Articles by David Roberts

Why only takings?

I have a question about these "regulatory takings" measures (which Eric is ably blogging about here, here, and here). Maybe Eric can answer it, or one of you can.

The basic idea behind these things is as follows: the government passes some new regulation that restricts land use; a landowner thereby loses some of the value of his land (e.g., he can no longer sell it to a strip mall developer); the government is obligated to compensate that owner for the lost value. Only fair, right?

Put aside the practical consequences for a moment. Instead, answer me this:

A melange of tasty treats

The week's almost over, and you know what that means: time to clear out the Firefox tabs.

Thanks, Al Gore!

According to a recent MIT survey, Americans now rank climate change as the country's most pressing environmental problem--a dramatic shift from three years ago, when they ranked climate change sixth out of 10 environmental concerns.

Almost three-quarters of the respondents felt the government should do more to deal with global warming, and individuals were willing to spend their own money to help.

In other news, stay tuned for a global collapse of all species currently fished, possibly by mid-century.

David Quammen chats about evolution, science, religion, and his new book

Though we do not, alas, live in the kind of world where science writers become celebrities, David Quammen has developed an unusually devoted fan base. As a young man he aspired to write fiction, and that sensibility remains evident in science writing that reads like literature — humane, absorbing, occasionally thrilling. His “Natural Acts” column […]

Lots more

The folks at the League of Conservation Voters -- who are not at all milquetoast, but rather courageous and heroic! -- found a bunch more green campaign ads in addition to the ones I talked about here. A whopping 122 of them, in fact. They've put together a playlist on YouTube, which you can browse in the player below.