“Scientists say the weight of human-made objects will likely exceed that of living things by the end of the year.” ~ Helen Briggs A good friend warned me years ago about peak oil, when the production of oil from the Earth reached its peak, and the amount of oil remaining would continuously decline, exacerbating […]
“Science fiction’s appeal lies in combination of the rational, the believable, with the miraculous. It is an appeal to the sense of wonder.” – David Hartwell per Wikipedia I’m a sci-fi fan and have been aware that there are two types of sci-fi: hard science fiction and speculative fiction. According to Wikipedia, it seems that […]
As a kid, I was scared of lots of things. Sometimes, my older brother “worked with me” to overcome my fearfulness by scaring me at unexpected times. He might creep up on me while I slept, grab me by the throat and growl. He might sneak up on me during our Saturday night “Midnight Monster […]
“Every global shore touches the same ocean, and the ocean is rising.” ~ Benjamin Strauss and Scott Kulp Flooding in London has been a problem since the city was first established in Roman times … The barrier protects central London against a storm surge … that can funnel the water up the Thames Estuary and cause […]
“Few serious scientists doubt that climate change is happening, or that it is man-made. But the fact remains that many still have a hard time grasping global warming, partly as a convenient way of ignoring the destructive impact it is predicted to have. “ ~ Frank Jacobs “But for simpletons like me, keeping Earth mostly habitable […]
“A little water clears us of this deed.” ~ Lady Macbeth With the current loosening of restrictions on water quality and pollution discharges to streams and rivers, it’s worth thinking about what clean water actually means. We should all be familiar with the hydrologic cycle, where water evaporates into the atmosphere, condenses and falls to […]
Edges. That’s where a lot of the action is. In nature, edges are where the differences come out. The contrasting conditions create a diversity not apparent on either side of the edge. While some species of animal and plant life require deep constancy to thrive, almost all species use the edges to test limits and […]
“The grass kept growing in the hot sun I fought the lawn and the lawn won I fought the lawn and the lawn won A green, thick lawn like my neighbor has I always wanted one But all I got was a pain in the grass I fought the lawn and the lawn won I […]
“When one is considering the universe,” Ella Frances Sanders observed in her lovely illustrated celebration of wonder, “it is important, sensible even, to try and find some balance between laughter and uncontrollable weeping.” “Our life has become so mechanized and electronified,” said the Hungarian journalist and László Feleki “that one needs some kind of an […]
Growing up, I was encouraged to “clean your plate!” It usually wasn’t a problem, my mother was a very good Southern, country cook and we ate well, even when we didn’t have much extra money. My older brother and I were big and had big appetites. One year, when we were in high school. our […]
