Tobias S. Buckell's Blog, page 55

Stand your ground is a horrible application of law and justice. End of story.

This about all I can calmly write after last night, to quote this:

“Whites who kill blacks in Stand Your Ground states are far more likely to be found justified in their killings. In non-Stand Your Ground states, whites are 250 percent more likely to be found justified in killing a black person than a white person who kills another white person; in Stand Your Ground states, that number jumps to 354 percent.

You can see the breakdown of the killings in the chart below. The figures represent the...

America the unequal: (some US counties have the life expectancy of a developing world country)

I wrote about this effect last year, when I pointed out that the life expectancy in my own county was similar to that of the developing world. I got a lot of shit for it, but inequality in America means that there is tremendous disparity within the country.

“Lifeexpectancy for males in 11% and for females in 14% of US counties was below that ofNicaragua. In some counties, such as McDowell County, WV and Sunflower County, MS,life expectancies are lower than Bangladesh for males and Algeria for...

Solar To Hit Grid Parity by 2020?

It’s just one analyst, but that will be an interesting tipping point:

“Solar PV modules are increasingly becoming commoditized as costs steadily decline and research paves the way for further cost reductions. Module costs have fallen from around $4 per watt in 2006 to below $1 per watt in some regions by 2012, driving solar power toward grid parity in mature retail energy markets.

‘By the end of 2020, solar PV is expected to be cost-competitive with retail electricity prices, without subsidies,...

Add another Caribbean novelist in SF/F to your list: Gemsigns

A lot of people ask me about other Caribbean novelists writing novels. I always cite Nalo Hopkinson and Karen Lord in addition to myself. I recently linked to Robert Sandiford’s superhero novel. Now you can add Stephanie Saulter’s Gemsigns to the book. It’s released via Jo Fletcher/Quercus in the UK. Hopefully we’ll see it in the US soon as well.

I have not had a chance to read it, just ordered a copy from overseas.

“For years the human race was under attack from a deadly Syndrome, but when a c...

Sometimes the void howls back

Sometimes as a writer you wonder if you’re howling into the void. I actually took a mental health break today, got fiddly stuff done in the morning and then after some freelancing spent a chunk of today playing Civ V: Gods and Kings to just let my back brain recover from a long few days of work.

But sometimes the void answers back, and you find that someone has listed you in a list like this, and you’re like ‘woah.’

“Books change lives, right? Well, they certainly changed mine. Books have been...

Impact of car-oriented design on health

I’m constantly stunned at the number of people who use a car to travel 1/2 a mile. But this article is right, some of that is because we live in environs that make even a 1/2 mile walk appear easier to do in a car.

Madness.

“According to the Federal Highway Administration’s 2009National Household Transportation Survey, 68 percent of the trips taken by U.S. residents between ½ and 2 miles in distance were made by vehicle. Only 23 percent of such trips were made on foot.

One-third of respondents r...

Summer Arctic Ice loss accelerating way faster than predicted

When I wrote Arctic Rising, 2050 for ice-free sounded science fictional. Now some scientists are saying it’s 2040:

“Looking at not just the area, but also the age and thickness of sea ice is a key aspect of understanding why an ice-free Arctic summer could occur in far less time than previously thought – perhaps less than a decade from now. It is also a level of complexity often ignored by the media.”

(Via Summer Sea Ice Cover Is Smaller, Younger, Thinner | Barentsobserver.)

Russia gets ready for large drilling in the Arctic

There be black gold under them snows… (via Alex Avriette)

“Last year, Russian state-controlled oil conglomerate Rosneftbecame the largest oil company in the world after acquiring one of its major competitors.The company has had its sights on tapping Russia’s vast, treacherous Arctic reserves, and after making a few huge deals, it looks like it now has the resources needed to do so.”

(Via Russian Oil Behemoth Rosneft Has Unlocked the Arctic | Motherboard.)

As a barbarian, I will also skip this movie

If you don’t know who Orson Scott Card is, he’s a science fiction writer who sits on the board of NOM and writes things like this:

Regardless of law, marriage has only one definition, and any government that attempts to change it is my mortal enemy. I will act to destroy that government and bring it down…

…

Biological imperatives trump laws. American government cannot fight against marriage and hope to endure. If the Constitution is defined in such a way as to destroy the privileged position of...

SpaceX tests reusable first stage rocket

SpaceX has another iterative test of its reusable first stage:

What’s additionally intriguing is how golden age this is: a rocket landing on a tail of fire.