The Rightful Place of Science? Within the Bosom of the Democratic Party

In the current Issues in Science and Technology Dan Sarewitz has an essay titled "The Rightful Place of Science" available here in PDF. Dan is a brilliant writer and a creative genius. It is amazing that he is not a major columnist for a leading newspaper or magazine. Here are a few excerpts from his excellent piece on science and politics in the Obama era:On Obama's stem cell policies:. . .there is nothing at all anti-science about restricting the pursuit of scientific knowledge on the basis of moral concerns. Societies do this all the time;...

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Should NCAA Adopt Rooney Rule?

On our blog, dre cummings and Roger Groves have written extensively about the Rooney Rule, an internal NFL rule which requires that NFL teams interview minority candidates for head coaching positions and which (as Cumberland law prof Marcia McCormick wrote about on Workplace Prof Blog earlier this month), now also requires that teams interview minority candidates for senior...

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Tropical Cyclone Damages in China

A new paper has been published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society titled 'Tropical Cyclone Damages in China: 1983 to 2006" by Zhang et al. available here in PDF. The paper finds no trends in either tropical cyclone landfalls or in normalized damage, as indicated in the following two figures from the paper.The paper concludes:The direct economic losses...

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Does Henry Waxman Understand Offsets?

In an interview with Montel Williams Henry Waxman (D-CA) explains his view of offsets (thanks TBI):It doesn't make a difference that a coal-burning powerplant has to reduce its emissions if they have to do it by reducing their own coal, that could be more costly than just buying an offset and we still get the same environmental result. The environmental result is achieved, we do it in a way that would impact the economy in the easiest manner, and at the same time we're providing renewable fuels and greater efficiency and opportunities to get cars...

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Senator Inhofe Takes What is Given

Updated: 30 June 12:50PM, See bottomIn the comments DeepClimate points us to his blog (thanks DC) where he discusses a Fox News article reporting how Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) has ordered an investigation into EPA's handling of the Alan Carlin situation:A top Republican senator has ordered an investigation into the Environmental Protection Agency's alleged suppression of...

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More on American Needle

As Mike noted below, the Supreme Court granted cert today in American Needle v. NFL and will review the Seventh Circuit’s holding that the NFL and its teams act as single entity when promoting NFL football through licensing teams’ intellectual property. We have been tracking and discussing this case since the district court ruled for the NFL back in October 2007 (and then debating it in the Tulane Mardi Gras Moot Court Competition), and I wanted to emphasize one point as we continue to follow this case through the Supreme Court: The NFL—and...

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Clive Crook on Cap and Trade

Today, Clive Crook in the FT has the best post-W-M analysis I've seen. Here is an excerpt:Mr Obama aims to keep his promises, which is admirable. Unfortunately, there is a problem. This is not, as many Republicans argue, that neither issue requires forthright action. Both do. The problem is that the bills emerging from Congress are bad and Mr Obama does not seem to mind.The cap-and-trade bill is a travesty. Its net effect on short- to medium-term carbon emissions will be small to none. This is by design: a law that really made a difference would...

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This is What Victory Looks Like?

In his column today, Paul Krugman goes nuts over the Waxman-Markey vote and equates voting against Waxman-Markey with being a "climate denier" and with committing "treason." In a spectacular display of intellectual incoherence, Krugman at once conflates views on science with views on politics (and vice versa) and fails to consider the possibility that there are many perfectly sound reasons to think that Waxman-Markey is a stinker of a bill.Makes me think that I'd hate to see his reaction if the bill had lo...

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U.S. Suprme Court Grants Cert in American Needle v. NFL

Earlier this morning, the Supreme Court released its order list, which included notice that it has granted cert in American Needle v. NFL. The Seventh Circuit held earlier this year that the NFL can enjoy single entity status -- and thus immunity from Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act -- for limited purposes (namely, apparel sales). Until American Needle, leagues with franchises that are separately owned had traditionally been viewed as joint ventures, and thus subject to Section 1. Although U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan recommended...

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Q&A with Tom Fuller

1. Could you summarise your view of global climate change for us? I provided such a summary in testimony I gave before the U.S. Congress in 2006, and it remains pretty much my current view. Here are my take-home points from that testimony:1. Human-caused climate change is real and requires attention by policy makers to both mitigation and adaptation – but there is no quick...

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Top 10 Things I liked about Prometheus

A guest post by Sharon Friedman aka docpine aka Sharon F.1. We could keep up with the latest in the "big" climate science (as in GCM, IPCC) world in minutes a day. This comes in handy at work “hasn’t the A2 emissions scenario been proven to be way underestimating current conditions?”. Cocktail parties- not so much.2. We could have discussions only other science policy wonks are interested in.. My model estimates the density of science policy wonks in the US is about 1 per 100 square miles. So without a virtual meeting place, we are...

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(dis)Comfort Bike Blues

Only two weeks left until I return to the US, where the Co-Habitant, our two kitties, and our small flock of bicycles await me expectantly!That is the good news. The bad news, is that I will not be cycling for the remainder of my stay in Austria. Apparently, I have managed to mildly injure myself by cycling too fast and too much (60-80 km rides) on a bicycle that was not...

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Who Cares About Integrity of Process When There are Political Points to Score?

In January 2006 I wrote a post titled "Let Jim Hansen Speak" in which I called the actions of the Bush Administration to limit the ability of NASA"s most famous scientist to speak out on policy matters "incredibly stupid." This week the blogosphere has been mildly excited (here and here) about an EPA economist named Alan Carlin whose comments on the EPA endangerment finding...

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MJ

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Bicycles in Vienna, Part IV: Mixte Galore

Continuing with the theme of the previous post, I am showing off some Mixtes that I've been encountering around the neighborhood. After seeing all the amazing make-over photos on Cyclofiend and Chic Cyclist, I now find myself looking at these bikes with a predatory attitude! -- imagining what they would be like with custom paint jobs, Brooks saddles, cork grips, etc. For...

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Catching Up with Links

* Brandon Jennings, a 19-year-old who earned over a million dollars playing basketball in Italy last season, was drafted 10th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in last night's NBA draft, ahead of a number of high-profile college players. Significance? Some believed that Jennings risked hurting his draft status by playing abroad and away from the TV coverage that players receive at top college programs. I never found that concern particularly persuasive, since NBA teams regularly scout Europe and other parts of the globe, and I presume teams...

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Reilly at Liberty

Photos of the muppet stallion playing the fool in his paddock this morning ...Muppet take off 1Muppet cantersMuppet into the sunMuppet trotsMuppet trots (sun photo)Muppet cantersMuppet handstandLess muppety momentBack to muppetnessMuppet sprint!Muppet nose ground dragMuppet has lift off!Yeah, he's a dork! But I do luff him lots and lo...

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Eastern Hancock Team Camp

This week we had another SportsLeader Team Camp. This time with Eastern Hancock High School - a public school east of Indianapolis.They brought 28 players, 4 coaches and 4 dads plus we had 5 other men observe and help in different capacities.Toward the end of the camp I asked them to write what they liked best about the camp on an index card. Most of the players mentioned the same elements, which is no surprise. Some mentioned various aspects. Here are some of the stats:"The competition" - 11 players"Team bonding" - 10 players"The Campfire" - 8...

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For Those of You Interested in the W-M Vote

E&E Daily has a nice breakdown of where the votes are and who is on the fence on the Waxman-Markey "jobs bill" in this PDF. If it is brought to a vote, then you can assume that the votes to pass are all lined up. If there is a delay, for any reason, there remains some uncertainty. My guess is that it has the votes and will pass. There is little political risk for Democrats to vote for the bill as conventional wisdom holds that it can't get through the Senate. On the other hand, not voting for it guarantees offending Congressional leadership...

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Nick's latest sketch

A little while ago now my friend Paula in Auckland tragically lost her beloved 'one in a million' posh pony, Tarji. As many of us know, losing a best friend can have devastating effects and can render us completely useless to all around us whilst we do battle with the grieving process. Paula is no exception to this and I felt completely helpless knowing exactly what she was...

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Magic Mixte Makeover

While looking up some information on Mixte frames, I came across a before-and-after story on Cyclofiend that took my breath away. So I'd like to share it here, and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. All images are from cyclofiend.com and are linked to the original source.The bicycle pictured below is a 1980s Cilo mixte, discovered by Mr. Chern outside a cafe.Hot pink...

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DAY ONE-- Eat Taco Bell. DAY TWO-- Shit brains o...

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NPR on TBI

NPR has a story on The Breakthrough Institute (where I am a senior fellow) and their views on climate change. It is worth a listen (here) or read (here).TBI has the best and most comprehensive analyses of the Waxman-Markey Bill available and you can see those he...

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AWOL

I will be AWOL for a few days as I fly down to Buenos Aires to catch my n...

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The New Anti-Tobacco Legislation, Sports Events and Commercial Speech

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act signed by President Obama's earlier this week contains provisions that should be of more than passing interest to those involving sports sponsorship. As has been widely reported, the legislation (found in 111 P.L. 31, 123 Stat. 1776) asserts Food and Drug Administration jurisdiction over tobacco products and will finally give that agency the power to regulate tobacco products. Additionally, and significantly for those in the sports industries, the legislation prohibits tobacco-related sponsorships...

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You are Invited to an Upcoming Talk at Berkeley

"The Efficiency Illusion and other Energy Myths: Why Cap & Trade Won't Work -- and What Can"Dr. Roger Pielke, Jr., University of Colorado, Professor in the Environmental Studies Program and a Fellow of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES)Wednesday, July 1st, 6:00-7:30PMGiannini Hall Room 141 (campus map)As climate policy gets debated in Washington and around the world, Roger Pielke, Jr., an expert on science and environmental policy, will argue that the current climate policy framework rests on faulty assumptions...

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Exercise gives you energy, but you end up too tired to use ...

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Land of the Lost (Don't take kids)

Walked out after twenty minutes, how the heck this got a PG rating (In NewZealand) I will never know and why the heck did the trailer promote this as a family fun movie.The jokes were very very grubby and very inappropriate for anyone under 13. The language was shocking, this was suppose to be a kids movie???????Im no prude, and some gross out movies are funny (for adult audiences), but the jokes in this movie was just disgusting, and well just plain dirty.The good people at Hoyts at Riccarton (cinema here in NewZealand) were Brilliant, first...

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Adventures with Shellac: Cork Grip Yumminess!

If you love the rich butterscotch look of shellacked cork grips, but are worried about the DIY factor, fear no more. We gave it a shot, and it really is quite easy. Here we go:Rodney the vintage Roadster came with these original Raleigh black grips. Although they look nice and we like to keep original parts, neither of us can stand the feel of plastic grips. So we decided...

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