![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
polar bear can has cheeseburger?
Jan. 30th, 2008 06:05 pmWow, the print edition of Macleans is way more attractive.
The War Over the Polar Bear
At this point, bear populations are not in a precipitous decline (some populations are shrinking, while others seem to be increasing, say biologists). Forty years ago, before hunting was regulated by an international agreement in 1973, polar bear populations were badly depleted — by some estimates, there were as few as 5,000. Today, worldwide, there are closer to 25,000. Evidence, say some biologists, of a species that has been remarkably well managed. Bears may be struggling as a result of global warming (or maybe not), but the long-term impact, not to mention the number crunching, is still a matter of some speculation. "What if this great story, that everybody's bought hook, line and sinker, proves to be more complicated?"
Colin Campbell and Kate Lunau
January 25, 2008
Macleans
The most interesting part about this article was the suggestion that adding polar bears to the list of threatened species could significantly affect the US economy. Not that anyone would let it affect the US economy, especially now, but the idea that building a factory in Jersey would have to be cleared as not contributing to global warming (and therefore destroying bear habitat) was interesting.
Totally not going to happen, but interesting. At least, not because of polar bears. No animal is that cute, not even a baby duck.
A Global View of Peopled Nature
Anthromes, by contrast, combine human settlements and land-use with natural vegetation. Instead of the either/or maps between, say, tropical forests or human agriculture, anthromes map a continuum of 15 landscape classes ranging from dense settlements, through irrigated villages, remote croplands, residential rangelands, and, ultimately, to wildlands. (You can download a large image or view the map in Google Earth, Google Maps, or Virtual Earth here.)
The world seen through anthromes is quite different from earlier maps and makes existing measures of the human footprint seem quaint. Estimates that humans consume 25% of the Earth’s photosynthesis are striking enough. Seen through anthromes, however, 90% of the planet’s photosynthesis is on human-dominated lands. Not only that, but 25% of global tree cover does not occur in forests at all but in croplands—more than the 20% of tree cover found in remote forests. Likewise, nearly half of crop-covered areas are in villages and rangelands, and 8% of Earth’s ice-free land area is dense settlements and villages.
Chad Monfreda
January 29, 2008
World Changing
clickthelinksclickthelinksclickclickclick
(You know what would be funny? If, when stringing a bunch of words together to express excitement, you horribly misspelled them and they became the incomprehensible gibberish you attempted to playfully suggest. lciktehlinskc!)
The Canned Cheeseburger
The high tech hamburger has been developed for trekkers and the non-traditional metal wrapping reflects the Trekking-Mahlzeiten company ethos that its speciality meals should be easy to prepare and require only water to do so - simply throw the can into a water container over a fire, give it a minute or two, fish it out, open the lid, and eat. With a shelf life of twelve months without requiring refrigeration, the lightweight snack is the ideal fast food treat for the wilderness.
Trekking-Mahlzeiten offers an array of freeze-dried nourishment, designed so it can be prepared quickly and easily by trekkers, adventurers and expeditionaries using only water and fire. The Trekking-Mahlzeiten product range consists of complete meals, vegetarian meals, soups, vegetables and other diverse nutritional items suitable for everything from breakfast to a high tech chocolate mousse for dessert. Each meal is available in one and two-person servings and the company also offers special sizes and nutritional planning upon request.
...
...
...
O.o
***
So I was looking for Catwoman fic to comfort me in my time of illness (yeah, sick again godfuckingdammit). Slim pickings. I found one very long and seemingly popular series that was okish, and started in on it, but holy good god was I hitting the back button with a vengence.
Why?
The repeated invocation of Catwoman's bust size as the reason she was a) awesome-r than all other women (especially Wonder Woman); b) the LOVE OF BATMAN'S LIFE; c) the darling of the Rogue's Gallery. (In this universe, btw, Catwoman is a 38DD - probably drawn by Jim Ballant. I think Julie Newmar, Michelle Pfeiffer and Halle Berry would have something to say about that... not to mention Darwyn Cooke and Paul Dini).
Oh, and the implication that a 'truly free woman' is one who uses her sexuality to exert power over men - a woman who rejects this strategy is a matronly prude and barely tolerated dupe.
Don't get me wrong, I love Catwoman in all her sex-positive glory, but fuck you, NO. Just no.
*huff*
Anyway. Catwoman recs?
The War Over the Polar Bear
At this point, bear populations are not in a precipitous decline (some populations are shrinking, while others seem to be increasing, say biologists). Forty years ago, before hunting was regulated by an international agreement in 1973, polar bear populations were badly depleted — by some estimates, there were as few as 5,000. Today, worldwide, there are closer to 25,000. Evidence, say some biologists, of a species that has been remarkably well managed. Bears may be struggling as a result of global warming (or maybe not), but the long-term impact, not to mention the number crunching, is still a matter of some speculation. "What if this great story, that everybody's bought hook, line and sinker, proves to be more complicated?"
Colin Campbell and Kate Lunau
January 25, 2008
Macleans
The most interesting part about this article was the suggestion that adding polar bears to the list of threatened species could significantly affect the US economy. Not that anyone would let it affect the US economy, especially now, but the idea that building a factory in Jersey would have to be cleared as not contributing to global warming (and therefore destroying bear habitat) was interesting.
Totally not going to happen, but interesting. At least, not because of polar bears. No animal is that cute, not even a baby duck.
A Global View of Peopled Nature
Anthromes, by contrast, combine human settlements and land-use with natural vegetation. Instead of the either/or maps between, say, tropical forests or human agriculture, anthromes map a continuum of 15 landscape classes ranging from dense settlements, through irrigated villages, remote croplands, residential rangelands, and, ultimately, to wildlands. (You can download a large image or view the map in Google Earth, Google Maps, or Virtual Earth here.)
The world seen through anthromes is quite different from earlier maps and makes existing measures of the human footprint seem quaint. Estimates that humans consume 25% of the Earth’s photosynthesis are striking enough. Seen through anthromes, however, 90% of the planet’s photosynthesis is on human-dominated lands. Not only that, but 25% of global tree cover does not occur in forests at all but in croplands—more than the 20% of tree cover found in remote forests. Likewise, nearly half of crop-covered areas are in villages and rangelands, and 8% of Earth’s ice-free land area is dense settlements and villages.
Chad Monfreda
January 29, 2008
World Changing
clickthelinksclickthelinksclickclickclick
(You know what would be funny? If, when stringing a bunch of words together to express excitement, you horribly misspelled them and they became the incomprehensible gibberish you attempted to playfully suggest. lciktehlinskc!)
The Canned Cheeseburger
The high tech hamburger has been developed for trekkers and the non-traditional metal wrapping reflects the Trekking-Mahlzeiten company ethos that its speciality meals should be easy to prepare and require only water to do so - simply throw the can into a water container over a fire, give it a minute or two, fish it out, open the lid, and eat. With a shelf life of twelve months without requiring refrigeration, the lightweight snack is the ideal fast food treat for the wilderness.
Trekking-Mahlzeiten offers an array of freeze-dried nourishment, designed so it can be prepared quickly and easily by trekkers, adventurers and expeditionaries using only water and fire. The Trekking-Mahlzeiten product range consists of complete meals, vegetarian meals, soups, vegetables and other diverse nutritional items suitable for everything from breakfast to a high tech chocolate mousse for dessert. Each meal is available in one and two-person servings and the company also offers special sizes and nutritional planning upon request.
...
...
...
O.o
***
So I was looking for Catwoman fic to comfort me in my time of illness (yeah, sick again godfuckingdammit). Slim pickings. I found one very long and seemingly popular series that was okish, and started in on it, but holy good god was I hitting the back button with a vengence.
Why?
The repeated invocation of Catwoman's bust size as the reason she was a) awesome-r than all other women (especially Wonder Woman); b) the LOVE OF BATMAN'S LIFE; c) the darling of the Rogue's Gallery. (In this universe, btw, Catwoman is a 38DD - probably drawn by Jim Ballant. I think Julie Newmar, Michelle Pfeiffer and Halle Berry would have something to say about that... not to mention Darwyn Cooke and Paul Dini).
Oh, and the implication that a 'truly free woman' is one who uses her sexuality to exert power over men - a woman who rejects this strategy is a matronly prude and barely tolerated dupe.
Don't get me wrong, I love Catwoman in all her sex-positive glory, but fuck you, NO. Just no.
*huff*
Anyway. Catwoman recs?