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: 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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