ecosystems
After Sackett: A Multi-Prong Strategy
The Supreme Courtās wetlands opinion was terrible. Now what we do?
The Supreme Courtās opinion in the Sackett case dramatically curtails the permitting program covering wetlands.Ā We urgently need to find strategies for saving the wetlands the Court left unprotected.Ā We have a number of possible strategies and need to start work on implementing them immediately. Sackett was unquestionably a major blow, reducing federal jurisdiction over …
Continue reading “After Sackett: A Multi-Prong Strategy”
CONTINUE READINGSt. Valentineās Other Assignment
Along with lovers, couples, and marriage, he has a more environmental domain.
St. Valentine is associated with love and romance. He is also the patron saint of beekeepers. Itās unclear why. Maybe itās the association of honey with happiness and affection, especially in the age before chocolate reached Europe. Or maybe itās because of the ābirds and the beesā as models for explaining sex to children. Whatever …
Continue reading “St. Valentineās Other Assignment”
CONTINUE READINGValentineās Day and Climate Change
Global warming will change much of our everyday lives. Even Feb. 14.
How is climate change connected with Valentineās Day?Ā In many ways, as it turns out. Thatās an indication of the myriad ways in which climate is entangled with our lives. Ā Whether itās roses and chocolate, or courtship, nothing will remain quite the same as global temperatures go up and up. What about climate change and …
Continue reading “Valentineās Day and Climate Change”
CONTINUE READINGMaking Key Policy Decisions in Advance of Droughts
Part 6 in a Series on Improving California Water Rights Administration and Oversight for Future Droughts
Itās hard to respond effectively to a crisis when you donāt have clearly defined priorities.Ā This is true for sudden-onset crises, like floods and wildfires, and also for slow-onset crises, like droughts. My recent posts have explored why the State Water Resources Control Board (Board) should develop a contingency-based framework to support its drought decisions …
Continue reading “Making Key Policy Decisions in Advance of Droughts”
CONTINUE READINGSecretary Zinke Misleads the Public About Wildfires and Federal Public Land Management
Secretary of Interior’s Op-Ed Ignores Science and Land-Use Planning to Falsely Blame Wildfire Risk on “Radical Environmentalists”
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke published an op-ed today calling for “active management” of our federal public lands to reduce wildfire risk, and blaming “radical environmentalists who would rather see forests and communities burn than see a logger in the woods” for the prevalance and lethality of wildfires in the American West.Ā Zinke’s op-ed is disingenuous, …
CONTINUE READINGPutting a NEON Light on Ecosystems
New sensor technology and IT may transform our understanding of ecosystems.Ā Big Science is coming to ecology, which was once the domain of individual naturalists.Ā The Economist reports on NEON, the National Ecological Observatory Network: Ground has already been broken at three sitesāin Colorado, Florida and Massachusetts. Eventually, 60 places across the country will be …
Continue reading “Putting a NEON Light on Ecosystems”
CONTINUE READING