Author Archives: Kit Stolz

A Cold Winter, A Good Rain, a Hot Spring

As we head into spring, it’s natural to take a look back at the winter of 2007-2008. This was a cold winter, both for those of us on the ground on the West Coast, and, unsurprisingly, for atmospheric measuring instruments. Variability in weather is of course still with, as is the chill associated with LaContinue reading “A Cold Winter, A Good Rain, a Hot Spring”

King Salmon Crash: Fishery Expected to Close in CA, ORE

In response to a huge crash in the numbers of spawning chinook (king) salmon this fall, Federal and state officials are for the first time expected to disallow or severely restrict salmon fishing in Oregon and Northern California and off the coast, according to the Los Angeles Times. The newspaper looks at this mostly inContinue reading “King Salmon Crash: Fishery Expected to Close in CA, ORE”

Geek Love: Past and Present in Rechargeable Batteries

I can keep it short because Jeff Atwood gives you a decade’s worth of experience with rechargeable batteries in a post of a mere thousand words or so, called Adventuries in Rechargeable Batteries. Bottom line: fast-charge battery chargers can ruin rechargeable batteries. Atwood tells you to spend a little more — forty bucks on aContinue reading “Geek Love: Past and Present in Rechargeable Batteries”

The Wit Detector (Theater 150 edition)

Theater 150 in Ojai, California, is a hotbed of humor, both amateur and professional. Comedian (or, as they say in the biz, comic) Cary Odes teaches a class three or four times a year for those who want to try their hand at making others laugh, for one, and the Theater 150 stage also attractsContinue reading “The Wit Detector (Theater 150 edition)”

James Hansen Proves His Ability to Predict the Future

Now we return to the thrilling yesteryear of l981, when James Hansen and a team of scientists at the Godard Institute of Space Studies released a study called Climate Impact of Increasing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide. Take a gander at the summary: The global temperature rose by 0.2 degrees C between the middle 1960’s and l980,Continue reading “James Hansen Proves His Ability to Predict the Future”

The Dog Keeps Coming Back in the Dream…

Late Self-Portrait by Rembrandt The dog, dead for years, keeps coming back in the dream. We look at each other there with the old joy. It was always her gift to bring me into the present— Which sleeps, changes, awakens, dresses, leaves. Happiness and unhappiness differ as a bucket hammered from gold differs from oneContinue reading “The Dog Keeps Coming Back in the Dream…”

Stabilizing Climate Requires Near-Zero Emissions

More good atmospheric news: According to young researchers Ken Caldeira and Damon Matthews, reducing carbon emissions by 80% by the year 2050 may not be enough to stabilize the climate. In a study just published in the Geophysical Research Letters, with the actually kinda catchy title Stabilizing Climate Requires Near-Zero Emissions, they argue that becauseContinue reading “Stabilizing Climate Requires Near-Zero Emissions”

“Tearing a Page out of the Bible”

James Merritt, a twenty-five-year-old theology student, used this phrase to an AP reporter to explain how a professor inspired him to support a movement among his fellow Southern Baptists to help preserve the traditional climate. His professor had compared destroying God’s creation to "tearing a page out of the Bible." "That struck me. It brokeContinue reading ““Tearing a Page out of the Bible””