MIT linguistics professor emeritus Noam Chomsky belongs in the same class as Bertrand Russell: a small group of extremely intelligent people whose contribution to society is a blend of a penetrating understanding of the world, married with a profoundly humanistic …
Category: Sustainability
Stupid Lasts Forever
Ancient Athenian comic playwright Aristophanes made a good point here, and it would be easy to ascribe this as an explanation of the support of Donald Trump. Giving the matter a little thought, however, we see that Americans’ IQs haven’t …
Tagged with: rejection of science
Plato on Empathy
In a world in which empathy seems to be on the run, it’s good to be reminded of what the world’s great thinkers have had to say on the subject.
Tagged with: Plato on Empathy
Earth’s Resiliency
Primatologist Jane Goodall says that one of the key reasons she remains optimistic about the future of Earth’s environment is its resiliency. I.e., the moment we stop inflicting harm to the planet, it begins the slow process of healing itself. …
Tagged with: Primatologist Jane Goodall
Greenwashing in Single-Use Plastics Generates Lawsuits in Europe
From “The Story of Stuff”: A legal complaint against Coca-Cola, Danone, and Nestlé has been issued by a consumer body and two environmental groups in Europe. The complaint alleges the companies are misleading consumers into buying a product which is …
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Is Empathy Controversial?
At left we see another example of how we will argue about anything in the modern-day chaos we call our “society.” As John Cleese points out, we can’t even agree that empathy for other people is an unequivocally good thing.
Tagged with: empathy for other people
Biodegradable Plastic
Is there something of validity to this investment? I’m not sure. What I do know is that the subject of biodegradable plastic has been the subject of scrutiny of materials scientists for many decades. Part of the problem is the …
Tagged with: biodegradable plastic
Big Food
I’ll grant that the graphic below is, in fact, terrifying, but it’s factually incorrect; this does not represent anywhere near everything we eat and drink. In actuality, if you stay away from the center of your grocery store, you’ll avoid …
Tagged with: corporate control of our food
Steve Bannon’s Still a Free Man
Donna Kay Smedley writes: I’m sorry, but I find the case of Steve Bannon perplexing. This man has openly scammed Americans, had a part in some capacity of engaging in the 1/6 insurrection, but a judge has allowed him to …
Tagged with: Steve Bannon
Congrats to Union Workers
It’s so gratifying to see these victories for organized labor. A strong middle class gives back so many gifts to U.S. society, in the form of a stronger democracy, lower crimes rates, and better educational standards. On top of that, …
Tagged with: stronger democracy
