Ramekin’s Recent Comments

• Click here to view comment in original post

  Furthermore,

  If you're going to pull a quote, you shouldn't miss this gem: "for much of history labor was the point of children"On Could chain stores actually be good for the environment? posted 4 years ago 19 Responses

• Click here to view comment in original post

  A rebuttal to the wrong argument

  I feel like Akst is setting up a straw man in his defence of big box retailers.  Environmental opposition to big box stores seems to be locally focused on the effects of new construction on undeveloped land, not on the more diffuse transportation and production of goods.  The impact of converting a number of acres of land to impervious surface with the attendant construction refuse and car-dripping runoff is a concern to those who care about water quality and flow patterns in the local community.  Furthermore, large companies have been able to use their considerable wealth and influence to avoid or even attempt to change local regulations regarding environmental protection.  

  (But for a discussion of globilization these stores rely on and the coming peak oil, see the interview with Matthew Simmons, the next to last question.)

  The opposition to big-box stores really focuses on the treatment of workers, both foreign and domestic, and on this front, Akst pays no more than lip service.On Could chain stores actually be good for the environment? posted 4 years ago 19 Responses

• Click here to view comment in original post

  Reasonable Compromise?

  Assuming the demand for power, and therefore power plants, continues to grow - nuclear power seems almost reasonable when compared to coal.  Of the two, I would rather a new nuke plant be built in my state

  Smokestack releases effecting global climate as well as local health and air quality would be eliminated, and destructive mining practices associated with coal would be reduced (though uranium mining is not benign, it does not consume countless tons of strip-mined material daily).

  It might be time to compromise and accept nuclear power to meet the inevitable growth of power demand.On Umbra on nuclear energy posted 4 years, 7 months ago 45 Responses

• Click here to view comment in original post

  Oh - another one

  Collapse by Harvey Weiss (to be released in September 2005) - though I've obviously not read it, I think this will be a great book.

  Weiss has argued that sudden climate change events have shaped human society - the development of agriculture, irrigation, and government all occured in response to changes in climate in mesopotamia, and climate changes have also led to several instances of societal collapse around the world. This has obvious implications to our current situation of human-mediated climate change.  His article in Science (http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/291/5504/609 ) and an overview of his research (http://www.worldagesarchive.com/Reference_Links/Empires_in_the_Dust.htm) give a good indication of what this book will address.On Umbra on getting up to speed on enviro issues posted 4 years, 7 months ago 28 Responses

• Click here to view comment in original post

  Regarding Books

  I also wholeheartedly recommend Hardin's essay Tragedy of the Commons - a classic that sets a foundation for discussions of natural resource development.  

  Earth Odyssey by Mark Hertsgaard - a journalist's journey around the world, exploring environmental impacts of industry in both the first world and developing communities.  A terrific narrative, approachable and informative - the perfect book to lend to friends.On Umbra on getting up to speed on enviro issues posted 4 years, 7 months ago 28 Responses