Posts

May 13, 2013

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4:06 PM | Russian Scientists Decry New International Funding Rules

A government decree will make supporting research a bureaucratic nightmare for international funders

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1:12 PM | Bolsen, Druckman & Cook working paper addresses critical issue in Science of #Scicom: What triggers public conflict over policy-relevant science?

Here's something people interested in the science of science communication should check out: Bolsen, T., Druckman, J. & Cook, F.L. The Effects of the Politicization of Science on Public Support for Emergent Technologies. Institute for Policy Research Northwestern University Working Paper Series, WP-13-11 (May 1, 2013). The paper presents an interesting study on how exposure to information on the existence of political conflict affects public attitudes toward policy-relevant science, […]

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11:07 AM | Week in Review, or Top Line Tug-of-War

Members of Congress returned from recess to a rainy spring week in DC and immediately resumed bickering over how to move forward on funding the government in the next fiscal year. While both chambers have passed budget resolutions providing top-line spending numbers for FY 2014, the focus has now shifted to whether or not they [...]

May 12, 2013

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11:19 PM | Don’t Even Think About Being The Coolest Person On (Above) The Planet…

…that slot is taken: Tip o’ the hat to Commander Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadlfield) aboard the International Space Station.

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3:32 PM | So Much Terrible Serendipity

There's a thoughtful, beautifully written, and terrifying story about human/wildlife interaction, specifically an endangered seal in Hawai'i, written by Jon Mooallem, at the New York Times Magazine site.

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2:24 PM | Space policy viewed through an exoplanetary lens

On Thursday, the space and research subcommittees of the House Science Committee held a joint hearing on “Exoplanet Discoveries: Have We Found Other Earths?”. Exoplanet research, as you might imagine, is not particularly controversial, and seems far removed from big issues facing NASA today on Capitol Hill. Yet, during the brief (less than one hour) [...]

May 11, 2013

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8:11 PM | 400 Fest

There's a lot of discussion of the fact that daily mean CO2 concentrations at Mauna Loa exceeded 400 ppmv for the first time.

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1:34 AM | Political Correctness Wins Again ;)

I’ve a few things to get off my chest following the news that I got via Dave Weigel, that Dr. Jason Richwine, our favorite race(ist)/IQ/no-Latino-immigrants need apply scholar aca-hack, has “resigned” from the Heritage Foundation. Richwine, recall, was the co-author of Heritage’s now roundly ridiculed immigration study released earlier this week. Weigel asked what Heritage […]

May 10, 2013

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10:39 PM | Mon Dieu! Researchers Fret as France Debates More English in French Universities

Scientists say language flap distracting from more important issues

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10:28 PM | U.N. Convention Bans Flame Retardant

European Union argues for exemption for use in insulating buildings

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8:37 PM | Global Partnership Intends to Fight Cassava Viruses

Research institutions and donors agreed to collaborate on major food security problem

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7:34 PM | NSF Delays Reply to Hill Query on Social Science Grants

Agency plans to answer House science committee chair by 16 May

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6:28 PM | Our partner, Pop Warner, is seeking All-American scholar presenters

2013 All-American Scholar Presenters Pop Warner is once again looking for outstanding kids from around the country to act as Youth Presenters at the 2013 Pop Warner Scholastic Banquet, taking place this year on May 25th at the Boston Marriott Copley Place in Boston’s Back Bay District. MORE INFO: All-American Scholar Presenters Information+

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5:46 PM | CO2 on Trial vs WSJ’s Ironic Op-Ed; Various Rebuttals on CSW

As mt argued recently, CO2 is not a defendant accused of a crime, and we should not care whether it can be proven guilty. By now it can be proven, but that was never the right framing. Emissions are a risk management issue. Nevertheless the Wall Street Journal just ran an op-ed entitled "In Defense of CO2". Climate Science Watch was among several outlets publishing a rebuttal to the long-refuted arguments. The WSJ op-ed's explicit doubling down on the misframing of the problem is notable.

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5:07 PM | Republicans Behind the Scenes Struggle to Overcome Climate Denial

A concerted push has begun within the party—in conservative think tanks and grassroots groups, and even in backroom, off-the-record conversations on Capitol Hill—to persuade Republicans to acknowledge and address climate change in their own terms, according to a feature story today in the National Journal.

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3:02 PM | Somalia On The Rio Grande

If it were just a matter of Texans killing Texans — with the victims embracing their fates — then I might be willing to let it all go with an “everyone to hell in their own handbasket” reaction. But, of course, the generalized Gresham’s Law tells us what follows from this kind of thinking: Five […]

May 09, 2013

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10:06 PM | Dog Bites Man — Internet Bank Heist Version

Least suprising story of the year here: …in two precision operations that involved people in more than two dozen countries acting in close coordination and with surgical precision, the organization was able to steal $45 million from thousands of A.T.M.’s in a matter of hours. In New York City alone, the thieves responsible for A.T.M. withdrawals […]

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9:00 PM | Pressure Builds on Congress to Kill NSF Bill

Former NSF directors urge science committee chair to back down

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7:37 PM | A Science Laureate for the United States?

Lawmakers want to create honorary, inspirational post. Who would you pick?

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7:27 PM | U.S. Government Accuses Open Access Publisher of Trademark Infringement

Cease-and-desist letter a sign of concern about predatory publishing

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5:26 PM | What Representative Lamar Smith Is Really Trying to Do at NSF

Congressional aide explains the rationale behind proposed legislation

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4:51 PM | The Whipsaw: Tornado Edition

The recent very low tornadic activity in the US is even stranger than the very high tornadic activity of 2010-2011, according to an analysis by tornado expert Patrick Marsh.

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2:20 PM | Is disgust "conservative"? Not in a Liberal society (or likely anywhere else)

This is a popular theme. It is associated most prominently with the very interesting work of Jonathan Haidt, who concludes that "disgust" is characteristic of a "conservative" psychological outlook that morally evaluates behavior as intrinsically appropriate or inappropriate as opposed to a liberal one that focuses on "harm" to others. Martha Nussbaum offers a similar, and similarly interesting account, portraying "disgust" as a sensibility that ranks people (or ways of living associated with […]

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11:36 AM | Buzz Aldrin wants NASA to go to Mars, not grab an asteroid

Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin has no shortage of opinions of what the US should be doing in space, and how. In a speech Wednesday at the Humans to Mars Summit in Washington, he emphasized his belief that NASA should be focused on sending people to Mars—to stay—and shouldn’t be distracted by other options, including [...]

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9:54 AM | May 2013 Open thread

Past time for more thread.

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5:46 AM | Canadian Scientists’ Letter to Minister of Natural Resources

The CBC reports: A group of 12 prominent Canadian climate scientists called out the federal Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver on his support for the expansion of oil infrastructure in a letter released today. The group went on to say that if Canada wants to avoid dangerous climate change it “will require significantly reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and making a transition to cleaner energy.” “I’m not arguing necessarily for totally closing down the tarsands.

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5:12 AM | It’s Existential

Just another climate rant. “It’s like watching space Nazis launch asteroids at us and the mainstream media talks exasperatedly about ‘those space Nazi people’ who are so quaintly concerned that we are all going to be vaporized in a giant fiery cataclysm while our top political leaders argue about who is more pro-asteroid.”

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4:40 AM | Bill Gates: GDP Can Be an Inadequate Metric of Growth

Bill Gates says "it is very difficult to compare the value of baskets of goods across different time periods". One surprising conclusion, "that GDP understates growth", notwithstanding, he also points to a book by SFU prof Morton Jerven, "Poor Numbers: How We Are Misled by African Development Statistics and What to Do about It" and concludes that we should not focus on GDP in estimating "growth".

May 08, 2013

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8:26 PM | NIH Details Impact of 2013 Sequester Cuts

Biomedical agency's budget will drop 5%, research grants will decline by 703

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6:39 PM | NRC Head Says Realignment Means 'Full Meal' for Canadian Industry

Venerable research agency shifts to applied research to better serve business