May 2011

How To Get Rid Of Ants Without Poisons

With the unofficial start of summer, the never-ending war resumes—as millions of armored and armed invaders break into our homes and endure devastating chemical counterattacks.
“Endure” is just the right verb, scientists say, for the long-term…

"The training wheels are off!" promised the admiral at the helm of a Tennessee company that has resumed production of nuclear fuel for the Navy after two incidents in 2009 shut the plant down.
Subsequent inspections turned up falsified inspection…

Prius Engineer Takes Spin In Driverless Car And Sees The Future
Toyota Builds Tiny Car to Partner With Zipcar—Or Someone—On Car Sharing
It’s not a new idea—the automated car—but it’s not everyday that it’s embraced by an engineer who has already…

Sharpening its focus on drillers that use hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas from deep shale formations, the Environmental Protection Agency directed six firms drilling in Pennsylvania to disclose what they do with contaminated water…

After suffering a punishing year because of low natural gas prices, the wind power industry is keeping close watch on the prospect that water pollution from hydraulic fracturing may lead to regulation of shale gas drilling.
"That is, I think, the big…

You've heard the bad news: that scientists have linked hydraulic fracturing of shale—a method crucial to the extraction of vast reserves of natural gas in the United States—to increased levels of methane in adjacent drinking water wells.
Now the good…

Media, Sensationalism and Media Sensationalism

Lauren Berlant speaking on media sensationalism? I couldn’ t miss that. So I found my way to the University of Chicago’s Gleacher Center to have a listen. Only to find out I’d overlooked the comma between media and sensationalism.
Lauren Berlant is…

The United States can generate the power equivalent of seven new nuclear reactors by upgrading its current fleet, according to the Department of Energy.
DOE took an important step last week toward increasing the power output and extending the life of…

Juliana Baggott wrote a smart and calm defense of the Osama bin Laden death celebration for NPR last week. Americans should be free to release their fear, she contends: their cheering shows they are paying attention, are emotionally invested, and are…