I am not Troy Davis
by Anonymous On the street yesterday in my city I saw signs, held by people of many races, economic backgrounds and political affiliations, that said "Not In My Name" and "I Am Troy Davis". I know, without a doubt, that…
Who’s the doomer?
by Kathy Cumbee (bio here, at her first essay for Nature Bats Last) How many of us have been told at one time or another that we are doomers? I was thinking about that and, although it might be correct…
Lessons of history
by Kevin Moore The most important lesson of history is that the lessons of history are not learned. The First World War was the first grand-scale industrial war in which millions of men and women died as a consequence of…
Brace for impact
Famed energy scholar Richard Heinberg is extremely conservative with his estimates, and he has updated his forecast. Whereas in spring 2009 he was predicting the industrial age would run until 2014 or perhaps even 2016, he's changed his tune. Radically.…
Caged: Memoirs of a Cage-Fighting Poet
Cameron Conaway is not a warrior poet. He is the Warrior Poet. I strongly recommend his memoir, which will be published next month. I reviewed an early draft of the manuscript when I was finishing my employment at the University…
infallible authority
by the virgin terry (bio follows earlier essay in this space) 3 men were freed from death row or life in prison in the world's bastion of 'justice and freedom', the usa, last week. in what has become a celebrated…
Three Paths to Near-Term Human Extinction
About a decade ago I realized we were putting the finishing touches on our own extinction party, with the party probably over by 2030. During the intervening period I've seen nothing to sway this belief, and much evidence to reinforce…