nisbetmc | December 26, 2006
In one of the strongest declarations I've seen from a major newspaper editorial board, the San Jose Mercury News calls on Congress in 2007 to enact major legislation to deal with global warming:
Climate change at crisis level
EVERYONE -- PUBLIC AND PRIVATE -- MUST ACT TO AVOID CATASTROPHE
Mercury News Editorial
Global warming is the greatest environmental threat that humanity has ever faced....The United States produces about one-fourth of the world's carbon dioxide emissions, yet we're the only major nation that officially denies there's a problem. This is the year for all of us --…
nisbetmc | December 25, 2006
After being named Time magazine's Person of the Year, I've updated my CV. Frank Rich in the Sunday Times glows with similar faux enthusiasm for the mag's cyber-cheerleading, as does Jon Stewart over at the Daily Show, just press play above.
Writes Rich:
As our country sinks deeper into a quagmire -- and even a conclusive Election Day repudiation of the war proves powerless to stop it -- we the people, and that includes, yes, you, will seek out any escape hatch we can find. In the Iraq era, the dropout nostrums of choice are not the drugs and drug culture of Vietnam but the equally self-…
nisbetmc | December 24, 2006
The Washington Post chronicles Arnold Schwarzenegger's efforts to frame his environmentalism in "public health" terms. The Governerator explains his position in ways only he can. For example, he compares California's lead on global warming to the state's pivotal role in popularizing bodybuilding back in the 1970s.
With Senators Boxer and Feinstein pitching Federal legislation modeled after California, Schwarzenegger says he is ready to travel to DC to testify in support of the bill, creating a possible major showdown with the Bush administration.
nisbetmc | December 19, 2006
The Washington Post profiles Rudy Giuliani's prospects for the GOP nomination. If "America's Mayor" has to bolster his support from conservatives, on which social issues is it easiest for Giuliani to move to the right?
Given his past record as mayor of NYC , it will be difficult for him to shift position on gay rights or on sex ed.Yet it is still possible for him to carve out a position on embryonic stem cell research that would be in line with President Bush's policy of restricted funding." Not only would evangelicals support the move, but adopting Bush's position would also appease…
nisbetmc | December 18, 2006
ScienceBlogs readers are hipsters. So I just wanted to add to the buzz about the new video for the U2 single "Window in the Skies." Definitely an instant classic. Watch it here. Just press play.
nisbetmc | December 18, 2006
This week, Time magazine names all of us as "Person of the Year." According to Time's editors, in this Web 2.0 era of digital media, average netizens are transforming society in powerful ways, changing politics, community, and personal lives for the better.
"You control the media now!" declares Time in its cover feature. Here's more of the mag's hyperbole:
...look at 2006 through a different lens and you'll see another story, one that isn't about conflict or great men. It's a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It's about the cosmic compendium of…
nisbetmc | December 18, 2006
For those closely watching Gov. Mitt Romney's presidential prospects, and what a Romney presidency might look like in terms of science-related policy questions such as stem cell research, abstinence education, and emergency contraception, you will want to check out this Sunday Boston Globe article:
In Governor Mitt Romney's metamorphosis from social moderate to self-styled conservative presidential candidate, Nov. 9, 2004 , stands out as a seminal date. On that day, Romney and two aides met in his State House office with renowned Harvard University stem cell researcher Douglas A. Melton. In…
nisbetmc | December 16, 2006
BBC NEWS CAPTION: "There is heated debate about the ethics of using stem cells"
What's wrong with this picture and caption?
As the BBC reports the horrifying discovery that healthy babies in the Ukraine may have been killed for body parts, including stem cells derived from bone marrow, the news organization also runs a photo and tagline implying that the scandal involves embryonic stem cells.
Even more confusion is featured at conservative news sites like LifeSite.Net:
Ukraine has long heralded itself as a leader in modern science's embryonic stem cell quest. BBC News reports that video…
nisbetmc | December 13, 2006
There's nothing new about politicians using entertainment outlets to promote their presidential aspirations. In 1960, both John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon appeared on Jack Parr's Tonight Show. Nixon even played the piano. Yet it was Bill Clinton with his saxophone playing 1992 appearance on the Arsenio Hall Show and his disclosure the same year on MTV that he prefers briefs over boxers, who made entertainment venues the norm for presidential candidates. In 2000, on Oprah, George W. Bush planted a big kiss on the famous host, charming millions of viewers.
Candidates go on these shows…
nisbetmc | December 13, 2006
The recent retreat of Arctic sea ice is likely to accelerate so rapidly that the Arctic Ocean could become nearly devoid of ice during summertime as early as 2040, according to new research published in the December 12 issue of Geophysical Research Letters. The study, by a team of scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the University of Washington, and McGill University, analyzes the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on the Arctic. Scenarios run on supercomputers show that the extent of sea ice each September could be reduced so abruptly that, within about 20…
nisbetmc | December 5, 2006
A few readers know that I originally hail from outside of Buffalo, New York, home to some of the best hunting and fly fishing in the country. Recently my younger brother Drew launched the Dreams of Steele blog exploring the science and passion of fishing and hunting in the Upstate New York region. There is a little something for everyone at this multi-media site, including some great shots of the outdoors, and even this photo and post detailing Drew's first buck of the season. (And for those wondering, no I don't hunt, nor own a gun. For some reason, I escaped the fever.)
nisbetmc | December 5, 2006
Parita Shah from the Center for Genetics and Society has an interesting op-ed in the Mercury News reflecting on the campaign tactics used by both sides this last election cycle to argue their case on stem cell research. Here's an excerpt from the Mercury News op-ed.
Whether or not the issue factored into this year's election results, voters heard a lot about it. Typically, this would be all to the good. Stem-cell research is complex and important. Unfortunately, the campaign treatment of stem-cell research also demonstrated that such a complex issue gets simplified and distorted beyond…
nisbetmc | December 4, 2006
The Associated Press reports that outgoing MA Gov. Mitt Romney has appointed Aaron D'Elia, a state budget director with no formal scientific background, to be executive director of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, an agency created by the legislature to distribute state funding for stem cell research.
TMP Cafe notes that in selecting D'Elia, Romney is signalling that he prefers idelogical compatriotism over expertise, pandering to social conservatives in the lead up to his planned 2008 presidential run.
University of Massachusetts President Jack Wilson voted against the appointment…
nisbetmc | December 3, 2006
Over at the "ideas site" World Changing, David Zaks offers up an interview with the NY Times' Andrew Revkin. As I've written on this blog before, Revkin is one of the top science writers in the business, and the country's leading journalist covering climate change. For ScienceBlogs readers, the interview along with the World Changing site are definitely worth checking out. Here's how World Changing describes its mission and content:
WorldChanging.com works from a simple premise: that the tools, models and ideas for building a better future lie all around us. That plenty of people are…
nisbetmc | December 3, 2006
It's year six of your presidency, and historians are already debating whether you are the worst U.S. leader in history. Can a new communication strategy help repair your reputation?
At the Washington Post, Douglas Brinkley, Eric Foner, Vincent Cannato, Michael Lind, and David Greenberg place George W. Bush in historical context, while a crack team of crisis communication experts offer advice on how W. can turn it around.
nisbetmc | December 1, 2006This semester in the sophomore-level course I teach on "Communication and Society," we spent several weeks examining the many ways that Americans are using the Internet to alter the nature of community, civic engagement, and social relationships.
For many college students, having grown up "online," it's easy to take for granted the "virtual" society we live in, seldom pausing to consider how it might be different from more traditional forms of community life. One of the goals of the course was to encourage students to think systematically and rigorously about the many changes introduced by…
nisbetmc | December 1, 2006This semester in the sophomore-level course I teach on "Communication and Society," we spent several weeks examining the many ways that Americans are using the Internet to alter the nature of community, civic engagement, and social relationships.
For many college students, having grown up "online," it's easy to take for granted the "virtual" society we live in, seldom pausing to consider how it might be different from more traditional forms of community life. One of the goals of the course was to encourage students to think systematically and rigorously about the many changes introduced by…
nisbetmc | November 27, 2006
A few readers have written in to ask whether tomorrow's AMS presentation will be recorded. My answer is "I don't know," but I will let everyone know if and when a recording is available. In the meantime, back in the spring I appeared on the Point of Inquiry program to talk about the framing of science debates. The podcast or MP3 file is available for download. Scroll down to the 5/19/2006 episode.
It's the best I can do for right now, but stay tuned. (If you are a Seed and ScienceBlogs enthusiast, and you have yet to discover The Point of Inquiry program distributed by the Center for…
nisbetmc | November 27, 2006
Last weekend, I was at the annual meetings of the Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research, where I met up with longtime collaborators Dietram Scheufele and Dominique Brossard. Along with Sharon Dunwoody, the three faculty members at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have launched the Science and Media Research Group (SMRG).
The interdisciplinary group of faculty and graduate students are currently working on projects related to stem cell research, nanotechnology, agricultural biotechnology, and global health issues, to name just a few topics.
Pictured from left to right are Phd…
nisbetmc | November 27, 2006
Readers of FRAMING SCIENCE who work in downtown DC or on Capitol Hill may want to take an extended lunch break tomorrow to check out this American Meteorological Society briefing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Rm. 106, featuring one of your favorite bloggers. ;-)
The Divide between Values and Behavior: Exploring American Perceptions of Global Warming and the Environment
Many in society still largely adhere to the notion that 'If we just tell people the facts, they'll reach the right conclusion.' Is this notion supported by research on risk perception, decision-making, and behavior…