I’m not sure what’s more revealing: that the 20-year anniversary of Ed Abbey’s death goes unnoticed in leading environmental outlets, such as Grist, or that it has occasioned a largely respectful tribute here. Like Bill Croke, the writer of that piece for The American Spectator, I’ve read Desert Solitaire twice. It remains the most mind-altering…Continue Reading…
These guys are are also really pissed off at journalists. After I read their rant I thought of that scene in Ghost, where the creepy dead guy on the New York City subway starts yelling at Patrick Swayze, “Get off my train!!”
At first I thought this was some spoof, then I saw CNN had picked up on it here a few months ago. Which means I probably missed Bill Maher talking about it. Now I’m wondering if the story of two pounds of 2700 year old weed discovered in the tomb of a light-haired, blue eyed…Continue Reading…
In the orthodox house of climate change advocacy, adaptation is the abused stepchild. It sleeps in the attic, is denied sunlight and proper nourishment. This ill-treatment owes largely to the mitigation brood, who have the run of the house. They ridicule and beat up on adaptation whenever he tries to sneak into the pantry for…Continue Reading…
Predictably, Joe Romm inflates the significance of this poll, and obviously fails to see the irony of his own role in that 41 percent number. For what’s it’s worth, I unpack the Gallup survey here. My take is that it’s a snapshot in time, should be seen in the context of the extraordinary moment we’re…Continue Reading…
Before you throw up your hands in disgust and move to a remote cabin in Lincoln, Montana, read the entire 2009 Gallup environmental survey closely. I say this, because Gallup’s headline, “Increased Number Think Global Warming is Exaggerated” is setting the tone for news coverage and blog chatter. The real story can be read in…Continue Reading…
In the Uncomfortable Truths Department, here’s one that is sure to raise the hackles of environmentalists who were quick to jump on the recent Australian bushfires/global warming bandwagon. Money quote: To say that climate change caused these fires is untenable. Before all you well intentioned environmentalists have a reflux reaction, breathe deep, swallow the bile,…Continue Reading…
And all you other little bitty blog fish swimming mightily upstream (and I’m right there, beside you), here’s something to consider next time you can’t stop obsessing over your lowly place in the blogosphere: Blog authority as measured by Technorati is declining. Welcome to the new “era of micromedia,” in which Links from blogs are…Continue Reading…
From embarrassment. Obama, it turns out, may not just herald a sunnier horizon for the environment, he may, as the subtext of this story suggests, be the last, best hope for mainstream environmental groups to diversify their memberships. Among the many reasons why this has yet to happen, Carl Pope bizarrely focuses on “cultural barriers,”…Continue Reading…
Over 20 years ago, Raymond Bonner was my man in Latin America. His dispatches were essential reading. Today, I hang on Jeffrey Gettleman’s every word filed from Africa. For those new to him, Jack Shafer’s recent profile in Slate is an excellent introduction. What’s so special about Gettleman is that he’s a great newspaper reporter…Continue Reading…