Environment
oracknows | August 27, 2007Vacation time! While Orac is gone recharging his circuits and contemplating the linguistic tricks of limericks and jokes or the glory of black holes, he's rerunning some old stuff from his original Blogspot blog. This particular post first appeared on December 21, 2005 Enjoy!
When you blog about a certain topic long enough and post strong opinions about it often enough, you start to gain a reputation as one of the go-to bloggers on that particular topic, whether you originally intended it that way or not. Consequently, I wasn't too suprised when a reader sent me a piece by another blogger…
hrynyshyn | August 24, 2007So Leonardo DiCaprio is picking up where Al Gore left off in the battle to keep Earth habitable. Is this a good thing?
Set aside, for the purposes of this discussion, any misgivings you might have about DiCaprio's acting prowess or lack thereof. They guy has a certain ineffable quality that has propelled him to the top tiers of celebrity, and he has, to his credit, decided to spend some that charismatic capital on the climate change campaign.
There are risks with embracing political and social movements, and not just to one's own career. Many would argue that one of the primary reason why…
bcohen | August 21, 2007
*This post was written by intern Kate Lee.
There's been a lot of discussion around the World's Fair lately about food (Food Miles, Chinese Agriculture, Science and the Farm Bill, Subsidies and the Small Farm). Up until about a month ago, I was employed by the food industry, and that position opened my eyes to a number of patterns in human food consumption around Boston. I became very attentive (in and outside of work) to the way people approached their food choices, what they chose, how they asked for it, how they consumed it, and how they exited the experience. I couldn't resist sharing…
ksharpe | August 20, 20078.13.07 to 8.19.07
Homepage Buzzes
8/13: Science Panel on C-SPAN
On Saturday, C-SPAN aired a televised broadcast of the "Science, Politics, and Activism" panel that took place on August 3 at the YearlyKos Convention. The video of the panel, moderated by Tara Smith and featuring science bloggers Sean Carroll, Chris Mooney, and Ed Brayton, is available online.
8/14:Karl Rove Out
Karl Rove, who has been a political adviser to President Bush for over 10 years, has announced his plans to resign as White House deputy chief of staff. He will leave his position on August 31, bringing to an end an…
clock | August 15, 2007There are 29 new papers on PLoS ONE this week, and it is difficult to narrow down to just a few of my own 'choices':
An Inhibitory Sex Pheromone Tastes Bitter for Drosophila Males:
For animals to breed successfully they must avoid trying to mate with individuals of the same sex. Lacaille and colleagues show that an organic compound, Z-7-tricosene, is carried on the cuticular surface of the fruit fly Drosophila. This compound tastes bitter to flies and acts as a pheromone that prevents male-male courtship.
Protistan Diversity in the Arctic: A Case of Paleoclimate Shaping Modern Biodiversity?:…
sb admin | August 15, 2007The Salt Lake Tribune reports that a third borehole has reached a cavity in the Crandall Canyon mine, but efforts to lower a microphone into it have failed so far. The Tribune has the most extensive coverage of the rescue efforts, and in a blog post yesterday Arianna Huffington contrasts its performance to that of the New York Times:
⦠the Times has been thoroughly scooped by the Salt Lake Tribune, which uncovered a memo revealing that there had been serious structural problems at the Crandall Canyon Mine in March -- in an area just 900 feet from the section of the mine that collapsed last…
angrytoxicologist | August 15, 2007Friends of Earth put out a report on nanotechnology and sunscreens recently. They bungled it. Big time.
A little background.
Zinc (Zn) and Titanium (Ti) Oxides are the best sun protectants known. They don't break down in the sun and they have broad UVA UVB coverage. However, they are bright opaque white (you remember the thick white stuff lifeguards put on their noses and ears?). If you make it small enough, though, the solution will be clear, not white, and still do a good job. Most nanoparticles in sunscreen may be nano in terms of size, but nanotechnology (from a toxicology perspective)…
grrlscientist | August 13, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Male Common Nighthawk, Chordeiles minor, photographed in June on the Konza Prairie (this also is my screensaver).
Also known as "bullbats", apparently from their habit of swooping around cattle in pastures to pick off the insects stirred up by the bovines. You can tell it is a male from the white throat, which is buffy in the females. I just love the feather patterns on these birds; they are a subtle masterpiece. [This species also seems to be declining; the original New York state breeding bird atlas found…
sb admin | August 11, 2007by Ken Ward, Jr. (This item first appeared on Nieman Watchdog; posted with permission)
Often after accidents like the one at Crandall Canyon, Utah, mine operators claim their mines had relatively few violations. Even if thatâs trueâand often it isnâtâârelatively fewâ just isnât good enough in a risky venture like coal mining. As I write this, the news out of Crandall Canyon, Utah, is not looking good. The Associated Press reports that a tiny microphone lowered deep into the earth early Friday picked up no evidence that six coal miners caught in cave-in four days ago were still alive. …
evolvingthoughts | August 10, 2007
Rob Wilson has a new entry up at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, entitled "The Biological notion of an individual". It discusses an interesting problem, one that goes back to discussions by Julian Huxley in 1911. What is an individual in biology?
The term "individual" means, etymologically, that which is not divisible. Of course we can divide up organisms, but if we do this physically, they immediately thereafter cease to be the organism. Except... there are colonial organisms that can be so divided - sponges, hydras, slime molds, and so on. To make matters worse (much worse, as…
chaoticutopia | August 10, 2007Oh, what a week. I’m still trying to recover from the YearlyKos convention. I had a blast, like the year before, even though I had some trouble with internet access this time. The access at the convention was wonderful... as long as there was sufficient power on one’s laptop. In the Hyatt above, however, access was more than I could afford. So, there I was, with lots to blog about, and no way to do it. There were enough things waiting for me at home that I haven’t had time to catch up until now.
I’d like to share the inspiring experiences I had in Chicago (eventually) but first, I have a few…
neurophilosophy | August 9, 2007
(From the Gilbert Lab at the University of Texas)
This carpenter ant (genus Campanotus), and the bullet ant in the first film clip below (Paraponera clavata), have fallen victim to parasitic fungi of the genus Cordyceps, which manipulate the behaviour of their host in order to increase their own chances of reproducing.
The spores of the fungus attach themselves to the external surface of the ant, where they germinate. They then enter the ant's body through the tracheae (the tubes through which insects breathe), via holes in the exoskeleton called spiracles. Fine fungal filaments called…
sb admin | August 9, 2007The expert panel evaluating the chemical bisphenol A for the National Toxicology Program has âsome concernâ that BPA exposure causes neural and behavioral effects in developing fetuses, infants, and children. The panel has âminimal concernâ or ânegligible concernâ that BPA affects the prostate or causes premature puberty or birth defects. (PDF draft meeting summary here)
Several scientists and health advocates have expressed far more concern about the effects of BPA, an estrogen-like compound thatâs found in plastic and also in most of our bodies. Last week, 38 scientists published a…
hrynyshyn | August 9, 2007First, the bad news: the current issue of Biology Letters reports the extinction of the baiji, or Yangtze River dolphin, in what amounts to the official publication of an earlier announcement that the species could no longer be found in its already limited habitat. That would make the baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) the first cetacean to wiped from the face of the Earth by humans. That we know of. Not one has been seen for about a decade. I suppose it's a testament to the species' tenacity that it held on as long as it did, considering the hellish environment in which it was living -- one of the…
denialism | August 9, 2007Some readers have been emailing me about the Utah mine disaster saying the mine owners are using some seriously fishy arguments. I am in no way shape or form a geologist, but after reading the coverage of the Utah mine collapse I can't help thinking the CEO saying it was an earthquake - not a mine collapse caused by unsafe practices - comes across as someone being deceptive.
Scientists believe the seismic waves in the area of the Crandall Canyon mine were "the signature of the collapse and that the collapse was not caused by an earthquake," said James W. Dewey, a seismologist at the…
hrynyshyn | August 8, 2007Today's Washington Post includes an exploration of a relatively recent trend among evangelical Christians: environmentalism, or more specifically, climate change activism. There's not a lot new here, as the story has been covered in some depth for the last year or so. But it's worth reviewing, because whatever your feelings about the notion of fundamentalists working within a secular campaign, it's beginning to look like these unlikely bedfellows are going to be spending a lot of time between the sheets.
My first reaction to the idea of trying to engage evangelicals on climate change was…
jjacquet | August 8, 2007Tonight the environmental documentary film The 11th Hour starring Leonardo DiCaprio (I'll resist comparing our planet to the Titanic) premieres in Hollywood--and two Shifting Baselines co-founders, Randy Olson and Jeremy Jackson, are turning out for the event. The film, which explores our environmental crisis, how it might affect humanity, and some innovative solutions, opens across America this Friday.
Jeremy Jackson, a marine ecologist with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in southern California, is actually in the film and late tonight I'll speak with him to find out what he thought…
sheril | August 7, 2007One of my very best friends doesn't believe in global warming. Wait, what?! Believe? When did this become a faith based debate? I'm getting ahead of myself though, allow me to rewind a bit...
I'm back in Maine. Land of blueberries, lobster, moose, and yes, the majestic sea cucumber. Though I'll always be 'from away', the people and experiences of my graduate years have provided the foundation that makes traveling north feel like coming home. It's been a wonderful opportunity to catch up with old friends eager to hear stories of what I've seen and done and so on. After listening to my…
grrlscientist | August 6, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
A male Henslow's Sparrow, Ammodramus henslowii, photographed in July on the Konza Prairie [song].
[This is a] species in decline, probably partially due to habitat loss, since they are obligate grassland birds, and grasslands are disappearing. Additionally they require grasslands that have been unburnt or unhayed during the last season, since they only nest in "standing dead" vegetation left over from the last growing season. The current practice of annual burning here in the Flint Hills means that these birds are very…
clock | August 4, 2007An oldie but goodie (June 12, 2005) debunking one of the rare Creationist claims that encroaches onto my territory.
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I got homework to do. PZ Myers alerted me to an incredible argument that the existence of circadian rhythms denies evolution!
bryanm, the proprietor of the aptly-named The Narrow blog, describes himself as "...nobody who wants to tell everybody that there is somebody who can save anybody." In other words he is a know-nothing who keeps bothering everybody trying to push his idea that there is this non-existent being who…