Thursday, 20 Jun 2002

Going, Going ...

Yeah, you've probably heard it before: We're in the middle of a massive extinction era on a par with the one that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago -- only this one is our own doing. By the middle of this century, human activities will have erased up to 30 percent of all species on Earth, according to many biologists. Many of those species will have come and gone without so much as a blip on the human radar screen, meaning their ecological role and potential usefulness to people will remain forever unknown. In an effort to minimize the number of species that fall into that mystery category, scientists are undertaking a massive effort to create a comprehensive "family tree" of life on Earth -- from wooly mammoths to itty-bitty bacteria. The projects' backers say it will help scientists understand how organisms function within their niches, shed light on evolution, and even help track acts of bioterrorism. The project is being funded by the National Science Foundation to the tune of $10 to $12 million per year and could take up to 15 years to complete.

Simon Says

In an apparent effort to give Republican candidate Bill Simon, Jr., an edge over incumbent Gray Davis (D) in the California governor race, the Bush administration questioned Davis' commitment to protect his state's coastline and agreed to work with Simon to end offshore drilling. After visiting the White House yesterday, Simon said he had won the administration's support for negotiating an end to oil rigs on the California coast. Moreover, he walked away from the visit with a letter from Interior Secretary Gale Norton stating that Davis had played a role in approving 193 offshore oil wells. Davis and his supporters rejected that claim, saying the governor had no legal discretion to block the drilling. And they challenged both Simon's and the White House's commitment to ending such drilling, since both have close ties to the oil industry. "I'm not so sure that Californians want an oil-and-gas man like Bill Simon and an oil-and-gas administration negotiating on offshore drilling in California," said Davis reelection campaign spokesman Roger Salazar.

Small Wonder

In other news from the Golden State, California could soon have the world's toughest standards for emissions of microscopic pollutants. Regulations currently being considered by the state Air Resources Board target pollutants composed of particles of dust and soot that are smaller than 10 microns in diameter, or about one-seventh the diameter of a human hair. Such particles come from the agriculture industry and combustion in cars and power plants, and can contain heavy metals that contribute to lung, heart, and other health problems. Because of their tiny size, current filtering systems are not effective against them. The Air Resources Board estimates that 99 percent of Californians are exposed to unhealthy particle levels every day -- but even if the board approves the strict regulations, the technology to keep such particles out of the air could take a decade or more to perfect.

The Song Doesn't Remain the Same

Whales are the largest animals on Earth, not to mention among the most famous crooners -- but scientists fear that whale songs will soon become as obscure as 12th century lute music. According to new research, whale sounds might be no match for ambient underwater noise from commercial shipping, military sonar, and seismic surveys. That ever-increasing artificial din could reduce the distance over which whale songs can be heard. That's bad news for species like the blue whale and the fin whale. Scientists think that the male members of these species use low-frequency love songs (which can travel thousands of miles underwater) to attract mates -- so if the songs go unheard, the survival of the species could be threatened.