By Clark A. Miller For three decades, the US has looked at carbon emissions as if they wereThe Little Engine That Couldn’t.” The problem was basically too big a mountain to try to cross. Science magazine reported in 1997, as…

This is Video 2 of a seven part series. Click here for Video 1. Video 2: The Tomato Picker  About the videos: To be an informed citizen one must not only follow the obvious social issues like taxes, international relations,…

This is Video 1 of a 7 video series. Check back for the rest.  Video 1: Three Big Ideas.  About the videos: To be an informed citizen one must not only follow the obvious social issues like taxes, international relations,…

Left: A cartoon by Peter Steiner, published by The New Yorker on 5 July 1993 Right: A cartoon by Merlyna Lim, 2012…

By Daniel Sarewitz, Click here for a previous entry on museums. The Enola Gay is quite beautiful, in a sort of 1950s-futuristic way:  restored to mint condition, it is all shiny aluminum and glass, sleek and efficient.  It hangs from…

By Eric Kennedy, This post has been updated from its previous version.  Conversations about innovation in the United States are rife with the adversarial language of exceptionalism. Take, for example, a recent article by Gary Shapiro, the CEO of the…

I have spent much of the last six months traveling. I’ve been in countless airports and train stations and I’m continually frustrated. No, it’s not the passport controls or security checks or baggage scans. It’s the bathroom sinks.  At least…

By Daniel Sarewitz, This is the first in a series on big data and its impact on society from CSPO co-director Daniel Sarewitz. Check back in 2013 for his next post.  Advances in real-time data acquisition, processing, and display technologies…

A professor of mine when I was in graduate school commented that one could more openly and objectively discuss the Arab-Israeli conflict in a café in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv than in the United States.  Teaching courses on the Middle…