Articles by David Roberts

The issue with issues

Freelance writer Christopher Hayes spent the last seven weeks of the campaign talking to undecided voters in Wisconsin. He recounts his experiences in The New Republic (requires registration), and it is simply fascinating. And a little depressing. Most conventional wisdom about undecided voters is wrong, he says.

Because he said so

So, this month a panel of 300 scientists put out a report saying that global warming is most definitely underway, and that "human influences, resulting primarily from increased emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, have now become the dominant factor."

But stop the presses! U.S. Senator Ted Stevens (R-Ala.) says the scientists are wrong. Not that he's read the report.

Scientists who helped put together the report briefed members of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday.

Stevens, who is to chair the committee starting in January, agreed that climate change is a serious problem and said he looked forward to reading the report.

But he said he does not accept the conclusion the scientists reached: that the driving force behind warming is people burning coal, oil and natural gas, the fuels that produce greenhouse gases that trap heat in the atmosphere.

Stevens must have great confidence in his scientific credentials to cast doubt on the work of 300 climate specialists.  Curious about those credentials, I visited Stevens' bio page. Hm ... a mid-century law degree ... and then in congress since 1964.  Nope.  Nothing about science.

But he does acknowledge that "we need to take some action."  So what's the action?

Stevens' spokeswoman, Courtney Schikora Boone, said the action Stevens is taking is to fund more research about climate change.

UPDATE: Turns out it's not just Stevens; the entire Alaska delegation is demonstrating a heretofore undetected bent for science.

"My biggest concern is that people are going to use this so-called study to try to influence the way and standard of living that occurs within the United States," Young said.

"I don't believe it is our fault. That's an opinion," Young said. "It's as sound as any scientist's."

Young's opinion, you see, is just as valid as any scientist's, regardless of any "so-called study." The mind just boggles, doesn't it?

Bright green living

Over at WorldChanging, they are big on the idea of "bright green living," the notion that the future can be both more profitable and more sustainable. (Bright as in smart, get it?) They lamented the lack of a central resource for information about BGL and then said screw lamenting, let's make one.  Thus the Bright Green Living Wiki.  (What's a wiki, you ask? See here.) It's a great collection of articles, definitions, and other such resources for those interested in being hip, smart, and green.  Check it out.

More windmill tilting from PETA

Do you ever feel a slight twinge of guilt when digging into a plate of baked salmon, envisioning the poor fish frolicking with its family and thinking deep thoughts?  Yeah, me neither.  But PETA hopes to change that.  Their "Fishing Empathy" (seriously) campaign kicked off yesterday. It's built around convincing folks that fish are more intelligent than we thought (based on several recent studies).  "No one would ever put a hook  through a dog's or cat's mouth. Once people start to understand that fish, although they come in different packaging, are just as intelligent, they'll stop eating them," says PETA's Bruce Friedrich with that characteristic PETA blend of earnestness, hope, and slight creepiness.

Reception thus far has been, shall we say, skeptical.