We were reporters once, and young
A treasure found in an old file drawer – a 1995 congressional press pass:
Archive of entries posted by jfleck
pigeons redux
John Upton asked for suggestions about “your favorite plant, animal, pathogen or natural phenomenon” as blog topics. I suggested pigeons, and John did not disappoint: [N]ew research suggests that pigeon racers could be constantly fueling the wild populations with physical prowess-imbuing genes, helping to spawn today’s urban super-pigeons. University of Utah researchers studied the genes …
Excellent drought context
Nancy Gardner at the Omaha World-Herald has done a nice job of placing the current US drought into context: [W]hile a federal report released earlier this week ranks this as the largest drought in the lower 48 states since 1956, Fuchs cautions against making too many comparisons to the droughts of the 1950s and 1930s. …
about those levees
Increasingly, I’m seeing the Sacramento Delta argument turned, from the traditional water conveyance and water users v. fish frame to a focus on levees. Here’s the San Jose Mercury News editorial board: The primitive conditions of the levees guarding the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta are shocking. The Delta is mostly below sea level. It provides …
on sharing shortage
A very smart piece by Mike Lee at the San Diego Union Tribune about water in the west and in the world: “It used to be that our agreements were to share the water,” Scott said. “Now we are trying to figure out how we are going to share the shortage.” That’s meant to be …
Forget it, Jake.
If I had more time, I’d write a post about how Chinatown is just a movie, full of stuff that’s made up. But it’s the end of week two of the Tour de France, so posting here’s been light, sorry. Distracted. Can you believe it? We’re in the middle of a drought, and the water …
Betancourt honored
It’s no exaggeration to say my understanding of climate and desert ecosystems would be much the poorer without the many hours Julio Betancourt has generously shared, the many times my questions have been met with “Have you read this paper yet?” followed by an emailed pdf. Just saw Julio’s been awarded this year’s Farouk El-Baz Award …
Science isn’t enough
Smart Mark Lubell on why a better scientific understanding of our groundwater foibles – even “perfect science” – isn’t enough: But there are many policy-makers and citizens who will take that perfect science (even when presented in a very simple manner) and flick it away like a bothersome mosquito because they don’t trust the scientists, …
On “regulatory assurance” in the Sacramento Delta
Jeff Michael did a pithy job Thursday of untangling the snag of old fishing line that is “regulatory assurance”, the Endangered Species Act and the proposal to build giant tunnels beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to get water from California’s wet north to its thirsty south with, it is hoped, minimal disruption to the delta …
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