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By Stephanie Levi
I had the pleasure of hearing Al Gore speak at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) conference last week. Here are the Cliff’s Notes of his talk. I would have loved to post video of it for you, but recording of sessions was not permitted and I’m no rule breaker, so here is the next best thing. Trust me, it was excellent.

By Alexis Gambis
On Jan. 28, TalkingScience presented a panel on “Science 2.0: Science Outreach Options in an Online World.” The discussion focused on methods of reaching new audiences for science via both new and old tools, as well as how to develop a career in science outreach.
Panel Moderator: Ann Marie Cunningham

Ann Marie Cunningham is executive director of TalkingScience, the nonprofit partner of Science Friday, the weekly live news/talk program on science and science policy broadcast on NPR. TalkingScience’s mission is to attract new audiences, especially young people, …

On Friday February 13, people will have the opportunity to participate in a large-scale science project. You don’t need fancy equipment, quantitative prowess or background. Just look outside the window and count birds for ten minutes. That’s right, you heard me. The Great Backyard Bird Count will be taking place from the 13th-16th. The goal is to engage people in the scientific process and enable researchers to acquire data about bird populations that would be impossible to get with isolated research teams. Who cares about birds? Well, if you’ve ever …

By Justin Peacock
I am beginning this blog as my preliminary foray into the world of science writing. I hope that readers will find the blog amusing and fascinating as I delve into the amazing world of science, my life as a scientist, and the inextricable link that binds society to scientific discovery.
As prologue to this epic undertaking, I begin by describing my entrance into science. It is difficult to pinpoint the exact moment when I knew that I wanted to be a scientist, because I know that many events contributed …

By Susan Reslewic, Ph.D.
Noted for its diverse immigrant population and panoramic vistas of the Manhattan skyline, Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood has served as set for historic moments since the birth of the United States. In August 1776, Sunset Park’s topography challenged the Redcoats’ advance against the Rebels in the Battle of Brooklyn. Almost two hundred years later, in 1958, the neighborhood shuttled Elvis Presley from the Brooklyn Army Terminal to his military post in Germany. And just a few months ago, that same Brooklyn Army Terminal became host …

By DNLee
This is my second post in honor of Squirrel Appreciation Day. When I first asked myself,“What wild animals live in big cities?” Squirrels (and birds) were the first animals that came to mind.
Squirrels are rodents, so that means they are cousins to chipmunks, mice, rats, voles, and beavers. They are members of the Sciuridae family, which means ‘bushy tail.’ This is a perfect way to describe the many members of the squirrel family, which include tree squirrels, ground squirrels, even chipmunks and groundhogs. But my focus here is the …

At 1:00 PM on New Year’s Day, hundreds of people gathered on the beach at Coney Island, NY, and splashed in the Atlantic Ocean despite the below-freezing temperature. It was time for the Coney Island Polar Bear Club annual New Year’s plunge. The crowd was diverse: tattooed grandmothers, rosy-cheeked children, nearly-naked frat boys, a scientist from Rockefeller University, a six-fingered Coney Island USA employee on his break from the Freak Show; the director of the New York Aquarium where many animals frolic happily in cold weather and water; a polar-bear …

The New Year has started with a not insignificant victory for environmental groups and anyone concerned about public health. On January 7th, an appeals court in Cincinnati, Ohio, ruled that the Bush administration could no longer exempt pesticides from the federal permit requirements for pollutants. This should mean that pesticides can no longer be indiscriminately dumped in the nation’s water supplies to the detriment of the ecosystem, and also fish, wildlife and human health.

by Martha Hiatt, Behavioral Husbandry

Animal enrichment at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is not a new practice. For many years WCS keepers have put effort and creativity into enriching the lives of our animals. Within the last few years, WCS made a commitment to formal, science-based enrichment programs at all of our wildlife parks, and thus the Animal Enrichment Program (AEP) was born. The fundamental objective of AEP is that all animals in the WCS collection receive optimal physical & mental stimulation for their health and well-being.

This last week the Supreme Court has been hearing the case of Entergy v. Riverkeeper, which in layman’s terms boils down to Power Plants v. Fish, or, as always, The Bush Administration v. Environmentalists.