Eugene Linden
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Latest Musing

THE HAMMER OF THOR… AND LIZ AND BARBRA AND GEORGE AND KAMALA

Lately, I’ve returned to my roots in investigative journalism. I’m trying to get to the bottom to a recurrent episode of collective madness where every four years a marauding posse of celebrities, media figures, and supreme court justices go rampaging through the political landscape w...

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Books


Fire & Flood
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Deep Past
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Articles by Category
endangered animals
rapid climate change
global deforestation
fragging

Books
The Ragged Edge of the World



Winds of Change
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Afterword to the softbound edition.


The Octopus and the Orangutan
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The Future In Plain Sight
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The Parrot's Lament
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Silent Partners
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Affluence and Discontent
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The Alms Race
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Apes, Men, & Language
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publications

 

A Partial List of Eugene Linden's Publications (July 5th, 2022)

 

Books [reverse chronological order]

FIRE AND FLOOD: A People's History of Climate Change from 1979 to the Present. Penguin Random House, Aprio 2022. Allen House, UK. 

DEEP PAST.  Hardcover: Rosetta, May 2019. Audio: Blackstone. Kindle

THE RAGGED EDGE OF THE WORLD: Encounters at the Frontier where Modernity, Wildlands and Indegnous Peoples Meet. Hardcover: Viking, April 2011. Plume, April 2012.

THE WINDS OF CHANGE; Climate, Weather, and the Destruction of Civilizations . Hardcover: Simon and Schuster; Feb. 2006.

THE OCTOPUS AND THE ORANGUTAN; More True Tales of Animal Intrigue, Intelligence, and Ingenuity. Hardcover: Dutton; Aug. 2002.

THE PARROT'S LAMENT; And Other True Tales of Animal Intrigue, Intelligence, and Ingenuity. Hardcover: Dutton; Sept. 1999. Softbound and 11 foreign editions

THE FUTURE IN PLAIN SIGHT: Nine Clues to the Coming Instability. Simon and Schuster: August 1998. Soft: Plume; Feb. 2002

SILENT PARTNERS: The Legacy of the Ape Language Experiments. Hardcover: TIMES Books; April 1986. Soft: Ballantine; August 1987. Foreign: Dobutsusha Ltd., Japan; 1987.

AFFLUENCE AND DISCONTENT: The Anatomy of Consumer Societies. Viking/Seaver Books: 1979.

THE ALMS RACE: The Impact of American Voluntary Aid Abroad. Random House: 1976.

APES, MEN, AND LANGUAGE. Hardcover: Saturday Review Press/Dutton; Jan. 1975. Soft: Penguin; Feb. 1976, revised edition, 1981. Seven foreign editions.

Selected List of Articles [reverse chronological order]

A Book's Vital Warning About How Forests Shape Human History, TIME, April 21, 2024

Worried About Sentient AI? Consder the Octopus. TIME, March 24, 2024

How a Lack of Local Reporting Affects the Surpreme Court. Columbia Journalism Review, March 5, 2024

Europe's Carbon Tariff is the Right Idea, but Doomed. The Lost Angeles Times, Jan. 3, 2023

The Unholy Trinity of Corruption, Low Morale, and Military Failure. Lawfare, Nov. 22, 2022

The Climate Challenge of the World's Population Hitting Eight Billion. TIME, Nov. 18, 2022

Hurricane Ian and the Coming Climate Crash.  The Los Angeles Times, Oct. 6, 2022

Drilling Deep. New Scientist, Aug. 13, 2022

The Supreme Court's Own Goal on Climate Change. Lawfare, Aug. 5, 2022

Insurers Could Have Been Heroes. Instead They Have Risked a Crisis to Rival 2008. The Guardian, March 22, 2022

Climate Change Became Politicized in the 1990s. TIME, April 22, 2022

Fragging and the United States of Rage.  The Bulwark, Nov. 22, 2021

What Might the Post-Pandemic World Look Like? TIME, April 9, 2020

How Scientists Got Climate Change So Wrong: The New York Times, Nov. 8, 2019

The Economics Nobel went to a guy who enabled climate change denial and delay;  The Los Angeles Times,  Oct. 25, 2018

Remember the Population Bomb? It's Still Ticking, The New York Times; June 18, 2017

A papal call to reconcile the natural, spiritual, and industrial worlds, Financial Times; July 2, 2015

Epiphany, With Encyclopedias, The New York Times; Nov. 29, 2014; Op-Ed

The Call of the Wild, Parade; April 22, 2007

Cloudy with a Chance of Chaos , Fortune; Jan. 23, 2006

Seeing the Forest: Conservation on a Continental Scale, Foreign Affairs; July/August 2004

The Nature of Cuba, Tiny frogs. Vst swamps. Pristine rivers. Whether by design or default, the island boasts the Caibbean's best-kept wildlands. But for how long? , Smithsonian, May, 2003 [COVER]

Who's Going to Pay For Climate Change?; The threat of lawsuits — and an exodus of insurance companies — may finally force corporations to think green, Time.com; February 7, 2003

Eugene Linden Diary, Slate; June 25-28, 2001.

The Road To Disaster; If Brazil paves this route through the Amazon, the earth's largest rain forest could go up in flames, Time; October 16, 2000; ENVIRONMENT; Pg. 96. [INTERNATIONAL COVER]

The Big Meltdown; As the temperature rises in the Arctic, it sends a chill around the planet, Time; September 4, 2000; ENVIRONMENT; Pg. 52. [INTERNATIONAL COVER]

Condition Critical; An exclusive look at a U.N. assessment of Earth's ecosystems shows they are strained to the limit, Time; Spring 2000; STATE OF THE PLANET; Pg. 18. [COVER]

Bats And Brokers; Looking for clues to explain Tuesday's market gyrations? Observe a bloodsucking mammal, Time; April 17, 2000; Pg. 92.

Facing Our Ecofolly; Environmental abuse and overpopulation mean the worst is yet to come, Time; January 31, 2000; TIME LATIN AMERICA; LATIN AMERICA; Viewpoint; Pg. 19.

 

Forcasting the Digital Age, Slate Dialogue; First entry: October 14, 1998.

Volatility: Get Used to It; The global market magnifies our worst instincts, Time; September 28, 1998; INT TIME ATLANTIC; Viewpoint; Pg. 89.

Smoke Signals; Vast forest fires have scarred the globe, but the worst may be yet to come, Time; June 22, 1998; ENVIRONMENT/PLANET WATCH; Pg. 50.

How to Kill a Tiger; Speculators tell the story of their attack against the Baht, the opening act of an ongoing drama, Time; November 3, 1997; TIME ASIA; Pg. 24.

What Have We Wrought?; Our descendants in the next century may find themselves paying dearly for the material magic of the consumer society, Time; November 1997; TIME ASIA SPECIAL ISSUE/OUR PRECIOUS PLANET; OVERVIEW; Pg. 10.

Legions of the Dispossessed; Land degradation is creating multitudes of ecomigrants who cross borders and threaten the security of nations, Time; November 1997; TIME ASIA SPECIAL ISSUE/OUR PRECIOUS PLANET; VIEWPOINT; Pg. 28.

A World Awakens; History Shows that societies pollute first and pay later. Will the new awareness change our ways before it’s too late? Time; November 1997; TIME ASIA SPECIAL ISSUE/OUR PRECIOUS PLANET; PERSPECTIVE; Pg. 80.

A Way to Break the Impasse on Global Warming, The New York Times; September 27, 1997, Saturday, Late Edition - Final, Section A; Page 15; Column 1; Editorial Desk.

From Rio to Ruin?; Maybe not. As the U.N. Dithers, the poor take action, Time; July 7, 1997; VIEWPOINT; Pg. 33.

Antartica; Warnings from the ice the conventional wisdom is that climate change will be gradual and moderate. But what if it is sudden and extreme? A frozen wilderness may hold the answer, Time; April 14, 1997; ENVIRONMENT; Pg. 54. [INTERNTIONAL COVER]

Global Fever; Climate change threatens more than megastorms, floods and droughts. The real peril may be disease, Time; July 8, 1996; ENVIRONMENT; Pg. 56.

The Tree Gods Are a Bit Testy, The New York Times; June 22, 1996; Op-Ed.

The Exploding Cities of the Developing World, Foreign Affairs; January/February 1996;

ESSAYS; Pg. 52.

The Tortured Land; An epic landscape steeped in tragedy, Siberia suffered grievously under communism. Now the world’s capitalists covet its vast riches, Time; September 4, 1995; Pg. 42. [COVER]

 

Chain Saws Invade Eden; Vast, pristine forests in South America's sparsely populated Guyanas ought to be safe. Not so., Time; August 29, 1994; U.S. Edition, ENVIRONMENT; Pg. 58.

Ancient Creatures In A Lost World; In an isolated, rugged region that divides Vietnam and Laos, scientists find a trove of new species, Time; June 20, 1994; U.S. Edition, ENVIRONMENT; Pg. 52.

Population: The Awkward Truth, Time; June 20, 1994; U.S. Edition, ESSAY; Pg. 74.

Tigers On The Brink, Time; March 28, 1994; U.S. Edition, Pg. 44. [COVER]

Burned By Warming, Time; March 14, 1994; U.S. Edition, ENVIRONMENT; Pg. 79.

 

Sustainable Follies, Time; May 24, 1993; U.S. Edition, ENVIRONMENT; Pg. 56.

Who Lost The Ozone?; How the world waited too long to rescue the shield that protects earth from the sun's dangerous UV rays, Time; May 10, 1993; U.S. Edition, ENVIRONMENT; Pg. 56.

Will the System Defeat Al Gore? Time; February 1, 1993; U.S. Edition, ESSAY; Pg. 74.

Megacities,Time; January 11, 1993; U.S. Edition, Pg. 28. [COVER]

The Green Factor; Does protecting the planet destroy jobs? Time; October 12, 1992; U.S. Edition, ENVIRONMENT; Pg. 57.

The Last Eden; A trip into a remote African rain forest is a journey back in time to a world where the animals have never encountered humans. Time; July 13, 1992; U.S. Edition, Pg. 62. [COVER]

Summit To Save The Earth; Rio’s Legacy; Time; June 22, 1992; U.S. Edition, Pg. 44.

Summit To Save The Earth; Population: The Uninvited Guest, Time; June 1, 1992; U.S. Edition, Pg. 54.

Apes and Humans: A curious kinship, National Geographic; March 1992. [COVER]

Demanding Payment for Good Behavior, Time; February 3, 1992; U.S. Edition, ENVIRONMENT; Pg. 52.

 

Hot Air at The Earth Summit?; As the U.S. stonewalls a Rio meeting, citizens offer a planet-saving proposal, Time; November 4, 1991; U.S. Edition, ENVIRONMENT; Pg. 77.

TIME cover story: ">Lost Tribes, Lost Knowledge, Time; September 23, 1991; U.S. Edition, CULTURES; Pg. 46. [COVER]

Foreign Aid; Good Intentions, Woeful Results; How an ambitious environmental program ended up damaging the tropical rain forests, Time; April 1, 1991; U.S. Edition, WORLD; Pg. 48.

Endangered Earth Update; Is the planet on the back burner?; War and recession may be grabbing the headlines, but the relentless trashing of the world’s air, land and seas continues apace, Time; December 24, 1990; U.S. Edition, ENVIRONMENT; Pg. 48.

The Last Drops; Population growth and development have depleted and polluted the world's water supply, raising the risk of starvation, epidemics and even wars, Time; August 20, 1990; U.S. Edition, ENVIRONMENT; Pg. 58. [INTERNATIONAL COVER]

Dashed Hopes and Bogus Fears; The Smithsonian chronicles an unpredictable Information age, Time; June 11, 1990; U.S. Edition, TECHNOLOGY; Pg. 58.

Earth Day; Will the Ballyhoo go bust? Time; April 23, 1990; U.S. Edition, ENVIRONMENT; Pg. 86.

Can We Really Understand Matter? Time; April 16, 1990; U.S. Edition, SCIENCE; Pg. 57.

 

How the Earth Maintains Life; An intriguing scientific theory continues to win adherents, Time; November 13, 1989; U.S. Edition, IDEAS; Pg. 114.

Special Report: Greening of Geopolitics; How the U.S. Can Take The Lead in the Third World; First: stop sending mixed signals, Time; October 23, 1989; U.S. Edition, ENVIRONMENT; Pg. 63.

Playing with Fire; Destruction of the Amazon is "one of the great tragedies of history", Time; September 18, 1989; U.S. Edition, ENVIRONMENT; Cover Story; Pg. 76. [COVER]

Putting the Heat on Japan; Accused of ravaging the world's forests and seas, Tokyo starts to clean up its act, Time; July 10, 1989; U.S. Edition, ENVIRONMENT; Pg. 50.

BIODIVERSITY; The Death of Birth; THE PROBLEM: Man is recklessly wiping out life on earth, Time; January 2, 1989; U.S. Edition, PLANET OF THE YEAR; Pg. 32. [COVER]

 

 

Putting Knowledge to Work; Suddenly, artificial intelligence produces some results, Time; March 28, 1988; U.S. Edition, TECHNOLOGY; Pg. 60.[COVER]

Boom in the Bust Market; Taking Stock in Bankruptcy, Time; October 12, 1987; U.S. Edition, ECONOMY & BUSINESS; Pg. 52.

The Gambia; signs in the wilderness, The Atlantic; March, 1986; Vol. 257 ; Pg. 32.

Let A Thousand Flowers Bloom Inc., April, 1984, THE AGE OF THE ENTREPRENEUR; Pg. 64.

Politics Means Getting To Say You’re Sorry Wall Street Journal, Op-Ed 1984.

The Demoralization of an Army: Fragging and Other Withdrawal Symptoms Saturday Review; January 8, 1972.[COVER]

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Short Take

The Laws of Physics for Babies

[I published this years ago, but with friends having babies, I thought it might be a useful resource]

 

THE LAWS OF PHYSICS FOR BABIES

 

 

Close observation of babies has led me to believe that the infant universe is characterized by its own physics, quite distinct from particle physics or the Newtonian laws of motion. I welcome and will periodically post suggestions about additional laws of the baby universe.

LAWS OF MOTION:

1) The Inflationary Universe: Obects tend to recede when you reach for them.

2) The Boomerang Effect: Once successfully grabbed, however, objects usually reappear after being thrown, with the special exception of objects made of glass or metal.

3) The Relativity of Gravity:

       a) Gravity and Acoustics. Gravity can be temporarily reversed by generating noises, but only in the presence of other people. The speed of this reversal is directly proportional to the decibel level of the sounds generated.

       b) Gravity and Context. Gravity spontaneously and unexpectedly reverses itself when approaching stairs, antiques, and the Thanksgiving dinner table.

FLUID DYNAMICS: 1) Animal Spirits: Fluids have a vital forces that causes them to splash and spill unless contained in bottles and sippy cups.

MATERIALS PHYSICS:

1) Conservation of Shape: Once broken or bent, objects tend to reappear in their original configutation.

2) Transformation: When reached for, shiny metal objects tend to recede and then become transformed into plastic or rubber.

GRAND UNIFYING CONSTANT: The Attractive Pull of Mommy: the one universal force.



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