Articles by JMG

Let's live on the planet as if we intend to stay.

All Articles

  • What rules would you impose to address global heating if you were

    America, nominally a democracy, acquired a strange fetish for "czars" during the Nixon administration (how telling).

    I remember William Simon being appointed "energy czar" back in the 70s. Like the Romanoffs, he had a fearsome title and did nothing good for most of the people in his country.

    Still, it can be a useful exercise to think about what you would do if you suddenly had responsibility for something like dealing with global heating, and you could make the policy changes you thought wisest. What would yours be?

    JMG Climate & Energy

  • Your math teacher knew you’d need this stuff someday!

    During one of our many discussions here at Gristmill around cutting greenhouse-gas emissions, I did some figuring and realized that, if we started in 2008, we would have three "halving" periods between then and 2050 if we could just cut emissions by 5 percent per year -- not an unreachable goal for people who absolutely waste a buttload of energy.

    I've been talking up what I've taken to calling "The 5% Solution" here in Springfield (where the Simpsons live), making contact with a local group to propose starting a campaign for it as a project of the organization, with the idea that it would spread to other towns, cities, and states, and then all over America (insert Howard Dean-like scream here).

    This morning, the fellow I've been talking to sent me to this link about something I have not heard of, the Sierra Club's "2% Solution." What?! Have I been left at the gate? Did I invent something well after the patent had already been issued to someone else?

    Turns out, no.

    JMG Climate & Energy

  • The days when they would take whatever you served up are gone

    Why does Amory Lovins say that the market is deciding against nukes?

    JMG Climate & Energy

  • Food? Farms? No connection at all!

    From the BBC:

    The Linking Environment And Farming organisation found that 22% of 1,073 adults questioned did not know bacon and sausages originate from farms ... The survey also found four in 10 people did not know yoghurt is made using farm produce, nearly half were unaware the raw ingredients for beer start off in farmers' fields and 23% did not know bread's main ingredients came from the farm.

    (I'm not pinging on the Brits; I'm sure the U.S. is even worse.)

    JMG Food and Agriculture