JASON J. CZARNEZKI

The New York Times Dot Earth blog has been examining personhood in the context of nonhuman animals and factory farming. The latest discussion features a short essay by my colleague, Pace Law School Professor David Cassuto. If interested, you can find it here:
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/28/a-closer-look-at-nonhuman-personhood-and-animal-welfare/

“Due to Sweden’s innovative waste-to-energy program and highly efficient recycling habits, the Scandinavian nation faces an interesting dilemma. They have run out of trash.”

I think Norway is also running out of trash as well.

Full article: http://www.pachamama.org/blog/models-of-sustainability-sweden-runs-out-of-garbage

H/T: Wes Hamilton

Since I wrote a book entitled Everyday Environmentalism, I thought I’d share some random thoughts at the intersection of our daily lives and the environment:

(1) Ban straws. Bloomberg likes to ban things (e.g., smoking in public, sugary drinks) so why not this, they are terrible for the environment, we don’t need them, and restaurants hand them out like candy. And just say "No Straw, Please." And restaurants and bars would save $ and the environment by not passing them out.

(2) There is way too much disposal flatware in NYC. Get some bamboo re-useable utensils to carry around.

(3) The effects of Hurricane Sandy are still being felt in Lower Manhattan. Support the Seaport area and go to See/Change, the hip new temporary installation with a great (and free) summer lineup of outdoor music and movies. That said, a big political battle is in the cards over whether the seaport is for tourists or trendy locals, and what the future of the New Amsterdam Greenmarket will be. Also see here for more info about the Market.

(4) Vermonters needing household goods and building materials at dirt cheap prices and looking to keep stuff out of landfills should go to the ReStore.

“Jason [Box] has one very important quality as a scientist,” says Thomas Painter, a research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. “He is willing to say crazy stuff and push the boundaries of conventional wisdom.”

“For most scientists, publishing a paper is a masturbatory act,” Box says. “A few people read it, you feel good, and then it’s over. It has no influence on policymakers; it does nothing to increase public understanding of what is happening to the climate system.”

Very interesting and provocative article about climate change and Greenland melting:
http://www.rollingstone.com/greenland-melting?stop_mobi=yes

Chinese Search for Infant Formula Goes Global – NYTimes.com
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/07/26/world/asia/chinas-search-for-infant-formula-goes-global.html?from=homepage

Jerry Cohen’s latest piece on Bo Xilai, published in the South China Morning Post on July 25, 2013:

http://gallery.mailchimp.com/c4e6855024918f0bd40335aee/files/2013.07.25_Cohen_Loose_Ends.pdf

For anyone who loves music and/or movies or is interested in racial and/or gender (in)equality, you must go see “20 Feet From Stardom”. It is truly one of the best movies that I’ve seen in years. And you’ll never ever hear the Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” in the same light. http://twentyfeetfromstardom.com/

I love trains and mass transit and if this proposal of frictionless tube travel actually has legs, it would be amazing.

http://www.industrytap.com/la-to-nyc-in-under-an-hour-hyperloop-system-will-let-you-travel-at-4000-mph/10194

And other changes are on the horizon. See here: http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202611159120&slreturn=20130617115503

An article in NY Mag worth reading: "Questlove: Trayvon Martin and I Ain’t Shit"