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Eric Baerren

Eric Baerren is a freelance writer, columnist and blogger who specializes in the environment and science-related issues. His love for nature and the environment started when he was a kid, when he spent whole summers exploring the woods and creeks around his southern Michigan home. He’s spent time in the woods, the desert, along the beaches and atop the mountains all over the interior and eastern half of the United States. In the last decade, his love of nature evolved into a deep appreciation for the environment, and today those issues that affect the human habitat are of most interest to him, especially since the birth of a son who someday will inherit whatever mess he leaves behind. Along the way, he worked a number of demeaning, low-wage jobs that helped give him a healthy respect for the working poor, and served for four years in the United States Navy, which has helped him to appreciate military-style thinking and problem solving.

His work has appeared in various publications, and today you can find him at home on the Internet, on his blog at www.baerrenblog.blogspot.com

 

Eric's Previous Columns

 

Chicken vs. All That Is Good and Decent - August 24, 2009

 

Michael Vick: Not a Story of Redemption - August 17, 2009

 

Is the Right’s Rage Really About Health Care? - August 10, 2009

 

From ‘Cash for Clunkers’ to Profitable Car Companies? - August 3, 2009

 

Birthers May Be Crazy, But Their Brand of Crazy Isn’t New - July 27, 2009

 

America Embraces Jenga and Meat Loaf? If Only! - July 20, 2009

 

The Public Loves Its Scientists, But Doesn’t Know What They Really Think - July 13, 2009

 

Sarah Palin: The Most Irritating Is Yet to Come - July 6, 2009

 

Another Non-Scientific ‘Rebuttal’ to the Scientific Consensus on Climate Change - June 29, 2009

 

Twittering Tehran Doesn’t Mean Social Media Has Inherent Value - June 22, 2009

 

Can We Be Honest About Energy That Will Last? - June 15, 2009

 

How to Keep Agriculture from Becoming the Next Bailout Industry - June 8, 2009

 

Either Way, Abortion Doctor’s Death a Victory for Domestic Terrorism - June 1, 2009

 

Why Bring Back the Despised Cheney? Who Else Does the GOP Have? - May 25, 2009

 

Pelosi Blows Democrats’ Shot at Getting Torture Justice - May 18, 2009

 

Rachel Carson’s DDT Vindication - May 11, 2009

 

Climate Change Denial Leads to Higher Prevention Costs - May 4, 2009

 

Swine Flu: The Latest Deadly Enemy of Sophisticated Man - April 27, 2009

 

Tea Parties: For Republicans Who Simply Can’t Accept Rejection - April 20, 2009

 

The Gambler’s Fix: The Story of the U.S. Economy - April 13, 2009

 

A Losing Battle: The War on Drugs - April 6, 2009

 

Newspapers May Die, But Journalism Survives - March 30, 2009

 

In Spite of What You’ll Hear (Again), Oil Shale Isn’t the Answer - March 23, 2009

Drug War vs. Economic Rationality - March 16, 2009

Grass in the Desert, and Other True Tales of Wasteful Woe - March 9, 2009

Stimulating a Smarter Energy Grid - March 2, 2009

Is George Will Entitled to His Own ‘Facts’ on Global Warming? - February 23, 2009

Liberals Need Not Revive the Relic That is the Fairness Doctrine - February 16, 2009

Evolution Causing Disease Risk? It Can’t Be! Hitler Must Be to Blame! - February 9, 2009

 

Climate Change: Conservatives Abdicate, and Leave Solutions to Liberals - February 2, 2009

Will Big Three Continue to Resist Climate Change Action? - January 26, 2009

Salmonella: America Gives a Stowaway a Ride - January 19, 2009

Could Geo-Engineering Become Plan B to Fight Global Warming? - January 12, 2009

Media Abdication Contributes to Scientifically Illiterate America - January 5, 2009

 

Clean Coal? There’s No Such Thing - December 29, 2008

Another Phony ‘Debunking’ From Global Warming Deniers - December 22, 2008

Could the GOP Southern Strategy Wipe Out the Arsenal of Democracy? - December 15, 2008

Look Closely: Democrats Outmaneuvered Bush on Big Three Bailout - December 8, 2008

Ailing Newspaper Industry Cutting Off Its Own Limbs to Try to Survive - December 1, 2008

Solution for GM’s Legacy Costs? Universal Health Care - November 24, 2008

No Need to Sacrifice John Dingell to Make Progress on Global Warming - November 17, 2008

If This Is the Mainstream Media’s Last Hurrah, Its Successor Could Be Frightening - November 10, 2008

 

Sarah Palin a Disaster, But Who Will Remember? - November 3, 2008

 

Want an Industry to Bail Out? How About the Endangered Newspaper? - October 30, 2008

 

World Wrestling Election? - October 27, 2008

Where Will GOP Go Now? To the Center? Or Right . . . to Oblivion? - October 20, 2008

Republican Rivets are Popping Everywhere - October 13, 2008

Sarah Palin, Newspaper Aficionado - October 6, 2008

 

People Were Watching This Time, and Saw the Real McCain - September 29, 2008

No One Can Relate to the Bailout of a Disaster Like George W. Bush - September 22, 2008

Palin’s Lack of Knowledge Reflects Poorly on McCain’s Judgment - September 15, 2008

Conservatives Love Nuclear Energy, But Their Vaunted Free Market Does Not - September 9, 2008

 

Rethinking Responsibility and Prohibition - September 8, 2008

Hurricane Gustav: Real World Sees Tragedy, Republicans See Opportunity - September 1, 2008

Text Twist: Campaigns, Movements Still Struggle to Master Modern Messaging - August 25, 2008

Politicize the Olympics . . . and Destroy Them - August 18, 2008

Russia Invades Georgia, and Americans See Boogeymen Once Again - August 12, 2008

On Energy, Republicans Find Ways to Mock Common Sense - August 11, 2008

Paris Hilton is So 2007, But Thanks to John McCain, Here She Is Again - August 4, 2008

Will Woeful Detroit Welcome the Rest of the Nation to the Cellar? - July 28, 2008

 

Bush the Pusher for a Nation of Oil Junkies - July 21, 2008

While We Debate Drilling, Climate Change Continues to Loom - July 14, 2008

Wesley Clark Was Right: War Heroes Aren’t Always Good Presidents - July 7, 2008

Your Problems? Don’t Ask John McCain; He Can’t Relate - July 1, 2008

As Cheap Gas Disappears, Will Communities Rise Again? - June 30, 2008

More Drilling Is Not the Answer - June 23, 2008

Americans on the Homefront Pay for U.S. Mistakes Abroad - June 16, 2008

Oil from ANWR? Too Little, Too Late - June 9, 2008

General Motors Shifts Gears, and Concedes the CAFE Debate - June 6, 2008

Economy Tanks, So When Will Media Connect It To the Campaign? - June 2, 2008

Why I’m Not a Fan of Memorial Day - May 26, 2008

Reagan Called Government the Problem; Bush Made It Come True - May 19, 2008

Hillary Clinton Was the Near-Perfect Candidate . . . Too Perfect - May 12, 2008

The Neglected Issue: Presidents Govern By Appointments - May 5, 2008

Military ‘Analysts’ Are Not Journalists, And It Shows - May 2, 2008

 

The ‘LightBulb Freedom of Choice Act’: Selfishness Has Its Day - April 28, 2008

Amidst the Campaign Trivia, Food Prices Rise - April 25, 2008

Jimmy Carter is Right: You Can’t Get an Agreement Without Talking - April 21, 2008

Obama Tells the Truth About Blue-Collar Resentment - April 14, 2008

 

Is Missile Defense Worth the Cost? - April 7, 2008

 

Mayoral Mug Shot: The New Face of Detroit - March 31, 2008

Will Someone Be Honest? We Invaded Iraq for Oil - March 24, 2008

Cheap Gas is Gone Forever; Can We Adjust to Reality? - March 17, 2008

 

Will Hillary Clinton Take the Democratic Party Down With Her? - March 10, 2008

Human Humility and the Flu Virus - March 7, 2008

Not Supporting Hillary Clinton? I Guess We’re Just Morons - March 3, 2008

If T. Boone Pickens Buys It, There Must Be Profits in Green Energy - February 25, 2008

If Superdelegates Overrule the Rank-and-File, Maybe That’s Not So Bad - February 18, 2008

Someone Tell Karl Rove: Health Care, Debt Bringing on Recession - February 15, 2008

Another Year Too Long to Wait for Action on Global Warming - February 11, 2008

Poverty, the Stimulus Package and the ‘Lucky Duckies’ - February 4, 2008

It’s Not Just the Issues; Will the Next President Inspire? - January 28, 2008

Why is Conservative Anti-Government Stance Losing? Because It’s Wrong - January 21, 2008

Michigan Primary: Primed for Next Media Blunder? - January 14, 2008

Mike Huckabee: Could This Man Be a Science-Friendly President? - January 7, 2008

 

Sorry Obama & Huckabee: Iowa's Not Decisive, Just First - January 4, 2008 - January 4, 2008

 

New York Times Rewards Bill Kristol for Failure - December 31, 2007

 

CNN Reports: Hillary Leads by Two Safeties - December 24, 2007

U.S. Shamed Into Global Warming Cooperation - December 17, 2007

Mitt Romney’s Tolerance Ends With Atheists - December 10, 2007

Michigan Loses Its Delegates, But Early Primary Jockeying Will Likely Continue - December 3, 2007

Selling the Names of Chicago’s Landmarks? Another Money-Making Scam - November 26, 2007

Global Warming Action: A Good Economy Won’t Help You When You’re Dead - November 19, 2007

This Year’s War on Christmas, Courtesy of Your Friendly Retailer, Has Begun - November 12, 2007

Oil Prices Keep Rising, But Will Any Candidate Be Honest About It? - November 5, 2007

 

It's Too Late for Early Primary States to Control the Game - October 29, 2007

 

Housing Bubble Bursts, So Maybe Growth Isn’t Always Good - October 22, 2007

 

We Need Al Gore, Because Global Warming Truly Threatens Peace - October 15, 2007

 

Environmental Optimism? Smiling Our Way to Suicide - October 8, 2007

 

Rush Limbaugh and the Poor, Deluded Dopes Who Take Him Seriously - October 1, 2007

 

If Blackwater Escapes Accountability, American Credibility Suffers - September 4, 2007

 

It’s OK, Al Gore: You Can Eat Meat and Still Be an Environmentalist - September 17, 2007

 

Conservatives Pound the Table with bin Laden Conflation - September 10, 2007

 

What Crime Did Larry Craig Commit? - September 3, 2007

Was Michael Vick Just the One Who Got Caught? - August 27, 2007

Eating Local: It’s the New Organics - August 20, 2007

 

The Stains of Karl Rove Won't Scrub Away Easily - August 14, 2007

 

With Newspapers Endangered, So Is Government By the People - August 13, 2007

 

Can the Backlash Against Bottled Water Last? - August 6, 2007

 

Kill the Fatted CAFE: Let Feebates Encourage the Purchase of Fuel-Efficient Cars - July 30, 2007

 

Candidates’ Religion Always a Legitimate Issue - July 23, 2007

 

Will Fred Thompson Lead the Party of Quacks and Crackpots? - July 16, 2007

 

Al Gore’s Live Earth Presumes to Save the Planet? Let’s Try Saving Ourselves - July 9, 2007

Op-Ed Writers
Eric Baerren
Lucia de Vernai
Herman Cain
Dan Calabrese
Bob Franken
Lawrence J. Haas
Paul Ibrahim
David Karki
Llewellyn King
Gregory D. Lee
David B. Livingstone
Bob Maistros
Rachel Marsden
Nathaniel Shockey
Stephen Silver
Candace Talmadge
Jessica Vozel
Jamie Weinstein
 
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