A major study published today, based on 160 climate models compiled by researchers at NOAA, including a leading voice in climate modeling, Martin Hoerling, and Richard Seager, both of whom who have spent years projecting the impact of climate change on the West, concludes that California's epic three-year drought was not — repeat not — caused byContinue reading “Climate study surprise: warming to bring more rain to CA”
Category Archives: the land
CA’s drought worse in 1200 years — heat blamed
A lovely warm wet but mild Pacific storm has passed, leaving us soothed psychologically here in SoCal. The storm has done little to relieve our parching: millions of gallons flowed into the state's Oroville resevoir, but it only added up to about 1% capacity. Today comes this news, from a pair of paleoclimatologists: Griffin andContinue reading “CA’s drought worse in 1200 years — heat blamed”
Rain reaches Southern California: December 2014
Awoke to the sound of dripping. The liquid murmur of the rain. So missed! Images too — of precipitable water, for instance — offer beauty. (Motion displays best if clicked to embiggen.) That gif doesn't necessarily display well, but this depiction of the swirling moisture from an atmospheric river gives an idea — it's notContinue reading “Rain reaches Southern California: December 2014”
Why I didn’t ask for company on section e of the PCT
From what I had seen of the Antelope Valley, I feared it would look something like this: Which it did.
Joys and sorrows of section e of the PCT: November 2014
Every section of the Pacific Crest Trail has its joys and sorrows, its highpoints and its lowpoints, but section e, jeez. Not a lot of highlights, unless you count the industrial: Which I don't. Or unless you count camping by the Los Angeles Aqueduct, built back in the l920's by the famous/infamous William Mulholland/Noah Cross. Continue reading “Joys and sorrows of section e of the PCT: November 2014”
Section e of the Pacific Crest Trail: Worried Man
This past week I completed Section E of the Pacific Crest Trail, which goes for about 112 miles from Agua Dulce (north of Los Angeles) to an exit off Hwy 58 (north of Mojave). Man is it a tough section. Here's my fave picture. After hiking for approximately twelve miles with approximately 1-2 liters ofContinue reading “Section e of the Pacific Crest Trail: Worried Man”
How it feels when the bird goes splat
A couple of years ago I wrote a story about birds and windows, and learned that millions upon millions of birds die every year after hitting windows. Kevin Prufer noticed, as only a poet can: Something hit the office window hard so now there's a smear that won't be washed away until it rains. RedContinue reading “How it feels when the bird goes splat”
Ojai Chatauqua on fracking: know your CA geology
Part of what the Ojai Chautauqua tries to do every couple of months is bring out information regarding complex topics, which is what I tried to do in part as a moderator this past Sunday for a panel on fracking. What did we learn? Well, here's one item, from Kimberly Rivers story in the OjaiContinue reading “Ojai Chatauqua on fracking: know your CA geology”
Oilco’s spend $9 million to defeat county anti-fracking efforts in CA
According to this excellent story from Reporting on Health fellow Leilani Clark, oil companies such as Aera, Chevron, and Exxon-Mobil have donated more than $1.7 million to efforts to defeat Proposition J in San Benito county, which would ban fracking. Ever heard of San Benito? True confession: I hadn't. Despite spending most of my lifeContinue reading “Oilco’s spend $9 million to defeat county anti-fracking efforts in CA”
“I got trapped on a path”: Charles Bowden
About ten years ago I wrote an essay, perhaps my best to date, about John Muir, that was published in the spectacular nature magazine Wild Earth. (Which sadly no longer publishes, nor can it be found on-line.) I found myself in good company, with the likes of E.O. Wilson, but the best piece in theContinue reading ““I got trapped on a path”: Charles Bowden”
Kit Stolz 