Author Archives: William Hooke

What is your only comfort in life and in death? A stunned town and a distraught nation cry out in anguish this morning. Yet another tornado has hit Moore, a suburban community on the outskirts of Oklahoma City.  This is … Continue reading →

another guest post from George Leopold… It’s not the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, but the drought gripping the American Great Plains since at least 2011 has reportedly lowered water levels in southern sections of the High Plains Aquifer by … Continue reading →

Last month, the White House issued an important statement on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. The statement builds on February remarks by the President: “We’ll reward schools that develop new partnerships with colleges and employers, and create classes … Continue reading →

Climate change continues to draw attention and concern from those focused on long-range planning, and big-ticket items, such as the nation’s critical infrastructure. Those zeroing in on the topic span the gamut from the Government Accountability Office of the U.S. Congress to the American … Continue reading →

The other day a colleague was in my office and as part of the conversation she and I did a quick walkthrough of a powerpoint presentation I’d given about a decade ago on natural hazards. As part of that presentation … Continue reading →

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season … Continue reading →

When the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council (NAS/NRC) released its report Weather Services for the Nation: Becoming Second to None back in the summer of 2012, it was widely understood that the NRC study, which focused on needed investments, … Continue reading →

Chaos: When the present determines the future, but the approximate present does not approximately determine the future. – Edward Lorenz The May 2013 issue of Physics Today contains an interesting article on this subject, taking us back to that time … Continue reading →

As promised, the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication and the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication today released the second set of their latest survey findings, in a report entitled Climate Change in the American Mind: Americans’ … Continue reading →

Still more on robotics and climate research, this on “autonomous research vessels,” from George Leopold: If you are an oceanographer or climate researcher, the sheer vastness of the Earth’s oceans is one of the biggest challenges. Aside from gathering a … Continue reading →