Common Palmfly is one of the frequently seen butterflies throughout Kerala. Coconut, Areca Nut and other ornamental palms are the main food plant for this species.
Do Not Look Away
Click the image above to go to this important report, as described in Green Blog. It would seem more pleasant to look away, but we cannot. Anyone who has been to Siberia knows what this is about. If you have not been to Siberia, read on:
The greatest single uncertainty about climate change is how much the warming of the planet will feed on itself.
As the temperature increases because of human emissions, feedbacks could cause new pools of carbon to be released into the atmosphere, magnifying the trend. Other types of feedbacks could potentially slow the warming. Over all, climate scientists have only best guesses about how these conflicting tendencies will balance out, though most of them think the net result is likely to be a substantial rise in the planet’s average temperature. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: River Tern (Mysore, Karnataka)
Sterna aurantia; Photo credit: Ramesh Kidangoor
From Behind the Wheel: In Lord Hanuman’s Shadow
Tamil Nadu near Mulliperiyar Dam; Photo Credit: Janna Crafts
Building Memories With Pavilions
Since first realizing, back in the 1990s, that our business model is something we might call entrepreneurial conservation I have been obsessed with the idea of non-permanence as the ultimate game-changer. With resorts in particular, if we were to argue that a property’s conservation area was the main purpose of the resort, then the resort itself would best fulfill that purpose if it could credibly disappear on a moment’s notice. A decade+ and a luxury tent camp revolution later (aka glamping) I am still working at variations on this idea.
My conversation with Chi-Chi yesterday was about one non-permanent structure we will build on a waterfront area to serve as the new base for our houseboat operations. The image above was one brainstorming topic of our conversation, the details of which do not matter so much as the ideas that followed and mixed with other lingering ideas. Continue reading
Flavours of Kerala- Puttu (Steamed Rice-Cake)
Puttu is a wonderful main dish for breakfast in Kerala. Easy to make and compatible with everything from ripe bananas to red fish curry this oil -free and healthy dish is made using a unique two piece vessel called a puttu – kudam and puttu- kutti. Continue reading
We Care About Innovation, So Patents Matter Even If We Will Never Have One
The one previous post on our site worth a visit on this topic happens to be a mostly funny, and fun one. If you have 34 minutes to spare, the best explanation of why this issue matters to all of us is in this podcast. Meanwhile, for those with only two minutes to spare, thanks to the Atlantic‘s attention to this matter:
If there’s one thing Schoolhouse Rock taught us all, it’s that the easiest way to explain a dry topic to someone with a short attention span is to show them a cartoon. So kudos to George Mason University economist Alex Tabarrok and Idea Rocket Animation for putting together this delightful two-minute clip laying out the case against software patents Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Galapagos Mockingbird (Galapagos Islands, Ecuador)
Pavilions & Memory
Thanks to Chi-Chi and a conversation we had twelve hours ago about a new pavilion project we are about to begin in Kerala, I found myself searching “the world’s most visited architecture website.” I came across this video that reminded me that most of my professional life in 2008, 2009 and the first half of 2010 was dedicated to entrepreneurial conservation projects in the southern half of Chile.
Chile’s pavilion at the Venice Biennale was evocative. I do not regret not having gone to Venice to see it, but it evokes some regret that I have not stepped on the soilscapes of Chile recently…
Alms For Aristocrats
‘Not long ago, farm payments were justified on the grounds that world demand was low. Now they are justified on the grounds that world demand is high.’ Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA
We are overwhelmingly in favor of supporting family farms whenever and wherever possible. Family farms are increasingly a form of heritage in danger of extinction. Sometimes but not always charity or government support is a solution to specific needs of family farms (search on Willie Nelson’s Farm Aid initiative for examples). But charity from the poor flowing to the wealthiest landowners? There are boundaries to the definition of a family farm that we had not thought to specify until reading this Guardian editorial today:
Squatting at the heart of last week’s summit, poisoning all negotiations, is a vast, wobbling lump of pork fat called the common agricultural policy. The talks collapsed partly because the president of the European council, pressed by François Hollande, proposed inflating the great blob by a further €8bn over six years. I don’t often find myself on their side, but the British and Dutch governments were right to say no. Continue reading
Blue Tiger Butterfly (Tirumala limniace)
Photo credits: Amie Inman
The Blue Tiger is one of the butterflies found commonly throughout most of India, both in the hills and in the plains. These butterflies are frequent visitors to gardens and the Pink Cockscomb (Ageratum conyzoides) is its favorite flower. Continue reading
From West to East: A Road Trip Journal (Part 3)
Taking a Quick Stop on the Pacific Coast Highway (Carl)
This is the third in a series of posts on a summer trip; see the second.
In Fort Bragg, the first thing we did was eat a substantial breakfast, since we had missed supper the night before. We ate at a curious Wizard of Oz themed restaurant called “Eggheads,” complete with a yellow-brick road (of linoleum tile) running through the center of the building. We asked the proprietor what had prompted the theme—had the young Judy Garland frequented the coastal town? Were the pots and pans castoffs of the Tin Man’s suit? As it turns out, the answer was rather more mundane: Eggheads’ bathroom is difficult to find. Those wanting to make the trip must go through the dining area and kitchen, exit into a lot behind the building, and hang a left around a corner before finding the small cottage hiding the commode nestled between a few sheds and next to some old gardening equipment. The circuitous route defeats expectations so soundly that, about thirty years ago, management decided to create a prominent trail for customers. When a dull saffron floor tile was chosen, the yellow brick road was born—and all of the many allusions to the Wizard of Oz which thereafter sprung up on the menu and storefront.
22 Minutes With Gerhard Richter
We said in a previous post that these matters are subjective. There is no accounting for taste. Still, Gerhard Richter is an artist that can clearly be understood as an artist. He is famous, yes, and also a wealth machine. But he does not seem to be doing what he is doing for fame and/or fortune. Writers should write. Artists should make their art.
Hit Record
I like Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
“I feel like, Socrates, or something,” said actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt while looking out at the crowd framed by the round and columned architecture of Bailey Hall.
That’s why, several months ago, when I learned he was coming to do a show in Bailey Hall at Cornell, I committed to waking up early and facing the failing web servers to buy two of over a thousand tickets that were to sell out in less than half an hour, making the show the fastest to sell out at Cornell in a while. And I only bought two because that was the limit per student — by the time I got through to the webpage only balcony seats were left. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Asian Koel
Eudynamys scolopacea; Photo credit: Joshy Manjummel
Thekkady, Kerala
Flavours Of Kerala – Sambar
Sambar is an example of a traditional South Indian spiced vegetable stew. It is a classic dish made with lentil and tamarind based broth, usually served with plain rice, Idli or Dosa, or an element in thali (banana leaf) meals. Each state of South India prepares it with a typical variation adapted to its culture and taste. Continue reading
Brand Bubble Bursting
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P.T. Barnum (perhaps apocryphally) is often quoted as having said that a sucker is born every minute. Damien Hirst, who has parted many people with their money for things that have his “brand” attached, and now boasts an estimated $350 million personal fortune as a result, could be Exhibit A in Barnum’s argument. This guy has sold some remarkable clothing to quite a few emperors.
Yes, these are highly subjective matters, and if you want to call Hirst an artist you have every right to do so. But he makes his own case for being something other than an artist in any meaningful sense of that word, and he makes it difficult for the average person from “outside the art world” to take the “art world” seriously. Is the market catching up with this slick marketer? Click the image above for the graph and short blurb version, or for the long form journalistic pin prick in the big bubble click here:
For all his celebrity, Hirst’s stock in the art market has experienced a stunning deflation. According to data compiled by the firm Artnet, Hirst works acquired during his commercial peak, between 2005 and 2008, have since resold at an average loss of 30 percent. Continue reading
Marine Protected Areas As Collective Action
There are newer, larger marine protected areas. How and why do such areas come to be and how do they fare? According to this review the book to the left explains, and is even published as an authorial act of entrepreneurial conservation:
The Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) came into existence in 2006. It was, at the time, the largest marine protected area in the world and was the result of a courageous step by the government of the Republic of Kiribati – a South Pacific nation consisting of what was once known Continue reading
Bird of the Day: White Throated Kingfisher (Bandipur National Park, Karnataka)
Crowd-sourced Project Finance 101
Recently, I happened upon the pitch above and was at first thrilled to see yet one more alternative approach to raising awareness and appreciation for nature: good production values and the style is quirky and fun. The Kickstarter pitch came midway through and then my thoughts started wandering. Continue reading
