Over at Gene Expression, Razib Khan has up an interesting post that compares and contrasts the genetics of South Africa’s Afrikaner population with New England whites: Afrikaner ancestry is overwhelmingly Northern European. But as you see in the PCA above they are notably African and Asian shifted when compared to their potential ancestral populations (I […]
Category Archives: Ecology
Tradition is Smarter Than You Are
The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to [a fence] and says, βI donβt see the use of this; let us clear it away.β To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: βIf you donβt see the use of it, I certainly wonβt let you clear it away. […]
A Few Thoughts on Environmental History
“You may have horses…. But remember this: if you have horses everything will be changed for you forever.” -Cheyenne Myth quoted in Pekka Hamalainen, “The Rise and Fall of Plains Indian Horse Cultures,” Journal of American History, vol. 90, no. 3 (December 2003), p.841. “The historian of the early military must first see how a […]
Notes From All Over (3/02/2014): Ghosts, Empire, and Tribal Honor
A collection of articles, essays, and blog post of merit. TOP BILLING “‘The standard of living in ancient societies: a comparison between the Han Empire, the Roman Empire, and Babylonia“ Bas van Leeuwen, Reinhard Pirgruber, and Jieli van Leeuwen-Li. Working Papers 50, Utrecht University, Centre for Global Economic History. The global and long-term development of […]
Notes From All Over (August 2013) Wars, Graphs, and Biospheres
A collection of articles, essays, and blog post of merit. TOP BILLING “How To Lose a War: A Primer“Mark Safranski. Zenpundit.com. 28 July 2013. Since Pakistan is now attempting to get its victory over the United States in Afghanistan formally ratified, now seemed to be a good time to reflect on the performance of American […]
Notes From All Over 13/06/2010
A collection of articles, essays, and blog post of merit. As I have spent much of the last two weeks away from the blogosphere, this one is a bit smaller than usual. THE REPUBLIC Commentator’s DiseaseFred Reed. Fred on Everything. 11 June 2010. Mr. Reed identifies what is perhaps the greatest flaw of our pundit […]
In Transit, and a Video To Make Up For It
To the readership: As he is heading to the mainland to visit family for a month or so, this author will be in lost in transit for the next few days. Expect posting to be light over the next week. Likewise, I ask the proprietors of the other sites I frequent (and occasionally start arguments […]
Quarreling with the Ecologists
I like ecology. It is a fascinating subject, and it deserves much more credence than many will ever allow it. Its importance is hard to contest: long before man played any part in sizeable political or economic systems, he was a node in the Earthβs many extensive ecological networks. It was upon these networks mankind […]
Notes From All Over 27/02/2010 (Civilizational Collapse Edition)
A Collection of essays, reports, and blog posts of merit. Due to the particularities of my schedule, I will be unable to post much this next week. Perhaps the week after that as well. We shall see. To make up for this lack of material, I offer you a few interesting readings loosely connected in […]
Ocean Acidification: The Real Carbon Problem
Acid Test: The Global Challenge of Acidification National Resource Defense Council. 17 September 2009. I have long held that the greatest challenge posed by industrial carbon emissions is not anthropogenic global warming but ocean acidification.* Geoengineering and adaptation schemes offer policy makers answers to the problem posed by climate change; these options do diddly squat […]