Matt Ridley – Nullius in Verba

Green Games

I wrote this some time ago. I still like it. It appears we are witnessing the crumbling of the green movement, as we know it. Dr. James Lovelock, who postulated the ‘Gaia hypothesis’ of earth operating as a self-regulating organism, is the latest to stray, if not exactly leave the faith. The listContinue reading “Green Games”

Cheering up Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Case of the Mondays

Cheer up Dr. Tyson. In these past forty-five to fifty years…we have landed unmanned probes, one on the planet Mars and one on a motherfucking comet!…raised literacy 50%, lowered infant mortality 60%, increased average world incomes 300%, and raised lifespans 30%.

Foodites Rejoice: Campbell’s Right to Tell…and Sell

Hank Campbell, President of the American Council on Science and Health (and co-author of Science Left Behind), wrote an interesting (and intelligent) post at Science 2.0: “GMO Labeling Is A Smart Marketing Strategy.” He notes that “anti-science groups are hailing [Campbell’s announcement about labeling GMOs on their products] as a victory. US Right To Know,Continue reading “Foodites Rejoice: Campbell’s Right to Tell…and Sell”

Let’s Get Vertical: Factory Farming

Agriculture has one hell of a footprint, occupying 37.6 percent of earth’s land area, or about 0.7 hectares (1.7 acres) per person to feed our world’s current population. “There is no activity that humankind engages in that has a bigger impact on the planet than agriculture,” Jack Bobo, Chief of Biotechnology and Textile Trade inContinue reading “Let’s Get Vertical: Factory Farming”

Let’s Get Vertical: Factory Farming

What is Comparative Advantage?

Had a good exchange in the comments section (and on Twitter) yesterday about David Ricardo’s Law of Comparative Advantage. My point in writing “Eat. Pray. Lovin’ It.” was to illustrate that people have always liked to pick up quickly prepared food. Workers willingly trade their money to save the expense (time and money and hassle)Continue reading “What is Comparative Advantage?”

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?”

Can a $40 Washing Machine Really Bring Families Out of Poverty?

Yes, yes it can. GiraDora is a blue bucket that conceals a spinning mechanism that washes clothes and then partially dries them. It’s operated by a foot pedal, while the user sits on the lid to stabilize the rapidly churning contents. Sitting alleviates lower-back pain associated with hand-washing clothes, and frees up the washer toContinue reading “Can a $40 Washing Machine Really Bring Families Out of Poverty?”

Green Games

Here is today’s Green Chain column for the Lake County Record-Bee. “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?” – John Maynard Keynes. It appears we are witnessing the crumbling of the green movement, as we know it. Dr. James Lovelock, who postulated the ‘Gaia hypothesis’ of earth operatingContinue reading “Green Games”

Dr. Whatsforlunch or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Chemicals

Some rationally optimistic thoughts from Matt Ridley are in this video. Consider this: when we compare the farm yields of the 1960s to the yields at the end of the 1990s, we find that conventional (aka intensive) farming has, in effect, saved 44% of earth’s land from going under the plow.