Environmental
Oct 28th, 2015 |
By Jonathan Golob |
Category: Energy, Environmental, Featured Articles, Lead Article, Science and Society
Cliff Mass (meterologist, and a smart man with a consistently different take on global warming issues), makes an interesting point in a recent post: By focusing on global warming as a moral issue (and from his perspective, using scare tactics about the weather to promote concern) environmental activists are failing to convince the public to […]
Posted in Energy, Environmental, Featured Articles, Lead Article, Science and Society |
Comments Off on Sustainability, Not Fear: What CFCs Can Teach Us About Beating Climate Change
Apr 9th, 2009 |
By Jonathan Golob |
Category: Dear Science Column, Environmental
Many of you already know of my skepticism of compact fluorescent lightbulbs. Now utilities are joining in the hate: CFLs use about twice as much energy than previously claimed. Lightbulbs, TVs, ovens, baseboard heaters–whatever–draw energy from alternating current with varying degrees of efficiency, due to the funkiness of alternating current. Allow me to explain, by […]
Posted in Dear Science Column, Environmental |
Comments Off on Yet Another Reason to Dislike CFLs: Horrible Power Factors
Mar 19th, 2009 |
By Jonathan |
Category: Environmental, Nukes
We’re well past the point of being able to consider only the most pleasant energy sources. Looking at the number of people on the planet, and the increasingly dire reports of damage caused by the burning of fossil fuels, we need to be realistic. These steps, by the scientific community and the Obama administration, are heartening steps in what seems the right direction.
Posted in Environmental, Nukes |
Comments Off on Making the Hard Choices for Energy
Feb 13th, 2009 |
By Jonathan |
Category: Dear Science Column, Environmental, Featured Articles
Is reading The Stranger online actually any greener than reading the printed-in-Yakima hard copy? It was time to roll up my sleeves and do some real, primary, research on the question. Allow me to show my work.
Posted in Dear Science Column, Environmental, Featured Articles |
Comments Off on The Carbon Impact of Reading On Paper or Online
Jan 28th, 2009 |
By Jonathan Golob |
Category: Environmental, Featured Articles, Lead Article
The optimistic among us assume that, eventually, new technology or new political movements will stop carbon release into the atmosphere. One of the comforting assumptions about climate change is that the effects of humans putting carbon into the atmosphere can be reversed. Plants remove carbon from the atmosphere, right? So, if we just stop adding more, eventually carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere should drop, and the adverse climate changes should reverse.
Nope.
Posted in Environmental, Featured Articles, Lead Article |
Comments Off on Climate Change: Irreversible
Jan 8th, 2009 |
By Jonathan Golob |
Category: Environmental
Wonder no more. University of Washington climate scientist David Battisti looked at 23 of the best computational models of the climate available to predict the effect of climate change on global crop yields by the end of this century. The results? Our results show that it is highly likely (greater than 90% chance) that growing […]
Posted in Environmental |
Comments Off on How Civilization is Going to End
Aug 31st, 2008 |
By Jonathan Golob |
Category: Environmental, Featured Articles, Lead Article
The second “storm of the century” is about to hit New Orleans, less than five years after the first “storm of the century.”
That should make you wonder.
Posted in Environmental, Featured Articles, Lead Article |
Comments Off on Gustav
Jul 21st, 2008 |
By Jonathan Golob |
Category: Environmental
Longtime readers know of my aversion to compact fluorescent lightbulbs. LED (light emanating diodes) have a similar energy efficiency to fluorescent bulbs with a far friendlier environmental impact, but much higher cost as they currently require sapphire. Purdue scientists have figured out a way around this problem.
Posted in Environmental |
Comments Off on Purdue LED Us to More Efficient Lighting, Less Mercury
Jun 20th, 2008 |
By Jonathan Golob |
Category: Environmental
Assuming you drive the same miles per year, which change will save more gas in a given year: * Switching from a Dodge Ram at 13 MPG to a Toyota Tundra at 15 MPG * Switching from a Honda Fit at 32 MPG to a Toyota Prius at 44 MPG. (Mileage figures are from Consumer […]
Tags: cars, efficiency, fuel economy, gas, hybrids, miles per gallon
Posted in Environmental |
Comments Off on You Don’t Understand Fuel Economy; Blame MPG
Jun 17th, 2008 |
By Jonathan Golob |
Category: Environmental, Nukes
From the ominously titled European Space Agency press release, Even the Antarctic winter cannot protect Wilkins Ice Shelf: Wilkins Ice Shelf, a broad plate of floating ice south of South America on the Antarctic Peninsula, is connected to two islands, Charcot and Latady. In February 2008, an area of about 400 kmĀ² broke off from […]
Posted in Environmental, Nukes |
Comments Off on Antarctic Winters, Not So Wintery Anymore