The allure of technology is so great as the Ultimate Answer that politicians, policymakers and engineers continually chase after it the way a drug addict chases after that first high. And so, speaking of drugs, we learn today that a squad in the Homeland Security Department is trying out all manner of hi-tech gimmickry to…Continue Reading…
There are two competing apocalypse narratives in the media today: one concerns global warming and the other journalism. I tend to shrug off the former (enough things about this world already bum me out and besides, plenty of people already carry that catastrophe torch), but I’m on board with the latter. So is Sy Hersh,…Continue Reading…
A journalist reflects on whether a story he wrote was influenced by his own biases and private advocacy.
Green the Pentagon’s mighty military apparatus and everyone else will follow. At least that’s the WSJ’s Keith Johnson’s useful interpretation of the latest CNA report, entitled, “Powering America’s Defense: Energy and the Risks to National Security.” Johnson’s historical perspective is instructive and makes me think that the clarion call issued on Monday by a high-voltage…Continue Reading…
If all the main players and policy instruments in the congressional debate over climate change were represented in a demolition derby, here’s what it might look like: In a brand new Lexus GS, a Democratic politician (Waxman-Markey) is behind the wheel, clumsily groping at an anorexic cap and trade bill in the front passenger seat….Continue Reading…
UPDATE: [Here are some stories on the CNA report from BusinessWeek, DefenseNews, and ClimateWire. Additionally, the DOD Energy Blog weighs in, and so does The New Security Beat.] Nice timing by CNA, issuing this new report today by its Military Advisory Board, entitled, “Powering America’s Defense: Energy and Risks to National Security.” Climate change is…Continue Reading…
If you thought the debate over cap and trade legislation (as embodied in the Waxman-Markey bill) was already overheated, ridiculous, and divisive, you ain’t seen nothing yet. The real fun begins today, with amendment madness unleashed by the Republicans. That will amount to little more than a sideshow, but as the markup process plays out…Continue Reading…
Environmentalism, for all its success, is still largely shaped by its elitist roots. It also remains a movement made up of upper-middle class whites, something leaders of established environmental groups had cause to lament after Obama was elected president. In recent years, scholars and journalists have written books on how this lack of racial and…Continue Reading…
Krugman goes to China and makes a stunning discovery: I have seen the future, and it won’t work. Seriously, though, the rest of his column effectively highlights–momentarily, at least–the grim specter hanging over the global warming debate, otherwise known as the “China problem.”
So the battle is joined: “The complaint has no merit at all,” Jared Diamond tells Science magazine in an exclusive interview published today, referring to the $10 million lawsuit filed against him and The New Yorker, for his April 2008 piece on a blood feud in Papua New Guinea. The Science story is only available…Continue Reading…