Articles by David Roberts

Foreign oil

I've pretty much concluded that any story or speech that includes the term "foreign oil" is full of it. There is no foreign oil or domestic oil. There's a worldwide oil market. Cut off oil from one source? Another source compensates. Produce more oil domestically? Prices drop a tiny bit, equally for everyone.

The problem, if problem there be, is not "foreign oil." It's oil. Anyone who says otherwise is trying to pull something over on you.

Barton controversy hits the bigtime.

David Ignatius covers the Barton controversy for The Washington Post. Glad to see it's hitting the bigtime. I would take issue with this, though:

Even President Bush agreed that the scientific evidence is solid by endorsing a Group of Eight communique this month that described climate change as "a serious and long-term challenge" and warning that human activities "contribute in large part to increases in greenhouse gases associated with the warming of our Earth's surface."

As Chris Mooney has carefully demonstrated (and many others have argued as well), the G8 statement shows a lot more movement of other countries' positions toward America's than vice versa.

Denver U. law students work on green case against feds.

Did you know this?

Thirteen years ago ... Congress passed a law mandating that, by 1999, 75 percent of the federal fleet of light-duty vehicles (excepting emergency and tactical vehicles) be capable of running on alternative fuels rather than on gasoline. State governments were given until 2001 to meet the same mandate.

It's true.The law in question is Public Law 102-486, otherwise known as the Energy Policy Act of 1992. The bill begins with a bang:

A walk on the slippery rocks

"Philosophy," you scoff. "What is it good for?"

Not much, really. But I studied it for a long time and still enjoy seeing it pop up here and there. I was happy, for instance, to see my favorite philosopher make it to (a distant) No. 2 on the BBC poll of best philosophers evar, and also to see him given a 9 out of 10 on Sartwell's rather more idiosyncratic ranking.

"Generally speaking," ol' Dave Hume said, "the errors in religion are dangerous; those in philosophy only ridiculous." So true.

Just to pretend this post is about the environment, here are a few quotes about nature from philosophers.

Most incorrect:

Nature does nothing uselessly. -- Aristotle

Most correct but misunderstood:

The goal of life is living in agreement with nature. -- Zeno

And finally, back to my boy Hume:

It is a great mortification to the vanity of man, that his utmost art and industry can never equal the meanest of nature's productions, either for beauty or value.

Got any favorite quotes about nature? Leave them in comments.