By Sheril Kirshenbaum and Chris Mooney
Solar power uses radiant energy from the sun for heating water, air, and making electricity. It’s certainly not a bad idea in terms of renewable solutions to our energy crisis given the source isn’t burning out anytime soon, but of course, this technology isn’t right for everyone. On the local scale, it depends a good deal on location, time of day and year, and weather conditions. In other words, outfitting your home with solar panels may be a good idea in California …

By Sheril Kirshenbaum and Chris Mooney
The box jellyfish. A fascinating critter with powerful venom, this one’s not for the faint of heart.
Alternatively known as sea wasps and marine stingers, these animals serve up a frightening cocktail of toxins that attack the nervous system, heart, and skin. Generally they prey on fish and shrimp, but humans have also been killed as the result of encounters, which can lead to heart failure, shock, and drowning. Those who survive suffer through weeks of severe pain and scarring.
Box jellies are unique because they …

By Sheril Kirshenbaum and Chris Mooney
Today marks the launch of the National Academy of Sciences’ Science and Entertainment Exchange, an initiative that will work to connect producers, directors, writers and others in need of scientific information for their productions with science, medical and engineering experts. We’re here in Los Angeles headed to the first symposium. So will this initiative–to be directed by Physics of the Buffyverse author Jennifer Ouellette–correct everything that’s problematic in the entertainment media’s portrayal of science? Of course not. But it’s a very important start.
We …

By Sheril Kirshenbaum and Chris Mooney
Amid a flurry of last minute rule changes introduced by President George W. Bush on his way out of office came last week’s announcement of a plan to sell the rights to oil and gas off Virginia’s coast.
This attempted policy change doesn’t represent a big surprise, given the strong influence of fossil fuel interests during Bush’s two terms. These last minute regulations are plainly motivated by the desire to reward the President’s campaign contributors and corporate interests. The Virginia plan provides no benefits, royalties, or …

By Sheril Kirshenbaum and Chris Mooney
NASA satellites made possible for Nalini Nadkarni at Evergreen State College in Washington to estimate the number of trees on planet earth. Because they reflect sunshine in particular patterns, it’s possible for biologists to determine coverage and look at numbers. The result? Approximately 400,246,300,201 trees in the world.

But what does that mean? Well, using the latest estimates for our human population, Nadkarni calculated we ‘have‘ roughly 61 trees each. Is that adequate? Hard to say. How many trees do we each ‘use‘ …

By Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum
People keep emailing us about Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. There is a rumor swirling that he may get a high level position in the Obama administration relating to the environment, such as head of the Environmental Protection Agency. We suppose we’re getting emailed because one of us–Chris–wrote a little book called “The Republican War on Science,” and some people feel that a Kennedy appointment would signal a Democratic equivalent.
The reason is the vaccines-autism issue, where Kennedy’s views are extremely controversial, to say the least, and …

“A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.”
- Barack Obama, November 4, 2008

By Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum
Votes have been cast and the winner declared in the 2008 presidential election, and as a result, many anticipate a new golden age for American science. The scientific community rallied behind Obama as never before, and an unprecedented number of Nobel Laureates formally endorsed the Democratic nominee. That’s because Obama has already indicated, by speech and by action, …

We’re excited to be joining Talking Science! In our inaugural post, we’d like to introduce ourselves as we set up shop and get comfortable…