It's not enough to stop ravaging the Earth. We need to repair the damage already done. The beautiful thing is -- once we give it a little nudge, nature quickly takes over. This article describes a rainforest repair program.

Tags: environment
Current Mood: busy

I came across this interesting question in an article today:

    

"I told you about how I wanted to build a career around social activism and making a difference. You told me that one of the most important things was to make myself reputable and give people a reason to listen to you. I think this is some of the best advice I've received. My issue however is that you mentioned joining the military as a way to do this and mentioned how that is how you fell into it.... We talked extensively about all of our criticisms of the military currently and our foreign policy.... What I don't understand is, how can you [advise] someone who wants to make a difference with the flawed system, to join that flawed system?"

Why? Because it can work. Look at what the radical conservatives did. They used to be a tiny lunatic fringe. Then they spent several decades pursing a slow, deliberate campaign to take over the framing and politics of America -- using the system itself. They succeeded. It has been a disaster in many different ways; we are much worse off for it. But they used the master's tools to tear down the master's house very effectively indeed.

Let's hope the next team who sets out to do that has a loftier goal than self-aggrandizement and evangelizing.

Tags: politics
Current Mood: busy

According to this article, 37 wolves have already been killed since they were recently removed from the Endangered Species list.

Note to hunters: removing a species from the endangered list is not a prompt to put it back on the list by shooting every one you can find.

Note to legislators who ignored all the warnings about how delisting wolves would cause wolf deaths to skyrocket: WE TOLD YOU SO.

Tags: nature, politics
Current Mood: angry

I've spent the last several days working on revisions for "Pebbles from the River Lethe." For those of you not familiar with what revision is like, the steps go something like this...

1) Open wringer.
2) Insert brain.
3) Latch wringer.
4) Crank vigorously.
5) Type up the results.

It's not fun, but it does improve the writing.

Tags: science fiction, writing
Current Mood: busy