Food for Thought
“Restoring nature to its natural state is a cause beyond party and beyond factions. It has become a common cause of all the people of this country. It is a cause of particular concern to young Americans, because they more than we will reap the grim consequences of our failure to act on programs which are needed now if we are to prevent disaster later.”
Richard Nixon
Monthly Archives: November 2007
Gold rush in the Sahara
Golden sunlight, that is. I have been wondering how long it would take for this to happen. An area the size of the United States, virtually barren of people, useless for agriculture or, seemingly, anything else. But with one, previously … Continue reading
Posted in Sustainability
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Presidential debate: Faith of our Fathers(?)
Flipping through the channels just now, I come upon the latest Republican version of that spectacle we call the presidential “debate”. If you cut your teeth on constant kaleidoscopic multimedia and had internet in your kindergarten class, as today’s young … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
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Focus the Nation
We’ve stepped it up. We’ve watched and discussed An Inconvenient Truth. We’ve listened intently to the news of the IPCC’s recent Synthesis Report on climate change. We’ve switched out our light bulbs to compact fluorescents and are doggedly swimming, against … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Politics, Sustainability
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Autumnal reflections on the bounty of Nature
Right, I promised something about pumpkin pie, or at least some fare less likely to produce indigestion than the end of the world as we know it (although the conversation during the Thanksgiving holiday with the extended family did, perhaps … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Education, Natural Patriots, Politics
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A poisoned fruit from the tree of knowledge
Life sure seems hard these days. Yes, I know, in the material sense it could hardly be better for Americans like me, and it’s obscene to complain when so many people worldwide are barely surviving. The hardness comes instead from … Continue reading
Posted in Biophilia, Politics, Sustainability
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The future of coastal Virginia, and other trivia
Yesterday, The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its Fourth, and most authoritative, Synthesis Report on the scientific consensus on global climate change and strategies for mitigating its impacts. The 23-page summary is well worth reading, particularly for the much … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Politics, Sustainability
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Climate change: the Virginia angle
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is basking in the glory of sharing the Nobel Prize with Al Gore for their “efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for … Continue reading
Posted in Oceans, Politics, Sustainability
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Economic growth is the opiate of the people
Karl Marx thought it was religion, and there is indeed a compelling case to be made there. But then, modern economics has many of the trappings of a religion. It is assuredly faith-based, and its tenets also appear largely impervious … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Politics, Sustainability
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Taxonomy gets sexy (?)
When I say the word “taxonomist”, what do you think of (if anything)? Probably how many clicks it will take to get back to the celebrity candid photo site. Many people think of an old codger in a frayed cardigan sweater … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Biophilia, Education
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Back from the wilds
It’s been a quiet week here at the Natural Patriot. But I have a good excuse. As occasionally happens — all too rarely — I managed to break the chains and achieve escape velocity from the office and computer and telephone to return … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Biophilia, Oceans
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