Archive for the ‘Science & Tech’ Category
Greens are against nuclear – and all other forms of energy
In the wake of the Japan disaster, environmentalists are rolling out their anti-nuclear arguments again. But as Alex Berezow, editor of Real Clear Science, points out, greens are “trying to eliminate all the other alternatives as well”. Oil drilling is risky and destructive . Coal is hazardous to extract, and burning it contributes to global […]
Narcissistic Americans scare-monger about nuclear power at home
We all watch as the disaster in Japan continues to unfold. The loss of life and destruction caused by the earthquake and tsunami are terrible, while the stories of the Japanese people coping are both heartbreaking and impressive. Now there is the threat of a substantial release of radiation, with each day bringing news of […]
Naomi Klein, reactionary
This Naomi Klein talk is so crass, wrong and bad, it’s hard to know where to start. In about 19 minutes, Klein manages to: make a glib a analogy between the BP oil spill and financial crisis criticize risk-taking as “reckless” advocate the precautionary principle elevate Mother Nature over humanity (and present Mother Nature as truly feminine) blame men, and […]
Brendan O’Neill debating over-population in the New York Times
In his “Dot Earth” blog for the New York Times, journalist Andrew Revkin yesterday wrote about his recent correspondence with spiked editor Brendan O’Neill on the issue of over-population. It’s brief, but a great read nonetheless. The post is called “Deconstructing a bestiary of Malthusian ‘miserabilists'”, and Revkin quotes O’Neill as saying: An NGO that arrives in poor Africa […]
NASA’s amazing discovery of alien life – in California
When NASA announced last week that it had a new discovery “which would impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life,” the media clamored for details. But when the space agency finally unveiled the news that it had found alien life in the form of a microbe with previously-unknown DNA that that feeds – oddly enough – off […]
Too much vitamin D, or not enough? Yes
Today’s New York Times front page has a story with the headline “Extra vitamin D and calcium aren’t necessary, report says”. It refers to a report from an expert committee, which the Times says finds: The very high levels of vitamin D that are often recommended by doctors and testing laboratories – and can be achieved only […]
Fate of the World game: “Malthus on a computer chip”
Norm Benson at Timberati has a great post about a new video game, Fate of the World. He writes: The scenario for Fate of the World (FotW) starts in the year 2020 when climate change induced disasters strike. Then the “World Environment Organization,” (a turbo-charged United Nations), makes you the climate czar to “decide how […]
China’s high-speed rail expansion leaves US behind
There was an interesting item on National Public Radio this morning about the amazing expansion of China’s high-speed rail network. In two years’ time, China will have about 8,000 miles of high-speed rail tracks – which means it will have more than all of the rest of the world combined. NPR notes: Soon, almost all the major […]
Katz: Why we need city-based manufacturing investment
(Video) Bruce Katz of the Brookings Institution puts the case for manufacturing and innovation, based around strong metropolitan centers.
Trendy vs. real innovation
In the Financial Times on the weekend, Gillian Tett wrote about her attendance at a meeting called “Reboot America!”, organized by Daily Beast editor Tina Brown. The event was full of big names, among them economist Joseph Stiglitz, venture capitalist Vinod Khosla and regulator Sheila Bair. Tett reports that a major theme was “reverence for the idea of innovation”. […]