Things You Don't Talk About in Polite Company

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Science Has Good and Bad Consequences --Over at Firedoglake, Dr. Kirk Murphy writes: "Last week, we learned the latest new 'hot' technology -- carbon nanotubes -- could be every bit as deadly as asbestos (a former 'hot' technology). A few days before that, we learned cell phone use during pregnancy makes the fetus far more likely to grow up to have behavioral problems. Ho-hum. Yet more chapters in our American lives -- and deaths -- without the precautionary principle."

Here's a warning for technophiles who think that science will solve all problems. It used to be that people thought that genetically modified organisms would serve world hunger. They haven't and, in fact, some people are now afraid of them. I predict a similar trend for some of the newest science miracle methods out there. It could be stem cell research or it could be something else. Maybe we will discover that wireless internet use causes behavioral problems, too. I don't know what it will be, but it seems wrong to fail to consider the possible worst-case scenarios. Concentrating on only the good consequences that you think might happens leads you into mistakes like a stupid war in Iraq. (12:03 AM)