4A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2006
NATIONAL CONDOM WEEK
Condoms, when used effectively, are 98 percent effective in preventing the spread of sexually transmitted infections and HIV. This is national condom week.
The Douglas County AIDS Project distributed more than 37,000 condoms last year. This included condoms distributed on week end nights downtown and in condom bowls throughout Lawrence, including two on the KU campus.The Student Union Activities office and the Queers and Aliies office, both located on the fourth floor of the Kansas Union, have bowls.
more than 4600 condoms to resident assistants during the 2005-2008 academic year. Students can purchase three condoms for 50 cents in the pharmacy.
♦ Watkins Memorial Health Center has given
- In the National College Health Assessment, a survey given to 540 KU students in the spring of 2003, 79 percent of students said they did not use a condom the last time they had oral sex, 40 percent did not use a condom the last time they had vaginal intercourse and 16 percent did not use a condom the last time they had anal intercourse.
Sources: Bill Smith, health educator at Watkins Memorial Health Center; Greg Maufield, director of education and outreach for the Douglas County AIDS Project.
LEGISLATURE
Bill authorizes use of deadly force
BY JOHN MILBURN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
TOPEKA — Security officers guarding the Wolf Creek nuclear plant would have a license to kill if terrorists attacked under a bill receiving tentative approval Wednesday in the House.
The bill, needing a final vote of approval to send it to the Senate, gives guards protecting the nuclear plant near Burlington legal protection for using physical or deadly force to stop those attempting to enter the state's only commercial nuclear facility and cause harm.
The owner of the plant also would be protected from civil liability, provided the guards were properly trained and reasonably believed there was a clear and present threat.
Liability for guards at other potential targets, such as chemical plants, feedlots or critical infrastructure, is not addressed by the bill.
Supporters cited the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the threat of future attacks as the need for the legislation.
"After 9-11, our soil is a battle ground," said Rep. Mario Goico, R-Wichita and chairman of the Select Committee on Kansas Security.
The bill also creates a new felony of trespassing on a nuclear
generating facility with a prison sentence of up to 36 months.
Goico said the bill would give the Wolf Creek guards the same authority as military personnel if they were called out to defend the perimeter of the nuclear plant during time of heightened alert.
The guards would have the authority to detain intruders or shoot to kill them if they had reasonable belief that there was a threat to the plant or its personnel.
Democrats said the bill went too far in giving the plant's operators too much immunity from liability, saying they should be held accountable for properly screening, hiring and training their guards.
As you were, cadet
"The term justified is not a term of art in the legal world," said Rep. Paul Davis, D-Lawrence.
Guards would be held harmless only in circumstances spelled out in the law, said Rep. Carl Krehbiel, R-Moundridge, and failure to provide proper training would be grounds for civil action.
However, legislators said they didn't want a situation where terrorists could launch an attack and then turn around and file a lawsuit against Wolf Creek's operators and guards for defending the plant.
Cadet Sarah Fortier, Overland Park junior, stands at attention with her battalion. The ROTC students participated in weekly physical training sessions at 6 a.m. three times each week.
Michelle Grittmann/KANSAN
GOVERNMENT
EPA eliminates gas additive
BY ERICA WERNER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — States no longer will have to add corn-based ethanol or MTBE to gasoline to fight pollution
— a requirement that costs as much as 8 cents a gallon — under rules announced Wednesday by the Environmental Protection Agency.
They eliminate a mandate from the 1990 Clean Air Act that gasoline used in metropolitan areas with the worst smog contain 2 percent oxygen by weight. The law did not say which oxygenate must be used, but most refiners use either ethanol or methyl tertiary butyl ether, known as MTBE.
California, New York and Connecticut unsuccessfully had asked the EPA for a waiver of the requirement because the states had banned MTBE after
finding it polluted the ground-water. The states were forced to use ethanol, which they contended worsened pollution problems.
In denying the waiver request, most recently in June, the EPA said the states had not shown that using an oxygenate had prevented or interfered with their ability to meet federal air standards. Some officials in the states contended the denial was political because ethanol production is a boon to corn growers in the Midwest.
The rules announced Wednesday put in place a part of the energy bill President Bush signed in August that did away with the 2 percent oxygenate requirement.
"The federal requirement has forced California's refiners to use an oxygenate even though they can make cleaner-burning gasoline without MTBE or ethanol," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. "The announcement means that California refiners will finally be allowed to make gasoline that is cleaner burning than what they are making today."
The rules will take effect nationwide on May 6 and in California 60 days after their publication in the federal register, which should happen within the next three months, said EPA spokesman John Millett. California has a different status under clean air laws than the rest of the country because of the state's pollution problems.
Parts of more than a dozen states fall under the 2 percent oxygenate requirement, according to the EPA, while others use oxygenates voluntarily. Nationwide, about 30 percent of gasoline contains oxygenates.
The states required to use oxygenates in certain areas are: California, Connecticut, New York, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.
Oxygenate additives on average increase the price for gasoline by 4 cents to 8 cents per gallon, the EPA estimates. But the agency says the benefits include at least 100,000 tons per year fewer smog pollutants nationally, equivalent to the tailpipe emissions of 16 million vehicles.
Refineries now have other ways to blend cleaner-burning fuel that will allow states to achieve clean air benefits without using oxygenates, the EPA says, though states still can use oxygenates if they choose.
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KAPLAN TEST PREP AND ADMISSIONS
SPECIAL PRACTICE TEST EVENT
YOU'RE INVITED TO A
GMAT | GRE | LSAT | MCAT | DAT | OAT | PCAT*
Take a FREE practice test at this event and you'll receive a detailed score analysis and exclusive strategies to help you prepare for Test Day!
Saturday, February 25th University of Kansas I Wescoe Hall
ENROLL TODAY
Limited seats are available. Call 1-800-KAP-TEST or visit kaptest.com/practice.
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