Lecturer outlines crises in ecological imbalance
Man is lucky to have survived this long when you consider what he has been doing to his environment, said LaMont Cook Cole, professor of ecology at Cornell University, as he attacked the problems of over-population and pollution.
About 300 persons attended the second session of the 11th annual Henry Werner Lecture series sponsored by the chemistry department in Malott Hall yesterday.
Speaking on "Man's Responsibility to the Environment," Cole suggested that "we think of the earth as a space ship and that we are all passengers together." Anyone on the ship, he said, would want to avoid doing anything to damage it.
Population prime problem
Population prime problem "One of the worst strains on the life support systems," Cole said, "is man's population growth.
"If we do not solve this problem, we won't be able to solve the others."
Cole said he would like to see the United States take the lead in population control. He suggested that the United States:
- make free contraceptive devices and advice available to the entire population.
● make abortion in the first three months as easy as having a tooth pulled. It is inhumane to
force women to bear children they do not want, Cole said.
- give women between 15 and 44 years of age a bonus of $100 or $200 each year for not having children.
"We should cease giving a bonus to women for having children," he said.
"If we divided the land area of the earth by the population," Cole said, "we would have 43,000 square meters for each person, but at our present two per cent a year growth rate, we would bring this down to one square meter a person in 500 years.
"Our descendants would literally have standing-room-only, and that includes such inhospitable areas as Antarctica, Greenland and the Sinai desert."
Man-made blunders
Cole cited examples of "economic disasters" brought about by "engineering feats." He said our economic considerations were usually at variance with ecological principles.
Lake Kariba in Rhodesia-Zambia, at 17,000 square miles, the largest lake ever created by man, proved uneconomical when the fish catch fell disastrously, Cole said.
Forty years ago, the pollution of Lake Erie was predicted by ecologists, Cole said. The fish crop has declined from
25,000,000 pounds in 1925 to a scant 1,000 pounds in 1965.
Cole said scientists at Cornell University have pointed out the potential dangers of a nuclear reactor on the shores of Lake Cayuga, New York, but excavations have begun amid the controversy.
He also believes the new canal across the isthmus of Central America should not be built until studies have been made to show the effects on the ecological balance. He said the two sides of the isthmus have been separated too long, and that some of the sea life have started speciating.
Cole said the use of nuclear devices for excavating and digging should be carefully studied. The waste heat—energy—given off by different fuels amounts to seven per cent per year. In 90 years this would be enough to raise the earth's surface temperature by one degree centigrade. This amount could drastically change the climate of the world, world boundaries and agricultural potentialities.
In 800 years, earth's surface temperature would be raised three per cent centigrade, enough to melt the polar ice caps; increase the sea level by 100 meters, and alter the world's coastline. All of Florida could be under water and most of the world's capitals, too, he said.
Denies memory of shooting
LOS ANGELES (UPI) — Sirhan B. Sirhan contends he cannot remember shooting Robert F. Kennedy.
Yet under hypnosis the 24-year-old Arab immigrant has re-enacted the scene down to the most minute detail and pulled the trigger of an imaginary gun.
This will be a basic facet of the defense case when the trial resumes today. The prosecution ended its presentation late Wednesday after calling 56 witnesses to back up its charge that Sirhan carefully plotted and
Feb. 28
1969 KANSAN 7
executed the murder of the New York senator.
Sirhan's mother and two brothers are expected to take the witness stand today to tell of Sirhan's having seen Arab-Israeli atrocities in Palestine as a child which caused him to go into trances for hours and which persisted up to the time of Kennedy's shooting.
The hypnosis was among several tests administered Sirhan, including the Rorschach ink blot series and other psychiatric examinations, during the investigation leading up to his trial. All of the findings were expected to be introduced in the defense case.
One of the last prosecution witnesses, William Jordan, a police officer of 15 years experience, testified Wednesday that Sirhan was one of the "most intelligent and alert" persons he had ever interrogated.
Dr. Thomas Noguchi, the Los Angeles coroner, was the last witness. He testified that the bullet wound in Kennedy's brain caused death.
The state did not formally rest its case. Deputy Dist. Atty. Lynn Compton said there was some "housekeeping" to do in entering certain exhibits for the record and one handwriting expert is to be recalled,
Grant to provide training
The Public Health Service has awarded a $37,130 grant to the University of Kansas department of social work for its field training unit in Leavenworth.
Aasa George, professor of social work, will administer the grant which will provide support for five graduate students to continue on-site training.
Graduate students are: Sister Jean P. Krueger, Kansas City; Harlan Coatney, Bonner Springs;
Sister Virginia Fetters, Kansas City, Mo., and Diane Gorup and Anita Wilkerson, both of Kansas City.
Norwegian Air Losses
OSLO (UPL)—The Norwegian Air Force lost seven aircraft in 1968 — four F-5 Northrop jetfighters, two UH-IB helicopters and one C119 transport plane
Half-price to college students and faculty: the newspaper that newspaper people
read...
At last count, we had more than 3,800 newspaper editors on our list of subscribers to The Christian Science Monitor. Editors from all over the world.
There is a good reason why these "pros" read the Monitor: the Monitor is the world's only daily international newspaper. Unlike local papers, the Monitor focuses exclusively on world news — the important news.
The Monitor selects the news it considers most significant and reports it, interprets it, analyzes it - in depth. It takes you further into the news than any local paper can.
If this is the kind of paper you would like to be reading, we will send it to you right away at half the regular price of $26.00 a year.
Clip the coupon. Find out why newspapermen themselves read the Monitor - and why they invariably name it as one of the five best papers in the world.
THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
FOCUS I.&.goals Where and how?
The Christian Science Monitor
1 Norway Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
Please enter a Monitor subscription for the name below.
I am enclosing $ ___ (U. S. funds) for the period
checked. □ 1 year $13 □ 9 mos. $9.75 □ 6 mos. $6.50
Name
Street Apt./Rm. #
City State Zip
□ College student Year of graduation
□ Faculty member P-CN-65
Returning to Yuk Down Looking for a New Name! Enter the Contest and Rename Your Favorite Yuk Group
?
?
STARTING MARCH 3-MARCH 29 Every Night 8:00-12:00 Except Sundays Don't Forget the FREE MATINEES Friday & Saturday!
MARCH 7-
A Beautiful
New Singer