Food for Thought
“In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.”
Aristotle
Monthly Archives: January 2008
Irie
[Editor's note: Spent the last week in Jamaica, stalking the elusive social shrimp for an ongoing biogeographic study supported by the National Geographic Society. "Irie" is a Jamaican, and more specifically Rastafarian, general purpose word that is said to refer … Continue reading
The green green roofs of home
If you were an alien arriving on earth for a visit, what would you see? If you came in over one of the mega-cities that increasingly cover the earth’s surface, roughly a third of your field of view would be … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Biophilia, Sustainability
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Friday poetry 2: The American bard
[Editor's note: Walt Whitman -- a cosmos, of Mannahatta the son -- was the first poet that got through to me. Back in the day, when I was a young Philistine with no sense of art and the sophomoric sense of … Continue reading
Posted in Biophilia, Blogospheria, Poetry
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Happy Birthday Natural Patriot!
Dear friends, colleagues, family members, sparring partners, lost souls, and passers-by, I am proud to say that, as of this day, the Natural Patriot has survived its first perilous year in this world (I’m referring to the blog, not myself. I … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Biophilia, Blogospheria, Natural Patriots
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49 people who could save the planet
The list (of 50) is out at the Guardian. There are a number of obvious choices (Al Gore, Wangari Maathai), a few oddballs (Cormac McCarthy? Say what? Leonardo di Caprio? Honestly.), and various ordinary and a few extraordinary unknown individuals … Continue reading
Biofuels and sustainability: the pros weigh in
The Ecological Society of America, the Nation’s leading body of professional ecological scientists (of which I am a proud member), has released a position statement on biofuels sustainability. The full text is here. Because these are highly important issues and … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Politics, Sustainability
Tagged climate, economics, energy, restoration
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Friday poetry 1: Wang Wei and the Three Gorges
[Editor's note: There appears to be a growing trend among bloggers featuring some theme on Fridays, which I find an attractive idea. Therefore, on Fridays, the Natural Patriot will be featuring . . . poetry. Why? Because poetry gets closer … Continue reading
Posted in Biophilia, Poetry
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The future of auto fuel is green . . . and slimy?
Not so long ago, biofuels seemed like the holy grail we’d all been looking for. After the euphoria came the hangover, including a pounding headache about the side-effects of cultivating corn and oil palm. And now we’re faced with trying … Continue reading
Carnival of the Blue 8
. . . is now online at “I’m a Chordata, Urochordata“. Lots of food, sex, death, and more — what’s not to like?! The history of the COB is written there, including last months’s episode, proudly hosted here by the … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Blogospheria, Oceans, Sustainability
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When pigeons become endangered, something is surely amiss
What could be a more iconic zoological symbol of the transformation of the environment into a thoroughly human construct than the feral pigeon? To a modern human cliff-dweller in the canyons of the world’s metropoli, this humble creature is by … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Biophilia, Sustainability
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