Environmental humor
[Via Climate Progress]
Graphic designer and cartoonist Tobias Lunchbreath lampoons all of those tags made of recycled cardboard telling us where our money goes:
Via Treehugger, who notes, “More at Lunch Breath, found on Core77.”
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It made me laugh ;-) I’m glad someone is working on exotic pet miniaturization. Ever since . I’ve wanted a small pet giraffe.
Climate rapid response communications team gears up – Scientists get off the sidelines to right media wrongs
[Via Climate Progress]
Last week, Dr. John Abraham of St. Thomas University helped launch a “climate rapid response team.” CAP’s Sean Pool Interview Abraham about this effort in this
It’s not easy being a climate scientist these days. They live in a world where well-funded organizations collude to spread lies and misinformation about their discipline, and where political pundits and elected officials alike engage in blatant harassment to promote an anti-science political agenda. Conservative pundits have called for climate scientists to commit “hara-kiri” (Glenn Beck); be “named and fired, drawn and quartered” (Rush Limbaugh); and be “publicly flogged” (Mark Morano).
Sadly, despite the rancor and conspicuous absence of any data or actual science, these fossil fuel-funded tactics have proven effective at swaying public opinion. Poll results have shown a marked decline in Americans’ belief in global warming, from a high of 85 percent in a 2006 poll to 63 percent during the summer of 2010.
Surely some of the blame must be shared by traditional media outlets for elevating the spurious claims of television weathermen and ex-governors to the same level as peer-reviewed, data-driven, scientific analysis conducted by credentialed experts. Others blamed climate scientists themselves for not being better organized to defend themselves against the onslaught of well-funded and well-organized public relations professionals.
But who can blame them? Scientists have never been particularly good at communicating with the media— historically it’s not really been their job. Scientists are trained not to shape public opinion but to examine the natural world. But that may have to change the longer climate science remains in the crosshairs of the fact-free conservative punditocracy. According to science historian Spencer Weart, “we’ve never before seen a set of people accuse an entire community of scientists of deliberate deception and other professional malfeasance. Even the tobacco companies never tried to slander legitimate cancer researchers.”
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Nice to see some attempt to debunk the widespread misinformation about this. If you are interested in reading some easily understood explanantion about all the data, including links to the relevant papers, check out Skeptical Science. It has a list of the major arguments against anthropogenic global warming and how the science debunks every one.
The Beatles catalog finally available from Apple’s iTunes Store
[Via AppleInsider]
Legendary music group The Beatles finally arrived on iTunes Tuesday, with tracks from all of the band’s albums available for purchase individually or as complete iTunes LPs [updated].
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So I was a little off. Too bad for APple that I already have the complete Beatles catalog. Apple Records or who ever has been gumming up the works really waited way too late here. I figure that the only thing that will happen now is that my Beatle song will see more results in Genius.
by centralasian
More blood on Apple iPad’s touchscreen: Retailers pull plug on Toshiba’s Folio 100
[Via MacDailyNews]
If evidence was needed that tech companies were rushing…
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Just in time for the Christmas season. This one runs on Android OS rather than Windows but the result sees to be similar.
I think a big selling aspect that these tablets overlook is the App store. The difference between the iOS App store and the Android one seems to be like shopping at Macy’s vs shopping at the local swap meet.
Seems to me that any tablet without access to apps like at iOS is joining the race several laps behind.
And, of course, with so many of the tablets dying on the vine, what are customers supposed to think? Well, I expect few of them will buy new devices, not wanting to buy a soon to be orphaned bit of technology. This only enhances the stability and longevity of the iPad. ‘Should I buy a knock off that may not be around 2 months from now or should I buy the market leader that is here to stay?’
Even a billion dollars from Microsoft may not be enough to turn that answer away from the iPad.
Survey suggests third of Android owners really want an Apple iPhone
[Via MacDailyNews]
A survey conducted by a mobile phone comparison website…
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A third would rather have an iPhone. Most likely they have an android because the iPhone is not available on their wireless carrier. Only 16% of those polled would like to own an Android.
This suggests that Android sales could be hit in the US when Apple starts selling iPhones to other carrier.
NPR Report on Safety Concerns Regarding TSA Naked Body Scanners
[Via Daring Fireball]
I’m adamantly opposed to these new scanners on privacy and Fourth Amendment grounds, but the health concerns alone seem worrisome. Here’s a PDF of the letter from four members of the UCSF faculty, laying out their concerns.
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When 4 physicists form UCSF have serious questions about the safety of these devices, we might want to listen. It is interesting that. Additionally, Michael Chertoff, the former head of Homeland Security, started us down the path to these machines.
So, I guess to no one’s surprise, Chertoff’s lobbying company now works for the maker of these scanners. Yes, he has been giving interviews about the need for these machines, even as his company benefits from their sales.
So when our choice of air travel comes down to being examined with X-rays form a machine that may not be quite as healthy as the TSA would like us to believe but makes a lot of money for an ex-Homeland Security Director or to be groped in ways that are normally used on criminals,maybe we just won’t travel at all.
I know I’m going to give it a lot more thought.
SpreadingScience
Sustainable Path Foundation Idea Club
