All Blog Posts from Tech Talk

Scientists across the country have heralded the Obama administration's approach to research and development. Already it’s a stark contrast to the Bush years. But what exactly will be done for areas like stem cells, global warming, and space exploration?

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"Only On The Web": Daniel Sieberg shoots a behind-the-scenes look at his report on the effects of climate warming on coral reefs.

How does a typical day unfold for your humble correspondent? Well, needless to say, it varies depending on what's making news, my availability, our internal resources, etc. A couple weeks back I used my Flip camera (see video below) to capture a rather hectic travel and filming day as I went from New York to Baltimore, then drove to Frederick, Maryland, back to Baltimore and then into Phoenix. (In the same day!)


The story we shot in Frederick was going to air this week, but now it's slated for next Thursday, April 24, as part of a mini-series on the environment. That's the one about the CRAGs or Carbon Reduction Action Groups. You'll see a little of what it takes to get the story, and how some long days turn into REALLY long days. The trip to Phoenix was to cover the Space Access conference, which is an annual gathering of the commercial space industry. In other words getting you and me into space -- safely -- without the involvement of NASA. Of course, it's prohibitively expense right now, but that'll change.

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About to head on the road for a couple of upcoming stories -- one on personal space travel (a la Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic) and another on neighborhood-based groups looking to reduce their carbon footprint through working together (a la WeightWatchers Meetings to reduce, well, weight). In the meantime, I have a troubling story airing tonight on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric that definitely will have some people cringing and outraged at the same time. It's about the hay shortage in parts of the southeast, caused primarily by last year's drought. As a result, the price of hay has gone up dramatically (doubling, even tripling) such that small famrs simply can't cope with the rising costs. Some owners are making sacrifices in their own life to feed their horse friends, but others are abandoning horses along highways or in city parks.

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So, as it turns out the Consumer Electronics Show got the best of us, in some ways. The producer on the shoot got a wicked case of the flu, I caught a minor stomach bug going around and basically we hobbled out of Las Vegas with some story ideas for the future. Overall, a decent show, but definitely subdued. Hard to tell if it was a result of the New Hampshire primary or our collective illnesses or a cooling in the gadget world. Food for thought. In any case, we move onto tonight's piece on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric that highlights a growing problem in the technology marketplace -- what to do with all the tons of discarded electronics? James Burghett, a former drug addict and homeless person, is taking the challenge head on.

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It's been three weeks since we returned from our Arctic adventure, and tonight the first in our series of stories will air on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric. There are four parts in total, with the remainder airing tomorrow, Wednesday and Saturday nights. Do these stories aim to solve the severity of global warming? Of course not. They are meant to shed light on an important subject to us all -- climate change -- and how what happens in the Arctic is tied to those of us in the south. It's a journey to the top of the world.

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