I’ve been mulling over this quote from John Quigggin in last Thursday’s Fin Review: “But for anyone who takes mainstream economics seriously, the idea that a physical resource like oil or coal is essential to prosperity must be regarded as fallacious. Economic theory teaches, and economic history has repeatedly shown, that when one resource becomes […]

Pat Robertson has a different spin on recent natural catastrophes – they are a sign that the end of the world is nigh. Or is it so different? Robertson’s outpourings can be characterised in a number of ways. One is as an example of “confirmatory bias” – the tendency to choose those facts which confirm […]

The latest trend to be hitting metaphysics appears to be “Intelligent Design” (see this article by Hiram Caton in On Line Opinion). The theory that the universe is so obviously well-constructed that it must have been intelligently designed is apparently so compelling that it has led Brendan Nelson to suggest it ought to be discussed […]

Those who paid attention to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy will know not just that 42 is the answer to the meaning of life the universe and everything, but that the earth is actually a giant super-computer whose purpose is to determine that very answer. Readers of this blog will know that I’m generally […]

There is a myth around that declaring something a National Park represents a return to a former pristine state, and that this can be done by merely leaving the property alone. This idea is in many cases just another expression of the idea of Terra Nullius. A recent example is contained in this report by […]

Thursday last week I went to hear Jared Diamond, over here, over-hyped and with the most outrageous comb-over I’ve ever seen. What is it with Australians that we are such suckers for the latest snake-oil salesman from the US, unless their name is George Bush? Diamond is the author of Collapse, and also of Guns, […]

I have a problem with the inhabitants of Tuvalu and Kiribati spruiking their imminent demise from greenhouse related climate change. I have an even bigger problem with the uncritical way in which these claims are reported. Latest example comes from ABC Radio National’s Saturday Breakfast. Reporter Alexandra de Blas, always an easy touch for an […]

I’m not particularly well-qualified in biology, finding it much less interesting than physics and chemistry when I was at school, so no-one should put much weight on this musing. In fact, this post was prompted by some comments I saw on someone’s blog (tell me which one and I’ll provide the link) that they were […]

I ask this question because I went to a lecture by Greg Bourne, CEO of WWF, at the Brisbane Institute. The same one Jennifer Marohasy went to. Bourne gave a very impressive presentation – lots of graphs. One of those graphs purported to show how we could meet the world’s energy needs, sustain standards of […]