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?”
Author Archives: Kit Stolz
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”…”
Last Night on the Trail
Even after a week of walking in the Sierra; even after one wearies of dirtying the same few clothes worn throughout the day and throughout the week, day after day, even after one's spouse expresses her weariness with the same clothes, and even when the tent begins to feel look and cramped…there's a nostalgia thatContinue reading “Last Night on the Trail”
Camping in Manhattan
Via a photographer named Matthew Jensen, a site/exhibition called Nowhere in Manhattan includes pictures of verdant, lonely camping spots in and around one of the most populated lands on the planet. Reminds me of seeing the poet Gary Snyder a few years back, at a reading in Santa Monica of his collection No Nature,Continue reading “Camping in Manhattan”
Coal Burning Declines in US, Emissions Follow
From two different sources — the Wall Street Journal, and the Energy Information Agency — we see how the recession has impacted the coal industry, with an attendant decline in greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. From the WSJ, a story about the big energy firm Dynergy, which apparently was expecting big growth under aContinue reading “Coal Burning Declines in US, Emissions Follow”
STDs Hit One Quarter of Young American Women
That statistic comes from my story in the Ventura County Reporter of a couple of weeks ago. Anyone sexually active and unattached should read the story, I dare say. Even if you think you know everything you need to know about STDs, I can pretty much guarantee you don't, having discussed it with a numberContinue reading “STDs Hit One Quarter of Young American Women”
In the Footsteps of Mary Oliver
In The New York Times, Mary Duenwald visits the woods near Provincetown, on the afar tip of Cape Cod. This is a land the poet Mary Oliver has made her own, with her soft, limpid, inviting poems. Duenwald almost literally follows in the footsteps of Oliver, just as Oliver herself once followed in the footstepsContinue reading “In the Footsteps of Mary Oliver”
Kit Stolz 