“Don’t fight, adapt.

Also, is oil production really peaking? Not in Brazil:

Wait a minute. Wasn’t oil supposed to be running out? Wasn’t all the oil out there already discovered? If this new “Sugar Loaf” field in Brazil pans out, the world oil picture won’t be the same.

Brazil will become an even bigger exporter in a decade or so than projected and could put pressure on the club of petrotyrants that now has a monopoly on resources. Best of all, it throws doomsday assumptions about oil “peaking” on its head.

The world produces about 85 million barrels of oil a day, according to the International Energy Agency. Global energy demand is expected to rise 55% from 2005-2030. Peak oil theories abound that new discoveries are not keeping up with oil usage. But it’s significant that the new demand also is fostering big new discoveries, largely from the very countries where demand is growing most.

It’s gloomy times for gloom mongers.

“Don’t fight, adapt.

Also, is oil production really peaking? Not in Brazil:

Wait a minute. Wasn’t oil supposed to be running out? Wasn’t all the oil out there already discovered? If this new “Sugar Loaf” field in Brazil pans out, the world oil picture won’t be the same.

Brazil will become an even bigger exporter in a decade or so than projected and could put pressure on the club of petrotyrants that now has a monopoly on resources. Best of all, it throws doomsday assumptions about oil “peaking” on its head.

The world produces about 85 million barrels of oil a day, according to the International Energy Agency. Global energy demand is expected to rise 55% from 2005-2030. Peak oil theories abound that new discoveries are not keeping up with oil usage. But it’s significant that the new demand also is fostering big new discoveries, largely from the very countries where demand is growing most.

It’s gloomy times for gloom mongers.

John Tierney had a discussion with one of the researchers. As he notes, the public reaction to this research is fascinating. Sexual orientation (like evolution) is one of those areas where people check their rationality at the door.

And (as is more and more the case the longer I blog), this isn’t the first time I’ve discussed this issue.

A very nasty new virus. If you get a cold that gets very bad, particularly with lung congestion, get to the doctor immediately.

I doubt if this will work for humans (for one thing, I’m pretty sure that my heterosexuality has nothing to do with my sense of smell), but it does show that sexual orientation is a lot more complicated that most people want to think.

Should this be a necessary characteristic of a president?

If so, I suspect that none of the major candidates, of either party, would qualify (though perhaps Ron Paul might, being an MD). Hillary!, Obama and Edwards are all lawyers. So are Giuliani and Thompson, and Romney has a JD and an MBA (though McCain might have picked up math and science at Annapolis). Why would they know much about science? And historically, while there have been exceptions, not that many people come to politics at all, let alone the presidency, via science.

There’s a lot more to scientific literacy than understanding (and agreeing with) evolution, and being in favor of embryonic stem cell research. In fact, I don’t think that Al Gore is scientifically literate (in the way I understand that phrase–a good understanding of basic scientific principles, and able to both perform and recognize good analysis, including the math, as well as a facility with logic).

Well, at least Sophie gets it right. If she’s his wife, she married an idiot. Or at least an ignoramus.

[Update while later]

Perhaps it’s not so surprising:

Well of course that’s what they’d say. Aren’t the French told from birth that the entire Universe revolves around them?

I wonder how Americans would do? Sadly, probably not much better.

Don’t tell them that they are.

I think that it’s going to be tough to estimate the huge damage to society that the “self esteem” movement has caused.

[Via Geek Press]

Canadian beer drinkers threaten the planet.

Mark Steyn’s shirt buttons (presumably the lower ones) are bursting with pride.

Apparently, I’m not doing enough of this:

“It was hard to believe at first,” said Marc Hamilton, associate professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia and leader of the research team. He said the team didn’t expect to find a strong signal when they began researching what happens to fat when we remain seated. But the effect, both in laboratory animals and humans, turned out to be huge.

The solution, Hamilton said, is to stand up and “putter.”

Hey, but isn’t sex good, too?

Seriously, when I was at Rockwell (a decade and a half ago) I used to do a lot of MBWA (management by walking around). It was a big plant. These days, working from home, not so much. I’ve added an inch or two to my waist. I do stand a lot, schmoozing in the hallways, when I go to a conference, every couple months, but I also notice that it kills my back. I can walk for hours, but standing is miserable, at least at the end of the day.

What to do…?