Friday, March 25, 2011

Radiation graphs from Sacto monitor (no worries, at least not here in CA)

Just ran across the Sacramento monitor's page from the EPA's RadNet Air Monitoring Data website; they say "To date, levels recorded at this monitor have been thousands of times below any conservative level of concern." (Mar. 22 press release here)

It's a bit curious, that before the Japan quake, the [beta gross count rate] readings were higher; perhaps spuriously & it wasn't fixed until the quake brought the monitor to attention. The "gamma gross count rate" graph below it shows no such pattern.

Mixed-up weather lament

Snow. Snow. More snow.

Never thought that in spring I'd be wishing we were back in January... (or early Feb.)

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

For KVMR folk, on science communication - excellent piece by Chris Mooney

Excerpts from Good Communication is Good Scientific Practice:

Koch Industries sock puppetry on Wikipedia and blog comments

Koch Industries Employs PR Firm To Airbrush Wikipedia, Gets Banned For Unethical ‘Sock Puppets’, from ThinkProgress earlier this month; somehow I'd missed it.

(Note: the original user was open about his/her Koch ties, but apparently later created/recruited sockpuppets or meatpuppets, which is verboten - as is editing pages where you have a conflict of interest, which s/he also did.)

New Media Strategies was the PR firm they used here, but it's one of many: "the billionaire Koch brothers maintain contracts with over a dozen public relation firms and lobbying firms."

Monday, March 14, 2011

Cal. Dept of Public Health radiation FAQ - the URL

JeffP reprinted the FAQ, but you can find the CDPH original (which presumably they'll update) here:
http://cdph.ca.gov/Pages/RadiationFAQS2011.aspx

(There's a prominent link to it under "CDPH News" on the California Department of Public Health home page. )

Tuesday update: See also the Jeff Masters post Radiation from Japan not likely to harm North America, on Weather Underground.

How to donate to the Japan relief effort

Mar. 30 update: Robert Brady of Pure Land Mountain recommends Socks for Japan.

Mar. 19 update: Felix Salmon says Don’t donate money to Japan, and explains why. Give the groups your $$, but leave them free to put it where it'll do most good.


How to donate to the Japan relief effort from the Guardian.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Got friends/family in Alaska, Arizona or Florida?

We need their help to identify the Senator that placed a secret hold on whistleblower protection.

It's easy - and they don't have to tell their senator to do anything*, only to ask some simple questions.

* I'm still allergic to telling mine what to do.

Friday, March 11, 2011

An appreciation - Tom Grundy, and Reinette Senum of APPLE

APPLE - our local Alliance for a Post-Petroleum Local Economy - came out against Proposition 23 last fall, and Tom Grundy [speaking for APPLE at the time] stepped up to the plate and spoke effectively against it on KNCO. And Reinette Senum's just a powerhouse in making things happen - the Alpha building renaissance, our Saturday morning Farmer's Market, local educational events, etc. I also commend APPLE for their educational efforts in bringing Richard Heinberg and others to speak to our community. Thank you, folks.

But...

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Journalism manuals

There's probably a better compilation out there, but recently I've run across these -

Of the 3, the last seemed most worthwhile; but all are helpful.

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Climate education in Nevada County schools

What's taught about climate science & climate change in Nevada County schools - and is it science-aligned, or antiscience?

Here's what I've got so far; if you know folks who could clue me in further...?

* K-8
* High Schools
* Community College
  • At Sierra College (home), Nevada County Campus
    ESCI 0010 - Introduction to Earth Science (DeCourten)
    GEOG 0001 - Physical Geography (Cox)
    GEOG 0004 - Weather and Climate (DeCourten)
    INT 0001 - Environment/Human Impact (DeCourten & Day)

My climate blog's posts touching on climate education can be found here (link).