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“In the final analysis, governments generally don’t embark on policies that may well mean their political demise sooner rather than later.”

The U.S. Navy has successfully tested a sea-bound laser weapon, ushering in a new era of warfare. In light of this news, Big Think presents a timeline of the history of laser technology. 

As I wrote last week, deliberative forums and town hall-type meetings are one of the major innovations in science communication and engagement. Whether forums are focused on climate change or […]

Back in January, when a coalition of Big Industry CEOs and environmental groups got together to urge Congress and the President to pass “cap and trade” legislation on global warming […]

Computing speed doubles once every year and a half, and so does the electrical efficiency of processors, from laptops to servers. The pattern makes our computing lives more convenient.

On August 23rd, the Public Broadcasting System launched a new web portal for promoting the arts. PBS Artsspearheads an overall expansion of arts programming to take place over the next […]

Back in February, I traveled to Rome, Italy to present at a conference sponsored by Columbia University’s Earth Institute and the Adriano Olivetti Foundation. The focus was on climate change […]

Organizations need to reconsider all of the waste and energy consumption associated with their business—while still keeping profits in mind.

Alan Boyle, the science editor for MSNBC.com, answers our questions about science, the mainstream media and the fallout of the Chilean earthquake coverage.

“An aircraft fueled by the sun has accomplished its first ever manned night flight,” reports the New Scientist. The Swiss aircraft broke several records for a piloted solar flight.

More than 50 years after the publication of CP Snow’s seminal Two Cultures, interdisciplinary partnerships between science and other academic “cultures” are being urged once again. Today, the focus is […]

The New York Times led their Sunday edition with an article by John Broder focusing on recent Defense department conclusions on the national security risks of climate change. Here’s the […]

The identity politics wrapped up in author Sam Harris’ statements at a recent atheist conference here in Washington, DC has sparked a ton of discussion and debate. Paul Kurtz, chair […]

Everywhere you look, polarized views from the tail ends of the bell curve of opinion on climate change are being picked up by the media. Indeed, only at a few […]

The Golden Rule in politics is never promise something you can’t deliver. In 1997 Canada signed the Kyoto Protocol and committed to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions to 6 percent below 1990 […]

With political leaders like Senator James Inhofe and ideological safe zones like Fox News and the Wall Street Journal editorial page, is it any wonder that only 23% of college-educated […]

Where have you heard this one before? Back in September, Canada’s Environment Minister John Baird echoed the predictions of a university economist when he claimed that if Canada were to […]

The eruption near the ice-capped Eyjafjallajokull continues going strong, but geologists have been able to sample the lavas – and tourists are beginning to flock to the volcano as well.

MSNBC has jumped the shark when it comes to coverage of these recent earthquakes, implying that nature is “out of control”.

As with anything else, there’s good news and there’s bad news. The bad news is that the earth is continuing to heat up—this past decade was in fact the hottest […]

Gary Becker and Richard Posner at the University of Chicago weigh in on the Gulf oil leak. Did BP make a good-faith estimate of the risk entailed by deep-water drilling or was it negligent?

Charles Krauthammer disputes the Obama administration’s claims that Iran is more isolated in the world. Russia, China, Brazil and Turkey have all sought to assist Iran with its energy ambitions.

What is a collateralized debt obligation (CDO) anyway? And why did it get the United States into so much trouble? According to NYU economist Robert Engle, CDOs are “wonderful creations” […]

Last night, President Obama addressed the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in an Oval Office speech. Estimates now suggest that as much as 60,000 barrels of oil may be flowing into […]

In the latest issue of the Columbia Journalism Review, Harvard University’s Cristine Russell contributes an important analysis on the next stage in climate change media coverage. She spotlights reporters such […]

One of the most wonderful things about the emerging global superbrain is that information is overflowing on a scale beyond what we can wrap our heads around.

Growing up, I always found the few Black faces in superhero comic books fascinating, like rare birds. Luke Cage, aka, Power Man, bristled with attitude like Shaft on steroids. Black […]

In this guest post on Colorado’s Amendment 62, a ballot initiative that, if passed, would grant full legal rights to fertilized human eggs by classifying embryos as ‘persons’ under the […]

We’re depleting our resources and innovative energy in order to develop specialized products and technologies we don’t actually want to use.

Norman Steel and Benjamin Miller think New York’s garbage should be processed in waste-to-energy plants which produce energy, and are less polluting than landfills.