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Evolution – Edward J. Larson

by Myrna Posted on May 4, 2019

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Evolution

The Remarkable History of a Scientific Theory

Edward J. Larson

Genre: Life Sciences

Price: $1.99

Publish Date: August 8, 2006

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

Seller: Penguin Random House LLC


“I often said before starting, that I had no doubt I should frequently repent of the whole undertaking.” So wrote Charles Darwin aboard The Beagle , bound for the Galapagos Islands and what would arguably become the greatest and most controversial discovery in scientific history. But the theory of evolution did not spring full-blown from the head of Darwin. Since the dawn of humanity, priests, philosophers, and scientists have debated the origin and development of life on earth, and with modern science, that debate shifted into high gear. In this lively, deeply erudite work, Pulitzer Prize–winning science historian Edward J. Larson takes us on a guided tour of Darwin’s “dangerous idea,” from its theoretical antecedents in the early nineteenth century to the brilliant breakthroughs of Darwin and Wallace, to Watson and Crick’s stunning discovery of the DNA double helix, and to the triumphant neo-Darwinian synthesis and rising sociobiology today. Along the way, Larson expertly places the scientific upheaval of evolution in cultural perspective: the social and philosophical earthquake that was the French Revolution; the development, in England, of a laissez-faire capitalism in tune with a Darwinian ethos of “survival of the fittest”; the emergence of Social Darwinism and the dark science of eugenics against a backdrop of industrial revolution; the American Christian backlash against evolutionism that culminated in the famous Scopes trial; and on to today’s world, where religious fundamentalists litigate for the right to teach “creation science” alongside evolution in U.S. public schools, even as the theory itself continues to evolve in new and surprising directions. Throughout, Larson trains his spotlight on the lives and careers of the scientists, explorers, and eccentrics whose collaborations and competitions have driven the theory of evolution forward. Here are portraits of Cuvier, Lamarck, Darwin, Wallace, Haeckel, Galton, Huxley, Mendel, Morgan, Fisher, Dobzhansky, Watson and Crick, W. D. Hamilton, E. O. Wilson, and many others. Celebrated as one of mankind’s crowning scientific achievements and reviled as a threat to our deepest values, the theory of evolution has utterly transformed our view of life, religion, origins, and the theory itself, and remains controversial, especially in the United States (where 90% of adults do not subscribe to the full Darwinian vision). Replete with fresh material and new insights, Evolution will educate and inform while taking readers on a fascinating journey of discovery.

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Evolution – Edward J. Larson

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The Olympics Should Be Permanently Hosted In….Los Angeles

by RichelleButterf Posted on August 10, 2016

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

Grecophile Paul Glastris thinks we should stop moving the Olympics around and hold them permanently in Athens:

Part the reason for Greece’s debt crisis—and the continuing Depression-level economic hardships Greece is suffering under the jackboot of its European lenders, especially Germany—is the billions it borrowed to host the 2004 Olympics….Shifting the games every four years is also a colossal waste of human capital, as Christina Larson noted in the Washington Monthly back in 2004.

….In her article, Larson argued for going back to the original idea: pick a permanent place to host the Olympics. Greece, she said, was the obvious choice. (The first modern Olympics, in 1896, were in fact held in Athens, but in 1900, the founder of the modern games, Pierre de Coubertin, moved them in his native Paris, inaugurating the tradition of travelling games.)

Larson is right: there is an obvious choice. But it’s not Athens, which, as Paul concedes, couldn’t truly afford the games in 2004 and didn’t exactly electrify the world with its hosting. The truly obvious choice is the city that has twice demonstrated it can host the Olympics both competently and on a reasonable budget: Los Angeles. It’s a multicultural kind of place. It’s midway between Asia and Europe. It has great weather. It’s both a sports mecca and a show biz mecca. It has lots of great venues already available. And Angelenos are proud of their ability to put on a great Olympics spectacle without breaking the bank.

So LA it is. Now then: what city should permanently host the Winter Olympics?

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The Olympics Should Be Permanently Hosted In….Los Angeles

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Fracking operations get even closer to drinking water sources than we thought

by SimonAlston Posted on August 13, 2014

Fracking operations get even closer to drinking water sources than we thought

By

Daniel Foster

Fracking companies have tried their best to quell the public’s fears about the practice. But, uh, they’re not doing a very good job of it. A new study shows that oil and gas companies are fracking at much shallower depths than previously thought — sometimes even through potential underground sources of drinking water.

To be clear, the study — which looked at the fracking operations at two geological formations in Wyoming — did not find current drinking water sources to be contaminated. But Stanford researchers Dominic DiGiulio and Robert Jackson did discover that, even as oil and gas companies usually report that fracking takes place thousands of feet below aquifers, some fracking chemicals actually get scarily close to aquifers that have been categorized as safe for human consumption. Even if no one is drinking out of these aquifers today, that doesn’t mean we won’t want or need to use them in the future. Unless they become full of chemicals that are known carcinogens and neurotoxins, that is.

From the LA Times:

DiGiulio and Jackson plotted the depths of fracked wells, as well as domestic drinking water wells in the Pavillion area. They found that companies used acid stimulation and hydraulic fracturing at depths of the deepest water wells near the Pavillion gas field, at 700 to 750 feet, far shallower than fracking was previously thought to occur in the area.

“It’s true that fracking often occurs miles below the surface,” said Jackson, professor of environment and energy at Stanford. “People don’t realize, though, that it’s sometimes happening less than a thousand feet underground in sources of drinking water.”

On top of that, the study reports that some of the geological formations in which fracking occurs are not as sealed off as oil and gas companies would like us to believe, meaning that fracking chemicals are more likely to seep out. Just one more thing to add to the list of why we love fracking (HA).


Source
Oil companies fracking into drinking water sources, new research shows, Los Angeles Times

Samantha Larson is a science nerd, adventure enthusiast, and fellow at Grist. Follow her on Twitter.

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The U.S. could supply all of California with water if we fixed our leaky pipes

by Concett21A Posted on August 2, 2014

Water Woes

The U.S. could supply all of California with water if we fixed our leaky pipes

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Shutterstock

As if California didn’t already have enough water issues to worry about right now, last week Los Angeles lost more than 20 million gallons – a day’s worth for at least 100,000 people – when a pipe that was installed a century ago finally broke. But it turns out geriatric pipes aren’t just a problem for the City of Angels. Aging infrastructure means that nationwide, pipes hemorrhage seven billion gallons of treated drinking water each day; enough to meet the daily water needs of the entire state of California.

From ABC News:

Much of the piping that carries drinking water in the country dates to the first half of the 20th century, with some installed before Theodore Roosevelt was in the White House.

Age inevitably takes a toll. There are 240,000 breaks a year, according to the National Association of Water Companies, a problem compounded by stress from an increasing population and budget crunches that slow the pace of replacement.

Which is why the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave U.S. water infrastructure a D grade last year, and the EPA says we need a $384 billion upgrade. Or, you know, as ASCE said in their report, we could do nothing and live with water shortages and higher rates.

Anybody know a good plumber?


Source
Century-Old Pipe Break Points to National Problem, ABC News

Samantha Larson is a science nerd, adventure enthusiast, and fellow at Grist. Follow her on Twitter.

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The U.S. could supply all of California with water if we fixed our leaky pipes

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Could drones be our secret weapon in the fight against Big Ag?

by CaitlynValentin Posted on July 21, 2014

Drone on

Could drones be our secret weapon in the fight against Big Ag?

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If you were privy to everything that went on inside a factory farm, you might never want to eat again. Manure lagoons fester. Animals cram into tiny spaces. Unsanitary conditions abound. Which is exactly why Big Ag would rather you just didn’t know. At least seven states have now made it illegal to use undercover evidence to expose the unsavory practices that take place on factory farms. Award-winning journalist Will Potter thinks drones could be the workaround to these controversial “ag-gag” laws.

NPR reports that Potter raised $75,000 on Kickstarter to buy drones and other equipment in order to investigate animal agriculture in the U.S.

“I was primarily motivated by what’s happening outside of those closed doors, but is still invisible and hidden from the public spotlight,” Potter tells NPR. “In particular, I was motivated by seeing these aerial photographs and satellite imagery of farm pollution, of waste lagoons, of sprawling industrial operations.”

Potter’s taking advantage of the fact that while drones have been a hot news item of late, lawmakers are still figuring out the specifics on if and how to regulate them.

From NPR:

Could Potter be prosecuted for flying drones over farms? Clemens Kochinke, a Washington D.C.-based lawyer behind the Drone Law blog, says the law is unclear about monitoring ag businesses. And it takes years to test the laws in court.

“Aside from the many federal issues involving the [Federal Aviation Administration] and the [Department of] Homeland Security, you have the state, county and municipal rules,” Kochinke says. “An overriding limitation on the restriction of drones may derive from the First Amendment where reporting in the public interest is concerned.”

Legalities aside, Chuck Jolley, who works in the meat industry, points out another complication that could disrupt Potter’s plans: “Those things better not be coming over during duck season because there are hunters out there that might look up and mistake that drone for a duck.” It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s perhaps our best bet for circumventing ag-gag laws, so long as it doesn’t get shot down?


Source
Deploying Drones To Get An Overview Of Factory Farms, NPR

Samantha Larson is a science nerd, adventure enthusiast, and fellow at Grist. Follow her on Twitter.

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Could drones be our secret weapon in the fight against Big Ag?

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Nestlé doesn’t want you to know how much water it’s bottling from the California desert

by CarolEllington Posted on July 15, 2014

Nestlé doesn’t want you to know how much water it’s bottling from the California desert

By

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Nestlé may bring smiles to the faces of children across America through cookies and chocolate milk. But when it comes to water, the company starts to look a little less wholesome. Amid California’s historically grim drought, Nestlé is sucking up an undisclosed amount of precious groundwater from a desert area near Palm Springs and carting it off in plastic bottles for its Arrowhead and Pure Life brands.

The Desert Sun reports that because Nestlé’s water plant in Millard Canyon, Calif., is located on the Morongo Band of Mission Indians’ reservation, the company is exempt from reporting things like how much groundwater it’s pumping, or the water levels in its wells.

From The Desert Sun:

The plant … has been drawing water from wells alongside a spring in Millard Canyon for more than a decade. But as California’s drought deepens, some people in the area question how much water the plant is bottling and whether it’s right to sell water for profit in a desert region where springs are rare and underground aquifers have been declining.

“The reason this particular plant is of special concern is precisely because water is so scarce in the basin,” Peter Gleick, who wrote the book on bottled water, told The Desert Sun. “If you had the same bottling plant in a water-rich area, then the amount of water bottled and diverted would be a small fraction of the total water available. But this is a desert ecosystem. Surface water in the desert is exceedingly rare and has a much higher environmental value than the same amount of water somewhere else.”

Nestlé refused to let The Desert Sun in on any of its data, but defended itself via email: “We proudly conduct our business in an environmentally responsible manner that focuses on water and energy conservation,” the company said. “Our sustainable operations are specifically designed and managed to prevent adverse impacts to local area groundwater resources, particularly in light of California’s drought conditions over the past three years.”

Well, we all know that bottled water is widely known to be environmentally responsible and sustainable. Oh, wait, did I just say that? Nestlé, you got some ‘splainin’ to do!


Source
Little oversight as Nestle taps Morongo reservation water, The Desert Sun
Nestlé is bottling water straight from the heart of California’s drought, Salon

Samantha Larson is a science nerd, adventure enthusiast, and fellow at Grist. Follow her on Twitter.

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Nestlé doesn’t want you to know how much water it’s bottling from the California desert

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Thanks to shrinking sea ice, National Geographic puts global warming on the map

by rqu0hfl0 Posted on June 24, 2014

Atlas unshrugged

Thanks to shrinking sea ice, National Geographic puts global warming on the map

By

Every once in awhile, we reach a moment in history that so radically changes our concept of the world it forces us to redraw our maps — events like Columbus rediscovering America or the Soviet Union collapsing. Now we can add global warming to the list.

For the upcoming 10th edition of the National Geographic Atlas of the World, its cartographers say they have made one of the most visible changes in the publication’s history: it’ll show a lot less Arctic ice.

The loss of Arctic sea ice has been a glaring sign of climate change for the last thirty-some years. Rising temperatures have caused the ice to retreat by 12 percent per decade since the 1970s, with particularly notable setbacks in 2007 and 2012. Arctic sea ice is so responsive to climate change because of a positive feedback loop: As the ice melts it gets thinner, and because thin ice reflects less sun than thick ice, the ocean absorbs more of that heat – which weakens the ice even more.

None of which bodes well for the Arctic’s icy future. “With the trend that we are seeing now, it’s very likely that there will be a day within this century that there will no longer be ice in the arctic,” NASA scientist Josefino Comiso tells National Geographic.

NASAArctic sea ice minimum in September of 1979 and in September of 2011.

National Geographic’s mapmakers drew their new rendition based on how the Arctic looked in 2012, using sea ice data collected by NASA and NSIDC. While the amount of Arctic ice grows and shrinks throughout the year depending on the season, the Atlas depicts multiyear ice — ice that’s older than an year – in solid white, and the winter’s sea ice maximum is noted with a line drawn around it.

The new Atlas will be available on September 30. National Geographic cartographer Juan José Valdés thinks the changes may help convince more people of how real this whole climate change thing is: “Until you have a hard-copy map in your hand, the message doesn’t really hit home.” Hopefully, that’s true — but, then again, even the globe hasn’t done much to convince the Flat Earth Society.


Source
Shrinking Arctic Ice Prompts Drastic Change in National Geographic Atlas, National Geographic Daily News

Samantha Larson is a science nerd, adventure enthusiast, and fellow at Grist. Follow her on Twitter.

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Thanks to shrinking sea ice, National Geographic puts global warming on the map

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The five ways to stop climate change. Oh, wait, make that one way

by HeidiJVOzd Posted on June 6, 2014

The five ways to stop climate change. Oh, wait, make that one way

By

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Scientists confirm what we already know, but may not want to hear: there’s no magic method to stop climate change. A new study that analyzed the five leading strategies to prevent global warming found that, really, it all comes down to reducing global carbon emissions.

The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology in the Environment, ranks the strategies according to factors such as feasibility, risk, and cost. It suggests that, if we want to keep the planet closest to how we know it now, we should focus on No. 1. If, however, all you want is inspiration for your next cli-fi piece, No. 5 might be where it’s at.

Here they are, in order from best to worst:

  1. Reduce carbon emissions through improving energy efficiency, conserving usage, and adopting renewable energy sources. The study suggests that this is, by far, the top thing we need to do to stop global warming.
  1. Sequester more carbon by letting plants do their thing. Promote forest regrowth and stop clearcutting the Amazon, and trees will suck up more CO2 for us. Also, simple agricultural practices such as leaving leftover plant waste after harvest and allowing it to break back down into the soil will bury some more of that carbon back in the ground.
  1. Sequester carbon through capture and storage. One method is to capture CO2 before it’s released into the atmosphere and pump it underground. Problem is, this is expensive, and it could lead to dangerous leaks. “No one wants to live next to a huge underground pool of carbon dioxide that might suffocate them or their children — no matter how small the risk,” says the study’s lead author, Daniela Cusack, a professor of geography at UCLA.
  1. Sequester carbon by fertilizing the ocean. This would give phytoplankton a boost, which take in CO2 through photosynthesis, and then carry it to the bottom of the ocean when they die. But letting the algae run amuck would likely drive out other marine life, which could then create ugly worldwide impacts.
  1. Geoengineer to keep out some of that dang sunlight, by creating artificial clouds, or putting solar reflectors in outer space to keep the rays from getting down here. Because, if we reach a point where we’re this far down the list, we’re probably all sun-phobic zombies, anyway

The good news is, it sounds like we know what we need to do! The bad news is, we’re still not doing enough of it.


Source
No way around it: Reducing emissions will be the primary way to fight climate change, UCLA study finds, UCLA Newsroom
Here are the five best ways to fight climate change, ranked by scientists, Smithsonian.com

Samantha Larson is a science nerd, adventure enthusiast, and fellow at Grist. Follow her on Twitter.

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The five ways to stop climate change. Oh, wait, make that one way

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Meet the new California, where Paris Hilton isn’t cool but walking, biking, and transit are

by AlvaroZDDysb Posted on March 26, 2014

Dream of Californication

Meet the new California, where Paris Hilton isn’t cool but walking, biking, and transit are

By

Oleg

California was full of regrettable trends in the early aughts: Paris Hilton, Juicy Couture tracksuits, chockers, screamo, and, apparently, everyone driving 89 percent of the time. But a recent California Household Travel Survey shows some Golden State residents have thankfully traded in their Ugg boots for transit passes.

Californians now walk to their destination twice as much as they used to; the proportion of their trips made by foot is up from 8.4 percent in 2000 to 16.6 percent.

The study, which is based on the behavior of 109,000 people from more than 42,000 households over the course of 2012, also shows that more Californians are biking and using public transit to get around. In total, the amount of carless trips went from 11 percent in 2000 to 23 percent.

“Californians are increasingly choosing alternatives to driving a car for work and play,” Mart D. Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board, said in a recent press release. “That’s a shift with real benefits for public health that also cuts greenhouse gas emissions and smog-forming pollution.”

The Federal Highway Administration has the nation’s trips by foot growing from 8.9 percent in 2001 to 11.5 percent in 2009. We hope this means America is speed-walking to catch up with California, which is often thought of as the national trendsetter for all things green. And maybe the plans in action to get even more Californians to make the habit of low-emissions transit, through initiatives like the Active Transportation Program, will get the wheels turning elsewhere, too. The program plans to distribute $129 million to transportation projects that will get more people out walking and biking – they’re currently calling for proposals to apply to get a piece of the pie.

Next time you Los Angelenos out there find yourselves yet again stuck in standstill traffic on the 405, just think of the possibility that you could be out actually enjoying all that sunshine. Sometimes, it turns out that all you need is a good pair of shoes.

Samantha Larson is a science nerd, adventure enthusiast, and fellow at Grist. Follow her on Twitter.Find this article interesting? Donate now to support our work.Read more: Cities

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Meet the new California, where Paris Hilton isn’t cool but walking, biking, and transit are

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Sand-mine-happy Wisconsin mayor survives recall attempt

by FSZLazarots Posted on December 18, 2013

Sand-mine-happy Wisconsin mayor survives recall attempt

By

Carol Mitchell

A hill being excavated by frac-sand miners in Wisconsin. Watch out, horsie!

Sand, ho! Things are looking up for Vista Sand, a Texan sand-mining company that wants to excavate frac sand from hundreds of acres of farming land just outside the Wisconsin town of Glenwood City. And things are looking down for residents who don’t want their town turned into a mining mess to help out the fracking industry.

Mayor John Larson on Tuesday survived a recall attempt by opponents of the silica mine, with the latest unofficial results showing he secured 183 votes compared with the 140 votes garnered by his opponent. Once results are finalized, we expect he will waste no time in moving forward with efforts to annex the silica-rich land into town limits and allow the project to move forward. From Wisconsin Watch:

The controversy over the proposed mine, which led to the recall, pitted residents concerned about health and quality of life against others who say the mine could be run safely, bringing jobs and a better economic future to the community. The mine would be located a half mile south of the community’s sole school building.

“The recall election is a referendum,” Larson said before the election. “It’s a one-issue election, and so I guess we’ll see what the people say.”

Larson wasn’t the only public official whose support for the mine made him a recall target. Two city council members were also targeted, and they are both leading their challengers by three or fewer votes in unofficial results.


Source
Glenwood City incumbents lead in recall elections sparked by frac sand, Wisconsin Watch

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

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Sand-mine-happy Wisconsin mayor survives recall attempt

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