Energy & Environment
It’s not Solar and Wind, but Fossil Fuels, Nuclear and Biofuels that Reap the Most Subsidy Benefits
A persistent and common criticism of solar and wind energy is that they don’t pay their own way, but require government subsidies. Discounting one-time allocations under the now infamous bailout funds, the reality is just the opposite: fossil fuels, nuclear power, and crop biofuels have been getting … [Read More...]
Solar Energy Where It’s COLD Outside
For most people, the very north of Michigan, the Keweenaw Peninsula, on the shore of Lake Superior, might seem an unlikely place to get electricity from solar energy. But Professor Rolf Peterson of Michigan Technical University, well-known for leading the long-term study of wolves of Isle Royale … [Read More...]
Biological Diversity
How Many Grizzly Bears Were There Before European Settlement of the West, and How Many Are There Now?
I tried to estimate how many grizzly bears there were at the beginning of the 19th century and how many there are today. I wrote about this in my book, Beyond the Stony Mountains: Nature in the American West from Lewis and Clark to Today (available 2012 as an ebook, New York, Croton River … [Read More...]
The story of the moon in the nautilus shell is now a video
The chamber nautilus and its fossils that go back 500 million years tell us about the history of connection between Earth and moon. See the new video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyPKoJY23xU … [Read More...]
People & Nature
Peanut Butter In Space: How to, and how not to, develop life support systems for long-term space travel.
(This article is based on a chapter in my book Strange Encounters: Adventures of a Renegade Naturalist) If we are going to Mars and hope to settle there, we need to develop reliable ecological life-support systems that provide food, oxygen and water, and recycle wastes. Such a system doesn’t … [Read More...]
How To Live On Mars: The Ecology of Mars Colonization
A Dutch company has advertised a program to start a human colony on Mars, called the “Mars One project.” Seeking applications by those interested in becoming one of these Marsonauts, the company published an offer in which, for $34, a person could have his/her name listed as one of the applicants. … [Read More...]
