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…
During Bush’s two terms, I wrote a bunch of magazine stories about oil & gas development on public lands. I never encountered so many pissed off people. Many of them felt steamrolled by the energy boom– ranchers in Wyoming and New Mexico, environmentalists in Colorado, and archaeologists in Utah. Lots of career staffers in the…Continue Reading…
It’s not news that some sectors (and top brass) in the U.S. military are taking environmental issues seriously. But what’s news to me is that a legendary Vietnamese war general–someone who played an instrumental role in defeating France and then the U.S.– has suddenly gone green. According to this Grist story, Gen.Vo Nguyen Giap is…Continue Reading…
Are you having the same recurring nightmare, the one where you, WALL-E and Marc Morano (who is grinning maniacally) are the last inhabitants on earth? Does the sight of Bjorn Lomborg make you physically ill? Do you find yourself crying uncontrollably every time another chunk of the Antarctic ice sheet melts into the sea? If…Continue Reading…
In 2004, I got a small glimpse of the unseen (and sporadically reported) desperation along the rugged Arizona borderlands when I wrote this small piece on Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Nothing’s changed. Yes, billions have since been spent on militarizing the U.S.-Mexico border, but to what end? As this wrenching blog post by Michael…Continue Reading…
Hey, quite a spectacle over at Savage Minds, with a bunch of anthros, (apparent) journos and one sculptor/art historian-turned bloodhound ripping each other to shreds. People, people, is that any way to run a truth squad?
Imagine being tormented by this question your whole life: I was a good guy when I was drafted, a good guy from a good family. I wonder a lot, how did that good guy turn into something else? This muli-faceted story of a high school teacher’s crusade to protect impressionable students is quite poignant.