Stretched Thin, Part 1
As some of you may be aware, during my more prolific days on the ‘Kog, I decried the decline in the quality of journalism, a trend which I directly attributed…
science
Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading. – Nafeez Ahmed writes about the dangers of combining growing inequality and increased resource extraction: By investigating the human-nature dynamics of these past cases…
I get email – Human rights and Climate change
Recently, I wrote about a ruling against APEGA, Alberta’s professional association for engineers, by the province’s Human Rights Tribunal. Low and behold, the defendant in the case, Ladislav Mihaly, emailed…
The Blustery Winds of Stupidity Hit Weyburn Hard #skpoli
At least 2 Weyburn City Councillors were not duped by anti-Wind propaganda that afflicts many municipalities. There’s probably no bylaw against this family running a noisy, polluting diesel generator in…
#Tarsands Polluting Groundwater and Rivers
As scientists have demonstrated in the past, the strip mining and tailing ponds employed on a Mordorific scale in northern Alberta are polluting ground and river waters. Sorry #tarsand shills,…
Nature blasts Swiss anti-immigration referendum
As part of Switzerland’s system of direct democracy, Swiss voters recently approved immigration caps by a narrow margin. This means that the country, which has remained independent of the European…
I Love Climate Scientists, Don’t You?
* Even as the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration climbs upward, some climate deniers are bent on attacking climate scientists’ reputations. That’s why it’s more important than ever that we empower…
A Scientific Approach to Better Urban Design
Urban design is not an easy activity because of the multitude of variables that impact the overall urban experience. There are buildings, traffic (foot and vehicular), landmarks, natural occurrences like…
Feb. 12: Happy Darwin Day
February 12 is international Darwin Day, the day when we collectively celebrate science and reason. And, of course, we recognize Charles Darwin’s birthday: February 12, 1809 (the same birthdate as…
aspartame, science and society
Oh, what questions arise from opening a science textbook! I didn’t realize a biology textbook would lead me again to wondering about the challenges of being open to new information…
Debunking the Adam Bridge
A story popped up on the internet in late 2013, recycled in early 2014, claiming “NASA Images Find 1.7 Million Year Old Man-Made Bridge.” Claptrap. It’s not a…
Speak up for science
Our federal government’s lamentable attitude to science, or at least any science that doesn’t benefit business, is one of its key features. Nonetheless, Industry Canada is giving us a chance…
Reading Thucydides at last
Somewhere on one of my bookshelves, is an old Penguin paperback copy of History of The Peloponnesian War by Thucydides. It’s a bit worn, pages lightly yellowed, glue a little…
Greens: Conservatives Ordered Illegal Destruction of Canadian Records
Elizabeth May on Harper government's library closures: Book burning doesn't remind me of this century #CDNpoli— Mike De Souza (@mikedesouza) January 27, 2014 A worrying subset of the Canadian population…
Part 1 #OilConVoid – Neil Young Hints At Unspeakable Canadian Civil War
I’m starting a short series of 3 blog posts today deliberately with the top climate change story in Canada. There are huge stories also in the RoboCon election fraud scandal,…
Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – John Cassidy makes the case to call the U.S.’ war on poverty a success – pointing out that there has been a meaningful…
Sunspot AR1944 Blasting Earth #skstorm
I hope our electrical grids are prepared, as there is a risk of overloading from an event like this. -The Sun Wednesday afternoon, from Regina. Canon S5IS on tripod with…
The War On Knowledge: Is the Harper Government Canada’s Taliban?
* Silence of the Labs: The Fifth Estate More links: How The Harper Government Committed A Knowledge Massacre
Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Diane Coyle offers a preview of Thomas Piketty’s upcoming book on inequality – featuring a prediction that absent some significant public policy intervention,…
Salt and bread making
Salt is one of the four essential ingredients in making bread, along with flour, yeast and water. Nothing more is needed, although often a lot more is added. Salt is…