Sheril R. Kirshenbaum
sheril
Posts by this author
September 21, 2007
Back from DC and want to let readers know I do take notice when I get email. I appreciate the interest in my wandering career path and a few folks have written regarding the FOX news piece. More than one has questioned the way I sounded with regard to my former incarnation as a pop radio…
September 20, 2007
Today our very own Chris Mooney has officially been spinning around the sun for three decades! It's hard to imagine that's only a few revolutions more than me considering all he's accomplished... As Darth Vader once said, 'The Force is strong with this one.'
In 30 years, my co-blogger's penned a…
September 20, 2007
Last week, I posted about the release of the 2007 IUCN Red List and FOX News Radio's Holly Hickman called to find out more. I explained why we need to consider the Red List as a wake up call because what happens to other lifeforms will have tremendous implications for us. Dwindling biodiversity…
September 19, 2007
I tried to keep mum. I really did. Honest! But sometimes I just can't help myself. I have a question for readers... What's up with this blogosphere being so gosh darn male dominated? I mean, sure we've got some incredibly talented boys here at Science Blogs. Razib's insightful, Bora's fun, PZ'…
September 18, 2007
Over the months I've been blogging at The Intersection, I've shared a little bit about myself here... Readers may remember I'm drummer in a girl band, have a strange affinity for sea cucumbers, and a habit of pulling crazy stunts as a radio personality. What you may not know is it also happens I…
September 17, 2007
Nisbet and PZ are arguing as usual over science communication and atheism... a prescription for a popular post on science blogs we all know well. Let's expand the discussion of framing and science to issues that actually matter* like climate change. On Friday, I posted a clip where Bill Nye had…
September 14, 2007
It's a light day at The Intersection with Chris in New Orleans and me in Massachusetts. So while we're both on the road, here's a Larry King clip from earlier this year that takes on global warming. And added bonus -- it features Bill Nye the Science Guy.
September 13, 2007
In the grand epic that is life on planet Earth, what is it about labeling everything by color to emphasize significance? The US map is generally red and blue while our nation's threat level seems to be stuck at yellow and orange. On the latter, I still don't quite understand Homeland Security's…
September 12, 2007
"This year's IUCN Red List shows that the invaluable efforts made so far to protect species are not enough. The rate of biodiversity loss is increasing and we need to act now to significantly reduce it and stave off this global extinction crisis. This can be done, but only with a concerted effort…
September 12, 2007
As reported in the NYTimes, Florida's Governor Charlie Crist has asked the state's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to delay a vote scheduled today on reclassifying the Florida manatee to threatened from endangered. With factors like possible power plant closures to consider, Thank Crist!
September 12, 2007
It's certainly no wonder lots of folks seem confused over the significance of climate change. I recently discussed media driven alarmism, but there's an equally relevant modern pressure that has enormous implications on our individual and collective attention span.
At the touch of a laptop,…
September 12, 2007
In 2006, the Ad Council brought this public service announcement to the basement of the Capitol to show policymakers and staff:
Global Warming. It may seem like an impossible problem: The Arctic ice is melting, storms are becoming fiercer, the resulting climate change is upsetting invaluable…
September 11, 2007
September 11, 2007
Dear New York,
We've been together a long time and although I'm terribly unfaithful, you always welcome me back with open arms because you know no matter how many states I've slept in, I'm yours. And truth be told, I love you. You're my city - center of the universe - and there…
September 10, 2007
Before Sheril dissected a sea cucumber, briefed a senator, or picked up a mic, she found me - Sparticus Maximus The Great. She's my human. As the superior of species (hey, did you descend from dinosaurs? I thought not!), I keep her in line when necessary. You can imagine with her unusual…
September 7, 2007
* Friday Trivia: Who Said That? *
On Tuesday, I explained it's Hip to be Geek, but there's another side to the academic life that's more difficult... the moving part. Those of us pursuing the sciences have this pesky habit of skipping around the globe from one pursuit to the next driven by…
September 6, 2007
According to another groundbreaking study on mate selection, men prefer good looking women. Who knew? Wait didn't I touch on this in May? And we ladies apparently are trading off our attractiveness for 'higher quality men' or whathaveyou. Really? Before I comment (deep breath), I'll start with…
September 5, 2007
Well, we've gotten some creative entries so far... With two weeks left, Chris and I want to remind everyone about the The 1st Annual CRASH THE INTERSECTION Contest!
Design an "Intersection" banner and have your art displayed atop our blog for at least one year where the world can be dazzled by…
September 5, 2007
All of these storms whirling around causing trouble and now the most dramatic link I've seen yet demonstrating how that pesky troublemaker climate change is likely harming endangered sea turtles. And as it happens, this hits directly at the Intersection of Chris' world and my own.
According to an…
September 2, 2007
Chris, I'm no storm pundit, but this sure looks scary:
September 1, 2007
A few weeks ago, I reported the possible disappearance of the Yangtze River dolphin when Biological Letters published an article suggesting this may be the first human-caused extinction of a cetacean species. And would you know it, according to The New York Times, a baiji dolphin was filmed in the…
August 31, 2007
Since Monday's foray into the realm of religion, many readers have responded regarding:
I just don't think these [atheist] books provide folks reason to notice they were atheists all along without a shepherd. Wouldn't that liken PZ to Abraham? Or dare I say it, Jesus?
Of course, this was only in…
August 30, 2007
During our casual 3.5 hour dinner last night, Bora and I got to wondering...
Why isn't North Carolina's Research Triangle in grand prize destinations for the 500,000 comment contest? Winner receives a 5-day trip to the greatest science city in the world and the three contenders are Boston/…
August 30, 2007
In January of 2003, I sat in Joe Kelley's seminar at the University of Maine as he foretold the devastation that was to come to New Orleans. I'd never heard this chilling story before and listened intently as he explained that as far back as when The Big Easy flooded in the 1920's, scientists…
August 28, 2007
Just as we've begun to contemplate the implications of our changing physical environment - rising sea level, warmer temperatures, potentially stronger storms, ocean acidification, and so on... yet another cause for concern. Higher insurance rates are upon us!
In my own state of North Carolina,…
August 28, 2007
This is still considered a scholarship competition. I'm not laughing.
August 27, 2007
Gladius in one hand and scutum in the other, I enter the SciBling Colosseum... Ave Caesar, morituri te salutant (Gladiators didn't actually say that, but adds a nice touch, no?)
Matt and Revere are already battling over two topics that always seem to provide a good show for spectators and…
August 24, 2007
A frightened society is easily kept in check by the powers that be so I suppose someone is benefiting from the news media circus, eh? But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself...let me begin again by taking things back to our formative years:
One day Chicken Little was walking in the woods when --…
August 23, 2007
July of 2006: I caught myself behind closed doors with some folks in the State Department and Department of Defense as they discussed the crisis in Lebanon at its peak. The little I got wind of sounded chilling and I remarked I was glad not to have access to that sort of information. Someone…
August 23, 2007
Chris just mentioned Hurricane Dean's cold wake, and I'm reminded that there may be some potentially helpful implications for the fisheries of the region. I recently explained the concept of "dead zones": oxygen-free ocean regions characterized by a dense layer of warm water settled on top of…
August 22, 2007
It's that special time of year when involved parents everywhere rush out to buy the essentials: calculators, notebooks and the latest issue of US News and World Report. America's Best Colleges 2008 hit newsstands on Monday and no surprise...Princeton, Harvard, and Yale lead the pack with the usual…