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Galaxies in Collision

Here's a depressing thought: before this solar system of ours ceases to be, the Milky Way in which we ride will collide with the Andromeda Galaxy, currently only 2.5 million light years away and closing fast. And to make matters...

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May 14, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (6)

The Race for a Clean Car

Ten years ago I interviewed an engaging young engineer named Chris Borroni-Bird, then at Chrysler, whose area of expertise was fuel cells. He said to me, “There’s every reason to expect that this technology could be affordable and competitive with...

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May 11, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (10)

Cashing in on Tragedy

The AP sent a story about Virginia Tech that may make your blood boil. According to the piece, by Kristen Gelineau, tragedy is bringing out a virtual version of the worst in some people: they're buying up domain names on...

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May 10, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (5)

Subtropical Storm Andrea

It's a bit early for this--the National Hurricane Center only planned its 2007 outlook for May 22--but there's already a named storm off the Florida-Georgia coast: SUBTROPICAL STORM ANDREA ADVISORY NUMBER 1 NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL012007 1100...

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May 9, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (3)

The Problem with Ethanol

Lester Brown was the first to bring it up. Brown, a longtime environmental activist, heads the Earth Policy Institute in Washington. Earlier this year, he was warning that the surge in interest in ethanol as a fuel of the future...

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May 8, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (8)

The Deadliest Year in This Decade

This is the worst year for tornadoes -- by several measures -- since 1999, and there's been a gradual, unsteady increase in the number of tornadoes reported since the middle of the 20th century. I called the National Weather Service,...

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May 7, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (6)

Anyone Have the Time?

Do you feel as if there aren't enough hours in the day? Then you have one more reason to worry about global climate change. First, the serious part of this: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is now out with...

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May 4, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (6)

The Top 25 Web Hoaxes

PC World is out with a list of what it condsiders the 25 most infamous hoaxes and pranks ever spread over the Internet. Some are funny, some are awful, and all had some success. "Perhaps you even believed one or...

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May 4, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (2)

Walter M. Schirra, Jr., USN (Ret.)

When I was a little kid I wanted to be Wally Schirra. He seemed so cool. He laughed his way through the dangers of spaceflight. He and his Apollo 7 crew mates posed for LIFE with silk scarves around their...

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May 3, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (3)

The Heavens, In All Their Glory

HubbleSite.org, the web site that carries images from the Hubble telescope, passes on word that it's won a Webby Award, which is a sort of Emmy for the Internet. The site is run by the Space Telescope Science Institute in...

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May 2, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (5)