THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES FOUNDATION COURSE FD12A

SCIENCE, MEDICINE AND TECHNOLOGY IN SOCIETY

MODULE I - UNIT 1
INTRODUCTION TO SOME ISSUES OF CURRENT INTEREST

Presenter: Dr. Pat Stephens Department of Physics, UWImona patrick.stephens@uwimona.edu.jm amadeusorama@gmail.com Course Text: Prescribed Manual pages 5 - 16

OBJECTIVES

Help you to understand why science and technology are important to the Caribbean Stimulate your interest in matters scientific

Prompt you to spot in the media, science related stories/events of immediate interest to you and your wider community

OBJECTIVES
Prompt

you to spot in the media, science related stories/events of immediate interest to you and your wider community and to become engaged in public debates on scientific matters.

MODULE 1
Date Week 1 2 3 4
(Week of)

SCHEDULE
Lecturer R. Young P. Stephens

Lecture Overview Introduction to Course Unit 1: Issues of Current Interest Introduction

Sep 01 ff Sep 08 ff Sep 15 ff Sep 22 ff

Unit 2: Induction & Deduction Unit 2: The hypothetico-deductive approach; Scientific Fact and Changing Paradigms

S. Mitchell P. Stephens

5 6

Sep 29 ff Oct 06 ff

Unit 2: Observation & Experimentation Unit 3: The relationships among science, medicine And technology. MODULE 1 EXAMINATION - Thursday, October 16, 2008 (suggested date)

P. Stephens S. Mitchell

7 Oct 16

(Module 1)

Exam considerations
October 16, 2008; 4:00- 6:00 pm

Unit Is contribution to overall exam 10 Multiple choice questions (compulsory) 1 essay type question
Overall Module I exam Students will have 1 hour to answer 50 MCQ and 1 hour to answer one of five essay questions, based on the course material covered in the manual and lectures.

WHY IS SCIENCE IMPORTANT ?

Why Science is important

SCIENCE IS IMPORTANT

BECAUSE ITS OUTPUTS HAVE AFFECTED AND WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT, IN A FUNDAMENTAL WAY, THE LIVES OF EVERY HUMAN BEING ON THE PLANET

Stephens Top 10 Science and Technology Events since WWII*

1945 A-Bomb 1948 The Transistor 1952 Polio vaccine 1953 Structure of DNA 1957 - Sputnik, 1st man made satellite

1967 First heart transplant 1975 First PC 1984 AIDS virus identified 1986 Chernobyl 2000 - Human genome mapped

Recent important sciencebased news stories

The fight against AIDS The containment of the SARS epidemic The sequencing of the human genome Cloning

Climate change
Mad cow and foot and mouth disease

Stem cell research Genetically modified foods

Contents
Introduction whetting your appetites The story of Global Warming Resource security

A treat - A Jamaican scientific detective story---Snails, rats, worms and Dr John Lindo

Global Warming

Definition of Global Warming Evidence of global warming

Some possible consequences of global warming

How does it happen? (Greenhouse gases) Societys response

Global warming

An abnormal and sustained increase in the average atmospheric temperature at the earths surface.

Average surface atmospheric temperature for the planet ~ 59 F (15C)

Global Warming: The Evidence*

Record of average global temperatures over the last century

[Mote, Philip, The evidence for climate change; Senate Workshop on Climate change 1999} approx 15C (59F) -->

Global Warming: The Evidence

Record of average global temperatures over the last century

[This image shows the instrumental record of global average temperatures as compiled by the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia and the Hadley Centre of the UK Meteorological Office. 2001". Journal of Climate, 16, 206-223.]

Global Warming: The Evidence

(from Wikepedia the free Encyclopaedia)

Global warming: the evidence (contd.)*

More frequent extreme weather Disappearing glaciers Melting polar sea ice Melting Greenland ice sheet Tropical diseases spreading Bleaching of coral

Global warming: The evidence(contd.)

More frequent extreme weather

Global warming: The evidence(contd.) more frequent extreme weather

Global warming - consequences

Climate change

Desertification Melting of polar ice caps Rise in sea level Disappearance of low lying islands and coastal cities Drastic changes in crop distribution

Global warming the mechanism

Question: Why is the earth warming up?

Ans: Because of increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the earths atmosphere as a result of human activity Question: What are greenhouse gases?

Glasshouse/Greenhouse - a heat trapping enclosure

How a greenhouse works

Radiation from the sun (mainly light and ultraviolet) passes through the glass and warms up the interior and its contents Warm interior re-radiates but this radiation is mainly infrared which cannot easily pass through the glass so the heat carrying rays are trapped inside the enclosure Result is that the interior maintains a higher temperature than the surroundings

Earth is a greenhouse*
Certain gases in the atmosphere form a blanket around the earth which acts like the glass in a greenhouse

These gases are called greenhouse gases

The greenhouse gas blanket helps regulate the temperature of the earth within a range in which humans and other animals can live

Earth is a greenhouse (contd.)

If the blanket were to stop functioning properly then the average temperature of the earth would change. Such a change could threaten the very existence of life on our planet. This is what is currently happening.

The concentration of natural greenhouse gases is increasing and other industry derived gases are being added to the atmosphere.

Earth is a greenhouse (contd.)*

There are several greenhouse gases

The most important ones are: Carbon dioxide (CO2) Methane (CH4) Water vapour (H2O) These gases occur naturally but are also generated as a result of human activity

Earth is a greenhouse (contd.)

Other greenhouse gases are: Nitrous oxide Ozone Chlorofluorocarbons

Global warming and the greenhouse gases

Average levels of CO2 in the atmosphere have risen by more than 30% since 1750. Average levels of nitrous oxide, with 300 times the heat trapping power of CO2, have risen by 17% since 1750.

These factors along with other evidence have led some influential scientists to conclude that:

Global warming and the greenhouse gases

GLOBAL WARMING IS A CONSEQUENCE OF THE INCREASE IN THE CONCENTRATION OF GREENHOUSE GASES IN THE ATMOSPHERE There is still some debate about the validity of this conclusion

Global warming the international communitys response

Series of international conferences involving more than 160 countries starting in 1992 Conference convened in Kyoto, Japan-1997 Protocol and time schedule developed for reductions in emission of greenhouse gases. Time schedule required the emission of green house gases to be reduced to 5% below 1990 levels.

Emission levels would be averaged over the five-year period 2008 -2012.

Global warming the international communitys response

The treaty would come into force when countries accounting for more than 55% of worldwide emissions had acceded or ratified the protocol. Up to January 2006 more than 154 countries had either ratified, accepted, approved or acceded to the protocol. The US, arguably the main polluter, accounting for 35 % of worldwide emission, does not support the protocol. With the ratification of the treaty by the Soviet Federation, the 55% threshold was passed and the treaty came into force on February 16, 2005. Public opinion in the US seems to be changing gradually. Several states have adopted policies of reducing greenhouse gas emission.

Global warming

- discussion

Should we in the Caribbean be concerned? Why?

Would you expect China (a prodigious coal burner) to be concerned? If they are not concerned how can they be persuaded?

Resource security
Major

resources:
Water Energy Food

Resource security (region of interest)

Resource security (contd.)

Requires that the particular resource be available

When needed In sufficient quantities With satisfactory quality With guaranteed continuity At an affordable price

Food security concerns

Large proportion of the food consumed in the Caribbean is imported

Imported food can act as a vehicle for the introduction of harmful organisms and pests

Food security concerns societys response

Local

scientists and other interests must cooperate in managing distribution chain to ensure:
Integrity of supply Proper inspection to prevent the entry of harmful pests and microorganisms.

Food security concerns role of SMTs

In recent times, world food prices have increased sharply causing serious shortages in poor and low income countries. One feasible response which has been proposed by the Jamaican government has been to change the dietary staples to locally produced foods.

A public education campaign is necessary to accomplish this. Local scientists will be needed to assist in the production of content and in the delivery of this campaign

Energy security concerns

Most of the energy used in Caribbean comes ultimately from imported (except T&T) fossil fuel. By burning these fuels we may be damaging our own environment.

Our islands lie close to the transport route for spent radioactive fuel rods

Energy security concerns societys response

Scientists and wider society must plan together to rationalize the national fuel mix (coal, oil, gas, refined fuels etc) to satisfy security and other concerns Public education must be widened so that as wide a cross section of society, as possible, can take part in the discussion

Water security concerns

Most Caribbean countries have adequate water supply Many different types of water sources Water is life

Water security concerns societys response

governments will wish to ensure that they have control of water resources sufficient to meet the present and likely future needs of their peoples

DISCUSSION
Accepting

for the moment that:

Science, technology and medicine have

had and will continue to have a profound effect on our every day lives Some of the results of scientific activity might threaten our very existence We need to be able to understand scientific problems in order to make rational choices about the kind of world we wish to live in

DISCUSSION - QUESTIONS

If scientific issues are so important shouldnt scientific literacy be as important a part of the curriculum as Math and English? Science is sometimes seen to be hard. Should we not just leave science up to the scientists?