By Mario deSantis, February 2, 2000

Our politicians, researchers and academicians had no clue on what to do with the Synchrotron when it landed in Saskatoon(1). They were just happy that taxpayer money in the order of $175 million dollars found its way in the Saskatoon economy. Now, an intensive campaign is being developed by the University of Saskatchewan to have scientific luminaries come to Saskatoon and talk about the commercial potentials for the use of the Synchrotron. The latest guest has been Gordon Brown, chair of the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory in California(2).

Brown explained how the Synchrotron can be used to identify industrial contaminants such as arsenic so that our mining companies can set up better antipollution processes and live up eventually with more stringent environmental regulations. In addition, Brown stated that the use of the Synchrotron will revolutionize industries like agronomy, pharmaceuticals, metallurgy, bio-genetics and atmospheric chemistry. So, as we praise the $175 million Synchrotron for its potential to reduce the pollution created by our businesses, we don't make any effort, today, to clean up our own polluted environment.

This morning, I watched the news on TV and I came to know of the release of a report on the status of our children. This report includes information that in Saskatchewan one out of four children live in poverty and that some of our school systems still use the strap as a means of discipline. It is becoming clearer that our political, academic and business leaders are taking us to a bleak future, a future on behalf of the few and privileged(3) where the lives of our children are traded for science.

Endnotes

1. The U of S Synchrotron: A Mausoleum for a Museum Mentality, by Mario deSantis, November 16, 1999

2. Synchrotron will revolutionize many sectors of business, by Gerry Klein, The StarPhoenix, January 31, 2000, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

3. A Museum Mentality Is Cheating Our Economy: Healthcare, SHIN and the Synchrotron, by Mario deSantis and reviewed by James deSantis, November 8, 199