If the current standoff, such as it is, in Oregon's Malheur National Wildlife Refuge has caused you to consider that there may be more going on than just an isolated, impotent bit of disgruntlement among some western ranchers and gun-toting malcontents, well, you're right, there is. The Bundy Ranch standoff of almost two years ago lends enough foundational context to bolster this speculation, even without any in-depth knowledge of the history, or existence, of this somewhat fractured, but altogether predictable (human nature, you know), ideology. Yep, there's something going on, and it's been going on for a while.
News & Commentary
Is voting your conscience conscientious?
For those like myself who don't occupy the center (and I use that word with an appreciation for its current prominent list to starboard) of the political spectrum there is often a bit of a conundrum presented during the primary campaigns.
It occurs with some regularity that a candidate who represents my perspectives quite well (or at least much better than others) happens to be running far behind the front-runner, or, too often, runners. This is to be expected, of course, when one is observing one's fellow voters from the fringe (what's wrong with everyone else anyway?). But recognizing the condition doesn't make it easier to accept that the choice I'm given - vote for the guy I like or vote for the guy who can actually win - is inevitably disappointing.
The Einstein corollary
In the late '80s, the world gathered together and crafted an agreement to stop producing and distributing various ozone-depleting substances (most notably CFCs, or chlorofluorocarbons). Reduction of the ozone layer had been observed and studied over ten years earlier and the broad stratospheric depletion, as well as the development of holes in the layer over the planet's poles, were predicted to continue to increase, eventually causing widespread biological and agricultural damage.
It was a significant moment in the history of international (both businesses and polities) cooperation.* And as a result of the accord, along with its subsequent revisions, projections now suggest that the ozone layer is recovering and will return to pre-1980 levels somewhere around the middle of this century.
A "long holiday from responsibility"
The above quote comes from Rhode Island senator Sheldon Whitehouse, in reference to the fact that large fossil fuel energy companies have never been made to accept the full cost of the distribution and use of their products.
Whitehouse, chairman of the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety, made this observation in an article about what he expects to happen in response to the administration's newly announced carbon reduction policies. He's gearing up for an anticipated rash of complaints and false arguments coming from what he calls the "Big polluters," including the now-familiar whining about loss of energy-sector jobs (without considering new green energy jobs, or jobs lost as a result of carbon pollution), rising energy prices (without considering that legislation such as the Clean Air Act has paid for itself many times over) and charges of playing politics (many Democrats are less than thrilled to see this legislation in an election year).
The value of "rewilding"
This is a compelling video, not the least reason for which is the fact that although the science in it is hard-won, the message it offers is one of those simple, "Of course, it must be that way" revelations.
The video is an excerpt from a George Monbiot TED talk (well worth the extra ten minutes or so) on the topic of "rewilding," defined in Wikipedia as, "…large-scale conservation aimed at restoring and protecting natural processes and core wilderness areas, providing connectivity between such areas, and protecting or reintroducing apex predators and keystone species."