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Some quasi-philosophical blather

I can't bear to get back into the news just yet, so let's discuss this a little bit.

Are human beings part of the environment? You can answer in two ways.

If you say no, they're not, then you're stuck with the pernicious dichotomy between humans and nature that has bedeviled Western intellectual history and led to the illusion that we can dominate or control nature. Humans are rational creatures, in touch with some sort of Platonic realm beyond the grubby, irrational, violent chaos of nature -- that kind of thinking. Much of environmentalism has been devoted to trying to knock down that false dichotomy.

But if you say the environment does include human beings, then you're left with nothing that the environment doesn't include. "The environment" is thereby synonymous with "everything." But then the term is useless. Saying something is good for the environment becomes tantamount to saying it's good for everything. And that doesn't make any sense.

What can we learn from all this?

Back

Well, I'm back from the pony show. It went well.

Now I return to find a) so much stuff has happened that I couldn't possibly begin to blog about it all, and b) nobody outside the environmental community noticed, or likely cares about, any of said stuff. Sigh.

Anyway, I'm back in the saddle and will try to post on a few things that happened in my absence shortly. I know you're all relieved.

Leave your car(e)s behind on vacation

Dreaming of getting away in August? How about getting away from your car? Xtracycle, a maker of "cargo bike" kits, offers up "car-free vacation tips" so you can fill your vacation with "clean, affordable, soulful transportation," whether in town or exploring the wilderness. Among the hints: plan ahead, choose your destination wisely, combine modes, and travel light.

Jellyfish invasion in the Mediterranean

If you've never felt the stinging sensation of a jellyfish, count yourself lucky. It's like lemon juice in a paper cut, but longer lasting. The only thing worse than a jellyfish sting is ... hundreds of jellyfish stings.

Scientists recently announced a jellyfish bloom on the Spanish Mediterranean coast, and the crew onboard Oceana's Ranger is witnessing the invasion firsthand.

What's causing the massive increase? Glad you asked:

• An increase in "nutrients" (aka ocean pollution),
• an increase in water temperature (aka, global warming), and
• a decrease in predators (aka overfishing).

For all of you right-brained people, get a sense of the situation through this new video.

Asphalt blues

"With the continuing escalation of global fuel prices, many State DOTS are beginning to experience unprecedented construction cost increases." - USDOT

Over the last year, the price of asphalt has gone through the roof, and it's hurting local road repairs and construction. I haven't seen much about this outside of local articles (examples here, here, and here).

If oil prices keep their steady march upward, road repairs are going to become a ballooning problem for local communities and state governments. Some communities are already cutting back on paving projects, or are using less cover material to stretch resources further. But as one DOT rep stated, "With paving, you can't let it get ahead of you, or you're never going to catch up ... It may not hurt you in the short term, but we're going to need to get more money to pave in the future."

What is a “free market”?

I have written a few pieces over the past week about economic policies that would greatly benefit the environment. A major contention that keeps coming up on the comment threads is that I use the term "markets" or "free markets" too loosely. So it's time for a quick summary of what the market system is and isn't.

A chat with Andy Revkin about Inhofe’s attack

Andrew Revkin has been reporting on climate and science for The New York Times for over 10 years. He recently completed a book about his experiences in the Arctic: The North Pole Was Here, a straightforward but appealing you-are-here account of visiting the top of our home planet, where the air is thin, the "ground" is ice floating on the ocean, and everything is changing. The story is intended to be accessible to anyone over the age of ten. (The first chapter is available for free on the NYT site.)

You might think it unlikely that a children's book would warrant the attention or ire of a U.S. senator -- but then, you may not know Marc Morano. Morano is a communications director for Senator James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), a former staffer at The Rush Limbaugh Show, and the first in the media to publicize the smears of the Swift Boat veterans. Since joining Inhofe's staff, Morano has issued communiques from the office of the Senate Environment Committee, which Inhofe chairs, blasting reporters that fail to give equal time to climate skeptics. (Read about Morano's attacks on AP reporter Seth Borenstein and ex-NBC anchor Tom Brokaw.)

Neither the senator nor his attack dog appear to have read Revkin's book, but it has drawn their fire nonetheless -- not because of what it says, but because it was written by a reporter.

According to a story broken by Greenwire (paid subscription required) on Wednesday, Morano called into doubt the 20 years of Revkin's reporting on climate change issues because "sales of Revkin's book ... would be enhanced by his paper's coverage of climate." Morano said: "We're not just shooting arrows."

I contacted Revkin to hear his point of view on the strange situation.

Subsidize this!

In a recent post on the four shifts in public policy that would have the greatest positive impact on the environment, number one was the elimination of natural resource subsidies. Every year, when I cover these subsidies in my environmental economics class, it amazes me that societies around the world continue to tolerate such vast abuses and wastes of money. They do so primarily because most people don't know about them (to educate yourself check here [PDF] and here), which is why I have decided to begin a campaign to lobby for their elimination.

Green is the new everything these days.

I just received a bumper sticker from ecoAmerica declaring that "Green is Red White & Blue."

But wait, no, green is the new black.

No, green is the new red.

Green is the new blue.

Gold.

White.

Pink.

Oatmeal?

I'm not sure what my point is. Maybe it's, damn people, get a new cliche (or is that an oxymoron?) Or maybe it's, I eagerly await the day when green is green. Not new. No need to be clever. Just infused in everything to the point that it's not even recognizable as green.

A bit of late-Friday philosophy.

The City Gas Guzzler

You gotta love this new ad from Greenpeace. Well, unless you're an SUV owner.

(Via TH)