The Gospel of Consumption
Where citizenship and consumerism collide. "If everyone were satisfied, no one would buy the new thing because no one would want it."Posted on June 11, 2008 9:45 AM • 6 Comments •
The World's Fair
All manner of human creativity on display
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Profile
David Ng is Director of the Advanced Molecular Biology Laboratory at the University of British Columbia - this is a just a fancier way of calling himself a science teacher.
Benjamin Cohen is an Asst. Professor of Science, Tech., and Society at the University of Virginia. He studies the place of S & T in environmental history, policy, and ethics. He also writes other stuff.
Trying to find your way around this place? Like most expositions, we offer a map: Map of The World's Fair
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Recent Posts
- Write a little something sciency - win a dinosaur book!
- Environmental histories of settlement in Canada and New Zealand
- Darwin and Creationism Podcasts: on scientific method; the Cold War; and Jews, Catholics, Muslims
- The Great Pacific Trash Vortex
- Sizzle. Enjoyable but more dazzle perhaps?
- Faith and Mystery
- The real story of a life is the story of its humiliations: Seshadri's "Memoir"
- What did they recall today?
- Just about the most perfect picture (and book) you can use to start talking to kids about climate change.
- 3 Song Mix #4
Recent Comments
- wrpd on Write a little something sciency - win a dinosaur book!
- AIAM on Environmental histories of settlement in Canada and New Zealand
- themadlolscientist on Darwin and Creationism Podcasts: on scientific method; the Cold War; and Jews, Catholics, Muslims
- Will on Can you solve Puzzle Fantastica #3? - The Final Clue...
- sexshop erotikshop on Darwin and Creationism Podcasts: on scientific method; the Cold War; and Jews, Catholics, Muslims
- Brian on Faith and Mystery
- Lisa on The real story of a life is the story of its humiliations: Seshadri's "Memoir"
- hunter ludian on Save the Earth: Ban NASCAR
- FAC on Another great Chris Jordan image: 1 million disposable cups - the amount used by airline flights in the US every six hours.
- Tim on Just about the most perfect picture (and book) you can use to start talking to kids about climate change.
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And so forth...
Ethics Palace: Where ethical questions go to live or die:
Mo Willems and Richard Dawkins: The tale of two talks...
Part of the reason for this post is just to say that I've finally been able to put up the Richard Dawkins' talk at the terry.ubc.ca site. This is essentially his "God Delusion" speech, and it happens to be available...Posted on June 10, 2008 7:58 AM • 2 Comments •
Are Nuclear Plants A Gun to Our Heads?
Circa 1976, an editorial cartoon from Bill Mauldin. File this under "everything old is new again"?...Posted on June 9, 2008 9:00 AM • 16 Comments •
Farmers Do Social Networking Too: New Models in Sustainable Agriculture
Do you eat food? If so, this might be of interest to you.Posted on June 4, 2008 1:25 PM • 0 Comments •
One More Thing You Shouldn't Inhale: The Past and Future (But No Present) of Carbon Nanotubes and Asbestos
Blah NANO blah blah blah ASBESTOS blah PATHOGEN blah blahPosted on June 3, 2008 8:00 AM • 4 Comments •
Engineers, Scientists, and Environmental Justice
Crafting transformations in science and engineering for an environmentally sustainable and just future.Posted on May 28, 2008 8:00 AM • 0 Comments •
Bisphenol-A: The One Act Play
Drama! Intrigue! Denialists Exposed! Endocrine Disruption?Posted on May 27, 2008 9:45 AM • 8 Comments •
Women Aren't Interested in Engineering, They Just Aren't
"In the long run men hit only what they aim at." H.D. Thoreau, Walden This post's title is the poorly reasoned conclusion to a poorly reported and poorly conducted study. I couldn't tell if it was simply bad reporting at...Posted on May 20, 2008 1:25 PM • 11 Comments •
Your Foodometer: Eat Less Oil
Summarizing some points on local food, community supported agriculture (CSAs), and energy, here's a Youtube catch....Posted on May 18, 2008 9:15 AM • 4 Comments •
EPA Official Fired Over Dow Chemical Dispute
Office of EPA administrator Stephen Johnson tells regional administrator to quit or be fired by June 1 after conflict with Dow Chemical.Posted on May 5, 2008 10:30 AM • 0 Comments •
20 Ways Meat Packers Reduce Costs from Farm to Table: This Month's Alternative Sponsor at The World's Fair
Strangely, this is about India's Pressure on Dow Chemical to Cleanup BhopalPosted on April 7, 2008 12:00 PM • 0 Comments •
Insect Cyborg Engineering
Not for any particular reason, DARPA seeks innovative proposals to develop technology to create insect-cyborgs.Posted on March 21, 2008 2:45 PM • 0 Comments •
What does Cuba have to do with the new $100 Barrel of Oil?
19 February 2008 was historic: here is what it suggests about the future of alternative energy and our fossil fuel lifestylePosted on February 21, 2008 9:00 AM • 9 Comments •
Food Wars: Help Me Obi Wan Cannoli, You're My Only Hope
So says Princess Lettuce, heading the Organic Rebellion with Cuke Skywalker...and May the Farm Be With YouPosted on February 13, 2008 4:00 PM • 1 Comments •
Eco-footprints and Academia (part 2)
How do we add moral and qualitative dimensions to the prevailing quantitative mindset about environmentalism?Posted on February 12, 2008 5:10 PM • 5 Comments •
The World's First Artificial Organism
Is Venter's newest pursuit the greatest gap b/t science's creative abilities and the public's understanding of it?Posted on February 5, 2008 4:25 PM • 7 Comments •
When You Find Out You've Been Waterboarded
Has there ever been anyone who's served that hasn't had bad dreams about being forced to return?Posted on January 7, 2008 8:20 AM • 2 Comments •
Again with the Lazy Environmentalists
"Never has so little been asked of so many at such a critical moment." Michael Maniates, a professor of environmental science and political science at Alleghany College, contributed a compelling op-ed to the Washington Post recently, "Going Green? Easy Doesn't...Posted on December 10, 2007 9:00 AM • 9 Comments •
Three Looks at the Torture Conversation (and a nod to atheism)
Waterboarding. This is the topic for debate in our modern world. We go on and on about progress in civilization, yet we're talking about torture. Here are three recent views on the subject: This Modern World, The Onion, and Doonesbury....Posted on December 6, 2007 1:00 PM • 1 Comments •
Setting Research Agendas and The 'Ounce Prevention/Pound Cure' Aphorism
On matters of research agenda-setting, policy making, and government in scientific medical research, circa 1977Posted on November 30, 2007 3:15 PM • 4 Comments •
Toxins in Our Food: This Month's Alternative Sponsor at The World's Fair
A take on the kinds of adulterated food the late 20th c. brought us. Oh how tame Upton Sinclair seems now.Posted on November 28, 2007 8:45 AM • 1 Comments •
An Iraq Cartoon -- remember Iraq? That war?
We can't leave Iraq because it's going (a) well or (b) badlyPosted on November 26, 2007 3:04 PM • 3 Comments •
AID stats are off (and like the point is?)
Well, one of the big news items these days, is the "re-adjustment" of HIV infection statistics coming out of UNAIDS. Apparently, the numbers that have been used over the last couple of years have been too high and that the...Posted on November 21, 2007 1:07 PM • 5 Comments •
Swiss Alpine Resort Replaces Dow Chemical
Come for October's alternative sponsor; stay to see what an "eight-way gene stack" isPosted on October 5, 2007 9:18 AM • 0 Comments •
Have Your Cow and Eat It Too: Part II on Food Choices
When it comes to food choices, Yogurt and dairy seem easiest. Plus, aesthetics matter too.Posted on August 22, 2007 8:00 AM • 0 Comments •
How Do You Choose Your Food?
Money, taste, nutrition, time, convenience, source...a discussion about food philosophies.Posted on August 21, 2007 8:07 AM • 9 Comments •
A Word About Our Sb Sponsors
And the introduction of our newest sponsor, "Men Determining Depth of Well"Posted on August 20, 2007 6:00 AM • 2 Comments •
"Is It For Me?": Bell Telephone System is This Week's World's Fair Sponsor
Documents show that Dow Chemical has been pressing India to disassociate the firm from the 1984 tragedyPosted on August 12, 2007 9:40 PM • 0 Comments •
Thar be monsters: Science, Religion, Art, and the Fear of the Unknown
Fear of the unknown; or, whence Adorno, Sartre, Christo, Rumsfeld, and Plato all fit in one postPosted on August 10, 2007 8:30 AM • 4 Comments •
The Encyclopedia Britannica: This Week's World's Fair Sponsor
This week's alternative sponsor for the blog. Inquire within....Posted on August 7, 2007 8:17 AM • 2 Comments •
Cogitations on an Accident
Overtures to certainty in science and engineering paired with uncertainty in fiction.Posted on August 2, 2007 2:33 PM • 0 Comments •
Monsanto Patents Rejected
A remarkable story from the Public Patent Foundation about harassing, intimidating, suing American farmers.Posted on July 26, 2007 6:10 PM • 0 Comments •
EPA Releases Endocrine Disrupter Screening List: But Where's Bisphenol-A?
Data on human body burden of chemicals -- too many to test & an EPA too slow to try.Posted on July 9, 2007 10:30 AM • 0 Comments •
The Toxic Behavior of Our Sponsor: Dow's Social and Environmental Catastrophes In Sight
Can PR barrage outpace environmental problems? The race is on.Posted on July 5, 2007 10:37 AM • 0 Comments •
The Sam's Club Model of Environmentalism (Buy More!)
On the the burgeoning commoditization of the environmental movement.Posted on July 3, 2007 11:00 AM • 2 Comments •
Beyond Toxicology: Nanotechnology, Ethics, and Known Unknowns (Part II)
Part II of our conversation with Cyrus Mody, Ph.D., about nanotechnology and society. Part I is here. Part III is here. For all installments of this Authors-meet-Bloggers series, see our archive....Posted on June 26, 2007 8:15 AM • 0 Comments •
Nanotechnology: Where Did It Come From? What Is It For?
Prof. Cyrus Mody discusses nanotech origins, futures, and sidelines. Oh, and Lost.Posted on June 25, 2007 1:32 PM • 3 Comments •
Oh For Pete's Sake, Bush Said it Again!
He again insists on ending the Iraq War, or, again, so I surmise from this quote half-heard on the radio this morning: "Destroying human life to save human life is just not ethical." I always suspected he didn't read our...Posted on June 21, 2007 11:34 AM • 3 Comments •
Bush Apparently Supports End to War
So I surmise from a half-heard radio report this morning. On my way into town today I heard part of a story where Bush was said to have stated (I'm paraphrasing, from memory) taxpayers should not have to support the...Posted on June 20, 2007 9:56 AM • 4 Comments •
What We Waste: A View of E-Trash
Of >20 million tons of e-waste generated globally; most goes to developing world.Posted on June 12, 2007 2:19 PM • 0 Comments •
What We Waste: A View of Consumption
A series of images to help visualize consumption (every 5 seconds, every 5 minutes, every day)Posted on June 6, 2007 1:14 PM • 4 Comments •
Eat Local
Making the right choice for health, taste, bio-security, and ecological harmony.Posted on June 5, 2007 4:43 PM • 1 Comments •
Save the Earth: Ban NASCAR
NEXTEL Cup cars get 2 to 5 miles per gallon, and with leaded gas.Posted on May 31, 2007 1:52 PM • 20 Comments •
Pollution and Human Life in West Virginia
Old quote: "A reality of soul starvation, of living death, that meets you every day..."Posted on May 23, 2007 10:18 PM • 0 Comments •
World's Fair Sponsored by Hungarian Cookery -- Yum!!
Why? ...they accept *both* Mastercard and Visa.Posted on May 17, 2007 4:52 PM • 4 Comments •
Science and religion: This seems like the sort of piece that might generate some discussion round these parts.
The SCQ recently published an interesting piece on the topic of science and religion. It's called "Science, Religion, and the Creation of Life on Earth."...Posted on May 11, 2007 3:44 PM • 10 Comments •
Pro Life Ends at Birth
The contrast between the yet-to-be-born and the already-born. A bumper sticker proposal.Posted on May 9, 2007 11:59 AM • 12 Comments •
Go Carbon Neutral, Yeehaw!
Want to fight global warming without changing anything about lifestyle?...Posted on May 4, 2007 5:09 PM • 1 Comments •
New Ad at The World's Fair -- Come and See It!
Since we scorn corporate ads, we'll do our own advertising here. Today's ad: So giddy up and head on over to Cutter Bill's. And tell 'em D and B sentcha!...Posted on May 2, 2007 4:55 PM • 0 Comments •
Teaching After April 16th
Link to a wiki site at Virginia Tech meant to help teaching about and after April 16th.Posted on April 23, 2007 10:55 AM • 0 Comments •
The Consequences of Corn
More attention to the dangers of gung ho ethanolism.Posted on April 5, 2007 3:16 PM • 7 Comments •
Bees are dying: who cares?
"By relying on a single species for pollination, US agriculture has put itself in a precarious position"Posted on April 5, 2007 10:24 AM • 1 Comments •
Everything Old is New Again: Lead Poisoning
Breaking research from 1846 to today: lead, poison, knowledge and action...Posted on April 4, 2007 4:39 PM • 2 Comments •
'Environmentalism As Bad As Communism'
So says Czech President Vaclav Klaus, fan of Thatcher, admirer of Reagan, despiser of global warming rhetoric. Speaking to U.S. Congresspeople last week, he offered a few nuggets to chew on (but didn't mix metaphors like that). The Inter Press...Posted on April 3, 2007 3:00 PM • 0 Comments •
Organic Food Is Better For Us -- So Why Don't We All Eat It?
Peter Melchett writes in The Guardian (on-line) that the scientific evidence for organic food's healthier claims is clear and persuasive. (Melchett is "policy director of the Soil Association, a UK organic food and farming organisation.") But will that sway governments...Posted on March 30, 2007 11:59 PM • 8 Comments •
Confrontation of good versus evil: Re-examining the Stanford Prison Experiment
Philip Zimbardo, professor emeritus of psychology at Stanford University and the guy who conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment in 1971, writes today in the Chronicle of Higher Education about the lessons and conduct of that pyschological test. The conclusion of...Posted on March 30, 2007 9:45 AM • 4 Comments •
Mountain Top Removal Update: Oprah's In On It Too!
Grist has been posting many excellent links, discussions, and interviews about Mountaintop Coal Removal in the Appalachians. It's been a while since we added to our MTR posts (one, two, three, four), so allow me to do so now. photo...Posted on March 29, 2007 4:10 PM • 2 Comments •
Ethanol Hype: "Corn Can't Solve Our Problem"
More destruction of ecosystems for new farmland and increases in CO2...?Posted on March 26, 2007 1:36 PM • 4 Comments •
Enough
The Logic of Sufficiency, as opposed to efficiency...when do we have enough?Posted on March 23, 2007 10:29 AM • 0 Comments •
Misguided Science of the Day
ecologically wise? "genetically-modified mosquitoes resistant to a malaria parasite"...Posted on March 22, 2007 10:43 AM • 8 Comments •
Environmentally-Conscious Scientific Field Research
About the ecological footprint of scientific field research, keeping the "field" ecologically visible.Posted on March 18, 2007 8:00 AM • 1 Comments •
Environmental Justice (outside the West) and the Argument Against Nuclear Power
What can non-technical aspects of oil tell us about nuclear proposals?Posted on March 7, 2007 11:30 AM • 8 Comments •
"China Needs an Ecologized Social Democratic System"
Politics/policy/ecology/industry/the trust of one Chinese native in new party possibilities....Posted on February 26, 2007 9:56 PM • 1 Comments •
My Brain Scan Can Read Your Intentions
So says "a team of world-leading neuroscientists" who can read people's intentions before they act.Posted on February 20, 2007 3:59 PM • 0 Comments •
That MIT Hunger Strike Guy Ended His Strike!
Sherley lasted 12 days, lost 20 pounds, got some press, and still the issue isn't clear to me.Posted on February 18, 2007 2:56 PM • 2 Comments •
Green Campuses
Are campuses crucial leaders in making large-scale, resource-demanding institutions more environmentally friendly? Here are the grades.Posted on February 17, 2007 2:14 PM • 2 Comments •
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists endorses nuclear power as "an alternative energy source"
Why do anti-nuclear atomic scientists support the production of more nuclear material?Posted on February 13, 2007 12:07 PM • 15 Comments •
When Talking About Science is Dangerous
Frustrated with Mooney and Sokal, what can science studiers do?Posted on February 9, 2007 2:49 PM • 13 Comments •
That MIT Guy Actually Went on His Hunger Strike
Here's an update from a previous post about James Sherley, at MIT, who'd threatened late last year to go on a hunger strike to protest not getting tenure....Posted on February 6, 2007 8:53 AM • 3 Comments •
Organic Animal Cookies
I teach engineering ethics, so I should be expected to have a more nuanced take on this, but this is where I am, as regards organic animal cookies: it just seems wrong....Posted on February 4, 2007 4:42 PM • 3 Comments •
Wind Blows; Mountains Lose; Mountains Win; It's a Mess
When it isn't a matter of science or not. It's whose science that's the issue...Posted on January 30, 2007 12:05 PM • 1 Comments •