On Global Warming, the Tea Party is Worse than the GOP
dont-tread-on-me.jpg There’s a fascinating new public opinion analysis out today from Anthony Leiserowitz and the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication. It looks at political divides...
science
Why Questionable "Science" Gets Published, Pounced On in the Media, Retracted, Causes Resignations…Rinse and Repeat
scientific journals.JPG An editor resigns after a journal publishes a paper that seems to trash the scientific consensus on climate change—but is heavily criticized by top scientists. Where...
Exams never end
(Title of famous play by Italian playwright Eduardo De Filippo. To my knowledge, it was not inspired by his own PhD defence) Dear fellow Committee Members, as the appointed Chair…
John Stossel Tells EPA To Pack Up Shop
john stossel.jpg Fox News host John Stossel says that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has passed its prime, and is no longer useful. After the Obama Administration last week overruled…
Atheists are Differently Religious – and No, Atheism is not the/a Religion
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.…
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…
Communication Fail: Why the IPCC Must Do a Heck of a Lot Better in 2013
IPCC-Logo.jpg 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...
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…
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…
Number One Lesson *Not* To Take Away from Hurricane Irene
800px-Atlantic_hurricane_tracks.jpg 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...
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…
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…
Hurricane Irene, Climate Change, and the Need to Consider Worst Case Scenarios
Irene Track Aug 25.gif 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…
(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…
The Republican War on Science Returns
republican war.jpg 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...
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…
Become What You Despise? Why "Beating" Conservative White Male Climate Deniers May Mean Joining Them
1112_no-nukes.jpg 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 ...
Tomorrow’s Dinner: Homeopathic Chicken Stirfry
Save time and money and stick it to Big Agriculture and Mega Farms with Homeopathic Chicken Dinner!
The Attacks on Climate Science Education Are Picking Up Steam
Teacher-writing-on-blackb-007.jpg 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 ...
Here Comes the Atlantic Hurricane Season
2011218gosst.png 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...