We (the CSAG “seniors”) were having one of those informal lunch discussions (lounging around tables in the courtyard, surreptitiously eyeing each other’s food, talking a mixture of philosophy, fun, and frivolity). The topic morphed to the role of climate scientist’s activism in the public sphere. The subsequent vigorous debate suggests it was a sensitive point… Read more »
The evidence is mounting that an environmental catastrophe will unfold on the eastern slopes of Devil’s Peak. The soil and water in the area appear to have become contaminated with a potentially very dangerous substance (Substance X), although significant uncertainty still exists regarding the distribution of the substance and its concentration, as well as the… Read more »
25 years of sustained research and the IPCC continues to state with ever increasing confidence that climate change is here and here to stay. The worry now (if at all you are worried) is not on whether climate change is occurring but rather on how to mitigate and/or adapt. If you live in a low… Read more »
The recent slowdown in global warming is becoming a hot topic among climate scientists, skeptics of human caused global warming and policy makers. Recent analyses indicate that the rate of warming in observed global temperatures has not been as high in the last decade as it was in the previous two decades. Following this, climate… Read more »
So it’s the carbon-footprint season… First Smaug the dragon, then CSAGer, the climate scientist. Time for another monster – the cyclist. Why? I cycle to work. And nothing makes one’s day better than an opportunity to feel smug about his or her contribution to resolving one of the most daring challenges that society faces today…. Read more »
At the end of last year I decided it would be interesting to calculate CSAG’s annual carbon footprint. Though it is simple enough to do a back-of-the-envelope calculation, I wanted to be a little more accurate and, as I soon discovered, it is by no means a straightforward task. Anyhow, after persistently emailing CSAG staff… Read more »
December 2013 saw the release of the second instalment of the film adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien novel, The Hobbit. The events of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug are set some 60 years prior to Lord of the Rings, and chronicles the quest of Bilbo Baggins and Co. to rid Lonely Mountain from the dragon… Read more »
I hope you all had a merry Christmas and that you are starting a happy/fulfilling new year. I spent Christmas in France (yes I am still French, for those who cannot detect my accent any more 😉 ) and it happens that among my nieces and nephew, two are getting ready for matric next year,… Read more »
“So what are you going to do after your studies?” is a question I am often faced with as a Ph.D. student nearing the end of my degree. It’s most certainly not an easy one to answer. The longer I take in a conversation to articulate it, the more concerned the person asking me generally… Read more »