As reported in Scientific American (Dec. 2014) two political scientists* at the University of Miami find that about one-third of Americans believe Obama is a foreigner, and about as many believe that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were an “inside job” by the Bush administration. Continue reading
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Blog 57. Energiewende – We should try it
Energiewende is the appellation for Germany’s transition toward a sustainable energy supply. George Maue, first secretary for energy and climate at the German Embassy in Washington, D.C., described the transition in his editorial published in the Nov-Dec 2013 issue of Solar Today magazine. Continue reading
Blog 55. Democracy and bankruptcy
Do all democracies drive themselves into bankruptcy?
In recent years we’ve seen cities descend into bankruptcy. Continue reading
Blog 54. Money, McCutcheon, and the Supreme Court
What happened?
On Wednesday, April 2, 2014, the Supreme Court issued its decision on the McCutcheon case, in which Alabama businessman Shaun McCutcheon and the Republican National Committee claimed that the Federal Election Campaign Act restricted his freedom of speech. In a 5-to-4 decision, the Court agreed that limitation of political spending limits personal speech. Continue reading
Blog 50. Principles and hubris
We all live by principles—at least, most of us think we do. Principles are not necessarily lofty. Continue reading
Blog 49. A refuge for what?
Of all the newsletters that cross my desk, the one that tugs my heart comes from the Friends of the San Luis Valley National Wildlife Refuges. That heart-tug pulls back to my youth there, hunting rabbits and ducks on that land when it was wetlands and grassland, long before it was a nearly-dry refuge pumping groundwater to maintain some of its habitat. Continue reading
Blog 48. Climate change and social conflict
Arguments over whether climate change is real, and if so whether it is man-caused, ignore the elephant in the room. Continue reading
Blog 46. Carnage or courage?
A Sunday story.
Most of these blogs have talked about science, society, and complex systems. Today, I offer a more personal story, a story that may, in the end, circle back to the big questions. Continue reading