Economy
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Erik Marcus, vegan and animal rights activist, has a review of The Omnivore’s Dilemma that is appreciative, but critical in key places. Key quote: Pollan’s book convincingly shows that animal agriculture can, in fact, operate in a way that respects the environment. For a reader who’s acquainted with the staggering wastefulness of animal agriculture, it’s Read more
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I have to admit that I find Pollan’s argument that the domestication of certain animals entails a real gain both for the animals and for us pretty convincing. He points out that animal husbandry may be a necessary part of a sustainable agriculture since relying on animal fertilization is the chief alternative to the chemical Read more
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In general I find Michael Pollan’s indictment of our current industrial food system, which floats on a sea of subsidized corn, fossil fuels, and chemical fertilizers, entirely persuasive. And his account of a week spent at self-described “libertarian Christian environmentalist” Joel Salatin’s Polyface Farm, where the natural ecosystem of a functioning farm is respected and Read more
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And why should a nation produce its own food when others can produce it more cheaply? A dozen reasons leap to mind, but most of them the Steven Blanks of the world–and they are legion–are quick to dismiss as sentimental. I’m thinking of the sense of security that comes from knowing that your community, or Read more
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A pendulum swing away from globalization and toward protectionism? I still have no idea how (if at all) we reconcile indefinite economic growth with environmental limits while at the same time attending to poverty and inequality. But I am pretty skeptical that “buy more stuff” is a viable long-term solution to our economic woes (never Read more
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A helpful primer (via Gristmill). Read more
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Steven Landsburg writes in the NYT: All economists know that when American jobs are outsourced, Americans as a group are net winners. What we lose through lower wages is more than offset by what we gain through lower prices. In other words, the winners can more than afford to compensate the losers. Does that mean Read more
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This look at the “Christian oil industry” is bizarre and fascinating. Read more
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Two items from yesterday’s WaPo: Are we witnessing a massive slow-motion extinction of species? And what does that mean for our future and our children’s future? Cheap accessible cars for the people of India: commendable free-market egalitarianism or death sentence for the planet? Read more
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When I read things like this, I can understand why people want to ignore the issue of climate change. If things are as bad as writers like McKibben say, and if the measures they describe are what’s called for, then I just can’t see how we’re going to pull off anything that radical in time Read more
A Thinking Reed 