October 23, 2023 I just read Elizabeth Rush’s new book “The Quickening” in which she reports on a research cruise to Thwaites Glacier in 2018/19. Seems the first time the thinning sea ice would let ships get anywhere close was in 2017-2020 so there was some very good data gathered in those years. We are … [Read more…]
Nov 22, 2023 Just finished “The Blue Machine – How the Ocean Works” by Helen Czerski. As you can guess, it is a non-fiction title, another scientist commenting on a topic dear to her and meaningful for most of us, a genre I’m finding attractive in my old age She’s a physicist whose work on … [Read more…]
Eulogy for Rose (Editor’s Note: Ina Draper DeFoe, Columbia poetess, wrote this tribute to the late Rose Gaffney of Bodega Bay, a unique citizen of the Redwood Empire. It is edited for today’s Medley.) Our family knew Rose Gaffney back before there was anything to threaten her ownership of Bodega Head. One weekend my youngest … [Read more…]
Thousands of salmon escaped an Icelandic fish farm The Guardian, Sept 30, 2023.
I wanted to get her name into Commonplaces, she is very brave! US climate scientist risks felony by chaining herself to pipeline drill Rose Abramoff was one of two protesters who helped temporarily shut down construction of Mountain Valley pipeline According to Scientist Rebellion, a coalition of scientists who are actively protesting against climate change, … [Read more…]
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/02/the-last-coracle-fishers-dwindling-fish-stocks-regulations For generations, coracles have been used to fish for salmon and sea trout – known locally as sewin – on three Welsh rivers: the Teifi, Tywi and Taf. Light, nimble and manoeuvrable, each boat is made by hand, using a fabric skin stretched across a lathed wooden frame (although on the Tywi, the skin … [Read more…]
Behind All the Talk, This Is What Big Oil Is Actually Doing Aug. 7, 2023 New York Times In reading a few arguments about the pace of the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy, some are saying that “we can’t afford this” and, as in the article above, people won’t buy it. I’m getting … [Read more…]
Antarctica’s heatwaves are a warning to humanity – and we have only a narrow window to save the planet Climate scientists The Guardian Opinion Antarctica Fri 4 Aug 2023 Antarctica’s sea ice levels are plummeting as extreme weather events happen faster than scientists predicted
SunRay Kelley, Master Builder of the Counterculture, Dies at 71 The go-to guru for those seeking their dream yurt, spiritual retreat or treehouse, he brought forth his handmade structures like a wizard with a chain saw. By Penelope Green Published July 30, 2023 Updated July 31, 2023, 7:00 a.m. ET SunRay Kelley, the barefoot maverick … [Read more…]
In The Guardian is an obituary of artist Hamad Butt and a review of his work. Fascinating and dangerous, Butt was one of the Young Brits who, having died in 1994 of AIDS, didn’t receive as much exposure as his peers. So why haven’t we heard of Butt before? His lack of visibility is … [Read more…]