Back to Work

As a lot of you probably knew long before I did (we loaned our computer to our housemate who is frantically prepping for his orals ;-)), Scienceblogs took down the Pepsi blog. This actually exceeded my requests to management as parameters for me coming back. I had asked that Scienceblogs create a separate area for its advertorial content, mark it explicitly as such, and distinguish it visually from the other blogs. They removed it entirely. So I'm back.

There are other issues at scienceblogs as well, which you've probably all heard about now - I think my colleague Martin Rundkvist gets a lot of them really right, but most of them are less relevant to me than others. I came here pretty much for one reason - because I thought the acknowledgement that peak oil and the problem of resource limits was a mainstream issue that deserved a public platform among other major scientific issues affecting our future. I didn't even care particularly that it be my blog they picked up - in fact, I was surprised they did because I'm not a scientist, I'm a writer, and while I do science writing, I also do other writing - and had no intention of changing my focus. I asked, when recruited, if they wanted to reconsider. They said not, and here I am.

Dealing with our material limits is a basic scientific challenge, and someone should be writing about it among the folks doing other science writing. As long as putting this up on a science blogging platform usefully brings it to people's attention who might not otherwise know about this stuff, and as long as writing for science blogs raises the profile of peak oil and climate change and sustainable food issues, rather than lowering it, I'll be here (or at least until they get such a large stable of energy writers that I'm not needed anymore ;-).)

On the other hand, I'm spending a few days visiting family right now, among other things celebrating my aunt's 90th birthday. So while the blog is back online, it will be quiet as I, well, live my life.

Sharon

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I'd been planning to write this post for several days, and then late last night, got a nasty surprise that changed the focus of it for me. By now many of you will have heard that Pepsi bought a blog on science blogs and is using to to establish credibility by writing a blog focused ummm...on food…
I'm late to the party: I was in Europe, and before that I was in Los Angeles, and before that Colorado, and I am time-shifted and sleep-deprived (hate it: Takes away energy, intellectual nimbleness -- yeah, I got some -- and any ability to multi-task). And that's enough with the lame excuses.…
First of all, I owe y'all an apology for the radio silence. Somehow this month I've felt a deep need for some quiet, rest and offlineness. It was quite an autumn here - it started with the destruction of Irene and Lee (and dealing with those disasters are still a major part of life in our…

I'm glad that Scienceblogs listens to their readers and authors, and doubly glad to continue reading you here (for convenience's sake).

By DerelictHat (not verified) on 09 Jul 2010 #permalink

Wherever you're posting I'll be reading, but it is nice to see the whole Pepsi debacle resolved.

This actually exceeded my requests to management as parameters for me coming back ending my hissy fit.

I am far more concerned about Science Blogs wanting to provide a platform for your unscientific dreck than I would ever be about Pepsi. Please reconsider your decision to come back. And don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.

Bite Me, frankly, you're an ass yourself.

By Stephen B. (not verified) on 09 Jul 2010 #permalink

Stevie B:

You realize that "I know you are, but what am I" is unlikely to impress anyone beyond the third grade, do you not?

Not that a regular reader of a blog such as this is likely to know anything about probability theory. Or science. Or logic.

I just wanted to say that I'm so glad you came to Scienceblogs in the first place. I would never have found your writing, or become aware of this peak oil business otherwise. Now I am an active member of our local community garden society and other sustainability efforts in our area. So glad to see that you're back so that hopefully other people who were unawares like me will see the light.

Oh, I see Bite Me. You never went to school. That explains a lot about you.

By Stephen B. (not verified) on 10 Jul 2010 #permalink

Don't feed the troll.