Thorn Wishes Talon posted:

this is a dumb loving take lol

given the choice between putting my life in the hands of a scientist vs a run-of-the-mill politician, i'll pick the scientist every time

Dokapon Findom posted:

The politician wants my vote next year

Dokapon Findom posted:

The scientist has no incentive to keep me around. The politician wants my vote next year

HAIL eSATA-n posted:

wow how strange and unexpected

Rauros posted:

can we put scientists in charge of the world instead of economists. scientists are nowhere near perfect, but it would be orders of magnitude better than the current leadership.

Trabisnikof posted:

quote:

Global decline in male fertility linked to common pesticides

Nix Panicus posted:

Good news! The cum crisis is a glimmer of hope on the horizon

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/global-decline-sperm-concentrations-linked-common-pesticides-rcna125164

Nix Panicus posted:

Good news! The cum crisis is a glimmer of hope on the horizon

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/global-decline-sperm-concentrations-linked-common-pesticides-rcna125164

SixteenShells posted:

It worked out okay in Centralia.

quote:

it's estimated that underground coal fires generate as much as 3% of the world's total annual CO2 emissions while consuming 5% of the planet's mineable coal.

quote:

In Jhaia, India, a series of coal mine fires have been burning since 1916, consuming about 40 million tons of coal and leaving 1.5 billion tons inaccessible. Researchers estimate that, if the fire continues to move at the current rate, the flames will persist for another 3,800 years.

Dokapon Findom posted:

Excited to move up a few plant hardiness levels... looking forward to growing cactus and palm trees

MightyBigMinus posted:

i've gone weirdly far down this road, tried to buy a bamboo farm in thailand.

Thorn Wishes Talon posted:

https://twitter.com/ProfBillMcGuire/status/1724756973063725344

Thorn Wishes Talon posted:

https://twitter.com/ProfBillMcGuire/status/1724756973063725344

gradenko_2000 posted:

https://twitter.com/caylenb/status/1725022298170937768

phys.org: New plant hardiness map, used by gardeners nationwide, is unveiled

Microplastics posted:

When life gives you lemon-growing zones, grow lemons. Duh

Microplastics posted:

When life gives you lemon-growing zones, grow lemons. Duh

Microplastics posted:

When life gives you lemon-growing zones, grow lemons. Duh

Hubbert posted:

Oops!

Even with assisted migration, climate change means that growing seasons are too volatile.

Also, the rate of anthropogenic climate change is occurring faster than the lifespans of these species to adapt!

Even the PETM gave the biosphere 20,000 years to work with!

mags posted:

it’s not that bad yet

mags posted:

it’s not that bad yet

Samuel Glompers posted:

It's crazy to think about what summer is gonna be like next year lol

mags posted:

hot?

Samuel Glompers posted:

It's crazy to think about what summer is gonna be like next year lol

quote:

Start with convenience. It is well-known that American cities are configured for vehicles, a process that began in the 1920s with the Model T. Car-centric urban designs became dominant throughout the country, involving wide roads, ample access to expressways and parking galore. To varying degrees, other countries have copied that model. Yet America has come closest to perfecting it.

quote:

In a paper released in August, supported by the World Bank,

quote:

a group of economists

quote:

examined road speeds in 152 countries. Unsurprisingly, wealthy countries outpace poor ones. And within the rich world, America is streets ahead: its traffic is about 27% faster than that of other members of the oecd club of mostly rich countries. Of the 20 fastest cities in the world, 19 are in America.

quote:

It is not that American roads are better in and of themselves. Rather, speed is a testament to America’s love affair with both suburbia and smaller towns that feel suburban. Compared with those in other OECD countries, American cities are 24% less populous, cover 72% more area and have 67% more large roads. All this enables drivers to zip around.

quote:

Driving speed shrinks distance. One fashionable concept among urban planners these days is the “15-minute city”, the goal of building neighbourhoods that let people get to work, school and recreation within 15 minutes by foot or bike. Many Americans may simply fail to see the need for this innovation, for they already live in 15-minute cities, so long, that is, as they get around by car. Most of the essentials—groceries, school, restaurants, parks, doctors and more—are a quick drive away for suburbanites.

quote:

The car’s ubiquity has another rarely appreciated benefit.

quote:

A recent study by Lucas Conwell of Yale University and colleagues examined urban regions in America and Europe. They calculated “accessibility zones”, defined as the area from which city centres can be readily reached. Although European cities have better public transport, American cities are on the whole more accessible. Consider the size of accessibility zones 15-30 minutes from city centres. If using public transport, the average is 34 square kilometres in America versus 63 square kilometres in Europe. If using private cars, the difference is much starker: 1,160 square kilometres in America versus 430 square kilometres in Europe.

quote:

it is precisely such accessibility that has put larger homes and quieter streets within reach for a remarkably wide cross-section of the country. In his analysis of the census from 2020, William Frey of the Brookings Institution, a think-tank, showed that suburbia has become far more diverse over the years. In 1990 roughly 20% of suburbanites were non-white. That rose to 30% in 2000 and 45% in 2020.

quote:

Not that cars are a panacea. Owning or renting one costs plenty of money, and is an especially big burden for the working poor. It is therefore common to hear laments in American cities about the sorry state of mass transit. Yet this general perception, though widespread, is not entirely accurate. Even if primarily built for private cars, roads are a shared resource and can be viewed as the “tracks” for buses.

quote:

In their study Mr Conwell and his colleagues conclude that bus-based transportation in America is surprisingly effective: public-transit options between distant suburbia and city centres are roughly comparable in America and Europe. Although America could do more to improve its bus services within its urban cores, the crucial point is that cities designed for cars can also support mass transit.