About the Jprof ... He teaches science and environment writing, journalism, web design, media history media law, and peace studies. His latest book, Revolutions in Communication, spans six centuries from the Gutenberg Bible to the Wikileaks controversy. |
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Recent news articles & commentary Professor explains role of radio in Titanic tragedy -- Radford University, April 5, 2012 -- If Guglielmo Marconi had not been so stubborn, perhaps 1,600 would not have perished when the Titanic sank in the icy Atlantic 100 years ago. Earth Hour pauses at the US border -- The Daily Climate, March 30, 2012 -- Consider an hour without power, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, local time. Organizers say as many as 1.8 billion will join in the symbolic environmental event worldwide. But if you live in the US, your neighbors may think you just blew a fuse. Running on 'E' -- Norfolk Virginian Pilot, Dec. 3, 2011 -- "Ethanol isn't new. Benjamin Franklin used it for his warming pan in the 18th century, said Bill Kovarik, a professor of communication at Radford University who has studied the topic. Henry Ford built the Model T with an "adjustable carburetor" to run on gas or ethanol, Kovarik said. United Nations: Leaded gasoline to be eliminated -- Associated Press, worldwide, Oct. 27, 2011 -- Leaded gasoline became universal despite warnings from public health advocates and a scandal over the deaths in 1924 of six refinery workers in Newark, New Jersey, who were poisoned while manufacturing it and “were led away in straitjackets,” said Bill Kovarik, a journalist and communication professor at Radford University who researched the history of leaded gasoline. What comes after ethanol? -- Roanoke Times, Sept. 4, 2011 -- Some people say that government shouldn't be in the business of choosing technologies. They say they want an unregulated marketplace. But if that were true, we wouldn't have military protection for the Persian Gulf, we wouldn't have an insurance ceiling for the nuclear power industry, and we would still be talking about taking the lead out of gasoline. We need to remember our history and use a little common sense in our energy policy before taking thoughtless actions we may later come to regret. Second battle of Blair Mountain continues -- Earth Island Journal, June 2, 2011 -- The marchers who will take to the roads of West Virginia next week to try to stop the demolition of yet another mountain for the coal underneath will be following the same route that more than 10,000 well-armed miners took 90 years ago... Hezekiah Niles: a patriotic newsmagazine editor in the 19th century --Baltimore Sun, Sept. 4, 2011 -- Niles was a devoted patriot and an editor with vision. He managed to put aside his own partisanship in order to reach out in the spirit of compromise. He hoped that spirit might hold the nation together. Although his ideas were widely accepted in the North, he found attitudes in the South hardening during his years as editor. Public Broadcasting's Fight for Funding --Roanoke Times, Feb. 20, 2011 -- ... The Corporation for Public Broadcasting was created by President Lyndon Johnson in 1967, but the roots of educational and public broadcasting go back to the early days of radio, when communities, schools and churches started their own services, according to Radford University communications professor Bill Kovarik. "Federal licensing for commercial stations basically pushed all those educational stations off the air," said Kovarik, who has written a media history textbook titled "Revolutions in Communication." Ethanol gets a boost -- National Public Radio, Dec. 21, 2010 -- Ethanol may seem modern, but people throughout Appalachia have been making it for hundreds of years. "We are known for our moonshine industry," says science writer Bill Kovarik with a laugh, "very well known for our moonshine industry. It is still flourishing." Kovarik, who's also a professor at Radford University, says that ethanol is, first and foremost, a way to make corn more valuable. More than a century ago, Henry Ford built cars to run on it, with just that in mind. "So, you could replace the transportation income that farmers used to have by [their] growing the fuel for the cars, instead of growing horses and feed." Prohibition killed that idea, but the farm crisis, oil shocks and environmental concerns have revived it. Lawmakers gave companies a tax credit — currently 45 cents a gallon, more than $5 billion a year — for blending ethanol with gasoline. Where are the Steve Wozniaks of the Energy Revolution? True Slant, May 30, 2010 A Better Law is Needed Encyclopedia Britannica Advocacy for Animals forum, May 10, 2010 Appalachian Feudalism New York Times, April 14, 2010 Enduring legacy: Women and the Environmental Movement -Radford Women's Forum, March 9, 2010
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