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Earth

Ancient Megadrought Entombed Dodos In Poisonous Fecal Cocktail 55

sciencehabit writes: Nine hundred kilometers off the east coast of Madagascar lies the tiny island paradise of Mauritius. The waters are pristine, the beaches bright white, and the average temperature hovers between 22C and 28C (72F to 82F) year-round. But conditions there may not have always been so idyllic. A new study suggests that about 4000 years ago, a prolonged drought on the island left many of the native species, such as dodo birds and giant tortoises, dead in a soup of poisonous algae and their own feces.

Comment Re:But why? (Score 1) 634

At the very least, make it a survey course prior to selecting your major. I remember my first EE class (sorta). We basically discussed what EE was, where it was going, who the major players in EE were in terms of physics, mathematics, etc. All sorta dry and uninteresting until we got to the "applications" part. Our EE professor worked on optics research being used on the AH64 Apache and the like and since we had just started bombing/blowing shit up in Iraq, he showed us what his team was working on, etc. Yes yes, horrible stuff, blowing up people, but to my 18 year old mind it was absolutely amazing. "This.. THIS is what I can do with an EE degree!" I imagine there were a lot of peaceniks who were not so enthused. Now, imagine a similar class, but instead of showing us the wonders of war and destruction (or .com billionaires), show how a simple engineering solution eradicates worms in Africa, how to make potable water for villages in need of water (like Los Angeles, apparently). I can see most guys shrugging but women becoming interested in these issues. How about that? You've basically just added a single class that can contextualize the next 4-8 years of what an engineering degree leads to that appeals to women and gets them into the field. That's a win in my book.

I also remember how devoid of women the math and engineering departments were in college. Anything to get that number up without having to resort to taking Sociology is a win for your potential dating pool.

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