Jeff Danner's Common Science

Methane in the Water Part II: Fires and Explosions

Posted by Jeff Danner | Aug 24, 2014 | Common Science

Since methane, the primary component of natural gas, is quite flammable, the question I will address this week is what level of methane contamination in drinking water wells represents a fire or explosion hazard.

Methane in the Water Part I: Toxicity

Posted by Jeff Danner | Aug 17, 2014 | Common Science

In recent weeks, there have been many reports in both the local and national media regarding a study published by Duke University showing elevated methane levels in drinking water wells located near fracking operations in New...

Soil Part II: An Optimistic Global Warming Column

Posted by Jeff Danner | Aug 10, 2014 | Common Science

I was inspired to write this two-part series on soil by reading Kristin Ohlson’s recent book, The Soil Will Save Us. Part I focused on the management of minerals in the soil and suggested that increased use of seaweed-based...

Meanwhile In The Arctic

Posted by Jeff Danner | Aug 3, 2014 | Common Science

If you’ve been following along with me for a while, you will have read quite a few columns on global warming and climate change with the view that significant problems will be visited upon us sooner than is commonly predicted, leaving me open to criticism to being alarmist. It is with my potentially alarmist lenses that I have been following a series of events and trends in the Arctic that I find to be both troubling and consistent with my concerns.

UNC Program Promotes Energy Awareness Among Local HS Students

Posted by Jeff Danner | Jul 28, 2014 | UNC

This week the Institute is hosting 28 local high school students who will spend a week on the campus of UNC exploring topics related to current energy use, climate change, alternative energy and sustainability as part of the Climate Leadership and Energy Awareness Program (Climate LEAP).

Soil Part I: Seaweed Fertilizer

Posted by Jeff Danner | Jul 27, 2014 | Common Science

I am frequently drawn to write columns about soil, due to its vital importance as a national resource as well as the fact that we treat it so poorly. In this column, I will weave together some of the points I have made in the past and also explain why we should consider using seaweed-based fertilizers.

First, let’s talk about soil. An ideal soil has approximately 50% of its volume filled with solids and the other 50% with water and air. Ninety percent of the solids should be minerals, basically eroded rocks, and 10% should be organic matter such as decaying leaves. The spaces between the solids accommodate water and allow air to reach plant roots, a vital step in plant growth. Healthy soil is the most biologically productive environment on Earth. A single gram of soil can contain up to a billion organisms, representing over a thousand species.

Chikungunya Is Coming Part II

Posted by Jeff Danner | Jul 20, 2014 | Common Science

Despite the fact that it has been clear for a long time that chikungunya would eventually reach the U.S., we have not been preparing in a meaningful way. In particular, we have not created a vaccine nor have we been trying very hard to do so. A vaccine for chikungunya would come from either government labs or the pharmaceutical industry. Government health research has been hampered for the last several decades due to funding cuts, and developing new vaccines is not viewed as sufficiently profitable by the shareholder-value driven pharmaceutical industry. As a result, we are about to be caught with our pants down.

Chikungunya Is Coming: Part I

Posted by Jeff Danner | Jul 13, 2014 | Common Science

I have some troubling news to share with you. If not this year, then next, the United States is almost certain to experience an epidemic from a disease of which you may not have heard, chikungunya virus. Before I explain why I...

Hello, Arthur

Posted by Jeff Danner | Jul 6, 2014 | Common Science

When it is hot in the Pacific, it’s too windy in the Atlantic for many hurricanes to form – which explains why this year’s Atlantic hurricane season is off to a slow start. As I write this, the first named storm of the...

Brazil and BBQ

Posted by Jeff Danner | Jun 29, 2014 | Common Science

I did not publish a column for the last two weeks because my family and I were in Brazil attending a few World Cup Soccer games. For this week’s column, I want to share a few non-science thoughts about our Brazil experience, and...

Jeff Danner

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