Portland City Science Club

If you see a ladybug around Portland or the surrounding area, please consider taking its picture and submitting it to this citizen science project. They are studying the changing distributions of all ladybird beetle species around the country, and there's a simple form that includes location data and other details.

Lost Ladybug Project Across North America ladybug species distribution is changing. Over the past twenty years several native ladybugs that were once very common have become extremely rare. During this same time ladybugs from other places have greatly increased both their numbers and range. Some ladybugs are simply f...

An interview with Ralph Keeling on the milestone (arbitrary as it may be) of atmospheric CO2 concentration passing 400 ppm. The Keeling Curve is one of the best long-term climate data sets we have, and anything from Keeling is always worth a read:

We've reached a troubling carbon dioxide milestone - opinion - 29 May 2013 - New Scientist Atmospheric scientist Ralph Keeling explains the importance of measuring a CO2 concentration of 400 parts per million at the observatory his father set up

Unfortunate news about Science Pub. Looks like Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) wants to run it themselves and gave very little notice to the company that has run it very well for six years. More of a problem for me is that they are pushing a non-compete clause against Via, which will only result in fewer overall science events in Oregon for a year. Poorly handled.

Via Productions | Better Learning With Beer | Via Productions Last Friday OMSI very unexpectedly canceled my contract to organize and host Science Pubs across Oregon, effective immediately. I am heartbroken that I will be unable to be involved in the program going forward. The reasons for the cancellation are unclear, and OMSI has stated that they will be orga...

Tsunamis aren't just a danger to coasts. If they hit in the wrong place, they can affect communities miles up rivers as well. Researchers from OSU, UW and Portland State University studied the potential effect of a Cascadia tsunami on the lower Columbia River:

Tsunami Hydrodynamics in the Columbia River [1] H. Tanaka, A. Mano, and M. Roh, Tsunami propagation into rivers, Preliminary report for the collaborative survey efforts, at Kansai University, Takatsuki, 7/16/2011.