Category Archives: thinking out loud

A new poet with the not-so-euphonious name of Theodore Worozybt, Jr., is making a splash with a new kind of poem that reminds me very much of the late great philosopher Heraclitus. He calls these lines "Aphorisms," which is accurate in terms of their format, but inadequate to explain their mysterious power. Not all ofContinue reading “How to Be Bitter–Correctly”

"…the world is at your command…" from NOWHERE MAN, by Lennon/McCartney

As a reporter, story analyst, and writer, I’ve been covering global warming change and environmental change in Southern California for almost ten years, for publications small (the Ventura County Reporter) to large (the Los Angeles Times). I launched this blog in late 2004 in an attempt to stay abreast with the the flood of informationContinue reading “who is this guy”

Anna Shepherd, the "Eco-Worrier" for the Times of London, reports: "…if you’re reading this, you are probably eco-conscious and therefore likely to be happy. So says research from Imperial College London. Far from being a moaning, finger-wagging bunch of grumps (yes, okay there are some that are like that), it suggests that greenies are cheerful.Continue reading “Feeling Happy? You Should Be. You’re an Enviro.”

"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness," wrote John Muir (in a posthumous collection of his notes called John of the Mountains). For years I’ve heard that saying of Muir’s echo in my mind. Only occasionally would the question creep in–yes, but why? Why does a wild forest take us intoContinue reading “Betweeness”

A couple of days ago, the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center predicted a warmer-than-usual winter, with El Nino conditions bringing a likelihood of increased rainfall to California and the West Coast. But an excellent follow-up story from Rob Krier at the San-Diego Union-Tribune points out that November in San Diego for the last fortyContinue reading “The 06-07 El Nino: A Wuss?”

Probably the best book I’ve read this year is Andrew Solomon’s The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression, which begins as a look at the New Yorker’s writer’s horrifying and almost inexplicable struggles with depression after publishing a novel. The book becomes a years-long exploration into all aspects of the disease: medical, historical, psychological, personal,Continue reading “Depression: Beyond a Little Pill”

James Annan is a scientist I would classify as a climatological moderate, because he thinks that  what is known as sensitivity to atmospheric C02 is a little overestimated, so he forecasts temps to rise into a somewhat lower range (about 3C) than the IPCC estimates (between 2.5 and 4.1C). He drops in a couple ofContinue reading “Is Climate Change Bad? Let’s Talk”

Once upon a time, back in the early 80’s, for the usual inexplicable cultural reasons, a variation of reggae music known as ska became hugely popular, especially in England and L.A., led by such groups as the Specials and (my favorite) the English Beat. The Beat had a unique ability to blend the personal andContinue reading “The Kind of Problem Only Radiation Cures”

It’s biological. According to Robert Sapolsky, a primatologist, MacArthur genius, and all-around wit at Stanford, from the years of eighteen to twenty-four, individuals in our species are curious, eager to try new things (such as music)…but by the time we are forty, more than ninety percent of us know what we like and are uninterestedContinue reading “Why We Form Our Musical and Political Preferences At the Same Time”