If you had to pick the human influences most responsible for altering the earth, what would they be? Half a century ago, this question was (dispassionately) addressed in a landmark symposium called, “Man’s Role in Changing the Face of the Earth.” A 2005 retrospective review of the volume of interdiscplinary scholarship that emerged in 1956 notes that the syposium was…Continue Reading…
Randy Olson, in response to this post, offers an unstinting and thought-provoking commentary on science communication. Olson is a marine biologist turned filmmaker. One of his movies is called Flock of Dodos, which might best characterize his view of the science community–with respect to their overall communication skills. Although critical of scientists, Olson also offers some constructive suggestions below. Have a read and let’s discuss….Continue Reading…
Andy Revkin has a post related to a conference I (and numerous other journalists) also attended this week. Due to computer challenges (my laptop died on Tuesday) and other obligations, I haven’t yet been able to post on any of the sessions. But I’ll get something up by Monday. I’m still digesting it all. Meanwhile, for those who…Continue Reading…
Randy Olson, the scientist-turned-filmaker, dares to depart from conventional wisdom among climate advocates, many who would hang the news media in collective effigy over climategate: The media were irrelevant and largely blameless in Climategate. The whole incident was a case study in the absence of effective leadership in both the science and environmental communities. For…Continue Reading…
Well, not exactly, but it seems that German greens have matured into a potent political force. I do think this Foreign Policy piece hypes their ascendancy, but there’s no denying that greens have long been players in German politics in a way that is unimaginable in the U.S. And it appears they are now appealing to a broader swath of the German populace. …Continue Reading…
Ever wonder how scientists can determine how much carbon dioxide (CO2) is accumulating in the atmosphere? In this engaging story, science writer Tom Yulsman visits a CO2 monitoring station high up in the Colorado mountains and brings a crucial part of climate science down to earth. Here’s the scene and a snippet of how the data…Continue Reading…
Bill McKibben has some fun after learning that Glenn Beck has called him a communist. Of course, McKibben is in good company. An esteemed military veterans organization is comprised of communists: Volunteers are communists: Then there’s the art hanging in Rockefeller Plaza–all communist. I know just the man who can bring clarity to this issue of commies in the climate…Continue Reading…
Via Andy Revkin at Dot Earth, I see that Peter Gleick, living in an imaginary world where tradeoffs never occur, is outraged that some people in California are daring to consider that not all endangered species, because of their dire status, can be saved: In a desperate attempt to make it easier to solve California’s complex and contentious water…Continue Reading…