On Commentisfree, A.C. Grayling, Professor of Philosphy at Birkbeck College London, writes in "An antidote to the black poison" Over-determination is a particularly interesting phenomenon as it besets efforts to arrive at explanations in the social sciences. [...] And...
Monbiot's Partial Epiphany
George Monbiot took us by surprise last week. Reflecting on the housing problems facing many people in the UK, George appears to have realised that putting the environment first can be bad for humans, and that that is a bad thing. Is the housing crisis as acute as...
Environmentalism Causes War
Hey, who needs politics or history when we have climate science? New Scientist reports on a new study that finds (not for the first time ) a correlation between climate change and war, the implication being, of course, that the former causes the latter."Our basic...
The Independent – Where the Sun Never Shines
Prof. Philip Stott ponders the decline of the Independent newspaper... Well, I never like the loss of media and debating outlets, but I have to say that the demise, if that were ever to happen, of the Indie would bring fewer tears to my eyes than most. As a purveyor...
Climate Change Rhetoric Worse Than Previously Thought
In case you hadn't noticed, the IPCC released its AR4 Synthesis Report, Summary for Policymakers on Saturday. 'Today the world's scientists have spoken clearly and with one voice,' said United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The BBC reported the event on Friday...
Lucas and the Majority of Some Scientists
In a conversation about EU policy on restricting CO2 emissions from aircraft, on BBC Radio 4's Today program, this morning, Caroline Lucas, Green MEP for the Southeast region said Well, when you hear scientists say that we have about eight years left in order to...
Fat Swedish Men are Killing the Polar Bears…
Another gem from the New Scientist, caught our eye - though even they don't seem to be taking this one too seriously. The fact that women travel less than men, measured in person-kilometres per car, plane, boat and motorcycle - means that women cause considerably...
Battle of the Planet
The Institute of Ideas have put the video of The Science and Politics of Climate Change debate from this years Battle of Ideas festival online. We've given Mike Hulme of the Tyndall...
Friend (of Democracy) or FoE?
A single press release; double standards. Yesterday, in response to the UK's proposed climate change bill, Friends of the Earth UK director, Tony Juniper said: We’re delighted that the UK is set to become the first nation to introduce legislation to cut its...
Why Monbiot is so Miserable
In yesterdays Guardian, George Monbiot tells us that, A powerful novel's vision of a dystopian future shines a cold light on the dreadful consequences of our universal apathy Oh, God! What is this novel that tells us about the dark, horrid abyss of the human...