Comments konklarii has made

  • That don't seem right

    Only 5th for the smart?  I average 45-47 mpg in mixed city/highway.  EPA's numbers are awfully low.  Even in the most egregious traffic, I've never gotten lower than 37 mpg.On Toyota Prius again tops EPA list of most fuel-efficient cars posted 1 year, 1 month ago 1 Response

  • New poll is out!

    Only a 4% lag behind the Conservatives, as of today!On Committed environmentalist Stéphane Dion faces uphill fight in Canadian election posted 1 year, 1 month ago 4 Responses

  • I have a smart, and I love it.

    Good for Daimler!  Electric power makes a lot of sense for a small car.On All-electric version of tiny Smart car unveiled at Paris Auto Show posted 1 year, 1 month ago 2 Responses

  • I have pinpointed the odor issue!

    Once-monthly cleanup, you say?  That could be the source of the odor problem with World's Best. ;-)On A review of non-clay cat litters posted 1 year, 2 months ago 32 Responses

  • n/t

    Meat, of course!On Companies move toward nontoxic chemicals and products posted 1 year, 2 months ago 3 Responses

  • And I still don't know which one is effective.

    Ditto to Mugwomp.  I don't care if it smells like a decaying racoon if it keeps the blackflies away.  This is a silly, fluffy review.On A buzzworthy review of DEET-free bug repellents posted 1 year, 4 months ago 12 Responses

  • What's wrong with wheelchairs?

    "why does Grist not commit itself to the battlecry that "Cars Are Wheelchairs!"

    To the person who needs one, a wheelchair means freedom and mobility.  Maybe a wheelchair is a good metaphor for a car...On The unthinkable humiliation of biking, part two posted 1 year, 7 months ago 15 Responses

  • Response to Javaearth

    "Konklarii tell me do you think that these communities are going to continue living their lives hunting and fishing for hundreds of years to come?"

    If they would like to, I would support it (As long as they follow best science on quotas, and so on).  But as you say, fish and game are disappearing.  

    "I know there are many people that want to end the seal hunting and if these communities need help, - those same people will help them. Maybe you do not believe me, because you do not believe in change and progress."

    Not at all!  I hope that there are people who want to end the hunt by helping the hunters, but they haven't spoken very loudly yet.  Believe it or not, I'm no great fan of the hunt itself.  I just hope to make hunt opponents aware of the social complexity, so they can understand why the hunters do what they do.

    "But see people like you hinder change, you do not see an alternative solution where one human can help another."

    Goodness no. :-)  I would like to see the kind of change you're talking about.  If Morrisey or Paul McCartney want to fund sustainable industry for these communities (ecotourism, maybe?), then I'm all for it.On Militant activists charged in seal protest posted 1 year, 7 months ago 23 Responses

  • To: Javaearth

    You call it "a barbaric way of living"; many of Canada's First Nations people simply call it "living".  Shoot some Elders an email to tell them they're doing it wrong, and please tell us know how they respond. ;-)

    >>"We "specially" in the developed countries do!"

    Canada is not "America Light".  Look at a road map, and see where the roads end.  Then look at how many towns, villages and even cities lay far beyond any roads.  Then please let me know, once you've figured it out, where these folks should work, if not via hunting.  Many have chosen to allow strip mining and oil/gas extraction on their land.  Shoulda stuck with the hunting.

    That is the reality of northern Canada, even if it's hard to imagine.  On Militant activists charged in seal protest posted 1 year, 7 months ago 23 Responses

  • Seal hunting isn't so divisive in Canada.

    Most of the opposition to the seal hunt comes from the US, not Canada.  Why?  Because Canadians understand,keenly, that there's more at work here than mean ol' rednecks beating up adorable critters.  (I'm a dual citizen, so I'm not just US bashing here.)

    The hunters are largely natives, from very remote coastal communities.  They've been thrust into the modern economy, and they're trying to make a living in the traditional way.  They can't very well go work at Walmart instead -- for many communities, the only way in and out is bush plane.  If you disapprove of sealing, okay.  But it's hideous to put the seals' lives ahead of the sealers.  What would you have them do instead?

    By the way, would any of you be okay with violence against the southern cotton farmers who massacre adorable weevils every year?  Do you value a weevil's life above a farmer's?  If not, why?

    PS to Grist: I'm sure you know that seal pups haven't been hunted in decades.  Why did you feature a pup image with this article?On Militant activists charged in seal protest posted 1 year, 7 months ago 23 Responses

  • Aboriginal mix and match

    There are just so few economic opportunities in these isolated coastal towns that sealing is an excellent option for staying afloat and staying on their ancestral lands.  

    If Ms. Anderson, or Morrisey, or the other superrich anti-seal hunt celebrities would like to donate their millions towards expanding local economic opportunities other than sealing, I'd have much more respect for them.On Depressing ocean news buoyed by Pam Anderson's striptease posted 1 year, 9 months ago 11 Responses

  • A cloud of smug

    There's a big logical leap from "Factory farming is bad" to "People who eat any meat don't care about the environment (and probably kick kittens too.)"  What about eating local and organic meat? What about catching it yourself?  What if you eat factory-farmed meat, but you've worked tirelessly to protect large swathes of land?  Some perspective, please.

    This strain of self-righteous veganism is really counter-productive.  If you want people to stop eating meat, stop talking down to them and start being helpful.  Bust out the delicious meat-free recipes and take baby steps.  

    Encourage people to buy local, organic meat in the meantime.  You're not going to stop industrial farming overnight.  But the people whose dollars actually drive factory farming can be persuaded to put those dollars towards more sustainable practices.  That's a step in the right direction.On Animal-rights group makes the stupid claim that enviros must be vegetarians posted 2 years, 2 months ago 208 Responses

  • but!

    "However, there is a categorical difference between a person whose conscience compels him to protect an ecosystem from harm, and one who protects the same so that he can hopefully kill the animals who live there."

    Not to go on and on about hunting (I don't even hunt), but I'll respectfully disagree with you here.  It's possible to protect an ecosystem while hunting within well-managed limits, set by good wildlife research.  Sometimes hunting/fishing can even help restore balance to an ecosystem (hunting/fishing non-native animals, or animals whose populations have greatly increased due to human presence). On They don't ignore it posted 2 years, 11 months ago 90 Responses

  • View from a conservation org

    I work for an unnamed National Environmental Organization, and the subject of animal rights comes up rarely.  Some folks here are vegetarians, and most are generally opposed to trophy hunting, but the big picture is all about the land and ocean, and the ecological interactions therein.  Wild critters are valuable to us because they're part of that system.

    It's easy to rag on Ducks Unlimited (not my org, but I'm familiar with them), but conscientous hunters can be some of the most committed conservationists out there.  You protect what you love, even and especially if you occasionally eat what you love.  And when was the last time any of us spent a Saturday standing knee deep in a frozen marsh?On They don't ignore it posted 2 years, 11 months ago 90 Responses