I wrote about the anthropogenically induced environmental catastrophe that is looming in The Melting Himalayas. As a long-time student of Tibetan culture, Buddhism and someone who has delved into the politics of Tibet, I offered an observation regarding the politics of China and Tibet. In New York today, I joined a march and rally in […]
Tom Friedman, a High Panjandrum of the Cognoscenti, has a column today that indicates that his sense of the dire pass into which this civilization of ours has fallen is growing. I’ve written about Galloping Consumption and I’ve noted, here, that one important commentator, Bill McKibben, has taken Friedman to school on his Green Fantasia. […]
Henry Waxman has been My Man ever since the Acid Rain Wars of the 1980s. He has been quietly but forcefully reconfiguring the House Energy and Commerce Committee to achieve an optimum environmental effect with the critical energy and climate change legislation that will be forthcoming this year. In an article from ClimateWire in yesterday’s […]
In “Climate of Change”, I celebrated the first Obama budget proposal, along with the economic stimulus package and the renewables tax credit package from the autumn, as just what the doctor ordered for the push to decarbonize the economy and create hundreds of thousands of green jobs. Two of the world’s most eminent economists, Joseph […]
Looking at climate change as much and as often as I do, I have come to have a heightened sense of the danger looming and the urgency of our situation. Therefore, knowing that snow reflects solar radiation back into space, thus diminishing the radiative forcing on the earth, snow is something that has come to […]
Here are some reviews of some books on two environmental visionaries, an article about a world-famous campaigner against the looming specter of climate change, and a lucid, comprehensive and deep report on managing solid and hazardous wastes. In The Ecstasy of John Muir, Robert Pogue Harrison reviews an apparently magisterial biography, A Passion for Nature: […]
Kipling had it right. I was at an event recently at NYU’s Center for Global Affairs (where I’m teaching) and Elisabeth Rosenthal, the “NY Times” environmental reporter based in Europe, was being interviewed. She touched on a number of important subjects including the talks in Poznań in December, some of the international politics of climate […]
That’s the title of Paul Krugman’s column today at the “NYT.” As I’ve been saying here, that sure seems to be the gestalt of the Obama administration and the new Congress when it comes to energy, the environment and climate change. Krugman says here, among other things, “…it’s also heartening to see that the budget […]
You’ve been hearing me whoop and holler here about the activities of the new Administration and the new Congress. (Fear not: You’ll continue to have more of this from me.) But there’s going to be some other visible and important action on The Hill next week – on Monday, March 2, in fact. Capitol Climate […]
“It’s the hottest day of the summer. You can do nothing, you can do something, or you can…” That’s what the poster for this 1989 Spike Lee joint says. “Do the right thing.” It’s what sustainability is all about. The “FT” answers the question Why sustainability is still going strong. Many are saying the worldwide […]
It is the mission of the Foreign Policy Association to engage and educate the public on international issues. This blog has tried to play its part by disseminating information on the science, politics, policy and business of energy, the environment and climate change. Hopefully, it has stimulated some thinking and, ideally, some action. But the […]
I’ve been blogging on climate change for almost two years here – and having a great time, don’t get me wrong. But there are some new FPA sister blogs that are looking at this issue as well. Welcome aboard. Check out, for instance, Thawing Permafrost Could Accelerate Global Warming from Mia Bennett at the blog […]
When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon, the world was listening and loved it. I feel as if we have come to a not-dissimilar moment in history. We have turned the corner, in the United States, and in much of the rest of the world, on reaching for a new frontier. We […]
…. here’s a terrific television show from the Foreign Policy Association. It’s part of the FPA’s signature Great Decisions program. The show is titled “Off the Grid: Energy and the U.S. Economy.”
I went to a panel discussion earlier this week at NYU’s Center for Global Affairs. This is where I’m teaching now and they have, in addition to their great MS and extensive Continuing Ed programs, quite a bit of excellent public programming. The Canadian Consulate in New York City cosponsored this event. Here’s what we […]