Cap In Hand
It's the accepted wisdom, is it not, that any self-respecting first-world country enjoying sound economic stability and comfort and pride in the knowledge that its education system produces more university graduates than almost any other country in the world, would also take great pains to fund and encourage scientific enquiry and research.
Research and development, after all, go hand in hand. Both bespeak great potential, and when success is realized, great achievement. Furthering, encouraging and bettering the lives not only of that country's population, but beyond, globally. And Canada needn't blush about its scientific community's achievements, its co-operation with scientists of other countries, all engaged in universal searches to enhance humanity's potential.
Most countries recognize the prime necessity to adequately - at the very least - fund research within their countries' laboratories, institutions and educational establishments. Northern Ontario boasts the cleanest and deepest laboratory on earth, reaching completion two kilometres underground. Sudbury's Neutrino Observatory Institute is capable of leading the world in new discoveries.
Off the British Columbia coast 800 kilometres of fibre optic cable has been laid across the sea floor to enable a unique window on the ocean's depths for scientists around the world to take advantage of. Saskatoon hosts a $300-million synchrotron, spinning light beams in illumination of cancer therapies and environmental pollutants.
Powerful magnets and radio waves accelerate electrons inside the giant synchrotron in the production of hugely bright light beams capable of probing tumours, creating more powerful computer chips and aiding in the design of safer medical implants. NEPTUNE plans to optimize the usefulness of its 200 sensors, rovers and observing platforms on its undersea cable network.
Astrophysicists within the Vale Inco Creighton Mine in Sudbury search for "dark matter" and elusivley mysterious neutrino particles, hoping to solve the quandary of understanding the physical make-up of a huge mass in the nature of the universe. All of these scientific projects of tremendous stature and promise for the future have one thing in common.
They're uniformly underfunded. In fact, they hardly know from one season to another whether their activities will be enabled to continue, vital as they are to our understanding of the world around us. Government commitment at every level - but particularly at the federal level - which should be granted to ensure continuance of these projects has been sadly missing.
It's not simply that this should be an acute embarrassment to a country as rich in human capital and natural resources as Canada, it's a disgrace, a severe blow to our sense of our place in the world of scientific discovery.
Research and development, after all, go hand in hand. Both bespeak great potential, and when success is realized, great achievement. Furthering, encouraging and bettering the lives not only of that country's population, but beyond, globally. And Canada needn't blush about its scientific community's achievements, its co-operation with scientists of other countries, all engaged in universal searches to enhance humanity's potential.
Most countries recognize the prime necessity to adequately - at the very least - fund research within their countries' laboratories, institutions and educational establishments. Northern Ontario boasts the cleanest and deepest laboratory on earth, reaching completion two kilometres underground. Sudbury's Neutrino Observatory Institute is capable of leading the world in new discoveries.
Off the British Columbia coast 800 kilometres of fibre optic cable has been laid across the sea floor to enable a unique window on the ocean's depths for scientists around the world to take advantage of. Saskatoon hosts a $300-million synchrotron, spinning light beams in illumination of cancer therapies and environmental pollutants.
Powerful magnets and radio waves accelerate electrons inside the giant synchrotron in the production of hugely bright light beams capable of probing tumours, creating more powerful computer chips and aiding in the design of safer medical implants. NEPTUNE plans to optimize the usefulness of its 200 sensors, rovers and observing platforms on its undersea cable network.
Astrophysicists within the Vale Inco Creighton Mine in Sudbury search for "dark matter" and elusivley mysterious neutrino particles, hoping to solve the quandary of understanding the physical make-up of a huge mass in the nature of the universe. All of these scientific projects of tremendous stature and promise for the future have one thing in common.
They're uniformly underfunded. In fact, they hardly know from one season to another whether their activities will be enabled to continue, vital as they are to our understanding of the world around us. Government commitment at every level - but particularly at the federal level - which should be granted to ensure continuance of these projects has been sadly missing.
It's not simply that this should be an acute embarrassment to a country as rich in human capital and natural resources as Canada, it's a disgrace, a severe blow to our sense of our place in the world of scientific discovery.
Labels: Environment, Government of Canada, Inconvenient Politics
posted by Pieface | 6:28 PM
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