I read an article the other day called “Why taxing cow burps isn’t the best climate solution“. In the article, Kevin Trenberth explains why methane released from cattle, which has been brought to the fore and vilified recently, isn’t nearly as bad as people claim. The reason for this is the carbon cycle. Unlike fossil fuels,…
I used to be a climate change optimist. Not a naive optimist, mind you, just an optimist. I wasn’t expecting a silver bullet or anything. I thought tackling the problem would be difficult and people would have to sacrifice quite a bit, but I thought it was doable. Over the last few years, I’ve become…
Climate change is a difficult problem. I almost said intractable, but I’m an optimist. So, difficult will do. One of the reasons it’s so difficult is because of the way people talk about it and write about it. The messaging that surrounds it. And I’m not talking about all the misinformation and outright lies that…
Climate activists are always talking about renewable sources of energy. Why is that? The danger isn’t running out of fuel. Fossil fuels can last a long, long time. The danger is putting carbon (and other greenhouse gasses) in the air. Are people that afraid of nuclear energy? Should they be?
Does anyone else remember a while ago when they were saying that an easy thing we could do to help mitigate climate change was paint our roads and roofs white? They said that more of the sun’s energy would be reflected back into space, slowing the rate of warming. Whatever happened with that? Why didn’t…
I find myself frustrated lately. I am vaccinated and I continue to wear a mask when I go out in public. I do so for several reasons. One is that my daughter is one of many unvaccinated people (she’s too young), and I would hate to spread COVID to someone who could be seriously hurt…
This should have a much longer title. It should really be “If I Were President With At Least A Two-thirds Majority In Both Houses Of Congress, Sympathetic Courts, And At Least Two-thirds Of The Governorships And State Legislatures.” In other words, it’s a wish list. If I had the power to arranging things the way…
For as long as there have been people, old people have said, “Kids today. . .” and young people have said, “Old people just don’t get it. . .” There have been jokes and stories and songs written about the phenomenon. Most of them treat it humorously, which seems about right. There have recently been…
I want to say right at the top, I have nothing against Greta Thunberg. I agree with her message. I’ve never met her, but I’m sure she’s a wonderful kid. I’m not talking about her because of her. She just happens to be the latest iteration of something that has bothered me for a long…
I don’t use air conditioning in my house. The only time in my life I air conditioned my home was while I was married. It wasn’t really my choice. I didn’t have air conditioning as a kid, in college, or when I moved out on my own. And since my divorce, I have not used…
