frostica’s Recent Comments

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  not enough

  Unfortunately, this new energy bill is not ambitious enough on the fuel efficiency standards, and overly ambitious on the ethanol production.  

  The changes to CAFE take too long to go into effect, and are not as demanding as they need to be to make a significant dent in reversing/mitigating climate change.

  The fact that the US has so blindly rushed into ethanol is incredibly short-sighted.  We are simply trading one environmental harm (CO2 emissions from cars) for another (increasing the dead zone in the gulf of mexico, increasing CO2 emissions from peat forest destruction, etc).  

  This compromised bill makes it even more clear to me that this country is on the wrong path (or at least moving way too slowly on the right path).  On After many years of trying, we're moving in the right direction at last posted 2 years, 4 months ago 21 Responses

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  response to JMG

  JMG- I am definitely one of the few.  I work for a nonprofit, not for a law firm, and trust me, I am not paid handsomely. Nor do I argue that nothing can be done about climate change.  I merely said that I am not holding my breath for a global solution.  
  My main point is that this entire movement to address climate change is a matter of preserving the status quo so that we can continue to enjoy the bounty that the earth currently provides us.  I am selfish just like all humans, so I would like to see the environment preseved so that I, and my descendants, can continue to enjoy its wonders.  I did not take Michael Griffin's comments as a suggestion that we should sit back and do nothing, but instead a recognition that there is a limit to what we humans can and should do to control our universe.  On Hard to believe he's part of the Bush administration! posted 2 years, 5 months ago 24 Responses

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  maybe not so stupid...

  I think grist is wrong to characterize these comments as "stupid".  While I am an environmental attorney and advocate who recognizes the perils humanity faces due to climate change, I also have an anthropology background that often leads me to think in extremely big-picture terms.  It is indisputable that the climate has changed dramatically over the evolution of our species, and these changes have often been bad news for humanity.  Similarly, the anthropogenic climate change we are facing right now will likely result in numerous disasters, including mass casualties.  Having been a student of international environmental law, I do not have high hopes for a global solution to this problem.  As a student of anthropology and population dynamics, I also feel that this might not be such a bad thing for our species.  As grist discussed a couple weeks ago, the issue of overpopulation is not frequently cited in the enviro debate, but it is the true cause of our problems.  We are clearly over our carrying capacity on this planet, and the burning of fossil fuels that has allowed us to flourish may also be our undoing.  The bottom line is that the climate is always changing, and even if we were to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions there is no way that we can forever preserve the mild climate that we as a species have enjoyed for the last 10,000 years.     On Hard to believe he's part of the Bush administration! posted 2 years, 5 months ago 24 Responses