What Conviction of Earthquake Advisors Means for Global Warming Science

What Conviction of Earthquake Advisors Means for Global Warming Science 

Probability is not prophecy. Maybe what it takes is better scientific education of the public, and especially of the media. Every journalist needs to take a crash course in statistics, probability and the scientific method. And perhaps, scientists should take courses in communication and marketing. It can't hurt.


'via Blog this'

Advice Concerning Low Spirits

A letter from Sydney Smith to Lady Georgiana Morpeth, Feb. 16, 1820:

Dear Lady Georgiana,– Nobody has suffered more from low spirits than I have done — so I feel for you. 1st. Live as well as you dare. 2nd. Go into the shower-bath with a small quantity of water at a temperature low enough to give you a slight sensation of cold, 75° or 80°. 3rd. Amusing books. 4th. Short views of human life — not further than dinner or tea. 5th. Be as busy as you can. 6th. See as much as you can of those friends who respect and like you. 7th. And of those acquaintances who amuse you. 8th. Make no secret of low spirits to your friends, but talk of them freely — they are always worse for dignified concealment. 9th. Attend to the effects tea and coffee produce upon you. 10th. Compare your lot with that of other people. 11th. Don’t expect too much from human life — a sorry business at the best. 12th. Avoid poetry, dramatic representations (except comedy), music, serious novels, melancholy, sentimental people, and everything likely to excite feeling or emotion, not ending in active benevolence. 13th. Do good, and endeavour to please everybody of every degree. 14th. Be as much as you can in the open air without fatigue. 15th. Make the room where you commonly sit, gay and pleasant. 16th. Struggle by little and little against idleness. 17th. Don’t be too severe upon yourself, or underrate yourself, but do yourself justice. 18th. Keep good blazing fires. 19th. Be firm and constant in the exercise of rational religion. 20th. Believe me, dear Lady Georgiana,
Very truly yours,
Sydney Smith

via Futility Closet

Best Foods to Stockpile for an Emergency

Best Foods to Stockpile for an Emergency | Real Simple:

Great list. Check it every 3 mo, eat or donate any that are <6 and="and" benefit="benefit" expiring="expiring" food="food" from="from" mo="mo" nbsp="nbsp" p="p" pantries="pantries" restock.="restock.">
'via Blog this'

Deadly connection: New report on extreme weather and climate change

You can't bitch about crazy weather events and then say nothing's happening. You can pretend it's not raining but you're still getting wet.

Deadly connection: New report on extreme weather and climate change 

'via Blog this'

New Study Shows 23 Nuclear Power Plants With 74 Reactors at High Risk from Tsunamis

New Study Shows 23 Nuclear Power Plants With 74 Reactors at High Risk from Tsunamis

It's amazing how people turn complete blind eyes to major risks like this, even with all the science and previous experience. People can convince themselves that anything is a good idea.

'via Blog this'

US Nuclear Facilities Risk From Flooding Due to Dam Failure

US Nuclear Facilities at Greater Than Expected Risk From Flooding Due to Dam Failure: Whistleblower : TreeHugger:

It seems not counting dam failure as a hazard of concern is fairly common. Most non-commercial earthen dams (generally for livestock manure ponds, etc) are not even mapped, and are the most likely to fail. While it's unlikely they would be large enough to cause damage to a nuclear plant, other dams would be, and the track record on keeping dams going as long as possible (see: Elwha) is pretty... damning. (Sorry.)

'via Blog this'

Home Wifi Could Be Used By Emergency Response Teams

Responding to an emergency is a challenge without the added hurdle of doing it without mobile technology, but that is often the reality for response teams in emergency situations. Thanks to a recent study released in Germany, scientists found that home wireless routers could be used to link up emergency responders in the event of catastrophe or other urgent situation.
Read more: Study Says That Home Wifi Could Be Used By Emergency Response Teams When Mobile Phones are Down | Inhabitat
'via Blog this'

Disaster and demography in Japan: Generational warfare

"MANY in Japan were taken aback recently by the news that, for the first time since 1985, Japanese women have lost their crown as the world’s longest-living people—their average life expectancy fell to 85.9 years in 2011, just under a year less than the women of Hong Kong. People were even more crestfallen at the news that this was largely caused by the death toll from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in north-eastern Japan. It was a reminder of how disproportionately the disaster had hit the elderly in this ageing corner of the planet. Of almost 18,800 dead and missing, 56% were over 65.

Ageing is taking its toll on the reconstruction process, too. In towns along the coast, officials say they have encountered a “generation gap” that is hampering their efforts to rebuild. Simply put, older people, aware of their relatively short remaining lifespan, want to restore what they lost as soon as possible. Meanwhile, young families want revitalised communities with more people, jobs and social freedoms. In miniature, it is a problem faced across the country. An elderly population, richer, more risk-averse and more powerful than the young, is also more resistant to change.

Disaster and demography in Japan: Generational warfare | The Economist: "

'via Blog this'

Zombie / Disaster survival skill

If you're ever in a situation where you have canned food but no way to open it you can grind the can lid against a concrete form such as a parking stop to wear down the top of the can so that the lid is opened without spilling the food.

Lifehacker: Open Food Cans with Concrete Parking Stops

'via Blog this'

Got Milk? You Don't Need It - NYTimes.com

Got Milk? You Don't Need It - NYTimes.com:

Article makes a lot of good cases, but mostly that people need to stop saying that a dairy-free diet is somehow lacking or unhealthy. Tradition and lobbying are not the same thing as fact.

'via Blog this'