'Climate' Category
What I’d blog about if I had the time
A whole bunch of interesting science and technology has been in the news over the past few days. I’d love to blog about all of it, but have no chance of finding the time to do it in any depth, so here’s a quick overview of some interesting topics to get you started on your own explorations…
Episode 21 — Biofuels
Salvation, or just a distraction?
Things I’d blog about if I only had the time…
Life’s been crazy busy for me the past few weeks (thus, no podcast episode for a while), and it won’t get better for a few more days, but I thought at least I could pass along some interesting links I’ve run across. Yeah, it’s a cop out, but I guess it’s better than nothing….
Casual Friday — the melting of the North polar ice cap
A sobering look at what trends are telling us about the Arctic sea ice in upcoming summers…
Carnivalia
Plenty of good reading material awaits in the past week’s crop of (mostly) science-related blog carnival goodness…
Episode 15 — The Solar Cycle
No, it’s not a sporty new solar-powered form of transportation — it’s a basic part of how the Sun behaves!
There’s been a recent surge of news about solar activity and the solar cycle — and of course, variations in solar activity always seem to get brought into discussions of climate change. Listen in this week, and I’ll give you some quick background on solar physics, the solar cycle, and how it all impacts us in the end…
Science in the news
There’s lots of interesting stuff in the news that I’d love to blog about, but just won’t have time to cover (I’m working on an in-depth article and a podcast episode right now, so the rest will have to slide). Anyway, I’ll just recommend the following items as good reading material…
Philosophia Naturalis #15
Welcome to the 15th mostly-monthly installment of the Philosophia Naturalis blog carnival — home of the best blog posts in the natural sciences that you’ll find! There’s all sorts of good reading material for you to choose from, so let’s get right to business…
Episode 14 — Hybrid Cars
If you’re like many people, you’d like to help do something about climate change through the choices you make and the way you live. Celebrities and the mass media (among others) are presenting hybrid vehicles as a big step forward in this regard.
But left out of this rush to technology is any discussion of the fact that not all hybrids are equal. Some are little different from conventional cars, and consume fuel with equal gusto. Others offer dramatic improvements in fuel economy, but may not appear at your local automotive dealer’s showroom floor for years.
What’s a well-intentioned, but budget-minded potential car buyer to do?
Listen in to this episode, and I’ll give you a quick education in hybrid vehicle technologies. You’ll be able to tell series from parallel, and electric from hydraulic with aplomb — and more importantly, understand some of the challenges that lie ahead for this technology, and how to tell when a hybrid vehicle’s price premium makes it a worthwhile investment.
This episode is the first in a series on ways you and I can help fight climate change.
Casual Friday
Luckily, I don’t wear a hat…
