Food for Thought
“The Creation, whether you believe it was placed on this planet by a single act of God or accept the scientific evidence that it evolved autonomously during billions of years, is the greatest heritage, other than the reasoning mind itself, ever provided to humanity.”
Edward O. Wilson
Category Archives: Politics
How not to end world hunger
Food prices are rising. Again. And the scramble is on to figure out who to blame: climate change? Biofuels? Good old capitalist greed? Just this morning the New York Times published a discussion panel on the issue: “Is the world … Continue reading
Empathy, Enmity, and the Future of Civilization
[The alternate post title that I really wanted to use: "My brief reign as one of the world's leading intellectuals"] It smelled a little off from the beginning, I’ll admit. But, as I say, I’m not immune to flattery. So … Continue reading
Hail to the Chief
By God he’s got his mojo back. This health care debate has been a long and very bitter road. The level of nonsense, venom, and underhandedness arrayed against it has been truly unprecedented. And this young President has, understandably, stumbled … Continue reading
Look upon me! I am one of the world’s leading 30 intellectuals, scholars, and scientists!
Ok, now that I’ve got your attention . . . It’s often struck me that, just as I am about to wander off and let the blog wither away to die a natural and dignified death, fading into obscurity like … Continue reading
Posted in Politics, Science, Sustainability
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The world with us
Alan Weisman recently published a book that got a lot of press attention for its novelty idea of considering The World Without Us — that is, what earth would look like if some unlikely event wiped out humans and left … Continue reading
Networking the Natural Patriot
One of these days I really have to write another real post, instead of sending out hat tips to other sites (as important as that is), rehashing my own posts under different cover, and other sleight-of-hand. But for the moment, … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Biophilia, Blogospheria, Politics, Sustainability
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Approaching the ultimate limits?
As an academic ecologist researching or teaching about ecosystems, a common dilemma is the issue of how to define the boundaries of a system. Where, for example, does the Chesapeake Bay end and the Atlantic begin? What is the edge … Continue reading
Can religion save the world?
I mean the natural world here. Yes, the suggestion might at first seem counterintuitive (perhaps even obscene) given the fierce opposition to any restraint on rapacious commerce and “development” that became, rightly or wrongly, intertwined with fundamentalist religion in the … Continue reading
Can we transcend consumerism?
I’ve somehow got on a lot of email lists that I attribute to the Natural Patriot. Greenpeace sends me press releases with a lot of implied exclamation points, as do various purveyors of allegedly green consumer goods. I get excited … Continue reading
Speaking out
My colleague John Feeney has been working tirelessly to break through the widespread taboo against discussing the root cause of global society’s manifold, seemingly unrelated, yet accelerating problems: there are too many of us. And we use too many resources, … Continue reading
Posted in Oceans, Politics, Sustainability
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