A solar array goes up in New York. Is this the best place to locate solar, given the relatively clean New York state grid? Lucas Braun, CC BY-SACongress last month extended valuable tax credits to producers of electricity from wind turbines and solar photovoltaic panels, a move that came as a relief to an industry that has experienced rapid growth...
In order to support his young family, William Faulkner took a job shoveling coal at a power plant on Ole Miss's campus.Mussklprozz/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SAA few hundred feet south of the University of Mississippi’s famed Grove – site of bucolic commencement ceremonies and college football’s most unique tailgating experience...
Read more: Under the spell of a generator's thrum, a Faulkner masterpiece was born
Obama leads the way across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, March 7, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Last night marked the final time President Obama will address the nation as its commander-in-chief, an event signaling the beginning of the end of the “Obama era.“ Now may be as good a time as any to reflect on what we were...
Read more: Race and racism after Obama: where do we go from here?
How hard is it to build a random number generator?Philip Sears/ReutersThe math behind all the discussion of tonight’s Powerball drawing assumes true randomness – equal likelihood for each number to be chosen, both in the drawing itself and, crucially, in the process of assigning “Quick Picks” to ticket buyers who...
Read more: Are Powerball drawings and 'Quick Pick' numbers really random?
FDR's New Deal helped end Depression-era lines like this one.FDR monument via www.shutterstock.comThe U.S. Supreme Court heard a case this week that may deal a significant blow to labor unions and shows why it’s vital, to my mind, to come up with a new social contract governing work.
The case involves 10 California teachers who argue they...
Read more: Attack on unions shows why we need a new social contract governing work
Wash up.Riccardo Meneghini/Flickr, CC BY-NC-NDToday rates of allergic, autoimmune and other inflammatory diseases are rising dramatically in Western societies. If that weren’t bad enough, we are beginning to understand that many psychiatric disorders, including depression, migraine headaches and anxiety disorders, are associated with...
Read more: If being too clean makes us sick, why isn't getting dirty the solution?
Are today's drivers yesterday's horses?Winton Motor Carriage CompanySelf-driving cars are becoming a very real technology. The latest Tesla car has an autopilot feature. The CEO of Uber has stated that he will buy every self-driving car Tesla can produce for a year (about 500,000). The Google self-driving car occasionally overtakes me as I cycle...
Read more: In a driverless future, what happens to today's drivers?
Obama delivers his final State of the Union address. Carlos Barria/REUTERSEditor’s note: In his final State of the Union address, President Obama attempted to remind voters of his accomplishments, give shape to his legacy and set out a vision for America’s future. We asked two scholars who study the American presidency to react to the...
The Powerball prize got so big that it wouldn't fit on some signs – and it keeps growing.ReutersThe U.S. Powerball lottery is holding a drawing this week for a jackpot that’s already reached US$1.5 billion. That’s after the 18 drawings held since November failed to yield a winner, causing the grand prize to swell to this record...
Read more: Odds are $1.5 billion Powerball winner will end up bankrupt
Presidential candidate Marco Rubio dons Cuban heels at a town hall meeting in Rochester, New Hampshire.Brian Snyder/ReutersThe uproar over Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio’s decision to sport Cuban heels shows two things. First, height matters – at least, for skyscrapers and presidential elections. Second, a heeled boot...
Read more: What Marco Rubio's heels say about fashion – and height – in American politics
