NEXT FLOOR MARS? THE SPACE ELEVATOR Introduction

Transcription

1 YV NEXT FLOOR MARS? THE SPACE ELEVATOR Introduction Focus One of the great dreams of both science and science fiction is to find a cheap, safe way for human beings to travel into outer space. This News in Review story examines the idea of the space elevator, which more and more experts believe may well make this dream come true. Definition Geosynchronous, according to the Canadian Oxford Paperback Dictionary, is an adjective that refers to an artificial satellite moving in such an orbit equal to the earth s period of rotation. YV Sections marked with this symbol indicate content suitable for younger viewers. The story of the space elevator is really the story of a group of dreamers visionaries who imagine a possible world that seems completely fantastic to most other people. The Canadian Oxford Dictionary defines a visionary as a person given to seeing visions or indulging in fanciful theories, or one having vision or foresight. Calling someone a visionary can be both to praise and to disparage that person. For over 100 years, a very few the visionaries have dreamed of the space elevator: a fixed link between the earth and space. The concept itself of people climbing to heaven and to the sky is much older; the Tower of Babel in the Bible and the fairy tale of Jack and the Beanstalk both deal with this idea. But the father of the modern version is probably a Russian, Konstantin Tsiolkovski. In 1896, inspired by the Eiffel Tower, he envisioned a celestial castle floating in space, reached by a cable attached to a high tower on the earth below. In 1960 another Russian, Yuri N. Artsutanov, published an article in the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda describing a design very close to what has become today s design, with a tether attached from earth to a satellite in geosynchronous orbit. The idea was picked up by Jerome Pearson of the Air Force Research Laboratory who published an article describing a space elevator in It took one of the great science fiction visionaries, Arthur C. Clarke, to popularize the concept of the space elevator. He built it in his imagination, and described it in his 1979 novel The Fountains of Paradise. Asked at the time if he really believed that building such a thing was possible, Clarke assured his interviewers that not only was it possible but it would, indeed, ultimately be built. Clarke s concept was quickly picked up by a number of scientists and engineers who agreed that, in theory, it made a great deal of sense. They were quick to point out, however, that the space elevator was an engineering feat beyond current capabilities. The biggest drawback: no material light or strong enough existed with which to build the cable from Earth to space. On the other hand, if such a material one jokingly called unobtainium could be found, then building a space elevator would be possible; not easy, but possible. In 1991, scientists suddenly had their unobtanium. They discovered that carbon atoms could be wrapped into microscopic tubes to form a material 100 times stronger and much lighter than steel. The study of carbon nanotubes (extremely tiny tubes, a few billionths of a metre in diameter) soon became one of the most popular areas of materials research for scientists the commercial value of such a material for constructing all kinds of items was self-evident. Research concentrated on methods for producing large quantities of carbon nanotubes, and for binding them together to form long fibres. Scientists and engineers at NASA realized that carbon nanotubes could be just the material they were looking for in designing a space elevator. By 1999 they had produced a preliminary design that, they felt, could be constructed in about 50 years. It required several impressive engineering feats, including the construction of a 50 kilometre-high base tower to which would be tethered a kilometre CBC News in Review April 2004 Page 46

2 carbon nanotube cable anchored to a docking station. The docking station was initially conceived of as an asteroid that would be moved into geosynchronous orbit around Earth. One NASA scientist, Bradley Edwards, felt that there had to be a simpler and cheaper approach to completing a space elevator. Edwards reworked the design, and created a version that he felt could be built for $10-billion within 15 years. Edwards left NASA and formed a private company, now known as LiftPort Inc., which expects to build the first space elevator in While there are still many problems to overcome, the building of a space elevator now seems not only possible but also likely, and the prospect is exciting scientists around the world many of whom volunteer their time to assist the project. It has also served to draw attention to the value of speculative thinking about the future, of asking What if? even in areas where something seems patently impossible. Thinking the impossible about the future has always been part of science fiction in film and television, as well as in novels. Those writers who ground their fiction in science, like Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov, often live long enough to see some of their wildest ideas become reality. Many scientists are early fans of the genre, and often the ideas they read in their youth inspire their work in later life. Even huge organizations like NASA and the European Space Agency have come to recognize the importance of vision. Both have created divisions to look beyond the needs of the immediate and near future, to explore seeming outlandish ideas and concepts, and to encourage visionaries to imagine all kinds of possible worlds. To Consider 1. Why might science fiction be important to a student of science itself? 2. Take a minute to think about and write down three important What if statements of your own. 3. Note two books of science fiction or speculative fiction that you could suggest others might wish to read. For Reflection Before you watch the video, list some of the ways in which the building of a space elevator might change your world. How might it be used? After you watch the program, compare your ideas with those expressed by the scientists and engineers on the video. CBC News in Review April 2004 Page 47

3 YV NEXT FLOOR MARS? THE SPACE ELEVATOR Video Review Answer the questions as you watch the video. 1. Give two reasons why scientists think rocket-powered space flight is not the best way to travel into space. 2 a. What was the first thing designed and built at the Los Alamos National Laboratory? b. What was the name of the project? 3. Health physicist Ron Morgan thinks that a space elevator could be built fairly soon. What is his estimate (in years)? 4. How would the climbers on the space elevator be fuelled? 5. Name the recently discovered material that seems to make construction of the space elevator a possibility. 6. How many tonnes of carbon nanotubes will it take to build the space elevator? 7. There is an unanswered health issue with carbon nanotubes. What is it? 8. What might happen to the elevator ribbon should it collapse? 9. How do scientists expect to avoid roaming satellites from colliding with the ribbon? 10. How long will a trip to the end of the space ribbon take? 11. What is the estimated cost of the first space elevator? 12. Bradley Edwards says that owning the first space elevator would be like owning the only automobile. What does he mean by that? CBC News in Review April 2004 Page 48

4 NEXT FLOOR MARS? THE SPACE ELEVATOR The Visionaries Definition Private vs. public sector. Private sector generally refers to businesses owned by individuals or groups for their own interests. Public sector refers to enterprises controlled or owned by the government for the public interest. Further Research You can read Smitherman s initial study Space Elevator: Technology Development Needs at std.msfc.nasa.gov/ ast/presentations/ 6b_smith.pdf. The individuals who are developing the plans for the construction of the world s first space elevator come from both the private and public sectors. NASA, through two of its divisions, has been instrumental in encouraging and funding some of the foundation studies that have outlined the basic requirements for successful completion of an elevator. Members of the business community have also become interested in financing, constructing and, ultimately, profiting from the completed project. One of the space elevator s most enthusiastic proponents is David Smitherman of NASA s Advanced Projects Office at its Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. Smitherman led NASA s first official study of the concept in 1999, and sponsored a conference for interested scientists, engineers, and space enthusiasts. The initial NASA concept which included construction of a 50 kilometre-high tower and the capture of an asteroid to be used as a counterweight was considerably modified over the next few years. In 1999, Smitherman, while encouraging the funding of further feasibility studies, felt that construction was possible but likely at least 50 years away. Another centre of interest in the space elevator is the Los Alamos National Laboratory in northern New Mexico, managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy. It was here that Bradley Edwards, along with a group of his fellow scientists and engineers, began serious work on accelerating the development of a functional space elevator. Encouraged by widespread international research into carbon nanotubes by far the strongest material known Edwards left Los Alamos with a grant from NASA s Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) to study the feasibility of the space elevator concept. Edwards simplified NASA s ideas and created what he calls the Wright brothers version (International Herald Tribune, September 25, 2003) smaller and cheaper and the version described in the video portion of this report. HighLift Systems, Edwards private company, was established in Seattle, Washington. It became the leading research centre for space elevator development, and concluded that not only could an elevator be built, it could be built within 15, rather than 50 years. The last major hurdle was the development of carbon nanotubes in large enough sections to build the transport ribbon. HighLift sponsored the first of an annual series of space elevator conferences in Seattle in August of The second conference was held at Los Alamos in September of Arthur C. Clarke, one of the most important science-fiction writers of the 20th century, gave the keynote address. For the most part, the 60 people attending the conference were convinced that Edwards was on track. A third international conference is to be held in Washington, D.C., in June Edwards and his business partner Michael Lane are so convinced of the viability of their version of the space elevator that they have created a new group of companies, the LiftPort Group, to make it happen. LiftPort has an actual date April 12, 2018 by which it expects the space elevator to be operational. CBC News in Review April 2004 Page 49

5 Further Research Learn more about the LiftPort Group at index.php. LiftPort stresses that it is a privately held company, and is building the space elevator to meet the need for further exploration and exploitation of space, especially the parts of the solar system near Earth. Once built, the space elevator will be a great boon to virtually all space missions. In particular, the space elevator will be able to support missions to the Moon and to Mars by providing inexpensive, large-scale transport of supplies and infrastructure. In the future, it will also fill additional roles in the exploration and commercial development of a space-based economy ( index.php?fuseaction=page& pageid=1351). LiftPort expects the construction cost to be approximately $10-billion. At present, a single shuttle launch costs $500-million, and the total cost of the International Space Station may exceed $100-billion. Clearly the cost, while high, is not prohibitive. Eric Westling, a Texas business consultant working on the space elevator, is extremely enthusiastic. He has said (on the Web site Space.com at technology/space_elevator_ html): Other than the invention of some Buck Rogers engine, the space elevator is the only system for accessing space that is subject to the economics of scale. It s a true return on investment enterprise. The cost of space travel has to become an incidental part of the overall cost of what we re trying to get done. It will change the world economy. It s worth whatever it costs to put it up. Westling believes that the first elevator will lead to larger models carrying heavier loads. I m looking at a business plan that shows some investor could triple his or her money in about six years, and the initial investment could be as low as $5-billion. Discussion 1. Bryan Laubscher, an astrophysicist and one of the Los Alamos scientists backing the space elevator, sums up the feelings of all those promoting the construction of the first space elevator. The first entity to build a space elevator, he says, will own space (The Christian Science Monitor, October 2, 2003). What does this statement really mean? 2. Do you believe this prediction is accurate? 3. Should the ownership of the first space elevator be held by the private sector or the public sector? Explain. 4. Would you be willing to use this striking new technology? Why? Why not? Explain fully in your notebook. CBC News in Review April 2004 Page 50

6 NEXT FLOOR MARS? THE SPACE ELEVATOR Building the Stairway to Heaven While the concept of a space elevator can be dated as far back as 1896, it was only in 1991 that the concept became a real possibility. Until that time no material existed that was both strong and light enough to form a ribbon that could extend the necessary kilometres into space. Scientists joked that only the imaginary material unobtanium could ever be used to construct the device. In 1991, however, it was discovered that sheets of carbon atoms can actually wrap themselves into microscopic tubes. The tubes consist of networks of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal pattern; they look like miniscule rolls of chicken wire. The carbon nanotubes are produced in a high-voltage electric arc. The nanotubes arrange themselves as a hierarchy of tubes. In other words, the visible fibres that one can see actually consist of bundles of tubes made up of smaller bundles and so on right down to individual tubes. A carbon nanotube measures just a few nanometres across; a nanometre is one billionth of a metre. The smallest nanotubes have a circumference of 10 carbon atoms, linked together in a hexagonal pattern. A human hair could contain carbon nanotubes. Carbon nanotubes are the strongest material known, 100 times stronger than steel, and weighing only one-sixth as much. A carbon nanotube string only half the width of a pencil could support more than kilograms, the equivalent of the weight of 20 full-sized automobiles. Bradley Edwards, the lead researcher for the space elevator project, has calculated that a ribbon constructed of carbon nanotubes that was several micrometres thick and 20 to 40 centimetres wide could support a load of 1800 kilograms. The initial spool of ribbon would be delivered into space by rocket, and allowed to unfurl toward Earth. Edwards would use laser-powered ribbon climbers to add to the initial ribbon. Over 2.5 years, 230 climbers would each add 1.3 per cent in strength to the initial ribbon. The result would be a ribbon that could support a 20- tonne climber with a 13-tonne payload. Current research is dedicated to finding safe, relatively inexpensive ways to produce sufficient quantities of carbon nanotubes for industrial use, and to finding ways to bind them together for projects like the space elevator. This is a huge area of research. In 2001 alone over research papers were published on carbon nanotubes. As early as February 2002 Professor Hayam Benaroya of Rutgers University was predicting (Geographical, February 1, 2002): We re moving from the scientific stage of just developing them to actual commercial entities producing them in [tonne]-like quantities. U.S. and Japanese firms, in particular, have taken the lead in dramatically increasing their production. Interest in carbon nanotubes is not limited to those who are involved in the development of the space elevator. Carbon nanotubes would also have many terrestrial applications, such as cables for bridge construction and stronger bodies for automobiles. One of the early approaches to manufacturing carbon nanotubes consisted of stuffing them with metal atoms to create microscopically thin wires. CBC News in Review April 2004 Page 51

7 Further Research Read about the National Nanotechnology Initiative at Researchers at Harvard, Purdue, and Rice universities have found ways to teach the nanotubes to assemble themselves into larger structures. Other researchers have created multi-walled nanotubes carbon nanotubes that contain nested layers of carbon. A March 11, 2004, article at Betterhumans.com ( news.aspx?articleid= ) reports on a successful attempt to produce nanotube ropes of potentially unlimited length. Researchers at the University of Cambridge in Great Britain have used a new spinning technique that has produced fibres over a metre in length. The technique appears to be both cost effective and environmentally safe two essentials for producing the huge amounts of carbon nanotubes needed to build the space elevator. Space elevator designer Bradley Edwards speculates that the best solution for ribbon design will be to create an epoxy that is 50 to 60 per cent carbon nanotubes. Much of the research currently taking place is devoted to creating such an epoxy. Nanotechnology Carbon nanotubes are only one of many areas of research in the new field of nanotechnology, which science author Jack Uldrich defines as the precise control of matter at the atomic and molecular level (Minneapolis Star Tribune, December 17, 2003). The field is so important that, in December 2003, the U.S. government created a National Nanotechnology Initiative, bringing together the work of 16 federal agencies. Uldrich sees nanotechnology s potential as significant for many different fields, as diverse as material science, health care, and energy. But he sees it as absolutely critical to the future exploration of space. What we possess now, he says, is only a crude understanding of the full potential of the field. Nanotechnology, however, might ultimately bring to reality one of the greatest dreams of science-fiction writers: Our understanding of how to build devices up from the molecular level suggests that because Mars is rich in carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen the basic building blocks of many of Earth s most useful products the planet possesses the raw material from which to manufacture, atom by atom, the air, water, energy, and materials necessary to survive there (Minneapolis Star Tribune, December 17, 2003). To Consider 1. What exactly is nanotechnology? 2. What evidence is there that nanotechnology has many potentially practical uses? 3. What applications can you think of that might be useful for nanotechnology? 4. In general how do you view the role of science in shaping the future of our world? CBC News in Review April 2004 Page 52

8 NEXT FLOOR MARS? THE SPACE ELEVATOR The Poet of the Space Age Quote As far as the future is concerned, any political or sociological prediction is impossible, Clarke has said. The only area where there is any possibility of success is the technological future. Arthur C. Clarke by Frank Houston at dir.salon.com/ people/bc/2000/03/ 07/clarke/ index.html. Arthur C. Clarke is generally considered to be one of the greatest sciencefiction writers of the 20th century. Born in England in 1917, he developed an interest in astronomy as a young boy, building himself a homemade telescope; by the age of 11 he had discovered science fiction in the pulp magazine Astounding Stories. Clarke worked for the British civil service from 1936 to 1941, then entered the Royal Air Force, where he served as a radar specialist during the remainder of the Second World War. It was toward the end of the war that he sold his first science-fiction stories. The first to appear in print was Rescue Party, which was published in Astounding Science Fiction in In 1945, 12 years before the launch of the first artificial satellite, Clarke wrote an article titled Can Rocket Stations Give Worldwide Radio Coverage? In it, he predicted a global relay system of geosynchronous satellites transmitting radio and television signals a system that began to take shape only in the 1960s. The orbits that are used by these communications satellites are now often known as Clarke orbits in his honour. After the war Clarke began a career as a science writer and editor of Physics Abstracts, published by the Institute of Electrical Engineering. He also continued publishing science fiction; in 1948 he wrote a short story, The Sentinel, which was to become the source of his greatest success, the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. He also served as chair of the British Interplanetary Society, and became an expert on what was to become known as the Space Age. During the 1950s Clarke the writer had great success in the fields of both science and science fiction. His 1952 book Exploration of Space became a bestseller. Clarke closed the work with a passage that summed up his views of the importance of the exploration of space: We stand now at the turning point between two eras. Behind us is a past to which we can never return.... The coming of the rocket brought to an end a million years of isolation... the childhood of our race was over and history as we know it began. It was also during the 1950s that Clarke, along with Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov, became known as one of the Big Three of science fiction. In 1953 he published what many consider to be his greatest novel, Childhood s End a speculative fiction expanding the view he had expressed at the end of Exploration of Space. Clarke also developed an interest in scuba diving, oceanography, and photography. In 1956, he moved to Sri Lanka to pursue his diving interests in the India Ocean, and has lived there ever since. Since the 1980s he has suffered from post-polio syndrome, and has been largely confined to his seaside home. To compensate, he has turned his home into a combination media centre, workstation, and observatory. He is by no means isolated from the rest of the world; his monthly telecommunications bills are often in the thousands of dollars. In 1964 Clarke met Stanley Kubrick, and the two began planning the movie that made Clarke a household name around the world. 2001: A Space Odyssey was one of the most spectacular science-fiction movies of all time, and a CBC News in Review April 2004 Page 53

9 Quote More commonly known as geosynchronous orbits and geostationary orbits, these were first popularized by science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke in 1945 as useful orbits for communications satellites. Clarke orbits are kilometers above the Earth and have a period of 24 hours, exactly matching the rotation of the Earth. Seen from the surface of the Earth, a satellite in such an orbit appears motionless, thus an antenna can point in a fixed direction and maintain a link with the satellite. The first communications satellite placed in a Clarke orbit was Syncom 2, launched in Clarke orbits have been in common use ever since. from Wikepedia, the Free Encyclopedia, en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/clarke_orbit huge popular success. It was also a movie filled with future technology including a space station, laptops, videophones, and all of which have become realities. Clarke has so far published over 80 books of fiction and non-fiction. During the 1980s he was the presenter for two series of television programs on space. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in It was in his 1979 novel The Fountains of Paradise that Clarke described the building of a space elevator, using as its base a mountain in Sri Lanka. He has often said that this will probably be his greatest legacy. Asked in 1979 when such an elevator might be built, Clarke replied that it would be about 50 years after everyone stops laughing. LiftPort, the company dedicated to building the elevator, is clearly not laughing; their launch date is Clarke often sums up his philosophy by quoting his epitaph: He never grew up; but he never stopped growing. Discussion 1. In an interview Arthur C. Clarke stated: We science-fiction writers never attempt to predict. In fact, it s the exact opposite. As my friend Ray Bradbury said, We do this not to predict the future but to prevent it (Newsweek, December 2000-February 2001, special edition). What do you think Clarke meant by this statement? 2. Do writers such as Clarke and Asimov have a role other than to write entertaining and popular books? 3. In a carefully written paragraph, state your general views about the future of our world. Extension Read and comment on a book by one of the authors noted in this reading. View the film 2001: A Space Odyssey and compare it with what we know about space exploration today. CBC News in Review April 2004 Page 54

10 NEXT FLOOR MARS? THE SPACE ELEVATOR Other Visions, Other Futures Quote At the present rate of progress, it is almost impossible to imagine any technical feat that cannot be achieved if it can be achieved at all within the next few hundred years. Arthur C. Clarke, Profiles of the Future, 1983 NiR Archives Immediate plans for the future exploration of space, manned and unmanned, were examined in Mars Invasion: Exploring the Red Planet, in the March 2004 News in Review. This section deals with more speculative plans for future space exploration. Further Research To learn more about the policies and programs of NASA visit For the European Space Agency, go to The space elevator, while a spectacular project, is only one of many innovative programs being planned or promoted by scientists and engineers for space science in the 21st century. Here are some approaches being taken by private and public organizations. NASA NASA s Institute for Advance Concepts (NIAC) is located in Atlanta, Georgia. Most of NASA is busy with the current space program, and the needs of the organization 10 or so years into the future. NIAC, however, funds research into what its director, Robert Casanova, calls really grand ideas that may not be practical for 30 or 40 years (The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, December 26, 2002). NASA s annual budget is about $15- billion per year; NIAC receives $4- million from this budget. While this may seem like a small amount, it has permitted NIAC to fund over 100 projects from the more than 600 proposals it has received. Successful applicants receive an initial grant of $ with which they develop a detailed version of their idea. If a panel of experts likes their vision, they receive two more years of funding to develop what Casanova calls a road map for turning a vision into reality. NIAC s most provocative proposal to date has been the mini-magnetic propulsion system (M2P2), popularly known as the plasma sail. Developed by Robert Winglee and colleagues at the University of Washington, it could be used as an effective way to transport large payloads for long distances. The system would use a magnetic field to create a huge bubble several miles in diameter around a spacecraft. Pressure from the solar wind would push the spacecraft through space; constant acceleration would mean that M2P2 spacecraft would reach the outer planets in half the time of conventional craft. The design employs existing technology, and might be in use in as little as a decade. Some other initiatives being investigated for NIAC include: biomemetic robots machines built like insects to navigate the thin Martian atmosphere self-assembling, tiny robots designed to perform inspections and repairs in hazardous environments, capable of self-assembly and swarm intelligence astronaut hotels large spacecraft that would constantly travel between Earth orbit and Mars, served by taxi shuttles, which would enable the staffing of a permanent base on Mars European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) has also been active in examining unusual proposals for future exploration of space. In May 2000, ESA asked the Swiss Maison d Ailleurs, a sciencefiction museum, to carry out a study it calls Innovative Technologies from Science Fiction for Space Applications. ESA seemed especially taken with the idea of the space elevator as portrayed in Arthur C. Clarke s The Fountains of Paradise. This strange idea was looking more and more doable. Might there be other ideas by other sciencefiction writers at which ESA should take a closer look? CBC News in Review April 2004 Page 55

11 Patrick Gyger, the curator of the Maison d Ailleurs, points out that there are probably science-fiction writers who work with hard science. He says that on the one hand the initiative could lead to the creation of a spate of practical devices such as special thrusters built for astronauts, biological spaceships or even the construction of a habitable biosphere on another planet. Alternatively, the whole exercise could end up being little more than a wild goose chase (The Scotsman, August 1, 2000). Many notable researchers including Stephen Hawking credit science fiction for getting them hooked on science. Leo Szilard, one of the creators of the atomic bomb, said that an H.G. Wells story about atomic energy actually inspired his research. Private Initiatives LunaCorp is a company that is developing projects that will allow members of the public to actually participate is a variety of programs in space. The company has drawn most attention for its plans to develop satellites and rovers for lunar exploration. The company expects to build the first satellite ever constructed at the International Space Station, the SuperSat, and place it in lunar orbit where it will complete the first digital map of the moon s surface. The SuperSat will be followed by an Icebreaker Moon rover. Its exploration of the lunar surface would be controlled from Earth, and its adventures beamed live to television in science centres and theme parks. The intent of the company is to develop an entire colony of robotic explorers with broadband communication channels that could be controlled on the Web and at science centres by members of the public. Responding The encouragement of creative thinking about the future seems to be an important part of the role of any government agency dealing with the exploration of space. Do you think that other agencies might also benefit by promoting the exploration of what Robert Casanova calls really grand ideas? Should funding be routinely provided for such extreme long-term planning? CBC News in Review April 2004 Page 56

12 YV NEXT FLOOR MARS? THE SPACE ELEVATOR My Vision: The Ride of a Lifetime If the dream of Bradley Edwards and his associates does come true, your generation may well be the first to be able to go easily, safely, and cheaply into outer space. The adventure of a lifetime could become, for many, a reality. What would such a trip be like? This is your chance to exercise your imagination to the fullest. Your task is to write a short short story one to two pages describing a trip on the space elevator. The story should be faithful to the description of the space elevator in the video and text portions of the News in Review guide. However, what happens during the trip is up to you. Your trip might be: A meditation on the beauty of Earth from space A first step on a voyage to the Moon, Mars, or beyond A near-disaster involving damage to the ribbon on which your climber rides A commercial trip to place a new satellite in orbit A conversation with fellow travellers about why all of them decided to make the trip A trip on the space elevator by an astronaut who has flown on the space shuttle A series of diary entries found by latter-day investigators Brainstorming Notes CBC News in Review April 2004 Page 57