Human food from ocean and land

The figures in Table 1 yield some interesting results. The total annual value of food and mineral resources taken from the ocean is $8.3 billion, in contrast to $309 billion from the land. Using the land value as the yardstick, if the annual value of produce from the ocean were in ratio to the area relationship of ocean and land, the ocean potential would be $750 billion; the actual recovery for 1964 was only 1.1 percent of that potential. This very low percentage is the basis for either great optimism for the future development of the ocean (on the basis of unrealized potential), or great pessimism (on the basis of high costs compared with further development of land resources, or present exploitation to near the limit of productivity).     

How shall we pay for research and education?

In the article "How shall we pay for research and education?" by Paul E. Klopsteg [Science 124, 965 (16 Nov. 1956)], the first sentence under the subhead "Income taxes and individual giving" on page 966 should read: "Notwithstanding the apparent unqualified approval by government of the taxpayer's charitable inclinations, expressed by its permission to him to deduct up to 30 percent of his adjusted gross income for legal charities, he failed in 1954 by about $20 billion to take advantage of this exemption." The printed version "$20 million" was a typographical error.     

The World Bank's Support for Science and Technology

The World Bank, the largest aid-granting agency in the world, has played a substantial but largely unsung role in helping the scientific and technological development of developing countries. Its investments, totaling $15.5 billion in fiscal year 1984, involve choosing appropriate technology and financing local technological development. Since 1980, the Bank has lent $0.5 billion for agricultural research and about $1 billion for scientific and technological education. It contributes to and mobilizes finances for large international research programs in agriculture and the health sciences. It supports research on labor-based construction, low-cost sanitation, renewable energy resources, and control of traffic congestion. It provides training in the technological aspects of development policy. As funds for aid become scarce, the Bank is reexamining its approach to science and technology.     

EUROPEAN SCIENCE: Urgent Call for Research Overhaul

The European Union is in danger of losing ground in the global research competition unless its member nations devote more resources to science, restructure the E.U.'s flagship research program, and develop a Europe-wide science strategy, an expert panel says. Framework 5--which provides $17 billion over 5 years for multinational research efforts and scientific networking--should be made more flexible to respond to hot new research fields, the report suggests, and its complex grant-application procedures should be made "much simpler and easier to understand."     

Marine pollution

In the editorial, "Marine pollution" (8 January 1971, page 21), the value given for the concentration of mercury found in tuna (paragraph 2, line 10, 0.5 x 10-6 part per billion) is incorrect. The correct value is 500 parts per billion.     

Areawide suppression of European corn borer with Bt maize reaps savings to non-Bt maize growers

Transgenic maize engineered to express insecticidal proteins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has become widely adopted in U.S. agriculture. In 2009, Bt maize was planted on more than 22.2 million hectares, constituting 63% of the U.S. crop. Using statistical analysis of per capita growth rate estimates, we found that areawide suppression of the primary pest Ostrinia nubilalis (European corn borer) is associated with Bt maize use. Cumulative benefits over 14 years are an estimated $3.2 billion for maize growers in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, with more than $2.4 billion of this total accruing to non-Bt maize growers. Comparable estimates for Iowa and Nebraska are $3.6 billion in total, with $1.9 billion for non-Bt maize growers. These results affirm theoretical predictions of pest population suppression and highlight economic incentives for growers to maintain non-Bt maize refugia for sustainable insect resistance management.     

SCIENCE FUNDING: Australian Researchers Go for the Gold

Academic scientists are hoping that two new reports calling for increased funding of research and education and an improved climate for commercializing new technology will finally boost an R&D budget that has been stagnant since 1996. One report argues for a variety of measures to reduce the country's reliance on such low-tech commodities as agriculture and precious metals and stimulate innovation. The second report, based on an innovation summit held in February, recommends spending $1.4 billion over 5 years on research, facilities, and education.     

EUROPEAN SCIENCE: Research Behemoth Slated for Overhaul

Disaffection with the European Union's (E.U.'s) flagship research effort has found a sympathetic ear in the program's upper echelons. Last week, the E.U.'s top two research officials said they are pushing for big changes in the successor to Europe's 5-year, $17 billion Framework 5, including stronger efforts to coordinate research across the continent and to support innovative projects.     

中国“三废”产生排放量的年际变化研究

该文选取1995-2013年中国废水、废气、废弃物的产生排放量作为研究对象,分析了近10a来全国"三废"排放状况。结果表明:全国废水排放从1995年的373亿t上升到2013年的695亿t,上升了近1倍,形势严峻;SO2排放一直处于一种比较顽固稳定的状态;烟(粉)尘排放总量与固体废弃物排放总量均呈降低趋势,但工业SO2、烟(粉)尘排放量却在波动上升,工业固体废弃物年产生量仍达年3亿t之多。进一步开展节能减排、提高循环利用率、提高个人环保意识是必然要求。     

Erratum

In the report "Activation of salivary secretion: Coupling of cell volume and [Ca(2+)](i) in single cells" by J. K. Foskett and J. E. Melvin (30 June, p. 1582), figures 1 and 2 were inadvertently interchanged. The correct figures are printed below. [See Figures in source pdf.].     

RESEARCH COSTS: Canada to Begin Funding Overhead on Projects

Last week federal Finance Minister Paul Martin announced a $268 million outlay for future equipment awards provided by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), a $1.3 billion entity created in 1997 to rejuvenate labs in universities and research hospitals. The money is the first direct federal outlay for overhead costs, which up to now have been met by a combination of provincial operating grants to universities and federal transfer payments for postsecondary education. School administrators say it meets a desperate need.     

2001 BUDGET: NSF and NASA Score Last-Minute Victories

Congress last week gave both NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF) significant hikes for 2001: NSF got $4.42 billion, a $522 million boost over this year that nearly matched NSF's 17% request, and NASA received $14.3 billion, nearly twice the White House's request for a 3% boost-but with hundreds of millions of dollars in earmarks added on.     

广西公益林生态效益补偿研究

为了研究合理的公益林生态效益补偿标准,维持公益林的经营动力,该文采用林木资产评估方法和本金折息法,并以价值损失补偿计量标准,计算公益林生态效益补偿金额.结果表明:①如果政府一次性购买广西集体和个人经营的公益林归国家所有,对公益林经营者进行补偿所需的补偿金额为220亿元人民币;②如果公益林产权不变,仍由所有者按公益林建设规程进行经营,保证公益林正常发挥生态效益,每年对公益林经营者进行补偿所需的补偿金额为7.22亿元人民币.各树种类型公益林补偿标准为:杉木236.0元/(hm2·a)、马尾松214.4元/(hm2·a)、阔叶树219.1元/(hm2·a)、桉树195.4元/(hm2·a)、竹林87.4元/(hm2·a)、灌木林39.1元/(hm2·a).公益林有典型的外部经济性,政府必须对公益林经营者进行合理的经济补偿才能维持公益林的经营动力.      

Research policy. Report tracks federal funding in each state

Maryland is the most research-intensive state in the country, according to a new report that describes in unprecedented detail where the federal government's annual $80 billion research budget is spent. Its authors hope the report will raise public awareness about research as well as inform politicians.     

ECONOMICS: 'To Your Health' Is More Than a Toast to Economists

Whereas growth accountants use standard monetary measures of return on investment to estimate information technology's impact on productivity, those who study the country's $45 billion annual investment in biomedicine tend to talk instead about "the social rate of return." In health, they argue, the coin of the realm is having a longer, more comfortable life. Two reports released last May conclude that this return is huge-in some cases, more than $20 for every dollar invested.     

关于剑麻行业标准有效性确认工作的思考

阐述了剑麻行业标准的发展现状,以GB/T15029-1994附录B和NY/T245-1995对含油率测试方法以及GB/T15029-1994附录A和NY/T243-1995对回潮率测试方法为例分别作比较,两组标准所制定的试验步骤上存在较大差异。说明在颁布实施的剑麻纤维制品回潮率的测定等13个农业行业标准较GB/T15029-1994《剑麻白棕绳》等产品标准的部分项目测试方法标准更科学、简便、实用。     

The tokamak: model T fusion reactor

During the past several years there have been significant scientific and technological advances related to the tokamak magnetic confinement scheme. These are summarized in the context of a recent tokamak reactor design study which emphasizes reduced size, higher power density, and enhanced plant reliability and maintainability relative to earlier tokamak reactor design studies. The direct plant cost of the proposed reactor is estimated to be in the range $1000 to $1500 per electrical kilowatt. A three-phase strategy for demonstrating tokamak fusion power generation at a committed site is outlined. It is estimated that implementation of the three-phase program would require about 20 years and a total escalated expenditure $10 billion to $15 billion. The tokamak power plant described here is not viewed as definitive but rather as a point of departure in the development of a plan to demonstrate tokamak power generation.     

U.K. funding. New program supports facilities, stipends

British scientists are celebrating a $1.7 billion windfall, announced last week by the U.K. government, to shore up deteriorating facilities and raise stipends for Ph.D. students. The 2-year spending boost is intended to keep the pool of British science well stocked, both by attracting more talented students into the field and stemming the flow of scientists out of the country. But the benefits are not spread evenly across the research spectrum.     

Resources required for global tuberculosis control

We estimate that to achieve the World Health Organization's tuberculosis control targets, the 22 high-burden countries (HBCs) that collectively account for approximately 80% of the world's tuberculosis cases require about $1 billion per year during the period 2001 to 2005. A further $0.2 billion per year is needed for low and lower-middle income countries outside the 22 HBCs. There is a resource gap of up to around $300 million per year. Substantial progress in tuberculosis control could be achieved with increased investment that is large in the context of existing spending, but small in the wider context of global health expenditure.     

Erratum

In the report "Growth inhibitor from BSC-1 cells closely related to platelet type beta transforming growth factor" by Ronald F. Tucker et al. (9 Nov., p. 705), figures 1 and 2 on page 706 were incorrectly interchanged. The figure captions are correct.