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July 29, 2002
by Tom Linehan, Quality Spraying, Providence, RI
Readers would do a fine service for their college-age kids by
giving them copies of Les Flott's "Chemistry for Nonchemists --Part
III: In Defense of Chemistry" from the July, '02 issue of Metal
Finishing magazine.
He treats six "misconceptions" paraphrased from an article
originally written by Bruce Ames, Chair of the Biochemistry Dept. at
Univ. of Cal. at Berkeley. Simply, clearly, and briefly, it helps
immunize against much of the politically correct but scientifically
false nonsense so prevalent today.
For example, we are told that cancer rates are increasing because
of pollution. Cancer rates are increasing among the aged because
cancer is a disease of the old and we are living longer. Age-adjusted
rates of cancer incidence are steady or declining. And, there is the
idea that people are exposed to carcinogens because of synthetic
chemicals, such as pesticides. Studies show most pesticides in food
are natural, produced by the plants to protect themselves. He writes:
"Americans eat an estimated 1500 mg of natural pesticides per person
each day, which is 10,000 times more than they consume of synthetic
pesticide residues (<0.2 mg)".
This article can help teach some of our young people to view
bogeyman generalizations skeptically. Swallowing whole the pieties of
the age may make it easier to get along with one's friends, but that
is a poor substitute for starting a lifelong habit of thinking
critically and being true to yourself. --TL
August 5, 2002
The Language of Chemistry?
by Alan Phillipson, Materials Science & Technology Consulting, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Reading "In Defense of Chemistry" by Tom Linehan prompts me to
comment on daily language involving or appearing to involve
chemistry.
We hear of the chemistry of relationships more than ever. Are
these relationships between chemists? "If the chemistry is right"
we'll invest in such and such. Is chemistry being blamed for
everything?
We do not talk about carbon monoxide, water etc. anymore. We hear
the molecular makeup instead, or some abbreviations. Our society is
becoming so fixed on the use of "non-words" that eventually no-one
will be communicating.--AP
August 12, 2002
Critical thought isn't easy, that is what should be taught
by Tom Pullizzi, Platronica.com
Hi Tom,
My first critical thought about the quote on natural pesticides
is:
1.5 grams of natural pesticides is probably wrong. Sometimes I
don't eat 1.5 grams of fresh vegetables in a day, which brings up my
next thought:
When the New Jersey Meadowlands Commision was trying to determine
the cause of the cancer cluster of football players of the home teams
a few years back, they were taking samples of the turf, looking for
pesticides. A friend of mine thought that this was hilarious, and he
was correct. He said "These guys take steroids long term, they weigh
300 pounds, they eat a pound of bacon and a dozen eggs for breakfast,
and they are looking for residual pesticides as a cause for their
cancer". My point being that our diets are so full of processed food,
even 'normal' people don't eat a good enough diet to be grouped as a
control.
My third thought, even if the 1.5 grams is correct, is, unless we
know the relative carcinogenicity of 1500 mg of natural pesticides
vs. the 0.2 ppm of residuals, we still haven't got anything.
Comparing natural pesticides to synthetic pesticides is like
comparing the destruction of the environment by native americans to
that caused by the industrial revolution. --TJP
August 12, 2002
Not easy? Not even possible
by Ted Mooney, Finishing.com
I tend to not side with the metal finishing establishment on
environmental issues, believing that despite any good intentions,
good science will not be conducted by people with a vested interest
in poor science.
On the other hand, having tried to be a good parent, I attended
countless "back to school nights" and "science project nights"
throughout my two sons' educational careers. And from the first day
of kindergarden they were programmed by their teachers to draw
factory smokestacks with billowing black clouds and waste lines
running into streams full of dead fish. While unindustrialized
peoples like the Native Americans are continuously and uncritically
glorified, industry is mindlessly demonized in most school systems
every day of the week.
So, while I remain largely unconvinced by the article, Tom Linehan
and Les Flott are absolutely correct that it is very important that
people at least be exposed to hearing Bruce Ames' side of the
issues. --TM
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