June 2 News Items

NASA Implementing Space Station as a National Laboratory (Source: SpaceRef.com)
U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), ranking member of the Science and Space Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee, praised NASA's report outlining the steps toward implementing the congressionally-mandated designation of the U.S. portion of the International Space Station (ISS) as a National Laboratory. "We now have a firm foundation on which to plan for the full and complete use of the space station as it was always intended. I am especially delighted the report notes the high level of interest in future ISS research already expressed by such agencies as the Department of Education, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense. This is exactly the sort of diversified scientific interest we envisioned in designating the National Laboratory."

Bush Proposes Climate Change Approach (Source: What's New)
President Bush rejected the Kyoto treaty six years ago, saying it would "harm our economy." "Climate change" did not show up in Bush’s vocabulary until his 2007 State-of-the-Union address. Yesterday, however, pressured to take action, he trotted out his "new international climate change framework," declaring "the United States takes this issue seriously." Other leaders at next week’s G-8 summit, who are leaning toward a bold German plan to reduce greenhouse emissions 50% by 2050, are unlikely to be impressed. The plan outlined by the White House contained no concrete targets or dates, no enforcement mechanism, no penalties for noncompliance, and it wouldn’t take effect until four years after Bush leaves office.

What Climate Problem? NASA Head is on a Different Planet (Source: What's New)
Just two hours before the President’s remarks, Michael Griffin, the man Bush picked to head the agency charged with collecting climate change data, was interviewed on National Public Radio. He defended cuts in programs to monitor climate change: It frees resources for a manned moon base, and a new crew transportation vehicle to take astronauts to the Moon, Mars and the space station. He saw no need to take action against global warming. "Who has the privilege of deciding that this is the best climate for all other human beings," he asked? Just two months ago the IPCC report detailed the enormous cost of global warming on human life. Where has he been?

Anti-Missile Test: Last Week's Test was Very Realistic (Source: What's New)
The target missile never got off the ground. After all, what rogue nation, even one as nutty as N. Korea, would launch a missile at the world's dominant nuclear power? The return address is on the package. The nuclear threat today is from weapons in cargo containers, or assembled in a target country.