Author Archives: Norm Benson

Peter Kareiva “Conservation in the Real World”

Peter Kareiva, the chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy is well worth listening to. He recently gave a seminar at the Long Now Foundation. Stewart Brand, who hosts the Seminars About Long-term Thinking, noted this from Kareiva’s talk: In Green rhetoric, everything in nature is described as “fragile!”—rivers, forests, the whole planet. It’s manifestly untrue.Continue reading “Peter Kareiva “Conservation in the Real World””

For Mice and Men, Dose Doth Make the Poison

My latest Green Chain column in today’s Lake County Record-Bee: Every day, I make my wife and myself a cup of coffee. Should I be arrested for spousal abuse? I am serving her a phenol-laced liquid, containing 826 volatile chemical substances, 16 of which are known by the state of California to cause cancer. OneContinue reading “For Mice and Men, Dose Doth Make the Poison”

California’s AB 88-something fishy this way comes

Humans have been messing with life-changing technology for millennia. For instance, fire allows humans to cook their food. Though our ancient ancestors didn’t know it, heating food changes the food’s molecular structure; cooking gelatinizes starch and denatures protein, making calories more accessible to the human body than raw food does. While no one would sayContinue reading “California’s AB 88-something fishy this way comes”

Weekend Postcard: Lake County, Clear Lake

What a gorgeous weekend in northern California. The temperature was around 67F (19C for our metric folks). The lilac are in bloom and Mount Konocti looked very photogenic. And, every road invited you to amble along and see what lay around the next bend. How was the climate in your neck of the woods?

Forest Owners to EPA: Massachusetts made wrong choice

The National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO) recommended to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that they defer the regulation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from biomass for three years. the EPA is considering regulating biomass energy the same as fossil fuels. David P. Tenny, President and CEO of NAFO, underscored NAFO’s desire for theContinue reading “Forest Owners to EPA: Massachusetts made wrong choice”

Biofuel: Exacerbating the Food Crisis

The percentage of deaths related to malnutrition have declined over the past 40 years. In 1970, approximately 33% of the developing world was malnourished. In 2010, approximately 20% of the developing world is poorly nourished. If we were to put our concern toward micro and macro nutrition and less emphasis on greenhouse gas output, theContinue reading “Biofuel: Exacerbating the Food Crisis”

Do these toxins make me look fat? Earth Day turns 41.

On June 22, 1969, a portion of the Cuyahoga River caught fire in Cleveland, Ohio. The late1960s were turbulent times; 1969 alone witnessed Woodstock, the Tate-LaBianca murders, and the Mi Lai massacre. The fire on the Cuyahoga River was emblematic of human-caused environmental troubles. This event and others lit a fire under the Congress andContinue reading “Do these toxins make me look fat? Earth Day turns 41.”