Primordial Blog: What the Bible Really Says – Cosmology

What is a firmament, anyway? Brian at Primordial Blog explains What the Bible Really Says about Cosmology.

Primordial Blog

There’s a new science blog from Canada’s Yukon. I’ve never been there, but I had cousins who grew up in the Yukon and my uncle ended his days not too long ago at a cabin that was “a 45-minute flight from Watson Lake.” It’s a long way away and a chilly climate.

Welcome Brian!

An inconvenient question: What is Earth’s energy balance?

Robert Park points out that the answer to the question, “What is Earth’s energy balance?” is crucial to predicting the speed of global warming. We don’t actually know the answer. And the means to find out is gathering dust:

The Earth’s albedo, or reflectivity, is fundamental to global climate. We don’t know what it is. The only instrument capable of measuring and continuously monitoring the albedo is the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR). Already built and paid for, it sits in a warehouse at Goddard SFC waiting to be delivered to the Lagrange-1 point, about a million miles in the direction of the sun. We understand why President Bush may not like DSCOVR. But not much has been heard from Congress or the public.

I love the disclaimer:

” Opinions are the author’s and are not necessarily shared by the University of Maryland, but they should be.”

Florida tornado kills 17 whooping cranes

I’m happy that whooping crane numbers have climbed to about 200. But almost 10% of them were killed in the recent tornadoes in Florida. As long as there is a small population in very local areas, they are vulnerable. The initial loss was thought to be 18 juvenile whooping cranes, but one survivor has been found. You can read the news by following the link.

The Florida population is actually transplanted from the initial group of survivors in Texas.

U.S. President bypasses Congress to muzzle agencies

Sigh. Nick Anthis at the Scientific Activist quotes the New York Times:

President Bush has signed a directive that gives the White House much greater control over the rules and policy statements that the government develops to protect public health, safety, the environment, civil rights and privacy.

In an executive order published last week in the Federal Register, Mr. Bush said that each agency must have a regulatory policy office run by a political appointee, to supervise the development of rules and documents providing guidance to regulated industries. The White House will thus have a gatekeeper in each agency to analyze the costs and the benefits of new rules and to make sure the agencies carry out the president’s priorities.

Read Nick’s article for details and commentary.