On British Bees

Of possible interest to at least one Inkstain reader, there’s a paper in last week’s Science documenting the decline in bee diversity in Britain and the Netherlands. It’s of potential significance because of the importance of pollinators to our ability to grow food, though, as the authors note, “the evidence for such declines remains scanty.”

Early Spring

Interesting new bit of work by Dirmeyer and Brubaker in GRL about the effects of early spring on northern hemisphere water budgets: Over most mid- and high-latitude areas, a strong annual cycle of recycling ratio exists; low during winter when storm tracks are active, tropospheric circulation strong, and surface evaporation rates low, high during summer …

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The Hurricane Record

There’s good reason to think the whole hurricane-global warming debate is a huge distraction, because of its relative lack of importance in understanding societal hurricane risk. (See Roger Pielke Jr.’s blog for the latest in many, many discussions of the data suggesting that building houses on the beach is the most important risk factor in …

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Testosterone Patches

Some useful background for those cycling fans in the audience trying to understand the context of Floyd’s test results. Turns out Malcolm Gladwell spent the necessary time getting on terms with the subject some years ago: Athletes have now switched from injection to transdermal testosterone patches, which administer a continuous low-level dose of the hormone, …

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How Floyd Might Have Done It

This was a joke. This apparently is not: Floyd Landis, who on Sunday became the third American cyclist to win the Tour de France, tested positive for a banned substance after winning Stage 17 of the race, his team announced Thursday.

Stegner

Last fall, Lissa and I spent a couple of days in and around Lee’s Ferry. As the linchpin between the upper and lower Colorado basins, it’s central to storytelling about water, drought and the west, which is part of my attraction to the place. But it’s also magnificent country in a stark and powerful way. …

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