Scientific American lauds author Chris Mooney “as one if the few journalists in the country who specialize in the now dangerous intersection of science and politics.” Having interviewed Mooney about his first book, the highly praised, “The Republican War on Science,” Truthout/BuzzFlash interviews Mooney about his latest release, “The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science – and Reality.” Truthout and BuzzFlash readers can directly obtain “The Republican Brain” and support uncompromised journalism by clicking here. Mark Karlin: Progressives often say of Fox that they create facts to bolster their opinions. Is this true of the Republican mind set in general? Chris Mooney: This…
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Environmental
The meat-free diet catches on in Korea
Anyone familiar with traditional Korean food will find it hard to understand why modern Koreans ever switched to the “standard american diet” (SAD), for much of the traditional diet is amazingly good food, both from a gastronomical and a health perspective. And the traditional Korean diet just so happens to involve very little meat. The good news though, as this Yonhap News article points out, is that the return to a vegetarian diet is quickly catching on in Korea. This will be interesting to watch, because when social change happens in Korea, it really happens quickly.
Nature deficit disorder
The BBC News website has an interesting article on something called “nature deficit disorder.” The author claims that the term was coined in 2005 by author Richard Louv, who argued that the human cost of “alienation from nature” was measured in “diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses”. The author also asserts that: Evidence suggests the problem is worse in the UK than other parts of Europe, and may help explain poor UK rankings in childhood satisfaction surveys. That children in the UK and many other advanced industrialized countries are having…
Nine strategies to end corporate rule
Yes Magazine has put together an interesting collection of articles, written by various writers, around the question of the century: What can we do to bring an end to corporatocracy and help build a sustainable society that prioritizes human needs above corporate profits. The collection of articles can be found here. The nine strategies: 1. Amend the constitution to end corporate personhood. 2. Dive into grassroots campaigns. 3. Hold corporations accountable to our laws. 4. Get Past the Propaganda 5. Support independent media and keep the Internet free. 6. Protect the Commons 7. Vote. Protect our democracy. 8. Make your…
What public relations can do for human excrement
Most of us are taught from an early age that human shit is taboo–it should neither be touched nor touched upon in polite conversation. Consequently, most people probably don’t think much about what happens to their shit after they flush it down the toilet. But perhaps they should, and perhaps this taboo around shit needs to be abandoned, for there are people, businesses, entire industries working in dark corners of the waste economy finding clever ways to sell you your own shit. How is this possible? Why would anyone want to buy it? Good questions and very much related to…
The Crisis of Civilization (documentary)
The Crisis of Civilization is a documentary feature film investigating how global crises like ecological disaster, financial meltdown, dwindling oil reserves, terrorism and food shortages are converging symptoms of a single, failed global system. Weaving together archival film footage and animations, film-maker Dean Puckett, animator Lucca Benney and international security analyst Dr. Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed, offer a stunning wake-up call proving that ‘another world’ is not merely possible, but on its way. The film consists of seven parts which explore the interconnected dynamic of global crises of Climate Catastrophe; Peak Energy; Peak Food; Economic Instability; International Terrorism; and the Militarization…
The Kony controversy
In the middle of the two or three-day period in which the Kony 2012 went viral, a note was posted on this blog linking to the video and recommending support for the campaign to arrest Kony. The world is now witnessing a viral explosion of criticism of the Kony 2012 video, which also deserves some comment. Aljazeera has devoted a section of its website to what it calls the “Kony Debate,” though it is less a debate than it is a collection of complaints against the film. Nonetheless, it is probably the single best source of information for understanding the criticisms…
Speaking out on climate change (TED lecture by James Hansen)
Another lecture that really should be required viewing for everyone. James Hansen, head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, is a credible expert on climate change and global warming. In this lecture he describes some of the main features of the climate change taking place today and gives a good sense of just how much time is left before we reach the point of no return. Most amazing is the fact that Hansen firmly believes that the greatest challenge facing human civilization has a simple and elegant solution, which is for governments to collect a gradually rising carbon…
Cancer rates rising
Many people wonder whether cancer rates are really rising and, if so, whether this is due to an actual increase in the incidence of cancer or whether it is due rather to an increase in the availability and efficiency of methods for detecting cancer. According to this article from the BBC, commenting on data recently released by Cancer Research UK, there has definitely been an increase in cancer rates in the UK that go beyond what could be explained by better methods of detection. The CRUK says that the increase is due, not only to better screening, but also to…
The Earth is Full (TED lecture by Paul Gilding)
This TED lecture by Paul Gilding should be translated into just about every language in the world and made available to the widest possible audience. It’s a frank discussion that needs to be had about our unsustainable economy and the inevitable crisis that human civilization faces. It also cuts to the core of what this blog, The Examined Life, is all about. The message that Gilding presents is indeed dark, but he’s not a pessimist. In fact he thinks that the human species is remarkably creative and capable of adapting to life on an overcrowded planet. Like Al Gore in one…
The future of meat
Over at Gizmodo there is a brief article entitled “The Future of Farming is Brain-Dead Chickens?” about a provocative art project created by an architecture student at the Royal College of Art. The project is described as follows: Architecture student André Ford has presented a very radical solution to increase the efficiency and humaneness in raising poultry. Under his plan, birds would have their frontal cortexes surgically severed, rendering the animals permanently unconscious with no zero sensory input while maintaining their lower brain functions—breathing and such—so that they continue to grow. The form and function of a chicken plant would change…
Video: There’s No Tomorrow
There’s No Tomorrow is a well-written, animated documentary about resource depletion, energy, and the impossibility of infinite growth on a finite planet. Similar in style to the Story of Stuff and Story of Broke videos written and produced by Annie Leonard, the film provides a clear introduction to the energy dilemmas and problems arising from growth-based economies. The title however is misleading, since the documentary does provide a vision of tomorrow. It’s just quite different from today.
Video: The Story of Broke
Annie Leonard has done it again. The Story of Broke is a nice follow-up video to her massive hit the Story of Stuff. It focuses on the economic choices that sustain the dinosaur economy and the political choices people have to create a sustainable future. She has a real talent for taking a complex issue, boiling it down to its essentials, and presenting it in a lively and entertaining fashion. You can watch the Story of Broke either on her website or here.
The great carbon bubble
If there is any single person worth listening to on the issue of climate change, it’s Bill McKibben. He’s the global canary in the coal mine, sending out ominous warnings that unfortunately fall mostly on deaf ears. He’s been at this for decades, and his messages, which are backed up by the latest climate science and corroborated by the events unfolding in front of our eyes, are getting louder, clearer, and more urgent. Still the changes made in response to this looming crisis are insignificant, inconsistent, and do not approach the scale of the changes that are required in order…
Video: Meat the Truth
Meat the Truth is a documentary that connects global warming with animal rights and vegetarianism. This from the website for the film: Did you know that transport makes up 13% of global greenhouse gases? No wonder we’re encouraged to drive less! So what about animal agriculture? It turns out livestock production makes up a whopping 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions. That’s right — livestock production is responsible for more greenhouse gases than every single car, bus, train, plane, tractor and scooter put together! So why didn’t Gore ask us to eat less meat..? Enter ‘Meat The Truth’, a new documentary revealing the startling…
Advancing animal rights
It’s a small step, but a step in the right direction. All 27 countries of the European Union recently agreed to ban the inhuman practice of raising chickens in cages that are too small for them to flap their wings. Peter Singer provides a nice description of this modest but significant advance here.
Greenpeace gets China to drop GE rice
How they did it is an amazing story, with implications for other environmental causes and progressive movements. You can read about, straight from the horse’s mouth here.
Video: Earthlings
Earthlings is considered by many to be the best animal rights film ever made. The website for the film contains quotes of praise from a number of animal rights activists, including the god-father of the movement, Peter Singer, who has apparently said “If I could make everyone in the world see one film, I’d make them see Earthlings.” The film can be viewed on-line for free here.
Keeping the public in the dark about climate change
If enough people were well informed about the reality and likely consequences of climate change the political changes required to bring this problem under control would surely be happening a lot quicker than they are. An important question then is why this problem is still insufficiently appreciated. There are a number of well-known and documented causal factors contributing to public ignorance about climate change. In the first place, according to this recent study by the Daily Climate organization, media coverage of climate change is actually decreasing at the very time (2010, 2011) that it should be increasing. Here is a…
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Canadian Oil Sands
Consider these four facts: Canada quits the Kyoto protocol and threatens the EU with trade war for labeling tar sand produced oil highly polluting. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney calls the Keystone Pipeline a “no-brainer”. Cancer rates downstream of tar sands are staggering. Obama finally and despite earlier hesitation voiced his support for expedited construction of the southern half of the Keystone pipeline. In light of the foregoing, it is worth having a look at what both Canadian and U.S. politicians sell as unique job creation opportunities and heavenly energy security gifts: the oil sands that they have greenwashed and relabeled…
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