In Night of the Iguana, a play first performed in 1961, but evolved out of a short story over a period of about fifteen years, Tennessee Williams expressed anger at our species for ruining our planet. In the movie of 1962, starring Richard Burton as a disgraced priest, his character, at the end ofContinue reading “Nature in a can: Tenn Williams and Thom Pynchon”
Category Archives: the land
Why are Americans so extreme?
Heather Havrilesky wants to know what it is about extreme fitness that fascinates Americans: A blond woman in a hot pink spandex tank hoists a sledgehammer over her shoulders, then slams it down with a dull thud onto the big tire in front of her. Beside her, another woman swings her sledgehammer even higher, grimacingContinue reading “Why are Americans so extreme?”
NASA vs. NOAA: battle of the winter forecast charts
The headline exaggerates, of course, but doesn't in fact mislead. Here's a graph of a NASA climate model, depicting a forecast of precipitation in the U.S. for the next winter. Colors tell the story. In truth, it's a little hard to decode the anomalies chart, but this turns out to be just one of eightContinue reading “NASA vs. NOAA: battle of the winter forecast charts”
The arrival of autumn — in the eastern Sierra
Mountaineer/photographer Cory Freeman reports that fall has come to the eastern Sierra, a week or two early. Wish we could say the same in SoCal.
Squeezing the last few drops from the PCT: Walker Pass to Kennedy Meadows
listen to the wind
lie down
listen to the winds
always moving on
Just another sunset over the Mojave: PCT mile 674
From a lovely campsite at the end of a long hot day on the PCT, Section G, through the dry dry region north of Walker Pass, looking south towards the Mojave desert. Here we see the twilight wedge effect (that a meterologist reader explained to me years ago). I'm a total sucker for it.
Huge climate march in NYC: “There is no Planet B.”
From the NYTimes: A Clarion Call for Action USAToday calls it the largest climate march ever. MSNBC said hundreds of thousands in NYC. To be followed by a mass demonstration at Wall Street tomorrow — now that should be interesting. Flood Wall Street. Bringing the experience so many people around the globe have lived throughContinue reading “Huge climate march in NYC: “There is no Planet B.””
CA drought hits home — in Upper Ojai
Or, to be precise, the drought hits my backyard. Yesterday the second of two enormous oak trees that have fallen in the same area in the past month came crashing down. About a year ago an even bigger and more beloved oak in vicinity split apart and fell. Here's a basic phone pic that givesContinue reading “CA drought hits home — in Upper Ojai”
Missing in India: Vultures
Of all the stories I have heard of in this year's environmental journalism convention (held in New Orleans) none dropped my jaw quite like Meera Subramanian's long-form piece in VQR India's Vanishing Vultures. I hope to quote just enough to convince you folks to read the whole thing — it's just great. And it's worthContinue reading “Missing in India: Vultures”
The natural art of the High Sierra: James McGrew
Yosemite Blog, as a sort of note to encourage us all to apply for the High Sierra Camp lottery, features the young artist/wilderness guide James McGrew, who has been going to these inexhaustible mountains since the age of four, and seems to have gained a pretty good understanding, as seen in his painting: This depictsContinue reading “The natural art of the High Sierra: James McGrew”
Kit Stolz 