Archive for the ‘Science & Tech’ Category
Water on the moon – yes!
In November of last year, NASA announced an amazing discovery – water on the moon. Last week, six scientists announced in Science magazine that in fact there is much more water than originally thought – about twice the concentrations that are found in the Sahara. The Wall Street Journal outlines the important implications: The large quantity boosts the case for a manned […]
Environmentalism’s true misanthropic colors
Disgusting video from British green group 10:10. Well, at least they make underlying misanthropy of environmentalism more transparent. The campaigners were forced to apologize, and are trying to remove the video from the internet.
Where is the Glenn Curtiss of today?
On the weekend I toured the Glenn Curtiss museum in Hammondsport, New York. Who was Glenn Curtiss, you ask? Well, I didn’t know either. But now I feel I should have known. Glenn Curtis was of the country’s aviation pioneers and a founder of the aircraft industry. Our history of flight is so focused […]
Thank you for exterminating the Prospect Park geese!
The New York Times reports that wildlife biologists working with the federal Agriculture Department last week gassed to death nearly 400 geese in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. The reason for the extermination was to cull the large geese population which threaten airplane flights over the city. Prospect Park is near to both JFK and La Guardia […]
Razing Detroit: nothing but flowers?
There are those who claim that we’ve experienced too much economic growth. There are those who complain about the impact of industrialization. And there are those who say there are too many people. But, if you want to see what a world of negative growth, deindustrialization and depopulation looks like, check out what is going on in […]
Obama: the Gulf between words and deeds
Instead of all the dithering, lofty rhetoric and tough talk, the US president should be honest about the need to keep on drilling. Read my spiked article in full here.
Debating nuclear power
In this TED video, Stewart Brand and Mark Jacobson debate the need for nuclear power. The over-reaction to the Three Mile Island accident in 1979 led to a near-halt of the construction of nuclear power plants in the US. Without alternative energy sources like nuclear, the US was more reliant on oil, which eventually led […]
“Addicted” to gadgets?
There’s been much written lately about the impact of electronic gadgets on our everyday lives. First, there have been reviews and articles about Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains. Second, the New York Times ran a long feature on Monday called “Hooked on gadgets, and paying a mental price”. I […]
On the criticisms of Obama and BP over the Gulf oil spill
In a press conference today, President Obama defended the federal government’s handling of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, including his own response. He also announced a suspension of drilling in the Gulf, Virginia and the Arctic. Clearly, the oil spill in the Gulf has proved to be much more difficult to stop […]
Gulf oil spill: don’t run away from risks
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico from the accident on the BP-owned drilling rig known as Deepwater Horizon occurred almost three weeks ago, and it has incurred a terrible toll. Eleven died, hundreds have had their economic livelihoods disrupted, and there is significant damage to the environment. BP, assisted by the US government […]