Category Archives: Science

“[Trump’s] speech was packed with make-believe numbers from controversial or disproven studies. It was hypocritical and dishonest.”

Der Spiegel: Paris Disagreement Donald Trump’s Triumph of Stupidity. “German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other G-7 leaders did all they could to convince Trump to remain part of the Paris Agreement. But he didn’t listen. Instead, he evoked deep-seated nationalism and plunged the West into a conflict deeper than any since World War II.” By SPIEGEL Staff.

“Renewable energies, said the chancellor [Angela Merkel], present significant economic opportunities. “If the world’s largest economic power were to pull out, the field would be left to the Chinese,” she warned. Xi Jinping is clever, she added, and would take advantage of the vacuum it created. Even the Saudis were preparing for the post-oil era, she continued, and saving energy is also a worthwhile goal for the economy for many other reasons, not just because of climate change.

But Donald Trump remained unconvinced. No matter how trenchant the argument presented by the increasingly frustrated group of world leaders, none of them had an effect. “For me,” the U.S. president said, “it’s easier to stay in than step out.” But environmental constraints were costing the American economy jobs, he said. And that was the only thing that mattered. Jobs, jobs, jobs.

At that point, it was clear to the rest of those seated around the table that they had lost him. Resigned, Macron admitted defeat. “Now China leads,” he said.”

“Besides, there’s also the odd business of bog butter.”

Smithsonian.com: Europe’s Famed Bog Bodies Are Starting to Reveal Their Secrets. “High-tech tools divulge new information about the mysterious and violent fates met by these corpses.”

“A wooden post was planted to mark the spot where two brothers, Viggo and Emil Hojgaard, along with Viggo’s wife, Grethe, all from the nearby village of Tollund, struck the body of an adult man while they cut peat with their spades on May 6, 1950. The dead man wore a belt and an odd cap made of skin, but nothing else. Oh yes, there was also a plaited leather thong wrapped tightly around his neck. This is the thing that killed him. His skin was tanned a deep chestnut, and his body appeared rubbery and deflated. Otherwise, Tollund Man, as he would be called, looked pretty much like you and me, which is astonishing considering he lived some 2,300 years ago.”

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Marsch für die Wissenschaft

Zeit online: March for Science: Weil es keine Alternative zu Fakten gibt. “Trump und der Brexit haben sie alarmiert: Forscher weltweit demonstrieren gegen Wissenschaftsfeindlichkeit und “alternative Fakten”. Auch in Berlin sind es Tausende.” Von Saskia Gerhard, Berlin.

“Den Unglauben gegenüber der Wissenschaft sieht der Physiker auch bei Populisten, wenn sie gegen Eliten wettern und die Forscher miteinbeziehen. “Aber auch in der linksliberalen Ecke spürt man heftige Skepsis, zum Beispiel bei den Impfgegnern.” Es sei schwierig, dagegen zu halten, denn diese Gruppen ließen sich durch Fakten nicht überzeugen. “Sie glauben an ihre eigene Wahrheit und vereinzelt finden sie sogar Experten, die sich auf ihre Seite stellen. Die werden dann immer wieder hervorgehoben, obwohl sie eine kleine Minderheit sind.”
[…]
In Deutschland hat der Marsch eine andere Bedeutung als in den USA, glaubt Klaus Jäger. “Wir marschieren hier aus Solidarität und um zu zeigen: Wir sind da. In den USA hat das eine andere Dimension, da wird ein Klimaskeptiker an die Spitze der Environmental Protection Agency, der amerikanischen Umweltschutzbehörde, gesetzt und Forschungsfreiheit beschnitten.””