It may feel as though we live in dark times, but here in the UK there are LOADS of science festivals celebrating ideas, sparking curiosity, and sharing the latest research (for both adults and kids). Someone told me recently they didn’t know where to look, so I made a list. Here goes… [deep breath]:
15th-26th Mar, ATOM in Oxford https://www.atomfestival.org.uk/
19th Mar-4th Apr, Cambridge Festival https://cambridgesciencefestival.org/
5th – 20th Apr, Edinburgh Sci Fest https://www.edinburghscience.co.uk/
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This weekend's homework is reading about birds of prey, and I am very much enjoying the very literal names of some owl species. Favourites so far:
Powerful Owl
Flammulated Owl ("flame coloured")
Fearful Owl
Spectaculed Owl
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It's been a busy first day here at Everything Electric NORTH in Harrogate - lots of discussions about heat pumps, micromobility, the accessiblity of an electrified world, EV charging, and LOADS of great ideas that could go in political manifestos (I've been asking everyone). I'll start tomorrow with a fireside chat with Robert.. and I have lots to say 🙂
#EverythingElectric #FullyChargedShow
The Everything Electric Show NORTH is open at the Yorkshire show ground in Harrogate! We’re here today, tomorrow and Sunday, showing the present and future of clean energy and transport - ideas, discussions, test drives, exhibits & more. Do join us if you’re nearby.
It occurred to me this evening that society’s atttitude to AI is like that thing about believing every story in a newspaper except the one on your area of expertise, which is full of flaws. Society seems to believe uncritically that AI can/will do all these difficult things (drive cars, select job candidates), but whenever we’re actually faced with it, it’s not nearly as convincing (drive cars, select job candidates).
Also, not far away in the poster hall at Ocean Sciences 2024, my favourite visual explanation of “bioturbation”, on Jennifer Duncan’s poster:
#science #ocean #sediment
In Blue Machine, I wrote about both the Heard Island experiment (an audacious attempt to take the temperature of the whole ocean using sound) and also haddock mating calls. It was therefore very pleasing to find posters at the huge Ocean Sciences meeting a few weeks ago on those completely unrelated topics (apart from both involving sound), sitting right next to each other.
#Books #ocean #science
The solution to “autobesity” is NOT to change car parking spaces. It’s to fix the root of the problem and get rid of these over-sized, wasteful, dangerous and unnecessary vehicles.
“More than 150 car models are now too big to fit in average car parking spaces, according to analysis conducted by Which?.”
#cars #cities #SUV
nostr:npub1ty6h57mswdwa0vpglfk40jqq6jw2fvsk74mt9xa7d7jy3k479wyqz9j4d2 A significant proportion of marine plastic pollution is rayon, so if you care about having a material that will biodegrade, it fits the functional definition of plastic more than not.
For many years, anyone associated with physics on tv or radio (including me) got regular e-mails/letters from people convinced they’d disproved Einstein’s theory of relativity, rewritten quantum mechanics, or invented a perpetual motion machine. They always involved crazy assumptions, (sometimes spectacularly) incorrect maths & an unwillingness to learn the basics.
Now there’s a whole new class of these e-mails from people claiming to have “solutions” to climate change, with all the same flaws.
The opening scene in my book Blue Machine describes the start of this canoe voyage, in March 2018. It was a group paddle (taking turns), led by Kimokeo Kapahulehua. I remember that coastline as lush and green and alive, and today a significant chunk of it is just ashes. At the start of these voyages, there is always a strong emphasis on teamwork and togetherness. The island of Maui has those in spades, but they are going to need all of it and more in the coming weeks. #Lahaina #fire #Maui #ocean
My membership of British Cycling has come around for renewal and I have no hesitation in telling them to get lost. The fact that they took on a major sponsorship deal with Shell (SHELL!) in October and have refused to reverse that decision is appalling. This is classic greenwashing - Shell are continuing to extract all the oil they can. Cycling should not offer shelter to the fossil fuel companies putting profit ahead of the planet.
https://bikebiz.com/a-shocking-decision-industry-reacts-as-british-cycling-signs-deal-with-shell/
#Cycling #UCI #Shell
“Climate change” isn’t just about the climate being different. It’s about a highly complex and interwoven system shifting how it operates, and the cascade of consequences is almost certainly going to take us by surprise. Our world is far more intricately interdependent than we generally appreciate. And there will be more things like this:
“Ocean acidification is going to do all sorts of weird things to animals’ sensory perception.”
#climate #ocean #smell
I had no idea that there were hairy snails, but here is a German hairy snail, and it lives in the Thames in London (having arrived during the last Ice Age when the UK and the rest of the European continent were connected by land).
For any Londoners out there, this book is great - a lovely exploration of the nature that exists in the city and where to find it: https://www.wildlondon.org.uk/news/announcing-our-new-book-london-wild-exploring-nature-city
#London #wildlife #Thames
