Want to read something brilliantly crazy? It comes to us via NPR, so you know it’s fun. Or funny; take your pick. At any rate, the piece’s title reads: “Could Climate Change Topple Modern Civilization?”

But the story should’ve been titled: “The Green topic de jour- How to Save the Planet Right Now!” And the show’s erudite interviewee Lester Brown has the answer. Or he thinks he does. Of course, the answer is windmills sticking up like giant lawn mower blades across the lovely terrain of North Dakota, Texas, Kansas, and assorted Fruited Plains everywhere. Maybe your backyard!

Check out the interview with the famous Monsieur Brown. After you’re done being bedazzled with the knee-knocking scientific mojo regarding Planetary Salvation 101 ask yourself this question – did either of the dudes engaged in the interview mention the word conservation?

Is the plan to simply convert from one energy source to another without consideration of what that means for ecosystem integrity, habitat restoration, species viability, and human mental (some would say spiritual) well-being? Is the game to ensure that an endless supply of juice is always available? How many plasma TV’s are talking about here? Are we not going to engage in meaningful debate about human overpopulation and carrying capacity? And if not, why not?

Sometimes you just have to wonder if all this ballyhooing about the end of civilization isn’t a simple case of Homo erectus asphaltus flatulence. Maybe it’s time to take another look at what it means to be “civilized.”

Or have we past the point of self-examination?

Calling Don Quixote!

posted by Mudd

For all you eager beaver parent types out there in Cyberland, the BBC reports the not-so-surprising results of a new study related to aggressive behavior. The study indicates that “Children who eat sweets and chocolate every day are more likely to be violent as adults.”

This explains a lot about most of the folks I’ve come in contact with during the previous 5 decades.

pass the M&Ms.

posted by Mudd

As reported by the Environmental News Network – “In 2007, congestion caused urban Americans to travel 4.2 billion hours more and to purchase an extra 2.8 billion gallons of fuel for a congestion cost of $87.2 billion – an increase of more than 50% over the previous decade.”

And that was an “improvement” over past data.

Green Acres is the place to be!

posted by Mudd

Think industrial wind power is green?

Now check out “The extraordinary true story of a Malawian teenager who transformed his village by building electric windmills out of junk….” [BBC]

You gotta appreciate this quote: “Many, including my mother, thought I was going crazy – people thought I was smoking marijuana….” What a breath of fresh air! And this guy was forced to quit school at age 14 because he couldn’t cough up the $80 a year tuition.

Read all about it!

posted by Mudd

Here’s one for you veggie-mates out there in Cyberland – “Wild howler monkeys have been caught on camera raiding chicken coops and eating bird’s eggs.” [BBC]

“The behaviour has surprised researchers as howler monkeys are thought to be exclusively vegetarian.”

But the question still remains – what came first, the chicken or the eggs?

posted by Mudd

Just to show that the future holds surprises galore, check this New York Times blurb out – “A draft plan to remove four aging dams along the Klamath River in Oregon and California was released Wednesday, a long-awaited step toward ending a protracted dispute over the waterway.”

pass the sledge hammer.

posted by Mudd

Here’s a new wrinkle in the fight to control cancer, aka: urban sprawl. A couple of eco-minded lawyer dudes in sunny Florida finally grew weary of head-bashing every development on the Turnpike. So they came up with a simple and fun idea – an amendment that allows folks to vote on development before the bulldozers arrive.

The idea is taking roots, causing conniption fits to the multitude of Hard Hatters in the Land of Melanoma. It’s featured in a zippy piece in the Orlando Sentinel, which says the proposed amendment “has sent the entire development industry and business lobby into fits of befuddled panic. All their lawyers and politicians haven’t been able to shut the duo down.” Ahoy!

To get a glimpse of the amendment and its sponsors, hit this cute link and zoom away!

Lawyers, guns and money…..

posted by Mudd

In case you thought Americans were the only profligate consumers roaming the Seven Seas of Commerce, think again.

According to CNBC, “Beauty queen Miss Singapore World has given up her crown after it emerged that she had stolen credit cards to go on a shopping spree for lingerie.”

You have to wonder about those “gold anklets.”

pass the Master Card.

posted by Mudd

Ready to zonk those pesky cell phone calls from behind the wheel? A new electo-rig does just that – as long as you’re going more than 10 mph. Ditto for tweeting, blipping, zitting, and quirking. Check it out here.

Of course, the snazzy new gizmo is called the Guardian Angel.

Beam me up.

posted by Mudd

Good news for cowboy gunslingers, at least in Arizona. A new law allows trigger fingers to tote their hardware inside bars, under certain (or uncertain) restrictions.

This from an NRA spokes-wonk – “Bad things happen in bars and restaurants,” [J.P.] Nelson said. “People want to carry a gun and if the facility owner doesn’t have a problem with it, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

Further clarifying the contentious issue, Arizona Sen. Jack Harper said, “It’s very important that criminals are now afraid rather than law abiding citizens.”

Not having read the bill’s exact wording, it’s too early to pass judgment. Then again, when I was a regular bar hopping commando, I always carried a gun into dens of iniquity, regardless of their location. You never know when the lead’ll start flying. And it pays to be prepared!

Load em up!

posted by Mudd