In the midst of a prolonged economic recession we hear the cry from all quarters that the most immediate path to recovery and prosperity is through a so-called green economy. "Green" energy, "green" jobs and "green" technologies are touted everywhere, from national publications to college
How government “encouragement” undermines technological development In recent years, “green energy” has become a major hot-button issue. Advocates argue that the inevitability of global climate change caused by carbon emissions, an end to our “addiction” to fossil fuels and the need for renewable forms of energy
The FDA’s Presumption to Regulate Keeps Valuable Products off the Market The Christian Science Monitor recently published an article on the recent FDA hearings about genetically engineered (GE) salmon: “U.S. government food regulators pondered Monday whether to say, for the first time, that it's OK to market
Private industries make their first probes into the final frontier A recent article in The New York Times discusses the possibility of privately funded space travel open to tourists in the near future: "Boeing said Wednesday that it was entering the space tourism business, an announcement that could
Imagine telling someone that human beings could use large flying machines to travel across oceans or use small talking machines to speak to anyone in the world as if they were standing nearby. Imagine telling someone that the universe is composed of unseen particles or
“You can’t handle the truth!” That’s the federal government’s latest message to Americans seeking to learn the content of their own DNA. Recent advances in biotechnology have allowed private companies to offer affordable genetic testing directly to consumers, to help them determine their risks of developing problems
September 12th should be a global day of mourning. For that is the day that one of mankind’s greatest heroes and benefactors passed away, though barely a whisper of his passing has been heard since the weekend. Each one of us who is glad to
At a time when many companies are struggling to stay profitable, the world’s largest computer processor manufacturer recorded a net profit of $1 billion in its second quarter. Despite this impressive feat, however, the corporation reported a quarterly loss of $398 million, the first loss
Millions of Americans choose to continue smoking despite known health risks. Presumably, the value they get from smoking is (rightly or wrongly) worth the risk to them. But for a short time, it appeared that smokers had a healthy third alternative: electronic cigarettes. The electronic cigarette
Last night the lights went out at the Empire State Building, the George Washington Bridge in New York, Big Ben, Niagara Falls, the Eiffel Tower, and the Las Vegas casino strip, among many other places. No, this wasn’t just one more cost-reducing measure taken due