Christopher X J. Jensen
Professor, Pratt Institute

David Sloan Wilson on Ayn Rand and the delusion of a world without tradeoffs

Posted 10 Oct 2012 / 0

The Huffington Post “Ayn Rand and Modern Politics” What I really appreciate about this post is its very simple brand of analysis. It asks a simple question and employs a clear methodology to objectively understand a phenomenon (in this case, the appeal of Ayn Rand to conservatives). Talk about a job of social construction: the Read More

A Minor Post, Behavior, Belief, Carrying Capacity, Cooperation, Cultural Evolution, Economics, Ethics, Game Theory, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Religion, Social Norms, System Stability, Web

Barry Commoner, pioneering scientist and environmentalist, is dead at 95

Posted 03 Oct 2012 / 0

Barry Commoner was an exceptional scientist and human being. Below are some nice tributes to him: The New York Times “Scientist, Candidate and Planet Earth’s Lifeguard” The New York Times “Barry Commoner’s Uncommon Life” The Los Angeles Times “Barry Commoner dies at 95; pillar of environmental movement” The Boston Globe “Barry Commoner, 95; founder of Read More

A Minor Post, Anthropogenic Change, Articles, Biodiversity Loss, Biography, Climate Change, Ecosystem Services, Environmental Justice, Obituary, Pollution, Public Policy, Sustainability, Sustainable Energy

Some conservatives actually see the public health and economic dilemmas posed by greenhouse gas emissions

Posted 26 Sep 2012 / 0

All Things Considered “New Groups Make A Conservative Argument On Climate Change“

A Minor Post, Climate Change, Economics, Political Science, Public Policy, Radio & Podcasts

Can proper education allow reputation to foster action on climate change?

Posted 20 Sep 2012 / 0

Daily Kos “Evolution, Cooperation, and Climate” I like some of the ideas that are expressed here. In a culture where the threat of climate change was well-understood, those who seek to deny its existence would be marginalized. It is true that history might judge those currently fighting against action on climate change, but current reputation Read More

A Minor Post, Climate Change, Cooperation, Group Selection, Reputation, Web

Want a good gauge of how much humans pollute waterways? Just measure for caffeine!

Posted 19 Sep 2012 / 0

Marine Pollution Bulletin “Occurrence and concentration of caffeine in Oregon coastal waters” Coffee addicts worldwide can be proud of this result: you are leaving a “pissprint” on local waters.

A Minor Post, Articles, Freshwater Ecosystems, Marine Ecosystems, Pollution, Ponds & Lakes

The humble Mistletoe turns out to be a probable keystone species

Posted 19 Sep 2012 / 0

Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences “Mistletoe as a keystone resource: an experimental test“

A Minor Post, Articles, Community Ecology, Interactions, Keystone Species, Parasitism

Climate and Clean Air Coalition unites air pollution concerns

Posted 19 Sep 2012 / 0

Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants This is another example of how considering air pollution from the perspective of both climate change and human health might begin to inspire global action.

A Minor Post, Climate Change, Environmental Justice, Health & Medicine, Pollution, Public Policy, Sustainability, Sustainable Energy, Web

Reductions in fertilizer use are now worth carbon credits

Posted 19 Sep 2012 / 0

American Carbon Registry “ACR Approves MSU-EPRI Carbon Offset Methodology for Emission Reductions from Agricultural Nitrous Oxide“

A Minor Post, Pollution, Sustainable Agriculture, Web

Does anthropogenic change make natives into invaders?

Posted 19 Sep 2012 / 0

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment “Native invaders – challenges for science, management, policy, and society” This article makes an important point: the “alien” criteria for invasives is a bit arbitrary when the problem with invasives is their ability to explode in population and inordinately impact other populations. Perhaps we need to re-think the way Read More

A Minor Post, Anthropogenic Change, Articles, Biodiversity Loss, Coevolution, Competition, Ecology, Habitat Destruction, Invasive Species, Pollution, Predation

Are the Sentinelese the last untouched hunter-gatherer culture?

Posted 19 Sep 2012 / 0

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment “A world of their own” This is an absolutely fascinating article. I was not aware that there were any cultures outside of Amazonia that have maintained such isolation. As Burton points out, we need to decide how to balance our curiosity and potential charity with respect for the wishes Read More

A Minor Post, Articles, Climate Change, Conservation Biology, Cultural Anthropology, Cultural Evolution, Environmental Justice, Ethics, Extinction, Human Evolution, Marine Ecosystems, Memetic Fitness, Traditional Ecological Knowledge