Category Archives: the land

Huge NextEra windfarm opens for business: Eagle dies

Can't resist a good picture of a threaened eagle: Turns out that in late January at a huge wind farm near Mojave operated by a company called NextEra, just a month after operations began, an eagle was found dead. U.S. Fish and Wildlife wasn't too happy about the project from the start, but Kern CountyContinue reading “Huge NextEra windfarm opens for business: Eagle dies”

The environmental regrets of James Fennimore Cooper

In the first of the famous Leatherstocking Tales, a novel called The Pioneers, in the introduction the author mentions a regret about the arrival of the white man to the Otsego region of upstate New York: Though forests still crown the mountains of Otsego, the bear, the wolf, and the panther are nearly strangers toContinue reading “The environmental regrets of James Fennimore Cooper”

Falling love with a lone wolf — via a GPS tracker

Great op-ed yesterday in the New York Times about how GPS data is helping bring us closer to other species. In recent years, there has been much pontificating about how modern communications technologies are changing the way that we relate to other people. Less discussed is the way these advances are reshaping our relationships withContinue reading “Falling love with a lone wolf — via a GPS tracker”

America’s largest crop is a lawn. Could it be a garden?

Mark Bittman, the amazing cook and bold columnist for the New York Times, tries to restrain his temper as he reports on how some suburban governments are citing homeowners for transforming their lawns into gardens. He grumbles:  …several times a year we hear of a situation like the one in Orlando[1], where the mayor claims toContinue reading “America’s largest crop is a lawn. Could it be a garden?”

Rain comes to the desert: Chris Clarke

The ecologists never fail to describe coastal Southern California as a semi-arid region, which all too many residents transmute into "desert." It's not! Big difference between a land of some rain and a land of no rain. Trees, for one. As Chris Clarke, who has an interesting gig writing for KCET points out, rain oftenContinue reading “Rain comes to the desert: Chris Clarke”

Bamazon: A jungle reality show that doesn’t strike it rich

What's wrong with this picture?  This is a screen capture from a new reality show on The History Channel called Bamazon. It's about eight construction workers from Alabama who decide to go to the Amazon in search of a fortune in gold. They mine gold in the Amazon the way we used to do itContinue reading “Bamazon: A jungle reality show that doesn’t strike it rich”

The loneliness of the long-distance floater

From the National Geographic's annual photo contest, by Eric Guth: Is it possible to sense loneliness and loss in a chunk of glacial ice?  Related articles The winning images from Nat Geo's 2012 Photography Competition will blow you away Writers, Artists, Musicians: Where Would We Be If Our Loneliness Left Us Alone? The little girlContinue reading “The loneliness of the long-distance floater”

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?”