As a holiday treat, I’m re-releasing an old article about climate science in Antarctica.
Follow this link to read “Predictions from the edge of the world,” a profile of NOAA scientist Mitch Bushuk I wrote in college.
Happy holidays!
Tag: Science
Read “The Duel Doctor in Weehawken” in Princeton Alumni Weekly
Curious about the connection between the Hamilton-Burr duel, grave-robbing, the US’s first botanical garden, and Rockefeller Center?
Today, Dr. David Hosack is mostly known as the attendant doctor during the Hamilton-Burr duel, a role which overshadowed his career as a leading American physician and botanical pioneer.
Read my latest piece in Princeton Alumni Weekly about David Hosack, one of America’s “founding physicians.”
Art by Daniel Hertzberg for PAW.
Read “The Gathering Silence” in Anthroposphere
Why is climate change so hard to write about?
Half a century ago, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring catalyzed the budding environmental movement. Since then, most environmental communicators, particularly those dealing with climate change, have followed the rhetorical model of Silent Spring.
But Silent Spring is a terrible model for talking about climate change. In my essay for Anthroposphere: The Oxford Climate Review, I explain why that is—and what might be necessary to change the way we talk about climate change.
Available in print for purchase on Anthroposphere’s web site, and now available online at this link.
Many thanks to the editors from The Oxford Climate Society at Oxford University for making this article possible.
Read “Seven sci-fi models for the Space Force” on Medium
On August 9, Vice President Mike Pence announced that the U.S. will proceed with President Trump’s plan to create the United States Space Force, the sixth branch of the U.S. military. As you might guess, the announcement was met with controversy.
It’s a good thing that we have so many sci-fi stories that have considered the possibility of the militarization of space. In this blog post, I look at seven sci-fi stories with different takes on what a real-life Space Force might entail.
Earth science history exhibition featured at Princeton Research Day on May 10, 2018
On May 10, 2018, I had the pleasure of presenting a poster entitled “Rocks all the way down: The earthshaking history of Princeton mineralogy” at the 3rd annual Princeton Research Day event.
Charting the history of Princeton mineral and earth science from the early American republic to today, “Rocks all the way down” showcases how mineralogy both formed the foundation and ongoing continuity of earth science at Princeton. And given Princeton’s place in several scientific revolutions over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, it is a fundamentally important story that explains how and why we came to better understand the natural world.
The effort is part of a project funded by the Princeton University Department of Geosciences, to be eventually published in article form.
At “PRD,” it was wonderful to connect with so many members of the Princeton community in discussing the University’s rich history in the earth sciences.
You can view the poster below; featured photo is courtesy of Georgette Chalker.
Harrison Blackman 