By Dr. Robert Thorson The Galapagos Islands off the west coast of Ecuador are a very special place. Yet some of that specialness is allegedly being chopped down and shipped around the world, in the name of athleticshoe marketing at shopping malls. This is worse than sad. It’s a profanity. It’s an obscenity when a […]

SENSE OF PLACE: PART 1: MAKING CONNECTICUT The Primal State of Architecture Hartford Courant, Sunday June 8, 2003, page. C4. Architecture hasn’t changed that much. The Roman architect Vitruvius defined this most complex of disciplines as the union of “firmness, commodity and delight.” Using more familiar language, architecture strives to produce buildings and spaces that […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson Warning: This column is not for the squeamish. Those with weak stomachs are advised to stop eating before reading. When it comes to invasive species, my least favorite is the Canada goose (Branta canadensis). Their raucous flocks used to be a powerful symbol of seasonal rhythms and wildlife migration. Now they’re […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson Have you ever wanted to go on safari, but never found the time or money for an African trip? Well, if a determined bunch of field ecologists have their way, large tracts of the semi-arid southern High Plains and Intermountain West in the United States would be fenced in and populated […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson It’s not nice to kick a man when he’s down. But I have no alternative. The proposal by New York developer Roland W. Betts to build a “world class” championship golf course in northern Litchfield County is such a colossally stupid idea that I feel compelled to say so in print. […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson Congratulations to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and to Al Gore for sharing the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. By extension, congratulations to the many thousands of scientists and who have worked on climate change issues, and to the thousands of environmental groups who have responded accordingly. In its announcement, the […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson People from New Orleans dislike me. That’s because I’ve opined that we not spend another dime of federal money rebuilding doomed situations. Now they’re going to dislike me in Southern California for the same reason. The federal answer to California’s annual maelstrom of firestorms should not be to declare war on […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson Here’s my advice for this year’s holiday shopping season: Let’s get rid of the U.S. penny. This would end the stupefying insult of a price ending in $0.99, as well as several other more serious problems. When I see a price ending in 99 cents, my rational mind gets mildly annoyed […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson What do Americans fear most in the world? Religious zealotry based on fundamentalist thinking. Mike Huckabee’s candidacy is just that, albeit with a very soft touch. To my mind, his adult life story reads like the old hymn “Onward, Christian Soldiers” stripped of its military overtones. I normally steer clear of […]

By Dr. Robert Thorson Spring is finally here. The time has come to flex our green thumbs, to plant enough flowers, vegetables, ornamental shrubs and trees to keep the resident population of white-tailed deer alive. Just kidding. Perhaps the gardeners should go on strike so the out- of-control deer population will crash in time to […]