Much of climate science is settled and doesn't need repeating. We know that injecting increasing amounts of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere leads to warming, for instance. But how that warming will play out in atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns, although often discussed, remains to be seen. Several past studies suggested warming could lead toContinue reading “As trade winds strengthen, more drought for CA?”
Author Archives: Kit Stolz
A dirty secret — cauliflower w/pine nuts and anchovies
A couple of years ago Judith Thurman had a great piece in The New Yorker about pine nuts (sadly still not available to non-subscribers). She off-handedly included a great cauliflower recipe with a dirty secret. (Here's Gustiamo's version of that recipe.) She says the dirty secret is pine nuts: I say it's anchovies. Regardless —Continue reading “A dirty secret — cauliflower w/pine nuts and anchovies”
A little bit of good news for thirsty California
Yes, an atmospheric river. Discussion here from Climate Central.
Looking to past droughts to foresee CA’s future
The past is never dead. The past is not even past. When William Faulkner wrote that, he was thinking of human history, but it's true on here on planet earth as well. Cycles repeat. For that reason, and because they were troubled by the drought they saw in the deep time record, paleoclimatologist B. LynnContinue reading “Looking to past droughts to foresee CA’s future”
The upside of drought in SoCal: Winter sunsets
The lack of rain, which depends on a lack of low clouds and overcast conditions, can make possible some utterly spectacular sunsets. This one from Death Valley in late December, courtesy of David Huscher. Here's one I saw on the PCT from a place in the San Gabriel Mountains called Camp Guffy, at about 8200Continue reading “The upside of drought in SoCal: Winter sunsets”
The trail that goes under the freeway: Section D of the PCT
The fourth section of the Pacific Crest Trail, Section D, which I walked this past week, begins by passing under Interstate 15 (which goes from Los Angeles to Las Vegas), then turning north along a major rail arterial. It crosses the San Andreas Fault and then (literally) turns and heads for the hills. It's aContinue reading “The trail that goes under the freeway: Section D of the PCT”
Death Dust, or, why I’m on the PCT in winter
Dana Goodyear absolutely crushes the story of valley fever in last week's New Yorker. An excerpt: The regionality of cocci is only partly to blame for the pace of research. In the lab, cocci presents a serious hazard. Early on, laboratory infections were common; a grad student would open a petri dish and, whoosh, millions ofContinue reading “Death Dust, or, why I’m on the PCT in winter”
Ridiculously Resilient Ridge to break down: NWS
Yesterday an exciting pressure chart came my way via the indefatiguable John Fleck of the Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, which has had no perceptible precipitation to date this winter, is as interested in the so-called "Ridiculously Resilient Ridge" of high pressure that has been blocking any possible weather from the Pacific as we are here inContinue reading “Ridiculously Resilient Ridge to break down: NWS”
“Ridiculously Resilient Ridge” explains West Coast drought
That's the meteorological explanation: a ridge of high pressure over the West Coast that has been blocking weather from the Pacific, driving it north, leaving the entire West Coast in drought. But what explains the so-called "Ridiculously Resilient Ridge?". That we really don't know yet and the climatologists are loathe to speculate. One spot ofContinue reading ““Ridiculously Resilient Ridge” explains West Coast drought”
The Titanic/global warming analogy takes a dramatic turn
Last week The New Yorker led off with an uncharacteristically labored analogy/editorial from Adam Gopnik, who pointed out that the Titanic had a twin sister, the Olympic, which sailed unharmed through the frozen northern seas for decades and (he suggested) so could we. "It reminds us that our imagination of disaster is dangerously more fertileContinue reading “The Titanic/global warming analogy takes a dramatic turn”
Kit Stolz 