cmooney | July 27, 2007Last Saturday night, party animals that we are, some friends and I went on Rhapsody and searched for pop songs that mention "hurricanes." Sweet Jesus, there were a lot of them. And a large percentage used "eye of a hurricane" as a bad love metaphor.
So we were inspired to make a hurricane music soundtrack, which we'll be playing today at my D.C.-based party for Storm World. For pop culture mavens (like Sheril), here are the songs, beginning with the classic "The Hurricane" by Bob Dylan--which, of course, isn't really about a hurricane, and which is the best song of the bunch IMHO. After the…
sheril | July 27, 2007Exciting news in the world of climate policy.. a proposal that's not only progressive and practical, it's possible!
You've likely heard a bit lately about carbon caps and carbon trading. These programs set overall authorized caps on emissions and allow the buying and selling of emissions credits. While Europe has been at this for a while, there's talk of establishing a US equivalent to place value on CO2 and other carbon pollutants. Senators Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and John Warner (R-Va.) have put together a bill in consultation with the…
sheril | July 26, 2007Since posting on religion last week, readers and bloggers alike have hypothesized, proclaimed, and spun words to guess where I fall on matters of faith. Some even took the time to thoughtfully write and I enjoyed reading a few extremely creative suggestions regarding where I may have hinted. As stated previously, the principle reason I do not disclose my personal view is because faith has no place in science. I do, however, concur with one of my favorite characters in fiction, Dr. Ellie Arroway in Carl Sagan's Contact.
The question Do you believe in God? has a peculiar structure. If I say…
cmooney | July 25, 2007I just got done with a great event at the National Center for Atmospheric Research here in Boulder, CO. I would estimate that 140 people attended, and I gave a talk that combined elements of my bookstore presentation on Storm World with a PowerPoint show and a number of Nisbet-Mooney slides and analyses. I spoke for about 45 minutes, after which many scientists asked questions.
Among those scientists was William Gray, famed hurricane specialist from Colorado State University, who came down from Fort Collins for the talk. Gray is heavily featured in the book, and his name pops up in pretty…
sheril | July 24, 2007I continue to believe that personal decisions do have an impact through collective action. With regard to the sea bass, no, I didn't stand up to make a scene or ridicule the organizers for their meal selection (they likely had no idea of the culinary faux pas). Here's what I did:
I declined the fish. While I didn't seek to influence everyone in the room (for how could I establish the credibility to do so quickly enough among a crowd that large?), I did notice that the folks at my table were interested in what I had to say. Many remarked I was the first marine biologist they'd met -…
sheril | July 24, 2007Last Friday in NYC, I found myself reliving the Al Gore experience.. only this time without sustainable planning. I was at an event where dinner was (gulp) Chilean Sea Bass. Given the fallout last week over that infamous meal, I had to wonder..
Do individual choices matter in a society that is generally governed by the 'no day but today' mentality? Tolkien and Galadriel taught us that even the smallest person can change the course of the future, but would my decision to forgo the fish in question have any bearing whatsoever on the survival of the species? Furthermore, would anyone in the…
cmooney | July 23, 2007I swear to God (sorry PZ), this post is tangentially related to science.
I mean, on its face it may just seem like an excuse to put up my brother's latest two YouTube vids of his jazz performances.
But if you peer deeper, you might note the following: 1) Davy Mooney is coming to DC this Friday to play at my book party; that party is to celebrate a book about hurricanes; and the other kind of hurricanes will be served at the bar.
And no, if you drink them in the southern hemisphere, the alcohol doesn't spiral into your bloodstream any differently.
See, toldya, this post is tangentially…
sheril | July 23, 2007As Chris predicted, ScienceBlogs up and interviewed me. And no laughing Mr. Mooney, because you were also featured very recently on Page 3.14.
cmooney | July 23, 2007The first leg of the Storm World tour ended Saturday, with my best attended event yet--close to 100 people at Politics and Prose. Looks like Harry Potter and I have different audiences after all.
Now, for the second leg, I begin to whip out the PowerPoint presentation (once, at least). I'm off to Colorado today, for talks at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder and then a great bookstore in Denver, the Tattered Cover. The airlines have been a total pain lately, which is really making my standard flight-a-day-speech-a-day routine a lot less fun. So wish me luck on that…
cmooney | July 21, 2007I just appeared on the Air America show Ring of Fire to discuss Storm World, and it turns out there's a televised version on GoLeft TV where you can at least see RFK Jr. talking, although not me:
In other updates, my fellow science bloggers have been really great to Storm World and have published a number of thoughtful reviews. Kevin Beck and Afarensis had already given their take, and this week Josh Rosenau, Janet Stemwedel, and PZ weighed in. I have to say a bit more about PZ's take: He elected to review the book as it it was a sci-fi novel, and the result is simply hilarious. Favorite…
sheril | July 19, 2007As a marine conservationist, I'm compelled to comment on the Gore/Sea Bass faux pas.. or lack there of. Jennifer and Tim recently posted on the former VP's meal at his daughter's wedding which included (gasp!) Chilean Sea Bass aka Patagonian Toothfish. Our newest Science Blogger, The Angry Toxicologist was quick to weigh in as well, and I already enjoy his company in the blogosphere. Although I'd never order that species myself, it's ridiculous to spend the afternoon lambasting Gore on one meal bearing in mind the event in question. Yes he's an environmental leader, although as far as I…
cmooney | July 19, 2007This coming Saturday evening, all across Washington D.C., Maryland, and Northern Virginia, people are going to have a stark choice to make.
On the one hand, they can curl up at home, their newly purchased or arrived copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in hand, and speed read to find out what happens, who dies, etc. Kleenex at the ready.
Or, they can come out to the famed bookstore Politics and Prose at 6 pm to hear me talk about Storm World, take questions, and sign books afterwards. After a week and a half on the road, I'm taut, trained, disciplined. Ready to rock you like a…
cmooney | July 18, 2007 Congress is now wading into Episode II of Hurricane Wars. Tomorrow morning the House Committee on Science and Technology will hold a hearing entitled "Tracking the Storm at the National Hurricane Center." I was just emailed the witness list, which I've posted after the jump.
The most obvious thing I've noticed about the hearing list is that while ousted center director Bill Proenza will be testifying, no one currently working at the National Hurricane Center itself is on the roster. I don't know that it's appropriate to be dragging the forecasters before Congress in the middle of the season…
sheril | July 18, 2007asks Dark Tent and others..
No, not in the religious sense. Still, for far too many people, there is a distrust of science because it's viewed as a threat to the beliefs that they hold above all else. Why should an atheist care? Because the very individuals making important decisions on issues that matter - stem cell research, a woman's right to choose, systems and species to protect, and on and on - hold multiple perspectives. A healthy dialogue is the best manner by which to understand your opponent. It's the most effective way to debate rather than by holding an adamant refusal to…
sheril | July 18, 2007
If anything can be garnered from the fallout, it's that many who commented seem to have succeeded in demonstrating my point. You see, the very thing I despise about all this arguing is that it breeds intolerance and anger. While I did not write atheism is fundamentalism, I clearly hit a nerve. There was an immediate knee jerk reaction as so many were quick to defend the honor of atheism. What I meant is that is that any belief approaching extremism becomes dangerous. We cannot deny that much of the world holds a religious view and it does no good to ignore these folks and pretend they…
sheril | July 18, 2007With so much hullabaloo over the 'F' word, I'm back to say I really enjoyed reading reactions to my post. Thanks to all for taking the time to think about these ideas with me. PZ suggests I need a lesson in Framing and on that topic, I've got some thoughts here, here, here, here, and here. And if I'm still having trouble, I've got Chris, but will add I have the utmost respect for PZ and admire his style.
What tickles me most is the way so many folks jumped too quickly to conclusions over what I do and do not believe based solely on twisting and turning my words to suit their purpose.…
cmooney | July 17, 2007 Once in a while, hurricane-like storms (like the one in this image) form in the Mediterranean Sea. These cyclones are often called "medicanes," and one scientist who's done a lot of work on what causes them to form is Storm World main personage Kerry Emanuel of MIT. In a recent study (PDF) published with a number of scientists from Spain, he writes:
Tropical-like storms on the Mediterranean Sea are occasionally observed on satellite images, often with a clear eye surrounded by an axysimmetric cloud structure. These storms sometimes attain hurricane intensity and can severely affect coastal…
cmooney | July 17, 2007Although the northeastern Pacific just got its first hurricane of the year--Cosme--we haven't yet had a named storm in the Atlantic in July. Clearly, then, this doesn't seem likely to be a repeat of the 2005 hurricane season, when we had two extremely intense July hurricanes (Dennis and Emily). Jeff Masters, who's always reliable, puts the chance of a named storm during the remainder of this month at about 50 percent.
But, the tropical cyclone heat potential in the Caribbean remains very high, and indeed, higher than 2005 levels at a comparable time of year. Check out the image below,…
sheril | July 16, 2007Science Blogs are abuzz since PZ, Rob, James, John, and Skatje Myers have reopened the Pandora's box on matters of Faith. As I've stated before, I feel strongly that Science need not become universally synonymous with Godlessness because that certainly doesn't win any converts. Any breed of fundamentalism (atheism included) usually results in alienating good folks and losing credibility among everyone who thinks or believes differently. Granted, I'm green in the blogosphere, but the topic is one that really gets under my skin because it pits two fundamentally different levels of argument…
cmooney | July 15, 2007Much ink is starting to get spilt about Storm World. Arguably the book's best review yet appears in the LA Times today by Thomas Hayden. Although not without criticism, Hayden ends the review like this:
Science is a messy business, more a matter of hard work, blind alleys and lucky guesses than a straight march from question to answer. Above all, science is about uncertainty and the way we stumble through it looking for clarity. Science is not always elegant and not always even particularly effective. But (to paraphrase Winston Churchill on democracy) it's surely better than any of the…