"Bring Us Your Dead"
That’s the headline on this dispatch describing a “mortuary crisis” in Zimbabwe. It’s the latest humanitarian tragedy to hit a country in agonizing free fall.
Monthly Archives : February 2009
Are You Ready
For panarchy? It’s a complex theory about how complex we’ve made the world, after several long cycles of change and adaptation –and why human civilization may now be on the cusp of social and ecological collapse. Here’s the money quote, from ecologist Buzz Holling–which he said before the worldwide economic meltdown: This is a moment…Continue Reading…
Space, the Final Frontier
In case anyone missed, it, Andrew Revkin’s post on the possible unintended effects of a renewable energy breakthrough is must reading. Revkin’s provocative thought experiment has inspired a lively conversation on his essential blog, dotearth, with over 100 comments. Reader reactions have run the gamut, but the one that caught my eye was this one,…Continue Reading…
Dead Enders
Being in the Republican minority has it’s perks, especially if you’re Marc Morano, the communications director for Republican Senator and climate skeptic dead-ender James Inhofe. You get to spend oodles of time debating the merits of climate science with journalists on blogs, as Morano did most of yesterday over here. What impresses me most is…Continue Reading…
Sagebrush Redux
Not long after I posted this about a Utah state legislative resolution to keep hydraulic fracturing unregulated, I got wind of a similar effort underway in Wyoming. What a coincidence: the separate bills are moving through their respective chambers today. Could this be the stirrings of another sagebrush rebellion? Last week, Mike Noel, a Utah…Continue Reading…
For the Record
I heard back from Odyssey this morning about this charge, which they said is “untrue.” Then they politely directed me to their long list of publications here and here.
What the Frac?
The Utah state legislature is getting odder by the day. Recently, it passed a bill that prohibited wildlife from being injected with birth control substances–except in special circumstances and then only by authorized personnel. I explained the reason here. Today, a senate committee of the state legislature is taking up consideration of a bill that…Continue Reading…
Where's the Science?
Is Odyssey Marine Exploration, the Florida-based company that discovered a 18th century British warship, talk a good archaeological game? I argued here that the gains to science trump the company’s treasure-seeking motive. But do they do any archaeology? A reader emails me: The complaint archaeologists have against Odyssey’s plundering the oceans is that they refuse…Continue Reading…
Coyote Kibble
It makes total sense. We like to throw moldy bread at squawking pigeons and ducks, and place birdfeeders in our backyards. So maybe it’s not so asinine that some people have taken to feeding wild coyotes. This story in the Rocky Mountain News explains why that’s not a good idea. Neither is decorating your yard…Continue Reading…
Australia's Bushfire Blunder
Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that the horrible fires in Australia can be partly attributed to global warming. It’s a legitimate storyline, which many in the media have picked up on. By and large, these stories have been measured, with the appropriate caveats. (See here and here for two good examples.) The brutal…Continue Reading…