A main focus of this blog is to consider and compare different political and ethical philosophies so as to promote better understanding of one’s own worldview and those of others. I frequently focus on progressivism/liberalism and libertarian conservativism, arguing that these incompletely overlapping moral/political philosophies each have their own internal logic and validity, but that […]
Tag: science
RedBedHead: Capitalism Is Killing The Advance Of Healthcare
The scientific advances of the last century – and even of that last ten years – have been dizzying. The ability to turn ordinary skin cells into stem cells that can become any type of cell in the body; organ, limb and face transplants; gene therapy – a…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science: Communication Fail: Why the IPCC Must Do a Heck of a Lot Better in 2013
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Regular readers know I’m pretty critical of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change–particularly when it comes to how this expert body communicate…
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Our Place in the Universe – Supernova Examined
Astronomy is fantastic when done correctly and edited to make it all bright and shiny. From Bad Astronomy: “First of all, a supernova is an exploding star — one of the most violent events in the Universe. There are different kinds of supernovae, but a Type Ia occurs, it’s thought, when a superdense […]
The Darkness Strikes Back
I’ve begun a series of video-essays on YouTube (my channel is here) titled "Welcome to our Semi-Dark Age". The first episode is now up (in three parts, due to time length restrictions by YouTube) – hopefully, my skills at video recording/editing will improve as I make more videos. Similarly, my pronunciation of English words remains a work in progress … In any case, I’ve embedded herein the
Continue readingDeath By Trolley: New Rule: Only People With PhDs May Give Opinions.
This appears to be the premise of an unduly dismissive commenter. For your enjoyment, here is what he/she had to say: Hi Ron, I hope you will forgive me for sounding a tad harsh here, but a trade school certificate from a tenth rate university does not qualify you to speak about scientific research, pro […]
DeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science: Number One Lesson *Not* To Take Away from Hurricane Irene
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I was watching CNN this morning. I don’t know why—except that it was on in the gym at the hotel where I’m staying.
Pretty soon, I was arguing…
Death By Trolley: Homeopathy Under Fire in the US, UK, Italy, Israel and Australia
Skeptic North, a well-written Canadian team blog advocating for science, skepticism and rationalism, has been a great source of information on the ongoing scientific, intellectual and moral train-wreck that is homeopathy. I have a bit of a warm spot for this blog, as it was formed in part by concurrent and later-coming members of Canadian […]
Death By Trolley: Endorsing Justin Trottier, Green Party of Ontario Candidate, Parkdale-High Park
I am proud to throw my out-of-riding support behind Justin Trottier, Green Party of Ontario, whom is seeking to represent the Parkdale – High Park riding. Justin Trottier is a principled and active advocate for science, reason, freedom of and from religion, nontheism, free speech, gay rights, and environmental responsibility. I have had the pleasure […]
DeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science: Hurricane Irene, Climate Change, and the Need to Consider Worst Case Scenarios
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In May of 2005, a few months before Hurricane Katrina, I wrote an article that nobody noticed. It was entitled “Thinking Big About Hurricanes: It’s Time to Get …
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: LHC – Higgs Boson here we come!
The LHC is beginning to collect evidence for the elusive Higgs Boson. “Scientists are hoping that the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will finally nail Higgs boson — the “God particle” which theoretically endowed every other particle with mass, but has proved elusive to date. The discovery of Higgs boson is one of the chief […]
CalgaryLiberal: (2) The Challenge: To be seen as having a plan: The Four Challenges to the Alberta Liberal Party
There are challenges to the Alberta Liberal Party forming government in Alberta. In this series of posts I’ll write about some of the challenges that Liberals face in this province and some solutions to them. (2) The Challenge: To be seen as havi…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science: The Republican War on Science Returns
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As author of the 2005 book The Republican War on Science, I’ve watched recent developments in the presidential race with fascination.
It is not exactly news that man…
Dead Wild Roses: Thunderstorms and Anti-Matter – Ain’t Science Grand?
Pushing the limits of our knowledge is what science is all about. Consider what NASA is learning about thunderstorms and their possible role in creating anti-matter. Fascinating stuff! Filed under: Science Tagged: NASA, Science, Thunderstorms & Anti-matter
Exponential Book: Computers do not ruin physics…
… physicists ruin physics (bumper sticker — I doubt if it exists, but it should) The efficacy of a computer simulation (or of any other numerical computation) in predicting the behaviour of a physical system, crucially hinges on two ingredi…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science: Become What You Despise? Why "Beating" Conservative White Male Climate Deniers May Mean Joining Them
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David Roberts of Grist has written a wonderful and psychologically deep portrait of why conservative white males deny climate change—and much else—and how this …
Continue readingDeath By Trolley: Tomorrow’s Dinner: Homeopathic Chicken Stirfry
Save time and money and stick it to Big Agriculture and Mega Farms with Homeopathic Chicken Dinner!
DeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science: The Attacks on Climate Science Education Are Picking Up Steam
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A few months back, those who care about accurate climate science and energy education in high school classes registered a minor victory. Under fire from outlets …
Continue readingDeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science: Here Comes the Atlantic Hurricane Season
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This has been a year of dramatic disasters and weather extremes. From tornadoes to droughts to heat waves, the U.S. has been battered.
Unfortunately, the hurricane season that&rs…
DeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science: The Bias Trap: Are We All Just A Bunch of Motivated Reasoners?
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There were a ton of great responses to my last post about conservative white men and climate change denial. Perhaps most notably, some savvy respondents called into question whe…
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