Robert M. Thorson - Courant.com

Swimming With The E. Coli In Chicago

Robert M. Thorson — Wed, 30 May 2012 21:02:18 GMT

I love it! Government in general and Chicago's park district in particular is letting us decide whether we should swim in our own effluent or not.

'Rebel' Earth Mother: Cooperation The Key To Life Itself

Robert M. Thorson — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:26:40 GMT

Last weekend was magically beautiful. Mother's Day, spring flowers, songbirds in chorus, students graduating, baby animals and the solstice still ahead. What a wonderful time to be alive!

Dogs Menacing Passers-By Are Bullying

Robert M. Thorson — Wed, 02 May 2012 21:38:49 GMT

Bullying has become a hot topic. In education, it's a new mandate. In public policy, a new subdiscipline. But what is it exactly?

Deep Injections Prod Earth's Crust, Prompt Quakes

Robert M. Thorson — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 21:52:00 GMT

Seismologists are hearing a new snap, crackle and pop from terra firma.

Climate Change Heating Up Our Winters

Robert M. Thorson — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Loaded dice: The perfect analogy for deciding whether our weirdly warm winter was the result of climate change or luck.

Not-So-Mad Scientists On The Loose In Hartford

Robert M. Thorson — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 21:05:00 GMT

More than a thousand geologists were swarming the streets of Hartford earlier this week during the 47th annual meeting of the Northeastern Section of the Geological Society of America, held at the Marriott Hotel Downtown. Hardly anyone seems to have noticed.

Ancient Seeds Yield Life, Help Sustain Hope

Robert M. Thorson — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 15:47:00 GMT

"Life will find a way."

Obama's Military Cuts Honor Eisenhower

Robert M. Thorson — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Finally, we're starting to see some political traction on shrinking military spending. President Barack Obama, of course, is taking the political heat for doing what he has no choice to do, which is to bring this enormous part of our federal budget in line.

Fuming Over Unpassable Emissions Test

Robert M. Thorson — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

This is a car story, a family saga, a regulatory Catch-22 and an opinion column rolled into one. Plot summary: The Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles murdered my perfectly good car and wasted my time. It should change its ways.

Halt Keystone Pipeline, Protect Sand Hills

Robert M. Thorson — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Environmental politics is so much hot air I sometimes don't know which way to whirl.

Go Figure: Young People Measure World Differently

Robert M. Thorson — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Two thousand eleven was the year I became an old fart, in the best sense of the term. I learned that the adage "you're as young as you feel" is mere gloss on the more important realization that people my age are incorrigibly hard-wired to an earlier era. Yes, some of our brain is flexible as plastic. But at its psychological core, it's as hard as iron ore.

Cut Heating Costs, Live Closer Together

Robert M. Thorson — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

For retailers and compulsive shoppers, the week between Christmas and New Year's Day is a frenetic season of gift returns, steep discounts and marketing schemes. For me it's a limbo of lethargy and an interval of introspection. And, being a mammal that doesn't hibernate, I think quite a bit about surviving the bone-chilling seasonal combination of darkness and cold.

Esty's Green Strategy Has Profit Motive

Robert M. Thorson — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Daniel C. Esty, commissioner of Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, is the right man for the job. He's the perfect fit for the modern era of environmental management in which the dog of politics wags the tail of nature.

Bad Development Plan Still Costly To Fend Off

Robert M. Thorson — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Government is too expensive. One major cause is the heavy burden of regulation required to protect the public against lousy ideas.

Earth's Population Grows Toward Extinction

Robert M. Thorson — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Seven is a magic number because that's how many items we can easily retrieve from short-term memory. Seven is a tragic number when followed by nine zeros because that's how many people there were on planet Earth earlier this month, all of them eating, burning, excreting, killing and changing things.

Had Enough? Bury The Power Lines

Robert M. Thorson — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Last Saturday's extra-tropical cyclone needs an official name. Otherwise we'll forget the Halloween havoc it wreaked: dumping heavy snow that snapped leaf-laden branches and sending an estimated 884,000 Connecticut customers into the dark.

Hartford's Stone Field, Symbol Of Resistance

Robert M. Thorson — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Occupying Hartford since 1977, and targeting the state Capitol, is a permanent symbol of resistance — geological resistance, impervious to wind, rain, cold, hunger and boredom. I refer to the Stone Field Sculpture by Carl Andre, euphoniously located at the corner of Gold and Main.

Jellyfish Taking Over The Oceans As Humans Decimate Fish

Robert M. Thorson — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Do you know someone who leaves a trail of destruction in their wake? Perhaps a series of wrecked cars, failed marriages, overdue bills or messy spaces?

Real Risk Lies In Forgetting About Quake

Robert M. Thorson — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 04:00:00 GMT

How long is one month?