Guest Thinkers — May 11, 2010

Plan B in the Gulf

Over the weekend BP’s latest effort at stanching the Deepwater Horizon oil spill failed. The New York Times asked five experts to weigh in on what might now be done.

bigthinkeditor

Over the weekend BP’s latest effort at stanching the Deepwater Horizon oil spill—placing a huge metal dome over the leak—failed. The New York Times asked five experts to weigh in on what might now be done. They suggested, among other things, that oil and gas companies stop outsourcing critical, high-risk operations; that the water around the spill be seeded with absorbent materials like cellulose fibers or animal hair to soak up oil; and that the oil slick not be hit with chemical dispersants.

a computer generated image of a human brain.

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The great free will debate featuring Michio Kaku and Steven Pinker

Who — or what — really controls your mind?

Building destroyed by the Halifax Explosion. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

The Past

The largest accidental explosion of all time

More than a century ago, Halifax suffered an accidental blast one-fifth the size of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

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7 min

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with

Laurie Santos

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