In response NASA’s (National Aeronautics and Space Association) plans, announced late last year, to use squirrel monkeys in a series of new radiation tests, and after first attempting to get them halted, NASA engineer April Evans has resigned from a job she’s made clear she really enjoyed.
I think we can all applaud her self-sacrifice, especially in these hard economic times, and lend our voices to the cause in support.
(See below for a couple ways to do so.)
But first, I should mention, I also find myself applauding NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, Jr.—at least in the following exchange. How he handled being interrupted, and at such close range, by an animal rights activist at the International Space Development Conference (ISDC) earlier this year was admirable.
So true! The ACLU gets heat all the time for speaking up for those with whom many of us disagree, but they’re just seeing the bigger picture that we all have those rights and silencing and censorship are not the answer.
As for the tests, they would seem cruel and completely unnecessary; don’t we already know what happens to people due to radiation at a wide range of exposure levels?
Take action today, either thru PETA or the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). Actually, the recipients of each are different, so let’s use both these routes!
