Articles by David Roberts
David Roberts was a staff writer for Grist. You can follow him on Twitter, if you're into that sort of thing.
All Articles
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The libertarian West and environmentalism
OK, one more before I go.
Libertarians are, for obvious reasons, disillusioned with the contemporary Republican party, which has done more to expand the executive power of the federal government than any regime in the last 50 years.
Will they get fed up and leave the party? Vote for Dems?
The American West has a particular concentration of libertarian sentiment (which, by the way, I share, particularly on social matters). What's stopped them from voting Dem in the past: gun control, big government, and environmentalism. Dems have largely dropped the gun thing, Republicans have taken over the big-government mantle, and ... environmentalism? Can the new environmentalism -- focused more on market mechanisms, public-private partnerships, land conservancies, etc. -- win over Western libertarians?
The inimitable Jim Henley discusses.
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Vacay
I'm leaving in a few hours for a red-eye flight (with two small kids! nice knowing you) to Tennessee for what I used to call a "vacation," before I had children. Now it's called "parading the children before the relatives like show ponies."
I'll be back next week. Until then, I leave you in the capable hands of our other posters. Peace.
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Love the earth? Die.
The TerraPass blog points to a new study out from U. Penn professor Karl Ulrich called "The Environmental Paradox of Biking" (PDF). The rather jarring conclusion is that switching people over from cars to bicycles has, at present, no net environmental benefit.
"Wha ...?!" you say.
Well, here's the thing. Just by being alive, you're sucking up resources. In particular, lots and lots of fossil fuels are required to transport food to you. If you stop driving everywhere and bike instead, you'll live longer. So you'll suck up more resources. So it's a wash.
If you really love the environment, you'll drive your car ... off a bridge.
Ouch.
