I spent a summer in college with a National Science Foundation grant doing research in Yellowstone National Park under the guidance of scientists from the Great Lakes WATER Institute. While most of memories are of doing science experiments late into the evening, many of my memories consist of park visitors doing very dumb things like hiking without a compass and getting lost and putting little kids on the backs of bison. Apparently, according to this article, technology is giving park visitors more confidence to do stupid things. Amazing.
August 22, 2010
Your Cell Phone is No Replacement for Water; Technology Gives National Park Visitors More Confidence to Be Stupid
Posted by Jason J. Czarnezki under Outdoor Recreation, ParksLeave a Comment
August 22, 2010
How to Deal with Overpopulation?
Posted by Jason J. Czarnezki under China, Consumption, Environment, Law, Politics[2] Comments
The subject of overpopulation has become taboo. American public interest groups no longer discuss the issue as an environmental problem, the issue has been removed from policy platforms and websites of environmental groups, and, to the extent the issue of population has been mainstream, its focus is on human rights, gender equality, and the ability to have children.
Yet, population growth and the Earth’s carrying capacity are major issues. China and India, each with over 1 billion people, view overpopulation as a major economic and national security issue. China is often criticized for its one-child policy, mostly due to reports of its aribitrary and sometime brutal enforcement of the policy. And now India is using cash bonuses to delay citizens from having more children.
When I was in China, the Chinese were (a) often upset that the West criticized their one-child policy, and (b) were surprised that I both recognized that population size was a legitimate concern and commended the Chinese government for recognizing overpopluation as a legitimate issue, even if I strongly disagreed with the arbitrary and capricious nature of its enforcement and admitted such a policy could not and would not work in the U.S.
Unfortunately, in America and globally, population growth is sort of a political hot potato. Obviously for political and constitutional reasons, setting a child limit in the U.S. would never fly, but, even though I acknowledge American individualism and personal autonomy, it pains me that open policy discussions cannot be had about incentives to keep family sizes, and thus resource consumption, down at both the domestic and international level. In the 1990s, phrases like ‘zero-population-growth’ (ZPG) and carrying capacity were big buzz words, but these debates/discussion seem to have been lost.
August 20, 2010
Sports & the Environment: An Organic Golf Course?
Posted by Jason J. Czarnezki under EnvironmentLeave a Comment
“Exclusive Golf Course is Organic, so Weeds Get In“–Does this article fall in the ‘every-little-bit helps’ category, or the ‘but what about all the other environmental harm’ category like land degradation and habitat loss? I suppose a little bit of both. We should recognize all the environmental harms of our choices and when possible use the best option given our preferences and economic constraints.
This also reminded me of a great article in Sports Illustrated by Alexander Wolff called “Going, Going, Green” about the impacts of climate change on sports and how sports are developing environmentally-friendly techonology.
August 20, 2010
Connecticut v. AEP & Climate Change Legislation
Posted by Jason J. Czarnezki under Climate Change, Environment, Law, Politics1 Comment
Legal Planet has an interesting post about the Obama Administration’s response in the case Connecticut v. AEP, and whether it will act strategically in order to pressure Congress to pass climate change legislation. But again, as I posted before, are we better off without new legialstion and instead having the EPA regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act?
August 18, 2010
Info about Law School Hiring
Posted by Jason J. Czarnezki under Announcements, Law SchoolsLeave a Comment
Prawfsblawg has begun their annual Law School Hiring Thread. The thread asks law professor candidates to provide info on (a) whether they have received a first round interview at a school, and if the school mentioned the areas they were looking into, and whether the interview offer was accepted; (b) a callback from a law school and/or accepted it; and (c) whether they have received an offer from a law school and/or accepted it.
August 18, 2010
Those Who Believe in Global Warming Are “Crazy” says U.S. Senate Candidate
Posted by Jason J. Czarnezki under Climate Change, Environment, PoliticsLeave a Comment
Republican Wisconsin U.S. Senate candidate Rob Johnson, the future opponent of Democratic U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, has said that people who believe in global warming are “crazy” and that the idea of climate change is “lunacy.” He is also quoted as saying, “I absolutely do not believe in the science of man-caused climate change. It’s not proven by any stretch of the imagination.” See the full article with many other choice quotes here.
Al Gore might respond–‘I hope he is correct.’ Gore, in his NY Times Op-Ed “We Can’t Wish it Away,” states, “It would be an enormous relief if the recent attacks on the science of global warming actually indicated that we do not face an unimaginable calamity requiring large-scale, preventive measures to protect human civilization as we know it.”
Gore continues, “I, for one, genuinely wish that the climate crisis were an illusion. But unfortunately, the reality of the danger we are courting has not been changed by the discovery of at least two mistakes in the thousands of pages of careful scientific work over the last 22 years by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In fact, the crisis is still growing because we are continuing to dump 90 million tons of global-warming pollution every 24 hours into the atmosphere — as if it were an open sewer.”
I also hope that that climate change is really no big deal, but I question the basic choice to not deal with potentially serious or catatrosphic risks due to environmental degradation, even if the risks are potentially low-probability (and climate science suggests they are not). And this does not even consider the major national security and economic concerns of America’s dependence on oil.
August 17, 2010
Vermont Law School named one of “The Greenest Law Schools”
Posted by Jason J. Czarnezki under Announcements, Environment, Vermont Law SchoolLeave a Comment
August 16, 2010
My friend, former neighbor and composting buddy, and self-proclaimed eco-geek, Matt Montagne, has helped create Voices on the Gulf, a website designed to inspire writing and conversation about the BP Gulf Oil Spill. Check it out.
August 16, 2010
Colorado Natural Resources Clinic Job Announcement
Posted by Jason J. Czarnezki under Announcements, Law SchoolsLeave a Comment
The University of Colorado Law School seeks applicants for a clinical faculty position in its Natural Resources Clinic. The Clinic was one of the first of its kind in the country, having been founded in 1978. Originally housed at the National Wildlife Federation, the Clinic came in-house to Colorado Law in Spring 2010. The incoming clinical faculty member will be responsible for developing a docket of projects dealing with natural resources issues. The faculty member will also have primary responsibility for supervising students in their case or project work, and for organizing and teaching a companion clinical seminar.
Candidates must have a JD degree and a minimum of five years practical experience. Prior teaching experience is strongly preferred. Candidates must be licensed to practice law in at least one state and be eligible to sit either for the Colorado bar or waive admission into Colorado.
To apply, candidates should mail a letter describing their interest, their initial thoughts on the kinds of projects they would develop for the clinic, relevant practice experience, and any prior teaching experience, along with a resume and the names of three references to Deborah J. Cantrell, Associate Professor & Director of Clinical Programs, University of Colorado Law School, Wolf Law Building, 404 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0404. The deadline for applications is October 24, 2010. Teaching will begin August 2011. Colorado Law is an equal opportunity employer.
August 16, 2010
And so it begins…China is World’s Second Largest Econony
Posted by Jason J. Czarnezki under China, Climate Change, Environment, PoliticsLeave a Comment
When I was in China, my Chinese students and colleagues never wanted to recognize that their country would soon surpass Japan as the second-largest economy in the world. This inevitability is now a reality, as reported today. While culturally the Chinese are not ones to take credit, from an imternational relations and foreign policy standpoint, the country is somehwhat weary of this status. With such economic prowess, it is much harder to limit international obligation and responsibility, especially when those arguments often rest on the the lack of economic prosperity for much of the country. While the vast majority of Chinese are most certainly poor, the Chinese recognize their growing status in the world and the Chinese government will want to continue to be seen as a global power. Thus, the time is now for the U.S. become a real global leader on environmental issues because the Chinese are perceived as economic superpowers, and the failure to join the U.S. in a leadership role could be seen as embarrassing. Now is the time for the U.S. to lead and challenge the Chinese to be more than leader of the developing world, which is often the fall back description of their country. China and the U.S. are the two largest emitters of greenhouse emissions, and both need to act. Unfortunately, U.S. domestic and international policy has failed in terms of environmental and economic policies to help improve international carbon emissions and pollution due manufacturing in the developing world. The constructive critism of U.S. policy can be spread around–the U.S. Senate, the President at Copenhagen, American consumption patterns, the interstate highway system, etc.
JASON J. CZARNEZKI 