Contemporary Issues and Resources

• evolution vs. creation science debate (dating and species to species evolution)
• cloning
• use of pesticides, chemicals or plastics
  • The Heartland Institute (click on Environment)
  • The Hoax Slayer
  • The Food and Drug Administration
• alternate fuels (nuclear, fusion, etc.)
  • The Heartland Institute (click on Environment)
• fields associated with high power transmission lines or cell phones
  • Webpage for a Honors Seminar at the University of Maryland
• use of microwaves (for communication and cooking)
• public monetary support of science (or specific science activities, like the SSC, space missions, etc.)
• global warming
  • The Science & Environmental Policy Project
  • The Heartland Institute (click on Environment)
  • New Scientist Environment (click on Special Reports and then Climate Change) and the article on Climate Myths
  • Environmental Effects of Increased Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (paper by Robinson, Robinson and Soon, published in J. of Amer. Physicians and Surgeons, 2007, arguing that "there are no experimental data to support the hypothesis that increases in human hydrocarbon use or in atmospheric carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are causing or can be expected to cause unfavorable changes in global temperatures, weather, or landscape."
  • Comments on "Environmental Effects of Increased Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide" by Frank Murley (Roanoke College)
  • Skepticism.Net (according to the site, they provide "links to resources skeptical of [...] doomsday scenarios.")
  • The Changing Debate on Global Warming by Eric J. Barron (Jackson School of Geosciences; University of Texas at Austin)
  • How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic (grist; environmental news and commentary)
  • The Manpollo Project (a risk-management perspective to global warming action)
  • The Scientific Guide to Global Warming Skepticism
  • Classic Articles on Global Warming
  • 2010 Kavli Prize Science Forum Keynote Address by John P. Holdren, US Presidential Science Advisor
  • Increases due to human activities? (one of the frequently asked questions series put together by the Intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC)
• ozone depletion
  • The Science & Environmental Policy Project
  • The Heartland Institute (click on Environment)
• recycling
  • The Heartland Institute (click on Environment)
• uses of animals in research
• whether cars are relatively safe during a tornado
• whether oil is produced from organic matter (fossil fuels) or inorganic matter (abiogenic processes)
• irradiation of food
  • Center for Disease Control
  • Cancer Prevention Coalition (they have page about irradiation risks)
  • Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility (they have excerpts from a U.S. Congressional meeting)
• whether oil is produced from organic matter (fossil fuels) or inorganic matter (abiogenic processes)
• Geocentrism
• Comments on many of these issues can be found at SoundScience.info

Writing Hints

• How to Paraphrase (from Purdue U.)

Recent Developments

Experiments

• The Effect of Material of Wire on the Speed Passing Through a Block of Ice (by Mikko Valjus, Kuopion Lyseon Lukio, Finland)
• Power of a Light bulb
• Measuring the size of the Earth
  • Dennis Rawlins, "Doubling Your Sunsets or How Anyone Can Measure the Earth's Size with Wristwatch and Meterstick," American Journal of Physics, 47, No. 2, p. 126 (Feb 1979).
  • Zachary H. Levine , "How to Measure the Radius of the Earth on Your Beach Vacation," Phys. Teach. 31, No. 7, P. 440 (Oct. 1993).