Is Houston the epicenter of anti-science?

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Food for thought.

Back later with our take after some fun on Not on the origin of species, but the origin of life over at our favorite Houston science blog, SciGuy.

Won't you join Eric Berger (the SciGuy moderator) & the rest of us? Pewfuls of anti-science guaranteed.
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The United States of Science

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Our great nation is on the verge of another historic turning point where sound economics and sound science can vault our technology rapidly forward into the natural universe of our planet & beyond.

When future American economic and science historians assess the course of the nation in the early 21st century, they might well identify February 1, 2010, as a landmark date.

Incentivizing commercial space ventures will fuel innovation & accelerate our exploration & colonization of other planets, as did commercial enterprise 500 years ago the exploration & colonization of the New World.

The Bush administration’s cheap public relations gimmick, which touted a return to the Moon without substantial benefits for science, has been dropped in favor of commercial ventures for manned spaceflight and new technological development to provide a lunar source of rocket fuel and other innovations. This is sound economics and sound science—and an example of trimming government spending even in the science sector when cuts are warranted.

Young Americans everywhere are ready once again to follow the revolutionary spirit of the enlightened founders of this great American experiment and put reason before religion & partisan politics to become born-again as The United States of Science.

We’ve observed in Science Progress on several occasions that the founders of our country appreciated the new nation’s need for strength in science, oftentimes more than some of their benighted successors in government. That’s why it is encouraging that we have a president and an administration with a vision in the founders’ spirit. Now Congress needs to do its job to ensure that the United States of Science rescues America—and perhaps the assumptions behind the global stability on which we depend—from a decade of financial mismanagement.

Out with the old, in with the young. That's the nature of homo sapiens sapiens & his ancestors, and perhaps, other intelligent species out there wondering.

SciGuy re: "The outcome was preordained when Obama was elected"
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Munich Re knows climate change risk.

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Don't know what kind of climate change denial insurers are slinging across Texas bayous, but the CEO of Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurer, sure doesn't have his head stuck in the barrier island sand.

Climate change is a fact, and it is almost entirely made by man. It is jointly responsible for the rise in severe weather-related natural disasters, since the weather machine is “running in top gear”. The figures speak for themselves: according to data gathered by Munich Re, weather-related natural catastrophes have produced US$ 1,600bn in total losses since 1980, and climate change is definitely a significant contributing factor. We assume that the annual loss amount attributable to climate change is already in the low double-digit billion euro range. And the figure is bound to rise dramatically in future.

And if we don't get it together, climate catastrophe is just around the corner.

We need a strict climate agreement, and we need it fast. Climate change is a global problem and a challenge for humankind. If the players do nothing but pursue their national interests, we are headed for a climate catastrophe.

And Munich Re ain't no lonely voice crying in the wilderness.

Insurance companies, acutely aware of the dramatic increase in losses caused by natural disasters in recent decades, have been convinced that global warming is partly to blame. Now their data seem to be persuading scientists, too. At a recent meeting of climate and insurance experts, delegates reached a cautious consensus: climate change is helping to drive the upward trend in catastrophes. Insurers' disaster files suggest climate is culprit

As the United States Global Change Research Project has found, infrastructure & property in South Texas & along the gulf are especially vulnerable to ever rising sea levels & more powerful storm surges. KEY FINDING: Widespread climate-related impacts are occurring now and are expected to increase.

6. Coastal areas are at increasing risk from sea-level rise and storm surge. Sea-level rise and storm surge place many U.S. coastal areas at increasing risk of erosion and flooding, especially along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts.... Energy and transportation infrastructure and other property in coastal areas are very likely to be adversely affected. USGCRP) Scientific Assessments - Key Findings

Joe Romm @ UH 1/23/10 @ 6pm

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If you're crusin' Clear Lake tonight, ya don't wanna miss Dr. Joe Romm at the University of Houston-Clear Lake tonight at 6 pm.

It should be very educational, if not entertaining to the locals. Can Houston Survive Inaction on Climate Change?
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