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Items tagged with: science
The loss of @laurahelmuth as Scientific American’s editor should scare everyone. These are dark times for independent #science, and worse is coming.
Here’s John Horgan:
johnhorgan.org/cross-check/sci…
Scientific American Loses Its Bold Leader
HOBOKEN, NOVEMBER 15, 2024. Well before Scientific American ’s editor vented her despair over the election, social in justice warriors were bashing the magazine for its political views.John Horgan (John Horgan (The Science Writer))
Science is fun, episode 48392 : today, on my flight from Toulouse to Belgium, I discovered an amazing optical phenomenon called a « glory »
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glory_…
#science #optics #physics #aviation
There is reliable evidence social media harms young people – debates about it are a misdirection
There has been a huge public debate about whether there is sufficient direct evidence of social media harm. But there are many mechanisms that make the link clear.The Conversation
![Excerpt from the linked paper:
As strongly requested by the reviewers, here we cite some references [[35], [36], [37], [38], [39], [40], [41], [42], [43], [44], [45], [46], [47]] although they are completely irrelevant to the present work.](https://plantroon.com/photo/preview/640/356114 "Excerpt from the linked paper:
As strongly requested by the reviewers, here we cite some references [[35], [36], [37], [38], [39], [40], [41], [42], [43], [44], [45], [46], [47]] although they are completely irrelevant to the present work.")
Not that any of us really want to read MORE bad news this week. But — this is the world we live in.
Turning away from it and closing our eyes does not change things. I believe it's important to know just where we stand and what we face so we can make the best choices in how we should live.
Also, note that this essay was published before this week's disastrous US election, which means that you can expect conditions warned about here to get even worse, sooner rather than later.
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In recent years, environmental warnings have become impossible to ignore. Humanity has pushed Earth far beyond its natural limits, launching it into a cascade of intertwined disasters that scientists now call the “polycrisis.” No longer a distant threat, this crisis is unfolding before us, destabilizing the foundations of ecosystems, economies, and communities worldwide.
While some hold out hope for a turnaround, the brutal truth is that we are too far gone. The trajectory is set, the damage done, and there is no miracle solution on the horizon. Our only option is to live through this polycrisis as best we can, facing an uncertain and increasingly harsh reality.
As temperatures climb, ecosystems crumble, and resource conflicts rise, it’s clear that our world will never be the same. For those of us with young families, our hopes are tempered by a haunting reality: the future we once dreamed of has shifted beyond reach. What remains is an obligation to understand the forces shaping this collapse, accept the inevitability of hardship, and try to adapt as the familiar falls away.
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The essay includes sections on climate change, biodiversity loss, economic and social erosion, and finally, "living through the polycrisis." I hope you'll find it helpful.
FULL ARTICLE -- archive.ph/MwljK
ALTERNATE LINK -- medium.com/edge-of-collapse/no…
#Science #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis
No Turning Back: Accepting the Irreversible Global Collapse
The failure of governments and industrialists have doomed the global populace to a world of bleak future of an almost uninhabitable planet.Angus Peterson (Edge of Collapse)
Study showing how Australian Aboriginal people shaped the distribution of useful plants across their lands, dispersing them in more preferable areas, etc:
"The findings call into question our whole notions of what agriculture is," said Douglas Bird, study co-author and professor of anthropology at Penn State. "Rather than thinking about the difference between agricultural societies and hunter-gatherer societies as a matter of kind, we'd be better off thinking about it as a matter of degree—that people influence plants long before they engage in what we think of as farming."" - phys.org/news/2024-10-landscap…
Peoples who are used to living with the environment (instead of "against" it) understand that often the best interventions are the ones that are extremely subtle. In this case, the interventions were so subtle that they didn't fit into traditional western understandings of cultivation and agriculture.
So it's good to see this kind of subtle cultivation getting more recognized by science. There are many ways to live with the environment and to place the resources you need into places that are convenient for you and your people. The more that westerners can learn that, the more possibilities open up for how to live with the land.
#indigenous #australia #cultivation #agriculture #science #gardening #gardeningau #plants #nature #environment #ecology #anthropology
Landscape effects of hunter-gatherer practices reshape idea of agriculture
Some of the wild plants that grow across the Australian landscape may not be so wild, according to new research led by Penn State scientists.Francisco Tutella (Phys.org)
I really can't wait until I can revert to just posting about #climatechange, #water, and #science rather than garbage, racism, sexism, and the threat of a fascist takeover of America.
So, here's a pretty picture of water for now.
We knew it was going to happen, but the Voyager space probes are getting creaky in their old age.
NASA just had to reactivate Voyager 1's S-band transmitter for the first time in 43 years after a communication breakdown.
blogs.nasa.gov/voyager/2024/10… #space #science #nasa #tech
Rust Belt voters aren't all white, but reporting often ignores the concerns of people of color there, says geographer
Every four years, national media turn their attention to the Rust Belt, a term that describes Midwestern industrial and manufacturing states whose economies were decimated by the decline of those industries in the 1970s.Christabel Devadoss (Phys.org)
juliaserano.medium.com/trans-p… #trans #transgender #LGBTQ #sports #science
Trans People and Sports: Everything You Need to Know
I have been writing about transgender people and issues for over twenty years now. For most of that time, I never felt the need to pen a piece about trans athletes, in part, because it’s fairly…Julia Serano (Medium)
Polluters must pay: How COP29 can make this a reality
The 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) takes place in Azerbaijan in November 2024. The annual climate change conference must focus on holding corporations and countries accountable for greenhouse gas emissions.Llewellyn Leonard (Phys.org)
#FarRight Extremists Embrace #Environmentalism to Justify Violent Anti-Immigrant Beliefs
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Rather than reject #climate science like many on the right, some have followed the path laid out by environmentalist and white nationalist John Tanton, using concerns about population growth and scarce resources to rationalize their hateful agendas.
#News #Extremism #Science #WhiteNationalism #Environment
Far-Right Extremists Embrace Environmentalism to Justify Violent Anti-Immigrant Beliefs
Rather than reject climate science like many on the right, some have followed the path laid out by environmentalist and white nationalist John Tanton, using concerns about population growth and scarce resources to rationalize their hateful agendas.ProPublica
#Science #Earth #Ocean #ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #AtlanticOcean
'We don't really consider it low probability anymore': Collapse of key Atlantic current could have catastrophic impacts, says oceanographer Stefan Rahmstorf
The Atlantic Ocean's most vital ocean current is showing troubling signs of reaching a disastrous tipping point. Oceanographer Stefan Rahmstorf tells Live Science what the impacts could be.Ben Turner (Live Science)
Is America ready for a woman president? Voters' attitudes to women politicians are radically different from a decade ago
If U.S. voters elect Kamala Harris—a Black, Asian American woman—president, it would be historic on multiple levels. This is now a real possibility due to voters' positively evolving stereotypes of women politicians.Angela L. Bos (Phys.org)