Lasers Could Clear Space Junk From Orbit
Lasers Could Clear Space Junk From Orbit Adaptive optics proposal would allow tracking and steering of small but still damaging orbital debris
Environment
Chad Kalepa Baybayan
Chad Kalepa Baybayan Seafarer Who Sailed Using the Stars, Dies at 64 He was a torchbearer for the celestial navigation art known as wayfinding, which ancestral Polynesian sailors used to navigate the Pacific Ocean. From a NYT obituary, May 15,2021
The Shrinking Stratosphere
The Guardian, again, posts some good information about the Anthropocene effects on climate in Climate emissions shrinking the stratosphere, scientists reveal. Thinning indicates profound impact of humans and could affect satellites and GPS. Meanwhile, on the NYTimes, another study showing that the increase of CO2 is causing a thinning via loss of density in the … [Read more…]
The humble shrub that’s predicting a terrible fire season
Over at Ars-Technia, an interesting view on “Chamise is kind of a crystal ball for understanding how badly California might burn. ” And nothing scares a fire weather scientist quite like a year with dehydrated chamise. If it’s dry, then that’s a good indicator that everything is dry. “Right now, these are the lowest April … [Read more…]
The Rozz-Tox Manifesto
The Rozz-Tox Manifesto Gary Panter (1980) tem 1: The avant-garde is no corpus. It merely lies in shock after an unfortunate bout with its own petard. It feigns sleep but one eye glitters and an involuntary twitch in the corner of the mouth belies a suppressed snicker. The giggle of coming awake at one’s own … [Read more…]
2021 Cybersecurity and IT Failures Roundup
Our old anchor, Robert Charette at IEEE Spectrum starts off 2021 with 2021 Cybersecurity and IT Failures Roundup and a good long dose of hubris it is. The astounding amount of money involved (lost) will make your jaw drop.
And now, plummeting sperm …
Just when you thought it was safe and things couldn’t get much worse: Plummeting sperm counts, shrinking penises: toxic chemicals threaten humanity Erin Brockovich The Guardian 03/18/2021 The Everyday Chemicals That Might Be Leading Us to Our Extinction New York Times, March 5, 2021 How to avoid the toxic kitchen chemicals that could damage your … [Read more…]
Why the Pandemic Experts Failed
I just want to say “Thank you!” to Robinson Meyer, Alexis C. Madrigal and teams at the Atlantic for bringing the COVID Tracking Project to life and helping us through the last year. The summary of their experiences can be read about here: Why the Pandemic Experts Failed We’re still thinking about pandemic data in … [Read more…]
‘Invisible killer’: fossil fuels
At the Guardian’s International Edition today, an article titled: ‘Invisible killer’: fossil fuels caused 8.7m deaths globally in 2018, research finds Pollution from power plants, vehicles and other sources accounted for one in five of all deaths that year, more detailed analysis reveals shows a stunning increase in morbidity from fossil fuel pollutants. Oliver Milman … [Read more…]
Accident at Nuclear Plant Spawns a Medical Mystery
From the LA Times Accident at Nuclear Plant Spawns a Medical Mystery : Health: Questions are being raised about the effects of radiation exposures. Scientific answers are lacking. LINDA ROACH MONROE | TIMES STAFF WRITER | 09/10/1990 RICHLAND, Wash. — On that Saturday morning in 1962, the men whose bodies formed the radiological front lines … [Read more…]