Posts Tagged ‘public-policy’

In a story at that socialist rag Financial Times, the radical environmental group General Electric explains why the Republican presidential candidates’ refusal to accept the evidence on climate change is ridiculous. (Sadly, you have to register to read this piece.)

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Guess who else is part of the evil climate change conspiracy?

Good news! You can now earn a certification in piracy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. One of the first crop of official pirates, Jacob Hurwitz, showed up for his interview with the Boston Globe “wearing a pirate hat, eye patch, earring, knickers, and a stuffed parrot on his shoulder.” So you know it’s official.

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MIT issues certificates in piracy

Here’s a sentence I never expected to type: You should really read the Grand Forks Herald’s review of The Olive Garden. This is in North Dakota, for those not familiar. With almost 100,000 people in the metro area, it’s the third-largest city in the state. It recently got its first Olive Garden and critic Marilyn

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The Grand Forks Herald reviews the new Olive Garden in town

There’s a story making the rounds right now suggesting that the use of hair relaxers—products that are used more often by African American women than women of other ethnicities—might cause uterine fibroids—a painful condition experienced more often by African American women than women of other ethnicities. Nobody really knows why African American women seem to

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Uterine fibroids, hair relaxers, and why some evidence is better than others

Ball’s Pyramid looks like a place where nothing could survive. The remnants of a long-dead volcano, it sits alone in the South Pacific … a narrow, rocky half-moon some 1800 feet high. But Ball’s Pyramid isn’t devoid of life … for years this place had a secret

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The (horribly awesome) things that live on Ball’s Pyramid

Here in the BoingBoing newsroom, we are dedicated to keeping you informed on the latest developments in cetacean friendship. You already know that dolphins and whales hang out and, in fact, play together Now, some more awesome news: Dolphins apparently have a system of identifying themselves to each other similar to the way you and

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Individual dolphins identify themselves to new dolphins they meet

This is the town of Kivalina, Alaska. Last fall, when the ocean water that almost surrounds the town started turning a gooey orange, people (understandably) got a bit freaked out. After ruling out the scarier options—i.e.,chemical pollution and toxic algae—scientists eventually pinned the orange tide on the presence of a plant fungus.

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A fascinating conclusion to an environmental mystery

This is one thing that changed for me during the course of researching and writing Before the Lights Go Out, my upcoming book about the future of energy. I used to approach conversations about energy from a climate-centric perspective. First, I have to help people understand the science of climate change and get them past

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Do we need to talk about climate change, in order to talk about energy?

Inside Japan’s Nuclear Meltdown Last night, PBS FRONTLINE aired a new documentary about what happened at the Fukushima nuclear power plant during the crucial first days of that crisis. Using amateur video shot during the earthquake and tsunami, interviews with power plant workers who were on the scene, and some astounding footage taken inside the

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Join a live Q&A about the first few days of the Fukushima nuclear crisis

You’re familiar with contrails, the tracks left by airplanes as they move across the sky. Those are made when hot water vapor from the exhaust of jet engines hits cold, high-altitude air and condenses into ice. Under the right conditions, big ships can leave a very similar trail, but it’s caused by a slightly different

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Big ships can leave "contrails" too

This is, to say the least, a busy week. There’s several events happening that I’m involved in. They’re all related to my upcoming book on the future of energy, and they’re all open to the public. I wanted to take a quick moment to tell you about them, because I’d love for you all to

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Maggie speaking at public events in Minneapolis and online

I’m really happy to be a part of Download the Universe, a new group blog dedicated to reviewing science e-books and apps. No dead trees allowed. It fills a long-ignored niche, helping readers find high-quality science writing in the digital realm, and my partners in this little side project are all top-notch. Download the Universe

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Download the Universe: Reviews of science e-books and apps

It’s that time again. Maggie is back at the largest science convention in the Western Hemisphere for four days of wall-to-wall awesomeness. Each day, she’ll tell you about some of the cool things she learned watching scientists from all over the world talk about their work. Check the bottom of each post to find links

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Birth control is safer than pregnancy: Day 1 at AAAS 2012

If you ever needed a good reason to buy a whipped cream maker: The New York Times adapted several of Nathan Myhrvold’s Modernist Cuisine recipes to work with ingredients and equipment you’re actually likely to have in your home kitchen. The whipped cream maker is the only tool used here that I don’t own. And

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How to: Cook like Nathan Myhrvold in your own kitchen

The oldest living thing on Earth is a massive “meadow” of sea grass growing in the Mediterranean between Spain and Cyprus. It’s somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 years old and reproduces by cloning itself. Also, it’s being killed by climate change.

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The oldest thing in the world

Right now, I’m reading The Conundrum by David Owen. It’s a really interesting book about some of the unintended consequences of the way we approach sustainability and environmentalism. I’m going to post a full review soon, once I get all the way through it, but so far Owen is making a couple of key points:

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Paved with good intentions: When energy efficiency backfires

One of the things that makes it difficult to understand weather, climate, and long-term climate changes is the fact that, when something noticeable happens, there’s a good chance it’s being caused by more than one thing. So, when you look at a weather phenomenon and ask, “Is this being caused by anthropogenic climate change?”, there’s

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What’s causing Europe’s cold snap?

Last year, I told you about a group of 7th graders who took a trip to Fermilab that completely changed their perception of what scientists ought to look like. Before they went on the field trip, “scientists” were bald white guys in lab coats who practiced, primarily, chemistry, and who were deeply weird. At Fermilab,

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This is what a scientist looks like

Earlier this week, Mark told you about a couple of the cool art projects happening on a frozen lake in Minnesota. The Art Shanty Projects are a semi-annual wintertime tradition up here. And it’s a sort-of send up of a much older tradition. Every winter, there’s a lot of ice fishing that happens in Minnesota

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How to build an art shanty

“My Favorite Museum Exhibit” is a series of posts aimed at giving BoingBoing readers a chance to show off their favorite exhibits and specimens, preferably from museums that might go overlooked in the tourism pantheon. I’ll be featuring posts in this series all week. Want to see them all? Check out the archive post.

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"My Favorite Museum Exhibit": Urine facts

“My Favorite Museum Exhibit” is a series of posts aimed at giving BoingBoing readers a chance to show off their favorite exhibits and specimens, preferably from museums that might go overlooked in the tourism pantheon. I’ll be featuring posts in this series all week. Want to see them all? Check out the archive post. I’ll

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"My Favorite Museum Exhibit": An Archaeopteryx in Wyoming

“My Favorite Museum Exhibit” is a series of posts aimed at giving BoingBoing readers a chance to show off their favorite exhibits and specimens, preferably from museums that might go overlooked in the tourism pantheon. I’ll be featuring posts in this series all week. Want to see them all? Check out the archive post.

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"My Favorite Museum Exhibit": The Poulton Elk

Earlier this week, I challenged readers to send me photos of their favorite museum exhibits and specimens, preferably from museums that might go overlooked in the tourism pantheon. Over the next few days, I’ll be posting some of these submissions, under the heading, “My Favorite Museum Exhibit”. Want to see them all? Check the “Previously”

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"My Favorite Museum Exhibit": Where exhibits come from

Earlier this week, I challenged readers to send me photos of their favorite museum exhibits and specimens, preferably from museums that might go overlooked in the tourism pantheon. Over the next few days, I’ll be posting some of these submissions, under the heading, “My Favorite Museum Exhibit”. Want to see them all? Check the “Previously”

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"My Favorite Museum Exhibit": The Bishop’s Rectum

Earlier this week, I challenged readers to send me photos of their favorite museum exhibits and specimens, preferably from museums that might go overlooked in the tourism pantheon. Over the next few days, I’ll be posting some of these submissions, under the heading, “My Favorite Museum Exhibit”. Want to see them all? Check the “Previously”

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"My Favorite Museum Exhibit": Arab Courier Attacked by Lions