Download Three Media Reports by Carole Gallagher

Media Reports by Carole Gallagher
“The Search For Other Worlds,” an article by David H. Levy, in the Sunday,
September 30, 2001 issue of Parade, The Sunday Newspaper Magazine, a supplement to
The Times Herald Record, published in Middletown, New York.
Discussion and Summary of the Article:
In this article, Mr. Levy explains about recent techniques used by astronomers to
discover, since 1991, a total of 70 planets that orbit around stars in other regions of our
galaxy and far beyond our own solar system. The question modern man asks is whether
there can be other planets, similar to the Earth in physical makeup and within the correct
orbital distance from a sustaining star, that would be capable of developing and
sustaining life similar to life on Earth. Such a planet would have to be large enough to
have an atmosphere but small enough to have continents and oceans. It would need to
orbit an energy-giving star (like our sun) at a suitable distance, so as to be warmed by the
star without becoming too hot. The orbit of this planet and of any other bodies in its solar
system would need to be regular, in order for the planet to have predictable climate
conditions and to avoid collisions with other moons and planets in its solar system.
Pluto was the last planet to be discovered in our solar system by Clyde Tombaugh in
1930. However, even when using improved telescopes, Pluto appears as a faint object
10,000 times dimmer than the faintest star in the sky visible to the unaided eye. Since
1930, no new planets have been discovered using telescopes. This is because other
planets beyond our solar system are so far away in our galaxy that they are billions of
times fainter than Pluto and cannot be seen with a telescope, not even the Hubble Space
Telescope.
Beginning in 1991, scientists began to use a new method to detect far away new planets
that are too faint to be viewed directly with a telescope. The new method of planet
detection is based upon Newton’s Third Law that states: “For every action, there is an
equal and opposite reaction.” Scientists know that our sun wobbles slightly in reaction to
the pull of the nine planets that circle the sun, and, in particular, because of the pull of
Jupiter which is the most massive. Scientists decided to study far away stars in our
galaxy to see if they “wobble” in their positions. If a wobble was detected in a star’s
position, then it probably was being pulled upon by one or more planets.
In order to detect a wobble, scientists first measured the speed at which a star is moving
toward or away from the earth by examining the spectra of colors around the star. If the
spectrum is shifted to the blue colors, the star is moving toward earth. If the spectrum is
shifted to the red, it is moving away from earth. After determining the speed of the star’s
movement, any deviation or “wobble” in its speed suggests the presence of a planet or
planets pulling on the star. To exactly calculate the speed, light from the star is passed
through a chemical vapor that absorbs specific wavelengths of light.
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Since 1991, 70 planets have been discovered by different scientists using this technique.
However, Mr. Levy’s article focuses on the planetary discoveries of two scientists in
particular, Paul Butler and Geoffrey Marcy who are members of the University of
California Planet Search Project. Butler and Marcy have discovered 47 of the 70 planets
using this technique. Their most significant discovery has been that star 47 Ursae
Majoris, (which is 46 light-years away) has two planets that orbit the star in almost
circular paths. One planet is about three fourths the mass of Jupiter and the other planet
is about three times the mass of Jupiter. Scientists hypothesize that since these two
planets orbit their star in “peaceful” circular orbits, there would be plenty of room in this
solar system for smaller worlds (planets) that could sustain life like on earth. The smaller
planets may not yet be detected because the pull of the two Jupiter-like planets may mask
any smaller planet’s influence on star 47 Ursae Majoris.
Comments:
I found this article to be complimentary to the environmental science that we have been
studying in our textbook, Living in the Environment. All semester, we have been
learning how the perfectly balanced chemical, biological and physical systems on the
earth work to sustain life and how man needs to work to maintain these earth balances, if
life as we know it is to continue. In this article, we see that scientists have found a way to
explore for other planets that may be capable of sustaining life because they have mass,
orbits and suns similar to those of the earth. The irony is that any planet capable of
sustaining life is so far away that man will never be able to visit it, so we better learn how
to preserve the quality of life we have right here on earth.
“Whitman Says PCB Dredging Will Proceed,” an article by Kirk Johnson, in the New
York Times on December 5, 2001.
“E.P.A. Once Again Orders G.E. to Clean Up Hudson River,” an article by David
Stout, in the New York Times on December 4, 2001.
Discussion and Summary of the Articles:
The articles explain that EPA Administrator Christine Whitman announced on December
4, 2001 that the EPA would move forward with a $500 million dredging plan to remove
PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls) pollution from the upper Hudson River. The PCB
pollution had been caused by the General Electric Company’s leaking and dumping of
PCBs into the River from its factories in Hudson Falls and Fort Edward for over more
than a 30 year period and until the use and the manufacture of PCBs were banned in
1977. PCBs accumulate in the tissues of fish and are linked to cause cancer in both
animals and humans. During this 30 year period, G.E. dumped and leaked an estimated
one million pounds of PCBs into the River.
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Director Whitman’s announcement means that the EPA is sticking by its original order
on August 1, 2001 to General Electric that it must go forward with a cleanup. The final
project cleanup plan will be designed over the next three years. The cleanup will focus
on a 40 mile stretch of the Hudson River between the Troy Dam and the Thompson
Island Pool near Schuylerville. Approximately 2.65 million cubic yards of river bottom
will be dredged over a 5 year period to remove 150,000 pounds of PCBs.
There has been much controversy as to whether dredging the River to remove the PCBs
will do more harm than good by stirring up the PCBs and reintroducing them into the
water environment. G.E. and other opponents to the dredging have contended that the
PCBs are now settled in the River bed and buried in the River’s mud. G.E. contends that
the PCBs may pose less of a threat if left buried than if they are resuspended by the
dredging activities. Many environmental groups, such as Scenic Hudson and the Natural
Resource Defense Council, have supported the dredging proposal.
Comments:
I am very interested in this issue. In the past, while EPA had the dredging plan under
consideration, some municipalities located along the Hudson River had asked
municipalities in my area to adopt Resolutions in support of the plan to dredge the PCBs
from the River. I know that in deciding whether or not to support the dredging, local
municipal governments grappled with the question whether the dredging would be
beneficial in removing the PCBs or whether the PCBs were better left buried in the river
mud. No one has an easy or complete answer to these questions. As the articles mention,
this dredging project will be one of the longest and most complex environmental cleanup
projects in our nation’s history. I believe that the EPA will need to monitor the Project’s
progress very carefully to learn whether the dredging is helping or hurting the River’s
ecosystem.
“A Practical Way to Make Power From Wasted Heat,” an article by Kenneth Chang
in the New York Times on November 27, 2001.
Discussion and Summary of the Article:
This article discusses that Dr. Peter L. Hagelstein, Professor of Electrical Engineering at
M.I.T., together with the Research and Development Laboratories Staff of Eneco, Inc., a
small Salt Lake City company, have developed a thermoelectric device which captures
some of the wasted heat generated by the automobile combustion engine and converts the
wasted heat into electricity. Eneco was created in 1991 to seek to license patents for cold
fusion technology. When cold fusion proved to be unfeasible, Eneco began research on
thermoelectric devices. The Eneco research project is being financed, in part, by the
United States Department of Defense which has been interested in using the device to
produce silent motors. The researchers are presenting their findings regarding the
thermoelectric device at a symposium of the Materials Research Society in Boston, and
they have submitted their scientific papers to scientific journals.
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The thermoelectric device is composed of three layers of a semiconductor. One outer
layer is heated. The other outer layer is kept at room temperature. The middle layer acts
as an insulation to maintain the temperature difference between the two outer layers. The
heat causes electrons to shoot out and across the other layers of the semiconductor to
generate an electrical charge. The researchers have added certain impurities to the heated
layer (doping) to increase the flow of electrons, and, thereby, create more voltage and
more current. Dr. Hagelstein admits that the research is still very primitive. The
thermoelectric device created at Eneco converts about 17% of the wasted heat that it
absorbs into electricity. This is an improvement over earlier devices that converted only
10% of the absorbed heat into electricity. However, 17% is still too low to be of much
commercial benefit. Dr. Hagelstein hopes to improve the device to absorb and convert
close to 50% of the wasted heat into electricity. The law of physics dictates a theoretical
maximum of about 50% capture and conversion of wasted heat at the temperature used to
operate Dr. Hagelstein’s thermoelectric device.
Comments:
The significance of this research is that it may lead to a way to transform heat pollution
and heat waste into productive electrical energy. Right now, the researchers are focusing
on capturing the wasted heat from automobile engines and harnessing it into electrical
energy that will power the electrical systems of the automobile. This device would
replace the alternator and increase gasoline mileage. Potentially, a thermoelectrical
device could be used to capture wasted heat from power plants. I found this article very
interesting, particularly in light of our textbook readings regarding the First and Second
Laws of Thermodynamics, the various sources of renewable and nonrenewable energy
and the problems caused by heat waste and heat pollution. If Eneco’s research could be
inplemented, it could transform how we use and harness energy
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