Test Illust

Earth’s Orbit

A recent book, “Rare Earth” (Ward and Brownlee) catalogued how carefully the earth has been placed: (p. 18) 1% further and there’d be runaway glaciation, 5% closer and there’d be runaway greenhouse warming; (p.28) the solar system too close to the center of the galaxy and we’d by exposed to explosive bursts of energy, too far and all we’d have is wispy gases, no heavy elements to form and heat the core of the earth. 

Dihydrogenmonoxide

There was an Associated Press story on March 14, 2004 about Aliso Viejo, a town in southern California. City officials learned that in the manufacturing of foam cups a chemical was used, called dihydrogen monoxide. They found websites that said the chemical was, “an odorless, tasteless chemical that can be deadly if accidentally inhaled.”  They scheduled a vote to ban foam cups and ban this chemical. But then someone thought about it – wait a minute, that’s H2O! Water! It’s odorless, tasteless and deadly if accidentally inhaled – and as the websites proclaimed – it can cause severe burns in its gaseous form, it is a major component in acid rain, and is used by athletes to enhance their performance!  They had fallen victim to a “hoax.” It is embarrassing to be fooled in the national media!