We're only talking about 100 miles and 10,000 feet, but my God, the shock I had, going from serenity at Muir Lake to the hell that is Lancaster/Paledale under the plume of the burning of thousands of acres of chaparral. Here's what I'm calling Muir Beach at the spectacular (and empty) Muir Lake: And here'sContinue reading “An Idyll in the Southern Sierra to a SoCal Hell”
Monthly Archives: August 2009
As If Rejoicing in Strength
I'm headed back to the mountains (this time to the Southern Sierra). Feels appropriate to post some pics from our last trip, this one (courtesy of my friend Cary Odes) from atop Cloud's Rest in Yosemite National Park, looking southeast towards Mt. Clark and the Triple Peak fork. We had company… In the wordsContinue reading “As If Rejoicing in Strength”
What If He is Watching Us — Unhappily?
How many folks feel this way, I wonder? From PostSecret:
California Drought, As Seen from Space
Via NASA's Terra satellite, which uses a MODIS Spectraradiometer to measure plant growth. In the Central Valley, the drought is worst in the Westlands water district. Many in the area blame Congress for lack of water, and for the 70,000-80,000 farmworkers reported to be out of work. Interestingly, NASA talks about this in aContinue reading “California Drought, As Seen from Space”
The American Way to Find God
God has become a dirty word among many scientists and leftists, I'm sorry to say, because so many Christians use their interpretation of an old book to control their fears and blame others — immigrants, scientists, gay people — for the woes of the world. Meanwhile the real possibility of a societal disaster this centuryContinue reading “The American Way to Find God”
Arnold Slashes Williamson Act: Pay Back to Developers?
Although not extensively reported in the big city papers, in the California state budget passed a couple of weeks ago, Sacramento and Governor Arnold eliminated funding for the Williamson Act. This act, dating back to the l960's, gives farmers and ranchers a 20-70 percent break on property taxes. helping to preserve agriculture and open space,Continue reading “Arnold Slashes Williamson Act: Pay Back to Developers?”
Climate Change: Facing the Unpleasant Facts
George Orwell, who specialized in facing unpleasant facts, would be in his element in the climate change discussion today, because the extremely unpleasant fact is that the situation is far worse than nearly anyone wants to say. Sharon Begley, formerly of the Wall Street Journal, now Newsweek's science correspondent, lays it out: Among the phrasesContinue reading “Climate Change: Facing the Unpleasant Facts”
Sex is the Environment (sez Wallace Shawn)
Wallace Shawn, as Wikipedia notes, is considered by the world to be a comic actor. But read the essays of Wallace Shawn (son of the famous New Yorker editor), or see his plays, and you will quickly realize that this man, ordinary looking though he may be is, is as he was described in ManhattanContinue reading “Sex is the Environment (sez Wallace Shawn)”
The Pathos of Global Warming
So many artists have taken on the issue of global warming, and so few have surpassed the real images we all know (calving ice banks, storm surges, and so on). Perhaps that's the way it should be, or perhaps it represents a failure of our species' imagination. But Bioephemeraa found a young Japanese artist, KawanoContinue reading “The Pathos of Global Warming”
“Living on their Fears”…
That is how one thoughtful character describes life in South Africa after the arrival of the "Prawns" featured in the stunning new film District 9…and it's also a description of much too much life in the US today. Fascinating movie , with many many levels, of character, metaphor, and violence. (May have gotten a releaseContinue reading ““Living on their Fears”…”
Kit Stolz 