Several weeks ago, after Tim DeChristopher received a two-year jail sentence for climate monkey wrenching, the outrage in various quarters was palpable. Some, like Jeff Goodell at Rolling Stone, saw a potentially historic moment in the making: For climate activists, this is a Rosa Parks moment. Or should be. In other words, the jailing of DeChristopher should…Continue Reading…
From the same thread, more evidence that the standoff has hardened into two immutable world views. One side says: Global warming denial is very much like a religious cult, and reaching the hardcore members is difficult. The other side counters: Global warming belief is very much like a religious cult and reaching the hardcore members is difficult….Continue Reading…
There is a profile of the world’s smartest and richest Malthusian in this Sunday’s NYT magazine that carries a headline he surely finds galling: Can Jeremy Grantham Profit from Ecological Mayhem? If you know anything about Grantham, then you know he wants to save the environment and civilization from ecological mayhem. As I wrote in this post…Continue Reading…
With political action on climate change stalled, and social science indicating that humans are not hard-wired to tackle distant and amorphous problems, climate writers might want to consider shifting the debate to the moral and ethical realm. Yes, some have tried this tack. For example, in 2010, James Hansen wrote in the Huffington Post: The predominant moral issue of…Continue Reading…
Kenya’s government has made a controversial move to allow the import of genetically modified (GM) maize from South Africa to fight hunger and starvation, even though GM crops cannot yet be legally grown in the country. Or, put another way, this news prompts Charlie Petit at The Tracker to remark: When people are starving, genetically modified…Continue Reading…
David Roberts of Grist is determined to puzzle out the obstacles to action on climate change. Last week, he argued that a fierce column of hairy-chested conservative white men (CWM) blocked the path to victory. If climate activists wanted to win the war against climate “deniers” (the rationale being that “deniers” are the main impediment…Continue Reading…
I think it’s safe to say that Drew Westen, in his recent NYT essay, channels the disappointment and anger felt by many liberal democrats these days. He argues that President Obama should have given this speech on Inauguration Day in 2009: “I know you’re scared and angry. Many of you have lost your jobs, your…Continue Reading…
Nobody in the blogosphere takes on the anti-vaccine movement with more passion than Orac, who is a surgeon and biomedical researcher. Stylistically, Orac is a bit long-winded for my taste, but his thoroughness is admirable and appreciated. While some may disapprove of his acidic tone, his persistent deconstruction of the arguments and propaganda advanced by the…Continue Reading…
“It’s kind of this post-modern, science fiction chaos,” said J. Peter Pham, an expert on Somalia with the Atlantic Council, a Washington, D.C., think tank. That description comes from a weekend article in the Buffalo News. It’s actually a profile of an anonymous NY state bureaucrat that opens this way: His first day back to work was…Continue Reading…
Carl Zimmer coins a term and it catches fire on Twitter. Some examples: @carlzimmer I point to the increase in global warming and I point to porn. That is all. #greenfieldism @carlzimmer I point to the deliciousness of waffles and I point to Belgians. That’s all. #greenfieldism @carlzimmer I point to climate change and I point to a dramatic decrease…Continue Reading…