Februarv/March 1983 RAIN Page 27 TOUCH AN The Swiss Cheese Universe Recent astronomical findings seem to indicate that the material in the universe may be clumped in "super-clusters" of galaxies, linked together perhaps by narrow bands of galaxies, with vast empty regions in between. In an article in Scientific American, Dr. Stephen A. Gregory, and Laird A. Thompson, note that "The tendency of galaxies to clump is seen to be pervasive.. .. the existence of voids, which we initially hesitated to credit can no longer be doubted." This is of interest to cosmologists who hold to the pancake theory of creation (that matter was first condensed into thin sheets or pancakes that then broke up into galaxies and galaxy clusters). The emerging picture of galaxies grouped into a network of fairly flat supjerclusters connected by narrow bands favors the pancake theory. (Christian Science Monitor, Dec. 3,82) The Good Old Days Just in case your plans have fallen through for getting back-to- the-land or back-to-basics, you can now get from Avon Country Baker Apple Pie Room Scent. It "brings back the atmosphere of a country kitchen," with the first home-baked aroma of fresh apple pie in a can. Settling Down in the Amazon An estimated two-thirds of the planet's 4.5 million animal and plant species live in the Amazon rain forests. The forests are presently being cleared at the rate of a California every two years. This is potentially extremely serious for several reasons. According to M.E.D. Poore, the forests are "a sourcebook of potential foods, drinks, medicines, contraceptives, aborti- facients, gums, resins, scents, colourants, sp>edfic pesticides, and so on, of which we have scarcely turned the pages." Optimistic Product of the Year Larry Mason Here Come the Bees Again A species of bee has not only learned to live with DDT used to control malaria in Brazil, but is now attracted to and collects the insecticide. Scientists have demonstrated that wooden boards sprayed with DDT attracted male bees and that large numbers of the bees visited the interior walls of the local resident's houses to collect the DDT that accumulated there from antimalaria spraying operations. (Ecologist, May, 82) Gardening on the Increase For the second consecutive year, a record number of Americans grew at least some of their own food. Over one-half of American households raised food in backyard, community, and rooftop gardens in 1982, according to a survey by the National Association for Gardening. The majority of the households surveyed gave "saving money" as their number one reason for gardening. TMI Associates recently introduced a ten-megawatt, self- contained uninterruptible power supply that can run any microcomputer and all peripherals at full p>ower for 750,000 years. Optionally the generation can run a medium-size town of30,000 for 50 years. The introductory price tag is just $4 billion, and does not include shipping or handling. (Infoivorld, Dec. 6, 82) The Pizza That Ate Ohio Storing It Up for Winter Nights Joseph Mealy, head of Federal Emergency Management Office, has it all together for us. He helps maintain the shelters, emergency alert systems, and coordinates the 5600 county level crisis management departments. He has $700,000,000 in cash in Virginia and 70,000 pounds of opium stored to ease suffering. That's about 300 mg. per expected casualty. (Physicians for Social Responsibility Neiosletter, Nov. 82) There was joy in Wellston, Ohio when Jeno's Inc. opened a frozen pizza plant that would employ about 1,000 people. But the joy has been tempered by a threat of 400,0(X) gallons of sludge made up of flour, tomato paste, cheese, vegetables and p>epperoni that is clogging the industrial sewage system. The slush, high in acid content, cannot be safey buried, and has drawn the attention of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, which has threatened to close the plant. (Neio York Times Neivs Sennce) Pacman's Answer to Rising Taxes Several local governments, and even the U.S. Navy, are trying out video games as a way to raise money. In Fairfax County, Virginia, the county has used video games for several years. In 1983 they expect to make about $110,000. The Navy has put about 400 video games on about 180 of its ships and reports revenues of at least $600,000 from the games over a six month period. Mr. Moule's Earth Closet The earth closet, invented by Reverend Henry Moule of England in 1860 never caught on, although many devotees at the time thought it was the thing of the future. The earth closet was described by George R. Steward in his book Not So Rich as You Think, "From a hopper filled with earth, the pulling of a lever or even the rising of the person from the seat, sifted some dry earth into the bowl. All odor was thus contained and the excreta rapidly decomposed and mingled with the earth. They mingled indeed so well that the result could eventually be used again, though this petty economy need not be obligatory." Nuke the Glaciers Joe Vogler, the Alaskan Independence Party's unsuccessful candidate for governor, urged the use of nuclear bombs to blast a path through glaciers for construction of a coastal highway from Seattle to Alaska, (Progressive, Jan. 83)
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