Articles by David Roberts

Last Crichton post, I promise. Probably.

OK, I really shouldn't be giving Crichton this much attention for writing a dumb book, but just two more items. First, I forgot to draw attention to a great article by Seth Borenstein (whom I heart) on scientists' reactions to State of Fear. As usual, Borenstein doesn't pussyfoot around.

Second, just one last observation about the book. It starts with a series of vignettes in which nefarious characters -- a beautiful, raven-haired European woman, a broad-shouldered man in glasses, etc. -- buy, steal, and occasionally kill for the equipment they need to engineer huge natural disasters. You're reading this, wondering who these people are, how their stories will play out. But then... they don't show up again after the first chapter! Seriously! They just vanish, never to be heard from again. It's like Crichton started writing a complicated, intricate thriller, but after a chapter or two just couldn't be bothered. Amazingly lazy. Just astonishing.

OK, I'm done.

Tell us about your favorite eco-magazines made of paper

Advice guru Umbra Fisk seeks your suggestions on good green-themed dead-tree publications. A New Zealander wrote in saying her kids won't listen to anything she says about the internet -- that would be like wearing clothes she picked out! They will, however, read print (yeah, we had to look it up too) magazines that she leaves lying around. So she asks Umbra about good print magazines on environmental and social issues.  Umbra's print experience is limited to the weighty reference volumes in her basement stacks, so she's turning to you, readers. Submit your recommendations as comments. Tell Umbra and other readers what print mags you like, and while you're at it, remind us why you still read print mags.

Why did God put our fuel under there?

I just watched Monday's Daily Show, which covered the Iraqi elections (it was more optimistic, and thus less funny, than usual). The super-brainy Fareed Zakaria was the guest (you can watch the interview here). The last question Jon Stewart asked was, "Why did God put our fuel under there?" Ha ha, yeah, funny, and all Zakaria could really do is make a lame joke in response.

Here's what he should have said, "The point is not that our fuel ended up under an unstable area, it's that the world's reliance on a non-renewable resource means that areas where it's highly concentrated will end up unstable. The problem is not oil under tumult, it's the inevitable tumult over oil."

Land easements

A joint Congressional committee has recommended reducing or eliminating tax breaks for conservation easements. The policy details around this stuff are somewhat technical, but it's very big -- and very bad -- news in the world of land trusts, and should be of concern to any enviro. Over at Nature Noted, your one-stop-shopping location for all matters land trust related, Pat Burns is all over it. Start with his January archive and just keep scrolling.

Update [2005-2-4 12:44:40 by Dave Roberts]:More from Jon Christensen.