Fossil Fuels: Boon and Bane
A tidbit for today from the Writer’s Almanac: On this date in 1859, petroleum was discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania. It’s been called “the most important oil well ever drilled” because it marked the beginning of the modern petroleum age. Petroleum had been discovered elsewhere, of course, but this was the first well successfully drilled in search of the stuff….. Until the Texas oil boom of 1901, Pennsylvania was responsible for half of the world’s production of oil, and it spawned the motor oil brands Pennzoil and Quaker State. (more…)
I had the pleasure of meeting a local fire fighter recently. Out in the country, that means wildfires, and out in this particular part of the country (Santa Barbara County) that means you’re a very busy fellow, because, in the last decade, we’ve become world famous for the enormous frequency and scale of our fires. At left and below is the Whittier Fire that turned my favorite hiking spot into a cinder two summers ago. 
Emerson wrote, “Nothing great ever happened without enthusiasm,” and that’s a concept that’s certainly not lost 
“He is the only one who seeks to punish Iran, to increase sanctions. All the others are searching for a solution.” 
Traveling to Greenland and watching glaciers fall apart must be a life-changing experience. For those of us who must content ourselves with videos, I offer 
Question: In what time period of American history was the photo at the left taken, featuring the Ku Klux Klan at the courthouse in Hillsborough, North Carolina? What are the current trends in hate crime in America? 
As we look back at the life of David Koch and come to understand the extent of the damage he inflicted on the planet and the people who live on it, we begin to see this in strange new ways.
Here’s what the 
It’s good to see Jim Stack still hard at work helping folks understand the 
Who’s up for a little climate algebra?
