(This is a copy of a page) Here’s a subject that I’ve avoided directly addressing because it’s so controversial (for some reason). In fact, everybody is nervously not seeing it. The elephant in the room. Wow! There’s now 8,000,000,000 of us people (and still growing) on this planet! We have stop growing for the earth’s […]
Category Archives: Science
I was saddened to read of Robert E. Reynolds* death today. He has a long legacy that will be very hard for someone to fill. I learned about it via the Desert Symposium website. Though I am obviously interested in the Barstovian, and other such happy, peaceful times, I am utterly dwarfed by Bob. Bob […]
Took a trip recently to Yellowstone National Park with my daughter. While we hike regularly in our own area of the central coast of California, and always have a lovely time, it’s also almost always a lonely, silent peregrination wildlife-wise. That’s thanks to hunters. Wild animals that are hunted, learn to fear people and, thus, […]
If you’ve followed the news recently, you’ve probably heard of efforts worldwide to try to create techno-bees, mechanical/computerized replacements for the real thing. The reason is that, as most people are aware, the bees we use most to pollinate our crops are suffering huge die-offs globally due to a malady known as Colony Collapse Disorder […]
I despise politics. Always have. Can’t stand talking about it. The power trips, the lies, the manipulation. But if you happen to be someone who cares when good things come under attack by those in public office, you’ll sometimes find that you are forced to comment and take sides. And so I will. It didn’t […]
Recently, “The World Meteorological Organization has published a detailed analysis of the global climate 2011-2015” and declared it the Hottest five-year period on record. But still skepticism is high, especially among those of the conservative Republican persuasion (though that is changing). Click to enlarge. And to a degree, one can understand why denialism persists. Not […]
There’s a kind of tree known commonly in some parts of the world as “rain trees”. The botanical name for these trees is Albizia saman. According to Wikipedia, “The name ‘rain tree’ was coined in tropical India, especially Bengal. Its origin is the moisture that collects on the ground under the tree, largely the honeydew-like […]
We’re almost exactly on the other side of the year from Arbor Day; the next day it falls on is April 28, 2017. But I just thought I’d put in a plug for tree planting anyway. There’s just something uniquely satisfying about watching something you planted with your own hands grow and bloom! There’s a […]
Also known as Puncture Vine, Devil’s Thorn and other unflattering names. Likely, you know the plant as Goatsheads, since it’s thorns, or nutlets, resemble a goat’s head. Native to the Mediterranean, but now naturalized to many countries around the world, like numerous other noxious exotics (example: Yellow Star Thistle), it was introduced here in North […]
As some of you may know, and as I elaborated in a previous post, those who have travelled to space often recount the sheer awe, and apprehension, they feel when catching sight of the earth from outside. The experience has been described as life altering, and, as such, has been under study by a neuroscientist […]
Opalescence 