Norm Benson

Me, Microbes, and I

It has been said that “No man is an island.” While you may quibble that it should be “No one is an island,” we know what it means: We human beings depend on one another. We depend on each other, and we also depend on ecosystems to provide us with water and clean air—amongContinue reading “Me, Microbes, and I”

Is Optimism Rational?

Matt Ridley’s book, The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves, continues to be my favorite book. It is not simply my favorite non-fiction book; it is my favorite book: challenging, witty, and chock-a-block full of facts. If you are pessimistic about our world’s future (as I was), you owe it to yourself (and your children) toContinue reading “Is Optimism Rational?”

OMG GMOs

I don’t get it. Yes, Monsanto is a large company. So is Ford. Monsanto does not control the food system any more than Ford controls the automotive system.

Beer and Civilization—Who Knew?

This will be in tomorrow’s today’s Record-Bee in the Green Chain column. It is also cross-posted on my Batch-22 blog. I hope you had a happy Earth Day. It happened, thanks to beer. Fermentation First Evidence mounts almost daily that beer started humans on the path to civilization even before the invention of agricultureContinue reading “Beer and Civilization—Who Knew?”

Weekend Postcard: Economics at Work

“Give me that which I want, and you shall have this which you want…” Adam Smith This picture is of sheep grazing (and resting) at a local winery‘s vineyard, Vigilance Winery and Vineyard (which, by the way, has a great sunrise picture). This shows economics at work. The rancher obviously thought it worthwhile to transportContinue reading “Weekend Postcard: Economics at Work”

Managing That Wild Natural Look

In 1978, I was just beginning my career with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). I worked in the southern Sierra Nevada range as the Assistant Forest Manager at Mountain Home State Forest. The federally managed 1.2 million acre Sequoia National Forest surrounded the 4800-acre state forest. On most of theContinue reading “Managing That Wild Natural Look”

Weekend Postcard: Napa Valley Afternoon Light

I took this picture from inside a moving car looking east near Calistoga. I thought the sunlight striking a vineyard to be beautiful, even with the smudges on the glass.

What happens when we can find traces of everything everywhere?

It is easy to get worked up about toxic substances (especially, it seems, synthetic ones) being in our bodies, yet as Brian Dunning at Skeptoid notes, it is natural to have toxic substances there. He points out that plutonium is “one of the most dangerous substances known.” But because we live on a planet withContinue reading “What happens when we can find traces of everything everywhere?”

Taking the Romance out of Environmentalism

My latest Green Chain column for the Record-Bee. Just after 7 p.m. on Sept 5, 2001, Mark Lynas, a writer and a member of the Green Party in Britain stepped into the Borders Bookshop in Oxford and “pied” former Greenpeace member Bjorn Lomborg with a sponge cake topped with whipped cream. Lomborg was at theContinue reading “Taking the Romance out of Environmentalism”

Weekend Postcard: Bear Creek

This is Bear Creek looking west near the junctions of California state routes 16 and 20. Every time I have crossed the bridge, the water has appeared tranquil.