Fred Bortz's blog
I'm excited about this. I thought I did a good job on my new book Astrobiology in Lerner's "Cool Science" series, and now I know the folks at NASA agree.
A New Scientist article about a study by scientists at the institute of Arctic and Alpine Research of the University of Colorado, Boulder, has bad news for coastal areas around the world.
The team, led by Mark F. Meier, suggests that the latest International Panel on Climate Change projection of sea level rise in the 21st century by is too low by 10-25 centimeters because it leaves out the contributions of increasing glacier melt water.
For my school visits and public lectures this coming academic year, I have added a talk called "The Truth About Space Aliens."
It is based on my new middle-grade book called Astrobiology, which is now available.
One of the global warming skeptics who reads this blog said he would be persuaded if direct measurements of solar output, rather than models, showed that changes in Sun were not contributing to the rise in Earth's average temperature.
This blog entry is for him. It discusses an article that shows that, if anything, the recent IPCC report OVERestimated when it stated the Sun's contribution to global warming is approximately 10% of anthropogenic effects. In fact, over the last 20 years, solar changes have been in the opposite direction.
A report in today's New York Times should leave all of us breathless-even if we've seen too many similar stories before.
I wasn't expecting my next book to appear until October, but I just got my author's copies of Astrobiology in Lerner's middle-grade "Cool Science" Series.
Astrobiology is the science of life in the universe.
Time to toot my horn.
Read about my new book, a history of physics in the 20th century for high school, college, and public libraries. I'm interested in sharing that history in a colloquium talk at colleges.
Want more? Click below.
Did you ever wonder why "liberals claim to be so concerned about GLOBAL WARMING"? Here's the answer.
Dear Science Readers,
As noted in the previous Science Shelf update, we were looking forward to two books related to politics and global warming. We have now received copies of both Storm World and A Contract With the Earth and have written a review of one.
Another new review on the Science Shelf recommends 
The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science.
Also, one of my favorite books from last year has now appeared in paperback. Its subject is about as light as you can get, but there's plenty of substance as well as good story telling. Take a fresh look at my review of 
The Cloudspotters Guide.
Click "Read More" to read more. (What else?)
I lost a childhood friend yesterday. Don Herbert, better known as Mr. Wizard has died.
The New York Times obituary notes:
Mr. Herbert held no advanced degree in science, he used household items in his TV lab, and his assistants were boys and girls. But he became an influential showman-science teacher on his half-hour “Watch Mr. Wizard” programs, which ran on NBC from 1951 to 1965.
Millions of youngsters may have been captivated by Howdy Doody and the Lone Ranger, but many were also conducting science experiments at home, emulating Mr. Wizard.
I was one of those millions, and I want to use my blog to say farewell and thank you from "Dr. Fred."
Test your reasoning.
IF
(A) Glaciers on Earth are retreating due to global warming,
AND IF
(B) The glacier on Mount Kilimanjaro is retreating,
THEN
(C) The retreat of the Kilimanjaro glacier is due to global warming.
TRUE OR FALSE?
Just because I ask that question, don't think I am proposing an answer. There is, however, a record-breaking tropical cyclone churning the Arabian Sea as I write this.
The link above takes you to the blog of journalist Chris Mooney, who has been doing an excellent job of covering both the science and politics of that question. I've reviewed his upcoming book on the subject.
If you just want a brief update rather than Mooney's more detailed post, click the read more link...
All right, so my headline is designed to get your attention, but I almost couldn't believe what I heard on NPR's Morning Edition today. I just about choked on my toast when I heard what NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said about global warming in an interview to be aired tomorrow.
It's real, and it's our fault. But we're "arrogant" to say that its consequences are undesirable.
What's the good of blogging if you can't brag once in a while.
My book Beyond Jupiter: The Story of Planetary Astronomer Heidi Hammel is the current featured book on the Astronomical Society of the Pacific's web site.
To those who accuse me of having a particular bias on the issue of anthropogenic global warming, I offer the following, sent my way by planetary astronomer Heidi Hammel, the subject of a recent children's book I wrote in the "Women's Adventures of Science" series.
Science thrives on questions that challenge the consensus view. In this case, the analysis of changes in Neptune's brightness suggest that a solar component may be in play. If further research bears out Heidi's hypothesis, then our understanding of Earth's recent warming may need to be refined to include a greater role for solar phenomena than are included in the current consensus view.
