I thoroughly enjoyed reading Klein’s account of his discussions with these leading natural and social scientists. I came out thinking that there was no real theme, just an account of scientists chatting about what’s important to them, or maybe not so important but fun. Klein was aware of his own … Continue Reading →
Ernest Lawrence, the nuclear bomb program, and accelerator science are all linked inextricably in history. Lawrence was a talented experimentalist, a gifted lab manager and talent scout, and a spell-weaving salesman. Before him, most science was tabletop experiments with budgets pulled together from universities and private donors. Afterward, large collaborations … Continue Reading →
Hidden in the July 4th holiday headlines this year was the fact that a 20-year-old woman in Washington state died from measles on July 3. In the US. An entirely preventable death. I’m heartsick over it. The woman had other health issues and her immune system was weakened. This is … Continue Reading →
When you’re climbing a mountain, and the distance before you seems overwhelming, it’s helpful to look back at how far you’ve come already. This book serves as a reminder that environmental activists have accomplished the seemingly impossible before, so it’s possible to do it again. Progress is being made in … Continue Reading →
It’s fireworks season, and there’s no better way to get a visual tour of the period table of elements than a fireworks show! Little balls or cubes called stars are made of various elements called stars and packed into shells with gun powder, and the chemicals in them determine both … Continue Reading →
The news is full of stories about what’s bad for you. Plastic, food coloring, trans fats, sun exposure, lack of sun exposure, caffeine, sleeplessness, carbs. It’s nearly impossible to avoid all those things, so wouldn’t it be better just to not know about them? When the media inform us of … Continue Reading →
I really enjoyed this well-researched and well-written book by Catherine Price. If you’re looking for some amazing nutritional advice that will change your world and save your life, this isn’t it. Her advice is: don’t isolate your micronutrients, eat real food (not processed). Not exactly new advice. But that wasn’t … Continue Reading →
Pluto is really far away. The spacecraft called New Horizons was launched back in 2006, and next month, it’ll finally get to Pluto. When it was launched, Pluto was officially a planet. Since then, Pluto has been re-classified as a dwarf planet because it’s in the Kuiper belt, a … Continue Reading →
I just read a great book about glaciers! There’s so much I want to sort through in here. The book is by Jorge Taillant, who is a glacier activist in Argentina. He was involved in the process of the passing of the first glacier protection law in the … Continue Reading →
I love the ways that science lets us see through seeming impenetrable walls. Let’s say, for instance, that you have a nuclear fission plant that has suffered some catastrophe. Let’s get more specific: you’re responsible for the clean-up for the Fukushima power plant in Japan, which was badly damaged in … Continue Reading →