Last week John Perry Barlow (co-founder of the EFF) passed away at the age of 70 Cindy Cohn at the EFF has published a memorable eulogy: It is no exaggeration to say that major parts of the Internet we all know and love today exist and thrive because of Barlow’s vision and leadership. He always... Continue Reading →

John Oliver gives a great summary of why Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement makes absolutely no sense Or as David Roberts puts it: An agreement cannot be both nonbinding and draconian (Spoiler: Paris is the former) Early on in the speech, Trump said: “Thus, as of today, the United States will cease... Continue Reading →

What drives scientists? - Richard Alley's Golden Nugget h/t Variable Variability

It is not something to say I chose not to believe e-mc2; YOU DONT HAVE THAT OPTION! When you have an established scientific emergent truth, it is true whether or not you belive in it and the sooner you understand that the faster we can get on with the political conversation about how to solve... Continue Reading →

I started my 25 Radiation treatments today. 1 down and 24 to go.

The hope is that the radiation will stop the growth of my tumour. It wont’t, however, remove it. The success rate is roughly equivalent of the success rate of surgery (90%), and there is a greater chance of not loosing function on the left side of my face and keeping whats left of my hearing... Continue Reading →

... before the EPA

Hans Rosling, one of the most enlightening science communicators, passed away last week. It was his first Ted talk that thrust renowned Swedish academic Hans Rosling into the international spotlight in 2006, billed as the man in whose hands data sings. Since then, the statistician more likely to illustrate an idea with a few multi-coloured... Continue Reading →

I have a tumour; the good news is that the doctors believe it is benign. The bad news is that while it may be non-malignant it definitely isn’t benign (at least not by any reasonable definition of benign). I have a facial nerve schwannoma. It is a slow-growing, rarely malignant tumour growing around my left... Continue Reading →

This is exceedingly good news! Yes these elder statesmen Republicans aren't elected members of the government, and yes it will be difficult to convince elected Republicans of the importance of climate change, but this is what a first step looks like. In fact once you get past the knee jerk reactions, a revenue-neutral carbon tax... Continue Reading →

After the horrific events at the Mosque in Quebec it is worth remembering that hatred doesn't stop at the border. The suspect in the deadly attack on a Quebec City mosque was known in the city’s activist circles as an online troll who was inspired by extreme right-wing French nationalists, stood up for U.S. President... Continue Reading →

Trump Bars Refugees and Citizens of 7 Muslim Countries WASHINGTON — President Trump on Friday closed the nation’s borders to refugees from around the world, ordering that families fleeing the slaughter in Syria be indefinitely blocked from entering the United States, and temporarily suspending immigration from several predominantly Muslim countries. In an executive order that... Continue Reading →

For a while now, those who deny climate change (like the majority of elected Republican officials) have complained that climate science has been politicized and therefore cannot be trusted. The evidence for this has always fallen apart under the most superficial of scrutiny. Yet less than a week into the Trump presidency we have a... Continue Reading →

The opponents of the Keystone XL and other pipelines have to keep on winning, forever, while those trying to build pipelines, or similar projects, only have to win once I said those words 4 years ago, and sadly it looks like I was right: President Trump signed an executive action today to push forward the... Continue Reading →