Lifeboat Foundation

Historically, water managers throughout the thirsty state of California have relied on hydrology and water engineering—both technical necessities—as well as existing drought and flood patterns to plan for future water needs.

Now, climate change is projected to shift water supplies as winters become warmer, spring snowmelt arrives earlier, and extreme weather-related events increase. Some water utilities have started to consider these risks in their management, but many do not. Lack of climate change adaptation among water utilities can put water supplies and the people dependent on them at risk, especially in marginalized communities, a new University of California, Davis, paper suggests.

The paper, which analyzes various approaches to climate science by drinking water utility managers in California, was presented along with new research at the American Sociology Association Conference in Philadelphia on Aug. 11. The paper, “Climate Information? Embedding Climate Futures within Social Temporalities of California Water Management,” was published this spring in the journal Environmental Sociology.

Continue reading “California water managers vary in use of climate science” »

WASHINGTON – U.S. Reps. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), who serve as the chairman and ranking member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and U.Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), who serve as the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today announced the introduction of House and Senate companions of the National Quantum Initiative Act. The legislation would accelerate and coordinate public and private quantum science research, standards, and workforce development to give the United States a competitive advantage as China and Europe vie to achieve technological breakthroughs in this field.

Chairman Smith: “The National Quantum Initiative Act will accelerate the development of quantum information science in the United States and secure our leadership in the quantum sector. As other nations are rapidly developing their own quantum programs, the U.S. faces the risk of falling behind. This legislation provides a path forward to ensure that the U.S. secures its influence in the next generation of science and technology. I am glad that Senator John Thune has joined me in introducing this legislation, along with our respective Ranking Democrat Committee Members Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson and Senator Bill Nelson.

”The bill creates a 10-year federal program that will significantly develop our quantum knowledge. It will bring a whole of government approach to advance QIS to the next level of research and development, while also creating public-private partnerships, leveraging the resources and expertise of government, industry and academia. Through new research facilities and a strong workforce pipeline, students and researchers will have greater resources and opportunities to develop their quantum skills and create the next great computing innovation. There is no doubt quantum technology will revolutionize our world to come. This bill secures American leadership in quantum science and guarantees a first place finish in the great quantum race.”

His nominee, Kelvin Droegemeier, is an accomplished meteorologist who studies storms and other extreme weather.

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson says lawmakers and the media cherry pick scientific papers to reinforce political ideals on climate change and says it’s irresponsible to create public policy while ignoring the scientific community’s consensus.

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Two new permanent exhibits just opened at the Maryland Science Center, capturing the imagination of children of all ages.

The two new exhibits are titled “Science Aglow” and “Water Play.”

Science Aglow is an exhibit on the Electromagnetic Spectrum. It was developed and built in-house, involving topics of light, radiation, energy and optics. Kids can capture their shadow, use infrared cameras, experiment with light sensors, and observe how different animals view light.

Continue reading “Two New Permanent Exhibits Open At Maryland Science Center” »

A new IMAS-led paper published in the science journal Nature Climate Change has highlighted the challenges faced by scientists, governments and communities as rising levels of CO₂ are absorbed by the world’s oceans.

Researchers have found that in recent centuries surface ocean pH has fallen ten times faster than in the past 300 million years and that impacts are being felt on ecosystems, economies and communities worldwide.

The economic cost to coral reefs, wild fisheries and aquaculture alone of the process known as Ocean Acidification is projected to reach more than US $300 billion per annum.

Continue reading “Ocean acidification a challenge for science, governments & communities” »

It’s one of the most common tropes in science fiction. But which movies actually get the science right?

For millennia, our planet has sustained a robust ecosystem; healing each deforestation, algae bloom, pollution or imbalance caused by natural events. Before the arrival of an industrialized, destructive and dominant global species, it could pretty much deal with anything short of a major meteor impact. In the big picture, even these cataclysmic events haven’t destroyed the environment—they just changed the course of evolution and rearranged the alpha animal.

But with industrialization, the race for personal wealth, nations fighting nations, and modern comforts, we have recognized that our planet is not invincible. This is why Lifeboat Foundation exists. We are all about recognizing the limits to growth and protecting our fragile environment.

Check out this April news article on the US president’s forthcoming appointment of Jim Bridenstine, a vocal climate denier, as head of NASA. NASA is one of the biggest agencies on earth. Despite a lack of training or experience—without literacy in science, technology or astrophysics—he was handed an enormous responsibility, a staff of 17,000 and a budget of $19 billion.

In 2013, Bridenstine criticized former president Obama for wasting taxpayer money on climate research, and claimed that global temperatures stopped rising 15 years ago.

Continue reading “NASA director reverses on climate change, after 1 month” »

After living through a car accident, I think this raises excellent awareness!

Exhibits at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City usually produce awe and wonder. A new interactive exhibit at LSC, however, gives the participant a grim and horrific look at the results of distracted driving. The AT&T 2018 It Can Wait Tour, a 3D virtual reality exhibit, will be at the science center from Friday, July 6 to through Tuesday, July 10, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. each day. The exhibit uses virtual reality technology to simulate the potentially deadly consequences of using a phone while driving. The exhibit also features a memorial wall, a wall of keys representing lives lost and a wall made to look like crushed car parts. The Liberty Science Center is located at 222 Jersey City Boulevard.