I’ve read GOOD magazine online and in print on and off since its inception. Its aim to merge technology with social good appeals to the geek who cares in me. And, yeah, the writers often pose some hair-brained, far-out and grapenuts-crunchy ideas that may never fly but a) all of what you pay in terms of a subscription fee goes to a charity of your choice and b) the Wright brothers, Edison and Einstein were considered hair-brained and far-out in their time. America and the world need more tinkerers, I say.
For the start of this year’s hurricane season, I’d saved this March 2009 proposal by Graeme Wood on protecting New Orleans from hurricanes. Positives: Wood’s heart is in the right place, his socio-political and economic arguments are very sound and the science is not too far off. Negatives: The levees are completely neglected in this discussion, first the government pays for it and then it “[pays] for itself with increased property values from Galveston to Miami” (Southern Louisiana doesn’t need more unaffordable housing) and humans messing with the climate to keep it from messing with us sounds a bit scary to me. Not that we don’t already live in conditioned environments and alter it on a daily basis, but let’s not forget the huge price we pay for that.
Read the article and let me know what you think. And, be warned, don’t go to the comments section. (I foresee a niche market in the maintenance of public sanity and it is called blog comments moderation, or at least a bigot filter.)
I would be happy if funding were increased for severe weather analysis and, maybe, mitigation. It would be better spent than the bailout bucks to banks, industry and insurance; and much better than what I am afraid will be spilled on health care.