Articles by Biodiversivist
My real name is Russ Finley. I also have my own blog called Biodiversivist, which contains articles in addition to those submitted to Grist. I live in Seattle, married with children. Suffice it to say that although I am trained and educated as an engineer, my passion is nature. I very much want my grandchildren to live on a planet where lions, tigers, and bears have not joined the long and growing list of creatures that used to be.
All Articles
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Malysia maligned!
The Energy, Water, and Communications Minister of Malaysia expresses his concerns over a boycott of palm oil in a speech to a gathering of biofuel traders (from the AFP):"They come up with 'Palm oil kills ... the orangutan'," said the minister in a fiery speech, during which he repeatedly mimicked orangutan noises.
"They know they cannot compete with palm oil so how do they fight you? They find some reason and hit you below the belt."
"So we have to fight that. Don't worry ... we will. When Malaysians get angry, they fight. And I guarantee you we will win."I just hope he doesn't go home and slap a bounty on orangutans. (Click here if you are curious to know what a real orangutan sounds like.) The minister seems to think that European rapeseed farmers are behind it all, and who knows, maybe they are.
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Tankage
If you hadn't heard, the carbon-trading market tanked the other day. Economists are not sure if it did so because industries were able to limit emissions better than anticipated, or because the limits on emissions were too lenient and the industries just didn't need to buy many carbon credits:
"But the latest figures ... revealed that 21 of the 25 member states produced 2.5% less CO2 in 2005 than participants had forecast."
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Can biodiversity adapt to a human-altered world?
Nope. And that picture isn't real. Only people can adapt to a rapidly changing environment, and even we have our limits. Everything else has to pretty much stick to the ecosystem it evolved in. Global warming is a fact that we are going to live with for the next century or so, regardless of how successful we are at reducing CO2 emissions. Reducing emissions is just one thing that needs to be done. Finding ways to limit the damage caused by global warming must be done in parallel -- mitigation of the effects along with prevention of the effects. Debates over how funds should be spent will forever be a part of the environmental debate.
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MIT and me
I must apologize for posting on this subject yet again, but an article was recently brought to my attention that reflects my viewpoints so exactly that I feel compelled to tell you about it, so I can bask in the warm glow of smug self-righteousness. From Technology Review (an MIT enterprise):
Because the advanced lithium-ion batteries put a lot of power into a small, light package, a much smaller battery is needed to power the car, which could reduce hybrid prices. As a result, a variety of cars in a fleet could come with a hybrid option that costs about as much as the option for an automatic transmission...
In the short term, however, [this] seemingly logical assumption about lower-cost hybrid cars might not be right. ...a major reason consumers buy hybrids today is to have a "badge of honor" that shows their commitment to the environment or to curbing gasoline use. ... Part of this distinction... comes from having to pay a price premium for the vehicle. Hence, in the short term... it might actually be wise for carmakers to leave hybrid prices higher.
