the-BA : Science News Digest

Wind turbines - coming to a back garden near you? (Copyright: iStockPhoto.com/Joe Gough)

In the news this week, how far would you go for climate change? Which is the most carbon-friendly place in the UK? Plus, Tony Blair and Lionel Blair – separated at birth?

What personal sacrifices would you make to tackle climate change? Replace your light bulbs with energy-saving ones? Recycle? Install a wind turbine?

According to a poll carried out by the Guardian/ICM, 63% of Britons said they approved of a green tax to discourage behaviour that harms the environment. But more surprising (and somewhat unbelievable) was the fact that 28% said they were likely to install a wind turbine. Which begs the question – where are they planning to put them?

If you’re ready to make some small changes to your life to help combat climate change (and I don’t consider installing a wind turbine as a particularly “small” change), then look out for “Click for the Climate”, which the BA will be running with the Economic & Social Research Council and CRed (the Carbon Reduction programme at UEA) during National Science Week.

You might not be too surprised to learn this week that Londoners are the greatest users of carbon per head, with each individual responsible for 1.09 tonnes of carbon emissions per year. But could you predict which city’s population used the least carbon per head?

The answer: Aberystwyth, with 0.47 tonnes per head each year, as the Daily Telegraph reports.

In an attempt to go “green”, ministers are being offered environment-friendly cars (which, according to the Times, even allow the driver to escape the congestion charge). The cars on offer to ministers include the Toyota Prius, a petrol-electric hybrid, and a Jaguar powered by “clean” biodiesel.

So look out soon for John “Two Green Jags” Prescott...

It may be six years off, but energy experts are already warning of trouble at the 2012 London Olympics. BBC News Online reported that experts have warned the Olympics could be hit by electricity blackouts as many of the UK's nuclear and coal-fired stations will have closed by then, and demand for electricity is rising.

You wouldn’t want to be watching the javelin-throwing in the stadium when the lights went out...

In other environmental news, the Guardian reported that Sir John Krebs, former head of the Food Standards Agency has criticised spending on expensive organic food in efforts to improve school dinners. 'My advice would be not to worry about the organic, but worry about your kids having more vegetables,' he said.

Organic food was not the only thing on the menu this week – so, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s annual conference, was early man...

It seems that the popular view of our ancient ancestors as hunters who conquered all in their way is wrong, reported BBC News Online. Instead, early humans were on the menu for predatory beasts. But the flip side of this was that it may have driven humans to evolve increased levels of co-operation.

Hang on... Did that say “evolved”?

Alarmed at the rise of creationism and the "intelligent design" movement, the AAAS has enlisted the help of about 300 teachers who attended their conference to discuss the national debate over evolution.

'We are not rolling over on this,' said its chief executive Alan Leshner in USA Today. 'It's too important to the nation and to the nation's children.'

It’s not just the US that is witnessing the rise of anti-Darwin movements. The Guardian reported this week on the growing number of science students on British campuses and in sixth form colleges challenging the theory of evolution and arguing that Darwin was wrong. Some are being failed in university exams because they quote sayings from the Bible or Qur'an as scientific fact, says the article.

Scientists at the University of Leicester this week published research relating to genetic similarities between men who share the same surname. An interesting story, but so, too, was the way in which it was reported.

Most media outlets (such as BBC News Online) ran with the angle that forensic scientists could use DNA retrieved from a crime scene to predict the surname of the suspect.

Not The Scotsman, though – it had a particularly entertaining angle on the story...

'Tony Blair and Lionel Blair meeting at a family reunion? Gordon Brown bumping into James Brown at a distant cousin's wedding? The chances could be higher than many people might think. Researchers now claim men who share the same surname have a one-in-four chance of being related.'

And finally... No, bird flu stories have not disappeared from the news this week. The threat is still there, having reached France now. But if you’re struggling to be concerned, you might sympathise with Lucy Mangan in the Guardian.
According to Lucy, her lack of concern could be because it conjures up images of 'pigeons cradling the telephone in one weak wing and croaking, "No, I'm sorry, I can't come in and crap on any windscreens today - I think I'm coming down with something."'