Viewing entries in
The Environment
In Part I of this series, we established that the biosphere was in trouble because close to a fifth of all land plant species are threatened with extinction; 90% of all living land plants are flowering plants; and, most of terrestrial life depends, either directly or indirectly, on flowering plants. Houston, we have a problem…So, let’s create and manage flower and pollinator habitat! Focusing on urban spaces, home gardens, and farmland…
Consider the following:
Close to a fifth of all land plant species are threatened with extinction.
Flowering plants represent 90% of all living land plants.
Most of terrestrial life depends, either directly or indirectly, on flowering plants.
The USDA and National Institute of Food and Agriculture do have a bunch of suggestions on how to deal with insect resistance, many of which would also help protect vulnerable birds and non-target insects. As follows…
To quote: “…climate change beliefs have only a modest impact on the extent to which people are willing to act in climate friendly ways”…
Straw man argument: “…an informal fallacy based on giving the impression of refuting an opponent's argument, while refuting an argument that was not advanced.”
My point here is simply to highlight that disagreements about “facts” are often less about their accuracy than their use-value - that is, what would happen if a lot of people accepted these facts as true. And thus we have a whole industry of scribblers and pundits who provide “context” to uncontested facts. Of course, such context comes with its own truth-value and use-value.
Habitat management is not about preserving a biological moment in a specific locale. It’s about maintaining biodiversity and saving species.
…Ditto the development of increasingly resilient crops, which are better at enduring the slings and arrows of outrageous climate. As long observed, healthier plants are less vulnerable to insect infestations.
Hill notes that in most cases the best response to sea level rise is not the extreme one of building walls or abandoning the coast, but of creating “hybrid edges" that blend "natural ecosystems and human-made infrastructure to help cities adjust to rising tides."
Label creep: a gradual broadening of a category, often changing its meaning.
The journal Nature just published a paper, "Mass balance of the Antarctic Ice Sheet from 1992 to 2017," which documents accelerating ice loss in Antarctica over the last few decades.
This series consists of links and excerpts from my last 12 months of posts touching on the science and politics of climate change. Part VIII: Climate Change: Moral Communities and Divisive Rhetoric Climate Change: Labeling People and Framing the Issues How Not to Talk to a Climate Change Skeptic, Part VI How Not to Talk to a Climate Change Skeptic, Part V Straw Men and Their Variations, Part II: Comment on 'The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels' How Not to Talk to a Climate Change Skeptic, Part IV
This series consists of links and excerpts from my last 12 months of posts touching on the science and politics of climate change. Part VII: Climate Change Consensus: Update from the 97% Folks Climate Change Consensus and Lessons from Social Psychology Climate Change Consensus: Digging Deeper Climate Change: Degrees of Certainty within the Consensus Climate Change: Exploring the Consensus
This series consists of links and excerpts from my last 12 months of posts touching on the science and politics of climate change. Part VI: Estimating Economic Damage from Climate Change, Part II Estimating Economic Damage from Climate Change, Part I Energy Efficiency über Alles What Does It Mean Not to be a Climate Change Skeptic?
This series consists of links and excerpts from my last 12 months of posts touching on the science and politics of climate change. Part V: The Carbon Footprint of Consuming Experiences Instead of Things Estimating Economic Damage from Climate Change, Part V Estimating Economic Damage from Climate Change, Part IV Estimating Economic Damage from Climate Change, Part III
This series consists of links and excerpts from my last 12 months of posts touching on the science and politics of climate change. Part IV: Mitigation Measures for a Less Warm Planet, Part IIIb: Reduce Black Carbon Mitigation Measures for a Less Warm Planet, Part IIIa: Reduce Emissions of Short-Lived Pollutants Mitigation Measures for a Less Warm Planet, Part II: Energy Efficiency Mitigation Measures for a Less Warm Planet, Part I Staying within a 1.5° C Rise by 2100 is Still Possible Plus the Obligatory Warnings
This series consists of links and excerpts from my last 12 months of posts touching on the science and politics of climate change. Part III Concerned Scientists, Climate Change and History as the Context of Trust Concerned Scientists, Building Trust, and Climate Change Explicit Persuasive Intent and Concerned Scientists Mitigation Measures for a Less Warm Planet, Part IIId: Reduce Methane Emissions from Anthropogenic Sources Mitigation Measures for a Less Warm Planet, Part IIIc: Reduce Wetland Methane Emissions
This series consists of links and excerpts from my last 12 months of posts touching on the science and politics of climate change. Part II: States of the Nation: Red States/Blue States and Environmental Policy, Part IV States of the Nation: Red States/Blue States and Environmental Policy, Part III States of the Nation: Red States/Blue States and Environmental Policy, Part II States of the Nation: Red States, Blue States and Environmental Policy - Part I Concerned Scientists, Climate Change and Why Some People Still Resist
This series consists of links and excerpts from my last 12 months of posts touching on the science and politics of climate change. Part I: A Framework for Finding Common Ground on Climate Change Psychology and Politics, Part IV: System Justification and Climate Change Psychology and Politics, Part II: Truth and Research Agendas First Step in Helping Farmers Help the Environment: Listen, Don’t Tell, Part II Environmental Politics The Science Behind the Headlines, Part II: Is the 2°C Target Beyond Our Reach?