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Values

From what I've seen, everything Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus have produced consists of one part genuine insight, one part confusion, and one part banality, presented with a breathless air of revolution, an undertone of smug satisfaction, and a generous dollop of self-promotion.

Garance Franke-Ruta's long, dense piece in this month's American Prospect more or less confirms that assessment. It's not about the Death stuff, but a broader project to map the current values of the American public and help progressives figure out how to appeal to them. The reapers are opening an American branch of the Canadian consumer-research firm Environics -- bringing the extremely sophisticated research tools used by the private sector to the public sector (where conventional polling is woefully inexact).

The basic picture is this: For the past couple of decades, "values" have come to eclipse, and in many ways serve as a proxy for, issues of economic self-interest. This has left the Democrats out in the cold. So what are those values?

Here's the nut:

Global warming could wipe out the bottom of the food chain.

When you woke up this morning, did you thank [God, your lucky stars, the Big Bang] for plankton? If you didn't, consider adding it to your daily routine. Sure plankton are teeny-tiny and look like scary aliens, but they're also moderately important, in that sustaining-life sort of way.

Sadly, global warming could kill them off. The Independent wins my nomination for "Most Sinister Opening Paragraph o' the Day":

The microscopic plants that underpin all life in the oceans are likely to be destroyed by global warming, a study has found.

The article goes on to tell how this has "catastrophic implications" and is "potentially devastating," not just because the little critters are chow for bigger critters, but also because they absorb carbon dioxide in their wee bodies and take it with them when they die and sink to the ocean floor. Thanks for taking one for the team, plankton.

Of course this was entirely expected and scientists have been taking steps to resolve this imminent disaster, right? Uh, no.

Scientists had believed phytoplankton, which survives best at depths of about 100 metres, is largely stable and immune from the impact of global warming.

Whoops!

Without phytoplankton, the oceans would soon because marine deserts.

This is depressing, so I'm going to end this post with an exciting contest! Fun, fun! First person to name the band and song title of the following lyric wins a virtual high five from me!

"The ocean is a desert with its life underground, and a perfect disguise above."

Good luck!

It’s a rough winter down Russia way

Russia's energy woes -- and, by extension, Europe's -- continue as the country scrambles to deal with the coldest recorded weather since 1927.

As one story reports, cuts in exports "hit supplies across Eastern Europe and sparked criticism from both the European Union and the United States that Moscow was 'politicising' energy."

Um, takes one to know one?

Zoo Peeper

Jacko gets a pass on conditions at his private zoo If there’s one subject we like writing about more than cow poop, it’s the narcissistic hijinks of our celebrity overlords. If they are 90 percent synthetic, all the better. Speaking of: Seems Michael Jackson has been cleared of charges of mistreating the menagerie of exotic […]

Johnson Left Hanging

Six former EPA chiefs tell Bush to cap and cut greenhouse gases Six former heads of the U.S. EPA — including five Republicans — have blasted the Bush administration for failing to act on global warming. In an unprecedented united front, the ex-chiefs, gathered yesterday to commemorate the agency’s 35th anniversary, agreed that debating the […]

Dust Breathe

EPA seeks to rescind clean-air protections for rural areas A new Bush administration proposal would strip significant clean-air protections from rural areas. The U.S. EPA would exempt these areas from meeting federal standards for coarse particulate matter — essentially, windblown clouds of dust — and end federal monitoring of particulate levels in those locales. The […]

The Sound of One Hand Tapping

Greenpeace joins lawsuit against Bush admin’s secret wiretap program On Tuesday, a diverse group of individuals and organizations filed suit against the National Security Agency, asking a federal court in Detroit to declare the agency’s clandestine domestic eavesdropping program unconstitutional. The plaintiffs — ranging from Greenpeace to stalwart Iraq war booster Christopher Hitchens — have […]

An interview with swashbuckling climate scientist Lonnie Thompson

Lonnie Thompson has clocked more hours above 18,000 feet than any other person in history, and yet he doesn’t exactly like climbing mountains. A masochist? No, just a hard-driving climate scientist. The iceman cometh. Photo: Courtesy Lonnie Thompson. Thompson treks up the highest peaks of the tropics — including the Himalayas and Andes — to […]

We’re all going to die

Wow, well ... shit.

This piece in Fortune, adapted by Eugene Linden from his book Winds of Change, is a front-runner for the most depressing thing I've ever read. I don't see how anyone could read it and feel anything other than depressed paralysis.

I guess you should read it, if depressed paralysis is your thing. Me, I'm headed to Costco to buy some bottled water, canned food, and a rifle.

(hat tip: Bart A)

Umbra on choosing a laptop

Dear Umbra, I am buying a new laptop, and I was wondering if all computers are the same energy-wise, or if some brands are better for the environment? Aviva HorrowPhiladelphia, Pa. Dearest Aviva, You’re already off to a good start, as laptops consume far less energy than desktop machines — we’re talking over 50 percent […]