While watching this video, try counting Kirk Cameron's lies. Just incredible. What does it tell you when someone is so utterly insecure about his own arguments that he lies about his opponent's positions? Richard Dawkins has a post on this new wacko edition of Darwin's Origin, and a suggestion that concerned citizens go pick one up and chop out and throw away the 50-page intro.
Barack Obama's presidential campaign has again won a major advertising award. A month before winning the presidency, he won Advertising Age's annual "Marketer of the Year" for 2008. Now, his campaign manager, David Plouffe, has won Brandweek's "Marketer of the Year" for 2009. What better commentary on the state of contemporary American society could there be? Our president is a master marketer, or more precisely, employs a team of master marketers. In a society that is dedicated to worshiping at the altar of consumerism, perhaps it's unsurprising that this is the case, but it still is shocking to me. Once I began researching for this article, I really was surprised at the extent to which "Brand Obama" has penetrated our national consciousness. His logo and posters have become iconic. His slogan, "Yes we can" is everywhere-- it's also a marketer's dream. It's devoid of any clarity or substance, and yet it makes you feel good, possibly empowered. "Just do it", anyone? Actually, his campaign beat out the Nike campaign (and even Apple!) for top honors. You can go to mybarackobama.com and sign for immediate updates from Facebook, Myspace, Youtube, Flickr, Twitter, and several other web 2.0 services. You can get Obama on your mobile phone by texting "hope" to 62262-- it's just as easy as voting for the next American Idol! The media is relentlessly focused on what Michelle Obama is wearing next, and there is at least one blog offering daily updates on her clothing choices ("Follow the fashion of Mrs. O.:What and Whom she's wearing"). For those who are tuned-in, you can even do Ecstasy tablets shaped like Obama. One wonders where does politics end and the cult of personality begin?
Darwin gets the lion's share of the acclaim, even though both Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace co-announced the discovery of natural selection to the Linnean Society in 1858. Thing are changing, and it's now time for Mr. Wallace to get a bit more of the stage. This, according to an in-depth article on Alfred Russel Wallace called "The Man Who Wasn't Darwin," in the December, 2008 edition of National Geographic. Reading the article I leaned that Wallace was by no means a one-trick pony. Rather:
[Wallace's] writings, on subjects from evolutionary theory and social justice to life on Mars, are coming back into print or turning up on the Web. He is recognized among science historians as a founder of evolutionary biogeography (the study of which species live where, and why), as a pioneer of island biogeography in particular (from which the science of conservation biology grew), as an early theorist on adaptive mimicry, and as a prescient voice on behalf of what we now call biodiversity. That is, he's a towering figure in the transition from old-fashioned natural history to modern biology. During his years afield Wallace was also a prolific collector, a ruthless harvester of natural wonders; his insect and bird specimens added richly to museum holdings and the discipline of taxonomy. Still, most people who know of Alfred Russel Wallace know him only as Charles Darwin's secret sharer, the man who co-discovered the theory of evolution by natural selection but failed to get an equal share of the credit. Wallace's story is complicated, heroic, and perplexing.
How do you photograph an entire redwood tree? It's not easy, but the result can be spectacular, especially when it's done by National Geographic's pros.
The debate over tap water vs. bottled water will probably go on for quite some time. Many people believe that by purchasing bottled water, they are consuming better quality water than that which comes from the tap. Others argue that the environmental impact of bottled water is massive, and that bottled water is no safer than tap water. A report earlier this year from the Government Accounting Office claims that because public water supplies are regulated by the Safe Water Drinking Act and those regulations are enforced by the EPA, they are therefore safer than bottled water, which is regulated by the FDA-- and we all know what a wonderful job the FDA has been doing. But a new investigative report by the New York Times calls this conclusion into question.
In the last five years alone, chemical factories, manufacturing plants and other workplaces have violated water pollution laws more than half a million times. The violations range from failing to report emissions to dumping toxins at concentrations regulators say might contribute to cancer, birth defects and other illnesses. However, the vast majority of those polluters have escaped punishment. State officials have repeatedly ignored obvious illegal dumping, and the Environmental Protection Agency, which can prosecute polluters when states fail to act, has often declined to intervene.