What do you think happens at death? This I don’t know, but I don’t think everything is resolved with the destruction of the body. What science has to say seems to me insufficient and unsatisfying. This is from a Q & A with Saul Bellow, one of the literary giants of the 2oth-century. He might…Continue Reading…
Journalists today are pretty mindful about the terms they use to describe a group of people, especially when referencing ethnicity or religion. In mainstream media, outright slurs are forbidden (though not everyone abides) and anything that smells pejorative is called out. Euphemisms are another matter, as the tortured debate over torture (I mean “enhanced interrogation”)…Continue Reading…
Two long-running debates involving the supposed purity of science have flared anew. A recent editorial in the UK’s New Statesmen that cautioned against the politicizing of science (using climate change as a prime example) kicked up a Twitter storm and has provoked numerous responses, including this one from a science policy expert in the Guardian headlined (probably to the author’s…Continue Reading…
I have some good news for Nicholas Kristof, the New York Times columnist who may be the most well known chemphobic in the United States: Help is on the way. Kristof, in case you weren’t aware, has been battling a bad case of chem fears for the last several years. It’s an unfortunate affliction, made all the more…Continue Reading…
My mother-in-law is is one of the kindest, most open-minded persons I know. A retired elementary school teacher who taught for four decades in a gritty urban district, she radiates intelligence and goodness. She stands with science on all the hot-button issues of our day, such as evolution. Now in her early 80s, she is…Continue Reading…
Get ready for another wave of anti-GMO mania. This one is about to rise up with the news that genetically modified salmon are on the verge of being approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). There is quite an interesting backstory to this development, which Jon Entine revealed at Slate several days ago. The short version…Continue Reading…
George Monbiot is a terrific green Scrooge. Last week, the UK’s most popular and widely read environmental writer penned a cheery new column titled, “The Kiss of Death.” (The headline in the Guardian version is not quite so black.) In it, he rails against the culture of consumerism and advises people to stop buying (for…Continue Reading…
Several years ago, the BBC aired an excellent program called, “Science Under Attack.” It was hosted by UK Royal Society President Paul Nurse, who examined why public trust in key scientific theories has been eroded – from the theory that man-made climate change is warming our planet, to the safety of GM food, or that HIV…Continue Reading…
Yesterday, my 5-year old was literally climbing the wall–with his sneakers on. He has figured out how to wedge himself against the arm of the couch and inch his legs up the wall. When I asked him to stop, he hesitated for a few seconds before climbing down. I explained to him that sneaker marks…Continue Reading…
In case you hadn’t heard, the state of the planet is not good. At a big gathering earlier in the year, an assortment of esteemed, professional worriers reaffirmed this diagnosis and warned: Without urgent action, we could face threats to water, food, biodiversity and other critical resources. I don’t take these concerns lightly. Global changes…Continue Reading…