At the AGU went looking for leading sea ice extent researcher Jen Francis at Rutgers, who has become known for arguing that the extent of sea ice/Arctic Amplification alters the jetstream (making it "wavier") and leads to extreme weather in places like the Northeast and northern Europe. Or, as she told the NYTimes this spring,Continue reading “Arctic Sea Ice or Siberian Snow best for winter forecasts?”
Author Archives: Kit Stolz
Why would anyone want to write for a newspaper?
A couple of weeks ago a smartie named Cary Odes was teasing me, pointing out that I had found a new career as a newspaper reporter, and what could go wrong with that? It's a real question.
AGU 2012: The Arctic turns towards the Dark Side
At a pre-conference mixer for this year's fall meeting of the AGU, I looked out at the teeming hordes and wondered — do I know anybody here? But then I ran into Kelly Redmond, who helps direct the Desert Research Institute, and is one of the nicest and most thoughtful climatologists I know, and unfailinglyContinue reading “AGU 2012: The Arctic turns towards the Dark Side”
Atmospheric River press conference at AGU 2012
This press conference at the AGU (American Geophysical Union's fall meeting) this year is brilliantly timed, coming just two years after a series of big AR storms surprised Southern California, and a week or so after one hit Northern California. Improving forecasts of “Pineapple Expresses”Monday, 3 December1:30 p.m. NOAA scientists and colleagues are installing theContinue reading “Atmospheric River press conference at AGU 2012”
Coffee is good for you: The Institute for Coffee Studies
It's okay! Even "a lot" of it, for those who like that sort of thing. That's according to a story in the Atlantic Wire, which has made quite a splash on the Web this year for its well-chosen topics and bright, chatty style. The first expert quoted. Dr. Peter Martin, encourages the drinking of coffeeContinue reading “Coffee is good for you: The Institute for Coffee Studies”
Why can’t we think practically about sleep?
Researchers want to know: One finding that might be surprising, given how much time we spend in our beds: Men and women don’t seem to give any consideration to sleep patterns when choosing a mate. Random thought: Why do we say "sleep like a baby?" Sleep like a dog is more like it…
Marlon Brando ambles insolently onstage: Paglia
Camille Paglia describes a familiar scene, and makes it new: Marlon Brando, carrying a “red-stained package” from the butcher and sporting blue-denim work clothes as the lordly, proletarian Stanley Kowalski, ambles insolently onstage at the opening of Tennessee Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire. “Bellowing” for his adoring yet tart-tongued wife, Stanley is the strutting maleContinue reading “Marlon Brando ambles insolently onstage: Paglia”
NorCal preps for promised ARKstorm: 12 Inches?
CA has had no significant extreme weather since December 2010, when a series of atmospheric rivers took an unexpected tour fhrough Southern California. Both the precipitation totals and the graphics for "ARKstorms" are jaw-dropping. In 2011, the USGS issued a massive report on an ARKstorm that left the entire Central Valley approximately six inches deep in water, forcedContinue reading “NorCal preps for promised ARKstorm: 12 Inches?”
Bear vs. people: How can we avoid killings?
Reporting in the Wall Street Journal implicitly challenges the endangered species narrative of wildlife* by bringing up the important fact that across vast regions in these United States, the forest has recovered from utter devastation at the hands of 19th-century Americans. With the forest has recovered a host of iconic species in vast numbers, includingContinue reading “Bear vs. people: How can we avoid killings?”
Thought experiment: Imagine the end of NYC by drowning
Can't really do it, can you? Don't worry, it's not you, it's us. If we can’t imagine our own deaths, as Freud insisted, how can we be expected to imagine the death of a city? From a great op-ed/essay by James Atlas. In today's New York Times, of course. With an image to match…
Kit Stolz 