helenczerski

@helenczerski@fediscience.org

Physics, bubbles, oceans, hot chocolate and curiosity. Associate Professor at UCL, writer, broadcaster. Author of Storm in a Teacup: http://helenczerski.net/books-writing/ and Blue Machine (out June 1st, 2023) https://www.waterstones.com/book/blue-machine/helen-czerski/9781911709107 #fedi22 #physics #ocean #climate #bikes

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helenczerski, to random

Ooh, look... for International Womens Day, Fully Charged is offering 50% off tickets for women to the Everything Electric shows is London (28th-30th March) & Harrogate (24-26th May).

These shows are all about the future of clean energy & transport - home heating, micromobility, wind power, an electrified world, but also just better ways to live sustainably. Do join us!

"Use code WOMEN for 50% off tickets* to Everything Electric LONDON and Everything Electric NORTH! "

https://everythingelectric.seetickets.com/content/ticket-options

helenczerski, to science

It's high time we redefined "exploration:". It should NOT be about being big - drawing a map of something named after your sponsor, planting a flag, being "first". It should be about being small: sitting inside a system/place and learning how it works with humility, looking at the way it does things, not at what we see most easily or want to see. A map is not the end goal of exploration. It's just the tool that tells you where the starting point could be.

#exploration #science #nature

helenczerski, to Podcast

In today's Rare Earth, we're looking at how much we demand of our rivers, the history of how we got here, and how things could improve. There's far more to this than sewage! And hope is on the horizon. We also find out about some surprisingly calibrated (but relevant) pigs.

Broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at noon today and podcast will be here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001wrhm

#Radio #podcast #Rivers #climate #environment

helenczerski, to photography

This evening I had the pleasure of opening this wonderful photography exhibition at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the RNLI (on Monday). It focuses on the women in the RNLI, and it’s great. Do go! It’s free…

https://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/national-maritime-museum/women-of-the-rnli
#RNLI #RMG #photography #London

helenczerski, to mastodon

University College London shoutout! UCL is unwilling to set up a Mastodon account now, but they say that if there's lots of UCL presence here already it will nudge them in this direction. If you're at UCL or know someone who is, and you're on here, please reply to this to let us know! Current chief plotters: @sellathechemist , me and maybe more)

helenczerski, to climate

Are you a Geography or History teacher, or do you know one/lots? The UCL Centre for Climate Change Education is doing excellent work in making materials/CPD for teachers who want to include climate change in all subjects. They have new material for Hist/Geog available now. Please share.

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/departments-and-centres/centres/centre-climate-change-and-sustainability-education/teaching-sustainable-futures

helenczerski, to Energy

Ooh, I've just seen the final schedule of sessions for the FullyCharged & Everything Electric LONDON show on March 28th, 29th and 30th: https://uk.everythingelectric.show/london and we have a FANTASTIC show for you. We'll be covering all the big questions about the future of energy and transport, with lots of new topics and amazing exhibitors. And it's definitely not just about cars - plenty of home energy, micromobility and society-level stuff. Do join us!

helenczerski, to Law

Reading about the history of river regulation for this week's Rare Earth, and you've got to love the practicality of early English laws:

"A statute... from the 12th century declared that English rivers be kept free of obstructions so that a well-fed three year old pig could stand sideways in the stream"

helenczerski, to climate

OMG, and there we have it. In a historical paper describing an argument from the 1840s about whether sewage systems should be one-way (and just take stuff "away") or circular (and spread sewage on the field to feed more people) this line about the disagreements between Edwin Chadwick and engineers like Bazelgette sets out reason that so much of modern engineering has caused environmental problems - it's been all about local solutions and not systems.

helenczerski, to Women

I am not generally an angry person, but if true, this statistic makes me HOPPING MAD. It’s straight-up unacceptable misogyny.

“Four in 10 medical schools do not even include menopause as part of their mandatory curriculum”

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/25/observer-view-on-why-we--all-need-educating-about-rights-of-menopausal-women-in-workplace?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

helenczerski, (edited ) to science

In this week's WSJ column, I wrote about how the engineered weaknesses in chocolate bars (the grooves) help break it, & now I have an inbox of cross people telling me they break chocolate by bending towards the groove (pushing down directly on the groove), rather than pushing on the side that doesn’t have a groove. I spent a lot of time drawing diagrams of cracks & fracture zones & it's never occurred to me to push on the groove. How do you do this?

https://t.co/x1whkiG9X6

helenczerski, to random

This is a continual mystery to me. I have never met a “Hellen”, spelled with two “l”s, ever. And yet at the sort of coffee shop where they insist on asking your name, they routinely spell it that way. And no, I don’t think that the existence of “Ellen” as a name fully explains this. I’m sure Helen is more common.

helenczerski, to ocean

awwww... there's a pygmy squid, and here's a lovely short comic story describing how researchers are trying to help it survive difficult conditions.

https://hakaimagazine.com/videos-visuals/pastoral-preferences-of-the-pygmy-squid/?omhide=true&utm_source=Hakai+Magazine+Weekly&utm_campaign=1403f0a3e9-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_09_06_COPY_03&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0fc1967411-1403f0a3e9-121628661

#ocean #squid #science #comics

helenczerski, to science

Apparently harbour porpoises in the North Sea go digging for sand eels, leaving shallow pits as evidence.

I would love to see a dolphin digging.

https://eos.org/articles/mysterious-seafloor-pits-may-be-made-on-porpoise?utm_source=EosBuzz&mkt_tok=OTg3LUlHVC01NzIAAAGRdJulTqLckljcD078Q5rYcfwEf-7rAiT2wvIX8XrphWGu8JuvpDHK2bW5ki1SjzKCh1B3eCT0Lma44yHruwoagRr38FRwkJMnztD84kwA

helenczerski, to science

It was great to talk to Adam Larson from FairScope at for @cosmicshambles.com The Planktoscopes are open-source, use cheap components, high quality and designed to bring the world of the small to everyone. If ocean/river plankton is your thing (professional researcher or interested citizen), do take a look. We were really impressed with their work to make science more accessible:

https://www.fairscope.com/

helenczerski, to sustainability

Fairscope do many other great things, but I LOVED the “Chairigami” furniture they were using on their stand here at the Ocean Sciences meeting. It was robust and comfortable and easy to flat pack. More of this!

helenczerski, to ocean

This is an absolute gem. The periodic kerfuffle about the Gulf Stream turning off (actually the science is about AMOC, NOT the Gulf Stream, but no-one apart from oceanographers seems to know or care) isn't new. My colleague Tom Rossby found & translated this short story from 1910 about Americans diverting the Gulf Stream and causing disaster for Sweden. Well worth reading (click pic):

https://web.uri.edu/gso/uncategorized/rossby-when-the-gulf-stream-was-commandeered/

#ocean #science #AMOC #GulfStream #climate

helenczerski, to random

The third part of the Freakonomics podcast look at the life of Richard Feynman is now out, and it's well worth a listen:

https://freakonomics.com/podcast/the-vanishing-mr-feynman/

(disclaimer: I appear in it briefly).

helenczerski, to rolex

drumroll The five Laureates of the 2023 Rolex Awards for Enterprise have just been announced, with five brilliant ideas to make the world a better, healthier and more sustainable place.

I had the enormous privilege of being a Juror, and it was fantastic to see so much energy and enthusiasm for making the world a better place, and so many creative ideas. Find out about their work here:

https://www.rolex.org/rolex-awards/latest-laureates


(photo copyright Rolex)

helenczerski, to science

Taking advantage of being here in New Orleans at the huge Ocean Sciences conference to interview some fabulous engineers for BBC R4’s Rare Earth. They are leading some great community-led projects building nature-based water management to protect against future floods & droughts.

image/png

helenczerski, to random

Is anyone here posting about the meeting in New Orleans? It's depressing that the official conference website only seems to acknowledge the existence of Twitter/X 😭

helenczerski, to random

Why do politicians find it so hard to keep their climate promises? In today’s Rare Earth (broadcast on BBC R4 at 12, & widely available as a podcast after that), we’ll be investigating the problem, and looking for workable solutions.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rare-earth/id1725984063

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001vbt0

helenczerski, to books

Just finisihed this & it's brilliant: Katalin Kariko's story of her life. She was convinced that mRNA therapies could work decades ago & did the foundation work, all while being ignored, never promoted & struggling for jobs.

Today, millions are vaccinated with mRNA vaccines & she has a Nobel prize.

It's a great story, and leaves a lot for the scientific system to think about. Highly recommended.

#books #mRNA #science #biography

helenczerski, to climate

Just found a new (to me) psychology phrase: "pluralistic ignorance". It refers to people holding one view but mistakenly assuming that the majority of others hold a different view, so they keep quiet. Very relevant for climate change action, where lots want action but think they're in the minority.

helenczerski, to science

Well, this is hardly good news: a potential new storm category:

"[The Saffir-Simpson] scale may not capture the risk posed by the most intense storms as the world warms... They suggest a sixth category that encompasses storms with winds greater than 192 miles per hour."

https://eos.org/articles/weve-already-seen-category-6-hurricanes-now-scientists-want-to-make-it-official?utm_source=EosBuzz&mkt_tok=OTg3LUlHVC01NzIAAAGRLIJuWnB_JWME03WVPRdXZd5Wd_gK_bg3bWfHPBWrgw5StMjB1fbQ1beOtdGLX08gdJLyiM5IHtwf2hykesZ8uCI0wB4RoIg5-E9AUNpG

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