Category Archives: science policy

The Areas of Our Expertise (30 Days of Creativity, Day 28)

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Andrew Plemmons Pratt

When I told the colleagues and contributors I used to work with through Science Progress that I was leaving my job to teach, they’d usually assume that I was headed to a science classroom. “I wish,” I’d say, “But I … Continue reading →

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A Progressive Education

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Andrew Plemmons Pratt

In light of Obama declaring his campaign for re-election, I thought it would be a good occasion to share something intimately connected to his current presidency. Below is the farewell email I wrote to my co-workers at the Center for American Progress … Continue reading →

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The environmental impact of meat production

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Andrew Plemmons Pratt

Generally speaking, meat production in the United States is produced in an environmentally unsustainable manner. An important personal rationale for sticking to a mostly vegetarian diet is that it reduces by some small amount demand for meat production processes that … Continue reading →

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The Other DNA Day

Posted on April 24, 2008 by Andrew Plemmons Pratt

Tomorrow is National DNA Day, in commemoration of the 1953 discovery of the molecule’s double helix structure and the 2003 completion of the Human Genome Project. But while the focus of the government-conceived holiday is on the DNA of one … Continue reading →

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Some Problems With Dismissing Science, Critical Theory, and Sustainability

Posted on April 1, 2008 by Andrew Plemmons Pratt

In the third paragraph of his lengthy and provocative article on “Science and the Left” in the Winter issue of The New Atlantis, senior editor Yuval Levin swiftly dismisses five headline-grabbing objections raised in recent years to conservative blindness on … Continue reading →

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Federally Financed R&D Expenditures at Doctorate-granting Institutions by State, FY 1993-2006

Posted on March 28, 2008 by Andrew Plemmons Pratt

Here we’re going to experiment with a Google gadget displaying Federal expenditures on state R & D over a period of 14 years: Source: SSTI

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PLoS Sustainability?

Posted on March 26, 2008 by Andrew Plemmons Pratt

The more I learn about specific issues within energy and environmental policy–biofuels, for instances–the more clearly the complexity of those issues demand reshifting the terms of the debate. Biofuels, for example, aren’t just about “energy independence.” But they’re also not … Continue reading →

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