science Archive

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  CRI Taskforce is refreshing

  
  
  
  The report of the CRI Taskforce released yesterday contains some refreshingly clear thinking about the best way to support science and research in New Zealand. read more
  March 5, 2010 9:01 am - 8 Comments
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  New science blog – check it out

  
  
  
  Today the SMC has launched a new blog: what they call a “network of science blogs”…a great addition to the blogosphere. read more
  September 30, 2009 10:13 am - 2 Comments
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  Biological Particles in High-Altitude Clouds

  
  
  
  It is utter geek-speak, but scientists have finally been able to directly observe biological particles in high-altitude clouds. Why should we care about this? Because: “If we understand the sources of the particles that nucleate clouds, and their relative abundance, we can determine their impact on climate,” said Pratt, lead author of the paper. The effects of tiny [...] read more
  May 18, 2009 10:21 am - 3 Comments
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  Jeanette questions Salinger sacking

  
  
  
  By hiding behind the public service rules the minister of Research, Science and Technology has shot himself in the foot. What seemed like the safest path to a new minister may in the end prove the most embarrassing. Tuesday, with my question in the House, I tried to give Wayne Mapp an opportunity to express [...] read more
  April 30, 2009 10:55 am - 33 Comments
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  Rapping the Hadron Collider

  
  
  
  How to communicate science to yoofs? Or maybe how not to! read more
  April 26, 2009 2:46 pm - 4 Comments
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  John Key’s Uncertainty Principle

  
  
  
  Does John Key understand the uncertainty his wild statements have created for business? Is there any thinking or policy intent behind the statement that the ETS will be “put on hold” or was it just post-election rhetoric? The key thing is that the businesses most affected don’t know. About a week after the election, reassured by [...] read more
  December 15, 2008 11:34 am - 23 Comments
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  Leadership

  
  
  
  Obama telling it like it is and as we have always said it is: My presidency will mark a new chapter in America’s leadership on climate change that will strengthen our security and create millions of new jobs in the process. That will start with a federal cap-and-trade system. We’ll establish strong annual targets that [...] read more
  November 25, 2008 4:30 pm - 39 Comments
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  Economics and climate science are not Hide’s strong suits

  
  
  
  Brian Rudman today pins down the real danger the Rodney Hide’s climate denialism represents to New Zealand: The British Government Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, published in March, was blunt. “The scientific evidence is now overwhelming; climate change is a serious global threat, and it demands an urgent global response. Hundreds of millions of [...] read more
  November 19, 2008 12:09 pm - 14 Comments
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  The New Copernicans

  
  
  
  It wasn’t that long ago in historical terms that Nicolaus Copernicus bucked the established western wisdom and asserted that the earth may in fact orbit the sun. He rightfully feared the retribution of the authorities and was careful to pay them tribute when he finally did publish shortly before his death. Although the evidence has [...] read more
  November 19, 2008 11:43 am - 23 Comments
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  Rats prefer organic food

  
  
  
  Yum, organic baking! According to Mother Earth News, via Ecoscraps: 40 lab rats were offered a choice between organic and conventional biscuits by Swiss and Austrian scientists.  The rats preferred the organic biscuits, which makes you wonder if rats are smarter than humans. Those are some pretty lucky lab rats getting the biscuit tasting job rather than [...] read more
  September 16, 2008 1:27 pm - 4 Comments