Re: Whats in a name?

[jamolnar@juno.com]

On Sun, 17 Aug 1997 13:02:02 -0700 SarahAnne Hazlewood
<sash@teleport.com> writes:
>>Date: Sun, 17 Aug 1997 08:08:32 +1000
>>From: Dann Pigdon <dannj@alphalink.com.au>
>excerpt:
>>(and let's face it, palaeontology is never
>>going to build alternative power plants or cure cancer)
>
>I think you underestimate the power of studying the past.  It's an 
>exacting
>study of the environment, physiology, and behavior of animals who held
>'control' of the planet far longer than we have and then  disappeared. 
> (No
>offense to our feathered friends).  By neccesity, the detective work
>consists of sifting for the teeniest of clues, building theories 
>around a
>tooth or footprint, and arguing the unanswerable.  Add to that the 
>brain
>power, education, and passion of the folks involved.  What awesome
>potential for discovery!
>
>Who can guess what breakthroughs and insights into the survival of
>individuals, species, or our battered little home world may emerge 
>from
>this incredible field!?!

Perhaps it can help settle whether we humans really are causing any sort
of global warming or if we are merely a blip in a normal geological cycle
of global heat and cold.  The answer could save us much unnecessary worry
and expense, if it were forthcoming.

Judy Molnar
Education Associate, Virginia Living Museum
vlmed@juno.com
jamolnar@juno.com
All questions are valid; all answers are tentative.