Dear A__,. The decision to have you, to bring you into this world, was not an easy one; your mother and I agonized about it a fair amount. We went for it in the end because we were excited to see how our lives would turn out with someone like you in our lives. OurContinue reading “Letter To A Young Girl”
Tag Archives: climate change
Melting Glaciers And The End Of Civilization
These are the days of grim warnings about climate change, about an overheated, crowded, polluted planet, slowly cooking in a noxious stew of greenhouse gases, its rivers and oceans clogged with plastic and crude oil, its animals dying, its cities drowning, as floods and famine and hurricane and arctic freezes deliver blow after blow toContinue reading “Melting Glaciers And The End Of Civilization”
On Becoming Canadian
I’ve become Canadian. By that, I don’t mean that I’ve acquired Canadian citizenship, begun enjoying universal healthcare and ice hockey, started bragging about how much bigger Canadian grizzlies are than American ones or how much better Molson’s is than Miller’s. And so on. Rather, it’s just that I have become blasé about the cold weather that hasContinue reading “On Becoming Canadian”
Nationalism and Climate Change
Many contemporary commentators–sages all of them–have noted that the single most important barrier to expeditious action being taken on climate change is nationalism, that the prioritization of national priorities, the elevation of ‘local’ concerns–possibly short-term and limited in impact–over global ones would ensure failures of co-ordination between precisely those entities–nations–whose joint action is required toContinue reading “Nationalism and Climate Change”
Creationism, Climate Non-Change, And All That
Phillip Kitcher‘s Abusing Science: The Case Against Creationism (MIT Press, 1982) makes for depressing reading. Not because of any problems with its arguments, style, or content, but rather because, even as you read it, you realize that though the book was published in 1982, essentially the same points–in addition to others that would bolster the scientific standingContinue reading “Creationism, Climate Non-Change, And All That”
Procreating in a World With an Uncertain Future
A few days ago, Aaron Bady asked on Twitter: Do people think about climate change when they think about whether or not to have kids? I m genuinely curious. As might have been expected, this sparked an interesting set of responses. I thought of tweeting a reply, but then decided that I’d rather think aboutContinue reading “Procreating in a World With an Uncertain Future”
Sandy: Master Interdictor of Supply Chains
It was on Wednesday morning I finally began to understand New York City had been hit hard by Hurricane Sandy, because that symbol of the 24/7 city, the subway, wasn’t running. Since then, there have been dozens and scores of unsettling images: neighborhoods under water (if you can call a foul toxic sludge containing oil,Continue reading “Sandy: Master Interdictor of Supply Chains”
Sandy: A Royal Pain in the Arse
It is Wednesday morning, October 31st, Halloween, here in Brooklyn, in New York City; the sun is out, the winds have died down even as they retain their fall nip, and the subways aren’t running. That little nugget of information should tell you all you need to know about why it’s not business as usualContinue reading “Sandy: A Royal Pain in the Arse”
Samir Chopra 