Food for Thought
“We must lay hold of the fact that economic laws are not made by nature. They are made by human beings.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Monthly Archives: December 2007
What I did on my Christmas vacation
Well, it’s not over yet (thankfully), so this should really be in present tense. What is perhaps most important, to me, is what I didn’t do this year — which is stumble through the long, hectic, progression of travel, last-minute … Continue reading
Posted in Books and media, Education, Sustainability
3 Comments
Born again
On this, the shortest day of the year here on the northern half of the planet, I offer the shortest blog post of the year in recognition of the rebirth of the year. “Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, … Continue reading
Declining ocean health: It’s the economy, stupid
I know, I used the same subtitle for another recent post. But I’m not recycling titles out of laziness — well, not entirely anyway. I do so here to highlight the simple, yet perversely (and perhaps intentionally) misunderstood theme whose centrality … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Oceans, Politics, Sustainability
Tagged economics, fishing, food, natural capital, population, research
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Family values and the environment
And now, as the Pythons would say, for something completely different. Not even quite sure where to file this one. Have you noticed that houses are getting bigger, with more bathrooms, and more, bigger cars out front, and fewer people … Continue reading
Posted in Politics, Sustainability
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Dispatch from Bali
[Editor's note: This dispatch comes from my colleague Dr. Timmons Roberts, Acting Director of the Program in Environmental Science and Policy and Professor of Sociology at the College of William and Mary. His co-authored book "A Climate of Injustice" was … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Politics, Sustainability
5 Comments
Abstinence-only: the Bush administration’s approach to science
It is not science that the Bush administration has been advertising as the target of their much touted abstinence-only programs over the last seven years. Not publicly at least. But it may as well have been. It turns out that … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Politics, Sustainability
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Alien invasion: It’s the economy, stupid
That title might well apply to the problem, dominating the news and presidential debates these days, of illegal immigration into the US. But it appears that the phenomenon applies more broadly, biologically speaking. Invasion by non-native species is a big … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Sustainability
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The Reason for the Season
All those beautiful autumn leaves have fallen, and are swirling around and collecting in windrows on the porch. The last geese are passing high overhead, with that uniquely mournful sound of the year’s end, and in their place the black crows of winter … Continue reading
Posted in Sustainability
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Carnival of the Blue 7
Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, and all the ships at sea: The Natural Patriot is honored to present the 7th monthly episode of the Carnival of the Blue, continuing a hallowed tradition initiated just six short moons ago on … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Biophilia, Blogospheria, Education, Oceans, Politics, Sustainability
12 Comments
The pride of Finland, the shame of America
Fifteen-year-olds in Finland are tops in the world. In terms of science literacy, that is. That’s according to a survey soon to be released by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the summary of which can be found here. The … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Politics
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