The knowledge of our genetic code and the technical tools to use it to our own advantage may inspire fear; it threatens the human race’s natural evolution. The consequences of these new technologies are extremely relevant, but are mostly not threatening if regulated. However, the changing science and society will need the moral tools to navigate this uncharted territory.
Leap day is the single day we all think about our place in the universe, and how we know that place; it honors the earth we live on and our knowledge of the science of nature.
This is why we propose to baptize the 29th of February 2012 “Galileo Day”: a day of wonder about the beauty of the universe around us. A day to recognize the benefits of science and of the scientific method. Finally, a day to honor the individuals who stand up for what they know is true. As Galileo Day or Earth Moves (Us) Day, Leap Day could eventually become a public holiday.
The General Assembly of the United Nations called on the 18th of December 2007, in its resolution A/RES/62/149 for a moratorium on the death penalty. Thanks to this resolution, death penalty is now recognised as a human rights issue. Is this just another scene in the talk show of international diplomacy, or are some measures to make individuals comply with the norms of society just not acceptable any more? Is our system of law finally moving away from retribution and revenge?
Policy makers, says MIT’s Union of Concerned Scientists, threaten the integrity of governmental science. To many scientists, the US government has been making too many important decisions without consulting scientists and think tanks at all. Politics are based mostly on intuition, and not on scientific fact.
