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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
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