I still have mixed feelings about Earth Day. In 1970, I was in seventh grade, having already been suspended and about to be expelled for political activity—which was largely, but not entirely, in opposition to the raging war in Southeast Asia. I’d seen the Life magazine pictures of the massacred old people, women, and kids in the ditches… Continue reading Earthy Day
Category: The Nature of Belief
Stormwater Utility
Today I listened with interest to a presentation on efforts, by a broad coalition of local government entities, to make a modest change to California Proposition 218. The 1996 constitutional amendment requires a 2/3 popular vote to create or raise fees—the add-ons to property tax bills local government uses to pay for schools, parks, and… Continue reading Stormwater Utility
Learning from Zoe
While imbibing our morning stimulants (coffee, coffee with milk, milk, prune juice), family discussion turned to getting teased at school. Zoe’s buddies Josie and Iliana have a few months on her—and they’ll be four before she gets there—and they’ve been reminding her about it. At mention of the teasing, Zoe’s little face crumpled. She buried… Continue reading Learning from Zoe
The stupid, it hurts
Four days after the Newtown massacre, I’ve had all I can stand. The radio pundits, the listeners calling in, conversations on the street… pontificating, speculating, hand-wringing, making the same old tired points… Mass shootings, as horrifying as they are, and as frequent as they have become, are rare events. That means (in all probability) no… Continue reading The stupid, it hurts
Outputs and Outcomes
As noted in this post, our regional group of regulators and municipal stormwater permittees is moving away from quantifying trash loads and trash reductions. That’s a good thing, but we seem to be stuck with assessing success by documenting outputs (for example, frequency of street sweeping, or portion of the drainage system equipped with capture… Continue reading Outputs and Outcomes
Similar and Different
How do we measure success? In a meeting this past week, a group of municipal staff, Regional Water Board staff, and consultants reviewed a framework for local trash reduction plans. Each of 75-odd Bay Area cities, towns, and county governments will need to prepare these plans to reduce and eliminate—by 2024—trash in stormwater. Back in… Continue reading Similar and Different
Whatever the hell
Hunter is consistently the best read at DailyKos. Bitter, sarcastic, and self-amused, his satire seems a perfect balance to the jaw-dropping outrages that are politics and media in the US today. Today he comments on birtherism (the belief that President Obama was not born in the United States). Noting the prevalence of this belief dropped in… Continue reading Whatever the hell
Los Tocayos Carlos
In the first days of November 2004 I spent three days working for the John Kerry campaign in Albuquerque. My then-wife Jennifer and I joined with Jim Liebman to GOTV on the city’s northwest side. We parted from him in sadness after watching the returns that evening. Nearly eight years later, I was glad to… Continue reading Los Tocayos Carlos
Neighborhood Watch
I’ve always been wary of Neighborhood Watch groups, crime prevention councils, and the like. This helps me understand why. Homeowners in George Zimmerman’s subdivision could be liable for damages from the wrongful death of Trayvon Martin. The potential levy reflects the moral hazard in getting involved in this kind of activity—including just attending a meeting.… Continue reading Neighborhood Watch
Voluntarism
From wikipedia: In epistemology, ‘voluntarism’ describes the view that belief is a matter of the will rather than one of simply registering one’s cognitive attitude or degree of psychological certainty with respect to a stated proposition. If one is a voluntarist with respect to beliefs, it is coherent to simultaneously feel very certain about a particular… Continue reading Voluntarism