The Old Dog Barks

From the Old Dog News:

It Sucks to be California’s State Rock

Compiled by ODN Staff
July 15, 2010

Studies show Serpentine, California’s State Rock, to be responsible for for tens of thousands of deaths each year. The asbestos containing mineral is found haphazardly scattered about the landscape with little thought to possible health consequences.

The New York Times reports – “The bill to defrock the rock — which recently passed the full State Senate and is awaiting a vote in the Assembly — is sponsored by Senator Gloria Romero, a Los Angeles Democrat, with the strong support of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization.”

The bill states that serpentine “has known health effects,” the bill would leave California — one of roughly half the states in the nation with an official rock or mineral — without an official rock.

Said one letter to the editors of the ODN, – “I’m good with getting rid of hazardous minerals, but I think we should get a new rock before we let the last one go.”

Dan Walters in the Monterey County Herald goes on to say – “Romero, a Los Angeles Democrat, says it’s aimed at “raising awareness to protect the health of our citizens. Serpentine contains asbestos, a known carcinogen. Toxic materials have no place serving as emblems for the state.”

“The bill flatly declares that “serpentine contains the deadly mineral chrysotile asbestos, a known carcinogen, exposure to which increases the risk of the cancer mesothelioma (and) California has the highest rate of mesothelioma deaths in the nation.”

The states trial lawyers back the bill which cleared the Senate on a 36-0 vote May 18. “Were SB 624 to become law, declaring serpentine as carcinogenic, it could widen the opportunities for lawsuits against owners of property with naturally occurring outcroppings of serpentine.”

When “Lawyers For Social Justice” heard this statement from Malcolm Ross, a geologist who retired from the United States Geological Survey in 1995, “There is no way anyone is going to get bothered by casual exposure to that kind of rock unless they were breaking it up with a sledgehammer year after year.” phone networks throughout the state were shutdown as the overcrowded prison population was bombarded with calls.

“If they keep the asbestos issue bubbling,” Dr. Ross said, “it means money for politicians, more money for lawyers and money for scientists to investigate.”

In his usual stand-up fashion Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has indicated no position. Spokespersons aligned with the Governor say, “Everything is up for grabs here. A Lawsuit Profits Tax could go a long way towards solving this State’s budget crisis and increase State employment. If we can protect a few of our most “at-risk” citizens along the way — well it’s something to think about.”

Senator Romero said she didn’t believe it was appropriate for California to have a state rock that is linked to asbestos. “California is health conscious,” she said. “This is not about being anti-rock. But why do we need a rock?”

From the Telegraph comes these questions:

1 Dry ice is a frozen form of which gas?
2 Where are human triceps muscles to be found?
3 What is the brightest star in the night sky?
4 A leveret is the young of which animal?
5 What term is given to a piece of rock or metal from space that reaches the surface of the Earth?
6 Which part of the eye is coloured and surrounds the pupil?
7 What colour is the most-prized variety of jade?
8 What type of tree is often found in churchyards?
9 Who invented the jet engine?
10 What would you use VOIP for?
11 To which animal does the word lupine refer?
12 Which subatomic particles are found in the nucleus of an atom?
13 Which part of the Earth lies between the outer core and the crust?
14 Orbiting 35,900km above the equator, what term is given to satellites that remain above the same point on the Earth’s surface in their orbit?
15 In trigonometry, what is calculated by the adjacent over the hypotenuse?

I did pretty well on this first part of a 60 question quiz. I missed numbers 4 and 8. I might have gotten 8 correct if I had taken the test a few days later because I stumbled upon the answer accidentally when looking for something else but that is another story entirely. Next Thursday I will go on to part 2. and post the answers to this weeks questions.