Some of us know a cool dude when we see one – and David Bamberger is a cool dude. One of the founders of Church’s Fried Chicken, Bamberger is now known for his innovative land restoration policies in Texas’ famed Hill Country. Who do you know that built a giant cave to attract free tailed bats? Bamberger did. He now has a colony of 400,000 hanging out at his pad. Batman to the recuse!

Did I mention his herd of endangered scimitar-horned oryx? Yeehaw!

This guy is no slouch. It took him a few decades, but the drumstick guru did what most eco-freaks only dream of – restored a big slab of broken landscape into something approaching what it was intended to be.

Adios, I’m gone to Texas…. via NPR online.

posted by Mudd

Breaking “news” from the Christian Science Monitor (who should know better): The planet’s most zany animal right’s freaks want to ax Punxsutawney Phil’s job. Don’t they know there’s a recession on? “….. this year, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) thinks it’s time for the nation’s hairiest weatherman to enjoy an early retirement. PETA’s proposal: instead of parading and manhandling the wee groundhog, replace ol’ Phil with a robot.”

In an effort to keep the gig on even keel, “The Altoona (Penn.) Mirror, located 90 minutes southeast of Punxsutawney, ran an editorial today denouncing the proposed robot outsourcing. ‘We agree with William Deeley, president of the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, who said Phil is ‘being treated better than the average child in Pennsylvania.'”

Pass the groundhog chow.

posted by Mudd

From an op-ed in the BBC News, entitled Economic growth cannot buy the planet more time – “The latest set of accounts for humanity’s ecological footprint reveal that, conservatively, it takes the Earth nearly 18 months to produce the ecological services that humanity uses in one year. The negative cash flow is getting worse.”

And the Op-ed’s conclusion? “Now, the burden of proof lies on those who promise endless growth to demonstrate how it will be possible. In the meantime, the pressing task for everyone else is to work out how all of us on the planet can have good lives while living within its means.”

Of course, that’s the old, quaint, eco-philosophical spin. The one that hasn’t worked, isn’t working, and isn’t going to work. Because, as sharp students of primatology understand: monkeys are acquisitive animals – they eat bananas; they don’t manage banana trees.

And, as always, there’s the small problem of enforcement. Who, exactly, is going to compel 7 billion monkeys to “live within their means”? What are those means? Who defines the parameters? Are we talking The Green Police?

Let’s hope not. Life is weird enough without more police.

Instead, we’re right back to square – population as a function of carrying capacity. A few monkeys tend to have full bellies more of the time; too many monkeys means scarcity, hunger, and eventually, aggression.

Sound familiar?

posted by Mudd

According to the erudite New York Times, China now leads the world in the quest for green energy. In a freakish twist of Fate, the piece speculates that the Red Dragon’s “efforts to dominate renewable energy technologies raise the prospect that the West may someday trade its dependence on oil from the Mideast for a reliance on solar panels, wind turbines and other gear manufactured in China.”

But, of course, such a grandiose scheme comes with a price – “….. renewable energy may be doing more for China’s economy than for the environment. Total power generation in China is on track to pass the United States in 2012 — and most of the added capacity will still be from coal.”

Renewable? Green?

Return to the bottom line – it’s about growth. Endless, energy dependent, cookie cutter growth that fuels more growth, ad infinitum. Regardless of what flag that growth flies under. If that’s the sustainable, renewable, greenie dream we’ve all been hearing about since Al Gore’s cow came home – Welcome to the Dimformation Age!

pass the cheese.

posted by Mudd

In an article via the BBC News entitled Why do people often vote against their own interests?, an interesting tid-bit apears:

“If people vote against their own interests, it is not because they do not understand what is in their interest or have not yet had it properly explained to them. They do it because they resent having their interests decided for them by politicians who think they know best. There is nothing voters hate more than having things explained to them as though they were idiots.”

Interesting because the BBC nailed a phenomenon our erudite U.S. media either can’t or won’t grok. The real question should be – Why do people bother with new media aimed at 2nd graders?

posted by Mudd

Calling all Willie Nelson fans – the website Stillisstillmoving reports that “There are some disappointed fans in Kenansville, North Carolina tonight. Willie Nelson and Family were not able to perform, owing to the fact that the North Carolina Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement stormed the the bus of Willie Nelson’s crew before the show tonight, and cited everyone present possession of moonshine or a misdemeanor amount of marijuana.”

While you’re at it, hop over to the Willie Nelson and Friends Museum and General Store up yonder in Nashville.

Don’t forget to inhale.

posted by Mudd

As reported by Environmental News Network – “Exposure to environmental carcinogens has been estimated to contribute to a majority of human cancers, especially through lifestyle factors related to tobacco use and diet. Notable examples are the tobacco-related carcinogens; heterocyclic amines produced from sustained, high-temperature cooking of meats; and the fungal food contaminants aflatoxins.”

Aflatoxins? Pass the peanut butter.

posted by Mudd

Good news for Willie Nelson’s FARM AID – turns out new research indicates that Neoloithic men who had the knack for farming ended up with the most women. The result, according to Prof. Mark Jobling, “is the genetic pattern we see in many Europeans today: male genes from farmers who hailed from the Near East, and female genes mostly from women who had been hunter-gatherers in Europe after the last Ice Age.”

Once again, men with the best tools win. Or, in more polite phraseology – “technology really can make a guy more attractive.” We’re talking rock stars here, pun intended.

pass the iPod….

posted by Mudd

According to The Society for Ecological Sustainability, World Peace, and Global Mojo [SESWPGM], today, January 26, 2010, has been proclaimed WORLD NIMBY DAY! So go out and defend your back yard against whatever the hell bothers you. And have fun doing it!

posted by Mudd

As reported by the Pew Research Center – “Dealing with global warming ranks at the bottom of the public’s list of priorities; just 28% consider this a top priority, the lowest measure for any issue tested in the survey.”

Hope and change.

posted by Mudd