One way to understand the scope of the planetary crisis is how authors of speculative/science fiction deal with the problem of avoiding self-inflicted human extinction. Alastair Reynolds composed a page of (fictional) historical reflection in Blue Remembered Earth (2012).
Context:
Geoffrey (the primary protagonist) is returning to his home in Africa from a space flight to the Moon. Unbeknownst … Read more...
WAS*IS is not only about the weather: its revolutionary model is an exemplar for harnessing collective intelligence in the face of our generation's severe and complicated societal-level challenges.
WAS*IS is not only about the weather: its revolutionary model is an exemplar for harnessing collective intelligence in the face of our generation's severe and complicated societal-level challenges.
How is the public to be engaged in the co-communicative process of understanding the significance of weather measurements? Comprehension is mutually created - whether this is between individuals, among people with different demographic characteristics, or within hierarchical structures of policy construction, implementation, and enforcement.
How is the public to be engaged in the co-communicative process of understanding the significance of weather measurements? Comprehension is mutually created - whether this is between individuals, among people with different demographic characteristics, or within hierarchical structures of policy construction, implementation, and enforcement.
UMass Sunwheel
Clouds partially obscured sunset at the UMass Sunwheel this evening, but the day was glorious and could not be damped by moisture at high altitudes.
Dr Judith Young’s astronomy lesson drew a crowd of over a hundred on this warm spring day.
I always learn something new from her “every day astronomy” as she labels the astronomical events … Read more...
If we had not argued so vigorously, I would not have thought so much about the potentials of pursuing this conversation...to set the planet on the path to climate recovery requires unprecedented cooperation across borders and among peoples. My friends' critique was targeted at U.S. unilateralism. Is Beyond Coal simply a(nother) movement by the (mainly white) middle-class so we can feel good about ourselves without giving regard to the consequences of our good deeds upon others? (Disclosure: I am white and middle-class.)
"We need
an unprecedented outpouring of human generosity,
a massive leap of imagination,
a kind of creativity that the world has never seen."
If we had not argued so vigorously, I would not have thought so much about the potentials of pursuing this conversation...to set the planet on the path to climate recovery requires unprecedented cooperation across borders and among peoples. My friends' critique was targeted at U.S. unilateralism. Is Beyond Coal simply a(nother) movement by the (mainly white) middle-class so we can feel good about ourselves without giving regard to the consequences of our good deeds upon others? (Disclosure: I am white and middle-class.)
"We need
an unprecedented outpouring of human generosity,
a massive leap of imagination,
a kind of creativity that the world has never seen."
celebration timespace
My buddy Chris Boulton wrote and produced this short film as a birthday gift for a friend’s son. Described by the dad as, “A little Dr. Seuss, a little Shel Silverstein, and a lot of the good old unselfconscious love,” the sentiments compose an anthem for current and future generations.
I’m pretty happy to have been included in … Read more...
With unfailing precision, solar observatories around the globe and through the history of humankind offer tribute to this primal source of existence. If life as we know it depends upon the parameters determined by earth's orbit, then "what," my friend asked, "does the orbit of the earth depend upon?" "Gravity," I offered, "which they're still trying to figure out." Later, a voice out of memory nudged me to add, "and electromagnetic forces." These are two different categories of what the physicists call "fundamental forces."
With unfailing precision, solar observatories around the globe and through the history of humankind offer tribute to this primal source of existence. If life as we know it depends upon the parameters determined by earth's orbit, then "what," my friend asked, "does the orbit of the earth depend upon?" "Gravity," I offered, "which they're still trying to figure out." Later, a voice out of memory nudged me to add, "and electromagnetic forces." These are two different categories of what the physicists call "fundamental forces."
Dr. Ambarish Karmalkar was careful not to be alarmist as he reported findings on experiments forecasting regional climate changes in Costa Rica and its neighbors. Dr. Karmalkar explains: "The frequency of temperatures in the future is something we have not experienced in the modern period." In the case of Central America in general, and Costa Rica in particular, he was referring to a probable future increase in the average temperature of 3-4 degrees Celsius (roughly 5-7 degrees Fahrenheit) before the end of this century.
Dr. Ambarish Karmalkar was careful not to be alarmist as he reported findings on experiments forecasting regional climate changes in Costa Rica and its neighbors. Dr. Karmalkar explains: "The frequency of temperatures in the future is something we have not experienced in the modern period." In the case of Central America in general, and Costa Rica in particular, he was referring to a probable future increase in the average temperature of 3-4 degrees Celsius (roughly 5-7 degrees Fahrenheit) before the end of this century.