Tag Archives: Science

Conflicts and Navigation

The perspective of sustainability that I have advocated in the last three blogs was aimed toward the horizon and focused on maintaining equilibrium with the physical environment. I proposed reaching this equilibrium through a combination of recycling our resources, a … Continue reading

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Economic Growth and Problems With My Sourdough Bread.

One of the three conditions that I have previously (blogs January 28 and February 4) identified as necessary for sustainable society is that we must maintain equilibrium with the physical environment. Merriam Webster dictionary defines equilibrium in the following way: … Continue reading

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Sustainability – Through the Horizon

In the future we are all dead…the idea of the future being different from the present is so repugnant to our conventional modes of thoughts and behavior that we, most of us, offer a great resistance to acting on it … Continue reading

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The Physics of Sustainability

Here is a key paragraph from  President Obama’s inauguration speech on Monday, January 21st. 2013: For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling … Continue reading

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Where is our Tipping Point?

The spring semester is about to start. I am preparing to teach a new course on Physics & Society. I was chatting about the new course with a friend – a distinguished physicist. His comment was – don’t “forget” to … Continue reading

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Happy New Year: We are Now Part of Nature

My intention was for this to be a very positive blog, focusing on what I have learned during 2012 from my students and all the commentators that posted their comments on this blog, emailed me directly their comments or expressed … Continue reading

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A Stuttering Energy Transition

Figure 1 The EIA (Energy Information Administration) data (see October 15 blog) clearly shows that the US is in the midst of an energy transition. It may not be exactly the one needed to mitigate climate change – but we’re … Continue reading

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Vive La France

The Festival of Lights in Lyon, France, expresses gratitude to Mary, mother of Jesus, on December 8 every year. My French 2nd cousin who lives in Paris emailed me that this year, one central display, shown below, was being powered … Continue reading

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Two Shades of Audience

Over the last two weeks, I was invited to give two different talks. One was to take place as part of another school’s Physics Department’s seminar program, and the other as part of an Economics Student Club at my own … Continue reading

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Tackling Environmental Justice: Sovereign State against the Individual.

Last week, I started the discussion of how developing countries can contribute to alleviating anthropogenic (human caused) climate change.  The main goal is to mitigate climate change by achieving a global agreement to transition to more sustainable energy choices. I … Continue reading

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