Can scientists learn good storytelling from South Park? Randy Olson, a marine biologist turned filmmaker, argues that they can. He had a key insight as a storyteller, he writes in his latest book, while watching a documentary about the creation of a single South Park episode. Read more >
Aaron's Latest Posts
Defrosting the Climate Debate: 11 Congressional Republicans Endorse Climate Action
September 17, 2015 11:04 AM EDT
Responding to climate change shouldn’t be a partisan issue. Eleven Republican members of Congress, led by Rep. Chris Gibson (R-N.Y.), just demonstrated that this morning, when they introduced a resolution that put the climate challenge in the broader context of conservation, stewardship, innovation, and conservatism. Read more >
Transparency is Great, Harassment is Worth Preventing: A Response to Paul Thacker and Charles Seife
August 14, 2015 1:46 PM EDT
Transparency is in everyone’s interest. Harassing scientists is not. So where should we draw the line when politicians use their investigatory powers to target scientists or when corporations and ideological interest groups use open records requests to harass researchers at public institutions? Read more >
How News Outlets Factchecked the U.S. Chamber’s Flawed Clean Power Plan Numbers
August 12, 2015 2:42 PM EDT
What should journalists do when powerful institutions and politicians mangle and manipulate information about climate and energy issues? One of our intrepid researchers took a look at a particularly notorious example: last year’s U.S. Chamber of Commerce analysis of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan. His findings suggest some important lessons for critically examining claims around complex climate and energy policies, especially as states move forward with reducing emissions under the EPA plan. Read more >
Shell Leaves ALEC, Improves Consistency on Climate Lobbying
August 7, 2015 4:24 PM EDT
Shell has told several journalists that it will sever ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a U.S.-based lobbying group that spreads misinformation about climate science and tries to roll back clean energy polices. According to Shell, ALEC’s stance on climate change “is clearly inconsistent with our own.”
It’s not often that you hear science policy advocates say things like, “Woohoo!” but this one of them. (Another was earlier this week, when the EPA finalized its Clean Power Plan.) Read more >