Humanities & Society

Wind power is one practical alternative to petroleum.The director of a sustainable energy research center at Washington University in St. Louis is challenging President-elect Barack Obama to set goals in energy research and implementation. “I would like to see the next president of the United States set a similar goal to President Kennedy’s from 1961 — to put a man on the moon and to bring him back to Earth by the end of the decade,” says Himadri B. Pakrasi, Ph.D., the George William and Irene Koechig Freiberg Professor of Biology in Arts & Sciences, and Professor of Energy in the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

CrissIt’s a 500-pound gorilla that Robert Criss, Ph.D., professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, sees standing on the speaker’s dais at political rallies, debates and campaigns. Its name is population growth. And sometime during President-elect Barack Obama’s first several months in office, he will have to factor it into future environmental policy, says Criss.”Population growth is driving all of our resource problems, including water and energy. The three are intertwined,” Criss says. “The United States has over 305 million people of the 6.7 billion on the planet. We are dividing a finite resource pie among a growing number of people on Earth. We cannot expect to sustain exponential population growth matched by increased per capita use of water and energy. It’s troubling. But politicians and religious leaders totally ignore the topic.”

Keith Wailoo will talk about health care disparities in the Assembly Series lecture “How Cancer Crossed the Color Line: Race and Disease in America” at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 11, in Rebstock Hall, Room 215.

WailooKeith Wailoo will share his insights on today’s health care disparities in his talk “How Cancer Crossed the Color Line: Race and Disease in America” at 4 p.m. on Tues., Nov. 11 in Rebstock Hall room 215.

Frank FlinnDemocratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden is telling the Catholics in his audiences that St. Thomas Aquinas had a different teaching on abortion than the current pope and his immediate predecessors. He’s right, says Frank K. Flinn, Ph.D., adjunct professor of religious studies in Arts & Sciences. Flinn is author of the Encyclopedia of Catholicism (2007).

Magarian”No evidence exists of any serious threat of voter fraud, at present or in any recent election cycle,” says Greg Magarian, J.D., election law expert and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. The current cries of ‘fraud’ focus on the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), a public interest organization that advocates for low- and moderate- income and minority citizens. “Filing false registration forms does not constitute voter fraud,” he says. “Voter fraud requires voting by a person who is not legally entitled to vote. That is a difficult trick to pull off, and simply turning in a registration form for ‘Captain Crunch’ does almost nothing to enable it.”

Tampered treats is not what parents should worry about on Halloween, says a professor of pediatrics at Washington University in St. Louis. The combination of cars, kids and darkness presents the biggest danger of Halloween, says Bo Kennedy, M.D., who works in the emergency department at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. And that combination could be even more dangerous this year with Halloween falling on a Friday night. At this time of year it gets darker earlier, and on Halloween, excited, costumed children can be difficult to see, especially when excited adults and teenagers are off to their own Friday evening celebrations. Kennedy offers tips on keeping kids safe while trick-or-treating.

Courtesy PhotoThis fall, five teams of architecture students have worked to create redevelopment plans for an abandoned children’s theater located on the campus of a south St. Louis historic church.

Distinguished environmental law and policy scholars and scientists from around the country will gather at WUSTL Oct. 30 to discuss “International Climate Change: Post-Kyoto Challenges.”

Robert Boston(From left) Kelly Krahl, Lawrence Lewis, Regina Whittington and Brandii Mayes talk at the SPOTs open house Oct. 8.In the last 10 years, the St. Louis area has seen an alarming increase in new diagnoses of HIV and sexually transmitted infections among 13-24 year-olds. Nationwide, St. Louis has among the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases in this age group. To head off this trend, Project ARK (AIDS/HIV Resources and Knowledge) and the Adolescent Center in the Department of Pediatrics in collaboration with community partners have launched the SPOT (Supporting Positive Opportunities with Teens) aimed specifically at the 13-24 year age group.