Latest Articles

On the peculiar American habit of demonizing food

Not long ago, a reader wrote in with an interesting response to one of my many articles condemning industrially grown corn. Yes, you can buy it! Photo: iStockphoto “When sweet corn appears at the farmers’ market next summer, can I buy it in good conscience?” she wanted to know. “Or is it bad for me […]

It’s not an alternative, it’s a subset

Newt Gingrich has a new book out called A Contract with the Earth, which purports to outline a "green conservatism." For a summary, you can check out this brief op-ed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. I approached it with an open mind — eagerly, even. There’s nothing I would like more than for a vibrant green […]

Observed warming since 1990 is greater than the models predicted

An article in the May 4 issue of Science shows that observed warming in the 16 years since 1990 is greater than predicted by models.

Perhaps models are underestimating future climate change. That would be bad news.

"Recent Climate Observations Compared to Projections"

We present recent observed climate trends for carbon dioxide concentration, global mean air temperature, and global sea level, and we compare these trends to previous model projections as summarized in the 2001 assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC scenarios and projections start in the year 1990, which is also the base year of the Kyoto protocol, in which almost all industrialized nations accepted a binding commitment to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The data available for the period since 1990 raise concerns that the climate system, in particular sea level, may be responding more quickly to climate change than our current generation of models indicates.

Those who argue that great uncertainty exists in our knowledge of climate need to recognize that uncertainty cuts both ways -- things could be worse than we think just as easily as they could be better.

Population is not the short-term problem

Now and again some commentator will claim that we lack to resources to support our population sustainably -- either today or in the near future. But the fact is, even with current technology we have plenty of sustainable resources for our ~7 billion population and for the ~10 billion we expect in the future. What prevents this is not scarcity but folly and cruelty.

What are the constraints usually cited? There is soil and sustainable food production. But as I recently documented, we can feed ten billion sustainably if we choose to. There is freshwater, but as I documented, we have sustainable ways to deal with that as well.

What about energy? Right now we use about 14 terrawatts total primary energy world wide. The most conservative estimates of potential efficiency increases say we can double efficiency. And the most conservative estimates overlook stuff we are doing in some places at this very moment, including the potential for changes in material intensity and savings in thermal losses by producing electricity from mostly non-combustion sources.

But of course we are also going to have increased population and a lot of poor people who want to get richer. So it is not unreasonable to assume that a ten-billion-population world that consumes energy thriftily but lives a decent lifestyle with indoor plumbing, hot water, refrigerators, basic electronics, enough to eat, enough work, enough leisure, and plenty to do with that leisure will consume around 25 average terawatts worldwide.

LEED competition

Speaking of green building, it looks like LEED may be facing some competition: Lake Oswego-based Green Building Initiative, a nonprofit formed in 2004 with money from the timber industry, is bringing a popular Canadian sustainability program to America. … Green Building’s leaders argue that the U.S. edition of Green Globes is Web-based, interactive and inexpensive […]

So much goodness you could waste a day

Every since my Brooklyn vacation, I’ve been behind and struggling to catch up. You know what that means … a link dump! Enjoy. In the course of joining the wonkosphere’s call for a carbon tax, Fareed Zakaria comes very close to repeating my slogan: Understanding the causes and cures of global warming is actually very […]

The roar of jets drowns out the warnings about jet emissions

"New Plane Trips Outstripping Any Ecological Improvements in Flying":

Educate yourself before going vegan

From the Associated Press:

A vegan couple were sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for the death of their malnourished 6-week-old baby boy, who was fed a diet largely consisting of soy milk and apple juice.

I realize this is an extreme example, and these two were way out of the norm in their ignorance about vegan nutrition. I am not posting this to slam vegans. I'm just using it as an opportunity to give some unsolicited advice to any of you with children who are planning to go vegan: educate yourself thoroughly beforehand. Talk and listen to experienced, knowledgeable vegans first. Cross check what you learn against a licensed pediatrician to make sure you get enough non-meat protein in their diets to feed their rapidly growing, protein-hungry brains.

Update [2007-5-11 13:1:32 by biodiversivist]: My apologies all, for not looking into this story in greater depth. I've been too busy to check in on the blog and I see it has a pile of comments already. An infant can die of malnutrition even if fed large quantities of food that does not contain adequate nutrition, such as fruit juice, and that is what I mistakenly thought had happened in this case. I did not realize that the child had actually been fed small quantities in addition to being fed inadequate nutrition.

I overlooked the one short sentence in the entire article that should have clued me in: "The child died because he was not fed. Period." The headline and subtitle, both crafted to sensationalize and maximize readership sucked me in. This was a generic case of child abuse and veganism had little to do with it. I have added more to this article below the fold and I'm sorry I didn't get back to it sooner sparing several rants.

Feed Your Head

Alice Waters leads 200-chef brigade to protect wild salmon Led by celebri-chef Alice Waters, some 200 chefs in 33 states are calling on Congress to protect river habitats and deprioritize hydroelectric dams that cramp Northwest salmon’s style. “Wild salmon is one of the unique, authentic heritage foods of the Pacific Northwest,” reads a letter that […]

I Don’t Want a Pickle, I Just Want a Fuel-Efficient Vehicle

Senate committee OKs bill to raise fuel-economy standards A Senate committee has approved legislation that would increase average vehicle fuel efficiency to 35 miles per gallon by 2020, with a 4 percent annual increase from 2021 to 2030. For nearly two decades, U.S. passenger cars have averaged 27.5 mpg, while light trucks and SUVs have […]