4A - Wednesday, January 28, 2009
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
be* Midian iail
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the University of Michigan since 1890.
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Ann Arbor, MI 48109
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ROBERT SOAVE COURTNEY RATKOWIAK
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR
GARY GRACA
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Hi Friends, I wanted you all to be among the first
to know that I've launched my new
political action committee, SarahPAC."
- posted by former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin on her Facebook account, announcing
the creation of a committee to remain a player in national politics, as reported yesterday by CNN.
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position ofnthe Daily's editorial board. All other signed articles
and illustrations represent solely the views ofntheir authors.
Technology overhaul
'U' and state would benefit from G.G. Brown renovations
T ucked away on North Campus, the G.G. Brown Laboratory
Building is in desperate need of a renovation. As a result
of its outdated resources, the Mechanical Engineering
Department, which resides in the building, has been unable to add
facilities and equipment to keep up with rapid advances in the field.
Thankfully, a new proposal to renovate the building would allow
the Mechanical Engineering Department to remain competitive
with programs at other universities. And the renovations aren't
just helpful for the University. The state would also reap the bene-
fits of a program that turns out highly skilled workers and attracts
the brightest scientific minds and newest research to Michigan,
giving our struggling state a much-needed economic boost.
ROSE JAFFE
E-MAIL ROSE AT ROSEJAFF@UMICH.EDU
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The G.G. Brown Laboratories house the
Mechanical Engineering Department,
which is consistently ranked within the top
five programs of its kind in the country in
both undergraduate and graduate studies.
The $11t million proposal to renovate the
building, submitted to the state as a part of
the University's capital outlay request for the
2010 fiscal year, would create new research
facilities for bio and nano-technologies. It
would also include general renovations like
more student-friendly classrooms. Typi-
cally, the state funds about 75 percent of
such a project, while the University picks up
the other 25 percent of the cost. But more of
the project's costs will fall to the University,
according to its expectations.
Even if the state is unable to contribute the
typical amount, the University must ensure
that this project is brought to fruition. For
the University, it's critical that the depart-
ment maintains its edge. A building that is
equipped to expose students to the future
technologies is more attractive to potential
students. Churning out the best students
trained in the most rapidly advancing fields
increases the employability of its gradu-
ates and the marketability of the program.
Advanced, cutting edge training for Michi-
gan's engineers is more important than ever,
as employment in the auto industry becomes
less and less realistic.
But keeping mechanical engineers up-to-
date with technology is in the state's best
interest as well, because projects like this
are an investment in the future of the state's
economy. With the auto industry suffering,
the state desperately needs engineers who
are equipped with the best training. A better
building goes a long way toward attracting
the best in the field to the University, which
in turn benefits the state in the long run, in
the same way that purchasing the former
Pfizer Inc. campus and expanding stem cell
research does.
At the same time, it would be overly
optimistic to presume that the proposal
could be approved unless the University is
willing to foot a greater percentage of the
project's cost, especially since a similar
proposal submitted to the state last year
was rejected for obvious financial reasons.
Luckily, the University seems aware that it
needs to be flexible in the current econom-
ic environment.
For the benefits that renovating the G. G.
Brown Laboratory Building are goingto pro-
vide, $110 million is a reasonable sum to pay.
It is necessary that the state and the Univer-
sity work together to finda solution for fund-
ing the project and facilitating the building's
long overdue renovations.
Bill Nye's got nothing, on us
Hello and welcome to Science
Solutions,theguide designed
to help those students who
have chosen class-
es in which effort,
persistence and
enthusiasm can
result in ulcers.
Just kidding! We
at Science Solu-
tions recognize the
importance of the
sciences in every- WILL
day life; without
calculus, it would GRUNDLER
be impossible to
determine the
number of people who attend Michi-
gan Football games.
Therefore, we encourage readers
struggling with math, biology, astron-
omy, chemistry, etc., to submit ques-
tions (as long as they don't contain
numbers), and we will do our best to
provide accurate responses.
Only first names will be published
so as to avoid embarrassment. As Ein-
stein once said, "There are no stupid
answers, only stupid questions, even
if the people involved are traveling at
the speed of light."
With those-inspiring words, let us
begin.
Our first question is from Steven, a
freshperson, who asks: "I'm in Math
115 and I have two stomach ulcers.
Anyway, one of my homework ques-
tions is about heating a cold yam and
finding an equation or something, so
my question is, what is a yam and/or
an equation?"
SS: Heating a cold yam is a prob-
lem that befuddles many students. In
order to analyze the question effec-
tively, it must be noted that a yam is
a unique species of Antarctic penguin
whose meat is considered a delicacy
among polar scientists. Ergo, it should
make sense that we want to heat the
yam (it is best served heated). We
hope this answers your question. And
an "equation" is simply the Latin form
of equinox, the point in time when the
Sun is located directly above Antarc-
tica.
Our next question comes from Alli-
son, a sophomore, who says: "I also
have a math question that concerns
animals. I was taking a test and one
of the problems asked us to model 'a
population of deer (a large mammal).'
Shouldn't it read 'a population of deer
(a small to medium-sized mammal)'?
I would consider a bear or a moose to
be a large mammal, but not a deer."
SS: A deer is a type of vegetable.
Eric, a freshperson who can bench
210 pounds, sends us this: "So in my
astronomy class, we talked about the
speed of light, and my GSI said light
was so fast it could circle the Earth
seven times in one second! I don't-
think that's possible. It's not faster
than the Internet, is it?"
SS: We agree with you entirely. For
instance, imagine this, scenario, or
"thought experiment": When some-
one turns a light bulb on in Australia,
does it race around the globe at a zil-
lion miles an hour and appear in your
vision? Of course not. But can you
receive an e-mail from down under?
Absolutely.
Our next question comes from Lin,
a senior: "I'm currently enrolled in a
course about coral reefs. My professor
is very nice, funny and knowledge-
able, but he wears sandals. Is he a real
scientist?"
SS: Is that aserious question?You're
asking us to base a man's credibility,
his reputation and perhaps even his
life on his footwear?
That's absurd. As anyone will tell
you, the way to determine if a person
is a scientist is whether or not they're
wearing glasses.
Lin: "What does that have to do
with anything?"
SS: One question per person.
Alan, a sophomore, asks: "Is there
any point in studying for a physics
test? One time I studied for hours and
scored a 31 percent before the curve;
another time I didn't study at all and
got an 88 percent!"
SS: Your experience is a classic case
of the Uncertainty Principle, a law
created by the great Werner Heisen-
berg. In his usual eloquent fashion,
Heisenberg states: "The Universe is
crazy, man. I mean, supposedly intel-
ligent, carbon-based life forms have
been heating cold yams for thousands
of years. Don't expect anything to be
certain." We hope this answers your
question, though we can't be sure.
Answers to those
ulcer-creating
questions.
Our next question is from Burt, a
junior, who wants to know: "How did
whales evolve from wolves? It's the
craziest thing I've ever heard in my
biology class!"
SS: What a stimulating question!
If we do a bit of detective work, we
find that the Old English word whalve
(wolf), from the Latin wharwhalv
(hairy), connoted an evil presence,
the kind that eats humans. Conse-
quently, early English mariners, upon
seeing the mighty whales for the first
time, cried out "Whalve! Whalve!" To
a passing schooner, the wind made
"whalve!" soundlikewhal,or"whale,"
and the rest is history.
Our last question is Gale, agraduate
student, who asks: "Have you taken
any science courses whatsoever?"
SS: Of course not. We don't want
ulcers.
Will Grundler can be reached
at sailgull@umich.edu.
f
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS:
Nina Amilineni, Emad Ansari, Emily Barton, Elise Baun, Harun Buljina, Ben Caleca,
Satyajeet Deshmukh, Brian Flaherty, Emmarie Huetteman, Emma Jeszke, Shannon Kellman,
Edward McPhee, Matthew Shutler, Neil Tambe, Radhika Upadhyaya, Rachel Van Gilder
JONATHAN SLEMROD I
Cap-and-trade fantasies
4
During his presidential campaign, Barack
Obama made many promises to clean up the
environment. One of his proposals, which has
been favored by other environmental activists,
was to establish a cap-and-trade program. This
would give the government the right to regulate
greenhouse gases through a system of emissions
trading. Under the plan, the government will
give businesses credits that specify how many
tons of pollutants - like carbon dioxide - they
are allowed to emit. Businesses are permitted to
then sell or trade any excess credits. With this
plan in mind, Obama promises to "solve" global
warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions
80 percent by the year 2050. That prospect may
sound great, but it's not as realistic as Obama
hdpes and will likely do major damage to our
already-limping economy.
The government's history of attempting to
regulate emissions is long and harrowed. Last
summer, Senators Joe Lieberman (I-Conn) and
John Warner (R-Va.) introduced the Climate
Security Act, a cap-and-trade proposal that was
the strongest global warming bill to ever make
it to the Senate floor. By 2050, the act aimed for
emissions to be 70 percent lower than 2005 lev-
els. The Senate held a lengthy debate on the bill
but it ultimately fell 12 votes short of advancing.
But last summer's debate over the cap-and-trade
bill was merely a litmus test. With Obama at the
helm, a new, stronger cap-and-trade bill will
inevitably resurface.
Obama probably won't be able to rely on a uni-
fied Democratic Party to help his cause. During
the debate on the Lieberman-Warner Climate
Security Act, ten Democratic Senators from
the Midwest - including Michigan's own Carl
Levin and Debbie Stabenow - sent a letter to
their colleagues voicing concerns over the effect
of a cap-and-trade on the manufacturing bases
in their respective states. And their concerns
were legitimate. A swift overhaul of the govern-
ment's climate control regulations could nega-
tively affectbusinesses that will have to struggle
to meet them.
And consumers will alsobenegatively affected.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimated
that the Climate Security Act would reduce the
gross domestic product by 0.9 percent to 3.8 per-
cent in 2030, and 2.4 percent to 6.9 percent in
2050. The EPA also predicts steep increases in
electricity and gas prices with the scheme, which
would negatively affect almost every corner of
our economy. Higher energy costs will be passed
directly onto consumers, and that includes any-
one who pays an electric bill.
One group that will benefit from a cap-and-
trade system is politicians. As lobbyists push for
more credits for the companies they represent,
politicians will reap the benefits of their favors.
Thinkingthatthe politicsofcap-and-trade would
work any other way in Washington is nothing
more than a dream. If transparency and account-
ability were major concerns of Congress, they
would support a simpler carbon tax, one which
would charge polluters a dollar amount per ton of
carbon emitted, and one that would avoid a mas-
sive expansion of bureaucracy in the process. But
don't hold your breath for such a solution to come
to fruition - politicians enjoy the clout they will
have in determining who gets carbon credits.
But if Congress waits too long to approve a
cap-and-trade system, Obama will be able to
allow Carol Browner, his newly-minted ener-
gy czar, to move towards regulating "danger-
ous pollutants" like carbon dioxide under the
already existing Clean Air Act. If this happens,
the government could regulate emissions on
everything from schools to lawnmowers, caus-
ing an enormous financial burden on business
and killing jobs. Worst of all, backdoor EPA reg-
ulation would skirt the Congressional debate on
global warming where both sides of the debate
can state their cases.
For anyone interested in continuing the debate,
the College Libertarians and Young Americans
for Freedom are hosting a lecture on February 3
by Patrick Michaels, a professor ofenvironmental
sciences at the University of Virginia and Senior
Fellow at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C.
Michaels will present a viewpoint you might not
hear elsewhere - that global warming is modest
and by no means a crisis that merits such massive
government involvement in its solution.
As Obama and Congress move toward expand-
ing government in the name of preventing global
warming, it is crucial that all sides of the scientif-
ic and policy communities are represented. This
event is a great place to start, and skeptics are
welcome.
Jonathan Slemrod is an LSA junior
and the co-chair of the University
chapter of College Libertarians.
SUTHA KANAGASINGAMJI
4
The criminal implications, of DNA
The law enforcement process used to consist of obtain-
ing a warrant, cornering the suspect and putting them in
a cell. After that came the trial and the conviction. But
starting July 1 of this year, there will be an added proce-
dure in Michigan - automatically obtaining the arrested
person's DNA.
Later this year, people who are arrested for crimes like'
murder, assault and robbery will immediately have the
insides of their cheeks swabbed and their DNA recorded
in a national database. It will then be analyzed to see
if there is a possible match for a previous crime. Under
Michigan's previous law, only the DNA of convicted crim-
inals was put into the database. Laws that require any,
person arrested for a violent crime to submit their DNA
are already in effect in several U.S. states.
Proponents of the legislation argue that this will be
a useful tool for law enforcement agencies to solve cold
cases. In some cases, the DNA could prove convicted indi-
viduals innocent. These are worthy goals, but a simple
cost-benefit analysis shows that the problems accompa-
nyingthis legislation outweigh its proposed benefits.
To begin with, this isn't a very effective use of the
state's money. The new legislation will cost the state $1
million to staff crime labs. Right now, the state could do
better by spending its money on more pressing needs.
for example, a state legislature committee on spending
recently suggested that the state cut financial aid and
scholarship funding to the University. The state should
be cutting down where it can to protect the quality of
higher education, which will determine the direction of
the state's economy as its automotive and manufacturing-
based market fails. A procedure that potentially infring-
es on the civil rights of citizens certainly isn't pressing
enough to outweigh the needs of higher education and
benefits that it provides for the state's economy.
Opponents of the bill have also argued that this legisla-
tion may constitute a breach of civil liberties. And they're
right - people who are arrested are now being labeled as
criminals instantly, without being given the presumption
of innocence that is vital to our legal system. This could
potentially start a new type of discrimination where
employers request DNA samples from applicants.
And, even for people who are never charged with a
crime, a close DNA match could be enough to condemn
them. Employers might argue that because a family mem-
ber is a criminal, a potential employee is not fit for hiring.
That may seem like a long shot, but it's not impossible.
The noble aim of solving cold cases may not even be all
that feasible. As it turns out, it's been reported that some
victims from unsolved cases are unwilling to partake
in any follow up investigations. USA Today pointed out
that reopening cases "can awaken frightening memories,
some decades old, in victims and their families" (Push to
solve cold cases has benefits - and costs, 12/23/2008). The
report also notes that even when victims are willing to
testify, prosecution is not possible if the statute of limi-
tations for filing charges has expired. So even if a victim
wants to prosecute based on DNA evidence, it sometimes
isn't possible.
It's true that this new legislation could be a benefit in
some cases, but the problems it raises are plentiful than
the potential good it could do. It's expensive, and more
importantly, it sticks people with a label who may not
have done anything wrong.
Sutha Kanagasingam is an LSA junior.
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