Global Warning by Martin Powell

It's a pleasure and with deep gratitude that I post a poem by Martin Powell called Global Warning. Some of Martin's poems can be found on his blog at http://martinpowellpoetry.blogspot.com/.

Tsunamis sweeping across the deep seas
Hurricanes howling with deafening breeze
Earthquakes shaking our tectonic plates
Volcanoes erupting round Earth as it breaks

Dinosaurs died and allowed man to stand
Millions of years changed the face of the land
A new world was born and with life it did flourish
Enough natural resources to keep us all nourished

For a long time the man and the Earth were as one
We drank from its rivers, bathed in light from the sun
The soil was rich, and ideal for seeds
The planet attended to all of our needs

But Earth for its pleasures could not comprehend
The mentality of its so newly found friend
We used and consumed without fear, or care
We scarred and we butchered a beauty so rare

Poisoning oceans and chopping down trees
Relaying landscapes to build as we pleased
Taking for granted our grand evolution
Seeds that were planted replaced by pollution

Have you not wondered why its so called “mother” earth?
Throughout all of history it has given birth!
This bluish green ball gently floating through space
Has potential for life quite like no other place

It gives and it gives and has nothing to ask
To treat it with love and respect is our task
For the moment the future we cant comprehend
Is the world that we know will soon come to an end

But there is still some time to undo whats been done
Requiring our species to all act as one
With wind turbines turning and running on air
Solar panels sourcing our suns constant glare

We could cut our emissions and clean up with care
Make it our mission to heal and repair
Salvage and save for all that its worth
Secure our existence as people of Earth

© Martin James Powell 2008  

New Laboratory Members

Hey folks,

I have three new student member joining my lab this month. Two are currently pre-pharmacy students here at ULM, Eric Welch and Aaron McCall, and the third is Matthew Kiok, a junior from the Louisiana School for Math, Science and Arts. Welcome Aboard!!

-Dr. Carr

The Rise Of Organic Chemistry

Molecule of the Month - Vanillin

Vanillin, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde, is a primary component of the extract of the vanilla bean and is used as a flavoring agent in foods, beverages, and pharmaceuticals. In 1858, Nicolas-Theodore Gobley first isolated vanillin as a relatively pure substance and in 1874, the German scientists Ferdinand Tiemann and Wilhelm Haarmann deduced its chemical structure. The aforementioned scientists also synthesized vanillin from coniferin which was shortly followed by other semi-synthetic methods. Today, most vanillin is produced from the petrochemical raw material guaiacol. Several routes exist for synthesizing vanillin from guaiacol. At present, the most significant of these is the two-step process practiced in which guaiacol reacts with glyoxylic acid by electrophilic aromatic substitution. The resulting vanilmandelic acid is then converted to vanillin by oxidative decarboxylation. In October 2007, Mayu Yamamoto of the International Medical Center of Japan won an Ig Nobel prize for developing a way to extract vanillin from cow dung.

New Website

The website is up and running!!

Cheers,