We are changing.  

For the better.  

Maybe we can save our butts yet...?

I go back and forth over whether it is too late to get us all out of the Hummer before we head off the cliff.  Every new "faster than predicted" or "worse than expected" data point that shows more melting, more dead species, or more climate instability drags me down.  Jim Hansen recently had me losing sleep over the data.  

But then some days look brighter.  This week was one of those times.  People really are acting--in several important and tangible ways--to change the status quo.

The buzz builds....I was worried that during the primary conflama that the annual hysteria that is generated pre-Netroots Nation would be diminished.  But I can see that it is starting to grow--all those diaries about sponsoring scholarships were providing some terrific reminiscences for the previous years.  I'm so pleased to see the 30 folks who will now be able to attend with us!

Last year I was running a periodic compilation of some of the unofficial or off-the-record events that were going on around the conference.  It is time to start doing that again--this is the second.  Also, let's have a conversation about what works and what doesn't work for these conferences.  

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And the Guv worries about how much her wedding will cost ;)

This is a really nice story of things going well.  For a lot of kids in this country this is not how the coming out story will go.

Governor's daughter, 18, says she is a lesbian

Governor Deval Patrick's 18-year-old daughter announced this morning that she is a lesbian, calling it a source of pride that she is ready to share with Massachusetts.

Well, ok--not just to me. But Jim Hansen--renowned climate scientist and patriot--came to a little community meeting down the street from me to talk about the climate crisis.  

The Lexington Global Warming Action Coalition hosted a tremendous event.  Mark Bowen, author of Thin Ice and Censoring Science, and Jim Hansen spoke to a room full of (mostly) interested, aware, active, and informed neighbors of mine.  I love to go to events like this, because it reminds me that there are a lot of people paying attention.  And, of course, there were a couple of trolls.  But most people were eager to hear this message.

Great news: the whole thing was taped by CSPAN, and is slated to appear on BookTV one of these days.  I'll keep an eye out for that so you can see the whole thing.

Sorry for the late notice and the short diary--I just remembered that this was coming up on Sunday.

The Lexington Global Warming Action Coalition is presenting a lecture by Dr. Jim Hansen (yes, you know who) and Dr. Mark Bowen--author of the book Censoring Science.  

I'm going--would love to carpool with anyone so I don't get my butt kicked in the parking lot for a single passenger vehicle...please help :)

This may only be of interest to you hard-core bio geeks around the site.  But I know there's a bunch of you...

Francis Collins, who led much of the US Human Genome Project, is resigning.  It comes right on the heels of the actual passage of the GINA legislation--which has actually been signed by the boy prince, and will soon protect you from the misuse of your genetic information by employers and insurers.

Francis is an interesting guy--he comes from a Christian family and became an evangelical, and apparently the family sings, I've been told.  He's been heard singing in certain genomics circles with his guitar.  One time he even sang for George...at the National Prayer Breakfast.

Guess who needs stem cells?  All those wounded soldiers.

I got an email today with this little tidbit:

Pentagon-funded research into regrowing limbs lost in war

by Jim Mannion Thu Apr 17, 5:53 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Pentagon is joining with universities and hospitals in a 250-million-dollar research institute to develop ways to help wounded soldiers regenerate skin, muscle and even limbs from their own stem cells, officials said Thursday.

Today I attended a conference in Boston, down:2:earth.  It was the first incarnation of this conference as far as I could tell.  It was small, but had some very nice support and some well-known speakers--including Bill McKibben and Frances Moore Lappé.  

There was certainly a bit of "oh, we'll buy our way out of this current problem" as my friend called it.  Some products and vendors seemed legitimately interested in providing services and products that may help us.  I know where I can get local worm poop now (but I also attended the session that taught me how to get some worms doing that for me in the garage--even more local).  I really think the solar panel folks knew their stuff.

Last time I did a story about some genes it turned out to be rather lively.  There are some people here who are really interested in science and want to learn about the process and the data, and I really enjoyed the discussion.  Of course, that last diary was about autism genes--and there are a lot of people in this community touched by that issue, and there is a giant conflamma about the causes. I'm not going there today.  

This diary is probably not quite as controversial or broad, but I will try to make some points about why this work--which will touch on evolution and on politics--matters to you.  Or should matter to you.  Or should matter to the electorate.  

I had kind of a surprising couple of days last week.  Early that week I received an email from the ScienceDebate2008 team.  As a signer of the petition, with a Boston area address, I got the call for volunteers to help out during the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting.  Since I am practically a professional science conference-goer, I thought I might be of some use.  So I signed up.

Everyone here is familiar with the stories of how the hacks of this administration are squelching science and scientists--both actively and passively.  

One other area that has been of concern to me has been the problems around non-US scientists, who are having trouble getting to this country to participate in scientific meetings, working here, or attending school.  

A year or so ago I attended a Microbiology conference.  I sat at the dinner with a table full of non-US scientists.  The man from Germany had a terrible story of his adventure with the fine folks who greeted him at Customs.  

Some of you will remember seeing a couple of diaries that I did about making changes to reduce my carbon footprint.  The first one that I will reference is I'm on the teevee. Because of DailyKos.  Although the focus of the diary was the Power Cost Monitor--a device that raises awareness of your real-time electrical usage and can help you to conserve--it was also a diary about the flow of information here at DailyKos.  

I got that device because in a diary gmoke talked about it.  I found out that our electric company offered them.  Chapter1 found out who was in charge of the pilot program at NStar, and when the program really launched he let me know.  {the pilot program has since ended, btw}

The increasing number of kids diagnosed with Autismhas really been a mystery.  It is a heartbreaking issue for kids and families.  It has implications in the educational and medical system, and it will for years and years to come.  

The human genome project has provided us with a lot of new tools and a lot of new flashlights to look around with.  And today a major study has some important findings.

I wanted to alert people to this study--I know there are families here who need some answers.  

There are a number of communities here on DailyKos.  There are environmentalists, C & Jers, feminists, foodies, cooks, gardeners, teachers, learners, home improvement folks, crafters, puzzlers, cartoonists...oh, and some people who like certain candidates. And some drunks, I hear.... And those are just a few off the top of my head.  A list of the community diaries and their scheduled appearance can be found in the faq.

Since its inception, the flaws in the system that has been incorrectly called the Massachusetts "universal" health care have been clear to me.  On the other hand, as a pragmatist, I knew that we would probably to take some baby steps, or failed starts, to get to where we need to be.   As it has been described to me, changing a system like this is just like trying to turn a supertanker--it cannot be done instantly.

As a small business person responsible for my own insurance, the pain of the current system has been acute to me.  I know that it isn't easy to get, and exactly how much it costs.  I know that it is a massive drain on my resources to take the time to hunt down plans and programs that might work.  That time should be spent on my business, on what I do best.

WARMAGEDDON

When I saw the title of the article in my Yahoo! news, I thought--heh, that's actually not a bad name.  Mebbe we can get some of those fundies interested in the climate crisis with that....

And yes, they did use all caps.  

The subtitle:

The discourse of catastrophe about global warming must be accountable for its impact on children.

There are so many things I wish I had more time to do.  The WAYWO folks who are so creative and productive leave me in awe.  I'm more of a craft hacker, I'm afraid.  

What does WAYWO stand for? "What Are You Working On?" WAYWO is a weekly series about crafts, arts, and DIY. All are welcome to post in WAYWO, and guest hosts are invited to email emeraldmaiden at the address in the profile. WAYWO posts every Sunday at approximately 6:30 pm Eastern time.

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