Archive for January, 2014

  • The latest target of the unconventional oil craze is California hydraulic fracturing (fracking) the Monterey Shale in the central and southern parts of the state. With wildly optimistic predictions of an economic bonanza, the oil is carbon-intensive, requires massive amounts of fresh water, creates industrial pollution and seismic risk, and is impossible to regulate effectively because of significant scientific unknowns.

    Fracking California: Oil Boom Bonanza a Dirty Desert Mirage

    Posted on January 30, 2014 | 2 Comments
    The latest target of the unconventional oil craze is California hydraulic fracturing (fracking) the Monterey Shale in the central and southern parts of the state. With wildly optimistic predictions of an economic bonanza, the oil is carbon-intensive, requires massive amounts of fresh water, creates industrial pollution and seismic risk, and is impossible to regulate effectively because of significant scientific unknowns.

    Continue Reading...

  • In 2012, Nick Olson and Lilah Horwitz quit their jobs for a time to build a West Virginia mountain hideaway cabin, a tiny summer house made with recycled windows. This is the result.

    Small Architecture: On Glass Houses Built Over Stone

    Posted on January 29, 2014 | 1 Comment
    In 2012, Nick Olson and Lilah Horwitz quit their jobs for a time to build a West Virginia mountain hideaway cabin, a tiny summer house made with recycled windows. This is the result.

    Continue Reading...

  • Jorge Luis Borges forged into the realm of literary magic, he led his readers down through the Garden of Forking Paths, wandering the red and tranquil labyrinths in Elegy, growing old in so many mirrors, seeking in vain the marble gaze of statues, compiling regrets of a fantastic nature. Watch the BBC profile on him as an elder of strange destiny who had seen nothing, or almost nothing, but the face of a girl from Buenos Aires, a face that does not want you to remember it.

    Jorge Luis Borges: On Literary Magic and Garden Labyrinths

    Posted on January 29, 2014 | 5 Comments
    Jorge Luis Borges forged into the realm of literary magic, he led his readers down through the Garden of Forking Paths, wandering the red and tranquil labyrinths in Elegy, growing old in so many mirrors, seeking in vain the marble gaze of statues, compiling regrets of a fantastic nature. Watch the BBC profile on him as an elder of strange destiny who had seen nothing, or almost nothing, but the face of a girl from Buenos Aires, a face that does not want you to remember it.

    Continue Reading...

  • On the Caribbean island of the Dominican Republic, tourists flock to pristine beaches, with little knowledge that a few miles away thousands of dispossessed Haitians are under armed guard on plantations harvesting sugarcane, most of which ends up in US kitchens. Watch the documentary film, "The Price of Sugar."

    Dominican Republic: Modern Day Sugarcane Slavery

    Posted on January 26, 2014 | 5 Comments
    On the Caribbean island of the Dominican Republic, tourists flock to pristine beaches, with little knowledge that a few miles away thousands of dispossessed Haitians are under armed guard on plantations harvesting sugarcane, most of which ends up in US kitchens. Watch the documentary film, "The Price of Sugar."

    Continue Reading...

  • The time for climate action is now! On Saturday, March 1, the SoCal Climate Action Coalition 350 and its regional partners will rally in the shadow of a Port of Los Angeles oil refinery, sending marchers off on a 17.5-mile trek through the streets until they reach downtown Los Angeles. Hundreds of marchers will then continue their journey for 3,000 miles towards Washington D.C., reaching out to everyday citizens along the way on how they can fight climate change in their daily lives.

    Great March for Climate Action: Kick-Off in Los Angeles – March 1st

    Posted on January 21, 2014 | 12 Comments
    The time for climate action is now! On Saturday, March 1, the SoCal Climate Action Coalition 350 and its regional partners will rally in the shadow of a Port of Los Angeles oil refinery, sending marchers off on a 17.5-mile trek through the streets until they reach downtown Los Angeles. Hundreds of marchers will then continue their journey for 3,000 miles towards Washington D.C., reaching out to everyday citizens along the way on how they can fight climate change in their daily lives.

    Continue Reading...

  • How two bitter opponents, Barry Goldwater and David Brower, came to realize the folly of dam building and desert over-development in the arid Southwest United States. It is time to open the floodgates of Glen Canyon Dam.

    Colorado River: Dams and Drought, the Folly of Taming Nature

    Posted on January 16, 2014 | 1 Comment
    How two bitter opponents, Barry Goldwater and David Brower, came to realize the folly of dam building and desert over-development in the arid Southwest United States. It is time to open the floodgates of Glen Canyon Dam.

    Continue Reading...

  • Peter Nichols: My generation is being condemned to a planet beyond fixing because political science takes precedence over science science. If world governments don’t come together and act in concert to do something to stabilize the climate, and soon, we will make sure they are no longer governments.

    Political Science vs. Science Science – By Peter Nichols

    Posted on January 10, 2014 | No Comments
    Peter Nichols: My generation is being condemned to a planet beyond fixing because political science takes precedence over science science. If world governments don’t come together and act in concert to do something to stabilize the climate, and soon, we will make sure they are no longer governments.

    Continue Reading...

  • Dr. Herbert Eidt used basic training learned as an Army doctor to help people survive in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan and to deliver hope to communities in the Philippines.

    Philippines: Hope and Healing After Super Typhoon Haiyan

    Posted on January 8, 2014 | 1 Comment
    Dr. Herbert Eidt used basic training learned as an Army doctor to help people survive in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan and to deliver hope to communities in the Philippines.

    Continue Reading...

  • Caltrans plans to widen the 91 Freeway [again], spending $1.3 Billion to improve commute speeds 1.5 miles per hour, while further destroying the only wildlife connection between the Santa Ana Mountains and the Puente-Chino Hills. Commuter trains, anyone?

    Caltrans Driving Us to Freeway Insanity

    Posted on January 5, 2014 | 1 Comment
    Caltrans plans to widen the 91 Freeway [again], spending $1.3 Billion to improve commute speeds 1.5 miles per hour, while further destroying the only wildlife connection between the Santa Ana Mountains and the Puente-Chino Hills. Commuter trains, anyone?

    Continue Reading...