The Wrack

Its too early to tally the full damage from Hurricane Matthew, but I watched closely as four research reserves in our national system took the brunt of the storm.

Every morning as I make my coffee, I watch the birds at the bird feeder outside my kitchen window. The other day I noticed, perched on the deck railing near the feeder, a brownish-greyish bird throwing a temper tantrum.

The wrack is an "ecological treasure trove" as well as a thorny beach management issue. At the reserve's Laudholm Beach, take the time to look at the wrack community and appreciate its unique contribution to a complex environment.

I watch a lot of nature films. My favorite bit of animal cinema involves day-old ducklings emerging from a hole in a tree trunk and plummeting 50 feet down to the leaf-strewn ground below. Their mother guides them to a nearby lake. Their real lives begin.

Weve known for decades the high costs of digging up and burning oil, coal, and natural gas. Science, and now morality, implore us to find cleaner, more guilt-free energy sources.

For the past thirty years (and counting), each month has been warmer than its average. We may remember, year to year, locally colder Januarys or cooler Julys, but around the world, our collective thermometers have not seen a dip for 360 straight months. 

Perfectly reliable and yet completely unknowable, pi is one of those great Absolute Truths that seem to only exist in mathematics. Its one of only a few beautiful round pearls buried in the sands of space and time. How can you not love it, even envy it a little?

It is NOT about easy answers, shortcuts, or even a-ha revelations. Why on earth is that great?

It sounds cool: Blue carbon. Have you heard of it? What does it make you think?

Frankly, I don't understand why giving comes *after* shopping. As if the other 364 days of the year, I should be... not giving?