What really threatens us? How do we truly make ourselves safer?

The Cato Institute (a conservative thinktank) has released an outstanding paper, A False Sense of Insecurity (PDF), which makes the point that in any rational assessment, terrorism is really just not that big of a threat to the average person. For instance, about as many Americans have been killed by terrorists as have been "killed over the same period by lightning, accident-causing deer, or severe allergic reaction to peanuts." Whatsmore, many WMD threats are overblown and largely preventable. Indeed, with exhaustive research, the authors can conclude that:

John Siman, Culture Change
I've always loved to teach and have, over the years, internalized much of the good old Socratic methodology -- teaching not by indoctrination, not by forcing the student’s agreement, but by helping her to discover a clarity of thought which she already had inside of her. Socrates himself referred to this gentle way as intellectual midwifery. So whenever I consider a difficult question, I automatically think to myself, Could a bright and motivated teenager figure this out -- conceive of its implications clearly -- with only a little external guidance from me?

By Kathy Chu, USA TODAY
With oil prices exceeding $70 a barrel, investors looking to make a quick buck are losing millions of dollars to sham oil and gas investments.

Typically, these deals involve scamsters who assure investors they can profit from high energy prices by investing in oil wells, for example, or alternative energy sources. State and federal regulators say that while some such investments are legitimate, others are mostly lures used by fraudsters to rip people off.

JORGE BARRERA, Ontario Sun
Municipalities are facing a "perfect storm" once the era of cheap oil, cheap water and altered weather patterns hits with full force, says Ontario's environmental commissioner.

In a chilling speech to municipal leaders yesterday, Gord Miller said municipalities are not ready for the massive effect on communities.

"We are entering a period of consequences," said Miller. "Our present public policy is inadequate to deal with these immense problems that are upon us right now."

Marilyn Lewis, MSN Real Estate
When a high-cost commute reaches the point of no-return, home buyers will start finding houses closer to work. In fact, some already are.
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Rising fuel costs are being blamed for everything from soaring utility costs to lower retail sales and higher airline tickets. And now, experts say high gas prices could reshape U.S. cities.

by Kurt Cobb

Civilization, that is, the congregation of people in large settlements we call cities, is thought to owe its origins in part to the invention of agriculture. By growing surpluses of food crops farmers enabled the creation of an urban non-farming class who engaged in all manner of cultural, governmental, and commercial activities. These activities now preoccupy the vast majority of people in advanced economies.

Alfred Runte, Seattle Times via Common Dreams
Here we go again — blaming everything on the oil companies for the spiraling cost of gasoline. How about we try something positive for a change, say, restoring our passenger trains?

For decades, Europe has paid double what the U.S. pays for gas, and just look at the trains they have. Every day, thousands of passenger trains — conventional and high-speed — whisk tourists and business people across the continent.

by Warren Brown

There is no cheap gasoline.

Accept that.

Now get on with your Memorial Day weekend and summer travels, and have a good time.

I'm serious.

End the silliness. Stop worrying about whether gasoline will go up to $4 a gallon. It will. In some California communities, the price is already there. Stop running around all over the place wasting time and the gasoline you have looking for fuel a few cents a gallon cheaper. What's the point? You save 10 cents and lose 10 minutes. You can always find another 10 cents. What about the 10 minutes?

Jeremy Leggett, Guardian
Cars are killing the planet. The carbon arithmetic allows no other conclusion. But there is an alternative.
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The Economist debate at the Hay festival this year asked the question "are cars killing the planet". Yes, I argued, they are, to the extent that people as they are currently designing and using cars are playing a major role in killing the planet.

John Gray, New Statesman
All shades of opinion are in denial about the magnitude of the environmental challenge facing us. Our need to be comfortable may be stronger than our will to survive
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During the present century, human beings are likely to experience a change in the planetary environment unlike any in history. Climate change is irreversible, and accelerating fast. No one, apart from a few cranks speaking on behalf of the Bush administration, doubts that global warming is a side effect of human activity.