By signing this petition:

A new report from Green For All found that we could create nearly 1.9 million jobs and inject over a quarter of a trillion dollars into the economy by fully upgrading America’s aging water and stormwater infrastructure.

Every year, 860 billion gallons of raw sewage spill into our waterways – enough to cover the entire state of Pennsylvania one inch deep. Fixing that problem creates jobs.

Green For All’s report, available here (http://bit.ly/WaterWorksReport), shows that making the EPA’s recommended $188 billion investment – enough to manage stormwater and preserve water quality for millions of Americans – could have a huge short- and long-term impact. And the timing for the investment couldn’t be better.

Americans need clean water. We need clean jobs. This investment gives us both.

Sign here

I know, this is old, but still fun to watch:
Continue reading Satanic Halloween Costumes Banned by School →

A petition:

Change US policy to confront the government of Sudan for ongoing mass atrocities and act to protect innocent civilians

Recent events in Southern Kordofan, Blue Nile, Abyei and Darfur prove that the government of Sudan is continuing to use the same deadly methods that it has employed for years against its own people: attacking civilians on a broad scale with its army, militia and air force; limiting and blocking humanitarian assistance to millions displaced by attacks; and focusing US attention on negotiations that are not honored. It is time for significantly escalated action by the United States consistent with the Responsibility to Protect doctrine. Condemnations of new war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are necessary, but not sufficient.

8 years after the start of the Darfur genocide, it is time for escalated action by the US to stop the genocides and mass atrocities in Sudan.

Sign Here

A few images from the week that was.
Continue reading Political Punditry →

L’enfant sauvage, the 1970 movie by Truffaut, depicted a plausible case of a “wild child” … a person left at very young age in the wild, who then grew up in the absence of human culture. Such wild children are rare, and most of them are not real, or at least, not as wild as originally claimed.

A team of psychologists who were interested in the phenomenon and related questions (like, how is language learned?) attended the opening of that movie during the same week that they were informed of the existence of another wild child of sorts, Genie. Genie, later depicted (very indirectly) in the 1994 movie Nell, was not left in the woods. She was left in the closet, but still grew up without much human interaction.

Continue reading German Semi-Wild Child = Fake? And other matters →

There is a report coming out soon on the adverse effects of vaccines, and I’ve written a post about it here.

Also, here is something linking together geology, the ice age, science education, and YOU.

This is why you should always back up to cliffs that you want to stand on top of, so you can run away faster!

Saturday October 15th & Sunday October 16th – The Roadside Attraction [Bike] Tour is exploring the cultural landscape of the Central Corridor. It’s a mobile conversation between artists, designers, activists and community members to share different visions about the future of the Corridor. See details about the ride here, or click here to sign up.

I know a lot of you will be interested in this and may want to comment on it. It is obvious to me that Netflix pays close attention to this blog, so your comments will matter a great deal. It is almost like you were on the board of directors or something:
Continue reading Netflix unchanges Netflix →

Thomas Sargent and Christopher Sims have won the Nobel Prize for economics for their work on cause and effect in the macroeconomy.

Sample their work here.

From CC’s diary:

… The Admiral showed cinnamon and pepper to a few of the Indians of that place (it seems from the samples that he was bringing from Castile) and he says that they recognized it; and they said by signs that nearby to the southeast there was a lot of it. He showed them gold and pearls, and certain old men answered that in a place that they called Bohio there was a vast amount and that they wore it on neck and in ears and on arms and legs; and also pearls. Moreover, he understood that they said that there were big ships and much trade and that all of this was to the southeast. He understood also that, far from there, there were one-eyed men, and others, with snouts of dogs, who ate men, and that as soon as one was taken they cut his throat and drank his blood and cut off his genitals. The Admiral decided to return to the ship to wait for the two men whom he had sent and to decide whether to leave and seek those lands, unless the two men brought good news of that which they desired….

Say no more.

The magazine:

Biomedical researchers have lost a respected source of information–and science journalists have lost yet another publication for which they can write–with the news that The Scientist will stop publishing immediately. The news comes just after the magazine celebrated its 25th anniversary with a special issue.

Wow, that was unexpected. In a totally expected sort of way. Story here.