Think of these “quarterly / seasonal” blog posts as kind of like a “blog within a blog.” It provides an easy-breezy format for periodically adding new material (of a miscellaneous nature). These will be subject to editing right up to when the next one begins. Don’t necessarily expect much in terms of ‘saving the planet’-type…
Author: pr
What Is My Website’s Achilles’ Heel?
For lack of a better way to phrase it, what is my website’s “Achilles’ heel?” There’s one thing on my website I think I might have gotten wrong. I’ve felt that way for quite some time, but haven’t gotten around to correcting it. Why? One reason is I simply have so little free time. That’s…
My ‘New & Improved’ Contact Page
Are you familiar with the concept “six degrees of separation?” If not, you soon will be. But I’ll get back to that shortly. First things first. In case you haven’t seen my Contact page lately, I’ve been periodically adding to it. So much so that I’m not exaggerating when I say there’s something there…
Steal This Idea, Please!
Here’s a brilliantly simple way to get Biden off the ticket. It’s a creative solution I’d bet you haven’t heard anywhere else. First, I’ll tell you what the idea is. Then I’ll share how to make it achievable. Here’s the idea: beginning right now, if anyone conducting a poll contacts you — regarding who…
Summer, 2024
Think of these “quarterly / seasonal” blog posts as kind of like a “blog within a blog.” It provides an easy-breezy format for periodically adding new material (of a miscellaneous nature). These will be subject to editing right up to when the next one begins. Don’t necessarily expect much in terms of ‘saving the…
Spring, 2024
Making its debut today, here on my Home page, is something brand new. Think of this as a “blog within a blog.” It provides an easy-breezy format for adding new material (of a miscellaneous nature). I will publish four of these “(Season, Year)” blog posts a year. These will be subject to editing,…
Imagine That
I work nights, and sleep beckons; but I just couldn’t wait to share this. The other day, I asked someone I know who does French translation for the United Nations, if he knows of a French version of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” He doesn’t know of any; but I finally got around to checking Google, and…
Facts
Today is Mother’s Day. Mother Earth is the mother of all mothers (if you stop and think about it). That’s something you probably won’t hear mention of this Mother’s Day. But it’s something worth thinking about. So happy Mom’s Day! But also remember: Earth is the womb from which we all come.
Me Teach, You Learn
I noticed that today’s Google Doodle features a bunch of frogs. “What’s the deal with that?,” I wondered. Hovering the cursor over the Google Doodle reveals that today marks the beginning of “US Teacher Appreciation Week.” That got me to wondering: looking back, which teachers and professors — though Teacher Appreciation Week doesn’t include professors…
Earth Day
This Earth Day Let me just say If you want to save the planet I do know the way I have the ideas To put us on that path I just need the funding To focus exclusively On that task
Do You Fit the Bill?
“Beggars can’t be choosers” As the saying goes But I’m not a beggar I know how good my ideas are I don’t need confirmation on that Another popular saying: “It takes one to know one” And indeed I’d agree That for me to get funding Would probably require Someone with certain shared qualities…
It’s Not Just My Ideas
It’s not just my ideas that sets me apart it’s the ideas together with the energy and the focus the intensity and that je ne sais quoi that aptitudinal perspicacity that ‘x’ factor whatever you want to call it that so many to put it mildly lack
Breaking My News Addiction
Today is the day The start of an experiment No more news On a daily basis Will it last How long will it last I really don’t know But as for now I’m freeing that time For other things
I’m Dreaming of a Non-materialistic Christmas
Every year around this time, I always have a renewed desire to share what I’m about to share. I just love this quotation. It’s a good one. And it blows my mind that whenever I Google it, even to this day, it’s so hard to find on the internet. Currently, it shows up as…
A Simple Technique To Help You Sleep
I’m always jotting down ideas, including ideas for new blog posts to write. My big ideas and unique ideas I keep very close to the vest. The best way to present those ideas is by acquiring funding and presenting them under one umbrella. Think holism. But there are many other blog posts I can potentially…
Quicksand
The human race is racing Towards that point of no return Where glimmers of hope are merely mirages That disappear at every turn
Get Off Your Tush
If you want to save the planet Let me make this very clear The day when it will be too late Is growing very near
Another subtle hint
Look at my ads Look at my website See what I’ve written There are enough words It should be as obvious As a blinking neon sign I have the right ideas But we’re running out of time!
One
When it comes to saving the planet One is the magic number All I need is one Enthusiastic backer To start launching my ideas Into the blogosphere
Just Saying
Shhhhh! I’ll share with you a secret I believe the iconoclasts of society those who really “get it” in terms of what we’re doing to the planet in terms of what needs to change and who have great ideas, brilliant ideas, unique, innovative ground-breaking, trailblazing ideas these outliers are so extremely rare they…
Earth Day
This Earth Day Let me just say If you want to save the planet I do know the way I have the ideas To put us on that path I just need the funding To focus exclusively On that task
Failure of Imagination
How you suffered for your sanity And how you tried to set them free They would not listen, they’re not listening still Perhaps they never will Those are lines from that memorable 1971 song “Vincent” — which Don McLean wrote after reading a book about the life of Vincent van Gogh. Van Gogh…
Roe v. Wade and ‘Calling a Spade a Spade’
I haven’t blogged for quite some time. For one thing, all my life I’ve been plagued with the problem of not having enough time. Lots of ideas. Way too little time. But also, I just don’t see any real interest out there in doing the things we really need to be doing. Don’t get me…
Bookmark This Page!
Note: This blog post is “upside down.” To find out why — and to begin at the beginning — scroll down to where you see the three asterisks. All Too Well (Taylor Swift) / November Rain (Guns N’ Roses) / Every Rose Has its Thorn (Poison) / I Run For Life (Melissa Etheridge) / The…
My ‘Archive Alive’ Idea
This might be the most important blog post I’ve ever done. Why? I have always been a big believer in big ideas. In their power and potential to change and transform the world in very big ways. But big ideas can only be meaningful if they are acted upon — or lead to the formation…
Environmentalists in Residence
I’m a very strong believer in the power and potential of big ideas — for transforming and shaping society in big ways. I’m also a big believer in the idea that combining strengths with people who share your passion, can be a mutually enriching experience that can give back in so many ways. Now, imagine…
What’s a Mini-M?
Today I am going to share with you an idea I’ve been wanting to get around to blogging about for years. Hopefully, it will inspire some of the people who read this to act on it. This is not just my first new blog post of the New Year, it is appropriately a great way…
On the Disappearance of Lu Guang
Just some quick commentary regarding some things I’ve read in today’s New York Times. I always say the two biggest problems in the world are (a) man’s inhumanity to man, and (b) man’s desecration of the planet. Two articles appearing in today’s Times obituary section, attest to man’s inhumanity to man. The first describes how…
Compartmentalizing, Biodiversity Loss and Dams
I want to mention a couple of articles that appear in today’s New York Times. But let me start by saying that one of the things I find annoying about the way in which climate change is often talked about, is we need to stop compartmentalizing environmental issues. We need to view what we’re doing to…
A Tradition Going Back to 1454
Hallo meine deutschen freunde The Frankfurt Book Fair is soon about to begin, October 10-14, in Frankfurt, Germany. (I advertise my website in The New York Review of Books, and the current issue is the Frankfurt Book Fair issue.) It’s the world’s oldest and largest book fair. According to Wikipedia, it “has a tradition spanning…
Guterres Urges World Leaders to Do More to Battle Climate Change
Yesterday, the New York Times reported on page 6 that the United Nations secretary general, Antonio Guterres, on Monday, urged world leaders to do more to battle climate change, going so far as to warn that “If we do not change course by 2020, we risk missing the point where we can avoid runaway climate…
The Big Idea
I can’t wait another minute. I just have to share this. This is something I’m so excited about that it’s the first blog post I’ve actually given a title — see note below. Just read below what I tweeted the other day, and you’ll see why I’m so excited: Wow. this is really, really exciting!!!…
EcoIdeaMan on Twitter
I’ve been very short on time these past few months. And without funding, that trend is only likely to continue. But I will say this. I plan on using Twitter much more frequently. You can find me on Twitter here -> @ecoideaman Also, I’ve stopped using Facebook. Having no outside funding, no assistants, and no smart…
Yeah, But Will He Buy Her Book?
Wow, it’s been quite a while since I last posted on this particular blog. But then again, anything I say here about Trump is going to be redundant. He said something stupid, or he did something stupid, or he tweeted something stupid, or he lied again, and again, and again (and so forth). Just more…
An Anthropocenic Oath
One review in Sunday’s New York Times Book Review that caught my attention was Naomi Oreskes’s review of Randi Hutter Epstein’s Aroused: The History of Hormones and How They Control Just About Everything (“Science or Quackery? / Hormones research and its many missteps and mistakes.”). A byline notes that Oreskes — along with co-author Erik M. Conway…
Drawing Inspiration from My ‘Saved Quotations’ Drawer
In deciding which quotations to use for today’s blog post, I spent several hours going through and organizing the material I’ve accumulated in my ‘saved quotations’ drawer. The last time I did something like this, I believe, was back on August 5, 2014. This time, however, I am aiming to do something a little different.…
No Vision
Like a moth to a flame, here I go again. Sleep beckons … but instead, I’ve got other plans. I want to quick comment on some things I saw in yesterday’s New York Times. I’m hoping I can do this fairly quickly. Every Sunday, for quite some time now, in the main news section of…
Recyclables End Up Where?
There was an interesting article in Newsday a couple days ago (Kinberly Yuen, “Waste not: LI pair tosses trash only 3 times a year” July 17) about a local Long Island couple who throw out their trash only about three times a year. That’s quite an extraordinary feat, considering that the average American, according to…
Art & Activisim
Do I have time for a quick blog post? Let’s find out. Here’s a direct quote from an article in this past Sunday’s New York Times (by Olivia Mitchell Ryan and Zoe Mou, “A Health Complaint Delivered In 9,000 Crud-Filled Bottles”): Water pollution is very common, it’s very common around the world, but it never receives…
A $250,000 Mattress, Versus Sleeping on the Street
One of the things I enjoy doing every week is taking a quick peek at Marilyn vos Savant’s Ask Marilyn column, in Parade magazine. It arrives tucked inside my Newsday, in the weekend comics section, along with the advertising circulars. This week’s Dilbert cartoon, on the cover of that comics section, reminded me of something…
Cats Prowl for Endangered Owl … and the Encroaching Insect Armageddon
Here we go again. There are so many things I’m really itching to blog about, that I wish I had a lot more time. But I don’t. So I’ll just mention a few things from this past Sunday’s New York Times that caught my attention. One article worth mentioning is the cover story “Google Doesn’t…
Carcinogens in Our Water … and Florida Underwater
Serendipity is a wonderful thing. While retrieving one of the articles I will soon cite, I also came across another that I thought I was going to have to travel to a distant library to obtain. No, it was right where I thought it was all along, hiding in plain sight. I’ve been wanting to…
While You’re Dizzily Digesting That Profound Thought …
This blog post will seem a bit out of place here on my Home page; and therefore I may delete this blog post at some point. But I have decided to post this here anyway because just as I was about to post this on Facebook, I experienced a major glitch which knocked me off…
Prominent Attorney Self-Immolates in Park
In Sunday’s Times I read a sad story on the obituary page (Jeffrey C. Mays, “Prominent Lawyer Self-Immolates in Brooklyn”). Here’s how the article begins: “A lawyer nationally known for being a champion of gay rights died after setting himself on fire in Prospect Park in Brooklyn early Saturday morning and leaving a note exhorting…
The Story of One Alt-Right Trump Supporter
An article in yesterday’s New York Times – “In America’s Heartland, the Voice of Hate Next Door / Seeking Acceptance In the Mainstream”, by reporter Richard Fausset — takes an up-close look at one “alt-right” Trump supporter. His name? Tony Hovater. This same article was the subject of The Times’s “Inside the Times” / “The Story…
A Favorite Quotation, and a YouTube Video You Won’t Soon Forget
I try not to be too redundant on this website — to simply say the same stuff over and over. I try to mix it up a bit, to make things more interesting — while sticking to the central theme of saving the planet. However, this quotation I am about to share with you, might…
A Better Way to Travel
There was an op-ed in yesterday’s New York Times (Anthony Doerr, “We Were Warned”) that I applaud. Doerr jams in lots of facts relating to what we are doing to this planet; and it’s well worth reading for that reason alone. Where I would have to disagree, however, is where Doerr states “everywhere you look, people are…
Upside Down Thinking
Where do I even begin? Oh, I’ve got it! In the final paragraph of an opinion piece by Linda Greenhouse in today’s New York Times – “The Worrisome Future of Abortion Rights,” in the Sunday Review section, she uses the phrase “a symptom of a world turned upside down.” And yes, it has to do…
Gresham’s Law in a Post-Ideas Age
“The Elusive Big Idea,” an opinion piece by Neal Gabler, published in 2011 (Aug. 14), in The New York Times, offers up plenty of food for thought. For example, early in the piece, Gabler states: If our ideas seem smaller nowadays, it’s not because we are dumber than our forebears but because we just don’t care…
The White House Adult Day Care Center
And the insanity continues. About which, Tennessee’s Republican senator Bob Corker issued a great counter-punch Tweet: “It’s a shame the White House has become an adult day care center. Someone obviously missed their shift this morning.” He also stated in a Sunday interview with The New York Times: “I know for a fact that every…
Why Not Begin Shaping That Change Right Now
One interesting opinion piece that appeared in yesterday’s New York Times, was Peter Wehner’s “Seeing Through a Glass, Darkly.” He has a political party affiliation, I don’t, and he’s a Republican, I’m not; but the piece itself is about confirmation bias, and about how it “is far more difficult to overcome than most of us…
New Scientist Interview with E.O.Wilson a Must Read
“Similarly, just as we go about our daily lives completely unconcerned about the lives of ants, the biosphere is wholly indifferent to our existence.” Those are my words, but also a fitting way to begin a post concerning an eminent biologist whose road to fame was partially paved by his diligent study of ants. As…
When ‘Saving the Planet’ Is Your Spouse
I have to admit, I’m not as familiar with George Monbiot’s writings — he writes for the British daily newspaper The Guardian — as I would like to be. I’ve read very little of what he’s written. I wish I had more time for that. However, I can say this: probably pretty much everything that…
Fix the Educational System that Got Us into this Mess
Yesterday morning, as I was having breakfast and getting ready for work, I listened to Trump’s speech at the United Nations, over the radio. For me, what was most notable was what was not said. Not a single, solitary word about what we’re doing to the planet. Nothing about a warming planet, or rising sea…
Free Will Belief May Someday Go Poof
Google is like the Superman of the internet. But still, there are times when I just can’t find what I’m searching for, no matter how hard I try. It’s funny how there seems to be an endless stream of clickbait lists covering every conceivable topic that you could possibly imagine, on the internet today, and…
Maureen Dowd on Trump
It isn’t often that something in the news makes me laugh. Particularly if it relates to Trump. But I tip my hat to Maureen Dowd. She did manage to elicit a chuckle from me as I read her column in today’s Sunday edition of the New York Times – “Game of Trump” is the title.…
Imagine a Lawn the Size of Georgia
Can you imagine a lawn the size of Georgia? In a June 17, 2017, New York Times op-ed (“Beyond Blades of Grass”), Paul Bogard wrote that if you combined all the lawns in this country, it would be equivalent in size to the state of Georgia. (I believe he made a mistake when converting 40 million…
Trump’s Rate of Lies
The entire back page of the Sunday Review section from yesterday’s edition of The New York Times, contains an “op-chart” titled “Trump’s Lies.” The byline credits David Leonhardt and Stuart A. Thompson. Underneath a “Trump Told Public Lies or Falsehoods Every Day for His First 40 Days” subheading, it states: “The quotes surrounding this article…
Money and Our Skewed Priorities
Back in March, I learned of a Wall St. Journal editorial published online, “A President’s Credibility / Trump’s falsehoods are eroding public trust, at home and abroad.” March 21, 2017 – that I wanted to take a quick look at, but the Journal’s website only shows three sentences, then tells you to either subscribe or sign…
Imagine If Becoming Exemplary Ancestors Became Our Primary Aim
Attorney General Jeff Sessions — a man who never should have been elevated to that position in the first place — has suggested we designate the violent MS-13 gang a terrorist organization. Fine. But what would you call Trump and his gang of Republicans who have eviscerated the Environmental Protection Agency? Thus diminishing our already…
Ron Reagan Jr. on Importance of Voicing Dissent
In a November 6, 2016, Home page blog post, I shared a quotation from a Newsday article in which Ron Reagan, Jr., touched upon some of the differences in opinion that existed between himself and his father, Ronald Reagan. In that same article (Karen Freifeld, “First Family Reunion” Mar. 13, 1989), he also spoke about…
The Most Dangerous Stage of Life
Unfortunately, I had to work yesterday. Otherwise, I might have been able to attend the Earth Day rally in New York City yesterday. It would have been nice to meet and talk with people, and spread word about my website and my mission. But instead, I guess I’ll just have to settle for composing a…
How On Earth Did I Miss This?
Just as I was about to put away one of the articles I had cited in yesterday’s blog post (below), something worth noting caught my eye. Appearing just below the “Hero in Heart Attack Hogs the Fame” (Newsday, Oct. 15, 1998) article, I happened to notice this headline: “Hot Dog! Free Eats at Yankee Rally…
The Cost of Meat
It is well-known that a meat-based diet is much worse for the planet than a vegetarian diet. But not all meats are equally damaging. An article that appeared in Newsday, years back, illustrates this point. The article (AP “Study: Beef a more polluting meat” July 22, 2014) reported on a study that was published in…
Trump’s Choice for EPA Leadership
It was in the news several days ago that the new EPA head Scott Pruitt, in an interview, disputed that carbon dioxide was playing a major role in the global warming that we are seeing on this planet. In a sense, this is nothing new. We know how Pruitt and Trump and many of the…
Trump Targets News Media
This Trump presidency has me feeling like a gerbil on an exercise wheel, running faster and faster and getting nowhere. As soon as I post about something terrible Trump said or did, wham, there’s another terrible thing that’s he or his administration has said or done, and another, and another, and another, … And this…
What Are The Odds?
Last Sunday, after glimpsing over the three op-ed columns appearing on page 11 of The New York Times, including one titled “How Can We Get Rid of Trump” (Nicholas Kristof, Feb. 19, 2017), the thought struck me that our morally bankrupt president might retaliate somehow. In that piece, Kristof points out that the betting service…
Fine Tuned Machine
At his last press conference, President Trump said his administration is “running like a fine-tuned machine.” But (a) it’s simply not true, and (b) even if it were, the Titanic was a “fine-tuned machine.”
Bannon & Evola
On February 12, 2017, The New York Times published an article by Jason Horowitz, titled “Fascists Too Lax For a Philosopher Cited by Bannon.” I would like to briefly talk about that article; and this newly-created blog space is now the ideal venue in which to do that. The article begins by providing some evidence…
From the Karsts of Cambodia to the Deepest Regions of the Ocean
I’ll let you in on a little secret. One error I think I made when creating this website was not emphasizing enough on the Underlying Causes page how important and central a factor “lack of a deep sense of eco-consciousness” is, in terms of explaining why the world is in the sad and sorry state…
What Is the Technosphere?
As another measure of the extent to which man is changing the planet, it has been reported that Earth’s “technosphere” now weighs 30 trillion tons. That’s according to a paper published online, in the journal The Anthropocene Review, this past November. All combined, everything man-made (on Earth) — including all our discarded trash — collectively…
High Energy Use & Consumption Habits
Hearing Donald Trump say to a reporter at a press conference, “I’m not going to give you a question. You are fake news,” reminded me of that memorable definition of chutzpah that goes something like this: it’s like when someone murders their parents, and then asks the courts for leniency because they’re an orphan. Could…
NOAA Hotline
The Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists is reportedly creating an anonymous hotline for the some 12,000 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) employees, so they can report any political meddling by the incoming Trump administration. That’s good news — and I give it an enthusiastic thumbs up. Even though…
The Overlooked Questions
This past Sunday, I listened to some of the WCBS broadcast of the interview with president-elect Donald Trump, conducted by Lesley Stahl, of 60 Minutes. According to my fact-checking, Stahl indeed did not ask a single question related to any environmental issue, including the issue many regard as the issue of our time: climate change.…
The Election of Donald J. Trump
Soon after I awoke, the day after Election Day, I thought of that famous quotation: “There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe The next four years will be frightful, indeed. Our already bleak prospects for saving the planet, have now shrunk considerably. January 20, 2017, will mark the…
Some Election Day Food for Thought
As Election Day nears, let me squeeze in another post about this very soon-to-conclude election cycle … The fate of the country … does not depend on what kind of paper you drop into the ballot box once a year, but on what kind of man you drop from your chamber into the street every…
The Disturbing Thing about Andrew Sabin
I’ll make this short. I love this quotation I read the other day in The New York Times: “To put the fate of our climate on clean coal and so-called next-gen nuclear is about the riskiest proposition in the world. We might as well bet on leprechauns and the Easter bunny.” — Michael Brune, executive…
How Many of Us Possess a High Degree of Eco-consciousness?
Once again, I am caught short of time; but I am nevertheless itching to write this, since it fits so well with the topic of discussion I chose for my previous post. I have asked several scientists and individuals this question: “In short, do you know of any studies at all that attempt to measure…
My 3 Questions
As it now states at the end of the “Harriet Tubman” Wikipedia article, “On April 20, 2016, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced plans to add Tubman to the front of the twenty-dollar bill, moving President Andrew Jackson to the rear of the bill.” But I very much would have preferred seeing another woman chosen instead…
Coral Reefs – The Alarm Has Sounded
On the cover of The New York Times this past Sunday, there was an article (Michelle Innis, “Climate-Related Death of Coral Around World Alarms Scientists” Apr. 10, 2016) that describes how damage to the earth’s coral reefs has gotten considerably worse these past couple of years. According to the article, “scientists say the global bleaching is the…
The Global Solution to Extinction – Book Alert
This past Sunday in The New York Times, there appeared an opinion piece written by the renown biologist Edward O. Wilson, titled “The Global Solution to Extinction” (Mar. 13, 2016, Sunday Review section). He writes about the extinction crisis that is wiping out the web of life that stretches across this planet, and then gives…
Biology, Engineering, and the Nature of Life
Several days ago, while in the kitchen making something to eat, I had the radio on and caught an interesting show. Here is the link: (So-Called) Life – produced by RadioLab; and this is how RadioLab.org describes this particular show: “The uneasy marriage of biology and engineering raises big questions about the nature of life.”…
Politics of Climate Change
What a strange presidential race we’re witnessing. Though in one sense, I’m kind of loving it. For so many years now, I’ve been chomping at the bit to have my website up, while a presidential race was under way; and now, that day is finally here. This — 2016 — marks the first presidential race where…
Mankind is Doing a Remarkable Job of Destroying the Planet
Did you see this in the news recently? According to a recent study, by the year 2050, there will be more plastic in the world’s oceans (pound for pound) than fish. That report was released by the World Economic Forum and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. You can do a Google search and read all about…
Paris Climate Agreement – Hold Your Applause
Just a quick post about the recent climate change conference agreement about which there is so much celebration. Don’t uncork the champagne just yet! Sorry to splash a bucket of cold reality onto all of this, but the truth is there are so many problems with this “great achievement,” not the least of which is…
The Problem with Lawns
It seems like it’s been about half a year since my last post; so I’m pleasantly surprised to see it’s only been about two and a half months. Since there’s been so much I’ve been wanting to post about, and it’s all been piling up, maybe that’s why it seems like it’s been so much…
The Annihilation of Nature – Book Alert
You could be the first! During my lunch break at work, a few days ago, I had the chance to look through my August 22, 2015 issue of Science News. In it, on the page devoted to new books that have just been published, one book, in particular, grabbed my attention — two of its…
Chemicals & Our Disposable Consumer Behavior
This Earth Day, let’s remember exactly what’s at stake: everything. As Peter Singer and Collin O’Rourke wrote in an op-ed, published in the Daily News over four years ago (“Decade of distraction” / “Over the past 10 years, as the news has gotten bleaker, Americans have only twiddled their thumbs harder” Dec. 5, 2010, p. 28-29):…
We are spending the principal called Earth
Every year around this time, the following sentiment — eloquently expressed by Irish author Dervla Murphy — comes to mind: “The multiple threats to the Earth are so complex that in most cases they seem beyond the reach of an average citizen’s influence. Yet we can all launch a personal campaign to reduce consumption —…
Capitalism versus Climate
In my last posting, I included mention of Naomi Klein’s This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate. Today, in the pages of The New York Times Book Review, Rob Nixon reviews the book (“Force of Nature” / “The status quo is no longer an option, Naomi Klein warns in this analysis of the climate crisis.”).…
Extinction on the Horizon
About a week and a half ago, the World Wildlife Fund released its Living Planet Index 2014 report, and according to their calculations, for the period between 1970 and 2010, human activity has been responsible for the loss of 52 percent of the planet’s non-human vertebrate animal population. Human activity-related causes include habitat loss, pollution…
2014 Climate Change March
On Sunday, September 21st, I attended the Climate Change March in New York City. I found it very heartwarming and uplifting. While I don’t think it will lead to any substantive change, I did get the chance to see and meet some really wonderful people. And that easily made it all worthwhile. I had only…
Some Quotations for You to Enjoy
For quite some time now I’ve been wanting to add some things to enhance the website (most particularly concerning the Quotations and Links pages); but I just haven’t had the time. That, coupled also with the fact that I haven’t posted any new messages here in several weeks, got me to thinking “Hey, why not share…
Humans Must Change Their Behavior
Several years ago, I read an interesting review of Julianne Lutz Newton’s Aldo Leopold’s Odyssey, a book about Aldo Leopold, author of A Sand County Almanac. The review was written by Verlyn Klinkenborg, and published in The New York Times Book Review (“Land Man” / “A guide to the life of Aldo Leopold, author of ‘A…
We must change the Consumerism Paradigm
The Science section of yesterday’s New York Times included a letter to the editor, written by an Irene Muschel, of New York, who wrote in response to an article (Justin Gillis, “Looks Like Rain Again. And Again.” May 13) that was part of the New York Times’s “By Degrees” series dealing with the issue of global warming.…
I am not a fan of Earth Day
Today is Earth Day. I am not a big fan of Earth Day. Why? Because while there are 8,760 hours every year that the earth keeps us alive and makes all life on this planet possible, Earth Day comes just once a year and lasts just twenty-four hours. As I say on the About Me…
5 Encounters with Giant Beasts – videographer Sam Mallery
This is something I just can’t resist sharing. I fortuitously stumbled upon this about six months ago. This video is only about a minute and a half long, but it will stay with you for a very long time.
Conditions Inhospitable for Humans
I’ve been going through a huge stack of old articles and notes and came across an op-ed written by Al Gore and published in The New York Times (“Moving Beyond Kyoto,” Jul. 1, 2007). It focuses on the issue of global warming and states that mankind is dumping “70 million tons of CO2 every 24…
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
The same day as my last posting, The New York Times Book Review ran a review of Elizabeth Kolbert’s book, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History. This review was written by Al Gore (“Without a Trace,” Feb. 16, 2014), and it is well worth reading. In it, Gore states that up to half (“20-50 percent”) of all species…
It’s time to shift our worldview
Just to illustrate how serious the ecological crisis we are in, actually is, let me paraphrase something I wrote, which you can find near the beginning of the bullet list, on the Solutions page: It is imperative that our worldview shift from one that is highly anthropocentric, to one that is highly ecocentric. Two simple…