End of Semester Brain Asymmetries

The tide of new books continues to roll in, just as students are less likely to want anything else to add to the mix of completing projects, studying for finals and returning library materials.  Nevertheless, there are many delightful books that offer a respite - just 15 minutes of reading a portion of Divided Brains (for example) could give you renewed enthusiasm for whatever lies ahead.  Development of lateralization in the brain is evidenced by a wide array of behavior and skills, from tail wagging in dogs (the tail swings farther to the one side or the other, depending on whether the dog is being approached by its owner or by a more dominant dog) to a larger than average posterior area of the right hippocampus in London taxi drivers (the size of the hippocampus relates directly to spatial ability).  Don't ask how we know - come take a quick look at the book and see what else is of interest on the new books shelf.

Mother : Caring for 7 Billion

There's no denying that population growth is a huge factor contributing to greater environmental and social issues. However, it is a concern that no government or society is willing to address due to political and cultural sensitivity. The film Mother: Caring for 7 Billion attempts to present a different plan for sustainable humanity as scientists and experts discuss overpopulation and the social complexities ingrained in history and surrounding the issue.

In celebration of Earth Day, and continuing throughout the month of May, this film can be streamed online for free at the following link. Alternatively, the DVD can be checked out directly from the Science Library.

If you have a continued interest in this important topic, consider checking out the following books that can be found in the science library:

Mother Earth and Uncle Sam: how pollution and hollow government hurt our kids -Rena I. Steinzor
calling attention to a problem harming our children and future generations - that is, pollution - that could be eliminated if government weren't underfunding projects, distorting science, or misusing cost-benefit analysis or regulatory authority

Why Have Children? : the ethical debate -Christine Overall
a presentation of the ethical reasons for and against having children, including discussions about reproductive freedom, obligations to procreate, and concerns about overpopulation and extinction

Current Reading and "Grand Challenges in Science Education"

Have you checked out any journals in the science library, recently? Each of our journals is available for a one-day loan period. We place all of newly-received journals on a rack near the main entrance to the library before moving them to the shelving on the north side of the library. There are 9 new issues on our shelf as of yesterday afternoon, including Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS), DNA and Cell Biology and American Scientist, among others!

The latest issue of Science contains a number of articles addressing the "Grand Challenges in Science Education". Articles aim to answer a range of questions, including how an optimal combination of physical and virtual labs can be used in the science classroom, why the goals of science education for non-scientists should be redefined, and how undergraduate teaching and institutional demands on professors should be rethought. If any of this sparks your attention, come in and check this issue out at the library.

You can also access each of these articles online, but why not come in grab a journal so you can take it outside for some sunshine 'n reading today? It's going to be 68°F and sunny on this beautiful Saturday afternoon!

Love a Tree on Arbor Day

Magnolias grace the south piazza, Oberlin College Science Center

Today is Arbor Day - thank a tree for the oxygen you breathe, the carbon it harbors, the shade it provides, the birds and squirrels it shelters, the enriched soil it stabilizes.  This is the perfect day to admire any one of hundreds on campus now bursting with extravagent blossoms, buds and new leaves.

Learn more about Arbor Day:

Planting nature : trees and the manipulation of environmental stewardship in America / Shaul E. Cohen.  Berkeley : University of California Press, c2004.

Get news about trees every week, from the American Forest Foundation.

Hangout with National Geographic, Celebrate Earth Day all week

National Geographic is celebrating Earth Day 2013 with some remarkable photos, stories and information intended to inspire and perhaps galvanize us all into more environmentally friendly ways of being. Visit the site, learn more with a Google Hangout.

Find current coverage of other Earth Day 2013 activities with a search in Summon. For a historical perspective, check out this book:
Before Earth Day: the origins of American Environment Law 1945-1970.

This is a good week for re-reading Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.  This edition features an introduction by Al Gore.

Window Seats Beckon on a Drizzly, Windy Friday

Spring in northeast Ohio.  

Yesterday's brilliant sun is now veiled in rain clouds, while the temperature plummets 30 degrees.  Typical?  You bet.  The Weather Almanac reports these numbers for April in Cleveland, Ohio (all in degrees Fahrenheit): 

57 normal daily high

38 normal daily low

88 record high (in 1986)

10 record low (1964).

At least it isn't snowing.  That might come tomorrow.

Spring Break Hours (all 37 of them)

We are counting the hours until Spring Break - and wishing you all a blissfully restive (maybe a tad festive) and restorative week!  If you are on campus and would like a VERY quiet place to study, read, reflect on the gray skies and bare trees and long for warmer days, we'll be here!

• Monday - Friday  9-noon and 1-4:30pm 
•  Note - the library will be closed 3:30-4pm on Wednesday afternoon.  
• Open for semester hours again:  Sunday evening, March 31:  7pm-12midnight.

If you manage to get somewhere with balmy weather and sunshine, bottle some for us.