So here's something I've been contemplating. We have all heard/read about how the Nile river floods yearly (or did until the Aswan was built anyhow). And how the annual flood deposited a rich layer of silt on the soils of the Nile valley, fertilizing the fields. How this was so essential to the functioning of Egyptian society and agricultural ( Read more... )

I am starting on the coolest project at work.
My office is partnering with some other local agencies and organizations on a historical ecology study for Alameda Creek watershed, the major watershed that occupies most of Alameda County. Basically what this means is that we take early aerial photos and old maps, digitize them and georectify them so ( Read more... )

The exceptionally dry conditions in California this year are causing unusual wildfire behavior. Not just more fires, you understand, and not just bigger or more intense fires: we're talking about unique fire dynamics. There is a certain unusual fire behavior called a "vertical rotating plume".

That's jargon for "burning funnel cloud".

Check out ( Read more... )

I've been meaning to post about this all week but didn't have time until today.

George Bush, in case you were under a rock (or in college), gave the annual State of the Union address to Congress earlier this week.

He said this:

To build a future of energy security, we must trust in the creative genius of American researchers and entrepreneurs and ( Read more... )

We heard recently about a large conservation easement that was made by the Nature Conservancy covering a chunk of the Mount Hamilton Range out here. Here is an article about it.

Pretty cool project actually; it protects part of a major wildlife corridor area for some wide-ranging and keystone species. But the reason I'm writing about it is this ( Read more... )

I have been reflecting lately on the way we obsess about issues. 'We' meaning, in this case, 'the American social organism as reflected in media and personal interaction ( Read more... )