We’re all enjoying these days leading up to summer, with the Monterey Bay shining clear and blue. But we know these times are fleeting. Come fall, algae will start to bloom. Clear blue waves will turn brown and red, seabirds and marine mammals will get sick, and swimming advisories could be put in place….
Mark Zoback, a geophysicist at Stanford University, cringes at the word “fracking”. He doesn’t oppose this controversial process of extracting fossil fuels from shale rock, or hydraulic fracturing. He just laments the stigma of its nickname. “I am a very strong believer that shale gas can be produced in an environmentally responsible way, and it’s…
Earlier this month, I joined biologist Steve Haddock and his research group from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute for a daylong cruise aboard MBARI’s R/V Rachel Carson. We left from Moss Landing, CA and travelled about 15 miles out into Monterey Bay, passing pods of porpoises and sea lions along the way. Haddock takes these cruises roughly every six…
I’m sure I was not the only person relieved to see November headlines with news of bendy cell phones set to hit shelves sometime in 2013. Now, with fewer consequences than ever, I will be free to drop my phone, step on it, fold it into my back pocket, all without breaking its screen. This…
The term “organic” has become loaded. Like “climate change” and “Petraeus”, it appears so often in the media that, at a glance, it floods readers’ minds with preconceived notions. For me, “organic” says healthy families, smiling farmers, and sunny hills of colorful, sustainable food—a serious simplification. But, even having heard compelling arguments suggesting otherwise, that…
We all have our reasons for choosing paper vs. plastic vs. reusable bags. A woman at a checkout line in Alabama told a friend of mine that she uses reusable bags because she would rather see petroleum go into NASCAR races than plastic bags. Like I said, we all have our own reasons. (more…)
