February 25, 2014
I generally ignore climate change denialists on Twitter. I use The Zapper to do that, and it works great, better than blocking. But sometimes I check my Twitter feed on something other than Chrome on my own desktop or laptop and then I see them, and occasionally engage. When I do, I often see…
February 23, 2014
How do birds survive the cold weather, especially during really cold winters like the one we are having now in much of the United States?
One part of this answer has to be, sadly perhaps, that the sometimes don't. But I'll get to that later.
You need to know two things as context. First, there…
February 22, 2014
...About Tim Ball Associate John O'Sullivan
This is the latest on an interesting and complex legal battle related to climate science denialism.
Affidavits filed in the British Columbia Supreme Court libel litigation brought by climate scientist Michael Mann against climate science denier Timothy…
February 22, 2014
This search engine will scan a large number of sites known to have good climate change related information on them.
Below is a list of sites scanned. If you know of a site that is not included here but that should be, please put a link in the comments. Don't bother with climate…
February 22, 2014
Paul Douglas send me this photo: "Check out the piles of melting slush in the foreground; looks like half a foot (?) of dirty snow in that one clump. This takes weather whiplash to a new (and ridiculously jaw-dropping) level. Photo courtesy of Dana Cottingham Fricke, from Concord, Illinois."
The…
February 21, 2014
Mother Jone's Climate Desk has an excellent and important interview with Jennifer Francis and Kevin Trenberth. I can't really comment on it now due to lack of time but I think it is time for me to update my AA->QR->WW linkage post based on this discussion. I'll also bring this into my next…
February 21, 2014
I have some information on an interesting event coming up in Union, Missouri, in case you happen to be in the neighborhood:
“Climate Disruption in Missouri: Consequences and Solutions”
Date/Time: April 17, 2014 from 7pm to 9pm
Location: East Central College, Union, MO
Format: 60 to 75…
February 20, 2014
I'd love to describe the details to you but I don't think I can ever do as good a job as Representative Henry Waxman and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. They wrote a letter to McCain and Gingrich. Gave 'em a good shellacking, they did. I love this letter so much I'm giving it to you three times. First…
February 19, 2014
Remember the Fall Olympics in Vancouver? That was the year that skaters ... not the racing ones but the dancing ones ... were falling all the time as if they had some kind of special extra slippery ice on the skating rink. Well, this year, at Sochi II, we are witnessing the Fall Olympics mainly…
February 19, 2014
The BBC stepped in it. First, they engaged in a totally absurd "false balance" presentation regarding climate change, then in response (link below) they aired very reasonable complaints by listeners, and to this, they responded officially that everything is fine, you can go home and lock your…
February 19, 2014
Last night I attended a talk by meteorologist Paul Douglas, at the Eden Prairie High School. The talk was “Weird Weather: Minnesota’s New Normal? Our Changing Climate and What We Can Do About It,” and it was sponsored by Environment Minnesota, Cool Planet, and the Citizens Climate Lobby. I didn’t…
February 19, 2014
One of our local news stations, WCCO (Channel 4) CBS, has this story.
Blindness Isn’t Stopping This 15-Year-old H.S. Senior’s Quest For Knowledge
WAYZATA, Minn. (WCCO) – When the Wayzata Science Bowl team practices, they mean business. They just won the state championship, and they are now getting…
February 18, 2014
It has become difficult to rely on natural cold and snow even in traditional winter sports venues. This is because of increased temperatures caused by global warming. This may not be the biggest problem caused by climate change, but it is one that has attracted a certain amount of helpful…
February 18, 2014
Every year the Twin Cities Creation Science Association puts on a science fair which is sometimes called the Home Schooling Creation Science Fair. It used to be held at Har Mar mall, which was great because it is always a pleasure to stop in at Har Mar. But for the last two years, including last…
February 18, 2014
Global warming, shifting ecozones and changing the climatology of large reasons, is expected to, and has already shown the ability to, affect distribution and incidence of various diseases. The brain-eating Ameba comes to mind. As it were. There is some new research by Michael Grigg of the NIH…
February 18, 2014
The vast majority of the 10,000+ living species of birds are passerines, and the vast majority of those have a similar system of breeding: Mom and dad bird make a nest and share parental responsibilities roughly equally, if not identically. There are variations on that theme, of course. Even the…
February 13, 2014
First, let me note that if you are not a regular reader of Peter Sinclair's "Climate Denial Crock of the Week" you should be.
Peter's latest video is "Abrupt Climate Change, and the Expected Unexpected"
Senior Scientists discuss the potential for sudden disruptions of human and natural systems as…
February 13, 2014
Links to sites/commentary/lists for extreme weather events.
Articles or blog posts listing events
Top 10 Global Weather Events of 2011
2012 Extreme Weather Sets Records, Fits Climate Change Forecasts
2012 Infographic on severe weather events
Heat, Flood, Cold in 2012
Weather extremes: freak…
February 13, 2014
As PZ Myers points out, it is time for the Twin Cities Creation Science Fair! It is this Saturday, details here. Lorax is going.
Normally, those of us from the science community who go to this simply show up and wander around looking at the exhibits and talk science to the kids. No shenanigans.…
February 13, 2014
For the first time in weeks we are experiencing warm weather in central Minnesota (it is now 21 degrees F) with a bit of snow off and on. But elsewhere there are interesting things happening. First, in far northern California and the Pacific Northwest there will be rain. A LOT of rain. That's…
February 13, 2014
Not work safe especially if you work in a church:
2+2=5. Slap. Oh sorry.
This blog does not endorse all of the methods used in this video. But this blog did ROFLMAO.
Hat tip Bunny.
February 12, 2014
A planetarium is cool. Kids and adults alike are exposed to the vastness and intricacy of the Universe. A planetarium and the educational programs that go along with it can be a pillar of science education in a community. All the cool metropolitan areas have one. But we don't have one in the…
February 11, 2014
Charles Darwin was born on Febrary 12th, 1809, and lived until 1882. He was a geologist who significantly advanced our understanding of how coral reefs form. He contributed to the study of archaeology through his study of soil formation processes. Darwin made many contributions to the…
February 11, 2014
Everything is about ice these days, what with the Winter Olympics in full swing. Concerns that the temperatures at the mountain venue of Sochi would be problematically high have panned out; the lower parts of the downhill slopes are slushy and the bottom of the half-pipe is all bumbly wumply.…
February 11, 2014
There's a thing I've been doing every Spring for a few years no, privately. This year I decided to tell you all about it because I think you might find it useful. I call it the "Hope Graph."
I moved to Minnesota from a slightly warmer climate. The winters here are long, and they are made…
February 8, 2014
What?
Just watch:
February 7, 2014
I wrote this OpEd for MinnPost on science and Congress. Please go read it and comment!
February 7, 2014
It should have been a concern the day after Sochi won its bid for the Winter Olympic Games several years ago.
It is reported that authorities or private contractors are taking the street dogs off the streets in Sochi, in preparation for the Olympics, which start tonight. A friend of mine was…
February 5, 2014
Bill Nye "The Science Guy" went to the Creation Museum to debate "is creation a viable model of origins in today's modern scientific era?" After the debate, Bill Nye came to the Last Word to discuss his faceoff with the founder of the Creation Museum, Ken Ham.
Nye said he accepted the debate…
February 5, 2014
In the Spring of 2010, evangelical Bible scholar Bruce Waltke, in speaking about the overwhelming evidence for evolution, said “To deny that reality will make us a cult, some odd group that is not really interacting with the real world.”
In response to this, Ken Ham, president of Kentucky’s…
