Author Archives: Kit Stolz

Dumb, Dishonest Deniers

The sharp-eyed Glenn Greenwald finds the right riposte for deniers who claim that storms–especially storms in the Northeast–disprove global warming. Well put, Mr. Greenwald! clipped from http://www.salon.com (5) Although it is a heated competition, I think the single dumbest and most intellectually dishonest rhetorical tactic — wielded most prominently by Drudge but with plenty ofContinue reading “Dumb, Dishonest Deniers”

Real Hurricane to Hit New York on Tax Day?

That’s what Dr. Jeff Masters, a forecaster’s forecaster, is suggesting. Category 1, mind you, but still! If the worst case scenarios of the models come true, the Tax Day Storm of 2007 could cause extensive moderate to severe coastal flooding, costing hundreds of millions of dollars. The areas at highest risk appear to be NewContinue reading “Real Hurricane to Hit New York on Tax Day?”

The Taxing Solution to Global Warming

A carbon tax is not a new idea; heck, The Economist proposed a carbon tax to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in l998. But the fact that a few idealistic conservatives (yes, the species still exists) are backing a carbon tax now is news. Especially since just two years ago Andrew Sullivan, the leader of theContinue reading “The Taxing Solution to Global Warming”

NO MORE WATER: Scientists, Oak Trees Predict Drought

After an unusually dry winter, experts in climate and weather are predicting drought for Ventura County and Southern California.         Southern California experienced the driest fall and winter in over a century, according to the National Oceanographic and Atrmospheric Administration, and the drought is expected to continue and widen across the region. Continue reading “NO MORE WATER: Scientists, Oak Trees Predict Drought”

Kurt Vonnegut: The Master Who Insisted on Modesty

Kurt Vonnegut, perhaps the most-taken-for-granted of all our writers, died this week. No one has yet captured his unique blend of free thinking and self-deprecation, I think, although Tom Watson comes close for newcritics. For me, Vonnegut’s greatness came out of an unblinking insistence on the foolishness of arrogance, be it personal, military, or planetary.Continue reading “Kurt Vonnegut: The Master Who Insisted on Modesty”

Conservatives Bicker over Global Warming: Businessmen Lead

It’s the strangest thing: conservatives, Republicans, and partisans on the right continue to squabble over global warming–is it real, should we act?–even as huge corporations call for exactly the sort of emissions-reductions measures that Al Gore and countless other Democrats want to see enacted. The latest example is the third-largest American oil company, now knownContinue reading “Conservatives Bicker over Global Warming: Businessmen Lead”

The Red Reef Trail

Plenty of climate change news today: John Kerry (who has run for President) and Newt Gingrich (who likely will) debated the issue live for two hours in D.C. Planet Gore-ites on the far right aren’t happy with Newt’s performance, so it must have gone well for Kerry, who for all his flaws as a candidate,Continue reading “The Red Reef Trail”

Tracking the Biological Signal: Dr. Camille Parmesan

In the early l990’s, Camille Parmesan began studying an obscure butterfly named Edith’s checkerspot. Suspecting that it was responding to higher temperatures in California by shifting its range northward, Parmesan applied to NASA for a grant to study the butterfly’s response to global warming. "So I devised a project to look for response to globalContinue reading “Tracking the Biological Signal: Dr. Camille Parmesan”

Chief Justice Roberts Loses a Big One

The Supreme Court is not just the highest court in the land, it is also the forum in which our nation’s most pressing issues are debated most rigorously, with precedents, transcripts, questions, and  arguments both oral and written. Congressional hearings, campaign speeches, press conferences and the like all have their time and place, but forContinue reading “Chief Justice Roberts Loses a Big One”