World leaders, 20 years on and sorry

This is really quite interesting.

(Click on link to go to website: once there, click on picture for slideshow)

Greenpeace is running an ad campaign in Copenhagen airport, featuring world leaders who are 20 years older ('though many look much more) and apologising for not having done enough...

Hmmm....

Climate centre hacked

This subject has already been covered on the web, but I haven't seen it discussed yet on Sciblogs, so thought I would bring it to the fore.



Being quite aware that I don't do the climate change thing (as it were), for no reason other than that there are other people far more qualified than me to do so.

But still, this is quite something...

To fill everyone in: the University of East Anglia, which is apparently one of Britain's leading climate change research centres, has been hacked. The emails, covering 1991-2009, first appeared online on Nov 19th, and have since gained widespread attention.

And yes, this was a crime - the centre was hacked, and personal emails stolen and disseminated publicly. Not allowed. Not even slightly. No matter how one might justify it.

Further, lines from the emails are being used by climate change skeptics (deniers?) as proof of collusion between scientists. You know, as part of this huge conspiracy, involving thousands of scientists all over the world, in which anthropogenic climate change is all a big fib. Yes. That one.

The fact that the emails have been split up and discreet sentences used (for example, taking the phrase' trick' to mean deliberate obfuscation, or even outright lying, instead of a just-as-common phrase, to mean 'clever technique') alone is, basically, the same thing as cherry-picking and quote mining...a 'trick' used fairly often by...certain groups. And while not technically a crime, it is certainly dishonest. Taken out of context, even the most innocuous sentence can sound dastardly.

Not much more to say (there's been plenty already written), and a little more serious than most of my posts, but it's something I think important...

More info:

• The Guardian's article on the subject
• The University's take on the matter

Global warming warning

I've just come across this and, frankly, my first reaction was to burst out laughing.



Not, I hasten to add, because I think it's funny in and of itself. And the article itself is very calm and cogent about things. It's simply that the headline reads somewhat like an old, retro doomsday prediction.

And no, I'm not a denier. I'm not even a skeptic (although I would definitely say I'm a pragmatist). To be honest, it's not something I feel that I am nearly well-informed about to comment on.

Happily, a number of other people are doing very fine jobs of commenting on the issue: Hot Topic is a great example, and the Science Media Centre tracks what's happening in the coverage.

More evidence that cockroaches may be the pinnacle of evolution

..Sorry, those of you who thought it was humans. (As a side note, Terry Pratchett is particularly hilarious on the subject in The Last Continent)



Alright, for those of you who prefer accuracy in your statement: no, they're not really the pinnacle of evolution, for after all the theory somewhat precludes such a notion. But they are remarkably resilient. I had a few doozies in the kitchen of an ancient house I inhabited at one point in Cape Town, and I can confidently say that they're well-nigh unstoppable, particularly if they're big and old.

Back to the point of the post, though: it's come to light (unlike the creatures themselves) that not only are they capable of withstanding nuclear fallout, but that they could also survive climate change. Apparently, they are able to hold their breath in order to conserve water loss - a particularly useful trait in Australia, where the research was conducted.

I'll happily admit I quite admire them. They're a brilliant example of how 250 million years of evolution can give one, if not backbone, then at least a pretty remarkable exoskeleton.