Community Service: How effective Is It? Back Page Dessert with Mr. Lathan - pig style Back Page USA fans are disappointed in world championships Page 3 the north Carolina school of science and mathematics 1219 broad street, durham nc 27705 t voixxx http://www.ncssm.edu/stentorian november2002 Out of the Bubble GreenPower comes to NC ilMILY CURRIN Anna Goldstein Have you noticed that it isn't frigidly cold in all of the classrooms around campus anymore? That's the key that the heat has finally been turned on, and that means that autumn is here. Slip on your coat and meander outside of campus for your own health and sanity (and please, may I reiterate, that when you are having "fun" away from cam pus you should not complain about homework - it's a per sonal pet peeve.) Music 11/22; Acoustic Syndicate; Cat's Cradle, Carrboro Arts 11/27-11/29: Proof; UNC-CH 12/3: Fosse; Duke University, Paige Auditorium Movies Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Die Another Day (Halle Berry, Pierce Brosnan) Solaris (George Clooney) / Spy (Eddie Murphy, Owen Wilson) The Rules of Attraction-, it's tragic and disturbing, but an interesting movie about life. Miscellaneous 11/22: New Years: A Celebration of Lights; Alltell Pavilion at Walnut Creek, Raleigh Dating In spite of the chilly weather, here arfe a few things to warm up your body (as well as your stifled libido). Act like a kid again. Jump in those huge mounds of leaves calling to you from the neigh borhood houses around school. Do it like your parents did. Hot chocolate first dates (don't forget the marshmal lows). Or, if you have any other ideas, you can try them out with me...(wink.wink). E lectricity. You love it, you need it, and you have constant access to it. Every time you flip a light switch, send an email, or even flash a Smart Card, electric energy simplifies your life. The question is: do you know where this energy comes from? NCSSM, along with all of Durham County, gets its ener gy from the electric utility Duke Power. Because North Carolina has a regulated ener gy market, corporations don't have to compete for their cus tomers' money. The main elec tric suppliers are Duke Power, Carolina Power and Light (CP&L), and some smaller companies and cooperatives. Everyone in the Duke service area must buy Duke electrici ty, which is fueled mostly by coal and nuclear power plants. Many believe that, although corporations may be benefiting from the current system, the environment is suffering. According to Greg Gangi from the Carolina Environmental Program, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, mercury, and fine particles are all dangerous pollutants that come from coal-fired power plants. These substances contribute to human illness, acid rain, and global warming. "Nine of the ten warmest years in history have occurred in the past decade," writes J.D. Spengler, a professor at the Harvard School for Public Health. Complaints about nuclear Tom Hall, Grist Magazine power are fewer, but trans porting and disposing of nuclear waste is a threat to the environment and to national security. International efforts to resolve the energy crisis have been in the works for years. Widespread concern about the recent climate change led to a series of United Nations sum mits that resulted in the Kyoto Protocol. This treaty calls on world governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase use of renewable energy. The Protocol is sup ported by most major world powers, including Japan and the European Community. President Bush rejected the Kyoto treaty in March 2001, despite a report from the Environmental Protection Agency which confirmed that human activity is causing seri ous climate changes. The Bush administration has pro posed other plans that will slow the growth of green house gas emission instead of actually reducing emission. On the state level, there will soon be an option for con sumers to support renewable energy sources. The program is called NC GreenPower, and it is a type of "green pricing" that will allow utility cus tomers, like NCSSM, to buy energy in units of 100 kilo watt-hours that comes from solar, wind, hydroelectric, and biomass power. These blocks will be available on a monthly basis for a premium of $4 each. According to Duke Continued on Page 2 Current Political News Bryan Butler H earing daily about the political/military situ ation in the Middle East and the controversial sen ate race here in North Carolina, one might think that these issues are the only sig nificant ones going on in poli tics currently. That is certain ly not the case. Here are some of the hundreds of other recent happenings in the world of politics, handpicked from var ious sources, including The Washington Post, Reuters, the Associated Press, and the Economist: Pregnant women no longer being considered for inclusion in government health pro gram by Bush administration Recently, the Department of Health and Human Services stated that children, from con ception, were eligible for care under the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Previous legislation including pregnant women in govern ment health programs is no longer supported by the administration because of last month's ruling. Legislators belive that, by applying cover age to the fetus, the coverage for the women is no longer needed. Possible new head for FDA A key Senate committee has approved President Bush's nominee to head the FDA, Mark McClellan, a physician- economist. However, the Senate as a whole will have to approve McClellan before he gets the job. EPA fears nation's water unsafe A recent EPA report says that 45% of our nation's waterways are too polluted for fishing or swimming. Currently the federal govern ment spends $1.35 billion a year on sewage treatment modernization, but Congress is planning to raise the amount to $4 billion. Rwanda pulls troops out of Congo Hopefully Congo's four- year war is over, now that Rwanda has pulled all of its troops out. Bandits and rebels are still fighting, though. The fighting in Congo has been very bloody and involved troops from many neighboring nations. Continued on Back Page