s health is also in danger The list of lung diseases aggravated or brought on by air pollution include chronic bronchitis emphysema cancer neural disorders and asthma The University of California at Davis reported in 1991 that 30000 deaths each year are directly related to automobile pollution A responsible American government and a more responsible citizenry can solve this problem The current national corporate fuel economy average is 275 miles per gallon The new recommendation is to increase this mandated average to above 40 miles per gallon By barrels of raising these standards the country would save oil a day Americans spend an average of 400 hours behind the wheel each year If the numbers were reduced by avoiding the automobile when possible or air pollution would be reduced Americans are not accepting their global responsibilities This country makes up a mere six percent of the Earth's population yet it consumes 40 percent of the world's gasoline Japan and the European Community committed at the UN Earth Summit to cut back CO2 emissions after the turn of the century The US refused to accept this agreement Reducing American's dependence on the automobile will decrease environmental degradation strengthen the economy and increase the public's health The responsibility is yours and mine Remember that we do not own this planet and the owners want it back in working condition five-milli- on car-pooli- ng Nanotech: The micro monsters of the future by Ryan Iloglund opinion writer Imagine later in life that you are one of the millions of Americans who are diagnosed each year with cancer or one of the many diseases that affect human beings Unlike current methods in which you would be treated with chemotherapy or expensive medications and hospital visits you are instead cured by a single injection of micro-roboequipped with small scalpels that can not only without any damage to healthy tisrepair problem cells sue but can replicate themselves and complete the actual procedure in a few hours while you are in the doctor's office or even on your way home Sound like science fiction? According to Eric Drexlcr a member of the Board of Directors of the National Space Society fact and fiction are expected to collide in the most influential act since the Industrial Revolution known as molecular manufacturing or nanotechnology Nano means dwarf or billionth and describes the predicted ability of this new technology to manipulate atomic structures which are measured in nanometers Nanotech refen to the current ability of some scientists at IBM and other brain farms to move individual atoms into different organizations like the famous IBM insignia using 33 xenon atoms Nanotcch also refen to the future technology of moving atoms on a large scale into actual physical matter using robots like those discussed earlier who can replicate themselves and assemble atoms according to certain programmed orden Drexlcr predicts that in the next 13 yean the current ts ccll-by-c- cll ability to move individual atoms will evolve into the actual assembler robots which he calls the “assembler breakthrough" because of the work done by researchers in the computer chemistry and other interested fields who are converging their resources and knowledge to make nanotcch inevitable Where do nanites get the materials to replicate themselves and build such intricate machines? That is Julius Rebck's department Rebck a professor of chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has designed a molecule that can reproduce itself and evolve like wild animals in its glass beaker the molecule uses up a molecular soup at a rapid pace and crowds out earlier generations Future nanotcch factories will be able to obtain their needed materials from the air or soil Nanitics can exist forever and even scarier they can regenerate indefinitely Since all matter is composed of atoms arranged in a certain concise order that makes nanotcch a extremely innovative idea with endless possibilities For example a diamond is simply an arrangement of carbon atoms in a perfect order It would take one replicating nanite that had been replicating for 14 hours one day to construct a one-to- n diamond But a more practical use for such a phenomenal accomplishment would be in the area of space travel where billions are spent each year designing and testing rocket boosters Nanites could build a perfect rocket engine made of diamond in less than a day— structure tubing valves pumps and all that could withstand variables under (sm Nanotcch page 3) Letter to the Editor Dear Editor In response to a view expressed in The Eagle by Curtis B Icard I would like to share a contrasting view point Mr Icard asserts two major points with regards to the “Not a Drop" policy on campus of zero toleration of alcohol One of the points states that “ part of the function of college life is to provide a place where experimentation and growth can be attempted with a safety net" The counter point here is that the addiction to any drug (alcohol included) is started by only one experiment or use How many alcoholic or drug addicts would be chemically dependant if there was never a fust try? Message: Experimentation with drugs leads to addiction huThe other point is that man life is drawn in shades of “ grey not black or white" and two beers for a campus pedestrian are nowhere near die same thing as a pint of liquor poured into a driver" This argument is sided as it as it shows only intoxicated drivers pose a threat to others While not forgetting the seriousness of alcohol in auto accidents there is an alarmingly high relation of alcohol and crime Examples of this include: theft assault rape (esp date rape) and vandalism On campus campus it could be said that these crimes are low due to preventive measures such as this policy To be specific several individuals were ticketed for “Open Container" in there vehicles during the Suzy Bogguss concert To some this may scream of injustice but what if that person were to become intoxicated and on the way home precipitate a accident that is fatal? What if the fatality were your loved one? The “shades of grey" would quickly turn black and white Message: an ounce of prevent is worth a pound of cure We can easily learn from the 18th century Chinese and what happened to them because of opium As a student I feel gratitude for the officers and administrators responsible for this policy Sincerely JeffPiacitelli |