Food for Thought
“Reading about nature is fine, but if a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he can learn more than what is in books, for they speak with the voice of God.”
George Washington Carver
Category Archives: Sustainability
Safety in numbers . . . of species
[Hot off the presses, from Eurekalert. Also covered in Science Daily and various other venues. ] Will loss of plant diversity compromise Earth’s life-support systems? Meta-analysis and reflections on two decades of biodiversity research provide some answers and reveal new … Continue reading
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
Who pays for overfishing? Poor people in Africa (and elsewhere)
[Based in part on my evaluation for the Faculty of 1000, accessible only by subscription I'm afraid] The pervasive detrimental impacts of overfishing on marine life and ecosystems have been widely publicized in recent years, ratcheting up calls for stricter … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Oceans, Science, Sustainability
Tagged economics, fishing, food, population, research
2 Comments
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
The future of marine fish
[This article was an invited piece for the American Institute of Biological Sciences' Action Bioscience online site. I had occasion to mull its content afresh recently after a visit to the University of British Columbia's Fisheries Centre, whose "Sea Around … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Oceans, Sustainability
Tagged fishing, food, natural capital, research, restoration
1 Comment
Turning pollution into fuel
To ease into the groove of the revived Natural Patriot, I’m starting with the easy stuff: some of the arguably noteworthy developments that transpired during the touch-and-go months of social-networking coma. First up: the latest on our algal biofuel project, … Continue reading
Ashes to ashes
All things considered, I really can’t complain. I’m stuck in a hotel room thousands of miles from home, no way to get back to the family and normal life, with no end in sight. Looking at my last little package … Continue reading
Posted in Sustainability
8 Comments
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
11 Comments
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
Leave a comment
