updates

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 happened this weekend when Jason of Cephalopodcast brought [pins of] the inverts to ScienceOnline'09 so attendees could take sides by declaring allegiances. And those poor squiggly cephalopods didn't stand a chance... It was literally a blowout as echinoderm fever took the blogging conference by storm…
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...
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 green house.  And would you know it, Gus moved right in: He has subsequently relocated to a lovely park several miles away after I gave warning to stay away from cats.  We both hope that Jaq will be joining him  soon.  Thanks to everyone for your help confronting our unwanted guests. And with that,…
I go away for a week, and Obama up and acts to restore the role of science advisor to cabinet-level status and does a heck of a lot of good for oceans. On the latter, I cannot imagine a better choice for head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Ocean scientists everywhere rejoice! I've returned to a new world where the rules have changed and seemingly anything is possible... I'll have more on Jane Lubchenco's appointment soon, as well as stories and photos from the rainforest, the reefs, and solstice at Arecibo Observatory. There were also a handful of emails in my…
originally published January 11, 2006 by Chris C. Mooney Well, here I am, now officially blogging at scienceblogs.com, with its whizzbang technical features and its awesome collection of other science bloggers. I have little doubt that this site will become a dominant--if not the dominant--locus for science blogging on the web. Just check out the folks who are joining me here: Tara Smith, Tim Lambert, Ed Brayton, PZ Myers, and John Lynch, just to name a few. It's exciting to be writing in this new location, though I certainly won't be getting rid of chriscmooney.com completely. For now, the…
This coming Sunday morning, I'll be speaking in the "Feed Your Brain" lecture series at the Center for Inquiry-West, right here in Los Angeles (info here). The talk will be entitled, "The War on Science: What Have We Learned?" It's auspicious to me for two reasons: 1. This event is in my neighborhood, actually just about a mile from where I live, on Hollywood Boulevard in the Los Feliz area of LA. 2. I am actually spending five days a week lately in residence at the CFI-West, which has generously provided me with space to work on the next book, and asked me to lecture to boot. Cool, huh? As a…
I'm hitting the road this morning for a week-long, three stop trip that takes me first to Princeton, New Jersey; second to Georgia Tech; and third to D.C. The first two stops are for talks, the last is for R&R, reconnecting with old friends, and meeting up with Sheril to work on a new project we've come up with (of which much more soon). In light of all the controversy of late, though, I must say I find it rather symbolic how the two major talks that I'm giving break down. First, with Nisbet, I'll be speaking in the Princeton/Woodrow Wilson School Science, Technology, and Environmental…
Well folks, I've converted. Officially. This post comes straight from my new MacBook Air. Now I know all the naysayers had plenty to tell me about the merits of the MacBook Pro over the streamlined Air, but keep in mind what I was looking for. I've been searching for a machine that's small, lightweight, compact, and easily portable--not as a primary computer for data, but rather a writing tool for travel and coffeehouse composition. My post over at Correlations is now up on the new features I've discovered exploring Appledom and so far, I'm extremely impressed. And here's the thing--if I…
Yup, we had a slumber party prior to the conference...aren't we, like, the perfect dental ad?
Well folks, I'm headed to California for a couple weeks... Posting from me will be light, but you can bet Chris will have lots to share about Science Debate 2008 in the meantime. Happy New Year!
Winter travel sucks. And I'm doing it anyway. After spending more or less all of December getting myself as settled as possible here in LA, I now must venture out again next month--and the one after that. Specifically, I'll be in North Carolina, Louisiana, Missouri, and Florida. More details: Saturday, January 19, 3:45 PM-4:45 PM"Changing Minds through Science Communication: a Panel on Framing Science"NC Science Blogging ConferenceSigma Xi CenterResearch Triangle Park, NC Wednesday, January 23, 8:30 AM-12:00 PM"Seventh Communications Workshop: The Science of Communications--What We Know We…
A few weeks ago, I appeared for the second time on PBS KCET's "Tavis Smiley Show," this time to discuss Storm World and global warming generally. I would have given an update and told folks to watch the show live, but I didn't know when my segment was going to air. But in any rate, you can now go online to read the transcript of the interview--or to listen to it. Here's a brief excerpt: Tavis: Let me ask you two questions about Republicans. One about the current occupant of the White House, President Bush, and the other about the Republicans running to take his place in the Oval Office in…
Um, seeing as I'm out in Hollywood...well, I guess this came along at the right time. I am part of the "cast" for a docu entitled (for now) Weather Movie. (I hope they keep the title, tones of Scary Movie.) I will be playing myself. This is something I do all the time--sometimes more convincingly than others. But never before, at least to my knowledge, have I gotten into the Internet Movie Database for it.
It seems I am barely settled in L.A. before I leave again. Tomorrow, I am off to the University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa, where I will be giving the second lecture in the newly launched "Alabama Perspectives on Sustainability and Climate Change" lecture series. The press release announcing the event is here. In addition, the book, which has been assigned to a number of UA students, will be discussed in a seminar before the lecture with the following professors: Dr. Lynne Adrian, professor of American studiesDr. Fred Andrus, assistant professor of geological sciencesDr. Walter Misiolek, professor…
I don't know how many readers of "the Intersection" remember the blog's very earliest days. So let us reminisce: It was mid 2003, and I was living in California at the time, in Berkeley and later in Palo Alto. I'm not sure exactly when "The Intersection" launched, but I remember posting constantly during 2003 about a decidedly non-scientific subject--the California recall. Back then I opposed Schwarzenegger, unaware that he would later become a leader on climate change. Heck, back then I didn't even really write about climate change. In any event, the move to California didn't work out and…
So: As a result of a dialogue sparked by Josh Rosenau, I now find myself in tiny Hays, Kansas, pop. 20,000, where I'm here to give a talk today at Fort Hays State University. Other than, like, Kansas City, I have never been in Kansas before that I can remember. I flew here in a turboprop. And it's about time: All too often my travels, especially for talks, have been essentially bi-coastal. There's a big country in the middle, though, and quite a lot that I've missed--including some great people, like the folks from Hays, who I've had the pleasure of hanging out with a bit already. So today,…
[Words heard round the world on October 4, 1957: "Beep. Beep."] Fifty years ago today, the Soviet launch of Sputnik changed the United States forever--propelling science to the center of policymaking and launching a tradition of well-informed governance that, unfortunately, has since been in a woeful decline. Luckily at least one presidential candidate wants to do something about it: Hillary Clinton, who will be giving a speech today on science policymaking at the Carnegie Institution. According to the AP she plans to unveil the following proposals: _ Expand human and robotic space…
Over at Jennifer's place, check out Carnival of the Blue V. As my west coast marine counterpart explains, it's a synthesis of the best ocean-related blogging. This month is definitely an interesting mix and includes my contribution on global warming's effects on sea turtles. And keep watch here at The Intersection throughout October for some exciting new surprises. [Oh and hey, Chris, what was that you were saying about our traffic in August? It occurs to me today, that record no longer stands.]
While Sheril continues to blog up a storm, I merely have a few updates between my various plane flights....the latest of which, today, takes me to Minnesota for the big debate (tomorrow night) between Mooney-Nisbet and Laden-Myers. More on that when I get a second, but first, some updates: The latest issue of Seed is out, and I have the cover story. While you can't read the piece online, here's the gist: It's a manifesto for why the next president of the United States, whoever it is, had better get science. I'm hoping this cover story will prompt a lot of discussion, and this won't be the…
Apologies for my disappearance, folks...Sheril did a great job in my absence, and I enjoyed being Obi-Wan for a day. Although it wasn't exactly like battling with lightsabers: I spent the week largely hunkered down in hotel rooms, preparing talks. Especially on my 30th birthday, and surrounded by top scholars at Cornell who'd been asked to critique my arguments, I wanted to make a good showing. Video of that September 20th event, which I thought went quite well, whenever I can find it. In the meantime, though, I want to direct your attention to something that Mark has been blogging about at…