1. ANNUAL REPORT: We bring you the Annual Report for 2001 by the Science & Environmental Policy Project. We feel we accomplished a lot with very little in the way of resources.

2. HARBOR SECURITY. A huge security problem, surpassing many of the nuclear terrorism scenarios.

3. RAPID CLIMATE CHANGE. The latest global warming scare is much ado about little.

4. SEPP WEB GETS ATTENTION FROM SEARCH ENGINES.
To new (and old) subscribers: You can access past issues of TWTW and "New on the Web" from www.sepp.org. Use the "Search" feature; it works quite well.

5. PROVERBS FOR A HEALTHIER 2002
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1. ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2001
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2. HARBOR SECURITY

Next to a nuclear bomb, the most destructive kind of calamity imaginable is the explosion in a big-city harbor of a tanker carrying Liquefied Natural Gas. Remember the Baytown, Texas disaster? An LNG explosion would be much worse and take many more lives. The science of such an event has been studied by experts years ago when LNG shipments from Algeria to US ports first started. The most outstanding analysis was by James Fay, MIT professor of mechanical engineering. It should be revisited in light of the current terrorist threat.

Protection against such an attack by a terrorist (or even by an odd maniac) is the responsibility of the US Coast Guard. Europeans also need to be on guard against such a threat. It could even occur in Algeria and other terminals where LNG tankers are loaded. Think of a nuclear bomb (without the radioactive fallout, to be sure). And no need to steal nuclear material….
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3. RAPID CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate problems pale in importance when compared to human-caused threat of mass destruction and mass deaths from chemical and biological weapons. Nevertheless, the greenies and the media like to stir up fears whenever they can. The latest example is the National Academies' National Research Council report "Abrupt Climate Change: Inevitable Surprises," a nice oxymoronic title. Like "unanticipated surprises." The report itself is factually correct, competently prepared by all the usual, politically correct suspects. Nary a skeptic amongst them. If there had been, he/she might have objected to the press release.

There is little "new" about abrupt changes; they have been reported in the literature for years, including by the panel chairman Richard Alley, Penn State University glaciologist. But is not clear why a putative anthropogenic warming should "increase the possibility of large, abrupt, and unwelcome regional and global climate events." To the contrary, the empirical evidence (as opposed to sheer speculation) shows less frequent and less severe abrupt changes during the warmer period of the interglacial than during the colder ice age. But this fact is not brought out.

But not to worry. The press release assures us "there is no need for undue alarm" because societies have learned to adapt to climate changes. Thank goodness for that. Now if someone would only inform the NY Times…..
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4. SEPP STATUS REPORT

From: RankChecking at SEVENtwentyfour <RankChecking@SEVENtwentyfour.com>
RankChecking Status Report for www.sepp.org
as of Jan 2, 2002 6:08PM (EST)

Checks how many of your pages are indexed.
All The Web: More than 100 pages indexed.
Altavista: More than 100 pages indexed.
AOL: Count unavailable.
Google: More than 100 pages indexed.
HotBot: More than 100 pages indexed.
Lycos: Count unavailable.
Northern Light: More than 100 pages indexed.
SearchMSN: More than 100 pages indexed.
Yahoo! (Web Page matches): More than 100 pages indexed.

You Hit the TOP 20 in these engines:
You're # 4 on All The Web
You're # 4 on Google
You're # 7 on HotBot
You're # 4 on Lycos
You're # 6 on SearchMSN
You're # 3 on Yahoo! (Web Page matches)
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5. PROVERBS FOR A HEALTHIER 2002
(courtesy of Jim Muckerheide)

1. If you're too open minded, your brains will fall out.

2. Age is a very high price to pay for maturity.

3. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian, any more than going to a garage makes you a mechanic.

4. Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

5. If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you've never tried before.

6. My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.

7. Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.

8. It is easier to get forgiveness than permission.

9. For every action, there is an equal and opposite government program.

10. If you look like your passport picture, you probably need the trip.

11. Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks.

12. A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel so good.

13. Eat well, stay fit, die anyway.

14. Men are from earth. Women are from earth. Deal with it.

15. No husband has ever been shot while doing the dishes.

16. A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.

17. Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.

18. Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.

19. Junk is something you've kept for years and throw away three weeks before you need it.

20. There is always one more imbecile than you counted on.

21. Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.

22. By the time you can make ends meet, they move the ends.

23. Thou shall not weigh more than thy refrigerator.

24. Someone who thinks logically provides a nice contrast to the real world.

25. Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease.
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