Makes My Head Split…I guess literally

An article I wrote for the Foundational Questions Institute has been online for a couple weeks, but I’ve been so busy moving to my summer office near Algonquin Park that I haven’t had a chance to post a link to it yet. Well, no more.

The story focuses on the life and research of Hugh Everett who was the originator behind the multiple universe theory that you probably hear mentioned in science fiction novels every now and then. For the story, I interviewed Peter Byrne, an investigative journalist in California who usually covers corporate and government cover-ups but also has a journalist crush on theoretical physics.

I think my favorite moment in the story and in the interview was when Byrne discussed how Everett was literally a Dr. Strangelove type working for the CIA during the Cold War designing nuclear bombing algorithms. Yet, because of his work with multiple universes, he had to find it appalling because in some of them (which he believed all truly did exist) the bombs were really dropped and millions really did die. 

Think of that next time you hear someone say theoretical physics is an irrelevant waste of research dollars.

A Digest of Reader’s Digest

I’ve done a lot of articles for Reader’s Digest Canada Online recently, so I thought it about time to post the links to those articles.

It beats over 7.5 billion times in your life, so if you want to understand what not to do to your heart check out my article on risky behavior for your heart health. And, if you want to improve another part of your body, go for your brain. I wrote a brainy article that describes a few ways that you can keep all the lights on upstairs.

I’ve also written about a growing number of green communities in Canada. It seems that right across Canada, individual citizens and neighborhoods are finding unique ways to address the myriad of environmental challenges we are facing. Of course, with such nice whether in my part of Canada recently, one of the most popular ways to save the world has been to get out your trusty bicycle. Check out my article on how to pick a good bicycle and all the right accessories to make reducing your carbon footprint a little easier. Maybe even less sweaty, which is always appreciated if you are commuting to work.

Reducing Your Greenhouse Gases one Burger at a Time

You probably know that California is leading North America on its quest to reduce its greenhouse gases. Their plan is to cut back emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, a 15% cut. To do so, they are establishing a cap and trade system for carbon dioxide, which hopefully will fit in nicely with whatever Obama has planned for the nation.

I wrote about their 2020 goals for Environmental Health Perspectives’ most recent issue, and I found it interesting to consider that not only are they a giant in North America, but on a worldwide perspective their economy is around the 8th largest. What they do has big implications.

And, how you eat has big implications too. At the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Chicago, I attended and wrote about a great session all about eating a low carbon diet. The article was recently published by Green Living Online, and it really was in stark contrast with a lot that we’ve been hearing about eating locally.

Instead the researchers showed that for meat, the travel emissions for trucking something from California are relatively minor compared to the emissions incurred from producing the meat, especially true for beef where a lot of the emissions come from the actual cow (eg. farts and burps).

And, if you’re wondering how to eat a low carbon diet check out www.eatlowcarbon.org, a website designed to help consumers pick the most climate change friendly foods when they eat out.

Let the Darwin Show Begin

Darwin’s birthday was yesterday, so to commemorate the big day I wrote a couple articles. I wrote about what modern day environmentalists can learn from Darwin’s life and evolution for Green Living Online. I also did an interview piece for InnovationCanada.ca with the President of the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution.

Plus, I will add that at the annual meeting for American Association for the Advancement of Science the Annals of Improbable Research will be awarding the 1000 Steve Award tonight. It is an award given out to Steve or Stephanie (which apparently make up 1% of the American general public) scientists that support evolution to combat the anti-evolution campaign “Scientists that Doubt Darwin.” Of course, I believe the original inspiration for the award was the great evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould.

Tonight the award (a stuffed panda – not sure if it comes with or without thumbs) is being given out by Steve Mirsky, science humor writer for Scientific American, to *Drum roll please* you guessed it: Steve Darwin.

Busy New Year

PHEW! It’s been a very busy new year for me, and it’s only been what? 26 days!!

So, to anticipate the large number of new articles that I will have to be posting on here in the coming weeks and months, I will mention an article I did a while ago for FQXi about getting kids interested in science and physics.

For the article, I got to speak with Brian Greene about his latest book, which is a kids book. It’s a very pretty book, and I enjoyed reading it. My daughter (2) was sort of lukewarm to it, but maybe I better try it again in a few months.

Also, I had two articles I wrote a while ago for Popular Science Magazine finally hit the newsstands. The first was about three very cool laser projects in the December issue, and the other was about using old newspapers to extract gold and other precious metals from old cell phone batteries in the January issue. Both were pretty cool if I do say so myself.

Quick Update on Latest Articles

I’ve been working on some longer term projects of late, but I’ve still had some articles published recently.

Take for instance, my article on a new species of dinosaur found in Canada that is related to every kids’ favorite triceratops albeit with a bunch more horns and bumpy bits on its head. This is a truly weird dinosaur, and you can read about it on National Geographic News’s website.

I also recently wrote a story for the Foundational Questions Institute along with some help from Zeeya Merali. Together we profiled some neat genetic research into genetic sequences that nature may not have found, but which might have important implications because they might actually be more effective. It could also help us understand how a change in a genetic sequence can result in dramatic changes that drive evolution.

Finally, here’s a story that should strike a chord with the more musically inclined. I wrote an article for Innovation Canada describing some research at the University of Waterloo into how the piano works. The big surprise was that it’s not as simple as you might think.

Environmental Trade-offs: Those Cute and Curly Light Bulbs

When we moved from the lake to our new house in the country, one of the first things I did was go around and change over every light bulb in the place to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLS). CFLs look like a Dr. Seussian solution to lighting, but in reality they are taking a big bite out of electricity use. They are very energy efficient, and are a perfect example of real world green technology that is here right now.

They do have one drawback, which is the Whoville sized amounts of mercury that makes those cute little puppies tick (or glow as the case may be). I recently wrote an article for Environmental Health Perspectives about efforts to understand the mercury in CFLS and better ways to capture it in case bulbs break.

Long and the curly of it, open a window and leave the room where the CFL breaks. When you come back pick up everything you can and put it in a glass jar (plastic bags leak mercury), plus try to have kids or pregnant women avoid the room.

New Ways of Doing Science

Science is an ever changing field. Every clear night possible I go out and look at the stars with my telescope, a device that revolutionized our understanding of the Universe about 400 years ago. I also write on a MacBook Pro, and I can’t even count all the ways computers have changed science.

I have also been able to write about some pretty cool new pieces of equipment or experiments that are shaking up our understanding of how to do science.

Take for instance my recent article on small satellites (about the size of a refrigerator to a softball) for National Geographic News. Small satellites are cheaper and quicker to build, but do science that is every bit as good as the bigger space satellites like the Hubble Space Telescope.

In the past they were thought of as good tools to teach aerospace engineering or get students interested in space, but now there are some really cool space missions using small missions. My favorite is the ill-fated NanoSail-D, which failed to get into space a couple weeks ago because of a rocket failure. The approximately $2 million satellite was supposed to test a new solar sail, and it still might. They built two flight-ready satellites, and the backup could be soaring high within a year.

Try and get NASA to approve making a duplicate of a $1 billion space satellite!

Another article that was recently published by the Foundational Questions Institute focuses on trying to see if quantum mechanics works on ever larger scales. We’re not talking cat-sized objects, but we are talking big enough that with a little help from microscopes you could see them with your own eyes.

Previous attempts to see quantum effects have never worked on a scale this big. I mean they are nearly 10 billion times more massive than anything before. That’s a lot bigger.

And, if they can establish where quantum mechanics breaks down and classical mechanics starts that could open up a whole new suite of technologies that make use of the quantum world’s wacky physics.

Finally, I am looking forward to a conference at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics that will focus on Science in the 21st Century. A lot of the talks seem to be focusing on how the internet, blogs, and even open access to research data are changing the face of science.

I think one of the most interesting talks will be by Katy Borner, a researcher at Indiana University, who will be talking about mapping science. I’ve heard the term “scientific roadmap” or “roadmap for the future” a million times in policy announcements before, but all you have to do is look at some of the incredible images tracking scientific discoveries, funding, and public interest to see that she is talking about something very different and very cool.

A Meteor Press Storm

I love watching the stars, and shooting stars are some of the most interesting to watch.

The Perseids will peak Monday night, although the best bet for seeing a really great shower is to set your alarm and get up around 1:30AM in the morning. That’s because the moon will have set and the point the meteors seem to come from will be higher. For a full rundown on how to observe the Perseid meteor shower check out my guide on National Geographic News.

I’ll be observing the Perseids this year from Hay Lake just outside Algonquin Provincial Park, my usual summer location.

A large group of astronomers, however, will be observing from near Mount Forest, Ontario, at the site of Starfest 2008. Starfest is a star party where amateur astronomers get together to hang out, talk, and look at the sky. It’s the biggest in Canada with regular attendance over a thousand people.

This will be my 10th year at Starfest, and I am looking forward to seeing my usual cast of friends from the Bruce County Astronomical Society. As well, Ivan Semeniuk, U.S. Bureau Chief for New Scientist magazine and a former Discovery Channel Canada astronomy columnist, will be giving the keynote speech which should be great.

Finally, if you’ve ever wondered how scientists predict meteor showers, protect satellites from collisions, or what meteors tell us about the formation of the solar system, you should check out my upcoming article on Innovation Canada. I discuss the University of Western Ontario’s Meteor Physics Group, which is the largest group in North America. As well, they are the go-to guys when NASA wants to know anything about the meteor environment. Pretty cool stuff.

Now, if only there were some way I could guarantee clear skies for every one of my readers. That would be really cool.

Cradle to Cradle: Not a Post about Toddlers

The term “cradle to cradle” isn’t quite in popular usage, and McDonough and Braungart aren’t household names, but to people in the green scene these are hotter ideas than any inconvenient truth.

I wrote an article profiling these visionaries, who picture a future where the very idea of waste is abandoned. Forget zero waste. This is waste is food.

Check it out at Green Living Online.