It's a Starling, Darling
Pesky non-native invaders they may be, but the European Starling may have human-like powers of linguistic communication. According to new research, starlings have the ability to recognize recursive grammar--the insertion of an explanatory clause in the middle of sentence--though in the form of warbles or rattles, rather than words. This is sort of a big deal because recursive grammar was, until recently, believed to occur solely in human languages.
In fact, it was supposed to be one of the distinctive features of Homo sapiens' intellect. Now it turns out we're not as different from the aptly named Sturnus vulgaris as we'd thought. To me, that's one of the fascinating aspects of biology: it often reveals that we are less unique than we think--and more deeply embedded in a wildly complex web of living things.
Pricey Gas and Free Rides
Like many environmentalists, I tend to think that gasoline prices -- even at today's wallet-rending heights -- are still too low.
[Picture me ducking under my desk right now, trying to avoid rocks that angry consumers are aiming my way.]
Here's what I mean. Petroleum has lots of so-called "external" costs -- costs that are borne not by the consumer, but by society at large. Whenever I burn a gallon of gas in my car, for example, I'm
creating pollution and climate-warming emissions; fostering overseas
military entanglements; increasing the risk of oil spills and pipeline
leaks; siphoning money from the local economy into the bank accounts of
unsavory oil magnates; yadayada. Each of those factors carries a cost
-- sometimes intangible, often hard to quantify, but real
nonetheless.
If I had to pay those costs at the pump -- through higher taxes, for example -- I'd wind up buying less gas, while also (at least potentially) providing more funding for solutions to the problems I'm creating.
But here's the funny thing; it seems to me that as the market price of gas rises, the "external costs" could rise too. That is, the more expensive gas gets, the higher the gas tax should be.
Here's why.
