In a time of need for rationale, evidence-based planning when communities and societies appear to be struggling more than ever with the abstract... a bit of fun to remind us of the power and clarity of science. Professor Brian Cox and the Hammer-and-Feather experiment. http://youtu.be/E43-CfukEgs I most certainly remember the fascination of the Apollo 15 Mission in 1971 and the…
Category Archives Science
Leadership, Innovation, Ingenuity, Diplomacy Fore-sight and Vision. When is the last time you saw words like that in our daily headlines? Simply the single-biggest policy issue facing us all. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released its synthesis report, a summary of its last three reports. It warns greenhouse gas levels are at the highest they have…
If you were playing to win [or perhaps not loose your house], perhaps in a casino, playing a coin-toss game, would you suspect anything was wrong if the coin-toss turned up heads 353 times in a row? What are the chances of that? Would you bet your house on the next throw? July 2014 was the 353rd consecutive month in…
The first five points from the Executive Summary of IPCC's latest regional report for Australasia: The regional climate is changing (very high confidence). Warming is projected to continue through the 21st century (virtually certain) along with other changes in climate. Uncertainty in projected rainfall changes remains large for many parts of Australia and New Zealand, which creates significant challenges for adaptation.…
John Oliver helping us through the biggest public policy question of all-time.. Beginning with: 1. Do owls exist? 2. Are there hats? http://youtu.be/cjuGCJJUGsg Links: The White House - Climate Change CSIRO - Climate Change and Adaptation Neighbours - Climate - Behaviour 330 and Counting Six Decades of a Warming Earth Are you Hot enough yet? Hot, Hotter, Hottest
Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v. Japan: New Zealand intervening) - Judgment of 31 March 2014 Final and without appeal- The Court therefore will order that Japan shall revoke any extant authorization, permit or licence to kill, take or treat whales in relation to JARPA II, and refrain from granting any further permits under Article VIII, paragraph 1, of the Convention, in…
Science at its best. Stanford Professor Andrei Linde [known as the father of inflation] is given the news that his life's-work appears to be confirmed by the BICEP2 experiment based at the south-pole and his first reaction is.. "if it is true......" "do I believe just because it is beautiful?" http://youtu.be/ZlfIVEy_YOA Links Professor Andrei Linde Stanford News BICEP2 - Harvard…
I hear this a lot, actually... The Alliance for Useful Evidence champions the use of evidence in social policy and practice. They are an open–access network of more than 1,700 individuals from across government, universities, charities, business and local authorities in the UK and internationally. Link: The Alliance for Useful Evidence