Given that the holiday season is practically upon us – yes, Bill O., I am not calling it Christmas, make what you will of it – some people’s attention is naturally turning to gift-giving. Now, even though our bollixed economy desperately needs a boost, I’m not urging mindless consumerism, like plunking down $95 for American Girl’s homeless doll.
But I always like giving books. Unfortunately, people like to return the favor and my stacks of must-reads continue to spread. If it weren’t for my wife, one day, I’d probably rate one of those 300-word newspaper stories about the guy found expired in his house amid veritable tunnels of ceiling-high books and newspapers. She, however, strictly limits the number of stacks I’m allowed. (I think she secretly removes books, too, figuring – quite correctly – there are so many that I’ll never miss a few dozen by the time I get around to reading from that section of the stack.)
Whether you’re as obsessive in the book department as I or you just want a good read this season, A Siegel has provided an Energy Bookshelf: Ten more worth your time than Super Freaky Crap:
It truly is a travesty. Best-seller lists, the air waves, oped pages, and blog posts have been filled with Steven Levitt's and Steven Dubner's shallow, truthiness-laden Superfreakonomics. The continued attention feeds on itself, as ignoring the deceptions and the mediocre interviews booked due to the authors' Super(freaky)star status has the problem of giving it credence due to non-truthful truthiness and misleading mediocrity on the critical issue of climate change science and other issues. There are, essentially, innumerable works more worthy of our attention and engagement, even if we constrain ourselves simply to books also published in 2009. |
Here are the titles. To read his mini-reviews, click to the diary:
Now, perhaps you’d like to add your own recommendations.
• • • • • • •
Green Diary Rescues appear on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The diary rescue begins below and continues in the jump. Inclusion of a particular diary does not necessarily indicate my agreement with it.
• • • • • • •
Vorkosigan made our mouths water with a Biking Weekend: Biking in Taiwan: "I do a lot of blogging on Taiwan, and I also do a lot of biking. Many DKOS readers are enthusiastic cyclists, and I thought I'd share one of the island's best kept secrets: its fantastic potential as a bike tourism destination. Come below the fold for a deeper taste...."
• • • • • • •
Oke has posted the Overnight News Digest.
Deadly M7.9 China Earthquake Triggered by Reservoir? was the question explored by FishOutofWater: "The May 2008 Wenchuan earthquake (Mw 7.9) which killed almost 90,000 people and buried whole villages with landslides may have been triggered by the filling of the Zipingpu reservoir behind a high dam. Detailed analysis of the stress field around the fault zone shows that the weight of the water combined with the increase in pore pressure caused by the 100 meter deep reservoir was large enough to induce an earthquake hundreds of years before it would have happened without the reservoir."
BadRabbit explained the details regarding Recycling Plastic Bags: "The good news is that most plastic bags are recyclable. Stores such as Ukrops, Walmart, Food Lion, Kroger and Whole Foods all accept plastic bags for recycling. Although the United States Environmental Protection Agency stated in 2000 that only 1% of plastic bags were recycled, significant attention resulted in a 700% growth in the recycling industry as new capacity led to a 7% rate. When most people think of plastic bags, the first thing they think of are plastic grocery bags. But did you know that many other types of plastic bags can be recycled along with your plastic grocery bags as well?"
As part of the ongoing, Adopt a Senator for climate legislation organized by RLMiller, BoogieMama introduced us to Senator Bingaman, Bringer of Mixed Blessings: "Meet Senator Jeff Bingaman, Democrat from Silver City, New Mexico. As the head of the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee, Bingaman has shown himself to be a good steward of the environment in many ways. He put together the Public Lands Omnibus Bill, which rewarded grassroots environmental groups across the nation with wilderness designations and protections on many watersheds and scenic areas. He is sponsoring more of the same, as well as cosponsoring a bill to expand and fund a Public Lands Service Corps, similar to the old CCC. Not only that, he is the sponsor of the American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009 (ACEL). Other legislation he is sponsoring or cosponsoring is targeted at coming up with clear models for coping with climate change, and research on the impact on water, mitigating the effects of climate change on public lands, and improving efficiency in manufacturing and in appliances (these last are combined into his ACEL bill)."
rperks reviewed a trip in Country Stars Come Out Against Mountaintop Removal: "I just returned from Nashville, where NRDC co-hosted an event with the Gibson Foundation (yes, those legendary guitars!) at the home of mega-manager Ken Levitan. The purpose of this event was to raise awareness about mountaintop removal coal mining amongst the music industry and to recruit more artists to our campaign: MusicSavesMountains.org. More than 100 people attended the event and heard NRDC's Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. tell how the Appalachians are being ravaged by the most destructive form of coal mining ever devised."
B Amer was in the audience for 350.org Founder Bill McKibben Speaks in Ann Arbor: "As a part of a fundraiser for Ann Arbor's Ecology Center at least 40,000 people (using Michelle Bachmann math) heard a great, sobering speech last night by the founder of 350.org, Bill McKibben. I was fortunate enough to be there."
Anti-nuclear advocate harveywasserman ran into strong criticism in his diary The ReactorRelapse Takes 3 Hits to the Head: "The much-hyped ‘Renaissance’ of atomic power has taken three devastating hits with potentially fatal consequences. The usually supine Nuclear Regulatory Commission has told Toshiba's Westinghouse Corporation that its ‘standardized’ AP-1000 design might not withstand hurricanes, tornadoes or earthquakes."
Muskegon Critic lamented what he sees as global politicians Too Busy to Save the World: "And thus we end up in a situation where: We are in two wars, the Health Insurance situation reached a breaking point, the economy reached a breaking point, labor issues are reaching a breaking point, global warming is reaching a tipping point. All this shit that needs to be addressed and fixed NOW. But that's okay. We can walk and chew gum at the same time."
intrados Surface Area Required to Offset Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Emissions by Reforestation Alone: What the graphic shows clearly is that planting trees to offset emissions is far from a viable solution. Projects that offset carbon emissions are certainly beneficial and should be applauded. Every step in the right direction is a good one and we should all be supporting these efforts on a personal and corporate level. However, no amount of reforestation or avoided deforestation will have an effect on the overall situation. The numbers that I used are based on United Nations statistics and are locatedhere."
123idaho had some praise for somebody who usually doesn’t get much from progressives in Simpson Supports Clean Transportation Energy Alternatives: "With such a dismal record on enviromental issues following the Republican party, it is interesting to see a conservative working in this fashion: Idaho Republican Congressman Mike Simpson is a cosponsor of H.R. 1835, the New Alterative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions, or NAT GAS, Act of 2009. H.R. 1835 focuses on increasing the availability of natural gas-fueled vehicles in the United States."
RLMiller called out Senator Reid: The Desert Won't Wait Until Next Election: "Senator Harry Reid has dropped his earlier schedules for committees on the climate bill, with no new timetable for panel action, leading The Wall Street Journal and me, among others, to conclude that the climate bill won't be passed this year. (Some, like Senator Jay Rockefeller, even seek to kill the bill suggest that the climate bill can wait until after the 2010 elections.) Senator Reid doesn't seem to understand that the deserts of Nevada are not political opponents with whom he can negotiate. The thirst of Las Vegas requires bold action now. The cobalt blue waters of Lake Tahoe cannot be bargained away. Failure to move the climate bill now is not only a disservice to the country and the planet; it's a threat to his home state."
kirbybruno filled in for sarahnity to write Frugal Fridays: Handmade Holidays: " There are so many reasons to make, rather than buy, gifts for friends and family, not the least of which is that is a great way to save money. I have combed the tubes looking for some unique ideas for handmade gifts, and will also share ideas that I have done myself. It's only November, so there is plenty of time to implement any of the ideas here."
JaxDem had some ideas in the same vein in the diary, The Holidays Are Coming! Frugal, Green and Charitable Gift Ideas plus Stress Busters: "I recently read "Do One Nice Thing" by Debbie Tenzer and while out Christmas shopping I thought about how this year will be more stressful for those who have lost jobs or are facing other financial challenges with a lot less jingle in the pocket than before. That gave me the inspiration to compile this ragtag list of hints, ideas, tips, and suggestions. I hope you will find some solutions for gift giving. For others with no monetary challenge, I urge you to consider charitable donations as gifts. I found some great "Green" ideas as good habits to adopt and carry over into the New Year."
randomfacts Cash for Clunkers, the Unacknowledged SuccessNo matter whether you support or oppose Cash for Clunkers, the critics in the media of this highly successful program (which they did not expect to be successul) cherry pick data, distort the facts, mislead their audience, and are being disproven by sales figures. It is time our government got credit for doing something right for once.
boatsie wrote "I would rather have a heart opened by wonder than one closed by belief"*: "It seems that the brain of the butterfly, born through the massive clustering of imaginal cells, contains neural fibers that connect its circadian rhythm to the photoreceptors in its eyes. It is the only insect which possesses this pathway, utilizing "a time-compensated sun compass. Isn't it Al Gore who says if you want to move quickly you move alone, if you want to move forward, you move together, but that now we need to move forward quickly. There is no time. Isn't it Van Jones who tells us there are NO single issues, there is only ONE language, it is all interconnected. There is no time. Aren't there people everywhere who are tortured by images of their children or grandchildren, all asking 'What did you do when the earth was unraveling? What did you do when you knew?' There is no time.'"
Haole in Hawaii posted another in his series, A Friday Night Hawaiian Photo Diary
UnenergyRain forest Run + 3,728 miles around Australia: "Back in February of this year in Victoria, Australia we had terrible heat waves taking the lives of many people, over ridden in the news by the most destructive bushfire, wildfire in terms of lives and property, in Australia's history. .. In response some of Australia's first responders, ordinary mums and dads, firefighters and police officers, some who had fought the fires on Black Saturday, have given up a month of their own vacation time, their annual leave in order to raise the profile of the issue of climate disruption. They are running 6,000km, 3,728 miles to raise funds for a new Australian group which has been created from a diverse collection of citizens to find ways to try to do something about this danger.
Other green diaries included:
Nevada, New Mexico and Idaho Band Together to Battle Effects of Climate Change by 123idaho.