Triple Play Upslope

Three days ago, as I headed west across Kansas, high pressure over the Southern Plains swept heat and humidity northward.  In concert, a low...

The Nature of Ebola

Ebola is a filamentous, RNA virus; of the five known species, four cause disease in humans.  Fruit bats appear to be the natural host (carri...

Harnessing the Wind in Colorado

Returning to Colorado yesterday, I was pleased to see that the new wind farm section, north of I-70 between Genoa and Arriba, has progressed...

A Hundred Years of War

One hundred years ago today, World War I began; though far from the first war in human history, it might be viewed as the beginning of moder...

Missouri's Pinnacles

Silver Fork Creek rises on the Glaciated Plain of north-central Missouri, a few miles southwest of Centralia; snaking southwestward, this st...

The Vanguard of Autumn

A few weeks after the summer solstice, some shorebird species begin to depart their Arctic breeding grounds.  Over the following weeks and m...

Weather from Above

While perusing Sitka Nature , I learned of the website Earth , which provides an animated global image of surface wind patterns over which o...

The Dead of Summer

We humans, tropical beings that we are, often refer to "the dead of winter," when frigid air and bitter winds seem to bring life t...

The Nature of Ukraine

A series of tragic events have kept Ukraine in the news over the past year.  It thus seems appropriate to balance this image with a look at ...

Reducing Personal Consumption

Those of us who care about the welfare of natural ecosystems lend our support in a number of ways.  Most donate funds to local or national c...

The Fallibility of Science

Those who attempt to derail science, for whatever reason, point to its long history of false conclusions.  The scientific method, after all,...

Lawns & Water

Finding themselves in the midst of a prolonged, severe drought, it was heartening to learn that California water authorities had the fortitu...

Front Range Geology

During the Cretaceous Period, 135 to 65 million years ago (MYA), a shallow sea stretched from the Texas Gulf Coast to British Columbia, cove...

Autumn in July

An atmospheric trough, produced by a dip in the jet stream, has ushered cool, dry Canadian air into the American Heartland; overnight lows h...

America's Greatest Health Problem

What is the greatest health problem in the U.S.?  If you watch television you might conclude that it is erectile dysfunction, testosterone d...

Mississippi Kites over Columbia

For the past several days, a pair of Mississippi kites have appeared above our neighborhood in Columbia, Missouri.  Generally present during...

American Lotus

Hiking around a lake south of Columbia, my wife and I found that the circular leaves and pale yellow flowers of American lotus had taken ove...

First Annual Cicadas

As warm, muggy air pushed back into Missouri, I heard the first annual cicadas in our shade trees last evening.  After several years undergr...

Our Crustacean Farm

Three months ago, we established a compost pile in our Columbia, Missouri, yard (see Building a Compost Bin ).  Since that time, the grass c...

Our Evening Pewee

On the past few evenings, an eastern wood pewee has appeared in our central Missouri yard, drawn to a dead snag on an aging tuliptree.  This...

At Nature's Mercy

Arriving back in Columbia Monday evening, we found ourselves enveloped in soupy, tropical air; it seemed we had taken a wrong turn on our wa...

Geology of Rio's Domes

Watching coverage of the World Cup, one is struck by the spectacular natural setting of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, hemmed in and partly bisecte...

The Peaceful Nature of Doves

Throughout recorded human history, doves have often been chosen as images of peace.  After all, most doves are mild-mannered birds that avoi...

Arthur and the Trough

Last evening, as Tropical Storm Arthur churned off the east coast of Florida, a broad dip in the jet stream, known as an atmospheric trough,...

Floating the South Platte

Among the wide variety of outdoor activities that are available in and near Metro Denver is the opportunity to float the South Platte River....