I Love Cynics!

In a recent assessment of American student achievement in science education, it was found that by 2005 only 18% of graduating seniors were considered proficient. Forty-six percent were considered below a basic achievement level. That was up 3% from 1996. How did we arrive at this situation? How did the United States go from being [...]

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“I’ve got billions and billions of rhymes to flex, ‘Cause I’ve got more rhymes than Carl Sagan’s got turtlenecks.” Ok. I like the Beastie Boys. The above quote is from one of their songs. The point? Carl Sagan quickly entered the realm of pop culture icons. Through his books and promotion of science via such [...]

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Wedge issues, voter myopia, corrupt politicians? What are the causes of increasing economic disparity in the United States? In his book, Unequal Democracy, Larry Bartels examines the history of increasing economic inequality since the end of World War II. Economic disparity is at its highest point since the 20′s with the top 1% income earners [...]

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Yes, I’m reviewing a four year old book. As the debate continues over evolution vs. intelligent design, and more of the fundamentalist right try to push creationism in the classroom, I decided to take a refresher course on the science of evolution. Consider it a sanity break. I read other reviews of The Ancestor’s Tale: [...]

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I had typed up a nice long review of this book, and then the database server ate it. Fitting… Let’s see if I can remember what I typed. If you think you eat well, think again. Here’s an exercise for you. Go to your fridge or cupboard. Grab an item or two out at random. [...]

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The best parts of this book are the last 18 pages. No, that’s not really a slam on the book… well… you’ll see. LiViNG GREEN: A practical guide to simple sustainability is exactly what the subtitle suggests; a guide to improving sustainability in your daily life. Everything, from what you eat to what you drive, [...]

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If I could award one person with Cynic of the Year, it’d go to Alan Weisman. How often have we, as the jaded cynical people we are, considered the thought experiment “What would this place be like if every one of us disappeared?” Usually there’s the addendum “except for me.” No, in Weisman’s book we [...]

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Went to the Chena Hot Springs Renewable Energy Fair this weekend. I got there much later than I anticipated, and missed some of the talks. I have to say, one of the more interesting ones was the speech by Sen. Inouye of Hawaii. In Alaska, we pride ourselves on our self-sufficiency and isolation from the [...]

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A momentary sigh of relief. A couple of years ago, I wrote here about the possible damage from the dumping of tailings into Slate Lake by the Kinsington Mine. I then let it slip off my radar. Good news came today. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, CA, ruled today that [...]

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Scientific consensus, particularly when it comes to global warming, is a much misunderstood and often misrepresented term. At it’s simplest, the term means that through a process of experimentation and peer review a scientific concept has been accepted, without any substantial doubt, by the scientific community. This happens to be the case for global warming, [...]

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