Thursday, January 8, 2026

The Politics of ‘Follow the Science’

How the ralllying cry of “Follow the science” is looking more and more like sloganeernig as opposed to best practice.

2:00PM Water Cooler 6/22/2021

~ Today’s Water Cooler ~

‘Managed Retreat’ from Climate Disasters Can Reinvent Cities So They’re Better for Everyone – and Avoid More Flooding, Heat and Fires

Managed retreat is a promising way to deal with rising seas…except it requires things we’re bad at, like planning and cooperation.

Links 6/22/2021

Is Another Military Coup Brewing in Peru, After Historic Electoral Victory for Leftist Candidate?

The threat should not be taken lightly, especially given Peru’s long history of coups d’états.

The Bullshit Economy: How Amazon Sidewalk Steals Your Bandwidth

How Amazon’s Sidewalk feature enhances their products at customers’ expense.

Decade Of Chaos Could Send Oil To $130 Per Barrel

Oil mavens are stymied at guessing what the commodity’s price trajectory might be.

Mindat: The Wikipedia for Minerologists, Miners, and “Rock Hounds” (Except Not)

Citizen science goes unreward by giant monopolists Wikipedia and Google.

2:00PM Water Cooler 6/21/2021

~ Today’s Water Cooler ~

Links 6/21/2021

How the Covid Pandemic Could Save Us

The Covid pandemic has created a hinge moment of change, in which governments and citizens have demonstrated their ability to undertake reforms which would have been impossible before the pandemic.

Summer Rerun: The Victory of Privilege

Privilege went from an idea discussed by a few activists to a mainstream concept. How does the idea work in practice? What is its history?

The Pandemic Is Us (But Now Mostly Them)

The pandemic is largely to be over in the Global North, at least among the vaccinated…or so it seems.

Fun with DIY Box Fans (and Protection from Covid through Filtration and Better Ventilation)

If you can’t afford a fancy air purifier, here is a low-cost DIY alternative.

Links 6/20/2021