Author Archives: Kit Stolz

Hopeless Optimism (by Billy Collins)

When it comes to preserving the climate we have come to know and love, this blog has documented in exhausting detail over the last five years reasons not to be optimistic. This documentation comes out of a desire to do the right thing for the planet that has given us life, not — of courseContinue reading “Hopeless Optimism (by Billy Collins)”

Geo-Engineering the Climate: Are We Just Not Cynical Enough?

The Virginia Quarterly Review, arguably the best literary journal in the country, has the nerve this quarter to take on an urgent issue, and dispatches Pat Joseph to look at geo-engineering the climate. He avoids stating his conclusion, but does a masterful job of laying out the facts. See here: The Obama administration will noContinue reading “Geo-Engineering the Climate: Are We Just Not Cynical Enough?”

Translating the G20 “Triumph”

The G-20 meeting in London was widely considered a triumph for Barack Obama and the West. (Even Paul Krugman said so.) The Guardian's George Monbiot sees it differently, He writes: Here is the text of the G20 communique, in compressed form. "We, the Leaders of the Group of Twenty, will use every cent we don'tContinue reading “Translating the G20 “Triumph””

George Will is an Irresponsible Jerk

Okay, that's putting it bluntly, and perhaps on matters besides global warming, Will is a trustworthy friend, a good father, faithful husband, a and so on and so forth. On all that, I have no idea. But when it comes to climate change, Will is the bow-tied personification of another George — Bush. He's incuriousContinue reading “George Will is an Irresponsible Jerk”

Pessimism Lite: It’s the New Optimism!

Ted Rall has really been on a roll lately. I can't prove this to you in his space, since his site has come up with a devious ploy to make his editorial cartoons difficult to reproduce. As a blogger who tries conscientiously (I think) to give credit where credit is due, and makes no moneyContinue reading “Pessimism Lite: It’s the New Optimism!”

Climate: What We Need is a Rhetoric of Salvation

Robert Brulle, a sociologist at Drexel University who specializes in studying social activism and the environmental movement in particular, wrote a response to a post on Andy Revkin's Dot Earth site this past Sunday that has been widely admired. It's critical of the language climate preservationists use to describe the crisis, and points out aContinue reading “Climate: What We Need is a Rhetoric of Salvation”

Climate Change: A Back-Burner Issue

According to Toles, maybe not: Much as I dislike giving credit to a fake enviro like Thomas Friedman for writing about the environment, his column yesterday effectively made some important points no other nationally syndicated columnist has dared put forth, at least that I know of. The column is called Mother Nature's Dow: Mother NatureContinue reading “Climate Change: A Back-Burner Issue”

How Do You Save A River? Easy. Make a Wetland…

The Environment Agency of the UK, after looking at climate models that predict a shocking 50-80% drop in river flows from the hard-rock west of England and Wales by 2050, are calling for drastic measures to maintain flows and species habitats. To wit (from the Telegraph): River flows across the country will be cut inContinue reading “How Do You Save A River? Easy. Make a Wetland…”