Articles by JMG

Michigan gov. follows Gingrich’s example, kills science advisory board

Newt Gingrich, claiming a mandate to make government smaller, actually managed to abolish only two offices: the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (OTA).

The OTA was a widely praised, nonpartisan board that helped Congress understand and deal with technical issues -- exactly the kind of office you don't need if you get your understanding of biology from Genesis, your thoughts on telecommunications from K Street, and your opinions on energy from Exxon. The OTA was probably one of the least-known but best performing offices in all of D.C.

Oddly, Gov. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan just killed the Michigan Environmental Science Board, which was composed of volunteer scientists appointed by the Governor. The only cost to the state was for member travel when on assignment, and for preparation and distribution of reports.

Here are the reports prepared by the MESB over the years:

Apparently no one is immune to greenwashing

The genius Lily Tomlin once noted how hard it is to be funny these days, when satire can't keep up with the number of people who miss it entirely and use it as a script rather than a warning.

A few days back, Grey posted this great short video:

Just one day later, a group that has done tremendous work in the past -- a group I give to monthly and normally love, Redefining Progress -- sent me the letter below (after the jump).

It's grim. Despite the throwaway "we don't mean to encourage more shopping," the site sure looks like it does.

Another guy with his hair on fire

Another good Scientific blogging interview is "Urgency and Global Warming: An Interview with Martin I. Hoffert." I'm tempted to quote the whole thing, but instead you should just go read it. He's much more of a techno-optimist than I think is warranted, but if we all shared his sense of urgency, it would probably be more realistic.

(Apparently he hasn't read The Black Swan either.)

Existential threats are a bummer

Following the letters to Grist complaining about a declining humor quotient and the posts wondering if we're just focusing too darn much on the climate crisis, it occurred to me that there's precedent for what we're going through.

Just like people in the USA and USSR had to get used to the idea of annihilation -- and still go about their daily lives -- we are watching people struggle with the problem of living their lives while knowing that the chances that their kids will be able to live nearly as well are declining rapidly.

Thus, the paradox: knowledge is no longer power. Instead, the better informed you are, the more likely you are to feel existential despair.