January 9, 2014
Bioscience for the future has an update o the bee situation in Europe.
Europe has 13.4 million too few honeybee colonies to properly pollinate its crops, according to new research from the University of Reading.
The discovery, made by scientists at the University's Centre for Agri-Environmental…
January 9, 2014
Here's the thing: Shauna Theel has a video on the Polar Vortex vs. Rush Limbaugh:
Published on Jan 9, 2014
Media Matters Climate & Energy Program Director Shauna Theel debunks Rush Limbaugh's conspiracy that the "polar vortex" was created by the media to lie to you about climate change.
Peter…
January 9, 2014
As you know, Bill Nye has agreed to engage in a debate about evolution with Ken Ham at the Kentucky Creation Museum. You may also know that I suggested that this debate was a bad idea, not so much because it is Bill Nye doing it (he’s a great spokesperson for science and science education) but…
January 9, 2014
Bill Nye on CNN:
I think Bill is going to make excellent points in this debate. I don't think changing creationists minds is the point, as Bill Nye says. I also like Nye asking about the sincerity of the creationist point of view. I wish him the best of luck.
And not just luck, but Science-Power…
January 7, 2014
Everyone laughed ... earlier today ... when Rush Limbaugh claimed that the Polar Vortex, the ginormous weather phenomenon that brought so much cold to Canada and the United States over the last few days, was created by Liberals.
If Liberals can indeed create a planetary-level weather phenomenon…
January 7, 2014
I admit it is hard to imagine a National Center for Science Education without Genie Scott; the NCSE was Genie, and Genie was the NCSE.
But I think I know what Genie would say if she heard me say that. The NCSE will be fine without her, Ann Reid is going to do great, etc. etc. And, I'm sure that…
January 7, 2014
Extreme weather events of all kinds seem to be more common now than they were then. By now I mean the last five to ten years, approximately, and by then I mean ... well, before that. This is because of global warming.
The current Colding caused by a wandering Polar Vortex (which I've heard Rush…
January 6, 2014
I'll be giving a talk on climate change and related matters in Stillwater on Monday:
The Global and Local Impacts of Climate Change
Anthropogenic Climate Change, also misleadingly known as "Global Warming," has emerged as a significant reality affecting societies and economies around the world and…
January 5, 2014
If global warming is real, then why is it so cold?
We are hearing this question quite often today and it will be asked many times by many people over the next few days as record low temperatures are set in many parts of the United States. Here in Minnesota, for example, we have a good chance of…
January 4, 2014
Utah has gay marriage. Say no more. It's officially over at the highest levels, folks. You can't spend decades legislating and ordering equality from the chambers of congress, statehouses, and the benches of the high courts before, eventually, it becomes part of our culture to assume that the…
January 2, 2014
Word on the street is that Bill Nye is going to debate Ken Hamm at the Creationism "Museum" on February 4th. This is a bad idea for several reasons.
First, Bill Nye is not really an expert on evolution and is actually not that experienced in debates. Being really really pro science and science…
December 26, 2013
ALERT ALERT ALERT
Totally obvious phishing scam. Have a look:
If you look at the URL's this email links out to they are from .es domain and have nothing to do with apple. Pass it on.
December 24, 2013
How to make pumpkin pie
This makes one pie. You probably want two, so double everything.
PROCEDURE
PREHEAT oven to 425F. Set the rack to above the middle of the oven but not too high up.
Mix dry ingredients in one bowl.
Mix wet ingredients in a different bowl.
Mix the wet and dry ingredients…
December 17, 2013
Many, many things happened in the area of bird science this year, so this review can not be comprehensive. But I’ve compiled a sampling of this year’s news and events for your edification. I’ve organized them by date (month/day) of the approximate reporting or blogging time of the item of interest…
December 17, 2013
A new study has been published demonstrating, among other things, that the climate of Middle Earth has strong analogies in certain areas of Modern Earth. In particular, climate modeling indicates that The Shire is most similar to either Lincolnshire or Leicestershire in the UK or the vicinity of…
December 16, 2013
Usually when I mention The Hobbit I'm talking about the hominid, or something related to the hominid, or a book about the hominid. But here I want to point you to something related to the book by Tolkien and, of more immediate importance, about the science of the Hobbit and things related. You've…
December 15, 2013
Storms these days are universally enhanced by Global Warming, and right now we are having one of those Jet Stream Blocking thingies which is doing some amazing weather making. In Norway, Storm Ivar did a pretty good job of messing up these people's shopping plans:
I assume they started out with…
December 14, 2013
In an ongoing effort to discredit mainstream climate science, climate contrarians have incorrectly asserted that there is a “pause” in the rate of global warming. This was never true, but now, it is even less true.
(Originally Published Here)
To any objective observer, the Earth is now a world…
December 14, 2013
The best way to not look like an idiot is to shut up. Works every time. Why just a few minutes ago I said something really stupid because I confused UPS and USPS. Should have just kept my mouth shut, but I didn't.
This time of year a lot of people start sounding like idiots, quite possibly…
December 14, 2013
Surface temperatures are only one way to measure global warming, but it is a sort of standard and it is meaningful because surface temperatures have a lot to so with weather and such. Data for NASA's GLOBAL Land-Ocean Temperature Index in 0.01 degrees Celsius using a base period of 1951-1980 can…
December 7, 2013
This is a movie, narrated by Jodie Foster, produced by Robert Redford, directed by Pamela Green and Jarik van Sluijs, about the first woman director ever. She made the first narrative film ever. She also invented movie stars. Oh, and the thing where you have sound? She was the first to use…
December 7, 2013
Please join us. It will be at the West Metro Critical Thinking Club on Saturday, December 28, 2013, at 10:00 AM at the RidgePointe Senior Apartments on 12600 Marion Ln. W, Minnetonka, MN.
I know these people. This will be a tough audience. This is a well educated and thoughtful group. Also,…
December 7, 2013
The Accidental Species by my friend and colleague Henry Gee is a new, and excellent, book on Human Evolution. I recommend it. I'll even review it soon. But in the meantime, you can get a free chapter of it by clicking this link to download a PDF supplied by the NCSE.
December 7, 2013
Yes, there is a connection ...
The Imperial Japanese of World War II and the Nazi Germans of the same era held one thing in common: You were with them or you were nothing. Non-Japanese prisoners were treated very poorly. The lives of non Japanese who did not swear allegiance to the emperor were…
December 7, 2013
Content warning: Severe obnoxiousosity.
I cribbed this from NPR. The Brain Scoop channel is here. If you've not watched it you are missing some good stuff!
...Emily Graslie's "The Brain Scoop" is one of the warmest, slyest video blogs on the web. She's where I go to find out what museum…
December 6, 2013
Here's an infographic of some interest:
by sofyay. Explore more infographics like this one on the web's largest information design community - Visually.
If that embedded version doesn't work for you here's the big-huge version that is very readable but also big. And huge.
December 6, 2013
The Linux Journal Readers' Choice Awards are out with the current issue. Let's talk about some of them.
The number one distribution was, as usual Ubuntu. But, Ubuntu only got 16 percent, with Debian coming in second at 14.1 percent. So, one could say that Debian is strong since Ubuntu is based on…
December 5, 2013
Imagine going back in time to visit Nelson Mandela in prison and telling him this: "You will live through this and be free, you'll lead your country and set an unattainable example of leadership, you'll retire as president and die at a very old age. The violence associated with the end of Apartheid…
December 5, 2013
I've noted this before. Here is Peter Sinclair's video on the topic:
The most sobering evidence of the planet's response to greenhouse gases comes from the fossil record. New evidence scientists are collecting suggests that ice sheets may be more vulnerable than previously believed, which has huge…
December 5, 2013
Are there more tornadoes because of global warming? Are they stronger? Do they occur more frequently outside of the usual tornado season, or are they more common in areas that formerly had few tornadoes?
There are problems with all of these questions, and the main problem is the fact that the…
