Sheril R. Kirshenbaum
sheril
Posts by this author
January 27, 2009
Over the past decade, I've spent many weekends camping in Boone, North Carolina. It's a lovely place with rolling mountains and excellent BBQ. The town itself is features all sorts of unusual shops where you can make your own hemp jewelery, admire blown glass, and there's also a particular…
January 26, 2009
While Chris is overhead somewhere flying to New York, I want to remind readers to tune in and watch him on The Colbert Report tonight! He'll be discussing the 'war on science' and how the Obama administration can fix it.
And for those who just can't wait until then, here's Chris on The Daily…
January 26, 2009
Four hundred years ago, my hometown sure looked different to Henry Hudson...
This image from the New York Times provides interesting perspective on how times--and culture--have changed in Manhattan.
January 25, 2009
Sb has a new guy who calls himself SciencePunk (aka 'Frank Swain'). He's from the UK and claims a history of 'making zines, being a filthy scenester, stage-managing burlesque shows, climbing buildings, hanging out with strippers, arguing the toss and generally being a force for good.'
I haven't…
January 24, 2009
In two days, my favorite co-blogger will be appearing on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report to discuss the 'war on science' and how the Obama administration can fix it. With the nation abuzz over the stimulus package, melting ice shelves, and new cabinet appointments, it's a timely subject, no…
January 24, 2009
DeSmogBlog will be putting out a book and it sounds like the publisher is ready for a title. Our co-blogger there, Richard Littlemore is taking suggestions and I encourage Intersection readers to add your ideas to the mix...
Head over to provide feedback on the titles already being considered,…
January 23, 2009
Science bloggers are still abuzz over Wednesday's discussion of women in academia and now Razib (one of my very favorite sciblings) has taken the topic one step further. He collected data on the mean number of hours worked last week broken down by sex and compared that with the number of children…
January 23, 2009
As we've announced, our new book due out this Spring will be entitled Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future.
We're in the final stages of editing the manuscript and will be able to say more about its content very soon, but for now, we're excited that we can finally…
January 22, 2009
Today the House Committee on Ways and Means passed H.R. 598 by vote 24 to 13. The legislation includes:
Investment Tax Credit Refundability. For alternative energy property put into service in 2009 and 2010, companies may apply for a cash grant equal to the value of the investment tax credit from…
January 22, 2009
The Antarctic Wilkins Ice Shelf hangs by a thread. Its thinnest point is now reported at 500 metres wide and it could go at any time according to David Vaughan, a glaciologist with the British Antarctic Survey. This will be the tenth shelf lost because of a warmer planet.
Look folks, the 'debate…
January 22, 2009
My post yesterday on women in the academic workforce not only sparked some great comments, but also several interesting emails. One in particular got me thinking and with the author's permission, I have decided to pose his concern to readers:
Sheril,
Your piece this morning is closely related to…
January 21, 2009
As Natalie Angier rightly points out, women are making tremendous strides in science and engineering earning 40 percent of U.S. doctorates in 2006 (up from eight percent 50 years ago). But we've still got a long way to go in terms of leveling the playing field after graduation.
Angier references a…
January 20, 2009
"For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.
We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and
nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from
every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of
civil war and…
January 20, 2009
With inauguration day in mind, there is no doubt President Obama has made excellent choices for his science and energy team, but as I wrote over at DeSmog, do not declare victory quite yet... There are also signs that the administration could falter when it comes to dealing with global warming…
January 19, 2009
Saturday at ScienceOnline '09, Seed's
family in attendance gathered for a group portrait. Ghostly images are
the pseudonymous among us, but you can spot your resident blogger
peering up from the middle. See how many other SciBlings you recognize:
January 19, 2009
It was a long, hard, and tumultuous battle, but the clash of the titans that began here at The Intersection--that will go down in science blogging history as the Great Marine Invertebrate Wars--has ended. And yes readers, our own fighting echinoderm has emerged victorious!
The final showdown…
January 18, 2009
From the New York Times:
Sea level rise fueled by global warming threatens the barrier islands and coastal wetlands of the Middle Atlantic States, a federal report warned on Friday.
The report, issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Geological Survey and other agencies,…
January 17, 2009
Come on over and say hello if you're also at this year's conference...
January 16, 2009
We recently learned that our friend and ScienceDebate co-founder Lawrence Krauss will co-chair the Board of Sponsors of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists with Nobel Laureate Leon Lederman. Together they aim to re-energize a national discussion on the reduction
of nuclear weapons stockpiles, fight…
January 15, 2009
S. 22, The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2008 passed the Senate this afternoon 73-21. The package includes ocean exploration, NOAA undersea research, ocean and coastal mapping integration, the integrated coastal and ocean observation system*, federal ocean acidification research and…
January 15, 2009
Lots of folks have been asking us about our forthcoming book, Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens our Future and we're happy to report that the product description is finally available at Amazon:
Climate change, the energy crisis, nuclear proliferation--many of the most…
January 15, 2009
Deep Sea News--one of my favorite ocean science blogs--has gone indie. Craig, Peter, and Kevin recently set up shop at deepseanews.com, so make sure to go check out their new digs and read about what the boys of the benthos are exploring this week...
January 14, 2009
Because he's too humble to blog it, I hope readers will join me in congratulating Chris for being honored tonight by American Meteorological Society, the nation's leading professional society for those working in the atmospheric and related sciences. Storm World: Hurricanes, Politics, and the…
January 12, 2009
Except it's a bonobo.
Field and Stream magazine, 'The World's Leading Outdoor Magazine' has published their 'Best of 2008: Sasquatch Trail Cam Photos.' Thing is, the runner-up submitted by Pete Morgan of Bradford, Pennsylvania looks awfully familiar to my pal science author Vanessa Woods and I.…
January 12, 2009
It's no coincidence that our forthcoming book, Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future is due out at around the fiftieth anniversary of C.P. Snow's famous lecture entitled "The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution." As Chris explained last week at Science…
January 11, 2009
Last Sunday, I shared the story of a mouse that ate my breakfast and readers provided a myriad of helpful tips on catching our rodent residents in comments, blogs, and over email. I did some research based on your suggestions and ordered The Smart House--yes, it's actually shaped like a little…
January 9, 2009
Grad students are used to making tough choices, living on a small stipend, and facing an uncertain job market. But can they survive anticipated budget cuts at their institutions? Friends in PhD programs across the nation are reporting the same conversation is happening in pubs at various…
January 9, 2009
The NYTimes suggests this recession will last at least into the summer, and now with over 11 million Americans unemployed, do readers think the stimulus package will be enough?
* We apologize that comments are not currently posting. Scienceblogs is doing maintenance and The Intersection will…
January 8, 2009
In case you missed today's speech at George Mason, President-elect Barack Obama wants to double the production of alternative energy within three years and make over 75 percent of federal buildings and 2 million homes more energy-efficient. It's a move that will create jobs immediately and save…