April 2015 will be the fourth anniversary for Common Science®. In each of the past three Decembers I have published a hyper-linked index for the columns from that year. This year I decided to do something different. Below is an index with links to all 185 columns I have published.
I have some new ideas for Common Science® for 2015. I’ve been writing for 3.5 years, doing the radio spot (Mondays at 4:32 on 1360 AM/97.9 FM WCHL, Chapel Hill, NC), and have been running a Twitter Feed, @commonscience, for about a year. Lately, I have been evaluating where to go next. I’ve written an outline for a book and also started to develop some materials to teach a class or workshop on some of the topics I have covered. My friend Robert has suggested that I start up a companion website for my columns on Chapelboro.com. I’m also developing a logo.
This comprehensive index has helped me to sort through my thoughts on possible new directions. For you, I hope it can serve as a bit of a reference e-book of easy-to-understand science explanations accompanied by my (hopefully) interesting, insights and commentaries.
I particularly enjoy receiving correspondence from readers at commonscience@chapelboro.com. With rare exceptions, I respond to all of them. So if you have a comment or question on something I have written about or want to suggest a topic for a future column, shoot me a note.
Common Science Comprehensive Index
1 April 25, 2011 An Introduction to Your Host
2 April 25, 2011 Photosynthesis Part I: Oxygen Gets All the Press
3 April 27, 2011 Nothing Matters More than Oil, Nothing
4 May 5, 2011 Local Deal: 60% Off Hot Water
5 May 10, 2011 Dating an Engineer
6 May 16, 2011 Photosynthesis Part II: Glucose Needs a New Agent
7 May 20, 2011 Shelter from the Storm
8 June 1, 2011 Petroleum: 300 Million Years of Sunlight
9 June 5, 2011 Is Your Cell Phone Trying to Kill You?
10 June 11, 2011 Farewell to Brood XIX
11 June 18, 2011 Peak Oil in Five Paragraphs or Less
12 June 27, 2011 Lessons for Chapelboro from George Washington
13 July 4, 2011 Gas Prices and the Dow Jones
14 July 10, 2011 A Science Question for Michele Bachman
15 July 17, 2011 Fun with Fritz and Carl
16 July 29, 2011 Welcome to the Greenhouse
17 August 8, 2011 Electricity Production 101
18 August 14, 2011 To Frack or not to Frack
19 August 22, 2011 The World’s Greatest Cheat Sheet
20 August 24, 2011 Earthquake!
21 September 5, 2011 It’s a Theory that’s Out There
22 September 11, 2011 Everything Comes from Oil, Everything
23 September 19, 2011 Flu Season Primer Part I: The Virus
24 September 25, 2011 Flu Season Primer Part II: The Immune System
25 October 2, 2011 Flu Season Primer Part III: The Flu
26 October 9, 2011 The Flu: Epilogue
27 October 16, 2011 Entropy and the Local Economy
28 October 20, 2011 The Saudi Arabia of Denial
29 October 30, 2011 iPads, Priuses, and Neodymium
30 November 7, 2011 It’s Getting Crowded in Here
31 November 13, 2011 Your Mother the Plant
32 November 21, 2011 Carbon Monoxide – The Silent Killer
33 November 28, 2011 Advice to My Nephew on Whether to Study Science or Engineering
34 December 5, 2011 Biofuels Part I: Biodiesel Basics
35 December 12, 2011 Biofuels Part II: The Secret Life of Vegetable Oil
36 December 18, 2011 Biofuels Part III: Ethanol, It’s not Just for Breakfast Anymore
37 December 27, 2011 “A Year from Now You Will Wish You Had Started Today”
38 January 9, 2012 Chapelboro 2050 Part I: Life on Two Wheels
39 January 16, 2012 Chapelboro 2050 Part II: A Farewell to Lawns
40 January 22, 2012 Yes, We Have no Bananas
41 January 29, 2012 Chapelboro 2050 Part III: Get into the Zone
42 February 6, 2012 Chapelboro 2050 Part IV: The Good Dirt
43 February 12, 2012 2012 The Year Without Winter
44 February 20, 2012 Keystone Controversy
45 February 27, 2012 What a Fracking Mess
46 March 5, 2012 Follow the Bouncing Rubber Ball
47 March 12, 2012 Water Part I: Is God a Mathematician?
48 March 19, 2012 Lessons from the Explosion in the iPad Factory in China
49 March 26, 2012 Water Part II: Water, Water Everywhere, Nor Any Drop to Drink
50 April 1, 2012 Water Part III: Get the Salt Out
51 April 9, 2012 Water Part IV: When the Well Runs Dry
52 April 23, 2012 Another Piece of the Fracking Puzzle
53 April 30, 2012 Water Part V: When Oil and Water Mix
54 May 7, 2012 Getting Ready for Summer with SPF
55 May 14, 2012 Yes This Really is a Column about Phosphorous
56 May 21, 2012 Fracking, What NPR Left Out
57 May 28, 2012 Gravity, Still a Mystery
58 June 4, 2012 The Transit of Venus
59 June 11, 2012 Bronze Age Part I: Intelligence versus Accumulated Knowledge
60 June 18, 2012 Bronze Age Part II: The Case of the Missing Copper
61 June 24, 2012 High Fructose Corn Syrup, One Lump or Two?
62 July 2, 2012 Don’t Know Much Biology
63 July 9, 2012 The God Particle
64 July 16, 2012 Don’t Sweat It
65 July 22, 2012 Welcome to the Greenhouse: Reprise
66 July 29, 2012 To Frack or not to Frack: Reprise
67 August 6, 2012 When the Lights Go Out
68 August 12, 2012 Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite
69 August 20, 2012 Marriage Advice from Common Science
70 August 26, 2012 The Science Behind WCHL, Your News, Talk, and FM Station
71 September 3, 2012 West Nile Virus
72 September 10, 2012 If We Mine it or Drill It, We’re Going to Burn it
73 September 17, 2012 Nuclear Power Part I: The Science
74 September 24, 2012 Nuclear Power Part II: Waste, No Solution So Far
75 September 30, 2012 Nuclear Power Part III: Safety and Conclusion
76 October 8, 2012 Why This is an Important Year to Get Your Flu Shot
77 October 15, 2012 Deep Sea Vents, The Key to the Biggest Question in the Universe?
78 October 22, 2012 Political Non-Science Part I
79 October 28, 2012 Political Non-Science Part II: Calling Dr. Holdren
80 November 4, 2012 Nanotechnology
81 November 6, 2012 Why Ohio is not Close
82 November 12, 2012 Risky Business
83 November 19, 2012 Methane Hydrate Part I: The Science
84 November 26, 2012 Methane Hydrate Part II: All You Really Need to Know About Global Warming
85 November 30, 2012 Common Science Flash Post: Flu Season Update
86 December 3, 2012 The Greatest Invention of the 21st Century
87 December 10, 2012 An Ode to President Carter
88 December 16, 2012 The Lesson of Nylons
89 December 31, 2012 Common Science: The Year in Review
90 January 7, 2013 A Follow-Up Question for Mr. Skvarla
91 January 14, 2013 Hemp, George Washington Grew It
92 January 20, 2013 In Which I Reveal Myself to be a Luddite, At Least Partly
93 January 27, 2013 Perils of a Hyper Hygienic Existence
94 February 4, 2013 Bananas Will Never Grow in Barrow
95 February 10, 2013 Dear God What is that Smell?
96 February 18, 2013 Food Part I: Three Book Recommendations
97 February 24, 2013 Food Part II: The Science of the Stomach
98 March 4, 2013 Food Part IIIA: Wonder Bread is not Wonderful
99 March 11, 2013 Food Part IIIB: An Apple a Day Really Did Used to Keep the Doctor Away
100 March 18, 2013 Common Science Column 100
101 March 24, 2013 Food Part IV: The Chicken and the Egg
102 March 31, 2013 Food Part V: Conclusion and Some Politics
103 April 15, 2013 National Helium Shortage
104 April 21, 2013 Want to Grow the Local Economy? Hire More Engineers
105 April 29, 2013 Advice for Opponents to the Keystone XL Pipeline
106 May 6, 2013 Depleted Uranium
107 May 12, 2013 Cougars in Chapel Hill in 2035?
108 May 19, 2013 Ten Things You Should Know about CO2 Topping 400 PPM
109 May 26, 2013 Mentors
110 June 3, 2013 Hurricanes Part I: Hurricane Barry
111 June 10, 2013 Hurricanes Part II: Storm Surge
112 June 16, 2013 Hurricanes Part III: Frequency and Global Warming
113 June 23, 2013 Voyager I: Off to Interstellar Space
114 July 1, 2013 Empire of the Ants
115 July 8, 2013 No Where Else for the Rain to Go
116 July 21, 2013 The Power of Backpacking
117 July 29, 2013 Monkey Pox . . . Seriously?
118 August 5, 2013 Something is Rotten in the Province of Alberta
119 August 11, 2013 The Caterpillar Effect
120 August 19, 2013 Could Caesar Eat Peanuts?
121 August 25, 2013 The Rise and Fall of U.S. Infrastructure Part I: The Rise
122 September 1, 2013 The Rise and Fall of U.S. Infrastructure Part II: The Fall
123 September 8, 2013 The Rise and Fall of U.S. Infrastructure Part III: Conclusion
124 September 16, 2013 The Butterfly Effect
125 September 23, 2013 A World without Fossil Fuels
126 September 29, 2013 Bacteria and Obesity, A Surprising Link
127 October 6, 2013 Your Sister the Mushroom
128 October 13, 2013 Fungi of the Future
129 October 20, 2013 How Engineers Spend Their Spare Time
130 October 27, 2013 The Uncommon Core of the New Math
131 November 3, 2013 The Physics of Your Fireplace
132 November 10, 2013 Sudden Cardiac Arrest Part I: The Heart
133 November 17, 2013 Sudden Cardiac Arrest Part II: Heart Attack or Cardiac Arrest
134 November 24, 2013 Sudden Cardiac Arrest Part III: First Aid
135 December 1, 2013 It’s the Extraction, Not the Emissions, That Matter
136 December 8, 2013 Sudden Cardiac Arrest Part IV: The Frozen Man
137 December 15, 2013 Smog, The Desolation of Shanghai
138 December 22, 2013 Common Science 2013 Index
139 January 5, 2014 2014 Predictions Part I: The Positive
140 January 12, 2014 2014 Predictions Part II: The Negative
141 January 19, 2014 We Can Afford More Math Textbooks
142 January 26, 2014 West Virginia Chemical Spill
143 February 2, 2014 My First PC Weighed 25 Pounds
144 February 10, 2014 Keystone Pipeline Update
145 February 16, 2014 A Tale of Two Spills
146 February 23, 2014 The Case of the Missing Propane
147 March 3, 2014 Checking In on Peak Oil
148 March 16, 2014 China, The Canary in the Coal Mine
149 March 23, 2014 3D Printing Part I: The Technology
150 March 31, 2014 The Birthday Problem
151 April 6, 2014 3D Printing Part II: The Future
152 April 13, 2014 3D Printing Part III: A UNC Connection
153 April 20, 2014 The Vanishing of the Bees Part I: Psychology
154 April 27, 2014 The Vanishing of the Bees Part II: Local Efforts
155 May 4, 2014 My Conflicting Thoughts on Beekeeping
156 May 12, 2014 Meanwhile, In the War on Science
157 May 18, 2014 Renewable Energy is Sort of like the Internet
158 May 26, 2014 Fracking Gag Rule Part I: Trade Secret?
159 June 1, 2014 Fracking Gag Rule Part II: The Real Reasons
160 June 8, 2014 Fracking Gag Rule Part III: Wastewater
161 June 29, 2014 Brazil and BBQ
162 July 6, 2014 Hello, Arthur
163 July 13, 2014 Chikungunya is Coming: Part I
164 July 20, 2014 Chikungunya is Coming: Part II
165 July 27, 2014 Soil Part I: Seaweed Fertilizer
166 August 3, 2014 Meanwhile in the Arctic
167 August 10, 2014 Soil Part II: An Optimistic Global Warming Column
168 August 17, 2014 Methane in the Water Part I: Toxicity
169 August 24, 2014 Methane in the Water Part II: Fires and Explosions
170 August 31, 2014 Why Solar Roads Are a Bad Idea
171 September 7, 2014 How to Teach an Engineer to Play Guitar
172 September 14, 2014 All About Electricity
173 September 21, 2014 Chikungunya Part III: The Epidemic Continues
174 September 28, 2014 Of Minerals and Men
175 October 5, 2014 Mercury Rising
176 October 12, 2014 The Case of the Disappearing Lakes
177 October 20, 2014 How Chemical Engineering is Like Calculus
178 October 26, 2014 Common Science Grab Bag
179 November 2, 2014 Spinal Cord Miracle?
180 November 9, 2014 Is the Toilet the Greatest Public Health Invention Ever?
181 November 16, 2014 Why are the Norwegians Burning Trash?
182 November 23, 2014 An Engineer on a Diet: Part I
183 November 30, 2014 An Engineer on a Diet: Part II
184 December 7, 2014 Fracking: A Raleigh-Riyadh Connection
185 December 14, 2014 Results of My 2014 Predictions
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