Several days ago I completed a report on a property located within an NPL site in southern California. The NPL site is contaminated primarily with trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene, as well as many other contaminants, in a plume covering around 30 square miles. Thirty miles. As many as 11 cities are impacted. Next to the property … Continue reading
Category Archives: Nature
If a Biologist Ran the Country
It almost sounded promising. During his first press conference, Sean Spicer gushed about Trump meeting with the giants of industry to get their input on creating more jobs. I could easily imagine his supporters applauding – this was a big part of what they’d signed up for. What could possibly be wrong with exploring constructive … Continue reading
A Note From the Planet
Hello, it’s me…your planet. I usually stay out of your politics, but things have gotten so out of hand I feel the need to communicate with you directly. My usual methods of talking to you symbolically through exploding symptoms (in the same way your body signals you with health symptoms), don’t seem to be getting … Continue reading
Laughing Bird Mountain
I’m hiking up the McDowell Mountains this morning as the sun wakes up, trying to clear my head after mistakenly watching the ugliness of the morning news. Nothing but hate, controversy, possible corruptness, childishness, you name it. Being a couple of miles east of Scottsdale, AZ, the mountains repose in peaceful tranquility except for a … Continue reading
The Missing Issue
Picture representing last night’s speech So at a time of melting glaciers and ice caps (those well-placed freezers that help keep us cool in the temperate middle), acidic and warming oceans, sea levels on the rise, coral reefs turning brittle and dying, depleted fish populations, global forest fires, dwindling fresh water supplies, unprecedented species annihilation, … Continue reading
Dreaming of a One-Issue Candidate
Four or eight years from now, no matter who wins the presidency, we’ll still have the same problems in this country because, as usual, we’re not having the right conversation. Which makes me an angry voter, too. Not at immigrants or whatever other issue so many blame on ineffective government, but because I can’t … Continue reading
Identity Rant
The changes Bob Dylan went through always amazed me. Sometimes it seemed as if he’d changed personalities whenever he changed his outfit. He refused to be labeled a folk singer, did his own thing, and became one of the greatest song writers we’ve ever known, in my opinion. It begs the question, why would we ever … Continue reading
Animals Anonymous – A Mother’s Day Mini Play
Setting: The small drab auditorium of an old elementary school or church. Our hero stands at the podium addressing a sorry-looking bunch of mild-mannered men hunched over in their metal folding chairs. Our Hero: Hi, I’m a recovering animal. A chorus of grumbling Hello’s and Welcomes bubble up like simmering lava. Our Hero: As most … Continue reading
I’m Fat as Hell and I’m Not Going to Take it Anymore
Or maybe I am. Who knows? I need to drop at least twenty pounds but my body refuses to budge, maybe because those cravings for my old favorite addictions keep coming back, and every once in a great while, I give in. My body is apparently at that age where months can pass by without … Continue reading
Last Hike (with a true tree hugger)
We put our snowshoes on and stepped down the wobbly tree-trunk steps of my brother Mike’s tattered, mouse-infested house, and trudged through the thick snow, past the wood piles and doorless outhouse (always a delight in mid-winter), and over the top of his abandoned vehicles – a few exposed windows peeking out from under the … Continue reading
james keeney hill 