According to the Freakonomics blog, Al Gore has blamed the media for global warming inaction. It points to an article explaining that journalists tend to work too hard on providing both points of view in the name of balance, while not explaining the degree of scientific consensus on this matter. A study found that 53% of news articles disagreed with the global warming premise.

Frankly, this explains a lot of why so many people don’t believe in global warming. Plenty of people rely on the sound bites in television news and the short articles in newspapers to get their opinions. They are the most convenient sources, after all.

But in a case like this, you also get problems such as with Fox News, where they claim to be keeping things balanced, which really means that they slant it primarily toward their conservative bases opinions, and give occasional, very small nods to the other side, generally while making it clear they don’t really believe it. Continue reading →

After all, he’s the problem in this case. I’ve read on a number of blogs now about the report released that included information on his energy consumption, which is higher every month than most people use in an entire year. Even if it is mostly green, that’s a lot of energy use.

I read that a part of the excuse is that he works at home. So do I, but I still can’t imagine what could be causing such an absurd amount of energy usage. It sounds to me like he needs to learn how to cut back.

Al Gore is a major figure within the environmental world. If he can’t do better, how much reason is he giving other people to sacrifice and live more environmentally friendly lifestyles? Sure he has plenty of money, but that’s no excuse to not set a good example.

I am glad to read that he is installing solar panels and taking steps to do better, but what took so long? Even with how long it can take to get permits and solar panels, I would think he could have done this sooner. Continue reading →

Reading this article about a deal between biotech giant Monsanto agreed to purchase Delta and Pine Land Company strikes me as a warning for all kinds of problems for organic crop production in years to come, not just cotton.

The basic risk to cotton with this merger is the increased chance that genetically modified crops will mix with regular cottonseeds. Now I understand the premise of genetically modifying crops, but I can’t help but wonder if we really understand all the risks.

Then there’s this charming quote from the article:

In response to industry concern, company officials have pledged not to introduce Terminator seeds, but say they reserve the right to reconsider.

Terminator seeds are ones which die after one season, so farmers cannot save seeds for the next year’s use. They have to buy all over again. Continue reading →

I love seeing people get into the fight against global warming. Richard Branson, the British billionaire, is offering a $25 million prize to anyone who can come up with a nonpolluting solution to global warming. The solution needs to remove at least a billion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year.

I spotted this offer over on Slashdot, and so had to go to the original article to see what it said.

Branson is working quite hard on this topic, and dedicating some serious money to the cause. Good to see from someone with that kind of money. It’s not just the $25 million reward. It’s the $3 billion he has pledged to help fight global warming. That’s dedication, even from a billionaire.

I love watching these kinds of contests. It may well take more than the $25 million dollar prize is worth to come up with a solution, but this kind of thing really spurs a lot of people to make efforts they might not otherwise. Just look at the people who competed for the X Prize.

Is it possible that someone will come up with a solution? Certainly not immediately. At best it will take years. But just the incentive to get people to investigate the options is a wonderful thing.

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