Comments Mike Taylor has made

  • ok.....

    i agree with everyone who is saying this article is
    pointless. it was also not well researched.

    i don't post much on grist anymore, and i don't read this website more than once a week or so because of junk like this -
    GRIST!
    clean up your act!

    what a bunch of garbage - john-the-marine-says everything i would say if i could write as well as he does.
    thanks john! grist should hire you to write some food articles!
    On Getting to the meat of the matter with Boston chef Jamie Bissonnette posted 1 year, 3 months ago 21 Responses

  • oh please


    listen MAD MAC,
    your ideas are typical of what is wrong with humans, and this planet, in general.

    you appear to be self-indulgent and misinformed (MOST typical of Americans, and yes i am American,
    always have been).

    by the way, you DO know that humans are OMNIVORES,
    by definition, not CARNIVORES??!! humans can be prefectly healthy without consuming animals and animal by-products. get yourself a set of
    encyclopedias and look it up. sheesh.....On The all-powerful talk-show host ends her vegan cleanse posted 1 year, 5 months ago 30 Responses

  • global cooling??

    come on Grist. you know better than this.
    other news agencies might not care, but you should -
    the following article is merely one of dozens per day that show up in news blogs around the world

    http://www.alternet.org/water/83796/

    the world-wide poor are starving and dying due to drought conditions globally. and biodiversity is adversely affected as well.

    ok, maybe some parts of the planet will cool for awhile, but so what? mostly, it is rich areas that need not worry - we have high gas prices in America, but most or almost all of us in the developed world will still be alive and eating.On Next decade could be cooler than expected, says study posted 1 year, 6 months ago 7 Responses

  • RFK jr.

    yeah, well, no one makes the correct decisions all the time. so he's wrong this time. i'm not sure Ted Kennedy's endorsement of Obama did the man any good, anyway. Caroline's maybe, but not Ted's.

    endorsement's seem so old-fashioned now.On RFK Jr. for Hillary posted 1 year, 9 months ago 3 Responses

  • go rrecroc! go pogo!

    right on! power to the people!

    the antiestablishment to the rescue!On High drama leads to compromise at climate conference posted 1 year, 11 months ago 18 Responses

  • thanks

    amen and hallelujah. thanks sernya - let's not tippytoe around anymore!

    but nothing, NOTHING absolves the USA of OUR responsibilities in this matter. we suck, we sabotaged the climate meetings in Bali practically single-handed even AFTER China was making weak squeaky sounds of possible cooperation maybe..... we should be ashamed of ourselves. pot calling the kettle black - doesn't work. in the long run, the public isn't THAT stupid.

    i'm disgustedOn Greenpeace India points out the obvious posted 1 year, 11 months ago 14 Responses

  • oh.....yeah...duh......

    Psngolin,
    you are preaching to the choir.On Dear news, posted 1 year, 11 months ago 3 Responses

  • yes,


    and here is the link to Al Gore's speech in Oslo Norway, published on RAN's website in full-

    http://understory.ran.org/2007/12/11/we-have-a-purpose-we ...On There is no comparison between Chinese and American GHG emissions posted 1 year, 11 months ago 41 Responses

  • also read

    first, the relevant excerpt:

    "The world needs an alliance - especially of those nations that weigh heaviest in the scales where earth is in the balance. I salute Europe and Japan for the steps they've taken in recent years to meet the challenge, and the new government in Australia, which has made solving the climate crisis its first priority.

    But the outcome will be decisively influenced by two nations that are now failing to do enough: the United States and China. While India is also growing fast in importance, it should be absolutely clear that it is the two largest CO2 emitters - most of all, my own country -- that will need to make the boldest moves, or stand accountable before history for their failure to act.

    Both countries should stop using the other's behavior as an excuse for stalemate and instead develop an agenda for mutual survival in a shared global environment."

    from Al Gore's acceptance speech in Oslo Norway.

    and a link to the RAN website which has published the whole speech:
    http://understory.ran.org/2007/12/11/we-have-a-purpose-we ...On Greenpeace India points out the obvious posted 1 year, 11 months ago 14 Responses

  • one link of too many to count

    do your own research. start here:

    http://www.nrdc.org/onearth/06sum/field.asp?r=nOn Greenpeace India points out the obvious posted 1 year, 11 months ago 14 Responses

  • correction


    ok, i'm going to amend my last paragraph above before everyone else does -

    i think the USA has been perceived to be more a good guy than a bad guy, historically, at least as far as the end of WWII. we've at least been thought of as the ultimate land of opportunity, because of our more or less democratic way or life. (we are actually a plurality, i think)

    anyway,
    our founding fathers did know what they were doing.
    that's my opinion anyway, and now i think we slip internationally into the bottomless negative  abyss of public perception because the USA is no good at being a team player if we are not in charge.  a pox has come upon us.....On Greenpeace India points out the obvious posted 1 year, 11 months ago 14 Responses

  • oh yes,

    David,
    good grief! whew!

    you say what i feel. i think i'll go re-read the Harry Potter novels for recreation in the next few days just to relax a little. i find improbable fantasy a good antidote to the great climate debate and a help in restoring my sense of humor....On Dear news, posted 1 year, 11 months ago 3 Responses

  • get some graduate students


    Andrew,
    get some graduate students in climate science and provide them with a forum where they have to take opposing views on global warming.

    the problem is that the debate has shifted. the USA is behind the curve because we don't believe in science, and we argue for political points now, as a nation and internationally.

    i suspect you won't be able to find a 'climate scientist' that will show researched studies proclaiming that global warming doesn't exist or that it exists, but humans's aren't doing any of it.

    at least, no climate scientist not bought and paid for by the some conservative energy lobbyist or other. the opposition has now moved on; it is now in the political ballpark, and science is the enemy there.On Search for local climate skeptic in Texas proves fruitless posted 1 year, 11 months ago 61 Responses

  • good summary Colin,

    but as for all our 'leaders, scientists, engineers, farmers, and industrialists' working together, none of them are; they are all just squabbling among themselves and also squabbling with all the 'leaders, scientists, engineers, farmers, and industrialists' in every other country as well.

    in fact, everyone is arguing, yelling, swearing, etc., at everyone else in this great climate debate; on Grist and on every other GREEN website out there - and also on all of the major news services sites and also everywhere.

    it's either the start of something positively great or the start of the biggest fiasco seen since WWII!

    i once read in a Terry Pratchett novel that humans are the 'story telling chimpanzee' evolved from  chimpanzees that were hanging around in trees yelling at other chimpanzees hanging out in other trees. cool.

    ( i apologize for using 'evolve' and 'chimpanzee' in the same sentence as the term 'human'. no offense meant to humans of other persuasions don't yell at me).On It's too late to stop climate change, argues Ross Gelbspan -- so what do we do now? posted 1 year, 11 months ago 45 Responses

  • oh no


    oh no, America is definitely the bad guy here.
    seriously.

    and even though i've posted on other articles about China's horrible behavior and attitudes on ANY biodiversity or conservation topic, America is to blame for a lot of it.

    i just think that there is enough blame to go around and not just the US and China.

    America needs to own up to it's BAD environmental policies, but other countries (including China) need to own up to the fact that they are the new, emerging bad guys.

    the US has helped to export the American way of life to otherwise, third world nations. in fact, other nations seem to covet ALL THE BAD STUFF we have and none of the good stuff in America.

    historically, America has always been the good guys, but now with the Iraq fiasco and other right-wing political stances too numerous to list, we are in that position no longer, and primarily, it's all own fault.On Greenpeace India points out the obvious posted 1 year, 11 months ago 14 Responses

  • what i meant

    sorry, what i meant was that there is no one left to vote for that will GET the DEMOCRATIC nomination.
    and if you won't vote republican ( i certainly won't) who's left? who will be the independent candidate? will we even have one on the ballot?
    On HRC taps a CAFO champion as co-chair of Rural Americans for Hillary posted 1 year, 11 months ago 8 Responses

  • oh my god....

    oh my god....there's no one left to vote for now....On HRC taps a CAFO champion as co-chair of Rural Americans for Hillary posted 1 year, 11 months ago 8 Responses

  • atreyger wins...

    ok, atreyger, you win this dialog, everyone else loses (especially the polarized ones - YOU KNOW who you all are....)On There is no comparison between Chinese and American GHG emissions posted 1 year, 11 months ago 41 Responses

  • sorry


    sorry, but your slant isn't the whole picture.
    the United states and China are still the current leaders in greenhouse gas emissions today. (with Indonesia trying to catch up, bigtime!).both countries are in the lead now, and are both responsible for being leaders to solutions for the rest of the world. period. bickering over who did what, when isn't going to get us any further on the road to any possible solutions, if solutions are even possible!

    the climate talks in Bali are running down, China is pretending it is an impoverished nation still and the good old USA is threatening ( in a very nice way - haha) to pick up it's pretty marbles and go home.

    WHAT a drag for all of us here on planet earth; slanted articles don't help!On There is no comparison between Chinese and American GHG emissions posted 1 year, 11 months ago 41 Responses

  • ugh -


    there are too many really BIG energy issues out there to wrap a brain around. here's one that bothers me often -

    what about all the coal plants everywhere?? the coal proponents in the US are certainly fighting a good rear-guard action to keep coal usage in place. and the myth of liquid coal is still a popular topic among people with money to invest!

    and again, i say, what about coal??!! China has SO MANY coal plants running their country, polluting their own country, and countries far away alike. they couldn't possibly close them all down anytime soon and replace them with what? China would go back into the dark ages.....i don't think they would sign up for that....

    and the Climate talks in Bali aren't going well. the US is going to just take it's marbles away and go home....how to organize the planet?

    energetic, positive, climate activists may be just 'spitting in the wind', but at least they are facing the wind. most of us just turn our backs away. i face the wind, but have no idea what to do, apart from small, personal changes. so depressing.On It's too late to stop climate change, argues Ross Gelbspan -- so what do we do now? posted 1 year, 11 months ago 45 Responses

  • footnote to my post above -


    in fact, here's one article from Save the Elephants Foundation about consumption of endangered species in China-

    http://www.savetheelephants.org/newsPress.asp?linkID=34On What the fate of two old turtles says about China's future posted 1 year, 11 months ago 13 Responses

  • so sad


    this is so sad. i follow environment news all the time, from many sources, and what China is doing to destroy biodiversity and the environment makes for really depressing reading.

    meanwhile, at the Bali Climate talks, the US is refusing to sign on to any concrete percentage caps on pollution, and even though i think that is the WRONG move - we should be the leaders here, not the idiots who don't have a clue - i think i agree with my current government on this issue.

    (no doubt, most Grist readers will yell at me for saying this....)

    NOT because it's not the smart thing to do, but because China, Indonesia and India are being let of the hook once again from any efforts towards responsible environmental management (not so much India, mostly various parts of Asia).

    In fact, just over the past 2 months i could site dozens of articles describing one environmental catasrophe after another that are occurring in Asia. not to mention that the Chinese growing wealth is doing much damage to endangered species worldwide. rich Asians provide a new and growing market for elephant ivory, tiger body parts, endangered hardwoods, etc.

    i was just reading the BBC coverage of the Bali talks and China is requesting that developed nations do more to control their greenhouse gas emmissions. thanks China, so glad that you care so much.On What the fate of two old turtles says about China's future posted 1 year, 11 months ago 13 Responses

  • yes, yes, but....

    well, actually, Griffin is between a rock and a hard place. blame Congress and the Iraq war. you can't do space exploration on a budget. Bush/Chaney-ites and their followers want war, war, and more war to support their friends. what's climate research got? nobody with clout or vast money reserves.

    despite all the PR, America does not have the money to support a return to the Moon and a grandiose mission to Mars. we can't even agree to fund health care the right way, let alone support poor children.
    On NASA has bold plans to ... send rodents into orbit posted 1 year, 11 months ago 12 Responses

  • junk food habits


    i like Sam Wells post, thanks Sam, i think those thoughts every day. it stops me from going to the candy machines down the hall from my office.

    America, and the rest of the world, needs to stop producing non-nutritious junk food. we waste SO MUCH potentially good food in THIS country by our production of junk food that could instead be used to help produce REAL food and help support the world's poor. and most Americans eat way too much in general anyway!

    i trained to be a chef at one time in my life, and the main reason i never became a chef was because of the over-use of meat and the enormous amount of food waste generated from everywhere - homes, grocery stores, restaurants, etc... i was grossed out big time and became a vegetarian non-chef!On What a fossil-fuel free agriculture might look like posted 1 year, 11 months ago 68 Responses

  • interesting

    lougold,
    thanks for your post. i sort of think that the social implications of western lifestyle expansion, is, in general, not good for the beautiful places in the world, such as Bali.

    all of our policial environmental chaos on planet earth these days is depressing, to say the least...

    the latest gist from the Bali talks on the mongabay.com website is that Brazil still wants it's investment of $40 billion to 'develope' the Amazon to still be in place, and they are supported of course, by the good old USA in their major efforts to deforest the planet.

    pity our children when they inherit this environmental mess we adults have created.On Bali conference continues posted 1 year, 11 months ago 2 Responses

  • oh, really, Mihan?


    well, you obviously miss the point, and continue the fallacy that everyone can CHOOSE where they work and where they live. you're talking about many millions of people. there are too many people   and not enough good jobs to go around. i work where i'm qualified to do a good job in my field and i live where i can afford to live.

    you also missed my point that if i did as you said, i would STILL BE DRIVING to the train station for as long as it takes me to get to work!! so, all the subsequent travelling was using even MORE energy that i didn't need to use!!
    you also ignored the fact that i said my commute
    would be 4+ hours a day round trip if i tried to get the work using public transportation. almost 4 times as long as it is if i drive both ways. i don't LIKE to commute on the Beltway, but i have no choice.

    so how do you propose to cram millions of workers into the DC downtown area over and above all the people who live close to the Capital now? and that doesn't take into account all the many more people who work in any of the major cities in Maryland and Virginia who live away from where they work. how about everyone who works in Alexandria? they couldn't ALL live near work, there's no housing for them.

    there is not enough affordable housing near downtown DC either to accommmodate all the people who commute into DC to work there.

    i too used a lot of public transportation when i was at UofM because i could, and when i was in graduate school at Catholic Univ. in DC. now i can't because it isn't available. it can't be available. (i refuse to still live a crummy little apartment near a metro stop, and i can't afford Chevy Chase or Bethesda, etc. high end areas)  it would cost the gov't trillions of $'s just to have efficient public transportation for the east coast of the USA. everyone forgets how BIG this country is.

    i lived in Japan for 4 years and only drove twice, public transport was great there, but it is the size of California! with a national-sized budget!

    Beam me up Scotty......On Metro is succeeding, but like all public transit systems, it needs our support posted 2 years ago 11 Responses

  • oh, please


    none of you live here. i've lived in the MD/DC area for 30 years. if i want to take the Metro, i have to drive 30-40 minutes to the station, park a good 15 minute walk away and then travel on the train for 15 minutes, catch a bus ( not timely, i assure you) and then walk 15 minutes to my office from where the bus leaves me off. OR i can drive to work in 40 minutes.
    ALL TIMES increase during rush hour.

    Metro only works if you live RIGHT IN DC, downtown, next to all the gov't/business buildings AND if you happen to work in downtown DC. most of this whole MD/DC/VA work area is spread out into massive traffic congested SUBURBAN areas around the cities. this is true of ALL big cities - also, living downtown can be great if you can afford the housing prices.

    most of us around here in the MD/DC/VA area can't use mass transit unless we want to spend 2+ hours getting to work. also, a lot of people live in VA and work in MD or vice versa, or live in MD and work in DC or whatever combination you want.

    the trains in and around DC don't support the spread out suburbs where most of the people live!

    mass transit works great in concentrated areas - unfortunately, i don't think the USA has been built this way.

    how are you going to change how/where bazillions of Americans live and work?
    On Metro is succeeding, but like all public transit systems, it needs our support posted 2 years ago 11 Responses

  • groan....


    ok, i've read your column here 4 times, your previous column and all the responses over and over. i guess i sort of agree with you, but,
    i mean REALLY, HOW did this get SO complicated???

    (GreenEngineer seems to understand it, and has some good points mentioned also).

    i'm not a farmer, it's obvious, unfortunately, but most people aren't. i'm very sure most regular Americans don't understand this issue very well at all. Most of us parrot what Oxfam thinks - they feed the hungry and support poor farmers after all - if we think anything about this issue at all.

    like i said in my original response to your first column a few days ago, if i could vote AGAINST ADM and Cargill, etc.. i would, but i don't have that choice and i don't think that my gov't reps do either??? look what has happened with what Pennsylvania just did w.r.t. milk labeling of growth hormones - now milk can't say when it has no horrible homones in it? that can't be constitutional, but the big producers of the hormones given to dairy cows(other livestock too) just BUY PEOPLE OFF who make the decisions.

    what to do?? doesn't look good for real Farm Bill reform legislation this go-round Tom...what a wonderful world it would be if we had a few billion less humans.On A response to my critics posted 2 years ago 11 Responses

  • beltway commuting - oh joy


    well, i live such that i have to commute to work for 40 minutes each way on the Washington DC beltway system. actually, my husband and i now drive in together - for the past 2 years, and we always plan shopping to use as little gas as possible, BUT i have to admit that we moved to where we now live in order to get out of the massive SUBURBAN congestion in and around our nation's capital. the Capital Beltway(et al) sucks, big time, and most of the drivers are all alone in their big cars (a few little cars), and the HOV  lanes (where they exist) are REALLY FAST!

    we are conserving fuel as much as is possible right now, but the downside for me is that i am now STUCK at work without a car! (my husband has it most of the time) or course, i now shop a lot less.....

    i bet this is a similar scenario for most people, and i don't see it changing in my lifetime. how are all these commuters going to live near work??
    what a mess we are in.On Delusional Beltway optimism about energy posted 2 years ago 32 Responses

  • chinese coal as investment??

    with a large number of NGOs fighting tooth and nail to stop the building of coal plants (and not just in the USA) this investment move is definitely NOT a help to the environment of this planet. i'm going to have to pay A LOT more attention to where my retirement investments are.On Maybe get filthy rich posted 2 years ago 2 Responses

  • oh, obama, say it ain't so

    i really liked this guy early on. i still do because of his bright mind and well trained intellect, BUT....

    sadly,  can't see voting for him now since he supports the whole liquid coal idea and a couple other faux pas(s) lately. i feel stuck with no choice.
    i threw away my vote on Ralph Nader last time - should have voted for Gore, but he was SOOO "Ken doll" then.....On Obama condemns mining reform package as too hard on the mining industry posted 2 years ago 18 Responses

  • china carbon

    ok, but China is now building yet ANOTHER new damn DAM
    cutting off more of the flow of their largest and most powerful river. they could say NO to damaging their environment for all of us in the West, but they don't (no one else say no to us either, we are golden). they continue to make cheap goods in a mad frenzy just because we in the West want cheap goods. it's out fault, but they are our enablers.
    and vice versa- we "enable" them to ruin their country so that we can buy cheap crap at Wal***t (for example).

    i haven't bought anything from China in over a year - it can be done, but i do buy goods from other countries, like India. i try to find alternatives available made in the USA and other western countries (like Canada). however, it is difficult and requires time and effort and usually more money.On Plans for reducing emissions in China posted 2 years ago 7 Responses

  • congress

    good to hear from Congress-people in these posts.
    i wish more members of our government blogged on reputable sites, i'd LOVE to know what my members of Congress and Senate would say in free exchanges.(i wonder how many read Grist? Grist should do a poll).

    thank you for your post Congressman Blumenauer.On Why Bush's water-bill veto was actually a good idea posted 2 years ago 11 Responses

  • farm bill reform

    great, this is all good information and i have been doing some of my own research for the past couple of days - i've been slightly upset that i REALLY had hold of the wrong end of the stick! but,  Farm Bill Girl and Tom you are not quite right. it IS complicated, and the Farm Bill needs to go farther,
    but subsidies have to go away from our various farm scenario's here in America, and i hope they do (however, i'm not holding my breath that they will. i still don't trust congress to do what's right)

    i feel better now....On Why gutting subsidies shouldn't be the focus of Farm Bill reform efforts posted 2 years ago 17 Responses

  • what-what??

    i'm sorry, i'm really confused, and i guess i'm also sorry that i have been pinging my congress-people on this issue of farm subsidies.

    i suppose i understand what you are talking about, in general, but it is NOT my field, so maybe i should just shut-up.

    however, that opens up the original can of worms for me - and i suspect for MOST people - in trying to be more responsible and in trying to do more "good" in the world, we inadverently do bad because i don't trust most of my elected officials
    to do what is "right" all by themselves.

    i should have been more suspicious about anything the Bushies liked.... they are devious little monsters, aren't they? being naive and trying to affect government policy is bad, bad, bad....

    it's too late for anyone to fix this anyway, isn't it, until 2012??

    if i could vote against ADM and the other bad BIG companies, i would, but i can't.On Why gutting subsidies shouldn't be the focus of Farm Bill reform efforts posted 2 years ago 17 Responses

  • new Secretary of Agriculture

    ok, now i am seriously starting to get depressed, as if the likelihood of a correctly reformed Farm Bill wasn't enough.On The former governor of North Dakota loves biofuel and GMOs posted 2 years ago 1 Response

  • wild oats vs. whole foods


    i love the Wild Oats chain. they are different from Whole Foods, and it is going to be a real shame when they all turn into Whole Foods stores. the prices, in general, are lower in Wild Oats and their bakery departments are better than Whole Foods, so maybe that's why the takeover is happening.

    the Whole Foods chain is greedy and price gouging.
    i just don't understand corporate takeovers enough to understand what Wild Oats rights are in this matter. can't they stop the takeover? or maybe they don't want to? i don't understand it. consumers have no say i guess, but i have to admit that the Whole Food stores are always packed with shoppers.....
    don't most grocery shoppers compare prices?
    what a country this is.......

    i guess i'll have to go back to my good old standard grocery stores for almost everything from now on - i refuse to give in to a Whole Foods monopoly.

    sigh.....
    On Trade consultancy: Whole Foods will 'consolidate supply chains' posted 2 years ago 6 Responses

  • fur free


    yes, China has a lot to answer for, as caniscandida  implies above. i have to admit that i was surprised that the olympic committee let them host the next olympics. their human and animal rights violations are so horrible and so numerous as to be unlistable without becoming too upset to continue typing...On A Humane Society retailer guide posted 2 years, 3 months ago 2 Responses

  • justlou: great writeup. and jabailo, get a clue

    justlou: if we have farmers that think as you do,
    i don't feel so bad about America's future. you should think about running for congress. people who can see the truth while still entrenched in the status quo are very valuable to this planet.

    and jabailo: coal will not produce "far far less pollution." you need to do more research.....your song is cute, though maybe you could rewrite it after you DO MORE RESEARCH. (if it is sarcasm, be MORE sarcastic, you're too subtle!).On Would the biosphere care? posted 2 years, 3 months ago 41 Responses

  • oh please....


    yeah, right. everyone does realize that after the olympics, China will revert to business as usual.
    and details about a lot of their business as usual is not for the faint of heart.On So That's What Those Trains Are For posted 2 years, 3 months ago 8 Responses

  • # of sharks killed annually

    yes, i'd like to know where the number 100 million comes from? i love Oceana, and, while i believe you, and agree with everthing you say, i'd like to know the source. is this from a CITES study or something from the last CITES meeting?

    thanks,On Sharks vs. humans posted 2 years, 3 months ago 4 Responses

  • green olympics?? in china?? oh really??


    no one can claim that the olympics in China will
    be "green" and expect to be taken seriously. i mean, come on. i guess the world population is mostly made up of gullible types.

    China's people/environment/biodiversity "crimes" number in the high hundreds, at least. i don't enjoy typing that much, otherwise, i'd list a couple hundred or so.....On 15 Green Sports Stars posted 2 years, 3 months ago 15 Responses

  • religious leaders aka the Dalai Lama


    you should also mention that the Dalai Lama is a patron of Sea Shepherd. i find that fascinating
    myself.

    your lists are ok, but you needed to have a lot more people on them. maybe do a top 20, at least.On 15 Green Religious Leaders posted 2 years, 3 months ago 28 Responses