WaterWired

Two Evenings with Neil deGrasse Tyson

Mary Frances and I treated ourselves to two nights - about 4.5 hours on 28 and 29 November - listening to
lectures by famed astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson. It was a remarkable experience. As if you did not know Tyson is an excellent lecturer with a well-developed sense of humor and a style that puts you at ease. He is an accomplished storyteller. And did I say smart? 

This won't be a review - just my few stream-of-consciousness (really?) thoughts on the event.

The Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in dpwntown Portland was the venue. It holds about 2800 people. It was close to full on Wednesday and looked to be just about full on Thursday. Both crowds were enthusiastic.

Yes, he did start each talk with a playful dig at those who feel Pluto should be a planet (after an introduction via 'Fly Me to the Moon'). 

He spoke on a different topic each night: 1) Adventures in Science Literacy (28 November); and 2) The Cosmic Perspective (29 November). Brief descriptions are on the event website:

“Adventures in Science Literacy”
The joys of knowing how the universe works and the disasters that can unfold when you do not. In this illustrated talk, examples of each will be drawn from across time and cultures, culminating in a commentary on the state of science in America today.

“The Cosmic Perspective”
There is no view of the world as emotionally potent as the one granted by a cosmic perspective. It’s one that sees Earth as a planet in a vast empty universe. It profoundly influences what we think and feel about science, culture, politics, and life itself.

 He promoted a few books (this is one of his PowerPoints):

We bought signed cooies of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry and his most recent (written with Avis Lang),  Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military. I don't fault him for doing a little sales pitch; he did not spend a lot of time on his books.

He gave a few fascinating examples on each topic. He spoke of his encounters with the US justice system - three calls for jury duty, but released each time during voir dire. In one case involving a person alleged to have sold 3000 milligrams of cocaine to an undercover police officer he questioned why '3000 milligrams' was used instead of '3 grams' (about a tenth of an ounce). Thisfirst case resonated with me since I use similar examples in the water resources field.

He said he felt it could prejudice the jury, since '3000' would sound like a lot to many people. He was excused. In another his excuse came about because he said that eyewitness accounts are not as reliable as most people believe. He used his debunking of many 'flying saucer' cases as examples. Excused again!

He made an interesting correlation between the iconic 1968 Earthrise photo by Apollo 8 and the rise of the environmental movement and laws that arose in the late 1960s and early 1970s. 

All in all, money and time very well spent. We enjoyed it and it appeared that our fellow attendees did as well.

Fans will be glad to hear that the TV series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey will premier in March 2019... 

One minor complaint: he spent a lot of time running from center stage to the podium at stage left to change slides. Duhhhh.....

I would be remiss if I did not mention the sexual impropriety allegations against him by three women. Here is the Guardian article and Tyson's Facebook post on the issue.

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." - Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963 (tnx Neil deGrasse Tyson)

From UCL Press - New Open-Access Book: 'Citizen Science - Innovation in Open Science, Society and Policy'

UCL Press is performing a great public service by offering an open-access (as a PDF) book, Citizen Science - Innovation in Open Science, Society and Policy edited by Susanne Hecker, Muki Haklay, Anne Bowser, Zen Makuch, Johannes Vogel and Aletta Bonn. 

Download Citizen_Science

You can also purchase the book in hardcover or paper.

Here is the blurb on the book's website:

Citizen science, the active participation of the public in scientific research projects, is a rapidly expanding field in open science and open innovation. It provides an integrated model of public knowledge production and engagement with science. As a growing worldwide phenomenon, it is invigorated by evolving new technologies that connect people easily and effectively with the scientific community. Catalysed by citizens’ wishes to be actively involved in scientific processes, as a result of recent societal trends, it also offers contributions to the rise in tertiary education. In addition, citizen science provides a valuable tool for citizens to play a more active role in sustainable development.

Citizen Science: Innovation in Open Science, Society and Policy identifies and explains the role of citizen science within innovation in science and society, and as a vibrant and productive science-policy interface. The scope of this volume is global, geared towards identifying solutions and lessons to be applied across science, practice and policy. The chapters consider the role of citizen science in the context of the wider agenda of open science and open innovation, and discusses progress towards responsible research and innovation, two of the most critical aspects of science today.

 Check out the ToC:

1 Innovation in open science, society and policy – setting the agenda for citizen science
Susanne Hecker, Muki Haklay, Anne Bowser, Zen Makuch, Johannes Vogel and Aletta Bonn

PART I Innovation in citizen science – setting the scene
2 Ten principles of citizen science
Lucy Danielle Robinson, Jade Lauren Cawthray, Sarah Elizabeth West, Aletta Bonn and Janice Ansine 3 Scientific impacts and innovations of citizen science
Jennifer L. Shirk and Rick Bonney
4 Participatory citizen science
Muki Haklay
5 Technology infrastructure for citizen science
Peter Brenton, Stephanie von Gavel, Ella Vogel and Marie-Elise Lecoq
6 Evaluating citizen science: Towards an open framework
Barbara Kieslinger, Teresa Schäfer, Florian Heigl, Daniel Dörler, Anett Richter and Aletta Bonn

PART II Innovation in science with and for society
7 Watching or being watched: Enhancing productive discussion between the citizen sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities
Dana Mahr, Claudia Göbel, Alan Irwin and Katrin Vohland
8 The value of indigenous and local knowledge as citizen science
Finn Danielsen, Neil D. Burgess, Indiana Coronado, Martin Enghoff, Sune Holt, Per M. Jensen, Michael K. Poulsen and Ricardo M. Rueda
9 Citizen engagement and collective intelligence for participatory digital social innovation
Jasminko Novak, Mathias Becker, François Grey and Rosy Mondardini
10 Creative collaboration in citizen science and the evolution of ThinkCamps
Margaret Gold and Erinma Ochu
11 Integrating citizen science into university
Daniel Wyler and Muki Haklay

PART IIA Case studies
12 Citizen science on the Chinese mainland
Chunming Li
13 The European citizen science landscape – a snapshot
Susanne Hecker, Lisa Garbe and Aletta Bonn
14 Stakeholder engagement in water quality research: A case study based on the Citclops and MONOCLE projects
Luigi Ceccaroni and Jaume Piera
15 Global mosquito alert
John R.B. Palmer, Martin Brocklehurst, Elizabeth Tyson, Anne Bowser, Eleonore Pauwels and Frederic Bartumeus

PART III Innovation at the science-policy interface
16 Citizen science for policy formulation and implementation
Susana Nascimento, Jose Miguel Rubio Iglesias, Roger Owen, Sven Schade and Lea Shanley
17 Citizen science and Responsible Research and Innovation
Melanie Smallman
18 Conservation outcomes of citizen science
Heidi L. Ballard, Tina B. Phillips and Lucy Robinson 

19 Capacity building in citizen science
Anett Richter, Daniel Dörler, Susanne Hecker, Florian Heigl, Lisa Pettibone, Fermin Serrano Sanz, Katrin Vohland and Aletta Bonn
20 Citizen science in environmental protection agencies
Roger P. Owen and Alison J. Parker

PART IV Innovation in technology and environmental monitoring
21 Citizen science technologies and new opportunities for participation
Suvodeep Mazumdar, Luigi Ceccaroni, Jaume Piera, Franz Hölker, Arne J. Berre, Robert Arlinghaus and Anne Bowser
22 Maximising the impact and reuse of citizen science data
Jamie Williams, Colin Chapman, Didier Guy Leibovici, Grégoire Loïs, Andreas Matheus, Alessandro Oggioni, Sven Schade, Linda See and Paul Pieter Lodewijk van Genuchten
23 Enhancing national environmental monitoring through local citizen science
Hester Volten, Jeroen Devilee, Arnoud Apituley, Linda Carton, Michel Grothe, Christoph Keller, Frank Kresin, Anne LandZandstra, Erik Noordijk, Edith van Putten, Jeroen Rietjens, Frans Snik, Erik Tielemans, Jan Vonk, Marita Voogt and Joost Wesseling
24 Citizen science to monitor light pollution – a useful tool for studying human impacts on the environment
Sibylle Schroer, Christopher C.M. Kyba, Roy van Grunsven, Irene Celino, Oscar Corcho and Franz Hölker

PART V Innovation in science communication and education
25 Science for everybody? Bridging the socio-economic gap in urban biodiversity monitoring 369 Taru Peltola and Isabelle Arpin
26 Learning and developing science capital through citizen science
Richard Edwards, Sarah Kirn, Thomas Hillman, Laure Kloetzer, Katherine Mathieson, Diarmuid McDonnell and Tina Phillips
27 Children and citizen science
Karen E. Makuch and Miriam R. Aczel
28 Turning students into citizen scientists
John Harlin, Laure Kloetzer, Dan Patton, Chris Leonhard and Leysin American School high school students
29 Citizen science and the role of natural history museums
Andrea Sforzi, John Tweddle, Johannes Vogel, Grégoire Lois, Wolfgang Wägele, Poppy Lakeman-Fraser, Zen Makuch and Katrin Vohland
30 Stories can change the world – citizen science communication in practice
Susanne Hecker, Monique Luckas, Miriam Brandt, Heidy Kikillus, Ilona Marenbach, Bernard Schiele, Andrea Sieber, Arnold J.H. van Vliet, Ulrich Walz and Wolfgang Wende

Conclusions
31 Citizen science to foster innovation in open science, society and policy
Aletta Bonn, Susanne Hecker, Anne Bowser, Zen Makuch, Johannes Vogel and Muki Haklay

I'm in!

Enjoy!

"It is well for people who think to change their minds occasionally in order to keep them clean. For those who do not think, it is best at least to rearrange their prejudices once in a while." - Luther Burbank

Valuing Statistical Lives - On Halloween, No Less. G. Tracy Mehan III's Book Review: 'Pricing Lives: Guideposts for a Safer Society'

G. Tracy Mehan III is back for another review! This is about a book, Pricing Lives: Guideposts for a Safer Society by W. Kip Viscusi of the Vanderbilt University Law School.

Tracy sent the following email with his review, which will appear in the January-February 2019 issue of The Environmental Forum (Environmental Law Institute):

The book outlines the development of VSL (mortality risk) for purposes of regulatory benefit-cost analysis and its adoption by federal agencies.  It then describes potential application of the approach for corporate product development, wrongful death actions and other purposes.

Download GTMIII_Pricing_Lives_Review

 The first few paragraphs:

In W. Kip Viscusi’s new book on the value of a statistical life — the mortality risk that any benefit-cost analysis should utilize — he describes the triumph of this tool in the federal regulatory arena. Pricing Lives: Guideposts for a Safer Society then goes on to show even greater societal benefits that can be had by broader adoption of this method, one he has pioneered throughout his career. 

VSL is now standard practice, “the norm for benefit assessment,” within federal regulatory agencies such as the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency, which operate under Executive Orders, in place since the Reagan administration governing the promulgation of regulations, and mandating the use of benefit-cost analysis except where existing statutes do not allow its application. “The current U.S. emphasis in selecting VSL levels is on the labor market evidence regarding wage-risk tradeoffs for dangerous jobs,” writes Viscusi.

The ascendancy of the VSL in regulatory benefitcost analysis is, in large part, due to Viscusi’s scholarship. His object now is to consolidate these gains and broaden its use to federal programs, not just regulations; corporate safety decisions; court awards for punitive damages in wrongful death cases; and regulatory penalties presently capped, by statute, at unrealistically low levels. Viscusi’s work in this field has contributed to greater efficiency, safety and equity for his fellow citizens. Much more can be done, he believes to incentivize and enhance the nation’s health and safety. But first a few basics.

Fascinating! Suitable for Halloween, too!

Enjoy!

"Age at death is a random variable." - Dr. Chester Kisiel, my statistical hydrology professor at the University of Arizona

G. Tracy Mehan III's Review of RAND Report: 'Not Everything Is Broken - The Future of U.S. Transportation and Water Infrastructure Funding and Finance'

If you're like me you missed this 2017 RAND report: Not Everything Is Broken: The Future of U.S. Transportation and Water Infrastructure Funding and Finance by Debra Knopman, Martin Wachs, Benjamin M. Miller, Scott G. Davis, Katherine Pfrommer

You can access the report's site by clicking here. or downloading below

Download RAND_RR1739

 

 Here's the blurb from the website:

This report identifies the policies that promote and deter investment in and maintenance of U.S. transportation and water infrastructure. It focuses on status and trends in operations and maintenance (O&M) and capital spending by all levels of government; reviews current policy and practice; and recommends actions that the federal government could take to better align both policy and spending to public priorities.

The United States' transportation and water infrastructure needs are diverse, as are the reasons for maintenance backlogs and delays in rebuilding and modernization. Massive federal spending to repair or build anew may do some good by stimulating demand for construction services, but it will not fix what is broken in our approach to funding and financing public works — and not everything is broken. Underinvestment, to the extent it is occurring, varies widely by ownership, geography, and type of infrastructure. For example, while road and bridge conditions generally have improved overall since 2002, conditions on less-traveled roads have deteriorated. Lasting changes will require thoughtful consideration of targeted spending priorities, policy constraints, and regional differences.

The authors see no need for wholesale change in current roles and responsibilities among federal, state, and local governments. Policy changes at the federal level could drive public spending to high-priority regional-scale projects designed to deliver sustained national economic benefits. Changes in federal tax and fiscal policy could draw more private capital into financing public infrastructure, but direct private investment in transportation and water infrastructure is likely for only a limited class of profitable projects, and striking the appropriate balance between a larger role for the private sector and protecting taxpayers from financial risk has proven difficult in practice

But now - the pièce de résistance from one of the smartest guys in the room, G. Tracy Mehan III, a frequent contributor to WaterWired.He is executive director for government affairs at the American Water Works Association. His review will appear in the November issue of the J. AWWA.

Download Mehan_Review_Not_Everything_Broken.RANDpdf

Here are the first few lines:

Not Everything Is Broken: A “More Nuanced and Challenging” View of US Infrastructure

The authors of this RAND Corporation report on America’s infrastructure take a divergent, if not outright contrarian, view of the water ndustry’s current situation, dissenting from the common view that it is crumbling” before our very eyes. Full disclosure: this writer was a “critical reviewer” of this “self-initiated research,” part of the RAND Infrastructure Resilience and Environmental Policy Program.

RAND is a global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. Today it is financed by the federal government, a private endowment, corporations, universities, and private individuals.It is known for its problem-solving capabilities in a variety of public policy areas.

Cutting to the last paragraph:

Not Everything Is Broken is a treasure trove of useful data, penetrating insight, and recommendations, many of them challenging to the transportation and water sectors. It is well worth the reader’s time to engage its impressive analysis and policy prescriptions for enhancing the nation’s critical infrastructure.

Both the report and the review are winners. Not everyone is going to like what's said.

Enjoy!

Today's adage? What else:

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." - Unknown 

Free Book from Springer and The Netherlands: 'Freshwater Governance for the 21st Century'

It's been a while since I visited the Dutch Portal to International Hydrology, the information-packed site run by friend and colleague Michael van der Valk. I noticed that the publisher Springer and Michael's site are offering a free copy (as a PDF or EPUB version) of Freshwater Governance for the 21st Century, edited by Eiman Karar.

PDF: Click here. You can also separately download the preface and the twelve individual chapters.  

  Download FW_Governance_21Century

EPUB: Click here and scroll down on the left, right below the PDF.

Table of Contents: Click here.

Here is the blurb from the site:

Freshwater Governance for the 21st Century contains information that many practitioners in the water field will be looking for. The water-related challenges have reached a climax with an unoptimistic future expected to feature more competition between users. These stresses will be exacerbated by climate change which is likely to increase water demand while shrinking water supplies. Intense competition for water resources will be experienced not only by private users but will also affect the public sector; however, national plans repeatedly fail to show the ability to provide a coherent outlook for development in which water needs are adequately projected and resources smartly shared. 

This book on freshwater governance  broadly illustrates key aspects of water governance. It maps the spectrum of decision-making from techno-centric and eco-centric approaches, to hybrid concepts and people-centric approaches. Topics covered include the challenges for water-governance models, the polycentric model, the integration challenge, water in the decision-making hierarchy, and the rise of water-sensitive design, while also taking into account interdependencies between stakeholders, as well as the issue of scale.

The book’s content is presented in an integrated and comprehensive format, building on detailed case studies from around the world and the authors’ working experiences in the water sector. Combining essential insights with accessible, non-technical language, it offers a valuable resource for academics, technicians and policy-makers alike.

And the book's preface:

This book on freshwater governance contains information that many practitioners in the water field will be looking for. The water-related challenges have reached a climax with an unoptimistic future expected to feature more competition between users. These stresses will be exacerbated by climate change which is likely to increase water demand while shrinking water supplies. Intense competition for water resources will be experienced not only by private users but will also affect the public sector; however, national plans repeatedly fail to show the ability to provide a coherent outlook for development in which water needs are adequately projected and resources smartly shared.

The list of contributors of this book (more than 30 authors from around the globe) reflects a wide range of expertise, and the themes covered will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers. These authors, while attempting to provide workable solutions, draw on their wealth of experience and in many instances share the les- sons learnt from what has not worked to what has worked. The tools offered can also assist in furthering the thinking around water governance. Although the focus is on water, there are many synergies with the governance of many other natural resources.

The purpose of this book is to illustrate, in broad terms, the general matters of freshwater governance, mapping the spectrum of decision-making. The book aspires to contribute to the transitioning between techno-centric and eco-centric approaches, or a hybrid concept, to people-centric approaches. The set of book chapters pre- sented in this volume will be based on the existing current knowledge as well as the authors’ experience working in the water sector, using nontechnical jargon in order to reach a wider audience. The target audience of this volume will range from aca- demics, technicians, decision-makers, and managers to students; the aim is to target not just academia but also policy-makers and deep thinkers. This book has been more than 2 years in the making, and for those who know the water sector, many changes will have occurred during these years. Some of the information contained in this book may therefore be dated as new information may have become available in the intervening years; nonetheless, I trust that the content will be of interest to the readers.

This book represents the tireless efforts of many dedicated individuals who devoted their time and resources to making it a reality. I thank them all, particularly our esteemed authors, as well as the reviewers who provided considered comments and valuable input to each chapter. This book was initiated and financially sup- ported by the Water Research Commission of South Africa, which is hereby grate- fully acknowledged.

Eiman Karar
Pretoria, South Africa
2017

Such a deal - thanks!

Enjoy! 

 

"Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket." – Eric Hoffer (quoted in @thedailybeast via @TheWeek)