Wall Street Journal: Yellow Science

I came across an excellent article in the WSJ about how just as newspaper tycoons Hearst and Pulitzer traded in methods of journalistic integrity to generate greater revenue, so have many scientists today abandoned scientific integrity in order to create greater interest and cash flow--in the area of global warming, of course.

From the article,

...Over the past several decades an increasing number of scientists have shed the restraints imposed by the scientific method and begun to proclaim the truth of man-made global warming. This is a hypothesis that remains untested, makes no predictions that can be tested in the near future, and cannot offer a numerical explanation for the limited evidence to which it clings. No equations have been shown to explain the relationship between fossil-fuel emission and global temperature. The only predictions that have been made are apocalyptic, so the hypothesis has to be accepted before it can be tested.

If yellow science overcomes real science it will not only be on account of the greed, ambition, and cowardice of our scientists but also the sloth and cowardice of a public that is unwilling to stand up and demand professionalism. This is why, as the editors of the New York Press said in 1897, I "called them yellow because they are yellow."

Read the article in its entirety.

Robert Plant is Cool. Alison Krauss is Prim.

Last night we went to the Robert Plant/Alison Krauss concert in Detroit. What phenomenal show. On their album Raising Sand, their separately disparate sounding voices blend into haunting, beautiful, effortless harmonies. On stage, they sounded just as good.

Plant was the essence of groovy cool. Wearing a baggy button-up shirt over brown pants, his appearance could be summed up in one word: moobs. He took a rather free-form approach to his mellow movements across the stage, and looked like he was having a great time. Krauss stood out in stark contrast, wearing a more formal fitted waistcoat, and limiting most of her movements to her mouth and her arms (for the fiddle-playing). Krauss is clearly the more accomplished vocalist, but Plant's presence was decidedly key.

While all the music was excellent, my favorite highlight was Krauss' rendition of Down to the River to Pray, with Plant singing in the backup trio.

It was clear that at least 60% of the audience were predominantly Robert Plant fans. Quite a few were brandishing t-shirts from his concerts in ages past.

I think I'll pick up some more Robert Plant and Alison Krauss music. Outside of Raising Sand, I'm pretty ignorant of both.

Check out the few crappy photos I got.

My Hypermiling Experiment

So a few weeks ago I read about 'hypermiling,'

a method of increasing your car's gas mileage by making skillful changes in the way you drive, allowing you to save gas and thereby have an easier time withstanding the rising oil and gas prices.

My car is a 1999 Ford Escort, which, according to mpgbuddy.com, is designed to get 28 mpg in the city, 37 mpg on the highway, and 32 mpg combined.

Long story short, over past week I've done my best to use hypermiling techniques. Today when I filled up, I discovered that I had achieved 42 mpg! Not bad, considering that about half of my commute is city driving. At $4/gallon, that drops my per-mile cost from $0.125 to $0.095. A whopping 24% cost savings. (Can someone double-check my math, please?)

Has anyone else had any experiences with hypermiling?

Today's Photo

Nothing says, "Hello, Spring" quite like a smiling little girl with a flower hat.

Google Likes This Blog

Readership of this blog has skyrocketed to somewhere around four unique visits per day. That must be why Google has decided to put it at the top of the search results for 'Brucifer.' Go ahead: Google 'Brucifer' and see what I mean. Isn't that fabulous?

10 Tips for a Greener You

You know about changing your incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent ones. Turning down your air conditioning at night. Driving a fuel efficient vehicle. All the things to help reduce your carbon footprint and feel better about yourself. But did you know there are lots of other little things you can do to make the world a greener place? Here are 10 of them.

1) Take the stairs. Each 10-floor elevator ride produces roughly 35 lbs. of carbon dioxide. Over the course of a year, that adds up to over 25 tons of CO2.

2) Exercise less. All that walking (or running, or benching, or stair climbing) you're doing is polluting the air with 5 lbs of CO2 per half-hour workout. The more oxygen you need, the more CO2 you're putting out. A yearly exercise regimen can easily exceed a ton of greenhouse gas.

3) Eat fewer raw vegetables. Did you know that the average human passes gas equivalent to 1.25 lbs of carbon dioxide per year? Change your diet of fresh vegetables in favor of processed meats and white bread, and you could produce flatus equaling as little as half a pound per year.

4) Clear forests to plant more trees. Wood is an excellent way to "lock in" carbon for long-term storage. If you have forested property, you should clear-cut all the trees, then store them in a cool, dry space for maximum carbon retention. Meanwhile, plant new trees in their place to soak up additional carbon. Wait 20 years. Repeat.

5) Limit your activism. The average American activist event produces 25 tons of carbon dioxide. Regardless of your political affiliation or issue, limit your activity to the walls of your home. Have a big conference call or web chat. Write letters to your senators. No matter the subject, you can be sure that it will be nicely tinged with green.

6) Hold in your sneezes. Surprisingly, a sneeze produces three times the CO2 as a typical breath does. Simply remembering to plug your nose and keeping that sneeze on the inside will significantly reduce your carbon footprint.

7) Wear white. Dark clothes attract the heat of the sun, and act as a super-magnet for heat. While your black turtleneck can help you make that perfect tragically hip statement, think of what it's doing to the environment. Switch to white. Your conscience will thank you.

8) Grow algae. Studies have shown that algae-infested waters capture fifteen times more CO2 than clear waters. If you have water on your property, or own a pool, let the algae take over. The desire for beauty and cleanliness doesn't justify eliminating our green, carbon-friendly ally.

9) Avoid gardening. You might think that back yard gardening is one of the greenest things you can do. But you'd be wrong. Mulching, tilling and plowing all release massive amounts of carbon dioxide. Some of that CO2 is recaptured in the form of grown vegetables, but those vegetables, once consumed, revert to a deplorable CO2 producing state, leaving your carbon deficit greater than it was before. Better to leave the food production to the big farmers that know how to be environmentally friendly.

10) Pass this information along. Just think. If everyone followed these few simple rules, global warming would be a thing of the past. Do your part, and let all your friends know about this simple list of ways to be greener.

Phoenix Has Landed

I love reading new stories about science and technology accomplishing the seemingly impossible. Earlier this year it was shooting down a falling satellite. Today it's the Mars Phoenix Lander touching down in the northern reaches of Mars. From the story,

Landing on Mars is a notoriously tricky business. There has been about a 50% failure rate on all Mars missions since Russia launched the first one in 1960.

Phoenix is an apt name for the current mission, as it rose from the ashes of two previous failures.

In September 1999, the Mars Climate Orbiter spacecraft crashed into the Red Planet following a navigation error caused when technicians mixed up "English" (imperial) and metric units.

A few months later, another Nasa spacecraft, the Mars Polar Lander (MPL), was lost near the planet's South Pole.

The last time a Mars probe landed using its thrusters ("soft landing") was in 1976.

There's little that's more exciting than finding out new information about the final frontier.