I have always loved the sciences; I think that most – if not all – of the fields are fascinating in their individual ways. But there are always those fields that seem (to me) to have more momentum than others. The research and progress will speed up and slow down for various reasons, and I’ve certainly experienced this in my own science realm. My Dad likes to follow the news about sports – he will at least skim through almost anything sports-related and focus on his favorite sports and teams. I follow science news in much the same way, and with much of the same excitement. And lucky for me, my “team” is in the news a lot nowadays.
Environmental science is very exciting and dynamic right now. There is so much movement, in so many different directions, with potential thought-provoking socio-political effects. It’s getting a lot of attention, both good and bad, from different interest groups, politicians, and even the layperson.
I’m not quite sure if I agree with the old advertising saying, “Any publicity is good publicity,” because quite frankly the amount of misinformation regarding popular science topics is sometimes maddening to me. When it comes to science, it seems that much of the public are either too lazy to research on their own or does not have enough basic knowledge to differentiate fact from fiction from exaggerated fact, so they will believe anything. Which would not be such a big deal if not for the fact that the uninformed/misinformed masses can sometimes pose major roadblocks to progress. What I do believe is that publicity leads at least to awareness, which leads to conversation, which is good.
All this musing aside, reading science news these days is just outright fun. It’s exciting. Sometimes it contains incredible things from science fiction, or suspense and intrigue to match mystery novels. The sciences that keep catching my attention in the news these days are environmental science and astronomy (astronomers seem to be on a heck of a streak these last couple years at the very least; and check THIS out; a supernova is viewable in the Big Dipper this week http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/09/how-to-spot-a-supernova/ ). Once in a while there are also particularly fascinating pieces on biology and sociology, or health… and of course there’s the continuing drama of the Higgs-Boson in physics.
I thought I would take a moment and share with you the links from my favorite science news sites. So, in no particular order, the sites I love to keep up with and the frequency with which I check them:
Daily
Wired Science News
NPR Science News
BBC Science News
Weekly or monthly
New Scientist Environmental News
Science Daily
Discovery Channel News
EPA Region 6 News
American Council on Energy Efficiency News
Quarterly or more –(basically these folks put out really good reports every so often)
EPA Science Database
Regulatory Assistance Project
NOAA State of the Climate
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
UN Climate Change News and Publications
UN Environmental Programme (UNEP)
Got any favorites to share?
2 comments:
I have many of those links marked in my browser. My first love was astronomy and I try to keep up with as much as I can. It still is, in the sense that my greatest concern is for the proper care and feeding of the only pet planet I will ever have. Ponerology is a new field that should interest everyone and illuminates our biggest problems in stark relief:
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/224670-Political-Ponerology-A-Science-on-The-Nature-of-Evil-adjusted-for-Political-Purposes
There is a solution, though implementing it might be tricky:
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/233865-Psychopaths-A-Solution-
The greatest asset for anyone seeking power, is a lack of conscience.
Interesting. And very impressively long. (I admit I succumbed to skimming)
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