On:

When I was a child, the biggest perceived threat to our long-term existence as a species was the bomb. While we certainly cannot call that ‘the good ol’ days’, the number and types of threats today to the future of life on Earth have proliferated far beyond the spread of nuclear technology worldwide.

Take gene manipulation. It’s been around for a while now. But scientists around the world have agreed on a moratorium against manipulating human germ cells or embryos. That’s because the technology is not yet ready for prime time – despite recent advances, including the new technique called CRISPR/Cas9, developed by Jennifer Doudna, a scientist at UC Berkeley.
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A UFO that appeared over the Bronx on April 20 prompted 911 calls and a substantial amount of witness testimony. The video here is unexceptional, as this could easily be the evening star, which  Venus at this time, and shines brightly in the western sky. It’s also difficult to tell if the object in the video and the one being reported by witnesses are the same thing. One thing is certain, though: there was an exceptional sighting event of some sort  the Bronx on the 20th. Graded A, Probably True.
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It’s an ancient and well-known saying, ‘The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.’ This is an assessment frequently made of well-meaning NGO’s, who attempt to help struggling ‘third world’ cultures by imposing Western-style values and solutions. Turns out, our assumptions also get in the way of our assistance to endangered animal species.

For instance, we generally think that turtles are neglectful mothers. Once the eggs are deposited on sandy beaches, it’s adios to the progeny. Thus, gathering the eggs and incubating them in the safety of a laboratory seems an obvious solution to counter the decimation resulting from natural predation, loss of habitat and illegal trade.
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On:

They knew it was coming. They knew it would be large and that it would be devastating. They just didn’t know quite when it would strike or exactly where. They also did not know what could be done in the short term to minimize the loss of life and property damage that would inevitably result.

That’s why they met in Kathmandu – as it turns out – just one week before the 7.8 magnitude temblor struck on Saturday. The international team of 50 experts in earthquakes and the social sciences assembled to discuss the dangers and the possibilities for minimizing the damage and recovery process.
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