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From: Sam Wormley on 26 Mar 2010 19:04
> WHAT�S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 19 Mar 2010 Washington, DC
>
> 1. SIR JOHN TEMPLETON: THE MAN WHO TRIED TO BUY SCIENCE.
> He was Born into a middle-class family in the Bible-belt town of
> Winchester, TN. His parents, devout Presbyterians, emphasized the virtues
> of thrift and piety. Templeton learned both lessons so well that in 1968,
> he renounced his US citizenship and moved to the Bahamas, becoming a
> British citizen to avoid the US income tax. Having become one of the
> richest men in the world, he was knighted by the Queen. While Templeton
> may have genuinely believed the Christian myth, he also respected science.
> Why shouldn't he? After all, the scientific revolution led to the
> fantastic growth in the world economy that made him a billionaire.
> Believing that science and theology are two windows onto the same
> landscape, he set out to persuade scientists to delve into religion. He
> went directly to the American Association for the Advancement of Science
> with an offer of $1 million to create the AAAS Dialogue between Science and
> Religion. Not everyone was happy about the AAAS selling part of its soul to
> Templeton. Two years ago Templeton died, but the monster he created
> carries on without him.
>
> 2. A BIGGER PRIZE: HOW MUCH WOULD IT TAKE TO BUY THE NAS?
> Francisco Ayala, an evolutionary geneticist and molecular biologist at the
> University of California, Berkeley was awarded the 2010 Templeton Prize in
> a ceremony yesterday at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington DC.
> A genuinely good person, Ayala authored "On Being a Scientist," a NAS
> pamphlet on scientific ethics that should be part of the education of every
> scientist. Ayala is a staunch opponent of Intelligent Design. The first
> recipient of the Templeton Prize was Mother Theresa in 1973; in 1982 it was
> Billy Graham, and in 1993 Charles Colson of Watergate fame, but his award
> was delayed until he got out of prison. Most of the others who won the
> prize are not household names. In 1999, however, Templeton had an
> epiphany. Every recipient since has been a scientist or philosopher,
> including one Nobel laureate, Charles Townes. News accounts put the cash
> value of the Templeton prize at $1 million, but it�s now closer to $1.5
> million, making it the largest cash prize for intellectual accomplishment
> in the world. The endowment for the prize stipulates that the cash value
> shall always be larger than the Nobel Prize. It�s awarded annually
> for "spiritual progress." How did the NAS get into this? Having once
> sought to buy the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the
> Templeton foundation must have set its sights on a bigger prize.
>
> 3. CLIMATE: THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO REDUCE THE CARBON FOOTPRINT.
> John Broder in today's New York Times says the concept of "cap and trade"
> is in wide disrepute, with opponents branding it "cap and tax." So what do
> we do? Of course we need to increase efficiency, reduce waste and protect
> the environment, but these things will only slow the process we're already
> in. What must be done is to reduce the fertility rate to below two, and
> keep it below two until world population drops to about a third of what it
> is now. It requires no draconian measures. We have only to educate women.
>
> THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.
> Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
> University of Maryland, but they should be.
> ---
> Archives of What's New can be found at http://www.bobpark.org
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