A year ago, as President Obama prepared for his inauguration, environmentalists were optimistic. For eight years previous, the most hostile administration to environmental concerns in the nation’s history had flouted science and flogged nature. There was nowhere to go but up. My brilliant (and more succinct) predecessor, Peter Dykstra, pegged a column to the inauguration. He asked five......read more
When art history books are written about the early part of the 21st century, an entire chapter will likely be devoted to our culture’s newfound romance with ice. The Copenhagen climate talks, though a political failure, nevertheless established an important moment in history – an acknowledgement by the world’s global leadership of one simple fact – the Arctic is......read more
CBC News reports that scientists have found that male cleaner fish will punish their female partners if they do something that offends the larger client fish they are cleaning. This "third-party punishment" is surprising because the males don't appear to be directly harmed by the females' behaviour. Nichola Raihani of the Zoological Society of London and colleagues at the......read more
In Copenhagen's suburbs yesterday, police fired pepper spray and beat protestors with batons outside a climate conference meeting venue. The violence marked a low point for a climate change summit that's had plenty of low points. The demonstators, who have been active during most of the negotiations, are demanding "climate justice" which means, presumably, firm steps taken......read more