Dog days in D.C.
Our bodies respond to heat by adapting if we let them. But with the widespread use of air conditioning, few people are obliged to adapt. That actually makes them more susceptible to heat-related illnesses.
Kurt Cobb
Two presidents, dementia and the 25th amendment
Two presidents in a row now have stories swirling about regarding dementia. Not a good prospect for the US dealing with climate issues.
Review: “Endgame 2050” documentary
Endgame 2050 delivers lots of good information, but it’s hampered by poor structure, repetition and lack of focus.
Living through the second Gilded Age
For some time we Americans have been living through the country’s second Gilded Age, one that will not likely end the way the first one did.
An Important New Book on the Praxis of Social Ecology
A new book offers offers a welcome, up-to-date examination of social ecology as a living tradition.
Death as a Nothing-Burger
Fear of death pervades our culture: many among us cringe at its mention, and indeed structure whole lives around elaborate stories of denial: we can’t really ever be dead, surely!
Transformer bottleneck: Can the U.S. maintain and expand its electric grid?
Electrical transformers are becoming a key chokepoint for maintenance and expansion of the electrical grid in the U.S. and worldwide.
Stocks only go up…until they don’t: A history lesson and a forecast
fantasies of perpetual economic growth have lulled us into thinking we are entitled to perpetual financial gains. I believe those fantasies are about to be tested in the near future.
The trouble with copper tariffs
Tariffs on copper imported into the United States will not result in self-sufficiency for the country anytime soon, if ever.
Denmark takes first step toward owning your own information
Denmark is about to give its citizens ownership rights in their images and voices to protect them from unscrupulous AI-generated deep fakes. I think the ownership of personal information should go a lot further.
Bismuth: Another critical metal gets squeezed
Find out what Pepto Bismol and Chinese trade policy have to do with one another.
The turbulent globe: Resources and climate change in the background
The conflicts we see today may have many causes, but the fight over resources and the consequences of climate change are ever more relevant.