It is rare to see a political blogger, Matthew Yglesias, write about the reality of climate change behind the so-called political reality. The former is inexorable and a manifestation of Nature’s power, and is largely out of our hands to stop it in the near to medium term. The latter is a manifestation of human power and takes an instant to change. According to mythic tales, the Viking King Canute failed to stop the tide with his commands, and recognized, in this event, the power of man relative to nature, Unlike the bickering politicians we must listen to today, Canute… Read More
Continue ReadingNeurons and Sustainability
While preparing for a few presentations, I came upon a 2008 article on free will from the *Scientific American*. The article asks, if our actions are determined by neuronic structure, are we responsible for them? > Many scientists and philosophers are convinced that [free will](http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=does-free-will-arise-free) doesn’t exist at all. According to these skeptics, everything that happens is determined by what happened before—our actions are inevitable consequences of the events leading up to the action—and this fact makes it impossible for anyone to do anything that is truly free. This kind of anti-free will stance stretches back to 18th century philosophy,… Read More
Continue ReadingA Real Tragedy of the Commons
Garry Peterson posts a great followup to my recent [post](http://www.johnehrenfeld.com/2009/03/the-rhetoric-of-the-financial.html) about the Tragedy of the Commons. A real-life example of the way Iceland dealt with a declining cod fishery.
Continue ReadingConsumption and Narcissism
Connections between hyper-consumption and narcissism have been rarely reported. Slate had a [nice piece](http://www.slate.com/id/2213740/pagenum/all/#p2) today tying this personality disorder to much of our recent troubles. Here’s the lede: > The narcissists did it. Some commentators are fingering them as the culprits of the financial meltdown. A Bloomberg columnist [blamed](http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a_ac69DqFutQ) the conceited for our financial troubles in a piece titled “Harvard Narcissists With MBAs Killed Wall Street.” A Wall Street Journal [op-ed](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123517419077037281.html) on California’s economy suggested that Gov. Schwarzenegger’s desire for voter’s love (“It’s classic narcissism”) helped cause the state’s budget debacle. A forthcoming book, [The Narcissism Epidemic](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416575987?ie=UTF8&tag=slatmaga-20&link_code=as3&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=1416575987), says we went… Read More
Continue ReadingMyopia or Hyperopia?
David Brooks wrote his [NYTimes column](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/20/opinion/20brooks.html?_r=1&ref=opinion) today under the headline, Perverse Cosmic Myopia. He was criticizing world leaders for neglecting to agree on effective immediate actions to cope with the global financial crisis while focusing on future systemic remedies > You’d think if some tiger were lunging at your neck, your attention would be riveted on the tiger. But that’s apparently not how it works in the age of global A.D.D. As a tiger sinks its teeth into the world’s neck, we focus on the dust bunnies under the bed and the floorboards that need replacing on the deck. We… Read More
Continue ReadingNo More Waiting for a Hybrid
Everything wasn’t green on St. Patrick’s Day, when The LA Times printed a long article articulating the rapid fall from grace of hybrid vehicles. It seems that their draw was more connected to the price of gasoline than to the buyer’s environmental values. > In July, U.S. Toyota dealers didn’t have enough Prius models in stock to last two days, and many were charging thousands of dollars above sticker price for the few they had. . . Today there are about 80 days’ worth on hand, and dealers are working much harder — even with the help of $500 factory… Read More
Continue ReadingGone Skiing
I am away for a few days skiing with a gaggle of grandchildren.
Continue ReadingCategory Errors and Sustainability
E. J. Dionne, [blogging for the Washington Post](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/11/AR2009031103357.html) takes the President to task for using pragmatism as a shield against any claim that he is resting on some ideological pillow. > President Obama regularly speaks disdainfully of “ideology,” says he is focused only on “what works” and loves to be described as “pragmatic.” > > Well, sure. No one ever admits to being an ideologue, and as historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. observed many years ago, democratic government should be about “the search for remedy.” > > But there comes a time when first principles need to be articulated. The economic… Read More
Continue ReadingGreenspan Continues . . .
Speaking at a Congressional hearing, Alan Greenspan has already [recanted](http://www.johnehrenfeld.com/2009/03/oops.html#comments) his formerly unassailable wisdom as Fed Chairman. Now he continues his apology, although this time in a much less personal [op-ed in the WSJ](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123672965066989281.html). Here are a few excepts. Global market competition and integration in goods, services and finance have brought unprecedented gains in material well being. But the growth path of highly competitive markets is cyclical. And on rare occasions it can break down, with consequences such as those we are currently experiencing. It is now very clear that the levels of complexity to which market practitioners at the… Read More
Continue ReadingThis IS a Test!
Tom Friedman’s NYTimes column today had the headline, “This is Not a Test.” I know he was using the word in an ironic sense, but I think he is dangerously wrong. This–what is happening out there in the world–is indeed a test. We are all being tested to see how we react to a series of threats. We, that is, each of us as an individual and all of us as a collective society, have been living in a bubble. Not just a dot.com or housing bubble, but a cultural bubble, ignoring indisputable evidence of present and impending breakdowns and… Read More
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