cmooney | December 11, 2007Some numbers I think say it all:
Number of blogs that have joined our blogger coalition so far: 67
Number of blogs that have posted on Science Debate 2008 according to Bora: 60
Number of members joining the ScienceDebate2008 Facebook group (as of this post): 457
Number of cobloggers without whom this wouldn't have been possible: 1
cmooney | December 10, 2007So, finally, Sheril and I can tell you what we've been working on.
Let's begin with some background: Nearly a month ago, I linked up with Matthew Chapman, the author, screenwriter, and great grandson of Charles Darwin. Chapman, I already knew, had a great idea that I wanted to write about in my forthcoming Seed column: A call for a debate among the current crop of presidential candidates solely devoted to issues in science and technology.
One thing led to another, and before long--along with many others, including Sheril (whose contribution has been invaluable) and Physics of Star Trek author…
sheril | December 10, 2007Science. Such a simple term inextricably involved in every aspect of our being. It's exploring the past while looking toward our future. Science is life.
Step back and consider what we read, watch, hear, and experience in the news and everyday--stem cells, terrorism, immigration, human health, global sustainability, data mining, safety, geoengineering, socioeconomics, and beyond--all goes back to understanding our world: SCIENCE. So I can't fathom why research, innovation, and technology aren't already highest priority on the collective national agenda.
We'll be revealing big news…
cmooney | December 7, 2007I don't know precisely what was said yet, but multiple folks have emailed me to let me know that my latest just came up on Science Friday, in the context of a discussion of science books of the year. And indeed, Storm World is already listed on the Science Friday website for today's show.
Please post if anyone heard the show and knows what was said...I'll link audio once it's available.
Other science books of 2007 that came up included "The Stuff of Thought" by Steven Pinker, "Einstein, His Life and Universe" by Walter Isaacson, and "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes.
sheril | December 7, 2007Student Post
by Wayneho Kam and Waynekid Kam
If Santa Claus came out with a "naughty or nice" list based on how well people treated the environment, who will be on the "nice" list? Who will be on the "naughty"? Have you ever wondered?
You can count on Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to be up there on the "nice" list this year. As the Nobel Foundation puts it, IPCC and Gore both did a phenomenal job regarding "their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change." Perhaps Bill Clinton will see his name on the "nice" list as…
sheril | December 7, 2007Student Post
by Stephanie Gold
Today, it seems that everywhere we go we hear about companies and retailers trying to do something for the environment. Whether it's Wal-Mart installing solar panels to power everything from the store lighting to the refrigerator section or a small local grocery store installing energy saving light bulbs, it is clear that retailers are beginning to focus on environmental issues across the globe. Some argue that these companies are "going green" because they understand the severity of the global warming problem while others insist that they are motivated by the…
sheril | December 7, 2007As Chris hinted, the two of us have been hard at work on something extraordinary to be announced next week! Get ready for BIG news that we're real excited to share here...
In the mean time, posts today will introduce a couple of bright young authors. You see, last month I gave a lecture here at Duke in Prasad Kasibhatla's class entitled 'What on Earth? An Investigation of Contemporary Environmental Issues.'
A fantastic course - just check out the description:
This first-year seminar will delve into the scientific and public policy perspectives on contemporary environmental issues. In recent…
cmooney | December 5, 2007I realize that I haven't been my usual self this week, and there haven't been many posts. Sheril has been picking up the slack, thank goodness--but I don't know how much more I'll have this week, folks. Work has just kicked up unbelievably of late.
But there's good news: One reason we're a bit quiet here at The Intersection is that Sheril and I have been devoting some time to a really awesome and extraordinary project that we are going to be able to inform you about early next week (hopefully). Once we do so, I think you'll forgive us our slowness in posting of late.
Big time.
sheril | December 5, 2007With all the hullabaloo over women in science and engineering, let's hear if for the girls who just made history in New York!
Girls won top honors for the first time in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology, one of the nation's most coveted student science awards, which were announced yesterday at New York University.
And most importantly, congratulations to all of the extraordinary young participants in this wonderful competition--These girls and boys give me great hope for a brighter future!
sheril | December 5, 2007
Over at Natural Patriot, you'll find Carnival of the Blue 7 - the best in oceans blogging for the month of November. I contributed my post on Cyclone Sidr's approach to the coast of Bangladesh - a region extremely vulnerable to rising sea level and storms.
As host Emmett Duffy describes:
'Our salty selections this month span the gamut from, well perhaps not all the way from the sublime to the ridiculous, but they cover a lot of ground nevertheless.'
It's an interesting mix, so dive in...
cmooney | December 4, 2007I am quite confident that most readers of this blog would agree that NASA's James Hansen is a pretty big hero. Nevertheless, he shouldn't be saying stuff like this:
Recently, after giving a high school commencement talk in my hometown, Denison, Iowa, I drove from Denison to Dunlap, where my parents are buried. For most of 20 miles there were trains parked, engine to caboose, half of the cars being filled with coal. If we cannot stop the building of more coal-fired power plants, those coal trains will be death trains - no less gruesome than if they were boxcars headed to crematoria, loaded…
sheril | December 4, 2007 may be a bit too doped up on red bull and reality tv to have our finger on the pulse of every issue in national policy, but this kind of ridiculous propaganda on the Lieberman-Warner climate bill isn't fooling anyone.
While I can wax poetic on what's blatantly problematic with this approach to influence policy decisions, I expect readers already recognize when some advocacy group is attempting to take us all for a ride by way of alarmist scare tactics. I mean really! Note this, errr... 'gem' from their youtube page:
These consequences will usher in a Dark Age for America.
A 'dark age'?…
sheril | December 3, 2007Little over a year ago, scientists warned the world's fish and seafood populations may collapse by 2048. But wait one second... If they're serious, what's a seafood lover like me to do 40 years from now?
Okay, while we may be headed for trouble - let's remember fishing can be done responsibly and sustainably. My post at Correlations is now up examining what's going on just beneath the surface with this ominous prediction.
We humans long believed oceans must be so enormous, the abundance of resources in the marine realm had to be limitless. We're funny about holding onto notions like that…
sheril | November 30, 2007I often write about the power of music to move and motivate people. The arts have a monumental role in culture which is, of course, at the intersection of politics, science... life. As a musician and former radio jock, I recognize talent, and a couple weeks ago I heard something special from outside The Broad Street Cafe in Durham... I wandered in to see a young guy on stage with an acoustic guitar, but it's his voice that gave me pause - influences of Eddie Vedder and Dave Matthews are immediately evident--Just take a listen to 'The Rabbit' and see what you think...
The simple message is…
cmooney | November 30, 2007
Today is officially the last day of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season. Not that we can't have a storm after November 30...but it becomes less and less likely.
And how do we summarize the year? Well, less active than expected, especially when it comes to the frequency of the most intense storms. That's two years in a row the forecasts have overshot in this respect.
Anyways, over at the Daily Green I now have a more in-depth post-mortem on the season. Some highlights:
The relative quietude of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season seems particularly mystifying in light of the fact that we saw…
sheril | November 29, 2007It is an important and popular fact that things are not always what they seem. For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much -- the wheel, New York, wars and so on -- whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man -- for precisely the same reasons.
- Douglas Adams
sheril | November 29, 2007Research... okay, but geoengineering continues to raise a heck of a lot of red flags for me.
By no means do I deny what we're up against or disagree with my favorite blogger, but I'd like to emphasize that priorities must focus on changing our collective mindset and behavior regarding carbon in this country and beyond. Yes, we're indeed mucking up this home planet we share, but I'm not sure I'll ever be comfortable tinkering with natural systems. That said, conducting research to understand complexities may be a good thing provided it's done responsibly.
What I know for sure is our trajectory…
cmooney | November 29, 2007My latest Science Progress column just went online--I look at the issue of geoengineering, and reluctantly conclude that given our current predicament, the case for at least studying possible options makes a lot of sense. Research isn't the same as implementation, but it could give us a fallback. It could give us choices. To wit:
Sure, research might make ultimate meddling more likely. But then, isn't the climate situation forcing our hand anyway? What if a rogue government, or a crazy billionaire, decides to unilaterally execute one of these geoengineering proposals regardless of what the…
cmooney | November 28, 2007So: I'm in D.C. right now. That's because Nisbet-Mooney just gave our last "framing science" talk of 2007--a lunch event yesterday at the National Academy of Sciences' Keck Center. This talk wasn't open to the public, so we didn't publicize it, but we can't think of a better place to wrap things up, at least for this year.
It has definitely been a good one. Originally, we had no idea whether or not this national speaking tour idea would catch on. It was a big experiment. But it turned out to work better than I could have possibly imagined.
Since the April publication of our joint policy forum…
sheril | November 28, 2007
Dark settles on Majher Char, a 3x2 km long island in the middle of the Ballashar River in the Bay of Bengal. Last week, this was the scene of death and utter destruction when Cyclone Sidr came ashore, carrying in it's wake a 5 meter wall of water that washed over this island of 1800 inhabitants. Boats carrying relief goods are plying the river.
- Jonathan Munshi
Relief operations are underway throughout Bangladesh even as the story fades from headlines. Tens of thousands await food, water, and medicine as aid filters into the region. The storm killed about 3,500 people, left thousands…