gregladen | April 2, 2012On Sunday, I interviewed Maggie Koerth-Baker, the author of Before the Lights Go Out: Conquering the Energy Crisis Before It Conquers Us. The interview was live on radio, but you can listen to it here as a podcast.
Maggie is the science editor at Boing Boing, a journalist, and has had an interest in energy and the related science and engineering for some time. Her book is an overview, historical account, and detailed description of the energy systems that we use in the United States, outlining the flow of watts, CO2 emissions, methods of making more watts, what we use it all for, and more…
gregladen | April 2, 2012Oklahoma's House Bill 1551, one of two bills attacking the teaching of evolution and of climate change active in the Oklahoma legislature during 2012, is now in effect dead, according to Oklahomans for Excellence in Science Education. Originally introduced in 2011, HB 1551 was rejected by the House Common Education Committee in that year, but revived and passed by the committee in 2012, and then passed by the House of Representatives on a 56-12 vote on March 15, 2012, and sent to the Senate Education Committee, where it died. April 2, 2012, was the last meeting of the Senate Education…
gregladen | April 2, 2012... in the Twin Cities.
Free Libraries Hit Minneapolis Lawns: MyFoxTWINCITIES.com
Hat Tip: Alyson Foster
gregladen | April 2, 2012One of my favorite bloggers, Dana Hunter, who blogs with me at FTB.com, is now also blogging at Scientific American at a new blog called Rosetta Stones.
I was five years old, and Mount St. Helens was busy erupting all over my teevee. I made it a get well card. It looked like it hurt. Thus began an ongoing conversation between me and objects people tend to think of as inanimate until they explode, rip apart, or fall down.
Go check it out!
gregladen | March 31, 2012A very interesting perspective. Different kinds of craters results from the intersection of different size impacts and different geological conditions prevailing at the time .
I wonder if that first big meteor would have come in at that angle. Anyway, very cool animation.
gregladen | March 31, 2012On Skeptically Speaking:
This week, we're looking into the many strategies that animals employ in the struggle to eat other animals. We're joined by freelance science writer Matt Soniak, to discuss the often complex relationship between hunter and hunted. And on the podcast, biological anthropologist Greg Laden returns to tell us about humanity's history as hunters, and how it may - or may not - affect our behavior today.
It is here.
gregladen | March 30, 2012I have two only vaguely related items for you, and the first is really two items.
Paul Douglas has written a piece on climate change that you should read. Douglas is the famous Twin Cities meteorologist who worked for several years at our own WCCO. He was a regional celebrity, much loved by all, and a lot of people stopped watching television when he left that station a couple of years back. The blog post is: A Message From A Republican Meteorologist On Climate Change.
Given how sensible and smart he is, one would have never thought Paul was a ... oh never mind, that, there is a second…
gregladen | March 30, 2012Go here and click on the thing. You know Shawn from his book "Fool me Twice."
Like the page then scroll down a page or two to "Fool me Twice: Fighting the Assault on Science in America by Shawn Lawrence Otto" and vote on that one. Forget about all the other books, they suck. YOU MUST DO THIS NOW.
gregladen | March 30, 2012A commonly used insecticide, and possibly an increasingly widely used form of that pesticide, could be a causal factor in bee colony collapse. It is not 100% certain that this pesticide's effects can be counted as one of the causes this problem, but there is a very good chance that neonicotinoids can cause a drop in hive population, and thus, should be examined to see if there is a relationship in some cases. From the paper's abstract:
Nonlethal exposure of honey bees to thiamethoxam (neonicotinoid systemic pesticide) causes high mortality due to homing failure at levels that could put a…
gregladen | March 29, 2012This just in:
Baton Rouge, LA -- (March 27, 2012) -- At Senator Santorum's March 23rd rally in Pineville Louisiana, student activist, Zack Kopplin, had the chance to question the Senator about creationism laws. Kopplin, who has led the effort to repeal Louisiana's creationism law, the misnamed and misguided Louisiana Science Education Act, asked Santorum about the Louisiana Science Education Act and Santorum's proposed amendment to the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act, which served as a model for Louisiana's law.
Kopplin asked, "In Louisiana we have a creationism law that's based off a 2002…
gregladen | March 29, 2012How to learn language
Me: "Huxley, this is your milk. I'm going to drink it myself!"
Huxley: "I'm going to drink it ME-self!"
Me: "What?"
Huxley: "I'm going to drink it I-self!"
Me: "Huh?"
Huxley: "I'm going to drink it Huxley-self!"
Me: "Oh, OK, here's your milk!"
gregladen | March 29, 2012As many of you know, because you've not seen me around as much as usual, I've been devoting a considerable amount of my time to volunteering for a political campaign in my district. I'm trying to help Sharon Sund replace Erik Paulsen in the Third Congressional District of Minnesota. Erik is the Republican who took over the seat held by Jim Ramstad, who was a moderate Republican.
I wrote a blog post during the last congressional race addressing the question: Who is Erik Paulsen, anyway? Go read it if you have a chance, but I can summarize it for you: Have you seen the old Mission…
gregladen | March 28, 2012Marie-Claire Shanahan is going t be interviewing David Dobbs about his book, Reef Madness: Charles Darwin, Alexander Agassiz, and the Meaning of Coral on Skeptically Speaking.
So, that would be one of my favorite people interviewing one of my favorite authors about one of my favorite books which is, in turn, about one of my favorite topics, on my absolutely favorite radio show/pod cast which is usually run and operated by one of my favorite people. Holy crap!
As you know, I interviewed David about this book on Bloggingheads a while back.
The interview will be on April 1st, Sunday at 6:…
gregladen | March 28, 2012Climate scientist Michael Mann is no stranger to smear campaigns. Man has the distinction of having made important contributions to climate science, for which he shared the Nobel Peace Prize. He is famous to many of you for having come up with the "hockey stick" metaphor.
Michael Mann is a good scientist who has done honest, important, and high quality work, but there are those who don't want to hear about the results he and other climate scientists have come up with. So, they hate him. And by "hate" I don't mean that they sit there not liking him. I mean, they actively hate him. They…