The new climate message: procrastination is OK
UK prime minister Rishi Sunak says it is OK to carry on installing gas boilers until 2035 because the lifetime of these devices means most of them will be replaced by 2050, when the country has pledged to reach net zero. Similarly, we can keep buying new fossil fuel-powered cars until 2035, instead of the original 2030 target (30 September, p 13).
It seems the logic is that we don’t need to do anything to meet the 2050 target until 2035. Other measures 鈥� like requiring landlords to improve home insulation, taxing long-haul flights, encouraging car sharing and promoting less meat in diets 鈥� also won’t be introduced, which reinforces this view. I fear the message many will take from this is that there is no need to change their lifestyle until 2035.
Perhaps the cosmic voids aren't so empty after all
If the lambda-CDM model of the universe doesn’t seem to be working, perhaps the reason is that one of its assumptions is wrong: that the distribution of galaxies is a cosmic web. It could equally be a cosmic foam, which would look much the same. The difference would be that the voids contain an active agent exerting pressure on the visible matter (23 September, p 16).
How to stem the rising tide of disinformation (1)
The spread of disinformation by social media has the potential to destroy rational thought and judgement. Every child should be taught that consumption and acceptance of demonstrably incorrect information is tantamount to contamination of the most important organ in the body, the brain, with potential negative consequences(16 September, p 36).
How to filter it out? All information sourced from third parties should contain a reference to the original source, plus any refutation, if it exists. Any that isn’t adequately referenced or originates from a source that doesn’t appear authoritative should be regarded with suspicion, if not totally rejected.
How to stem the rising tide of disinformation (2)
The fundamental truth is that open, uncensored debate is still the best way to expose and defeat falsehoods.
Choose your future fate: unsurvivable heat or flood (1)
In your report on the potential for mass deaths in heatwaves provoked by climate change, two experts quoted seem to downplay the risk because “even if it’s hot outside, it doesn’t mean that it’s hot inside” and “all heat-related impacts on human health… are preventable”. These are true to an extent, but fail to account for the many (mostly poor) people who are obliged to work outside and who have limited access to shelter, let alone air conditioning(16 September, p 8).
Choose your future fate: unsurvivable heat or flood (2)
Of course we need to be concerned about hotter conditions, but we should be more worried about another facet of climate change. It seems to be generally accepted that 2 metres of sea level rise is unavoidable, yet we don’t seem to be fully considering what that will mean, especially for low-lying nations. And will it really just be 2 metres? In the last interglacial period, sea levels were 6 to 9 metres higher than today. I can’t see civilisation surviving that.
If you should go down to the woods today
Biophobia may stem from many sources. In the 1970s, we became dependent on prepacked food, supermarkets, microwaves and takeaways. In recent years, gardens have become manicured, with conservatories, ornaments, decking and non-native plants 鈥� in other words, with little that is truly natural. Horror films often feature a dark, sinister forest or other isolated wild place, giving the message that, apart from managed parks, such areas are where nasty things may happen. The message? Avoid natural wild things everywhere(23 September, p 20).
In soap operas, time really is relatively odd
Having worked on Emmerdale and other soap operas, I know Chanda Prescod-Weinstein has a point about timescales in such shows making no sense, even if she was exaggerating a bit. I can recall at least one case of a prepubescent cast member vanishing only to be replaced soon after by an actor several years older. Viewers can hardly miss a character with winter pallor entering a pub, then appearing at the bar seconds later with a tan. Schedules rarely allow for scenes to be shot in direct order(16 September, p 22).
We can harvest lots of biomass to good effect
You report research that says it is bad for the planet if we use more than 10 per cent of all biomass. But we can actually solve problems by harvesting biomass. This doesn’t mean deforestation, but using it in a sustainable way to sequester carbon. This would cut carbon in the atmosphere, reverse global warming and protect ocean pH(23 September, p 10).
On the mystery of the contents of the cell
Thanks to Guy Cox for noting that, 100 years ago, chloroplasts were known to be structures in cells. In my article, I was referring to the state of knowledge in the 1920s and 30s about human cells. Outside the nucleus, the only structures known then were mitochondria, whose function was unknown, and putative Golgi bodies, believed to be artefacts of the cell-staining process (Letters, 26 August).
For the record
In our report on restoring US prairies (16 September, p 41), we should have quoted Shannon Eddy, director of the Large-scale Solar Association, on land-use changes on the opening page. In addition, the caption with the Daphne Prairie Preserve image should have referred to a planned solar facility near prairie land outside Mount Vernon, Texas. Finally, it is the federal government that is investing heavily in the US energy transition.
The solution to Headscratcher #240 (30 September, p 47) went a bit awry. The correct one is at newscientist.com/puzzles