Thursday, 9 February, 2012

When hospitals run out of anesthetics, antibiotics and cancer drugs, should we blame or thank the “gray-market”?

After earthquakes caused horrific tsunamis in Sumatra and Japan, we wonder where tsunamis get their power, how warning systems work, and what’s left after the cataclysm.

Marketers may try, but can they really coerce you to buy stuff you don’t need? To find out, join us for a meander through modern marketing. How do sound, scent and touch affect buying behavior? How are brands used and misused? And what can brand do for you as a consumer?

Canada’s oil-drenched sands are the second-largest oil reserves. Using the “tar sands” pollutes air and water, destroys forests and boosts global warming. A good idea?

Flax, the basis for linen, was spun and dyed, and lost in the mud. More than 30,000 years later, microscopic flax fibers provide the first cord in archeological history.

Fraud happens. In a 2009 survey, 2 percent of scientists admitted faking data; 14 percent said colleagues have done it. Problems worst in drug and other medical studies.

Decay is part of life, and death. When garbage decays in a landfill, or manure decays in a tank, the result is methane. Is this natural gas a problem — or an opportunity?

We need elements. Without phosphorus fertilizer, millions would starve. A shortage of copper means a shortage of electricity. And we’re importing more than 95% of the “rare-earth” elements needed for LCDs, cell phones and green energy. Is this smart?

The candidates are skirting issues related to environment, energy and science policy. Heard promising plans for greener energy, solid science advice, or coping with the decline of oil? We neither…

Use a cellphone? Love nature? Fear cancer? Then how can you hate science? Epidemics, environment, technology: We’ve got questions for the marathoners running (still?) for prexydent.