Corrections.The July/August 2004 issue carried a banner at the top of the front cover that included the line "Hello? Novartis? Do We Look Like Lab Rats It may contain non-definitive information based on commercials, a website or interviews. ?" The editors wrote that to attract attention to an editorial by senior researcher Brian Halweil, and unfortunately we neglected to check it out with the author. Shortly after the issue was in print, we received a note from professor Klaus Leisinger, executive director of the Novartis Foundation The Novartis Foundation is a scientific and educational charity, formed in 1949 by the Swiss company Ciba, now Novartis. It was the direct successor to the Ciba Foundation, and the changed name (Novartis Foundation) reflected the new name of Ciba, after merging with Sandoz. for Sustainable Development Sustainable development is a socio-ecological process characterized by the fulfilment of human needs while maintaining the quality of the natural environment indefinitely. The linkage between environment and development was globally recognized in 1980, when the International Union , who reminded us that Novartis got out of the genetically modified genetically modified Adjective (of an organism) having DNA which has been altered for the purpose of improvement or correction of defects genetically modified genetic adj [food etc] → seed business several years ago (see excerpt of his letter above). We regret the mistake. We were also a bit careless in the previous issue's Matters of Scale, on the hidden cost of embodied energy Embodied Energy refers to the quantity of energy required to manufacture, and supply to the point of use, a product, material or service. (As an analog of embodied water, embodied energy might also be called "virtual energy", "embedded energy" or "hidden energy"). . An item on that page compared the fuel efficiency of a bicycle rider versus a car driver, and the aim was to look beyond the usual point about bikes being immensely more energy efficient than cars--and to consider how greatly that comparison varies depending on whether the person riding or driving is fueled by bread or by meat. Unfortunately, as reader Kent Coe points out on page 10, we neglected to address the much larger issue of the energy embodied in the vehicles themselves. --The Editors |
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