Another excellent story from the Washington Post, on a problem — the fate of urban trees — that seems not as well studied as that of wild forests. BERKELEY, Calif. — Everywhere he goes, Anthony Ambrose sees the dead and dying. They haunt this city’s streets, the browning yards of stylish homes, the scenic groundsContinue reading “Drought hits city trees too (not just wild forests)”
Category Archives: the land
The Revenant: from the bear’s POV
The Revenant, the most spectacularly cinematic contender for Best Picture in years, did not take home that particular Oscar at the Academy Awards presentation this past Sunday, but it remains a massive world-wide hit, far bigger than “Spotlight,” won three other major awards — best director, best actor, and best cinematographer — and will almostContinue reading “The Revenant: from the bear’s POV”
Wishing and Hoping (for El Niño in SoCal)
El Niño has been a no-show in Southern California this year, despite endless fall warnings of a Godzilla event (including those transmitted by yours truly). So what happened? Short version, according to a post put up on the Weather West blog by the wise young Daniel Swain of Stanford, is we don’t know — butContinue reading “Wishing and Hoping (for El Niño in SoCal)”
A prayer for the earth: Pope Francis
On Valentine’s Day, one can’t overlook (well, one can, but shouldn’t) love for the earth from which we came. From “Praise Be” from Pope Francis, a prayer for the earth [passage 178]: A prayer for our earth All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures. You embraceContinue reading “A prayer for the earth: Pope Francis”
Storm denial: what forecasters couldn’t mention
Coincidentally two stories this week focused on how in the past scientists were not allowed to name certain types of storms. Dr. Jeff Masters, of Weather Underground fame, writes about the Great Dust Bowl, and reveals that many attempts — and many successful attempts — were made to control the reporting of the news. WritingContinue reading “Storm denial: what forecasters couldn’t mention”
“Ominous” news: CA faces megadrought
In a major study released today by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, scientists identify a climactic mechanism that increasingly appears to be blocking the kinds of storms that carry the most rain and snow from reaching California and the Southwest. From NCAR’s press release: “For the study, the researchers analyzed 35 years of dataContinue reading ““Ominous” news: CA faces megadrought”
“The forks in the road”: Park Williams
Happy to say I found a way to profile the adventurous young forest ecologist Park Williams for the Santa Barbara Independent. The on-line version is the complete version of what I wrote; the print version is somewhat shorter. But let me add a couple of images and notes, because this story has a lot ofContinue reading ““The forks in the road”: Park Williams”
The birds of the Americas, passing thru
From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a map of the migration of 118 species of birds in the Western hemisphere: [On this map none of these species have reached Southern California yet; actually, a few have reached Ventura County, I think. Saw some chickadee like birds on a walk. Though I read that this hasContinue reading “The birds of the Americas, passing thru”
painting the desert at night: Eric Merrell
The Los Angeles Review of Books has been an absolute cornucopia of good essay writing as of late: so much so I can’t keep up. But still they outdid themselves last week with a gorgeous portriat of a young artist who likes to paint the desert at night, named Eric Merrell. Great stuff. Picture qualityContinue reading “painting the desert at night: Eric Merrell”
Waiting for El Nino in SoCal in January 2015
Although we have had a reported 69% of normal rainfall in Los Angeles, to date in this year of an alleged El Nino has been on the dry side in Ventura County: with a modest 4.74 inches to date in Upper Ojai area. But not to worry, say the experts, speaking in this case aboutContinue reading “Waiting for El Nino in SoCal in January 2015”
Kit Stolz 