How to challenge a dogma – Part II
The economic prosperity of the US, the sole superpower of our time, could only be possible due to labour exploitation. Four million African slaves were thrown overboard while being transported…
Billboards: the display of suggestive advertisements
On October 17, 2018, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered the removal of all billboards and hoardings from public properties, including overhead bridges, service lanes and pedestrian pathways and overheads,…
Global natural gas crisis dampens momentum for ‘cleaner’ LNG
Europe’s energy crisis has cooled efforts to lower the carbon intensity of liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments, as buyers worried about a winter supply crunch prioritize securing shipments of any…
The hand that feeds
Pakistan has had its fair share of men with a saviour complex. And it has been seen, always, as a damsel that needs rescuing from above: by those to whom…
Hungry and parched
Trees throughout the world are vulnerable to excessive heat. A warmer atmosphere sucks more moisture from plants and soil. During droughts, trees close pores in leaves, called stomata, or shed…
Gun epidemic
While in Havana this past February, I made the acquaintance of a man in his mid-fifties, who hailed from the eastern Cuban province of Guantanamo and who in 1986 had…
Science on health
First, the conservatives struck down New York’s requirement for gun owners to prove why they should be allowed to pack heat in public. The ruling ignored, among many practical realities,…
The poetry of science exploration
Light travels at a finite speed of 300,000km per seconds – the speed of light. Because the speed is finite, every photon in every ray of light that reaches an…
Heatwaves
Fish that evolved over thousands of years to survive in cool waters have died in staggering numbers in recent years, blanketing the surfaces of US rivers. And it’s not just…
Strength in numbers
There’s this quote that does frequent rounds on Pinterest, and the like: “Don’t judge me by the mistakes I’ve made, but by what I’ve learned from them.” If you haven't…
