A Growing Concern
The world is in the midst of an insect extinction crisis. We've all heard about the plight of bees, but the plight of all insect fauna is much less widely appreciated. The figure below is from a report in Science a few years ago showing the precipitous decline in insects worldwide.[1] What beekeepers and naturalists [...]
I only recently ran into metamodernism, the new kid on the block ready to sweep postmodernism into the dust bin of intellectual movements. This isn't my usual bailiwick, so it took me by surprise that I was pulled into this obscure corner of cultural criticism. What's brought me here is the paucity of reasonable discussion these [...]
Our comment letter to EPA follows below. OPP Docket Environmental Protection Agency Docket Center (EPA/DC), (28221T) 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Washington, DC 20460-0001 Re: Pollinator Ecological Risk Assessments: Imidacloprid Registration Review EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0844 To whom it may concern, We would like to offer some comments on the regulatory endpoints that are proposed in [...]
Over the course of the last year, the issue of bees and the neonicotinoid pesticides has finally begun to appear in the popular press in this country. A campaign by Friends of the Earth in the UK resulted in major garden center chains removing the neonics from their shelves in February of last year. Early [...]
Last week three major home store chains in the UK took insecticides with troublesome neonicotinoid systemics off their shelves. The chains, Wicks, B&Q, and HomeBase no longer have insecticides containing clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, the three neonicotinoids deemed most toxic and problematic to honeybees in a recent announcement from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The EFSA recommends, among other things, [...]
It is always exciting to encounter a fresh topic that has escaped attention, yet with a little investigation, demands it. So it is with the story of A1 / A2 milk. I first became aware of the existence of this issue at a potluck dinner with health-conscious fellow diners. As it turns out, this is old news to [...]
With the impending "fiscal cliff" upon us, there seems to be fresh worry and general gnashing of teeth over the economy again. At times like this, I think it is especially good to step back and look at the bigger picture. Keep in mind that artificial deadlines are just that, and long-term trends don't change overnight. The [...]
The debate is heating up over the transport of coal from mines in Wyoming and Colorado to west coast ports, where the coal will be shipped to Asian markets. Combining the vast appetite for coal in Asia with the vast stores of underground carbon in the US will accelerate the already rapid rise in atmospheric [...]
The politics of pain that is the fashion these days offers an unprecedented opportunity to advance a power-down agenda that will become a necessity in the years ahead. The defining characteristics of the Great Recession, and the Great Depression of the 1930's, are very high unemployment rates while interest rates remain very low. High unemployment [...]
As the recovery - or lack thereof - continues, it is becoming more clear that there is an important shift in economic power away from Europe and America and toward the emerging Asian economies. There has always been concern that the Chinese sleeping giant would awake and overtake us, but I doubt that anyone anticipated the entire [...]
Squash Practice 