Unavoidable consumption of non-renewable resources… That God damn flipped statement in nearly every environmental impact statement. While a true statement, it always annoys me how flipped the language comes across when they use it. Environmental analysts might just be covering their asses but it’s an obnoxious statement on its face, especially if the document doesn’t propose any mitigation towards stopping to push our planet off the cliff, expanding more of our lands into dumping grounds, fouling the air and paving over our farms and forests.
Environmental Books
Rachel Carson’s Books Defined an Environmental Revolution
50 Years of Earth Day History – How ‘Silent Spring’ Changed the World
Environmental science books rarely make best seller lists. But in 1962, Rachel Carson’s nonfiction book Silent Spring became an incredible exception to this rule, and is now given credit for helping launch the EPA and the first celebration of Earth Day in 1970.
Rachel Carson was a marine biologist and nature writer—her 1951 book The Sea Around Us became a national bestseller and won a National Book Award. She was also an early believer in the dangers of pesticides, which were developed thanks to military-funded science research after World War II.
The Unlikely Environmentalists of Missouri’s Ozarks – Environment – Utne Reader
Grantham says capitalism is making this one big global risk to humanity worse – MarketWatch
"Over the coming year, trading in the U.S. stock market is likely to be driven by issues over corporate earnings, Federal Reserve policy, and geopolitical issues like trade."
"Over the coming decades, however, the biggest driver of the global economy could be an issue that investors are no doubt well aware of, but which may represent a massive threat that will be extremely difficult to address."
"Jeremy Grantham, the co-founder and chief investment strategist of GMO, sees climate change—and the resultant impact it will have on the global environment, particularly with respect to agriculture—as the biggest issue that humanity will face over the long term. And while he said this issue offered some potential investment opportunities, particularly as green-energy technology improves by leaps and bounds, he also said that capitalism itself was one of the biggest hurdles the species faced in addressing it."
“Fossil fuels will either run out, destroy the planet, or both. The only way out is the complete de-carbonization of the economy,” he said at Morningstar’s annual investment conference, in a presentation entitled “the Race of our Lives.”
“Capitalism and mainstream economics can’t deal with these problems. Given how corporations are driven to maximize profits, it’s nearly impossible for them to give up profits in order to address this” and focus on sustainability.
“Capitalism has a problem with the very long term because of the tyranny of the discount rate,” he added. “Grandchildren have no value.”
CSX Cargo Train Carrying Molten Sulfur Derails In Central Florida
"Four train cars that were carrying molten sulfur are among those that derailed near Lakeland, Fla., early Monday, prompting emergency officials to warn local residents to stay indoors and close their windows. Several cars are believed to have leaked."
"Approximately nine rail cars" derailed, rail operator CSX says of the incident; Polk County Fire Rescue says several cars were left "rolled over and mangled."
American Experience – Rachel Carson.
I just finished watching this on PBS. While it's definitely a somber film it's one of the fastest two hours you can spend watching a show. Recommended, check PBS for future rebroadcasts tonight and future nights.
"Featuring the voice of Mary-Louise Parker as the influential writer and scientist, Rachel Carson is an intimate portrait of the woman whose groundbreaking books revolutionized our relationship to the natural world. When Silent Spring was published in September 1962 it became an instant bestseller and would go on to spark dramatic changes in the way the government regulated pesticides. Drawn from Carson’s own writings, letters and recent scholarship, the film illuminates both the public and private life of the soft-spoken, shy scientist who launched the modern environmental movement."