The Audubon Society got a lot of media traction last week with its report on Birds in Decline. But Michael Tobis has sussed out a problem: The number of species increasing in abundance exceeds the number in decline!!! As Michael pointed out in a followup post: Reason requires fair attention to evidence. It is necessary …
on the evolution of the U.S. nuclear weapons budget – the latest bit of punctuated equilibrium
Richard Kerr has an excellent article in today’s Science ((Pushing the Scary Side of Global Warming, Science 8 June 2007: 1412-1415, sub. req.)) looking at the discomfort scientists face in going beyond the IPCC’s conclusions on the extent to which sea level might rise over the next century. The problem here is how to approach …
George and Big Toe Originally uploaded by heinemanfleck. Big Toe joined me Thursday morning at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, which has been in Albuquerque all week. He in particular wanted to see George Hotz, who I’d featured in the morning newspaper: George Hotz’s words exploded, as if there were three sentences in …
An example of framing in the statement out today from the national academies of 13 nations: Major investments and successful technological and institutional innovation will be needed to achieve better energy efficiency, low- or zero-carbon energy sources and carbon-removing schemes. A clear area for increased investment is energy conservation and efficiency. This has immediate and …
Stuff I wrote elsewhere – on the zeitgeist of the world’s youth, including biofuels from wasted bananas and coconut sap: The event offers a peek into the spirit of some of the world’s brightest youths. The young scientists frequently pick topics dear to their hearts and pursue them with a passion. They search for solutions to …
I’m at the Intel International Science Fair this week. Smart kids, great fun, blogging it here. Also, check out the ScienceBlogs crew, which is liveblogging the event here.
The whole framing thing is much more clear in my mind in the nuclear realm, maybe simply because I’ve spent a lot more of my journalistic career there. Over at the work blog, a Saturday morning musing on a current case in which a new project, the Department of Energy’s Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, is …
Benny Peiser sent around a circular yesterday to his CCNet list about a potentially interesting project: CALL FOR PAPERS: THE IPCC: STRUCTURE, PROCESS AND POLITICS During the last decade, climate experts and government officials from more than 100 countries have unanimously agreed the key findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC’s …
A very smart friend suggests that people seeking information on the Internet don’t necessarily want the right answer, but rather an easily accessible answer. I was reminded of his comments by this from Matthew Nisbet: In the digital age, information is found based on availability rather than accuracy. If different interest groups start blogs that …