Category Archives: the land

The wit and wisdom of David Brower: the teepee

David Brower, the late great executive director of the Sierra Club, founder of Friends of the Earth, conservationist extraordinaire, is given plenty of credit for his accomplishments, but not, in my estimation, nearly enough credit for his wit, courage, and charm. All by himself, he demolishes any number of cliches about conservationists; that is, thatContinue reading “The wit and wisdom of David Brower: the teepee”

Winter Sunset on the Merced River (Yosemite National Park)

Winter Sunset on the Merced River (Yosemite National Park), originally uploaded by Robin Black Photography. They say pro nature photographers (including Black, who kindly posted this picture) flock like swallows to Yosemite in February, for the low sunsets and the colors at Horsetail Fall. 

Thinktank: Water management failing in CA

The highly-regarded Public Policy Institute of California makes an important point in a new book: Despite several decades of well-intentioned environmental regulations, more than 80 percent of the state’s 129 native fish species are extinct or imperiled—listed as endangered or threatened, or likely to qualify for listing in the future. Piecemeal efforts to stop theContinue reading “Thinktank: Water management failing in CA”

Snow falling and night falling oh so fast…in Yosemite

From the Yosemite Ranger's lovely Twitter feed. A picture:  And a poem… Snow falling and night falling fast, oh, fastIn a field I looked into going past,And the ground almost covered smooth in snow,But a few weeds and stubble showing last. The woods around it have it—it is theirs.All animals are smothered in their lairs.IContinue reading “Snow falling and night falling oh so fast…in Yosemite”

The fate of the mountains under climate change: a ray of hope for the Sierra?

In his inimitably far-sighted way, John Muir considered the fate of the Sierra Nevada in an era of climate change, long before global warming even began to take hold. In August 1875, in his journal, he wrote:  I often wonder what man will do with the mountains…Will human destructions like those of Nature — fireContinue reading “The fate of the mountains under climate change: a ray of hope for the Sierra?”

Thin ice in the Arctic means cold winters back East?

Put perhaps as simply as possible, that's the speculation among some experts about the cold snowy winters experienced this year in many Northern hemisphere climates, such as New York. Here's the most concise, detailed explanation I've found so far, from Climate Central: Recent scientific studies have shown that the dramatic warming that has been occurringContinue reading “Thin ice in the Arctic means cold winters back East?”

Seeing the stars in the 21st century…or not

Yesterday the Los Angeles Times ran a superb story called A Desert Plea: Let there be darkness about light pollution spreading from the city out into the desert, many many miles away. This is something we noticed when we moved from the city out to the sticks ourselves — in ourselves. Put simply, country people areContinue reading “Seeing the stars in the 21st century…or not”

What the heck is going on with this La Niña?

Isn't it supposed to be cold and dry in SoCal during a La Niña, not wet and warm? Craig Miller of KQED asks questions, and gets answers from the helpful Kevin Trenberth of NCAR: "In La Niña conditions, which is what we have now, the main storms that come into North America come barreling intoContinue reading “What the heck is going on with this La Niña?”

Good water news for California this La Niña (to date)

As John Fleck reports, it's been an unusually good year for California so far, given that we're in a strong La Niña condition:  The precip map is showing a classic La Niña pattern – dry south, wetter north, though California seems to be doing better than they might have hoped: In fact, for left coasters, this doesn'tContinue reading “Good water news for California this La Niña (to date)”