February 5, 2017
The year 2016 was messy and expensive and full of climate change enhanced weather disasters. There were, according to Jeff Masters and Bob Henson, over 30 billion dollar disasters last year.
This is the fourth-largest number on record going back to 1990, said insurance broker Aon Benfield in their…
February 5, 2017
Depending on where you work, may not be work safe.
February 4, 2017
Rosa Parks wasn't just some kid who decided to defy white authority and relinquish her seat on the bus.
For one thing, she was a bit older than a kid. For another, she carried out this defiant act as part of a larger strategy to cause necessary and urgent change in the rules of society.
When the…
February 3, 2017
Drones are so early 20th century:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=35&v=92RpDNAvNH0
That doesn't actually look too hard to make. The only tricky part is how to attach it to the monkey.
February 3, 2017
The State Department has been in the state of chaos over several days, between the Trump Transition Team failing to staff up the Executive Branch, high level officers leaving on their own accord, and so on.
And a mere hours ago, Oil Man Rex Tillerson has been officially sworn in as Security of…
February 2, 2017
There have been significant wildfires in Chile since November, and they continue. These are the worst fires Chile has seen in known history, and Chile has been keeping track of its history for quite a while.
Are these fires climate change caused? Apparently so. Chile has had a rain deficit for…
February 2, 2017
The Dogs Still Bark in Dutch
I grew up in the old Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, now known to you as the State of New York. There, I carried out extensive archaeological and historic research, and along the way, came across that phrase, “the dogs still bark in Dutch.”
It is an idea that might…
February 2, 2017
Correction: Apparently, the part about Gorsuch creating a "Fascism Forever Club" is a falsehood! Well, that's what we get for using the Daily Mail. (In my defense, I originally rejected this story when sent to me because of the source, but then USA Today picked it up. Even thought USA Today was…
February 2, 2017
Congressional Republicans, voting party line, will end an important provision protecting streams and rivers from coal waste, and a requirement that oil companies report payments to Foreign Governments. The former is blatant hippie punching anti environmental evil. The latter is a fully expected out…
February 1, 2017
Your objective is to learn Python programming. Everybody has to learn Python.
You are looking for a book that will make that easier for you. One possibility, one that I'll recommend for most people in this situation, is Python Crash Course: A Hands-On, Project-Based Introduction to Programming…
February 1, 2017
The March for Science is scheduled to take place April 22, 2017 in DC . Hashtag #ScienceMarch
Twitter account here.
Web site here, though not much there yet, this was JUST announced seconds ago.
Please note that they are accepting donations. Click through to the donations page to give a donation…
February 1, 2017
Well, not my placenta exactly, but ... well, someone's?
Did you now that the placenta that is born out of a female primate's body is an organ of the infant also being born? It is the first body part you lose. I use the term "primate" here because, even though all the "placental mammals" as we are…
February 1, 2017
Neil Gorsuch is a significant and meaningful choice for SCOTUS. The image above is not fake, it really is his Harvard Law yearbook photo. If he was a Democratic pick, that one image would end him. Since he is a Republican pick, democrats have a Big Tent instead of a spine, and Republicans have…
January 30, 2017
Those of us concerned with climate change are especially concerned with the nomination of former Exxon chief Rex Tillerson to be Secretary of State. Well, Rex Tillerson was just confirmed by the US Senate.
Donald Trump is the least liked president ever for this point in a term. And, Rex Tillerson…
January 30, 2017
Two Polls came out a few days ago, but I'm afraid that the news cycles have been swamped and they may have been missed. Here are some simple graphics. Plenty more data can be found at Public Policy Polling, and see RM on MSBNC below for more.
January 30, 2017
A brief update: This morning, Senate Republicans set aside the rules that say that both parties must be present, with at least one member, for a committee vote to advance a Presidential nominee for a cabinet appointment.
In other words, as outlined below, our system is based not only on enforceable…
January 29, 2017
It sounds a lot like two hands clapping, but quieter, because you can only do it by slapping your thumb against a couple of your other fingers and not to hard. This, of course, leaves open another important philosophical question. Is a thumb a finger?
A while back my friend Massimo Pigliucci took…
January 27, 2017
Asking for a friend...
But seriously, this is a real question. For example, several years ago, Herbert Weinstein tossed his wife out the window of their Manhattan apartment, after killing her, following an argument. He was well known to be a non violent person, and there was really no good reason…
January 25, 2017
Mary Tyler Moore has always had a certain amount of grace, and just now, she had the grace to wait until a reasonable time after the spate of celebrity deaths that captivated the Internet for weeks to pass on to the great Newsroom In The Sky.
She played Laura Petrie on the Dick Van Dyke Show, but…
January 25, 2017
Last October I reviewed Scratch Programming Playground, by Al Sweigart.
You will recall that Scratch is a programming language that uses drag and drop elements to construct a program.
Individual objecgts, including "sprites" that can move around on the screen, as well as static graphic elements…
January 25, 2017
I'm only just digesting this, but it appears that Judith Curry, climate scientist turned anti-climate change activist (more or less) has joined the Koch Brothers front group "Cause of Action".
How do we know this? Because she has filed an Amicus Brief (2017.01.25 Mot. for Leave to File, Nos. 14-cv-…
January 25, 2017
This is a press release from the Natural Resources Committee Democrats, US House of Representatives concerning President Trump's decision and actions to push ahead with two highly controversial petroleum pipeline projects.
These projects had previously been stopped because they did not meet…
January 24, 2017
The solar energy field now produces the larest share of jobs in US Power generation. There are 374,000 jobs i Solar right now, compared to fewer than 190,00 in coal, gas, and oil.
This corresponds to shifts in the amount of electricity produced by these various sources, as indicated in the…
January 24, 2017
It is a good idea to occassionally experience history. This helps us understand ourselves, and our possible futures, better. Much of this is done through reading excellent texts. For example, I'm currently reading Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin.…
January 24, 2017
From ClimateTruth.org, in response to Trump gag orders on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA):
“President Trump and his administration have ignored scientific reality, and now they’re trying to hide it.
“Merely five days into Donald…
January 24, 2017
It is generally felt that Trump's claims of voter fraud, especially, apparently, by illegal aliens -- Or some kind of alien, not sure -- could be a prelude, or excuse for some kind of widespread voter suppression campaign. In any event, these repeated claims were once thought of as an odd and…
January 24, 2017
The science is clear: Human caused global warming is happening and is serious. Building and expanding infrastructure to make it easier to burn fossil fuels is a very bad idea. The Keystone XL pipeline and the Dakota Access pipeline were two such projects, and in recent years, the environmental…
January 23, 2017
April 2016, white house correspondents dinner:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxFkEj7KPC0
January 23, 2017
I'm not sure this has happened before, and most people are unaware, so I thought a quick note was in order.
If you were previously following the President of the United States on Twitter, when it was Barack Obama, you followed @POTUS.
Twitter has created an account called @POTUS44, which is for…
January 20, 2017
This is not a time to be distracted, to turn away from politics, to eschew activism. In fact, if you are an American Citizen, you have to look back at your life and recognize that you screwed up, in two ways. First, whatever time you spent agitating and activating and acting out, turns out, was…
