Investors and Crops
For the last few years, every time a hurricane strikes the US, we've been treated to yet another round of, "What about THIS one? Is THIS hurricane a sign of global warming? Not exactly? What Crap!" Every time they're trotted out to answer for the latest natural disaster, climate scientists always make the point that global warming makes all of our weather more extreme, which means more intense and frequent hurricanes AND more intense and frequent floods AND more intense and frequent droughts. This always seems to be greeted by the mass media as a weak argument on the part of a mealy-mouthed academic, since it's not contributing to their black-and-white, sensationalist pursuit of higher ratings. The problem is that any number of strategies can be deployed to deal with consistently different weather patterns, like more or less rain, higher or lower temperatures. We're good at dealing with these sorts of longer-term changes. Where we and our agricultural practices fall flat on our faces is when we can't depend ...
Posted on October 15, 2008 2:04:57 PM EDT
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I've Got [Composting] Worms!
No, I'm not on antibiotics. No, it's not from eating old sushi. For some time now, I've been trying to find the best way for Emily and I to make the best use of our kitchen scraps. Back in the spring, I created this monstrosity of a compost bin to handle this waste. I based its design on some information I found that said an ideal size for a compost pile was one that would fill a cube four feet on a side. According to the books I was reading (can't remember the titles ATM), this would kick off a sort of "cooking" process in the compost heap that would destroy pathogens and reduce the scraps to usable compost in around two weeks. Sweet. One thing about this compost pile, it would need aeration through the center to keep things from switching to anaerobic decomposition in the center (which stinks, and also is counter-productive). No prob, I added some PVC pipes that had holes drilled in them. In the end, there was really only one problem with my compost bin: no way could two people keep a compost bin four ...
Posted on October 1, 2008 1:09:12 PM EDT
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Mockingbird got skillz, too
I once saw this footage from the BBC about the lyre bird, and how it can mimick just about any sound. Check this out, and pay special attention around 1:53 or so...yes, that's a camera shutter. I was reminded of this as I was listening to a mockingbird in our back yard this morning, when I could swear he did a perfect impression of our former neighbor, whistling over the fence at our dog. It must have been just beyond the reach of this bird's range to also nail the insane barking that would ensue...oh well, you can't do it all.
Posted on September 26, 2008 11:05:48 AM EDT
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What's Stuck in Our Craws, Anyway?
Browsing Gristmill today, I came across a link to this interview with Frank Luntz embedded in a blurb generally about how he speaks with a forked tongue and can't possibly have anything meaningful to say. Okay, I get that this guy has been on the wrong side of many, many important debates of the last twenty years, helping to market a message whose only interest is preserving the status quo. There, there's my password; I get it, I'm an environmentalist too. Having said all that, it occurred to me that Gristmill itself is a pretty good example of one of Luntz's main points: environmentalists are pit bulls. Take a look at any of Joseph Romm's entries, and you'll see what I mean. Most of the language is the same sort of divisive, Us vs. Them aggression that we've come to love (sarcasm here, in case you missed it) and expect from the voice of the status quo. Sure, it's motivation is likely a bit different; it's probably borne out of fear of what will happen to us/Earth/life-as-we-...
Posted on September 24, 2008 12:23:15 AM EDT
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Bumper Sticker Watch: "Euthinze a Liberal"
It's clear. It's concise. It's exactly what this country needs to unite the two halves of the population and bring us back to the table to compromise. Very constructive. And, to stoop to that guy's own level: It's too bad he didn't pay attention to the red squiggly line under "Euthinze." Or maybe, like John McCain, he doesn't know how to use a computer, and only fumbled through one time so he could make this useful and important statement on a homemade bumper sticker. I can almost hear Sally Struthers: "For just 13 cents a day, you too can help a Southern Republican get the education he so desperately needs." Hell, even my spell-checker is going ape-shit over "Euthinze" as I type this. Sheesh.
Posted on September 12, 2008 8:06:30 PM EDT
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