It's not true, as a Missing Person used to shriek back in l982, that nobody walks in L.A. In 2013, lots of people walk in L.A. For fun and exercise. Heck, Los Angeles could be "a walker's paradise!" Well, hasn't happened yet, but it actually could, and walking itself has become cool. In the nick ofContinue reading “Los Angeles: Soon to be a walker’s paradise?”
Category Archives: thinking out loud
The l970’s in one image: Tripper
At the National Archives is a selection of a jaw-dropping collection of photos of the l970's courtesy of, believe it or not, the Environmental Protection Agency. Yes, inspired by the famous WPA Farm Security Administration project, the EPA hired veteran photographers to document the agency, the nation, and the times, in the Documerica project (l971-1977).Continue reading “The l970’s in one image: Tripper”
“The wets will get wetter, the dries drier” for New York City
In the climatologists at work file, here's Dorothy Peteet exploring a marsh about twenty miles north of New York City, taking core samples from the past to extract pollen records, and discovering that during the Medieval Warm Period, what eventually become NYC endured a 500-year drought. Peteet is on the hunt for pollen. She dredgesContinue reading ““The wets will get wetter, the dries drier” for New York City”
The recession still isn’t over, and here’s proof
The indefatiguable Dylan Matthews for Wonkblog finds a stunning graph: Writes Matthews: The core issue here is that the unemployment rate only counts people actively looking for work. That means there are two ways to leave the ranks of the unemployed. One way — the good way — is to get a job. The other way isContinue reading “The recession still isn’t over, and here’s proof”
Scientific language for non-scientists: climate change x10
Deborah Byrd, founder of the great EarthSky network, has always had an ear for the language as well as an eye on the sky, and writes this week of two climate change studies, both of which found that the change was happening ten times faster than in the past…in fact, faster than in the pastContinue reading “Scientific language for non-scientists: climate change x10”
California’s “golden gulag” — prison thru a painter’s eye
Here's a great story on KCET's arts blog, about an exhibition at UC Riverside called Geographies of Detention. Title sounds heavily academic, but the paintings serve what may be art's highest purpose — to tell hard truths with sly beauty, as in this painting of Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga, by Sandow Birk. WritesContinue reading “California’s “golden gulag” — prison thru a painter’s eye”
Ted Nordhaus: Republicans will act on climate change
A thorn in the side of the environmental movement in the last decade has been Ted Nordhaus, who has trumpeted "the death" of the movement in books published with co-author Michael Shellenberger, and sharply criticized environmental strategists. Together they lead a "green think tank" called The Breakthrough Institute which today calls for a revival ofContinue reading “Ted Nordhaus: Republicans will act on climate change”
Shale oil: Overhyped?
Two weeks ago at a conference on fracking in Agoura, an industry analyst named Gordon Pickering told about 150 geologically sophisticated insiders that natural gas companies are seeing rapid rates of decline in production in the Bakken formation in North Dakota. "It's requiring more and more drilling, and becoming increasingly energy intensive," he said. "TheContinue reading “Shale oil: Overhyped?”
The healing tree that revived photographer Mark Hirsch
Mark Hirsch was a professional photographer and editor who suffered a couple of crippling blows in life; first, being laid off from a job he loved editing photos for an Iowa newspaper, and then being literally hit by a truck. For CBS News, he wrote: After the crash, I was unable to work. I hadContinue reading “The healing tree that revived photographer Mark Hirsch”
Global weirding 2013: same temp in Ojai as in Greenland
In Greenland this week, temperatures reached an all-time high: 80F. The temperature in Ojai (in Southern California) today: 80F. WTF? In Greenland, the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) gently suggested that climate change might have something to do with the high temperatures. As reported by Jason Samenow for the Washington Post: The DMI says the warmthContinue reading “Global weirding 2013: same temp in Ojai as in Greenland”
Kit Stolz 