Sounds of the natural world = sounds of the divine

Living on Earth featured a marvelous conversation this week with Bernie Klaus, trained musician who is now an "acoustic adventurer."  Listen to the miraculous sounds he has recorded, including a haunting symphony by two packs of wolves, the scraping of insects' wings and sap moving inside trees.  Remarkable!

We will order Great Animal Orchestra: Finding the Origins of Music in the World's Wild Places, by Klaus, just published this year.   Listen to other sounds from nature in the Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics archive in the OhioLINK DMC. The Birds of North America also offers audio files, as does Grzimek's Animal Life.

Klaus remarked, toward the end of the Living on Earth segment, that "the sounds of the natural world are the sounds of the divine."  You may share that conviction after listening to his recordings.

Sherwood Rowland, CFCs, ozone depletion and the public role of scientists

Sherwood Rowland, CFCs, ozone depletion and the public role of scientists
RealClimate has posted a fine tribute to Nobel Prize Winner F. Sherwood Rowland, who died on March 10 at the age of 84 (obituary in Nature).  This observation of Dr. Rowland, following a lecture that prompted questions from an audience member with slight understanding of atmospheric science, is particularly telling:

"While everyone else was enjoying a beverage, cookies, and conversation, Sherry had been off in the corner for about 30 minutes talking with the questioner, explaining basic principles of atmospheric science, how the greenhouse effect works, etc. It didn’t matter that one of the two of them had a Nobel Prize while the other may not have had any formal education. What mattered to Sherry is that he had an opportunity to educate someone about this important issue, and that mattered more than anything."

I greatly appreciate this quote from Dr. Rowland, spoken during this Nobel Prize acceptance speech:

“What’s the use of having developed a science well enough to make predictions if, in the end, all we’re willing to do is stand around and wait for them to come true?”

Chemistry books top the new books list

The preponderance of new books in our last shipment are chemistry related, from Philosophy of Chemistry and The Chemical Element to Chemical Crystallography.  The last title includes highly specialized chapters by different contributors (e.g., "Construction and structure of metal-organic frameworks with specific ion-exchange property," by Man-Sheng Chen), while the first two are aimed at a broader audience.  The Chemical Element was published in conjunction with the International Year of Chemistry (2011) and relates directly to the UN Millennium Development Goals.  It demonstrates how the science of chemistry is essential for solving the most critical goals related to energy, climate, food, water, poverty, education and health.  It is accessible, important reading for anyone concerned about achieving a sustainable future for 10 billion or more people.  More new books.

Caterpillars: beautiful, mundane, beneficial and destructive

Now on the new book shelf:
Owlet Caterpillars of Eastern North America, by  David L. Wagner, Dale F. Schweitzer, J. Bolling Sullivan & Richard C. Reardon.  Princeton Univ Press.

This arrived on approval from our book vendor, YBP (Yankee Book Peddler, a division of Baker & Taylor), and I was entranced.  The publisher's description speaks for itself, and the thousands of color photographs are indeed impressive.  This is more than a guide to identifying species; the accompanying text tells the important story of the essential roles caterpillars have in varying ecosystems.  Gain a new appreciation of such humble seeming invertebrates by spending a bit of time perusing this volume.

Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography online

From Gale/Cengage

We have owned the print format of the Dictionary of Scientific Biography for many years, and can access it in the OhioLINK Electronic Books Center.  We now subscribe to the online version at the publisher's website (Gale/Cengage), part of the Gale Virtual Reference Library, where searching and browsing functions are very nicely supported.  Link to it from the OBIS catalog record.  Composed of 18 large print volumes, the title "Dictionary" does not do justice to this comprehensive encyclopedic work.  Take time to browse the index volume and jump from one entry to another, and you will gain a new understanding of the development of science and the people who advanced that knowledge throughout centuries.  Simply browsing the list of illustrations indicates the wide breadth of scientific information represented in the work.  Go discover!

In Memoriam: Sonali Seth, '02

We were so very sorry to learn of the passing of Sonali Seth, '02 who was one of the very bright, engaging and lively members of our student staff for two years.  Sonali's welcome to all who entered in the library was always warm and genuine, and she was a wonderful reference assistant in the period of transition between the old and new library.  As a senior science major, Sonali was truly helpful to everyone getting their bearings in the new science center.  A 2005 graduated of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health as a new MPH, Sonali had a passion for humanitarian assistance and health & human rights.  Her good works will be remembered by the hundreds of people whose lives she touched.  This photo was taken when Sonali first began work with us, in the fall of 2000, in the last year of operation of the library in Kettering Hall.

Energy Matters: Oberlin Project Blog is launched

Head over to Cindy Frantz's first post on the new Oberlin Project blog, where you can respond with your own thoughts on what is important about Oberlin and sign up for the project's e-newsletter.  Associate Professor of Psychology Frantz is also the Co-Chair of the Energy Planning Committee of the Oberlin Project.  Today's blog post appears in this week's Oberlin News Tribune, with the promise of future columns on "energy matters" in Oberlin and the immediate environs.  Frantz concludes her first column with these remarks:  "Energy matters in Oberlin because we care about each other, our community, and our planet.  We all want Oberlin to be healthy and prosperous.  By thinking carefully about our energy, we pave the way for a future we can all get excited about."  These are sentiments we can support throughout the community.  I encourage all residents - college and town - to learn more and be engaged in the Oberlin Project.