Speedlinking 7/25/06 [Updated, 4 pm]

There might be a second installment today, but here is the morning's good stuff.

~ Even Native Americans destroyed their environment by using up the natural resources. The Hohokam died out around 1450 in somewhat mysterious circumstances, but it seems they simply dwindled in numbers as a result of their negative impact on the land.

~ 1,500-year-old Byzantine port discovered, an important site for understanding the history of ship-building and regional economic history. A quote from the article: "Archaeologists call it the "Port of Theodosius," after the emperor of Rome and Byzantium who died in A.D. 395. They expect to gain insights into ancient commercial life in the city, once called Constantinople, that was the capital of the eastern Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires."

~ Common Dreams reprints an article from OneWorld.net that argues the Earth is on the verge of a major biodiversity crisis. From the article:

Scientists say they understand that biodiversity cannot be measured by simple universal indicators such as temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide because it involves several levels of organization, such as genes, species, and ecosystems.

On the other hand, however, statistical facts on the loss of biodiversity suggest the imminent dangers of inaction, as two thirds of the services provided by nature to humankind are already in decline, with 12 percent of bird species, 23 percent of mammals, 25 percent of conifers, 32 percent of amphibians, and 52 percent of cycads (a type of evergreen plant similar to palms and ferns) continuing to face serious threats of extinction.

Moreover, according to scientific calculations, within the next 50 years, it is quite likely that up to another 37 percent of currently existing species might be gone due to climate change.

~ Key 23 is a strange little site claiming the title of Occulture Evolved. For those who have interest in such things, it looks like an interesting site. (They have a Douglas Rushkoff article, so they can't be all bad.) Besides the mandatory interest in fringe culture, there seems to be a genuine inquiry into occult practices for a post-modern reality.

~ MSNBC/Newsweek ran a cheesey Boomeritis article yesterday called The Faustian Generation.

New stuff:

~ Victoria has a nice post on the need for including types in stage development models.

~ Tom at Blogmandu is seeking input on how to improve his extremely helpful "roundups" when they return in September. [By the way, Tom, it's Integral Options Cafe. ;)]

~ The Pagan Bodhisattva is dumbfounded by George Michael's choice in an illicit sex partner. There's nothing integral about this, I just want to ditto Jay's sentiment.

~ BeliefNet has an interesting take on the Israeli assault on Hezbullah. The author thinks this is a prelude to a bigger and better war with Iran, a clearing away of possible retaliation before it can retaliate.

~ Molly Ivans wants to run Bill Moyers for president. No, really. She does. I swear. Moyers is an honest, intelligent man -- by definition he is not eligible to be a politician, let alone president. But she makes a good argument for why he should run anyway.


Technorati Tags: MSNBC, Newsweek, Key 23, Common Dreams, OneWorld.net, Archeology, Blogmandu, The Pagan Bodhisattva, BeliefNet, Israel, Molly Ivans, Bill Moyers, Victoria, Vblog