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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Anti-status status
This ad agrees with me (hat tip to DRx) -- the car, not so much. I think this kind of ad would be especially effective at selling cars based on their gas mileage (in other words, small cars). You could target your competition by making their cars be the ones driven by the egotists. Never mind that anti-status is just another form of status (a way of saying you are better than someone else). The human propensity for self-deception would make short work of that little unpleasantry and the result might be that high gas mileage would become the new status symbol. The other beauty of this kind of ad is that it cannot be turned around to sell big cars.
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Bicycles are old school
I was riding my electric hybrid bike to the basketball court last night and stumbled upon the Ride of Silence staging area at Gasworks Park here in Seattle. Too bad I didn't have my camera. Anyone who rides a bike in Seattle is aware of the sorry state of our streets. On my way home that night I counted five potholes big enough to take out any unwary bicyclist. -
Environmentally friendly drag racing
When is that plug-in hybrid going to get here? And where is that cellulosic biofuel technology? I admit to having paranoid thoughts lately. Paranoia, as anyone who has eaten one too many "special" brownies knows, can be an unpleasant mental state (especially when combined with the giggles).
Could it be true that oil companies are buying off researchers?
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Tug of war
I have tried to stay out of the ethanol debate because I always assumed it would die a natural death. However, it does not seem to be going away, so I thought I would look into the latest hoopla. A tug of war is quietly taking place inside environmental groups as individuals sort out where they stand on a given biofuel issue. For example, Mongabay has an upbeat article on biofuels, surrounded by articles showing its destructive potential. I suspect the same thing is happening inside the Sierra Club, The Nature Conservancy, and everywhere else. The idea that environmentalists are now in bed with God-fearing patriots on the issue of oil independence might seem unsettling at first, but to be honest with you, neither side has a monopoly on rational thought. When our heads start to hurt from thinking too much, we tend to just go with what feels good.
