There’s a fascinating, informative discussion thread on the dynamics of societal collapse over at The Oil Drum, prompted by a very readable 10,000 word essay on the fall of the Roman empire, cleverly entitled, “Peak Civilization.” This is really complicated stuff that the news media utterly fails to convey, preferring instead to focus on single-cause…Continue Reading…
The dominant framing of the water/drought issue in California is quite similar to that of the emerging climate change/developing world meme. In California, drought is simplistically blamed for the state’s water woes and economic plight of farmers. Similarly, venerable authorities claim that climate change is responsible for 300,000 annual deaths and much misery in developing…Continue Reading…
It’s easy to imagine George Will smirking as he wrote this, and Joe Romm snarling as he posted this, the bile in his gut gurgling upwards into familiar screeches, “SHAME…NO SHAME…SHOULD BE ASHAMED…ARRGGHH…DENIERS…BREAKTHROUGHWILLHIATT…YEAHHHAA…
Summarizing the theme of a recent hearing at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Kate Sheppard at Grist writes: More senators and citizens might support a climate bill if it emphasized the national security challenges presented by climate change, former Virginia Sen. John Warner (R) argued on Tuesday. I’ve made similar points here and here. I’ll…Continue Reading…
In response to this article, the Blue Marble tries valiantly to drive a stick through the zombie that stalks us all: We love a good conspiracy as much as the next investigative magazine–especially one that involves Big Pharma, the FDA, and the CDC. But as we’ve extensively reported here, the vaccines = autism meme might…Continue Reading…
Timothy Egan is one of the best writers at the NY Times. Here’s his killer lede from today’s column: Like a brief, intense summer squall, a media storm passed over small-town America a few years ago, stripping away what was left of the myth of the rural idyll to reveal a cast of hollow-cheeked white…Continue Reading…
I find it astonishing that J-schools out West are content to stand pat amid the newspaper industry’s collapse. How is it possible that a noted environmental journalist from one recently shuttered paper can scrounge only $3,000 for his new investigative operation? The Rocky Mountain News and Seattle Post-Intelligencer are gone. Where are the innovative partnerships…Continue Reading…
I’m enjoying the bloggy-world dust-up between Mooney/Kirshenbaum and PZ Myers.
Now that my CU Fellowship is over, I’ve been out in the field reporting on a bunch of stories, so blogging has been light the last few weeks. Here’s a piece on the big pothunting investigation I recently wrote for Science magazine, published today (sub req). For those who haven’t followed the twists and turns…Continue Reading…
An economist from Australia who had never heard of Roger Pielke Jr. until he saw this warped criticism from Joe Romm actually takes the time to read Pielke and concludes: In no way is the guy a “climate denier”. Rather, he seems concerned that: 1. Proposed policy is too ineffective and instead more measures should…Continue Reading…