Notes for Philcon “Recent Science Headlines” panel
Links for various topics I prepared for the panel
https://www.popsci.com/environment/cop26-final-agreement-climate-change/
COP26
- Phase down (not phase out) of fossil fuels including coal – thanks, Australia (and China and India).
- Developing countries say they need fossil fuels to help their people
- Sinking countries (e. g. the Marshall Islands) point out that this policy can cause their entire nations to cease to be
- Creation of a carbon market (nations can reduce emissions more than their quota and sell the “credit” to another country)
- Poor countries continue to be promised funding that nobody actually supplies (except Scotland)
Mostly promises, little action. See you in Egypt next year.
Climate Change Causes Disasters
COVID-19
Booster shots – we’ve all heard about ‘em.
https://covidtransmissions.substack.com/p/covid-transmissions-for-9-20-2021
Treatments coming online!
Molnupiravir
https://covidtransmissions.substack.com/p/covid-transmissions-for-10-4-2021
Paxlovid
https://covidtransmissions.substack.com/p/covid-transmissions-for-11-8-2021
Fluvoxamine(!)
https://covidtransmissions.substack.com/p/covid-transmissions-for-10-29-2021
Spinal Cord Repair!
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2297272-paralysed-mice-walk-again-after-gel-is-injected-into-spinal-cord/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC23754/
Kessler Syndrome?
Astronauts hide in shelters as thousands of debris particles are generated. Russia inexplicably accuses the West of “hypocrisy”.
Space Stations
Example: Boeing/Blue Origin team up for “Orbital Reef”
China, too: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiangong_space_station
Toliman searches for extraterrestrial habitable planets
https://www.space.com/alpha-centauri-habitable-planets-space-telescope-toliman
Reasonably Literate 