Greetings, folks. The weather’s not as good as we thought it would be for activities like eating lunch in the park, so as we finish up our salad here at our desk, we bring you a wee selection of fascinating things to read, which is always a good way to pass the time indoors! Isn’t that thoughtful of us?
First of all, here is a piece on physorg.com (whatever that is) about a talk by UVA prof Kristina Hill, given at Harvard, in which she explains that there is more flora and fauna in the city than the country. That’s in terms of numbers of species. Yet another reminder that our human habitats are part of Nature too, concrete jungles though they may seem.
This story in the Post is old news by now—the EPA delaying some mountaintop-removal projects, HOORAY!—but read it and check out the precious quote near the bottom, in which a mining official worries publicly about possibly having noplace to put a Wal-Mart. (Horrors!) I grew up in hilly mining country, and I can tell you, they do find places to put the Wal-Marts. And the Applebee’s and all the rest of it.
From the L.A. Times, an account of March 28’s Earth Hour and a discussion in the comments section about the meaning of it all. You’ll see all the usual viewpoints represented: the anti-idealists, the pious do-gooders, the stubbornly practical, the missed-the-pointers. For my money, Earth Hour was a symbolic gesture and a way to start conversation, by which measures it was a success.
From today’s Daily Progress, a story about a quite interesting idea: passenger rail service from Charlottesville to Crozet. Disgusted comments on the Progress’ site notwithstanding, I bet you’ll see a lot of interest in this notion. However, I also predict a lot of controversy and a protracted decision-making process, as per usual in these parts.
That’s all for now. Anyone else have great articles, blog entries, handwritten notes to post up?
