This will go down as my shortest post ever: What’s wrong with this equation for the burning of octane? 2 C8H18+ 25 O2⟶ 16 CO2+ 18 H2O Let’s see who’s astute out there.
Climate change
Global Warming=Climate Change De-Bunked
Two days ago a press release came out about an article indicating that 5,600 years ago (BP=Before the Present Age [you see, BP avoids the word “Christian”–something that is de rigeur these days]) global temperatures in Antarctica were warmer than they are today. Think about that. How old is the Chinese dynasties? What about Egypt? Read More…
The Trend is your Friend–Global Cooling
In today’s Phys.Org, we find an article giving the latest results from Deep Ocean temperature measurements of the North Atlantic. These measurements feature a new method of obtaining both temperature and CO2 levels. What is the long term trend telling us about our future? What about the dramatic shifts in deep ocean temperatures? Were they Read More…
At EurekAlert: Antarctic glaciers losing ice at fastest rate for 5,500 years, finds study
Researchers: At the current rate of retreat the vast glaciers, which extend deep into the heart of the ice sheet, could contribute as much as 3.4 metres to global sea level rise over the next several centuries.
Coca Cola? There’s also an interesting story re Nye and climate change
One reader sent in a link to a 2012 post at Watts Up With That?, a skeptical climate change site: Al Gore and Bill Nye FAIL at doing a simple CO2 experiment.
Has anyone else noticed the blatant political flavor of many sciencey mags these days?
Yes, it was always there but recently, as the editors become ever more self-righteous (= Us vs. the Unwashed), it has become more open and that sure isn’t an improvement. Science writer Matt Ridley thinks science is reverting to a cult.
Forrest Mims has a new paper in the works at Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
He was named one of 50 best brains in science by Discover Magazine in 2008, despite the torrent of bigotry over his non-Darwinian approach to nature.
Proving that they are genuine “sceptics,” British group takes on the pieties of climate change
With a motto to live up to like “Question Everything. Stay Sane. Live Free,” they must sometimes tackle the Establishment’s fondest commitments. And the nonsense they skewer is practically surreal.
From the world of “Trust the science… ”
Reform is nearly impossible if the incentive structure remains as it is — rewarding publication in and of itself. On the other hand, nothing stays the same forever and growing public cynicism might provide a spur to reform.
At Mind Matters News: Physicist: If humans died out, the galaxy might lose all meaning
Brian Cox, host of The Universe, ended up becoming “more religious than I intended” when he reflected on why we care about the stars.
Bad timing or just plain tone deaf? Reuters puffs “modern-day Darwin” E. O. Wilson
Look, Reuters, if you really think the guy has a message worth hearing, quit calling him “the Darwin of the 21st century.” Unless, of course… naw, that’d be a conspiracy theory…
Science writer asks: Why are medical journals full of fashionable nonsense?
Alex Berezow: The point is that hopping aboard a political bandwagon is good for grabbing attention — and subsequently, funding. We are witnessing a similar phenomenon with respect to climate change. No matter how extraneous a topic, researchers try to tie it to climate change.
Here’s more on Canceled prof Dorian Abbot’s talk on climate and exoplanets — Thursday
Abbot: “Whether a planet could be habitable is determined primarily by the planet’s climate. This lecture will address insights we’ve gained from studying Earth’s climate and how those have been used to make predictions about which exoplanets might be habitable, and how astronomical observations indicate the possibility of new climatic regimes not found on modern Earth…” [The Woke are, of course, welcome to scream, assault passersby, and torch cars and buildings in the comfort of their own Zoom meeting at the same time.]
Google’s COVID vaccine info purge: The point many people seem to miss
The bottom line is that censorship in these matters leads inevitably to huge, endemic corruption. People who have something to hide make use of censorship rules for silencing opponents. People who know what is going wrong are stifled. After a while, the rot runs so deep, it cannot be excised and the information stock simply decays. Of course, English is assuming here that every alarm raised about vaccines is unjustifiable. Given how quickly so many anti-COVID-19 jabs were rushed onto the market, we would be awfully lucky if not a single one of them was a cure worse than the disease for many recipients. Maybe we are just that lucky this time out. But if we are not, we should want to know about it.
Talking to “science deniers”? How about a bit of self-reflection first?
Chivers, science editor at Unherd: “It’s mainly a book designed to tell readers that people they already think are dumb are, in fact, dumb. It is, really, How to Talk to A Contemptible Idiot Who Is Kind of Evil. ” That won’t be much use with serious problems science can help with.