Viridian Note 00474: Climate and Civilization from the Viridian mailing list raises an interesting question first asked by Nick Brooks: why did what we call “civilization” seem to arise during periods of increased aridity? Maybe the emergence of an urban, specialized civilization wasn’t a product of a world of plenty, but instead, a desperate attempt to cling to survival? Check out Brook’s paper on the subject.

Adam posted a link to an article about new tech developments that will facilitate the building of a space elevator. I have to admit, I’ve always been kind of scared of the idea of a kilometers-long superstrong cable tethered between the earth and something lit a satellite out in space. I mean, what if the cables snap? And yes, they could. The tidal waves, the damage to the Earth, the effects in the short term at least, would be devastating. It sounds like something a bit too risky to just, you know, try on Earth. I’d rather we tried it …

NPR’s got an interview up with the guy who had his blood tested for over 300 different nasty chemicals from the environment on National Geographic’s tab. I actually couldn’t get the interview to load, because RealPlayer sucks for the version of Ubuntu I’m running — I gotta upgrade, and soon! — but from the excerpt I skimmed, which NPR linked to from this page, it looked pretty interesting, in a shuddery kind of way. I don’t even wanna think about it, actually. But… it does look like something worth throwing into a story somewhere, although, as bloody usual, Bruce Sterling …