The underlying basis for why some people become so fiercely opposed to genetically modified crops or to action on climate change is often not grounded in science. That’s why I’ve come to believe that the anti-science tag is misused and a distraction from what’s really at play. An example of what I mean is captured…Continue Reading…
Despite the charges in some quarters that I indulge in “hippy punching,” (code for those challenging environmentalist dogma or climate hyperbole), I’ve long been an admirer of muckraking journalism. One of my early formative experiences to the genre came when I was a boy growing up on Long Island in the 1970s. I attended a…Continue Reading…
The recent speech that Mark Lynas gave fleshing out his evolution on environmental issues–specifically his conversion on GMOs–continues to ricochet around the web. It’s a compelling story. If you’re just catching up, here’s a quick recap from Andy Revkin: The arc of Lynas’s fascinating career is in some ways neatly encapsulated by two acts at…Continue Reading…
What would the science blogosphere look like in 1993 if it were around then? For one thing, I bet ecology blogs would have been all the rage, because there were huge hairy fights over the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA), national forest policies, and the meaning of wilderness, to name just a few issues that…Continue Reading…
Yesterday, in response to a story in the NY Times, entitled “Sudan Court Fines Woman for Wearing Trousers,” Andy Revkin posted this meta thought at Dot Earth about the future of women in the developing world and how that ties into humanity’s prospects for sustainability: In a broader sense, then, there appears to be simmering…Continue Reading…