“Pool water is a complex bit of chemistry that all begins with an old
friend, that double-edged sword called chlorine. Gallons of chlorine are added
to pools in the form of bleach to kill off bacteria. Without a disinfectant like
chlorine, swimming pools would be an infectious disease outbreak waiting to happen.
The flip side is that chlorine is highly reactive; it not only kills bacteria,
but also combines with organic chemicals coming from people’s bodies. ...
These reactions create chloramines and trihalomethanes (THMs), a brew of toxic
chemicals that are the culprits behind all the dry skin, frizzy hair and heavy
chlorine odor. ... Like swamp gas emerging out of a lagoon, the chloramines and
THMs waft out of the pool and into swimmers’ lungs. And they are just as
harsh, if not harsher, on airways than on skin.”
— Dr. Gary Lee Ginsberg, lecturer in epidemiology and public health, in
his article, “Swim at Your Own Risk,” E/The Environmental Magazine,
March 4, 2008.
§
“Right now, the United States is enjoying a very special moment in world-historical
affairs. The Bush administration’s policies may have made it highly unpopular
in many parts of the world, and America’s relative economic heft is nowhere
as great as it was 50 years ago, but in terms of sheer military power, the United
States is unequalled, not just in relation to other countries like China and
Russia but in all of history.”
— Paul Kennedy, the J. Richardson Dilworth Professor of History, in his
article, “Look Before You Leap,” New Nation (Bangladesh), March 5,
2008.
§
“Governments will have to grapple with tough choices under any global emissions
policy strategy. We can’t escape the fact that somebody somewhere — and
soon — will need to start paying the price for such a policy. ... The reality
is that a sacrifice of some sort will have to be incurred by the present generation
for the sake of people who will exist many years from now, in richer societies
than ours and, most probably, in countries not our own. ... Not surprisingly,
the proposition that today’s relatively poorer generations should help
richer future generations to live better is particularly hard to sell to citizens
of developing countries.”
— Ernesto Zedillo, director of the Center for the Study of Globalization,
professor in the field of international economics and politics, and adjunct professor
in forestry and environmental studies, in his article, “Carbon Prices,
Not Quotas,” Forbes, March 6, 2008.
§
“While the U.S. has high scores [on the 2008 Environmental Performance
Index] on some issues — drinking water, sanitation, forest management — we
have very weak results on a number of issues including policies to address climate
change, ozone air pollution affecting nature and sulfur dioxide emissions. In
Europe, people are shocked that the U.S. ranks as high as 39th as all they hear
about are our poor results on greenhouse gas emissions. Within the U.S., people
are shocked to hear that we rank as low as 39th as everyone assumes that we are
the world’s environmental leaders.”
— Daniel Esty, the Hillhouse Professor of Forestry and Environmental Studies, “U.S.A.
Slips Behind Ecuador in Environmental Ranking,” NBC30.com, March 6, 2008.
§
“American theater has virtually no conception of public dialogue, no space
to consider our broadest concerns as Americans. In the deepest sense, ours is
a theater of private enterprise: Its economic base and its prevailing subject
have a common identity. But with this play we imagined a theater that could use
the simple commonality of attending a play, of being an audience, as a platform
from which to take account of our shared history as citizens.”
— Elinor Fuchs, adjunct professor of dramaturgy and dramatic criticism,
and Joyce Antler, about their play “Year One of the Empire,” an account
of the three-year war fought by the United States in the Philippine Islands from
1899 to 1902, in their article, “Year One of the Empire: Why We Wrote a
Play About the Spanish-American War,” History News Network (WA), March
17, 2008.
T H I S
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
Emissions cuts could actually aid economy . . .
Trudeau to be honored for raising awareness of veterans’ issues
Saturday series returns to remind ‘kids of all ages’ that . . .
Concert honors ‘Black National Anthem’ composer
RNA molecule found to suppress lung cancer tumors in mice
ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIPS
-
Gary Brudvig is appointed the Eugene Higgins Professor
-
Roberta Frank named the first Marie Borroff Professor
-
Scott Miller is designated the Irénée duPont Professor
Grant to Yale Cancer Center will promote clinical trials . . .Conference pays tribute to Brazilian statesman and author . . .Exhibition features Haggadah illustrations by modern artistsNew exhibition space hosts show exploring themes of loss, renewal‘SCLAVI’ tells tale of emigrant’s search for his place in
the world‘Religion and the Big Bang’ is the theme of Shulman
Lectures‘Faith and Fundamentalism’ is focus of three-part Terry Lectures‘Visual Exegesis’ features artistic interpretations of biblical
textsThe relationship between photography, history and memory . . .‘Middle Passage Conversations’ will bring scholars together . . .Conference to explore benefits of alternative, complementary therapiesBulletin Home
|Visiting on Campus|Calendar of Events|In the NewsBulletin Board
|Classified Ads|Search Archives|DeadlinesBulletin Staff
|Public Affairs|News Releases|
E-Mail Us|Yale Home