Daniel Ho’s Musings

Sad…

Excerpt from a pretty strongly worded editorial in the British journal, Nature.

“Comparisons of nations’ scientific outputs over the years have shown that Canada’s researchers have plenty to be proud of, consistently maintaining their country’s position among the world’s top ten (see, for example, Nature 430, 311–316; 2004). Alas, their government’s track record is dismal by comparison.

When the Canadian government announced earlier this year that it was closing the office of the national science adviser, few in the country’s science community were surprised. Science has long faced an uphill battle for recognition in Canada, but the slope became steeper when the Conservative government was elected in 2006.

…

Concerns can only be enhanced by the government’s manifest disregard for science. Since prime minister Stephen Harper came to power, his government has been sceptical of the science on climate change and has backed away from Canada’s Kyoto commitment. In January, it muzzled Environment Canada’s scientists, ordering them to route all media enquires through Ottawa to control the agency’s media message. Last week, the prime minister and members of the cabinet failed to attend a ceremony to honour the Canadian scientists who contributed to the international climate-change report that won a share of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.”

I heard about this a little while ago, but only got around to blogging about it now.

The short movie is an interesting and humorous look at the “materials economy.” Highly recommended viewing.

The full version is here. Warning though, it has a 20:40 run time (yes, Sheldon…this warning is for you!). So, go grab yourself a nice cuppa beforehand and enjoy.