Blogs
A warm welcome to Tara LaForce, whose blog A question of energy began on Nature Network this week. Tara is a researcher in a CO2 storage research group at Imperial College and has previously worked with Lou Woodley and Joanna Scott organising a series of lectures in Second Life on low carbon energy. Her first post Love miles and carbon credits considers the moral dilemmas associated with the carbon footprint you accumulate when travelling to see loved ones over the festive period:
. … So, what is an ardent supporter of low-carbon lifestyles to do about my love miles? Enter carbon offsetting. It turns out that there is a quick, easy and relatively cheap way that I can assuage my guilt for emitting 1.7 tonnes of CO2 into the upper atmosphere (where CO2 has an even larger green-house gas effect) for the selfish purpose of watching my little nieces open their presents on Christmas morning.
In the run up to Christmas we have had other fittingly themed blog posts. In her Christmas tree debate Barbara Ferreira elucidates that it’s actually more environmentally friendly to have a real Christmas tree than an artificial one while GrrlScientist has been discussing The Psychology behind Wrapping Paper, and whether it increases the perceived value of the gift it contains.
Elsewhere, Kausik Datta is In two minds… about BioEthics and has sparked an engaging debate on the topic. Linda Lin has been discussing the types of Eco-Friendly electronics that are currently on offer, pinpointing where the gaps in the market are:
How about a climate change watch that sort of tells you when..erm…
Eric-Wubbo Lameijer examines the differences between Einstein and Edison, illustrating how we can learn from both of them, despite their stark differences. In line with this learning theme Wilson Pok considers the Value of a PhD, and Mico Tatalovic has been discussing the pros and cons to the RELATE project which encourages the training of Science journalists.
In other news
This week we’ve finally introduced the option for bloggers to track their stats via Google Analytics. To find out how to do this, please check the instructions in the private bloggers forum or email the team at network@nature.com.
This week we also bid farewell to steffi suhr. We wish her well in her new home and thank her for all of her contributions to Nature Network.
And finally …..
The last word (and picture) goes to the reigning champion, Viktor Poór, who this week gave us another holiday themed special.
Merry Christmas to everyone – enjoy the festive season from all the Nature Network team.