Matthew Nisbet nails the New York Times’ hanging curve ball in his analysis of the problems of the collision between science and journalism, quoting Andrew Revkin’s fabulous line about “the tyranny of the news peg.” The context is a piece by the always provocative Gary Taubes about the problems of epidemiological research. I’ve given a …
On geo-engineering: In pursuing the idea, Wingenter is entering a scientific-political minefield— the field of what is called “geo-engineering.” The most widely discussed geo-engineering proposal, pushed by Lowell Wood of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, involves a fleet of jets spewing aerosols that would deflect the sun’s rays, cooling the planet in the process. …
From one of those high-minded British publications: Walking does more than driving to cause global warming, a leading environmentalist has calculated. Food production is now so energy-intensive that more carbon is emitted providing a person with enough calories to walk to the shops than a car would emit over the same distance. The climate could …
Yesterday afternoon’s service for Tim Moy was impossibly sad and impossibly beautiful. Looking around Keller Hall, I was amazed at the different communities who Tim had touched so deeply, from the other parents at Luke’s elementary school to the big thinkers at Sandia’s Advanced Concepts group to his students to the faculty to the stalwart …
Never let it be said that political scientists shy away from the important questions: Since its introduction in 1973, major league baseball’s designated hitter (DH) rule has been the subject of continuing controversy. Here, we investigate the political and socio–demographic determinants of public opinion toward theDHrule, using data from a nationwide poll conducted during September …
birds: For the first time I can remember, two hummingbirds in an uncomfortable detente, sharing our front porch feeder. A third hovered in the distance, out by the daylilies. Why can’t we all just get along? paper of the day: For reasons that will eventually become clear – Holocene Vegetation in Chaco Canyon, by a …
I don’t normally double-post, but there are issues involved in this that are of relevance here as well as at the Journal. Reporters depend on smart people to explain things to them. That generally means people who are intimately involved in the subject at hand. When the subject matter is an issue of controversy, that …
On dinosaurs and power politics metaphors: Some scientists have argued that dinosaurs came on with a bang during the period of Earth history called the Triassic, sweeping into power in what amounted to a geologic instant. But the new fossils, found at Ghost Ranch near Abiquiu, upend that story. As dinosaurs were beginning their rise …
The dawn of salsa: A Smithsonian archaeologist has found evidence for what could be the seeds of salsa. Native farmers using caves as seasonal shelter as long as 1,400 years ago in the southern Mexican province of Oaxaca were eating a diet that would look very familiar in a modern Mexican kitchen. They ate corn, …
From Jay Lindsay: Jim Riccio, of Greenpeace, said nuclear advocates are exploiting global warming fears to try to revive an industry that’s too risky to fool with. “You have better ways to boil water,” Riccio said. But environmentalists aren’t in lockstep on the issue. Bill Chameides, chief scientist for Environmental Defense, said anything that helps …