Friday, March 12, 1999 The Magazine of the University of Waterloo Engineering Society

"Tire sum of Iruman intelligence is a constant. rlre population is growing."

-Cole's Axiom
Volume 23 Issue 4
-
-

the dwindling computer supply

Letter From The
Editor
Luke Windisch
fice sleep on the alter of
Academic Standing, because
like many others in engineer-

. '.,
...... .
'''.i:. ~
2A Systems Design
ing, I often put priority on
things that seem important at
the time, things that I realize
later tread perilously close to
I still remember my first time vividly,
back in grade II , long before the corrupt-
ing influence of a university social life had
entered the equation. Thinking back now,
I seemed so young and naive, and 1 ques-
ti on why it was so important for me to do
it. I wa!> so young and so unwise, and
there was no need for it, yet the night that
it happened, it was getting late, and I was
feeling giddy with excitement as the sec-
onds ticked into minutes, and the minutes
into hours. I think I was also inebriated
with curiosity, the dark thunderclouds of
my questions and desire to try it rolled in,
unstoppable until they clouded my judge-
ment completely. And so I did it. Of
course, like many other first timers, [ hated
myself the next day in class, and couldn't
focus on lessons because of my decision.
Where as the night before I had felt so
rebellious, alive and vibrant, I know felt
ashamed, dead and small. How could I
have let myself do it? How could J have
pulled the so-called, 'all-nighLCr'?
Of course now, in my second year of
university, I laugh at the way r once
stressed over my first all-nighter like so
many other stress over other kinds of
'first-times'. I have become so experienced
with the all-nighter, and have grown so
used to them that I have in fact developed
a technique for getting through them that
is all my own. It's distinct, and it works.
Sure, it may leave me ravished in the
morning, craving a bed more than a lover
may crave a cigarette, but my method
works and gets the job done. But then I
question, at what cost? Because really,
there is more than just the cost of feeling
hopelessly tired, fighting the tide of sleep
that slowly rolls over me as my head bobs
in lectures, struggling to stay afloat like a
buoy in a wash of surf. Indeed, there is
also the implicit cost of my physical and
mental health. A good night's rest rejuve-
nates me, allowing me to laugh and be
alert the next day, and giving my body the
chance to fight of sickness. Flower. with-
er without water, and sleep i my water.
Yet, time and time again, { still sacri-
the realm of triviality on the
grand stage of life.
But to my defence (as well as others
who do the same as me), marks are impor-
tant since they have immediate ramifica-
tion in sofar as they determine whethcr we
continue on in our respective programs.
There will always be time for sleep tomor-
row, and my body will funct ion for 48
hours straight. But no matter how well
rested I am, if ( don't know the material,
my brain wont function on the exam, and I
don't get a chance to make-up the mark
later. Now, although the trade-off often
made between marks and sleep can be jus-
tifi ed, it is useful to illustrate a broader
trend in our society: we very often only
look at the things in our lives that have
immediate consequence.
Engineering is a shining example of
thi s phenomenon. For the past couple of
terms, there has been an increasi ngly
prominent voice from concerned students,
worried about the impact of the ATOP pro-
gram. The students' concerns cover a
broad range of issues, none the least of
which is the sheer volume of students that
will soon be introduced into engineering -
especially when the last OAC class enters
university with the same year's grade 12
tudents. Yet programs like ATOP have
barely come to fruition, and already they
are on the fore-front of our conscience; we
complain about the availability of comput-
ers in the school, and hate having to wait a
whole 20 minutes for one to free-up
(admittedly however, this complaint has
subsided since the addition of the WEEF
lab computers). This would suggest that
there are currently just enough computers
to sustai n the engineeri ng population. So
what then, is going to happen when the
engineering population jumps up sharply?
I guess for the most part, this concern is
quieted by the battle cry of WEEF fund-
ing, and private sector donations such as
that received from Nortel, all of which will
help ensure that we can sustain this influx
of students.
However, 1 now challenge you to
change this engineering computer example
Pseudo-voting
5
in the following ways: substitute "engi-
neering population" with "world popula-
tion", and "computer availabi li ty" with
"food (or air, or water, or land) supply".
For many years now, ecologist , environ-
mentalists, and others have all said that we
must be careful that our population and
demands on the earth don't exceed its abil-
ity to provide for us. Yet in our society, we
frequently ignore these warnings, brushing
them off in the face of more pertinent
issues such as computer and Internet avail-
ability, or financial gain. But what we fail
to reali ze is that ultimately, ignori ng the
planet for the e other concerns is equiva-
lent to ignoring your health for marks; do
it too often and you cannot li ve. Referi ng
back to the computer example one more
time, if we were to consider waiting 20
minutes for a computer from a 'world-
size' prespective, we would see that wait-
ing 20 days for food is far worse than 20
minutes for a computer. Yet, it is the latter
(and lesser) case that we really only seem
to show any concem over, and if we are
not careful, it may soon be that the former
is the reality. And unfortunately, we have
not yet found a way to inhabit other plan-
ets when ours can no longer support us.
So alt hough WEEF and Nortel can keep
engineering going, we too often forget that
thi s planet is all that we have to keep us
going.
But r don't want to finish by spouting
doomsday gloom, because it is not too late
to save this planet, and we can effect posi-
tive change without resorting to population
limiting re trictions on children and the
like, it ju t requires a little dedication, and
a genuine effort to start making a differ-
ence now. I know that I want to have chil-
dren some day; a son or a daughter to love
and be proud of as they grow - someone
who will look at me with a gleam in their
eye when they call me dad. And I also
want to en ure that they can have the ame
dream for their children. So if that means
a little extra effort on my part now, so be it.
In short, we all owe it to ourselves, our
children, and our children's children to
make sure this planet stays healthy. It is
easy to forget how valuable and fragile it
is, so make a difference. You can only
keep buying more computers for so long
before the world can no longer provide the
re.ources to make them.
Kaboom! The Population
xrJosion
The Iron Inquisition
The Iron Warrior Friday Match 12. 1999
W 1 R I D ~ R
The Magazille of the University of
Waterloo Engineering Society
Editor - in - Chief
Luke Windi ch
Assistant Editor
Mat Pigozzo
Layout Editor
Richard Kuttner
Staff
Wil Aballe
Allison Annan
Cory Amundrud
Yasin Bismilla
Lindsay Derrah
Stuart Doherty
Sabrina Foster
Nick Gaganiaras
Alison Kudelka
Aaron Leiba
Jenny Mitchell
Caroline Page
Mary Robinson
Min Song
Zhan Huan Zhou
Contributors
Tunazinna Abedin
Ryan Chen-Wing
Danny Chow
Peter Cresswell
Kelly Fawcett
Mike Hermann
Mike Olley
George Roter
Kate Schwass
Ian Tien
The Iron Warrior is a forum for thought provoking
and infonnative articles published by the Engineering
Society. Views expressed in The Iron Warrior are
those of the authors and do not necessarily renectthe
opinions of the Engineering Society.
The Iron Warrior encourages submissions from stu-
dents, faculty and members of the university commu-
nity. Submissions should reflect the concerns and
intellectual standards of the university in general. The
author's name and phone number should be included.
All submissions. unless OIherwise stated, become the
propeny of The Iron Warrior, which reserves the
right to refuse publication of material which it deems
un uitable. The Iron Warrior also reserves tbe right
to edit grammar, spelling and text that do not meet
university standards. Authors wiU be notified of any
major ch;lnges that may be required.
Mail should be addressed to The Iron Warrior,
Engineering Society. CPH 1327, University of
Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G 1. Our phone
number is (519) 888-4567 .. 2693. Our faJ[ number is
(519) 725-4872. E-mail can be sent to
iwarrior@engmail.uwarerloo.ca
Space For Rant
" ", .
Wil Aballe
Iti,r .
,J:"J"
2A Systems Design
";.-.,
'IIl.;..
I
consider myself green. While I'd feel
uncomfortable being called a 'tree hug-
ger', I recycle everyday and r save hun-
dreds of sheets of paper that have only been
used on one side to u e later when doing dif-
ferential equation problems. And although r
wouldn't strap myself to a pole with hand-
cuffs for the rights of the animals in an anti-
fur demonstration, in the past I've helped
raise money for many environmental caus-
es. In fact, just last year, I did the CN Tower
Stairclimb for the World Wildlife Fund, and
went as far as to get several friends to join
me for the cause. Furthermore, I'm part of
the Engineering Environmental Workgroup.
But it wasn't until of late that I realized just
how little r cared about environmental
issues. In fact, a perfect word to describe
how I felt about the environment was 'indif-
ferent'.
My moment of realization came in the
middle of David Suzuki's lecture on air pol-
lution that took place at the Theatre of the
Arts three weeks ago. At this point in the
speech, he had already adeptly outlined the
current state of the ecology of our Earth
using a brilliant mix of alarming stati stics
and frighteningly vivid metaphors. David
Suzuki has a knack for putting environmen-
tal issues in perspective. For example, when
discussing the futility of driving a sport util-
ity vehicle in the city, he expressed a con-
cern that hit closer to home. With baby
troller being at the exact same level a the
exhaust pipes of these cars, he said, "I
sometimes think I would like to create a
poster showing a baby with a car exhaust
pipe going into its mouth, because that's
exactly what we're doi ng."
Bringing up the issue of indifference,
Suzuki cites the year 1992, when a group
comprised of half of all living Nobel Prize
laureates issued a warning to the world that
we are in an ecological crisis and that time
and opportunity to avert ecological disaster
is running out. Yet none of the major news-
papers and television stations covered the
issue; politicians likewise pushed aside all
environmental concern to deal with more
'immediate' issues of public anxiety, like the
economy.
I have been aware of ecological issues
since r was young. Having grown up in a
city an hour and a half away from Manila
Bay in the Philippines, I remember when I
first heard in the media that all fish gathered
from the Bay have been deemed unsuitable
for consumption. This was due to the over-
whelming amount of garbage that was
dumped there; toxic substances were being
discovered in the bodies of the fish that
unwittingly ate the pollutants that existed in
their ecosystem. The phenomenon was
known as 'red tide' and the stench of the
water could be sensed for miles. But even
then, I didn't fully realize the implications of
what had taken place.
Suzuki pointed out that indifference has
been the result of a certain mindset cultivat-
ed in the consciousness of our civilization
that the environment is something indepen-
dent from us. That is, we think that we only
'live in the environment', when in fact
human beings cannot be separated from the
environment: "We live in a human-created
environment, with a few animals that we've
chosen and a few pests we can't keep out ...
We no longer feel the same connection with
the world around us."
Consider air, one of the four 'element'
according to ative philo ophy (the other
three are earth, fire and water). It is often a
sub tance that we don't consciou ly realize
exists, when in fact, the fir t thing that a
baby needs when it leave the womb i a
breath of fre h air. We continue to need
about 20 breaths per minute, until our final
gasp death. With every breath, air
enters our mouth, our trachea, our lungs
and becomes part of us when air particle
sticks to the walls of our alveoli . Rai sing
the discussion to a philosophical level ,
Suzuki pointed out that we are the air, and
the air is us.
There r was, sitting in the midst of a
nearly full-capacity crowd, when I realized
just how sacred the balance is between all
the organisms that live on our planet and our
planet itself. I clued in to the fact that the
'red tide' situation in Manila had, in fact,
wiped out entire species, and had altered the
biological balance of the region. I became
aware that a huge collective error of the
entire human population of Manila had
caused a valuable source of food to go to
waste,. and that all aspects of the environ-
ment had modified as a result.
. The "thing that frightens me the most
about this realization is that this sort of thing
is happening everywhere. This becomes an
even scaner prospect when considering just
how quickly the population of the world has
grown in just the past hundred years, and
how much more it wiJI grow over the next
hundred. We are abusing the resources that
we have, especially those of third-world
countries, in the names of technology and
money, but at what co t?
This last thought fuels my next ranl. A
few months ago, a fri end of mine and I were
talking about the pros and cons of foreign
aid. He argued that foreign aid was a waste
of good money that can be put towards other
uses. His argument was based on the fact
that the ecosystems of many third-world
countries have deteriorated to such a dire
state that very little can be done to improve
on the present conditions.
He cited the soil in many African coun-
tries as an example. He argued that even if
foreign aid money was allocated towards
irrigating the land to convert it to productive
farmland, the land as it presently exists is
often so dried and so chaffed that it may
take more than thirty years before it can be
used to grow crops again. He then conclud-
ed that it is not worth the effort to help out
these countries that are in such an unsal-
vageable state.
If he's right, why SHOULD we even
bother? The reason is compassion. We, as
North Americans, are so blessed in so many
different ways that it would be selfish and
unmerciful not to care for those who need
our help. I don't mean to preach; all I'm say-
ing is that if we can help out a little, then we
should. Perhaps, it would be feasible to
adopt a third-world child through a foster
parent's plan. Or perhaps you can stand
fasting for 30 hours to help raise money for
those affected by famine. Ultimately, we
must exercise compassion, but it is the deci-
sion of each and every one of us to figure
out how much of an onus we're willing to
take.
REACTIONS
GUT
FEELINGS
Peter Cresswell

2A Sytems Design
om times in life ou have to 0 with our ut fce1in and leave the
facts (or lack there of) behind. Sometimes that's alf you really need,
and when the feeling is a bad one and the gut happens to belong to
David Suzuki, you know something is wrong. Something needs fixing, and
thal' s all you really ne d to J...11() W.
n Tuesday, f-ieh 23rd, David , ul.uki paid LJW H vislt to IkliVl'1 his
mes, age to a pa ked crowd in the Modern Arts lA'l'IUrl.' lIall. In a pa",SI()l1Hle
and powerful speech, Suzuki held the audience captivilt 'd for ntl hour
with examples of environJllental warning signals and personal rl'1:lting
to air quality and its conlinued deterioration owr the past one hundreu years.
Although not an expert in the field of air qualilY, SU1.uki pointed oUl that
you don't need to be an experL to connect the rise of asthma cases over the
past 50 years (which have gone from ncar non-existence to levels of 20 to
25% among children) to the pollution that mod rn society has been pUlling
into the air. From this si mple point, he extended hi. talk to a more general
discussion on the relationship between us and the air we breath.
Tn short, if we are what we eat, then we are also what we breath.
Although technically quite simplistic, he pointed out that there ;1> no divi -
sion between where the environment starts and the city ends; where human
beings end and the earth begins. He argued that seeing such a division, that
viewing the environment as being "out there" and us "in here", is a result of
human closure from the natural environment and is quite a dangerous con-
cept, one which he himself admitted to having believed in at one point.
The harm in such a concept of course is that it allows humans to tum a
blind eye to the disaster they are creating, destined to realize it only when
conditions become so grave as to be unbearable, even in the controlled envi-
ronment of city life. And that's not the point at which you want to figure out
that "we are the earth."
But without major changes in our approach to how we treat the environ-
ment - and by extension, ourselves - this is the point that we are destined for,
Suzuki said.
And so, with all said and done, Suzuki left behind an unspoken challenge
for UW and indeed the world: How to make positive environmental changes
now and not in the "near" future.
Suzuki, in classic fashion, also reminded us (although in subtle terms),
that sometimes all you need is a gut feeling; sometimes you just can't wait for
the numbers to come in before you act.
David's got a bad gut feeling about thi s one, and, to tell you the truth,
mine ain't feeling too hot either.
The Iron Warrior Friday. March 12. 1999
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A Response 0 e Socia Com entary
From The February 19 Issue
Danny Chow
2A SYlems Design
A
s the mi llennium fast approaches, people seem to
get extra sensitive about everything. I may well be
a victim of such end-of-the-century paranoia,
because after reading "A Social Commentary" in the last
issue of the [ron Warrior, 1 was quite disturbed by the
numerous negative allusions and questionable references
that were neatly disguised in the wonderfully enchanting
story of the mysterious quartet.
Maybe I am pre-dispo. cd to a biased opinion, or
maybe this one is hitting a little too close to home.
The story began with four girls in a room. Their nor-
mality was quickly eSlablished. They were engineering
students, with nothi ng "that woul d distinguish them from
any average member of the population", quietly studying
for calculus.
Ordinary enough ... so what's the fuss?
My concern is with the way the story was written. In
ali honesty, I found the column to be a refreshing change
in the Iron Warrior. It used a new angle to describe a day-
lo-day experience that everyone can identify with. The
writing is of such quality that one can find it fun and stim-
ulating. However, its delivery troubles me. Why wa their
presence described as a contaminant to a clean-room?
What is the reason behind the metonym "hellish prick of
Needles" as they studied at that particular location? Who
are those strange visitors that retreat at the sight of four
engineering girls? The answer came as intriguingly as the
figurative narrative. The "#69" was the key in solving the
enigma.
I'll give the author the benefit of the doubt and assume
that the article was written not as a bash to 2A Systems,
but to address the increasingly impersonal atmosphere
within engineering. Ever since the start of 2A, r have
noticed that students often wander the hallways of E2 like
zombies. rf people were gathering outside a room,
chances are they j ust finished a test or received an assign-
ment from their TA's. People don't say "hi" to semi-fami l-
iar faces anymore and you are always stuck in "your
room" with "your class". What happened to the energetic,
carefree spirits that once shined brightly in our eyes?
Now, from the first day of 1 A, Systems Design is
known for having its own little egregated courses. While
our class is very tightly knit, some of us have also devel-
oped habi ts that others may find peculiar. Our classroom
of three terms has become our home away from home.
Beside the pyramid of squash tournament parti cipants
all uded to in the article, is the sports news and other
announcements which some of us like to check every now
and then. And that is why so many walked in and walked
out - not because they "[chose] to retreat" but rather
because they had een what they wanted to see. Yet, the
engaging descriptions have eluded me in the case of the
one who "became disgrunt led". If that refers to the
"shmoe" who left after the Chinese food and Britney
Spears, well... who can blame him?
Now that the mystery of "what's with that?" has been
answered, the question remains, "Assuming that the arti-
cle was a commentary on the ocial apathy spreadi ng
within engineering, then why go through all the trouble to
ompetitions
George Roter
48 Mech
entry. Upon recclvmg the final award of the
evening, Parker'S incredible achievements were
recogni zed with an emoti ve tandi ng ovation.
Thi s wi nning momentum wa carried forward
into the Canadian Engineering Competiti on (CEq
thi s past weekend in Montreal. Ni ne Waterl oo com-
peti tors made the trek through (or for those smart
abstract an anecdote only to destroy its anonymity with
the cryptic reference to #U9?" Clearly it was a critique on
a specific group of people - the Sy De9'ers. Whi le authors
sometimes embellish events in order to make a point,
when doe an author cross the li ne between exercisi ng
their poetic licence and committing literary deception?
The article was by all means witty, funny and very enter-
taini ng (after all , you can't bl ame anyone for teasi ng tho e
'Sys'sies). However, it did contain a point, and it was
sharp. Personal ly, I feel that the article' question was
posed not from curiosity but from annoyance. The idea
that Systems students have some sort of discrimination
again t students of other engineering department is
absurd and would only deepen the misunderstanding
which already exists between the groups. Let's overcome
thi s hurdle together through posi ti ve and open communi-
cation.
Finall y, to the matter of the sign. My personal recol-
lecti on seems to suggest that it wa on the ground earl y
Monday morning. Although I was not there to see it fall ,
I am sure that no one ri pped it down for the sole purpose
of having a paper shoe mat. The sheet on the floor houl d
not be interpreted as a ign of di re pect to its creators, but
as an indication that people were too lazy to pick it up.
Hence, the les on we should learn, or even make our mil-
lennium resolution, is
"Give a helping hand and keep our campus clean".
Kate Schwass
O?
Student Ambassador
Association W
ater, water, water ... 100, 100, 100. These
were the words reverberating through the
banquet hali at the Ontario En gineering
Competiti on hosted by the Uni versity of Wi ndsor dur-
ing the final weekend in Febraury. Twent y-four elite
competitors sponsored by the Office of the Dean
competed for 12 different teams in six di fferent cate-
gories, and dominated with three first-pl ace fini shes.
Accenting thi s excellent first-place showing were an
additional three 2nd and 3rd pl ace fini shes by
Waterloo competitors.
enough, over) the Canadian winter to the nati onall y
recognized event hosted by the L' Ecole
Poly technique. With every maj or Canadi an
Corporation present , the Waterloo teams upheld the
uni vers ity'S reputation with many strong showings.
The tcchnica l excell ence of Lari ssa Sorenson'
Explanatory Communicati ons presentation earned
her the distinction of second-pl ace in the entire coun-
try in her category, and won her an exuberant combi-
nation of clapping and hooting from all members of
the Waterloo contingent. Thi s enthusiastic di splay of
emotion barely had an opportunity to sub ide before
Parker Mitchell was awarded first-pl ace in the
Editorial Communications category, and the Waterloo
team was reanimated. Replaying the events of the
previou weekend, Parker was called upon just
moments later to receive the ancillary award for
Social Awareness. However, this final award received
by a Univer ity of Waterloo student did not signify an
end to Waterloo's CEC experience. Along with the
McGill and McMaster (The Mac Daddies) teams,
Waterloo danced the night away to celebrate an amaz-
ing experience for all involved.
S
ome of you may have seen the trees that stretch from the
Math building to the Burt Matthews HaIL Some of you
may even know that thi s stretch of trees is called Alumni
Lane, and that it was started eleven years ago. But many don't
know what Alumni Lane actually is, so here's a brief recap.
Sporting hi s seventies attire and a slick hair lyle,
Bruno Bratti appealed to the crowd whil e receiving
his third-place and second-place awards for corporate
design and parliamentary debate (with partner Vij ay
Ramanathan), respectively. As well, Bruno received
the CODE Award for technical excellence. Also delv-
ing into the realm of technical excellence was Larissa
Sorenson with her Explanatory Communications pre-
sentation. An innovative idea and lick presentation
throttled the "MobiIMan", by students Keith Parker,
Erick Vandeweghe, Joe Philbrook, Steve Pontisso,
and Ryan Anderson, to a second-place finish in the
entrepreneurial design category. However, fourth-
year mechanical engineering student Parker B.
MitcheIl stole the evening by dominating the compe-
tition with first-place finishes in both entrepreneurial
design and editorial communications. Furthennore,
Parker won the final two ancillary awards of the
To continue the strong Waterloo showing at the
OECs and CECs, the Office of the Dean encourages
interested students to contact current competitors and
to begin thinking about topics for OEC 00 (Assuming
the world has not ended!) hosted by the University of
Toronto next February.
In 1987, the Student Ambassador (then Alumni ) Association
decided to begin the tradition of planting a tree on campus for
each graduating class after a tremendous po itive response was
. recieved to a survey given out to grads. There are several trees
that line the path, beginning at the year 1965, and moving up to
the most recent tree, 1998. Graduates were asked to donate $1
towards the cost of planting and purchasing the tree. So that is
how the tradition started.
Today, the tradition is still going strong, and graduates are
still asked to donate a mere $ I, or anything they can spare
towards planting a tree in their honour. SAA is getting ready for
yet another campaign, and we need volunteers from this year's
graduating class to help with Alumni Lane. If you can't help ou4
but would like to donate money, bright yellow boxes and
envelopes can be found at the FEDS office, the SAA office (SLC
2122), or in your student society's office. It is important to par-
ticipate because it shows people that there is a life outside the
classroom at Waterloo, a life that is beautiful, healthy and his-
toric, much like a tree.
__ evening, for Social Awareness and Environmental
_ Awareness, for his PUR (Pasteurization for
_ Underdeveloped Regions) Entrepreneurial Design
-

TI1(' Iron Warrior Frrc!Cly Mllr ell 12 1999
Does the option of a "1l0n-vote" sirengthel1 tlze democratic
process?
Point
'.
.
Mat Pigozzo
2A Mech
E
lections seem to require voters to make major deci ions on pe-
cific issues or for functions, the re.sult of which will
have slgmficant ramlficatlOns. And desPJte the potentially
hefty implications of any decisions, a voter is given only a limited
selection of possible outcomes to decide from. This limiting of selec-
tion seems to be a violation of the democratic process. In light of thi s
possibility, one must examine whether limiting choice is a necessary
evil that allows the electoral process to function effectively in our
society. It is here, considering this question, that the option of the non-
vote becomes so critical , as it absolutely allows elections to occur
without eliminating the voter's freedom of selection. If none 'of the
candidates appear equal to the office or function in question, then a
non-vote serves to register this disapproval with all other choices. It
says 'J am not happy with the options you have given me. Give me bet-
ter ones to choose from'. Essentially a non-vote means 'none of the
above'. The voter cares about the electoral process and the po ition
being vied for, but believes no candidate is suitable to the position for
whatever reason. Here lies a fundamental difference between not vot-
ing at all, which ends the message 'I do not care enough to bother to
vote. Thus, by default I will satisfy myself with whomever my peers
select.'
The excell ence of the non-vote option i that it all ows the individ-
ual to participate in electing his or her representatives without forcing
the voter to support a wholly inferior candidate. Albeit, there is not
much
political strength in such a vote, as there are usually such a small
number of them that they can be recorded for statistical purpo es and
tben forgotten, without impacting who gets into office. Thus, the non-
vote may seem like a wasted effort to some, no different than not vot-
ing at all. But this is not the case for a couple key reasons. Fir. t. one
is exercising his or her right to vote. while simultaneously making
hislher opinion and position known and nOled. whereas one who does
not vote has not made any form of political statement beyond that of
apathy. Secondly, and possibly more important, if enough these votes
were registered (perhaps not a majority but a significant percentage of
the voting population) then serious questions about the suitability of a
candidate would be raised, questioning whether they had adequate
support of the voting population to take their respective office.
Each of us has not only the right, but also the duty to elect tho e
who will represent and govern us. Naturally one would want the per-
son slhe feels would be most effective at the job. This is what make
democracy and the electoral process work. As former American
President Abraham Lincoln once stated in a peech in 1854: "No man
is good enough to govern another man without that olher's consent."
It is this consent, or lack thereof, that an individual is expressing when
slhe votes. Thus it is an important political statement. The voting pop-
ulation should have the option to make the statement as to who, if any,
of the candidates is able and best sui led to represent them and their
interests. The non-vote preserves the integrity and freedom of politi-
cal expression of the electoral process. To have anything les - that is
to restrict the freedom one has to make his or her political statement -
would be an insult to and violation of the democratic policy so highly
regarded in so many countries. and would merely be a disguised form
of augmented dictatorship.
vs.
Counterpoint
George Roter
4A Mech
I
magine living in a society where the population is held hostage by the gov-
ernment, or more specifically, one person - a dictator. Threatening specific
groups, controlling economic factors. and directing the of suste-
nance are all methods of embedding a sense of fear in the general populous,
e sential to establishing a dictator hip. Once established. a dictatorship will then
allow one person to direct change, affecting the lives of each member of an entire
nation. Differing individual opinions regarding the direction of change arc
in igniticant and might as well not exist. in fact. sources of opinion are often
extinguished to maintain the purity of the dictatorship.
Now return to the friendly confines of the Canadian society. There is no dic-
tator holding the population hostage. no government threatening specific groups,
no overall control of enterprise, 110 general sense of fear. People arc free to
express opinions on the direction of our nation. and are encouraged to direct
change. To accomplish this direction of change by the individual, which L fun-
damental to the establi hed democracy, our society employs a procedure that
selects representatives for each community. These representatives are then
solicited for opinions and votes that direct change. Allowing each member of
society an equal vote in the selection of representatives, and subsequently allow-
ing each representative an equal VOle to direct change, ensures that each member
of our society ha an ability to direct change. Thu , each vote is the functional
unit of the democratic process. and any corruption of this vote. or what it stands
one of the choices presented) an effort to record a a cor-
ruption of the vote for two primary reasons - the relinquishment of responsibili-
ty and the refusal to direct change.
Since the preservation of Ihe del1l0cralil' Il'\jllirl'" inpul (wm cudl
memba of socicty in the form of U Voll' I'lli' a rcpn.'sl'nlillivc, each 1Ill'lIlher of
society share!> an equal responSibility for thl' selection of this rcprl'scnlativc.
Thus. casting a vote in favour of O1W candidate over IInolhcr serves the process
by preserving this equal responSibility. lIowcwr, any vute thllt relinquishc the
responsibility of one member of society IowaI'd other l11emlwrs of sodety. in the
selection of a represcntativc, serves to plncc the total respol1slhility ill thl' hands
of fewer people, which undermines the democratic proccss. A "11011 VOle" has the
effect of distributing ones responsibility throughout the relllailllng Illemfwrs of
the society that cast "selective votes" (a selective vote is defined helc us one that
chooses one candidate in favour of another). Thus a singll' "noll-v()le" directly
undermines the democratic process because the political message il may cnrry
will be ignored due to its singularity. What about the cao;es of numerous "non-
votes" being cast? By wking this concept to thc extreme and assuming an
increasing majority of "non-votes". or even entirely "non-votes" except for one
"selective vote", then the democratic pr()(;css is severely threatened 10 thc point
where it appears analogous to a dictatorship. in which one person is directing
change. However, this extreme condition is not likely. and therefor\;, an interme-
diate case should be examined. Suppose that the voting during an election pm-
ceeds in a slightly abnonnal way so that tcn-pereellt of the total voles cast are
"non-votes" (some might argue that tbis is incredibly unlikely). In this case there
can be no dispute that a relatively large portion of the population has relin
quished their voting responsibility to the remainder of the vOling population.
Fundamentally. this undermines the democratic process if and only if this large
proportion of "non-votes" serves no purpose.
A brief examination of political history comes to the conclusion that "a mes-
sage", even of lhe magnitude of ten-percent of the population. will have no effect
on the direction of elected representatives. One need not search further than
Quebec politics to find an illustrative example. Recently. the Parti Quebecois was
re-elected to lead provincial legislature. However. the results of the popular vote
in the election suggested that a large proportion of the population was not strong-
ly in favour of the party's mandates. Thus.
Continued on pg. 7 ...
The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those oj the authors, or the Iron Warrior staff. Point Counter Point articles are meant to be a
thought-provoking debate on a prevalent issues related to engineers. They are not meant to be a statement of fact.
The I ton Warrior Friday. March 12. 19S:J9
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-

Tal<e A
If it falls apart ...
3A Crllllil
T
hl' orgnni/alioll of allY htrgc-scah: eVl'nt i!-. no triv-
ial 1itsk. hn instam:c, rUlling together an issue of
the 11'011 WarrIor rcquires many pieecs to fall into
place hefore you actually havc a I:hanee to get a cop)" til
WATERLOO
University
of (:tJ U -3:. N.
\ Waterloo
\
'\
t--W-______
your hand. Every issue must have sufficient written mate-
rialto fill up space, the articles must be edited and laid out
before it is put to print. It takes a remarkable amount of
work to get a single issue out to you, yet somehow we
always get the Iron Warrior printed for your reading plea-
sure. Think of what the editors must go through when
there is insufficient material to make a complete is. ue at
the deadline.
I know the stress and panic associated with having a
deadline fast approaching, barely having sufficient time
and resources to complete the task at hand. However,
when it come down to the crunch, things somehow seem
to work out. People in the end come through with their
part. People generously sacrifice their own time to help
you complete your task. Sometimes, the magic of people
and their commitment astound. me.
For example, I have organi zed several large events
where things looked pretty dismal right up until less than
24 hours hefon:: thc event r was rulling my hair out try-
ing to get thlllgs done. To my knowledge. the only part
completed was Illy own. 10 one else sccmcd to be doing
theIr part. However. when I consulted the othcr organiz-
ers, some had done some tasks that I had not anticipated.
Numcrous items on Illy "to do" list for the event were
cro'>scd 011" \\ ithout me having to do anything. All the
SIDE THE
ORIFICE!
Hand in your com-
pleted form to Betty
in the Orifice!
all
things I was not expecting to get done got done in a very
weird and unexpected fashion. Some unknown reople
offered help and assistance. Resources came fTom unex-
pected sources and people graciously offered their lime to
help out. And to top it all off, the event was probably the
best one we had run to date.
This isn't to say that you don't have to worry about get-
ting things done, but I believe now that when the pressure
is on, you can put your faith in other people to help you
out. We have all been on both ides of the coin, desper-
ately needing help as well as sacrificing our own time to
help out other people.
So, if you are doing any organi zing, re lax. There's no
point in stressing yourself out about something that i out
of your control. If ou ar helpin out in organizing an
event, do your part an more if po. si
everyone involved happy.
Have faith in your fellow humans.
/\. Zhance regular!) tealurcd in The Irun
""arrior SIOCC September I Pasl aJ11c1cs can be found at

A HEAD START ON EXAM STRESS:
Tunazzina Abedin 0 ?
2A Chelll
W
ell if you are at all like me, you spend a lot of
your time procrastinating (like I'm doing right
now). So I thought I would share some things I
do when I'm supposed to be studying, and the following
might be of some interest:
Planning that Vacation:
Well I've been planning on taking a vacation as soon
as I graduate from UW engineering. I'm still in the plan-
ning process of where 1 would like to go. I would love to
see the parts of the world I haven't seen yet (that provides
lots to choose from). r would definitely love to visit Italy,
France, Greece, Czech Republic, and the list goes on. The
best thing about travelling is the taste of exquisite tradi -
tional cuisine. Afterall, eating your own cooking isn't
exactly thrilling unless you arc a good cook. The thought
of good food (espceially since lUll 'h hour is fast
approaching) is really appcaling right about now.
So, let's assume that r have picked out thc places 1m
going to go for thaI one splx:ial vacation. 'ow the que. -
_ tion comcs to mind, how long am r gOlllg to spend in each
_ place and will I sec everything'! Will I travcl in style or as
-

The Iron Warrior Friday. March 12. 1999
a poor student who has no money? Probably the latter.
Will I get sick, or will I stay healthy? Although I don't
like to think negative thoughts, with my luck I'd probably
get sick on m} vacation.
After finding a place to go to, here are orne of the
thing I would do when I'm on my adventure. My pa sion
for photography (I'm only waiting to save up enough
money to buy a decent camera) would be definitely part of
it. I just see myself with my wonderful camera out.there
in a sunny day taking beautiful pictures.
Collecting ethnic clothe i also an attraction. [ love
collecting hats (not baseball cap ), and I have a Turkish
hat among others. So I'd get to expand my collection by
travelling. Also I would love to have a Kimono from
Japan.
And meeting all the wonderful people I would get to
meet on my trip would be the icing on the cake (icing ...
mmmm ... sugar).
But mo\ing on to other wa) . to procrastinate ...
Planning 1 'ew Year's Eve 1999:
I'm sure all of you have thought about this night at
least oncc in the past fe\\ month. , Well my roommates and
I arl' still looking for a place to go. We thought we would
drive, but wher"s a good place to go \\ilhin driving dis-
tance'? The I.?cmingly ob\ iOlls choice. , 'e\\ York. would
bc too crowd d. I would love to 11y somev.here but can
'A Procrastinator's Guide
you imagine the ticket prices? Plus, there's that whole
Y2K thing that everyone is worried about (although, per-
sonally I think that i just a hoax) . If we do fly then there
is an endless list of desinations: how about Egypt? Or
what about a night on the Thame. (in London, UK) or see-
ing the fire works in Sydney, Australia. The only thing I
know for ure i that there are Ie s than 10 months left so
I'd better make a decision oon.
Music:
Well by mu ic I don't mean ju t any music. I mean
MP3s. If you haven't been caught in the MP3 craze yet I'd
ay good for you. I till look back to my fir t term here
when r got hooked on the MP3 craze. My friends from my
I st term donn would be able to testify as to how many
hours I have spentitting in front of the computer just try-
ing to find a working link. I've progressed from
that poin!: I now have a small collection, but I till
spend a few minutes now and then downloading MP3s. If
you know a good site please let me know, and if want to
know a few v.orking ones just give me a shout.
Well that's all that J have time to talk about right now.
as J do ha\e two midterms in two days. If all goes well you
may see a sequel to thi article with mon; ideas 0J1 how to
procrastinate etTectively. If you have any sugge tions
aoout how to procrastinate (which could be Included in a
pos.ihle. equel). email me at
Signal
or
Play to Win
Ian Tien
---0
2A Comp
Offstream
Y
OU swagger into the Windsor Ca ino like a hillbil -
ly, bedazzled by the garish symphony of singing
bells and flashing lights. The tinny clink of coin
fills your ears. You drool. These boxes are ripe pregnant
. ready to burst with untold riches.
How about this machine? This machine looks lucky.
I'm going to play. Okay I 10 t. I'm going to play again.
Lose, lose, lose, win. Okay bet it all. Lost. Damn,
So you go to the craps table and bet the field because
"it's got a lot of numbers". You try your luck at blackjack,
splitting nines on a dealer' ten, hitting soft nineteens on
sixes and fives.
At the end of the day you're down two weeks rent, but
have omehow managed to convince yourself that you've
had a good time, How you can do this, I don't know.
What I do know is that playing the field is one of the
worst bets you can make in a casino, The odd are 5 to 4
against you. Why make a bet you're statistically inclined
to lose?
The total risk involved in playing games of chance can
Contilllled from pg. 5 ...
it might be expected that the party would adjust its man-
dates accordingly, That is not the case. Premier Bouchard
continues to insi t upon another sovereignty referendum,
despite the voice of a large pOJ1ion of the population.
What would be different if a relatively large portion of the
population decided to cast "non-vote "? Would the elect
ed party suddenly re-examine it mandates? If the party
did reexamine its mandates, how would it know which
direction to go? The reality of the situation is as follows:
The chances are highly unlikely that a repre entative
would re-examine hi or her mandates based on a propor-
tion of "non-vote". Furthermore, if the representative
be broken down into two 3tcgorie. : sy tematic ri:k. the
kind of risk you're ompen.ated for assuming. and un . s-
tematic ri o k. ri ' k a:umed \\ ithout compen!>ation.
Players must be off red a higher rate of return for
as uming a higher degree of) tematic rik: in roulelte
rhe hou. e pay yOll e\ en mone) for betting on red or hla ' k
(4 chance of \ 'inning), but pa): ) ou :'6 to I if you
can pIa) and a make a single number (2.6311 chance of
winning).
Financial-type per ' olls as. aciate .}:tematic risk \\ ith
the intrill. ic volatjlit of all im e tmen!. The higger the ups
and down a stock L Iikel) to go through. the the
e 'pected return must be for an investor to own (hat stock.
At the time of this writing. AOL (AOL) c\o:ed a(
86,9375; in the past 52 weeks it's been as low as 14.125
and a high as 91,8125. a percentage difference of 550\(.
Compare that with Coca-Cola Co (KO). which elo.cd ll(
63.9375 having spent the la t twelve months hetwe 'n
53,625 and 88.9375. a percentage difference of 65. sr:f.
In this context. Coca-Cola Co is low rio k. and investors
might be hoping for a 20-25% return in a year's time. AOL
owner, however, are dreaming of triple digit protits. The I
know full well that AOL. with a PE ratio of 392.05, could
fall 50% and still be overvalued, but that's a chance they'r'
willing to take.
Un ystematic ri k is the kind that you don't get com-
pen ated for; it' the kind that' po. sible to minimize if
you put your mind to it.
The best game to play at a casino is blackjack. If you
know exactly what you're doing, you can reduce the hou. e
advantage, or vigorish, to as low as 0.5%, That's pure sys-
tematic risk, But if you don't know whether to hit a . ixteen
on a dealer's eight , you might as well be throwing your
money out the window. Your lack of expeJ1i e increa es
the total risk you're a Sliming while your compensation
remains constant.
Vegas knows thi . They don't want you in a hotel room
memorizing the 2,342,732 outcomes of spl itting tens on a
dealer's ace; they'll sell you a laminated blackjack strate-
gy card that let you play like a pro; they'll even let you
place it on the table next to your c?mplementary martini.
They'll do this because they know that even if your total
risk is reduced to systematic risk alone, the odds still favor
indeed decided to re-examine his or her mandates there
would be inadequate information provided by the nature
of the "non-vote. ". Thu , the entire proportion of the soci
ety that cast "nonvotes" has refused to dir 'l'l chang ..
which fundamentally undermines the democratic process.
Thi, weakening of the dl:mocratic process has bt'en
displayed for any number of "non-votes" hcing cast. First,
the ingle "non-vote" is so insignificant that the relin-
quishment of re ponsibility cannot be ignored. econo, an
overwhelming majority of "non-votes" places the respon
sibility for selecting a representative in the hands of a
minority, which serves to drive the society to dic(utor:o.hip.
the hOll . e and your return wilt trend downward in the
long run. The longer) ou stay. the more you lose, so get
comfy.
TIle stock mar ct. on tile other hand, trend upwards in
the long run. It favors the imestor. It especially favors
those ime. who redu e their total rio k without reduc-
ing their bd of compensation. The 1990 Nobel Prize in
Economics was given to Harry Markowitz for pointing out
that diversifying YOLlr inve. tm ' nl. can virtually eliminate
un . . stematic risk. He came up \ ith th: idea of POJ1folio
Theof) ill th' 1950:. hut the e ob'l PriL.es people can be
a little slo\v on the ball 'times.
In (enn. of investment .. unsystematic risk is that
which L associated \ ith an indIvidual company, not with
the mar!"d or inJustry in general. If you randomly choose
with appro,imately the same level of sy tem-
atic ri. k. 'Oll can significantly reduce the unsystematic
risk affecting your portfolio. After choosing 20 slIch
inye. tments. the unsystematic tisk is negligible and the
(Otal risk. of the portfolio is approximately equal to the
systematic ri. k of the individual inve ' tmenu;,
Stock. prices ar' based on s stcmatic risk alone. If you
shove all your money into a si ngle stock, you're incrcn.-
ing your total ri sk for no good reason. You're getting Ie s
than your money' s worth; you're making the game harder
to \ in.
uff said. Time to choose the Signal or oise Index
for Winter 99: America Online (AOL) at $86.9375, Coca-
Cola Co (KO) at 63.9375. Lucent Technologies (LU) at
$104.3 125, Yahoo (YHOO) at $159.8125. Compaq
Computers (CPQ) at 34.25,
Okay, so Cocn-Cola i. n't exactly a tcch stock. But,
among other good things. they just started running A-Mei
Sprite ads allover China, their . ales there were up 20% in
1998, and they'rc stock is 28% ofT it. high.
Incidentally, the Signal or Noise Fall 98 Portfolio is up
49.55% . ince it inception. GLW is up 85.48%; MSFT is
lip 45.74%; AAPL is down CSCO is up 65,27%;
ATY is up 63.93%,
Third, a significant proportion of "non-votes" will either
be ignored or will provide inadeqiHtte information, thus
refusing to direct change, For these three reasons casting
l\ "non votl'" fundallH:ntnll) d 'pralles the lit morratic fab
lic of our SIll'iL' ty (ow:tt d lath'l'S 01 a
Weav
....;
(f) _ Weavers is behind the
.9- 1 ___ world's biggest deck in
..c - the middle of the weRt
a.
University Ave.
The Iron Warrior Friday, March 12, 1999
-
-
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Global

ea ure
Population
Jenny MitcheJi
3A Enviro-Chem
5,824,690,173 and counting. That is certainly a lot ofpcople to have in your home.
No one seems to mind though; everything is just nice and cozy. But is it really? The
fridge can only stay full for so long, and J definitely wouldn't want to be the last one to
have a shower in the morning. 1 wonder if the architect who designed this house expect-
ed so many people to live here.
So here we are, all 5.8 billion of us. And every year approximately 90 million more
people are added 10 the Earth. It has been estimated that by 2050 there will be 10 billion
humans on this planet. So the question we face now is, will that be too many? Will the
Earth be able to . ustain 10 billion people? Is it adequately sustaining 5.8 billion people?
There has been much debate amongst a variety of experts (from ecologists to economists
and scientists) about the carrying capacity of this earth, yet no conclusions have been
made. However, it is apparent that the human populalion has a Jot of adversities to over-
come if we want to continue to grow in this exponential manner.
So here we are in Canada, with a wealth of resources available to us all. So much
land, so much water, and so much food. However, we are very lucky because we are liv-
ing in the second largest country in the world (by area) with a population of only 30 mil-
lion people. This is not the same scenario around Lhe world though. AILhough the earth
presently has enough resource available to
Fast Facts
support its population, these resources are
not evenly distributed. Therefore, we have
95 percent of all human popula- a situation where some people are prosper-
tion growth is in the developing world ing with an abundance of resources, while
Between 1960 and 1993, life
expectancy in all developing coun-
tries rose from 46 to 62, while in
industrialized countries it rose from
69 to 74.
others are suffering rrom a lack of available
resources. Unfortunately, it appears that
the areas suffering from a lack of resources
are witnessing the largest population
growth , such as the areas of South Asia
and Africa. Thus, it can be concluded that
\l1li ........ _ __ ..... certain areas of the world are overpopuJat-
-
-

The human now
exceeds the total population of the
other 232 species of primates com-
bined. One fifth of these other pri-
mates are threatened with extinction.
The total number of people
worldwide living in poverty was 1.3
billion in 1993.
During the past 20 years, at
least 30 new diseases have emerged
according to the World Health
Organization.
In 1992, 18.5 million people
worldwide were HIV positive, while
5.5 million had developed AIDS. In
1996, 36.2 million people were HIV
positive and 12.5 million had devel-
oped AIDS.
Malnutrition accounts for 34 per-
cent of deaths in developing coun-
tries every year.
An estimated 840 million people
worldwide lack access to sufficient
food for their nourishment
Between 1992 and 1996, fish
catches worldwide increased from
84.9 million tons to 90.7 million tons.
Of the 17 major world fisheries, four
are depleted and are decIIntng.
Between 1992 and 1996. "pro-
duction" of meat worldwide
increased from 175 to 195 million
tons.
ed. However, even the areas with a surplus
of resource (such as the G7 nations, which
represent only 10 percent of the world's
population) have problems, since they con-
sume the most resources and are primary
contributors to environmental problems
such as global warming. Because consump-
tion rates arc so high in these countrie ,
cvcn small increases in population can have
a significant impact on resources.
There arc many resources that are seri-
ously stressed right now. It has been esti-
mated that 31 countries, accounting for
under 8 percent of the world popUlation,
face chronic freshwater shortage. By the
year 2025, however, 48 countries are
expected to experience shortages, affecting
more than 2.8 billion people (35 percent of
the world's projected population).
Countries likely to run short of water in the
next 25 years include Ethiopia, India,
Kenya, Nigeria, and Peru. Parts of other
large countries, sllch as China, already face
chronic waler problems. Our energy
sources - specifically, the non-renewable
fossil fuel. - are quickly being used up too,
and industrialized countrie account for
over 60 percent of total consumption.
Between 1950 and 1970 world commercial
energy u. e increa ed 5 percent a year and
by 1993, world energy con umption wa
almost 50 percent greater than in 1973.
Our food supply is another concern.
Presently, we are producing more than
enough food to adequately feed the world's
population. With record harve t of rice
and corn in 1996, it' , hard to imagine that
there would be a shortage of food, because
there isn't. Indeed. many people are mal-
nourished, but not as a result of a global
food shortage, but rather due to their inabil-
ity to afford or produce food. But thi is
not to suggest the solution is to simply bet-
ter di tribute the food that i produced,
because with declining fish popUlations,
The Iron Warrior Friday. March 12. 1999
ExplOSion!
continued development and desertification, the amount of available
agricultural areas is diminishing. In fact, the total global area used for
grain peaked in the early 1980s and has declined more than five per-
cent since then as exhausted land has been retired from production.
Further, the population has continued to expand, in many instances
replacing agricultural land with housing, roads, and industry. And
world-wide desertificat ion makes approximately 12 million hectares
useless for cultivation every year. South Africa alone loses approxi-
mately 300 to 400 million tons of topsoil each year.
The waste produced by our con umption of resources is a problem
a well. Currently, a multitude of lakes and streams are polluted, as
well as our soil and air. Beyond pollution however, since a larger pop-
ulation will consume more than a smaller population, and will there-
fore produce more waste (especially considering the present rates of
consumption and waste production), a serious problem has developed
in many urban centres that are now having a difficult time managing
the solid waste produced by residents. Industrial effluent wastes, agri-
cultural wastes, and human wastes are polluting our lakes and rivers,
greatly affecting water quality and water supplies. And we are con-
tinuously pumping toxic gaseS into the very air we breathe. From 1992
to 1994, world-wide emissions of sulphur increased from 70.4 to 70.7
million tons and industrialized countries today account for about 70
percent of carbon dioxide emissions. It is well known that these car-
bon dioxide emissions contribute to the problem of global warming.
You have witnessed it yourself; we have had record temperatures for
most of this year, and this has been the hottest decade ever recorded.
The global average temperature rose from 15.11 to 15.32 degrees
Celsius between 1992 and 1996. This increase in temperature is caus-
ing melting of the polar ice caps, and sea levels world-wide are pro-
jected to rise by half a meter by the year 2000.
There are other environmental factors that should also be of con-
cern. As each acre of tropical rainforest is cut down, we are losing a
valuable carbon filter and oxygen generator. These forests also con-
tain many undiscovered plant and animal species, some of which may
actually hold the cure to many of our disea es. However, the loss of
habitat that occurs makes most of the e species go extinct. Habitat
loss is occurring in oLher regions as well: wetlands are filled for devel-
opment, old-growth forests are logged for Lheir timber and land, and
tall grass prairies are converted into fields of wheat and oat and corn.
Each of these habitats contains unique ecosystems that are destroyed
by human development. Countle s species are lost every year, great-
ly reducing the Earth's bio-diversity, and this reduction of species on
the planet may have unexpected consequences.
The difficulty with most environmental problems is that they are
very complicated and hard to diagnose. Many of the problems will
pass, unseen from day to day, until they grow and build to a final col-
lapse. The effects of environmental system failures on the world
ecosystems and on human are tough to estimate because of their intri-
cacie. Essentially, everything is connected to everything else, so
determining the impact on a specific species or niche is complicated.
. So, thinking that we, as humans, will not be affected is extremely
naive and callow.
Luckily, it appears that there is a growing concern for the fate of
this planet (or maybe it is just a concern for human fate). Either way,
many governments now have or are planning environmental policies,
and there has definitely been
promotion of family planning.
MiIiiOM
opula tOGO
-
Growt
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
J
100
Continued on pg. 10 ...

on
1.6 ' on
in 2020
- I.ooa
1000 1200 ,a 1_
1100 2OGO
ac
A.D.
The
ru
n
n
n
Do you think that the world is
overpopulated?
By Alison Kudelka Qnd Jenn) Mitchell
Mikael Lanoe, Nuno Simoes, Rob Dekker
3B Mechanical
"No, becau e e ha en't hit the carrying capacit)' y t. People aren't dying
because we've reached the carr ing capacity, th y're dying because 'Ii e aren't
distributing food properly."
Caroline Page and Desiree Meilleur
3A Enviro-Chem
"Yes, and it is because they are coming up with cures for disease, that they
shouldn't and so people are living when they should be dying. Disea es are
nature's way of controlling the population."
Jill Tymcbak and Cheryl Card
3B Electrical
"No. The population is distributed unequally, that's what causes problems."
Dave Rokas
3A Civil
"No, I don' t think so. There will be too many pcople in the world whell lelTi
tory is equally occupied globally, including inhospitable placcs."
Robyn Head
3A Enviro-Chem
"Yes, we don't have enough food sources and we arc generating roo much
garbage for our own good."
Jill Pauls
4B Chemical
"No, there is definitely not too many people in the world. There will be too
many people in the world when no one is allowed to go anywhere because
there is nowhere to move to."
The Iron Warrior Friday. March 12. 1999
-
-

-
More Facts
Global Population Explosion (continued) that living tandards
will decline because of
Even More Facts
Approximately 300 million
hectares worldwide are now severe-
ly degraded
Current rate of rainforest
destruction: 80 acres every minute;
an area the size of Central Park
every 10 minutes; 4800 acres, or the
size of New Orleans, every hour; 42
million acres, or an area the size of
Florida, every year.
Since 1992, 300 million acres of
the original 4 billion acres of rainfor-
est has been lost.
Tropical deforestation conse-
quently releases 1.5 billion tons of
carbon into the atmosphere every
year, or 19 percent of all carbon
emissions worldwide.
In the last 200 years, the United
States has lost 50 percent of its wet-
lands, 90 percent of its northwestern
old-growth forests and 99 percent of
its tall grass prairie.
Ninety-eight percent of all U.S.
forest has been logged at least once.
Every hour, four species of
plants and animals become extinct.
By 2015, some six to 14 percent
of all species are expected to be
extinct.
Worldwide, desertification
makes approximately 12 million
. hectares useless for cultivation every
year (an area equal to 10 percent of
South Africa).
percent is salt water. Seventy per-
cent of the remaining fresh water is
frozen in the ice caps of Antarctica
and Greenland. Less than 1 percent
of the world's freshwater, or about
0.007 percent of all water on Earth,
is readily accessible for human use.
However, these policies are only present in
the developed and industrialized nation
where birth rates are already dimini hing
and approaching stabilization. Fertility
rates in developing countries are still high
though. Of the 90 million people added to
the Earth every year. approximately 80
million are born into the developing world.
Unfortunately, the highest feJtility rates
occur in the areas that are also identified
by the highest poverty levels. However, it
is possible to bring these birth rates down.
In the early I 960s, the average Thai
woman was having 6.4 children while
today she is having only 2.2 children. This
represents a drop of 3.5 percent per year.
This successful decrease was achieved by
access to a wide choice of free family
planning methods, with good-quality
advice and medical backup. As a direct
result, the health of mother and child was
improved, women's rights were advanced,
and female education was brought up to
the level of to their male counterparts. The
benefi ts were improved quality of life for
women and men, and in Thai land, incomes
grew at 6 percent a year in the I 980s. A
healthy and educated work force attracts
foreign investment and can compete in the
modern high-tech world.
Typically, there are two views taken for
the growing population. Ecologists, biolo-
gists, and other natural scienti sts believe
that humanity is fo llowing a classic eco-
logical pattern of population boom and
crash. The boom occurs when resources,
such as food or fuel, temporarily allow
population to expand exponentially. The
crash hits when the momentum of popula-
tion growth creates more mouths to feed
than the reSOUlces can support, or when a
temporary surplus ends. There is evidence
that this cycle occurred in places like
Easter Island, resulting in the collapse of
the human population as well as the natur-
al co . t m. ]n modem human societies,
the process is more complicated, involving
economic growth, international trade
flows, fossil fuel availability, pollution,
and many other factors. Thi s point of view
tends to believe that modern human popu-
lations could eventually increase to the
point where they run up against resource
limitations that cannot be surmounted, or
The Sandford Fleming Foundation
4306 Carl Pollock Hall, University of Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1
human-induced environmental degrada-
tion or climatic change.
The second point of view. which tend
to be supported by neo-cla sical econo-
mic;ts, believes that although specific nat-
ural resources may be limited. human
ingenuity is not. They refer to example of
innovation in the face of adversity, such as
the genetic engineering of crop to
increase yields and combat di ease. [n
this view, humanity can overcome the
problems caused by population growth,
and high fertility will ultimately be
reduced because of the escalating cost of
having children in developed nations and
advanced economies.
As engi neers, we will playa vital role
in the development of some of these new
technologies. But there are no guarantees
that these technologies will be able to
solve the unforeseen difficulties of a grow-
ing population. Education seems to be the
best option right now. Until we as humans
understand the delicate interrelationships
between the natural environment and u ,
then we will continue to grow and domi-
nate the world. Part of the problem is that
we live in a country which does not have
the problems associated with limited
resources and we tend to abu e that privi-
lege. However, until we realize that our
community actually extends outwards,
beyond national boundaries, to include
everything below the stratosphere, we just
may see the boom come to an end much
sooner that expected.
-In the Sahel, the desert expand-
ed southwards by 100 km between
1950 and 1975.
Twenty percent of the world's
human population lacks access to
safe water, while 50 percent lack
access to adequate sani1ation
Five million people die each
year from diseases caused by
unsafe drinking water.
The number of major dams
(over 15 meters in height) worldwide
rose from five thousand in 1950 to
38,000 today.
According to the UN Committee
on Natural Resources, 80 countries
(or 40 percent of the world's human
population) are already suffering
from serious water shortages.
Pesticide use accounts for 26
percent of river pollution. According
to the Environmental Protection
Agency, agriculture causes 72 per-
cent of all pollution. About 80 percent
of marine pollution is caused by
human activities on land.
Between 1992 and 1996, world
consumption of fossil fuels increased
from 7.504 billion tons of oil equiva-
lent to 8.076 billion tons of oil equiv-
alent.
From 1990 to 1995 fossil fuel
emissions increased six percent in
the U.S. and 39 percent in Indonesia .
The U.S. is responsible for 22 per-
cent of the world's industrial carbon
dioxide emissions, a leading cause
of global warming.
Production of CFCs and halons
in the U.S. declined from 1986 to
1994 from 364,000 tons to negative
91 tons. In India, during the same
period, production increased from
2,390 to 7,000.
Waterloo Campus Activities
888-4008
sff@dean
Engineering Debates: Will be held March 15, 16, and 17, from 11 :30 a.m.-1 :00 p.m. in OWE 2534
Student Travel Grants: Available to students participating in technical conferences. Contact Prof. Herb Ratz,
x5175 for further information.
Emergency Loan Funds: SFF has made available funds for short-term emergency loans, interest free for 90
days. These loans are available to engineering undergraduates, on either an academic or work term. Contact
the Student Awards office for further information.
The John Fisher Award for Leadership
The John Fisher Award for Leadership is made from time
10 time to a graduating student whose activities
throughout his/her academic career have made
significant contributions to Co-operative Engineering
Education. Nominations for the Award can originate from
student groups, faculty members and the Foundation.
Nominations should document the nominee's
contributions and other support for the nomination.
Contributions are to have a professional orientation and
can involve student activities, the Sandford Fleming
Foundation work or other appropriate functions .. Letters
from colleagues, faculty members, and others
knowledgeable of the nominee's efforts will be given
consideration.
The Award at Convocation, consists of a Citation and an
Honorarium of $1 ,000. For more information, contact the
Sandford Fleming Foundation. The deadline for
nominations is April 1,1999.
An org nization aevoled to the advancement of Engineering Education.
The Iron Warrior Friday, March 12. 1999
WRITER
I
s
Min Song
2A Enl'im-Cil'
I
've tried very hard to write an article for the Iron
Warrior. I've found it extremely difficult for several
rea:;ons: Obviously. there were time re trictions (labs.
deadlines. etc.) that had to be dealt with before I could
spend enough time to write an article. That reason alone
is a given. I also had some mental blocks, stemming from
having one topic of discussion oCCUP) ing my interest over
another. only to be replaced by the nexl. However a more
simpler. ominous rea on for my hesitation dawned on me.
As I picked up my pen to write. something odd struck me.
I was holding a pen, not a pencil. If I made a mistake. I
couldn't rely on my trusty eraser to make amends. My
concern seemed unreasonable at the time. after all. J use a
pen quite a bit. and it was no different than a pencil, I
rationalized. The moment 1 began writing words on the
paper, however, I finally realized what was wrong: I had
completely forgotten how to write! By write, I don't mean
legible writing, or writing of a technical nature. I'm refer-
ring to the act of spontaneous and creative writing. the
ability to put cohesive sentences together to express ideas.
That actual kill of wliting had atrophied due to lack of
usc! How could this have happened?
As students of technical studies, slich as engineering,
our handwriting skills need only be sufiicient for symbols,
brief descriptions, and diagrams, and the odd report here
or there. Beyond thi . however, there is little need to do
any writing. The writing of paragraphs has been gradual-
ly phased out in favour of formulae, which appear to have
a character set of their own. The standard 26-letter alpha-
bet of the English language, once suitable for simpler
math, are no longer adequate for our purposes. Slowly but
surely we continue to use more symbols and Greek lelters
(aRd some symbols that have no discernable etymology)
for our purposes, and de-emphasile the proponents of
English lit racy.
The ABC's have been replaced with alpha, beta. and
amma, and almost every Greek letter available has been
given new meaning. Theta represents an angle. Rho rep-
resents Pi repreents the ratio of the circumfer-
ence of a circle to its diameter. And as if these weren't
Ryan Chen-Wing
enough. the uppercase of these letters hu\c entirely differ-
ent meanings a well! A.,., the.e lIew .ymbl)1. are .upple-
mented. English !etten. are lIsed less and k .. fl)r words
until it become - pos iblc to giw each letter a me;mlOg,
\\ hile forgelling \\ h} the alphabet \\(b u'ied in the fir.,.,t
pluce.
As I progressed from gr.lde I to OAC, I (hat it
was ea ier to print the notes on the board 'h \\dl as m)
homewor!...; it made my wor\.. more legible ol)th to Ill)
classmates and me. Then, with the increasing pressuf" to
use word processors for donll1lt.'nls and te\1. I hecame
dependent on them to substitute for my \\ riting. \i'o ,\
result. I can now type at 70 words per minute. but it ta\..es
almost an hour to write a complete paragraph.
Interestingly enough. my ereati"e \\riting :o.topped as soon
as I entered university. Maybe it was just a coincidence.
There are some hazards on relying on a word proces-
sor to handle the "Titing: process. Sincc ideas are usually
born of spontaneity. waiting for the word to
record you idea may take too long, and as a result your
idea could slip away before every ha\ ing a chance.
Waiting may simply be computer speed, or maybe not
having it ready as fast as pen and paper would be in a sim-
ilar circumstance. Typing speed for some would slO\\
down and discourage many potcntia) wordsmiths.
although I'm told that Hemingway spent hours at his type-
writer. It may simply be the awkwardness of the interface:
because of typewriter peed limitations. the QWERTY (or
Sholcs) keyboard was de. igned to slow down the
For the word processor available in the computer labs, the
program's automatic spellchecking and grammar checking
may further discourage spontaneous writing. These tools.
designed to aid in the business environment, apply con-
siderable constraint to the literal liberty allowed to the
author, for they are indeed distracting. Technologies like
this, which were intended to increase office em'ciency,
appear to limit creative growth. And the continued
requirement and dependence of the use of these so-called
"productivity" tools may only serve to set us back.
I'm aware that some readers are capable in script, or
r I ' r ' I J.
are comfortable using WP's for writing, both for creative
and business purposes. Of course, the importance of
structured lunpuage i, importallt, but cOIl"lder thi,:
is sllldied in almo,t l'\l'r hiph ,dwol
Engl ish course. and is often qlloted by p\:opll' who intl'nd
to .ouod smart. Yet for all of tlth. the Illan invented his
0\\ n \\ ()rds and followed his own grammar style. r won-
der what .. ing would haw done 10 the life of thi
Bard)
.\s I article. I find mysclf breathing a
SIgh of relief. I forgo\len to \\ rite (although some
ma) argul' that '",c tW\t'r kamed). although I stIli lind
mysl'lf ,\..ipping hack into neat and halted print as r hand-
1\ rill' tillS. It\ heen a long Jounley. tl') ing to re learn hO\"
to \\ rite. but you can almo .. t expec! a spl'cch once
I lelearn.
b'or those of Oll who arc uncoll\ ineed of literal
\1on. try this lest: tirst. writt' a techmenl Try
PylhagOias' the hypotenuse of a rightangle tri-
angle is equal to the square root or tht' sum of each side
squared. Wrik' this om, l'ither in print. script. or hoth.
Then, \\Tite it Ollt agilin in S) mbok Dmw a diagram if
YOll \,anl to You could l'\plain Pythagoras ltl ooth ways,
and certainly there limitations to hoth. hut don't you
feci much more comfortable \\ riting out the formula')
Something as simple as the Pythagorean theorem is ea. y
to grasp ... if you happen to he dealing with othcr malhe-
llIi1tically Could you c.\plain something
so simple oycr the phone. or in written words. to those
who are algebraically illiterate'? With thc wntten detini-
tion. it took lime to translate th\; thcl)rem. and then to
write it so as it made sense. In a generation where oral.
and often, \\ritlen communication is stressed. having dif-
ficulties in ex.plaining something as simple as the
Pythagorean Theorem in words can only outline disaster.
The engineering student must be aware thaI he or she will
not always be dealing with someone with a technical
background, and this regression of literacy promises to be
a significant hurdle.
I wish I could write with greater case. but to tell you
the truth. writing this much has taken a lot out of me. I
recall when 1 used to read and write stories about adven-
tures and treasure hunting, and make up endings a!> I went
along. Now the stories I read arc about the lonely HC03-
ion who meets a <;hy H20 molecule, oroughl togelher by
will be. It',., going to end in Normality.
importance of un \0 hind
Canadian cngineers together and oj' an ohlig
ation. or ,tateml'rlt or ethics, til which cngi
neers could suhscrihc.
4B Mech
Y
esterday was the day
of the Iron Ring
Ceremony for the
UW Engineering Grads of 1999. Everything you have probably seen or heard about this
day likely hasn't had much of anything to do with the ceremony.
It was suggested that Professor Haultain contact Rudyard Kipling, u rcnowned writer
whose brother was a civil engineer. I Ie wrote a letter til Kipling who promptly replied
with notes for what would become the rilliCiI calling of.1O engineer The sevcn past-pres-
idents, who would become the original seven wardens, were consulted and thcy enthusi-
astically endorsed the ritllal.
For the past year you have heard a countdown to IRS, the fron Ring Stag Party, and
ye terday you saw people dressed in weird clothing. None of these more visible aspects
of the day indicate the significance and the serious nature of the Iron Ring and its cere-
mony.
1 have heard that it is normal for at least one person to puke or pass out during the
ceremony. This is a disgrace, as people should not be celebrating until after the ceremo-
ny. The reason people do this is ignorance; they do not understand the significance of the
ceremony and no one informs them.
In the words of Rudyard Kipling, the designer of the ceremony and writer of the oath,
the ceremony. "while ... no my. tery: lis] for neither the public or the press." But this can
hardly be interpreted to apply to students. as all of us will attend the ceremony and will
become obligated. ringed, engineers. Unfortunately, because of the covert secrecy sur-
rounding this ceremony, there are many uninformed future-wearers of the Tron Ring, and
as a result. the importance of the ceremony is compromised.
On 22 January 1922 the Engineering Institute of Canada held its 36th annual meet-
ing. the seven past presidents attended. Professor Herbert Haultain, a professor from the
University of Toronto, addressed the meeting with a speech entitled "The Romance of
Engineering," in which he urged the development of a tribal spirit. Hc spoke of the
Since 1925 graduating engineers have heen receiving Iron Rings as a landmark to
bind Canadian engineers together. In short piece I can't hope to convey thc impor-
tance that the Iron Ring holds as I do not even understand it myself. r do. however, want
to encourage you to find out more for yourself.
FUl1her reading:
http://www.ironring.ca
"Cold fron" Rellurdl rind fitiries by Rudyard Kipling. Dana Porter P){4854.R57
http://www.d.umn.edu/csc/ooerc/iron hlml
The Iron Warrior Friday, March 12. 1999
-
-
III
-
-

8=J my nose
FINGER 8
The M h
ont
Stuart Doherty
2A Systems Design
!
was appalled when a good friend of mine read the Finger Up My Nose column and
thought I wrote it when I was intoxicated. 1 would do no such thing. I realize it's a
little strange sometimes, but our minds work in weird and crazy ways.
So, in protest to the recent dump of snow we've received, I thought I would share my
thoughts on the whole cold-weather thing. First of all, I'm not liking the whole "shovel-
ling" thing, especially when a few people and cars have had their way with the nice fluffy
snow. Those packed down tire tracks that cars leave on the driveway can lower an often
satisfying clearing of the driveway to an anti-climactic, frustrating, half-assed job; ) want
tho e stupid tracks to be clear too. The job just isn't quite finished without them gone.
And if you have a bad shovel that couldn't dig into warm butter on a hot sunny day, then
the frustration goes up exponentially. I think shovelling the driveway would be a heck of
a lot more fun if you could do it in the summer. Then you could wear shorts and sandals.
Of course, the snow wouldn't be cold. Oh no folks, what I'm talking about is if the whole
way snow works was actually backwards. For a moment, set aside the fact that one of
the coolest things about summer is nature at its finest, with all its vibrant green life;
wouldn't it be great to jump in the snow, go tobogganing, or build a snow man in the mid-
dle of summer. If the snow was powdery enough, it might be comparable to what a bag
of flower feels like when you reach your hand right in (you guys have done that before,
haven't you?). But for all the fun summer snow would bring, the more you think about
this 'Bizarro' world of seasons, the more you see the problems that would ensue. First of
all, if there was snow when it was warm then that would mean water solidified at high
temperatures. What temperature would it tum to a gas? I think everything would go out
of whack in thi s system. This rcminds mc of how confused I was when 1 was a kid think-
ing about hot and cold food anti drinks. 1 couldn't understand why things that were sup-
posed to be consumed at high temperatures would tend towards cooling off, and the cold
consumables would tend to warm up if they were left out too long. [didn't understand
what was going on. I figured either the hot things should stay hot, and the cold things
should move towards the warm state, OR cold things remain cold and hot things would
tend towards being cold. If only) had a better understanding of thermodynamics and
such. Then I would have known what a silly theory this was.
Okay, so it's late and I'm really tired, but I'm not intoxicated .... Trust me.
Inspiration
Yellow Rose
Of
Wil Aballe
2A Systems Design
The month of March is far from parched,
and void of the buds of May;
Cracking branches on barren timbres
Sway and deride. Winter is yet to stay.
The vacuous air, chilled and stilled
Bring to mind recollections tilled
With summer weekends spent in the country
Hearing the salient whistle through the trees.
Oft in a winter's night, when the wind's howls have abated,
And the dinner just past myself has sated,
I find my mind has inclination
To think in terms of suppositions.
My eyes begin to wander
and stops at a glass of tepid ~ t e r
three days old on the kitchen sink.
How glad I am, I start to think,
that Life has put me in the position
to act olely on my own volition;
the power of my individual will and whims
responsible for my personal decisions.
And on this winter night, at my desk, in my home,
r sit myself down to write thi s poem.
M. Pigozzo
growing on the beach
The Iron WalTior Frid<iY. Mal'ch 12. 1999
in the warmth of the and
and the setting sun
unnatural yet serene
Has she come,
Did she go,
We she only a dream
a trick of the heart
to fulfill its selfish de ire
unrequited passion
tamed in friendship
tempered by life
fule for the poetic word
the intimate dance of ages
M
A
R
c
H
A NA NAL
SPEAKER'S NIGHT
FOCUS:
ACTIVISM LOCALLY AND ABROAD
with speeches on Cuba, Chile, Sri-lAnka
DATE:
TIME:
WHERE:
Nick Gaganiaras
---0
2A Mech
Aquarius (January 21-February 18):
You have a balance happening that you haven't
felt in a long time. Don't worry, though, your usual,
hectic self will retum shortly anp you will be able to
continue on il} " your lutpreBared stumble through
life. Talk to selwhat they can do to
help you out. You m:ed afl the help you can get
. ..,
because the challenges that you will be facing are
nothing like tho e that you have already conquered.
Your lucky numbers are 8 and 9.
Pisces (19 February-March 20):
Confusion is commonplace in the upcoming
week. Take a hold of your life and take control of
all situations Your leadership
skill ,no matf' w" e UI shin , tho e around.
you wi ll have you and responsibil i-
ty will soon give up hope.
There will 1Jt:"(f change "'fuftlK:oming in the ncar
future. Your lucky numbers are 6 and 34.
Aries (March 21-April 20):
This upcoming week will be fast paced. Give up
ome free time to up With everything. You will
be plea anllr, u Ii el when i all comes together in
the end. Next wee il allow you to catch up with
your stint in the fa t lane.
14 and 47.
Taurus (April 21-May 21):
Your concentration during this coming week
will be weak. Y$).\l mu t sUI,XQ.und yourself with oth-
ers who their energy.
These your for
a few mont , s)lm e a po Itlve Impres-
sion on all et. Your lucky numbers
are 0.1 and 17. --,-
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 1999
7:00 p.m.
SLC MULTI-PURPOSE ROOM
Gemini (May 22-June 21):
This i your week of action. Take advantage of
any positive energy and funnel it into useful pro-
jects. Bewfc of PI
m
' ts seem to be advanta-
geous to your currfiTIl ituation because they lay in
wait to ambu h yop.1 void negative encounter,
because you jl@,feelm of your posi-
tion in society:-Yollt lucky bers are 6 and 9.
Cancer (June 22-July 22):
Lethargy i the buzzword for the next little
while. You feel that your input will be disregarded,
and you are light, so save it for people who actually
care. There ..,..lIT-be a mll[ot:nlrning point in your
outlook on the 'uture u day of this week.
You will 1) ....\n undltrstand where the
future will b :tak.i-ng. ynu. You finally realize that
everybody dies and' you re not so special after aU .
Your lucky number is l3.
Leo (Jut 23-Au ust 23 ;
You wi\lfinally get the credit that is due. You
must not lash out at those who finally acknowledge
you after all this time.:[ , are IIH': people that will
carry you further lin,. W QU\ ' ever hecn Bt' call.'-
ful the . m;ltI oft: fhc credit thllt you will
receive fo ow severe criticism. Jk
loyal to your morals WId -alt'o' will eventually
out. Vour lucky numbers arc 87 ;.Il1d 33.
Virgo (August 24-September 22):
This will be a week of pushing the limit!>. You
may think that you know your boundaries, but how
do you expect to get anywhere ill life if you don't
push your lill]it <ili -i.( yOLl fey'U' going beyond where
you feel co Ifo 'b I.lyd t' p1an of action is impor
tant and be . 1'4 t(> rl bty people that you trust to
get their in til. , li cJ!refully and you will suc-
ceed. Your] rs are 18 and 36.
Libra (September 23-0ctober 23):
You will be the central focus of a mall team of
experts thi week. They may be your friend or they
may be wearing while lab coats. Either way, make
slIre to impress them and you may get more than
you ask for. ur decJslOlls this week will affect you
for a long ti ,'"Be SUrt! )'ou 1:n9w what you want
and are sure of the ,va . that your are going to go
about gelling it before you st;ut. Your lucky l1um-
bers are 34 and 62.
Scorpio (October 24-November 22):
You will be disliked by those close to you in the
next few weeks. Mind you, how is this any different
from any other time. You have been trying to change
your standing, lIf
J
qup but in the process have
been stepping t1 . ong t,pes .l,l nd thing, will not
end up in you f' qu. T.,Jsl.hg 'lour usual sarcastic
ways, you mu 0 ur best.t6 get back things that
you have 10 t. You have the honour of not having
any lucky numbers lhis week. You're on your own.
Sagittarius (November 23December 21):
There is a wave of elf-importance plashing
O\'t'J' yOll . AI'wttn' till' lIndt'Htm YlIll llIiL'hl l:!l't
"Wl.'pl olf your kl'l il l 'HII't 11amik It, Oil
those you tll"t fOI \lIppvl1 ,Iud ' II wlll Sill VI\'l' alit]
he a stnlngl'l' r on for 11 , Jll sure to thanl-. thO'l'
aroulld YOll r die' h'lp 111'1l they glVl' It. If you
OOll't, YOll l11iph gl\'c the WlOl1p inlpil'ssioll ami
tllese peop1l.' might h 'COIl1l' YOlll worst !1o" .. thle elll'
mil'S. This Will lead to a changin)J of Ctllllp!l. Your
lucky numtwrs arc 7(l and "1.
Capricorn (December 22-.ranunry 20):
What have you hc!.!n doin ' with your life lately'!
Nothing. That':.. ril;!ht, Ilolhjj :the OIl!Y word you
nccd for Ihc 'OJ Wl" PIAN. h'clI if it'.,
not worth the piece I .. wntten Oil, It\ still
a plan. If you t al}d go tIll gh your IIf\.: Without a
plan, you WI up - _ l1Iore than you bar
gained for. Give into your tcm[)tatiolls and try out
),omething new. Your numbers ar!.! 7 and 13.
Help change tuition policy!
Has deregulation already been decided? Do we still have any options?
Tuition increases for next year have not yet been set!
Come to an open forum on tuition deregulation organi zed by concerned students. The goal of this forum is to i nform and educate students about what is really happening, and to
gather the opinions of those who will be affected by tuition increases. Your opinions count, and we can make a di fference!
Wednesday, March 24th
5 -7 pm
DC 1301
Come hear the facts and let your voice be heard!
It's your money; YOU decide how to spend it!
-
-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ....
The Iron Warrtor Frtday. March 12, 1999

--
Report
Ryan Chen-Wing
President
eng_prez@engmail
Kelly Fawcett
VP Internal
eng_ vpint@engmail
Mike Hermann
VP External
eng_ vpext@engmail
Mike Olley
VP Finance
eng_ vpfin @engmail
George Roter
Comissioner
EducationNP Education
From the desk of the President
By now elections have concluded and the new execu-
ti.ve wi.1l begin planning for the coming term. I would like
to express my great respect for all the candidates for their
wiJlingness to make such a great commitment to serving
our community. I have been working to ensure a compre-
hen ive transition period for the new president to ensure
that he or she will be able to effectively begin running and
representing th.e Society and implementing new ideas.
Nortel Announcement
I hope everyone who wanted to got a chance to see the
announcement of the Nortel Institute for Advanced
Information Technology. Over the next ten years Nortel
will be giving $10.3 million to UW to set up cholarships,
graduate and research funding, and to provide lab equip-
ment.
Yearbook
Al Cannistraro (A Soc President) and I have talked
about the process for choosing a yearbook supplier. We
will be meeting today with this year's and next year's edi-
tors to determine the criteria by which we will evaluate
suppliers. After this meeting a smaller group will meet
with each of the suppliers and then report back to the orig-
inal group and discuss the final decision.
President's Awards
Soon it will be time to pick President's Awards. The
President's Awards are awards given to people who pro-
vide valuable assistance to the activities of the Society. If
there is anyone whom you believe has made a great con-
tribution to our Engineering Society this term, please let
me know.
I hope the co-op process resulted in a good job and
things are going well for you. If by chance they aren't,
maybe you can improve things by getting involved with
co-op issues. If you are interested ask George Roter or the
new VP-Education.
From the desk of the VP External
First Year Integration Conference (FYIC)
On March 5-7th we sent I people to represnt
Engineering Societies A & B at the FYIC conference,
hosted by McMaster University in Hamilton. I've just
started hearing the reports now, and I'm pleased to hear
that everything went well, and our delegation had fun and
learned a lot.
I'd like to give a special thanks to Mike Olley for han-
dling the last-minute details for me.
Explorations
Explorations is a community event where we invite
children to bring their parents to see what engineering is
__ all about. On the evening of Monday, March 15th there
_ will be almost 2000 people on campus to tour over 30 dis-
_ plays and presentations. More volunteers are always wel-
-

The Iron Warrior Friday. March 12. 1990
come, and if you're interested, please e-mail Jacqueline
McAra or Andrew Roszko, the Explorations directors
(email: jmcara@engmail.uwaterloo.ca or
aprroszko@engmaif). There will be food and a free t-
shirt for each volunteer. And all the free fun you can han-
dle!
ESSCOAGM
Each summer the Engineering. Students Societies
Council of Ontario holds it's Annual General Meeting
(AGM). This conference will be held here at the
University of Waterloo on June 4th-6th. The Engineering
Society will also be sending delegates to this conference
as usual. Applications will be done on-line at
engsoc.uwaterl()o.ca. Check the website later in the term
for the application form.
From the desk of the VP Internal
CON GRATES TO THE NEW EXECUTIVE! I am
going to miss being VPI, but I'm not done yet, and lots of
things have been happening, so we are really going to
have a busy next couple of weeks.
A Plethora of Past and Future Events
Elections, they are done! We had our fourth council
meeting on Feb 24th and our fifth council meeting on
March 10th, ask your class reps for the action minutes
from these meetings. MUDBOWL happened on March
6th and was a great success, thanks JonBoy and Leon. The
winning team was called "Horsemen", and the "Take it for
the Team" award will be given to Ian Summerscales in 1B
Env-Chem, watch for his story in the EngiNewsLetter in
POETS. For this past week it has been nothing but IRS
this and IRS that, Congrats to you 4th years, I can't wait!
Next week will be crazy also. Monday, March 15th is
Explorations, 5-9pm. I sure hope everyone has volun-
teered to help out! March 16th is Campus day, so stop and
say hello to everyone getting tours. Wednesday is St.
Paddy's day so I recommend that you go somewhere and
have a green beverage. Friday evening is the famous
Bronny Trip, purchase your tickets in the Orifice.
Saturday, March 20th is our BusPush, which is always a
highlight of the tenn! Imagine a hundred Engineers
pulling a bus from UW campus to downtown Kitchener!
Nothing is not happening later that evening though.
Tuesday, March 23 is of course our TaJEng: Signs are
posted to get your act signed-up. Sign up NOW because
space is limited. OUf last Council meeting, the Potluck
dinner, is on the 24th, and our Ear Pub night finishes that
week off on Friday, March 26th. So, as you can see the
next couple of weeks will be crazy for everyone!
Director's Reports
DIRECTORS! The end of term is coming, and I will
be asking for a detailed report on your activities and rec-
ommendations to future directors. Plus I wi1l put in a
quick plug fOf the new executive: start thinking about
what directorship you want to do next tenn because the
new executive will be looking for a few good men and
women to help them in their first term.
From the desk of the VP Finance
Expense Forms
Keep in mind that the weekly deadline for the forms is
Fridays at 3:30, with cbeques being ready for pick-up in
the Orifice on Tuesday.
From the desk of the VP
Education
1\Jition Deregulation Forum
The Tuition Deregulation Forum proved to be a suc-
cessful opportunity for interested students to express their
questions and concerns about tuition deregulation to key
players in the process, including the Dean of Engineering,
the Chair of E&CE, and the Provost. Look for more infor-
mation in the next issue.
As the World Turns: Respect for Everyone
Gosia Garus
2A Systems Design
Whenever the ubject of the world' a toni hingly
increasing population arise , I find my elf tom between
two vastly different sphere of thought. As a realist,
trained to Ii ten to reason and logic, spending my day, in
a ea of formulas, mathematical models and calculations,
the problem is a simple one: there are 100 many of us. The
solution i. also seemingly obvious: decrease the birth rate.
The exact number can be left to the tatisticians and envi-
ronmentalist , but the general idea seem correct. After
all, is it not clear that countries like China and India are
far too populated? There are countries in Africa who e
birth rates are at an astounding 8 on average! As member
of the western world, we have been told that we are not
the problem, that people in the third world should stop
having so many children. Can they not understand that
having more and more children is not the solution to the
poverty they find themselves in, but part of the cause?
Economist and social hi torians have made it pretty
clear as to the reasons for this recent population explo-
sion. Technological advances in food production as well
as break-throughs in medical under tanding hav.e allowed
us to lower the death rate substantially. It is not that we
are having more children than before, we are simply able
to keep more of them alive. Infant mortality rates are,
after all, used as a measure of a country's development.
The question that arises is how do we lower the birth rate.
Western society has very low birth rates indeed, substan-
tially less than one in some European countries. How do
we get the over-populated, overly reproducing countries
to follow our lead? '.fhis is where the problem gets com-
plicated. Birth rates decline when the standard of living,
edu arion and health care increa, c. rrange!) enough,
\\hen life i better, we ha\e Ie, children. Con, cqucntl),
{he we (need to share its wealth in order to achieve a
decrea e in population growth in the third world. &1 it)
aid, a1mo t impo . ible to achieye. Can we hone'tly
expect the average orth Ameri an. for e"ample, to cut
their tandard of living by an) uh,tantial amount. Hardl)
likely! One .impl) ha. to to the ne\H. or read the
paper to ee the main concern of every politician, busi-
ne SOlan and tax-paying citizen: the econom . We cheer
when it grow, panic when it decline., and re-ele t the
leaders of our world ba ed on their promi,es to control it.
whims. We listen to tho. e tragic reports of poven) and
death coming from the other side of the globe, shake our
heads, feel a moment of regret, perhaps e\en guilt. til n
continue with our da. 0, we would ne\'er give up our
car , our hamburgers, our single-family homes in order to
help ave the world. We are "Iuck.y", that'. all. We
houldn't have to pay for it. We certainly don't have to
share it, let the immigration laws take care of that.
So if we won't change, we have to force them to
change, and that i exactly what the government. of the
western world ha tried to do. The United States, for
instance, provides millions of ton of grain to countries
like India. During the 70 , having realized that world
population is becoming an is ue of some concern, the US
pushed the Indian government to implement a terilization
policy for women who had already had two children in
exchange for the grain subsidies. Scienti ts either
applauded or cried with disgu t. And this is where the
issue boils down to: we can either look at the problem a
one concerning number, or human beings.
It is imple enough to look at it as a numerical phe-
nomenon, especially comfortably sitting behind the com-
puter, in a room filled with non-essential luxuries. I am,
as all reading this article, looking forward to a promising
arcer. a comfortable life, perhaps a family. The thought
of 'omeonc telling u they will limit our food if we have
more than two 'hildren has never had to cross our mind.
Our bodies arc our own. as n \ oman, I am free to chose if
and \\ hen I haw children, and as many as I desire. Living
in 3 country such as Canada, \\ look at our children as
our greatest re:;ourcc. They are ineplaceable to their par-
ents, \\ ho \\ ill do anything to protect them. Yet I al11 con-
founded b) the wily we view the living, breathing, feeling
human being, of lh'se stnlggling countries. We lend to
view Ihem a, faceless, uniform individual.. I have too
oftcn read the economist' , \" ic\\ of th problem. SlOp sub-
sidizing thcs' cOtlntric)I, let the dealh rates climb to a
number which will once again allow for a sustainable pop-
ulation size. Sooner or later, they believe, as has always
been shown in till' past. O\er-population will le.ld to an
cn .. ironmental catastrophe to put the spiralling
number bad.. under control. Famine, disease, drought arc
all slIch mechanisms. let them do their work. I suppose it
is only human nature to treat tho, e so distant and removed
from our lives with no attachment. However, when I stop
to thinK of that one mother across the world. struggling to
keep her children ali e I know 1 could never , uppon lIch
str-at gies. The namele s crowds of humans who we will
never know are, after all, human. They feel pain, hunger,
fcar, 10 e, and hope, just as we do. We cannot treal them
a a population problem, however easy that sometimes
may be. We cannot view them a a threat to OUR long-
term lifestyle levels. In truth, 1 do not know the solution
to this problem, and T do not want to preach about loving
our distant neighbours. Something mu. t be done to pre-
vent what many scientists claim will reach apocalyptic
proportion in the not too distant future. I uppose I sim-
ply wanted to put onto paper one of the raging philosoph-
ical battles being can-ied out in my mind.
the form we see it in today. The addition of electrical equipment was achieved with help
from Professor Meinke and Professor Cross from Electrical Engineering. The benches
were rean-anged into the rows as we see them today. This design allows K-section block
seating, an easy means to work one-on-one with students, and it allows for grouping of
students into small groupsnear a blackboard for small group problem solving. Faci.lilies
were alsoavaila e to show slides and movies. At this point June Lowe joined the facul-
ty and made a significant contribution to getting the revised lab operational. In the eight-
ies a computer was added to the podium, and a VCR with a feed to a colour monitor on
each desk was installed. The room was then xpanded
and the back wall was pushed had... ttl :ll't'oIl1ll10datl' mOl ' 'nh with thl' IlltHl
duction of computer engineering. Professor Gerry Sdull'i(l\'r WIlS tht' driving force
behind lhi s expansion of the lab.
ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF
THEWEEFLAB
So exactly one year ago week, the WEEF I .ab Ilumt'd. Changing that l)I\'
word i a small, compared to whllt the lab has dOlle for our 'ducat ion and the
work thal has been put into it but I am glad for it nonetheless. WhcI11he idea for 1 ill' Ilallle
came to me, I was at school studying. It had becn something thllt Prof. Roy Pick h<l<1 sug-
gested about a project the year hefore. Dr. Pick, in asking for mon 'y for a (' AI) studio,
had suggestcd that ifWEEF gave full funding he would call It the WEEF /.)esign Studio.
I remembered this and thought of the Graphics Luh. This was an imponallt project
and if we could get the faculty to rename E2 1310, the WEEF Lah, it would h,IVC a big
impact on awareness of our endowment foundation . I ran to Paul's house and told him
the idea and a smile appeared on hi s face. The next day he spoke with Prol. Sluhlcy and
Prof. Schneider and they agreed. The next week funding counci l approvcd (he funding of
the Graphics Lah.
Ryan Chen-Wing
4A Mech
'"
O
ne year ago the WEEF Lab was named. Last winter term, I was talking to Paul
Cesana, then WEEF Director, about the submissions that had been made for
WEEF funding that term. A very big proposal had been made for half of the total
funding, $50,000. The proposal was to install eighty new computers into the Graphics
Lab E2-131 O. Our faculty had almost collected enough donations and funds for this pro-
ject, except for the money they needed from WEEF.
Paul was' concerned because funding this project meant giving no funds to many
other projects. However, it was itself a project which would improve the quality of teach-
ing that first years students would get in their computer related courses. Yet Paul was
unsure whether or not funding coucil would give up so many other projects to fund this
one. These computers would help update an important facility that has been used by
almost every Waterloo Engineering student.
In the early 1960s Prof. George Soulis from Systems Design envisioned and designed
a lab with equipment for students to learn graphics and design. The room was a bit small-
er then, as the back wall was where the pillars are now. The work desks were arranged
in a semi-circular layout with a podium in the center. Jim Church and Bob Pierce from
Mechanical Engineering also helped in the design and planning, and soon the Graphics
Lab was constructed.
Later that decl\de, Professor Soulis led a re-design of the lab. It would soon take on
Last November al the WEEF AGM we had the official opening of the WEEF Lab.
This semester the Lah has been visiled by Jim Wilson, Ontario Ministt.:r oj Scicllce,
Energy and Technology, and last week David Johnsoll, Minister of Educaliol1 came to see
the Lab. Perhaps more impol1antly though. students usc the lab everyday as they make
their way to becoming engineers. A few weeks ago some friends of mine in first year
were asking me about the WEEF Lab and told me they didn't take their money back
because of it. WEEP is good I
People organizations that helped make the WEEF Lah upgrade successful:
- Donations from Alumni and Parents
- Dean of Engineering
- Provost
- WEEF - the faculty is very excited about this role for WEEF
- EERC - especially Martin MacLeod
- Gerry Schneider - did project management plus debugging the electrical
and classnet system
- Gordon Andrews ( Mech. Eng. ) - organized the fresh look
- the first year teaching teams in the Fall 98 term who put the lab to
good use and gave us valuable guidance ( this includes the I I excellent
upper students who worked as full time tutors on their work term ).
The Iron Warrior Friday. March 12. 1999
W' ' .... '.. ..',a...... ........... . .. A. ...... _ .... -II> ... - .... " ' ...
A.T.S. Ltd.
Ainley and Associates Ltd.
Allied Signal Aerospace Canada
AMP of Canada Ltd.
AM'S Management Sy terns Canada Ltd.
Architel Systems Corp.
Array Systems Computing Inc.
Astron Specialty Metals Ltd.
Babcock & Wilcox
Barrick Gold Corp.
Budd Canada Inc.
Canadian National
Centerline (Windsor) Ltd.
Cosburn Patterson Mather
Dofasco
DOW Chemical Canada, Inc.
DY-4. Systems Inc.
Engel Canada Ltd.
Evertz Microsystems Ltd.
Exco Engineering
The '99 Grads woud like to recognize the generous contributions of the follow-
ing organizations to their yearbook:
Falconbridge Ltd.
Ferranti-Packard Transformer Ltd.
Fisher Canada, Stainle Steel Tubing Inc.
G N Nettest (Canada) Inc.
GE Multilin Inc.
Genesis Microchip Inc.
Gerdau Courtice Steel Inc.
Gold Crown Brewery
Hammond Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
Hatch Associates Ltd.
Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co., Ltd.
Husky Injection
I.B.I. Group
IBM Canada Ltd.
lnterautomation
I-Stat Canada
I.T.S. Electronics Inc.
J.S. Redpath Ltd.
Janna Systems Inc.
Linamar Corp.
Lumonics Inc.
Marshall Macklin Monaghan Ltd.
Messier-Dowty Inc.
Mitel Corp.
Mold-Masters Ltd.
Moore Products Co. of Canada Inc.
MOSAID Technologies Inc.
Narmco Group
NCR Canada Ltd.
New Automation Corp.
NOVA Chemicals
Omron Canada
Ontario Concrete Pipe A oeiation (OCPA)
Parker Hannifin (Canada) Inc.
Paron Metal Fabricating Inc.
PIXStream
Proctor & Redfern Ltd.
Profe ional Engineers Ontario (PEO)
QNX Software Systems Ltd.
Raytheon Canada Ltd.
Rockwell Automation/Allen-Bradley
RohMax Canada
Royal Bank of Canada
Schlumberger of Canada Inc.
Scientific-Atlanta Canada Inc.
Stantec Consulting Ltd.
Stone & Webster Canada Ltd.
Syncrude Canada
Syndesis Ltd.
Tele at Canada
Timberjack Inc.
Triton Engineering Services Ltd.
UMA Engineering Ltd.
Vies mann Manufacturing Company Ltd.
Vilo Systems Ltd.
Vi ta Engineering Corp.
Volkswagon Canada
VRP Web Technology Inc.
Wescast Industries Inc.
Westinghouse Canada Inc.
Woodbridge Foam Corp.