Wirbel, Loring 1957-

PERSONAL:

Born May 31, 1957, in Grand Ledge, MI; son of Louis (an attorney) and Louise (a journalist) Wirbel; married Carol Rumsey (a nurse), August 30, 1986; children: Abigail. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: Attended Michigan State University, 1975- 77, and Arizona State University, 1978-79; University of Arizona, B.A., 1982. Politics: Independent. Religion: Methodist.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Colorado Springs, CO. Office— P.O. Box 829, Monument, CO 80132. E-mail— [email protected].

CAREER:

Albuquerque Tribune, Albuquerque, NM, science editor, 1982-84; Electronic News, San Francisco, CA, semiconductors editor, 1984-86; CMP Media, Manhasset, NY, editor, 1986—. Board member, First Steps Spirituality Center, Global Network against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, and Pikes Peak Justice and Peace Commission.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Awards from Project Censored, 1981, 2005; named writer/series of the month, Scripps-Howard Newspapers, 1984.

WRITINGS:

Star Wars: U.S. Tools of Space Supremacy, Pluto Press (Sterling, VA), 2004.

Contributor to books, including Masters of War, edited by Carl Boggs, Routledge (New York, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS:

Loring Wirbel told CA: "Except for a bit of poetry, I write almost exclusively nonfiction. I think that responsible citizens need to be well informed about the technological, economic, and environmental infrastructure around them, and that the world has far too few demystifiers and translators. I began my career as a journalist, but decided more specialists were needed to bring science and technology, and the social implications thereof, to a wider audience."