The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – Science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein believed in the benefits of racial diversity on human evolution and society, fought for sexual freedom in his life in the great 20th century, and worried about the threat posed by corrupt politicians and governments to individual liberty.…
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Trump administration, led by Elon’s Musk’s DOGE team of hackers and aided by complicit Republicans in Congress, is engaged in a war on science like nothing anyone has ever seen in American history. The administration is threatening to cut the federal budget for the National Aeronautics and…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rather than changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, if Trump is allowed to continue transforming this country as he has tried to do in his first 100 days back in the White House, we might as well…
By Daniel Rothberg for ProPublica and Dayvid Figler, City Cast Las Vegas – Elon Musk’s Boring Company spent years pitching cities on a novel solution to traffic, an underground transportation system to whisk passengers through tunnels in electric vehicles. Proposals in Illinois and California fizzled after officials and the public began scrutinizing details of the…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — Space exploration occupies some of my thoughts of late. Wonder what’s become of Voyager 1? The first of its kind space probe launched in 1977 when I was right out of high school? Is it out there somewhere past Pluto, still transmitting? This is the…
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — On two fronts the imaginations of those who write science fiction are gradually coming into raw focus. For those who see the world spinning toward life-ending apocalypse, look no further than the very “cradle of civilization,” home to the Garden of Eden in the Bible, according to some…
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — All things being stable, the United States of America will launch a rocket to the moon this Wednesday for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, 50 years ago. While many critics say the billions of dollars being spent on this Artemis moon mission that…
When the Brook Trout Leaps – By Anonymous – The slender dew-tipped grasses are trembling in the breeze, The east is blushing rosy red beneath the Sun’s caress, The wild rose bends to kiss the stream—but only Nature sees, And the reed-harps play weird music just above the water cress. The quail is calling loudly…
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — There is a story lurking in the woods near here that may be a very real on the ground test of whether humans have a chance to save the planet, whether the United States will play a very real key role in this effort, and whether Democrats are…
Staff Report – WASHINGTON, D.C. – Vice President Kamala Harris is taking a leadership role in guiding United States policy in space, signaling that the focus of the Biden-Harris administration is going to be on the peaceful exploration of space and using our best minds in science, technology, engineering and math to help tackle the…
By Glynn Wilson – A half a million dead. So far, more Americans perished from COVID-19 than on all the battlefields of World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War combined. And before it’s all over, maybe near the end of summer, the number will most likely surpass the number of dead in…
Scientists are reporting the hottest November on record – By Glynn Wilson – KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — It’s a bit hard to write about the latest news on global warming and climate change when your fingers are just cold enough for the arthritis itch to tingle in your knuckles, the temperature gauge outside says it’s well…
Part II: How Existential Anxiety Leads to Authoritarianism – Case Studies: Donald Trump and George Wallace By Glynn Wilson – Introduction Donald Trump has fired all the scientists in the White House. He’s made working conditions in the federal agencies so intolerable that many smart, educated people have simply quit. That seems to be by…
Yes, the global warming is caused by human activities – By Glynn Wilson – The science is in. Yes, planet Earth is still growing hotter, and 2019 was the second hottest year since records have been kept beginning in 1880. And yes, the global warming is caused by humans burning fossil fuels for energy. There…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – Hey, I’m as big a science geek and science fiction fan as anyone else. The announcement by NASA of a plan to go back to the moon and on to Mars should be a moment for excitement and an occasion for national and human pride. So why…
By Glynn Wilson – One day before U.S. President Donald J. Trump blinked and caved into demands by Democrats in Congress to reopen the federal government with no agreement on funding for his ill-conceived border wall, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists board met in Chicago and kept the hands on the Doomsday Clock set…
By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — As we wait for a massive storm that could dump seven inches of rain here to make it over from New Orleans, this is a good time to talk about the upcoming hurricane season of 2018 and the latest science news about global warming and climate change. Climate…
By Glynn Wilson – One of the most disheartening facts about the Trump administration’s policies to the millions of Americans who care deeply about the Earth’s natural environment is the outright war on the planet being waged by President Donald Trump and his cabinet. A couple of new stories just out demonstrate the problem, and…
By Patrick Lynch – In spite of restrictions by the Trump administration not to talk about global warming or using the terminology of “climate change,” the scientists and public relations folks at NASA have come up with a way to continue the research and show us the results. NASA research shows that permafrost — permanently frozen…
By Glynn Wilson – Why is the Arctic warming faster than the rest of the planet? Does mineral dust warm or cool the atmosphere? These are actual questions just out from NASA about an ongoing research program. While the Trump administration has banished the use of the term climate change or global warming from the…
