Monthly Archives: September 2013

Dust Bowl II? (Linda Marsa connects the dots)

Writing a good book about global warming is a little bit like trying to catch a whale in a butterfly net. Not only is the beast vast almost beyond human comprehension, but will it stay still? No it won't. Captain Ahab himself at least had a harpoon — a writer has nothing but a fewContinue reading “Dust Bowl II? (Linda Marsa connects the dots)”

The continuing (and confounding) story of “Into the Wild”

Two weeks ago a teenager, obsessed with the tragic story of Chris McCandless, who died of apparent starvation in the Alaskan wilderness, died in troublingly similar circumstances in Oregon. Over the past six months, David Croom said, his son had shown a growing interest in the movie and possibly wanted to emulate McCandless' actions. "He'sContinue reading “The continuing (and confounding) story of “Into the Wild””

Fevered: Global warming facts you probably don’t know

Am reviewing expert science reporter Linda Marsa's Fevered, about a hotter planet and what that means for human health. (Spoiler: It's not great news, although "heat adaptation" is possible in many cases.)  Though I'm not yet finished, must say I'm impressed with this book. Perhaps the best climate change book I've read since Tim Flannery'sContinue reading “Fevered: Global warming facts you probably don’t know”

The Revenge of the Dinosaurs: Fossil Fuels

Columnist Thomas Friedman is a big picture columnist who drives enviros crazy with his broad strokes pronouncements, but every once in a while he stumbles across a genuine insight. In a column recently, he actually admitted to the stumbling, for which he deserves some credit: I stumbled upon another powerful environmental insight here: the parallel betweenContinue reading “The Revenge of the Dinosaurs: Fossil Fuels”

The Republican response to climate change: Luckovich

It's been unbearably hot and dry this week, as is not unusually the case in this part of Southern California in early September…but could the extreme dryness of the state be contributing to our heat wave? An attribution study — looking at the possible contribution from climate change to extreme weather events –from the AmericanContinue reading “The Republican response to climate change: Luckovich”

Climate change behind the civil war in Syria: Polk

A half-mile from us, a good friend's well has gone almost dry, and we've heard of others on our street experiencing the same dryness. Our well water is increasingly turbid and sandy at times, even though we live near a creek bottom. The drought outlook for California is not good: In contrast, [writes B. Pugh,Continue reading “Climate change behind the civil war in Syria: Polk”

What is the use of forty days in the wilderness?

From a defense of solitude in wilderness, called Forty Days, by Paul Kingsnorth: Sometimes you need to go, and sometimes you need to stay away for some time. The world we have created is terrifying in its complexity and power and in its ability to destroy the small, the precious, the immeasurable and the meaningful, insideContinue reading “What is the use of forty days in the wilderness?”

And now here’s Cassandra with the weather report

A passage from Christopher Durang's funny funny play,  Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, the best play of last year, according to the Tony Awards. In this scene, the character from Greek mythology, Cassandra, who is cursed with the gift of prophesy, but also to be never believed, gives a weather report on localContinue reading “And now here’s Cassandra with the weather report”