A Distant Light: Scientists and Public Policy

Description

A collection of essays by a Nobel Prize Laureate on a wide range of critical issues facing the world, and the role of scientists in solving these problems. Kendall has been closely involved with the Union of Concerned Scientists, a group that began as an informal assocation at MIT in 1969 to protest US involvement in Vietnam and is today an organization with an annual budget exceeding $6 million, with 100,000 supporters worldwide. UCD is today a voice of authority in US government science policy, particularly with regard to environment issues, most recently the worldwide initiatives on global warming. Together, these essays represent both the sucessses and failures of science to impact public policy, the challenges facing scientists, and offers practical guidelines for involvement in science policy. The essays are roughly chronological, organized by subject with introductions, beginning with the controversies on nuclear power safety and Three Mile Island,then followed by sections on national security issues, global environmental and resource problems,and radioactive cleanup and other current issues. Kendall's Nobel Prize lecture as well as a more popular version thereof is also included (and is the only really technical material in the book). The photos in the book are Kendall's, from an 1992 exhibition of his work. Henry Kendall was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics (jointly with J.I.Friedman and R.E. Taylor) in 1990 for his research in the structure of the proton and netron. In 1969, he was one of a group of physicist who founded the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and is currently Chairman of its Board of Directors. Front Matter....Pages i-xiv Introduction....Pages 1-7 Beyond March 4....Pages 9-11 Front Matter....Pages 13-17 Press Release: Nuclear Power....Pages 19-20 Nuclear Reactor Safety: An Evaluation of New Evidence....Pages 21-36 Cooling Water....Pages 37-48 Nuclear Safety....Pages 49-63 The Failure of Nuclear Power....Pages 64-68 Front Matter....Pages 69-70 Structure of the Proton and the Neutron....Pages 71-93 Deep Inelastic Scattering: Experiments on the Proton and the Observation of Scaling....Pages 94-126 Front Matter....Pages 127-131 News Release: Announcing Declaration on the Nuclear Arms Race....Pages 133-134 Declaration on the Nuclear Arms Race....Pages 135-138 Space-based Ballistic Missile Defense....Pages 139-158 The Fallacy of Star Wars....Pages 159-164 Accidental Nuclear War....Pages 165-176 Dismantle Armageddon....Pages 177-178 Front Matter....Pages 179-182 Appeal by American Scientists to Prevent Global Warming....Pages 185-188 Speech to the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee....Pages 189-191 Press Release: Announcing World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity....Pages 193-197 World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity....Pages 198-201 Constraints on the Expansion of the Global Food Supply....Pages 202-223 Front Matter....Pages 179-182 Meeting Population, Environment and Resource Challenges: The Costs of Inaction....Pages 224-235 Bioengineering of Crops....Pages 236-268 Front Matter....Pages 269-270 Alternative Futures for the Department of Energy National Laboratories....Pages 271-281 Front Matter....Pages 283-284 Quenching the Wild Wells of Kuwait....Pages 285-295 Post-conflict Mine Clearing....Pages 296-301 Epilogue....Pages 303-304 Back Matter....Pages 305-318