The Role of Scientist Bloggers

Given the politicization of climate science in the public sphere, I'm not sure it makes sense to mention climate blogs in the same breath as archaeology blogs. Still, there are familiar challenges (and rewards) to blogging for both climate scientists and archaeologists. So I advise any climate scientists lurking at my blog to read a recent terrific assemblage of posts by archaeologist bloggers who discuss the purpose of their blogs, how their blogging contributes to the discipline, and how their blogs enhance public knowledge of archaeology. See here and here for the roundup. Meanwhile, I'll make one unsolicited suggestion for the climate science blogosphere: Create more blogs like this one. As my friend Hillary Rosner discusses here, that's the element most of us science writers would prefer to be in, and the kinds of stories we like to tell. I'll also try and do a better job incorporating these dispatches from the field into my own blogging.