This cool moving chart shows health expenditures per capita in the highest spending nations. The US is not always number one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxGIjfogXCA&t=86s

I currently teach freshman biology for science majors where between 30-50% of the students drop the class or get less than a C. The problem is not only academic unreadiness, it is lack of self-awareness: Many have no clue as to how unready they are for science or health-related fields. Shockingly, some of them repeat the class and fail this class three times in a row! I shared this article with them to give them some much needed perspective. I stumbled on it by accident when ...

While I have a great deal of respect for Bjorn Lomborg, I would like to see an itemized chart showing how he came to the conclusion that electric vehicles are more polluting than those that rely on internal combustion engines. Beyond the obvious fact that electric cars are only as clean as the means whereby the electricity is generated, Lomborg does bring up the overlooked issue of battery life and the resources needed for their manufacture and disposal. The fact that recharg...

In the past, I gave some tips on teaching about fuel cells. The main advantage of fuels cells over rechargeable batteries is energy density: Rechargeable batteries must carry with them all components of the oxidation-reduction reaction that generates current. In contrast, fuel cells vehicles are lighter because (like combustion engines) they only need to transport the reducing agent (what is referred to in plain English as “fuel”). Unfortunately, most fuel cells only run ...

In downtown Houston there is a 6-mile network of underground tunnels and second story catwalks that allow pedestrians to walk to many popular buildings without experiencing the summer heat. I often made use of these between the classes I taught at the University of Houston, not because I could not tolerate the heat, but because it allowed me to walk indefinitely without having to cross any streets. Many of these tunnels had shops, restaurants, and spaces for art, so there was...

This interview of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s director Alan Girard hits close to home because I live only 40 minutes from this important estuary. Much concern has been raised due to Governor Hogan’s easing of regulations addressing nutrient runoff into the Bay. However, what mainly caught my attention was how Girard singled out the use of manure fertilization as a very significant source of nutrient pollution into the bay. Traditionally, organic fertilizers (like manure) were regarded...

I like both mountains and ocean shores, but if I have to choose one I prefer the ocean. A new study implies that introverts prefer mountains and extraverts prefer the seaside. Apparently this preference is related to the likelihood of socializing in the given environment since mountains are regarded as more “secluded” (this probably rules out skiing resorts). I am not an introvert, but I do prefer secluded beaches because of their natural beauty, especially if there are s...

Grain prices are dramatically lower due to high yields and lower demand for ethanol fuel. I have never been a fan of setting aside land to grow biofuels, and I have always regarded the ethanol mandate (for putting ethanol in gasoline) as a particularly egregious example of politicians implementing bad policies just to buy votes. While I feel for tenant farmers struggling to pay the rent, they partly have themselves to blame for their participation in this charade. 

Without a major technological breakthrough, no country will sacrifice its economy to reduce its carbon emissions in a large way. Hence, nothing short of a world government along the lines of that in North Korea can make this happen now, and most people (like myself) prefer to take chances with global warming than live like the North Koreans. Consequently, some environmentalist prescribe geoengineering as a means to offset anthropogenic climate change. This article cautions ag...

While on the topic of my activity using the WHO database, I will relate this to the recent measles outbreak in the U.S. Based on this article, “herd immunity” kicks in at about 92-94%. Shockingly, some counties of California have immunization rates is as low as 18-23%. Evidently, some people in these counties feel they can “afford” to refuse vaccination because of their access to first rate medical care in the event that their children are stricken. This is not the ca...

This article highlights the cost-effectiveness of subsidizing modern stoves (such as gas or electric) in order to phase out solid fuels like firewood and dung. The devastating effect of indoor pollution from solid fuels has been thoroughly documented by the WHO.  In one of my lab activities (2-5: Risk Factors and Health Outcomes in Africa) students compile raw data from the WHO interactive website. This culminates in a graph with solid fuel use on the x-axis and childhood dea...

Some of you may recall the book/movie Jurassic Park, where biotechnologists cloned dinosaurs from DNA samples extracted from ancient mosquitoes preserved in amber. In order to prevent their products from endangering the outside world, they incorporated a mutation that made them highly dependent on the lysine supplements provided by the park staff. Since lysine is a naturally occurring amino acid, this strategy was not very effective when they did escape (this was not in the m...

I just made a significant update for this video on measuring work efficiency. To keep it low budget, I just included the option of using a power drill for measurement of work involving rotary motion. Since this option is barely described in the lab manual I decided to include it in the video. Most of you who teach environmental science may never use this activity because it seems more appropriate for physics or engineering. Nonetheless, I always use this activity when I teach...

I generally hate shopping, but I like going to IKEA. There’s something about the way they arrange the space that makes strolling through their store much more interesting than being in a mall. Predictably, nearly all the furniture in our house is from IKEA. My first exposure to the elegant minimalist style of Northern European furniture was a small store I knew as a teenager called “Scan” (short for “Scandinavia”). This store near our house is long gone, and I was i...

According to this article human activity has increased the rate of erosion about 100-fold. This is not surprising to me. I recall my agronomy instructor about 35 years ago using the last day of class to give a slide show to discuss the erosive effects of plowing and building construction. This is also why I have always been strongly against using land to grow biofuels. In this article I wrote a few years ago, I reference other research suggesting that biofuels may have played...

I did this lab for the first time last week with students by just talking them through it and writing things on the board. However, since I have to write it up sooner or later I just wrote...

This semester I am no less busy because I am teaching three classes in two different schools; general biology, environmental science, and respiratory care science. Before this semester I never heard of “respiratory care science”, but I was hired due to my having taught both chemistry and biology at the college level. Even though I need to prepare extensively for this class, I enjoy teaching a college class that involves both chemistry and physics.

Since this is the second ...

I have not posted for over a month because I am teaching introductory biology while taking education classes to broaden my options. I am also reeling from the culture shock of teaching so many students who have no idea how unready they are for college. This was less of an issue when I taught introductory chemistry because the students were screened by means of an entrance exam. Obama once said that "everyone" should go to college. Whether or not you voted for him, most science...

I just got back last night after about ten days vacation spent mostly in Florida. Among the highlights of our trip was seeing a manatee grazing at the inlet in Anastasia State Park. We were lucky because most of them migrate north in the summer. It helped that the tide was near its peak during the early evening and that most of the visitors were gone. The high tide made the seagrass accessible for grazing, and with less people the manatee felt more comfortable feeding near th...

Some of you who are mostly trained in biology will see the Lab 3-6 (Fuel Cell Dynamics) and get turned off before you even purchase the lab manual. For the record, my doctorate is in zoology, and the title of my dissertation is “The Hormonal Control of Vitellogenesis in Decapod Crustacea” (are your eyes glazing over?). I teach classes peripherally related to my specialty because my post-doc did not take me anywhere (mostly my fault). In fact, I never heard of environmenta...

http://vimeo.com/8291896

Two weeks ago we performed Lab 3.1 (Carbon Cycling Between Goldfish and Elodea) using Spirogyra and zebra fish. Even though the procedure went smoothly, I did not realize that the manual had failed to provide formulas for properly answering questions 5 and 7. Below are the formulas with explanations: