This January I’ve had the luxury of previewing retirement. It was not, however, what I hoped for, no skiing or even driving off our place. Being allergic to TV, I spent time reading, writing, and listening to more NPR than ever before. This experience broadened my perspective on winter. Consider this introduction to an “All […]

Will Tata Motors’ Nano be the Third World’s Model T Ford? Sixteen million Ts were produced during its 20-year lifespan from 1908 through 1927. It initially sold for $850, about $15,000 in today’s dollars. By 1915, due to the advantages of mass production, the price dropped to $440. It had a 2.9-liter engine, ran on […]

Two thirds of the world’s poorest countries are in Africa. It’s home to 34 of the 35 states with the lowest life expectancy. More than 300 million people survive there on less than a dollar a day. (This figure has gone up by around 100 million over the last 10 years.) All this despite the […]

On January 7th, the Sheriff’s Office Report in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle noted, “A man fell from his roof on Cottonwood Road while trying to reattach roofing that had blown loose in the wind.” The last thing I remember, before becoming semi-awake in the American Medical Response ambulance, was reaching to sink the last roofing […]

Last week the price of a barrel of oil hit $100. This raised fears of an economic slowdown akin to the one in the 1970s when oil prices quadrupled almost overnight. That shock was largely responsible for the worst decade of global economic performance since the Great Depression. Today, however, the world is a much […]

Many smart and well-intentioned people fault government for its injustices and inefficiencies. Because there are few incentives to economize, and many to mislead, waste and moral corruption are endemic to and inherent in political management. No nation has found a way in practice, or in principle, to foster efficiency and equity when decisions are make […]

This is the season when every environmental group to whom we’ve contributed, the NWF, WS, Sierra Club, and others, send appeals for more funds. If you have ever contributed to these groups, you’ve no doubt been approached to join the Global Warming Crusade. Will this crusade become America’s Fourth Great Awakening? The First Awakening fostered […]

Last week at the UN’s global warming meeting in Indonesia, polar bear costumed activists passed out huge pieces of cake. They were celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Kyoto Protocol, a treaty aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions. I wonder if they understand how their obsessive focus on Kyoto as the “only solution” hinders progress? […]

I am writing this during Hanukkah, a minor religious holiday in the Jewish religion. Here it has become a Jewish analogue to the Christmas celebrations for they (usually) share the traditional American holiday season. In both traditions, the giving of gifts is customary, although among many Jews gift giving is for children and religious freedom […]

“Taboo” is a word associated with anthropology. If something is “taboo,” it may not be used, eaten, or discussed due to cultural, rather than legal, prohibitions. Cultural taboos create some tension when they constrain inquiry. However, they continue to survive in the academic, intellectual, and scientific worlds. Although I studied anthropology as a grad student, […]