Pope Benedict has drawn praise from enviros for his appeals to preserve the planet. Now, in light of a child abuse stain spreading over the church from the Munich Archdiocese, one begins to wonder if the Papacy was speaking so boldly about the environment to cover up other sins. In the words of Hans Kung,Continue reading “The Pope: Another Denier?”
Author Archives: Kit Stolz
California condors spread their wings over central coast
Really good front-page news from the Monterey Herald — an egg has been spied in a nest of young California condors living in the Pinnacles Mts., far away from the site of the endangered species into the environment in Ventura county about two decades ago. In other words, the species appears to be re-establishing itselfContinue reading “California condors spread their wings over central coast”
Birds adapt to environmental change…and humans too
A friend points me to a fascinating article about how bird wings are changing as their habitats change. (The article can be found on a terrific new conservation/habitat research site, Conservation Maven - I've bookmarked it, and highly recommend it to anyone interested in land/conservation issues.) In short, the researcher found that in boreal forests, whichContinue reading “Birds adapt to environmental change…and humans too”
The queen of Hostel Obispo
Last night my wife and I stayed at Hostel Obispo, in San Luis Obispo, a charming place in a house over a hundred years old, with fresh sourdough pancakes and fresh-ground coffee in the morning, lots of interesting chatter, and a lovely neighborhood. All that was great, but especially great was this character, Chloe, whoContinue reading “The queen of Hostel Obispo”
Alice in Wonderland, the movie, the beta
According to the ever-sensible Ken Turan of the Los Angeles Times, middling. According to the ever-brilliant David Edelstain of New York, delightfully garish. According to Metacritic, the critical consensus comes in at 55 on a scale of 100, mixed or average. This puzzles your truly. Tim Burton's movies aren't always great, but they're never "average."Continue reading “Alice in Wonderland, the movie, the beta”
El Nino sceptic repents as rain continues to fall
Bill Patzert and "The Los Angeles Times" are likethis, as the gossip columnists say, and deservedly so: the newspaper is by far the biggest in the West, and Patzert is the most interesting forecaster in our region, perhaps the country. For one, he admits when he gets it wrong. How many other forecasters confess? HeContinue reading “El Nino sceptic repents as rain continues to fall”
Global warming skeptics see a couple of trees, miss forest
Those who would like to see humanity take action to reduce the harmful effects of global warming have had a frustrating couple of months, due in part to over-reaching by those urging action. Skeptics and deniers had a field day when, for instance, Al Gore claimed the Arctic could be ice-free in the summer inContinue reading “Global warming skeptics see a couple of trees, miss forest”
The problem with global warming
It's the wrong phrase, as "gentleman cartoonist" Keith Knight so wittily demonstrates: Or, as Barry Goldwater might say, extremism in defense of weather is no vice.
Antarctic ice in broad-scale retreat: USGS
According to the USGS, the Antarctic ice shelves contain about 91% of the world's frozen water. So news that they are melting across the full extent of the planet's coldest continent, and have been steadily since l949 because of global warming, is not great news, despite what deniers such as George Will call the "tantrums"Continue reading “Antarctic ice in broad-scale retreat: USGS”
The hamburger of the future?
A prize-winning image from a Science magazine visualization competition: An explanation from Science: "…marine scientist Jennifer Jacquet of the University of British Columbia in Canada and digital artist Dave Beck's illustration uses this absurd, grotesque image to make their point: Overfishing and climate change have significant consequences for marine ecosystems. As the numbers of largerContinue reading “The hamburger of the future?”
Kit Stolz 