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A self-endorsed celeb fights for the planet

Tired of celebrities. Declares self one. Distributes Lester Brown's book to all. Saves world.

Is greenwashing good for business?

In public talks about Aspen Skiing Company’s environmental programs, I used to describe our wind-powered Cirque chairlift. Renewable-energy purchases for that lift keep 30,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas, out of the air annually, I’d tell my audience. Furthermore, it was the first renewably powered lift in the country. My listeners would […]

A little bit country, a little bit pathetic and lazy

To animal lovers, the idea of proudly displaying the remains of something you hunted down and killed is a sad aspect of male bravado. Well, consider if the animal was a domestic creature raised in a cage for tourists to photograph. Troy Lee Gentry, of the country music duo Montgomery Gentry, has been charged with paying $4,650 to the Minnesota Wildlife Connection to kill a tame bear named "Cubby."

Animal terrorism

First there was the pack of squirrels that attacked and killed a dog in Russia. Now there's a group of "urban" raccoons taking out house cats in Olympia, WA. Apparently they even managed to carry off a small dog, although it survived the encounter.

What's next? Serpents that infest a jet airliner and viciously attack the passengers with poison fangs? (Woops, didn't mean to spoil any movie plots ...)

In other news, a Celebrity Cruises ship arrived in Seward, Alaska, last weekend with a dead humpback whale pinned to the bow.

The latest transmission from Mongo

Yesterday, Sen. James Inhofe (R-Mongo) reiterated his skepticism about climate change. He claimed that the purported concern over global warming is a front for international economic movements (I'm assuming of the socialist variety). Relatedly, Inhofe said that the U.N. is trying to impose a "global tax" and that the U.S. should cut off its funding.

And then there's this:

U.S. involvement in Iraq has been incredibly successful and developments there have been "nothing short of a miracle," Sen. James Inhofe said Monday.

Fear and environmentalism: more

(Second in a series; first part here.)

The brain's alarm circuits are clustered in an almond-shaped neural structure called the amygdala, known colloquially as the "lizard brain." When it receives warning that a threat may be present, it sends a chemical fight-or-flight signal.

The prefrontal cortex, source of higher cognitive functions, assesses whether the threat signals (which are frequent, as the amygdala operates on a bit of a hair-trigger) are worthy of attention. It acts as a check; it has to, or complex thought would be impossible. We'd always be fighting or flighting.

This simplifies things quite a bit, obviously. But it's no mere metaphor to say that fear (flight) and anger (fight) are pre-rational -- or if you prefer, arational. They are the deepest and most fundamental dispositions, what we share with every creature, amoeba and up. We humans flatter ourselves about our intellectual powers, but in the end we are animals, and hormonal danger signals can quite easily overwhelm all rational thought. Fear and anger are prior; reasons, justifications, and evidence are posterior.

The most inconvenient truth

When many environmentalists discuss the costs of significantly reducing CO2 emissions in the near-to-medium future, there is a degree of unreality clouding the discourse. There is plenty of talk of new technologies and improvements in energy efficiency, but insufficient discussion of the projected demands for energy in the future.

The reality is that there are billions of people in less developed countries who have been waiting a long time to enjoy the comforts and luxuries we take for granted in the developed nations, and they are not going to put aside their material aspirations for the sake of global warming, no matter how convincing the evidence.

Adieu, Advisinator

Environmental adviser to Schwarzenegger steps down Terry Tamminen, influential environmental adviser to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, is leaving his post, taking with him some of the green — ethos, that is. Tamminen, a Democrat, was part of the Governator’s inner circle and an outspoken voice for environmental protection. Republicans in the California legislature won’t miss […]

Like Blight on Rice

U.S. commercial rice crop contaminated with GM strain The U.S. government admitted last week that its commercial supply of long-grain rice has been contaminated by an illegal, untested, genetically modified strain with the warm-and-fuzzy name of LLRICE 601. The European Union, the biggest importer of U.S. long-grain rice, may decide to delay or ban imports; […]

Radioinactive

Nuclear industry will move forward, but not significantly The much-heralded revival of the U.S. nuclear industry is moving at a less-than-explosive pace (ha ha!). The slow growth isn’t for lack of trying by the Bush administration, whose 2005 energy bill juices the industry with tax credits, insurance, loan guarantees, a ceiling on accident liability damages, […]