Life and the Planet – Part 3 (The Hockey Stick still lives in 2011)

23 05 2011

The Hockey Stick graph, presented in May 2011 by Dr Jan Zalasiewicz as evidence for unprecedented anthropogenic warming

The final talk of the meeting was by Jan Zalasiewicz titled ‘Looking back from the future at the Anthropocene’. It is clear from this talk that some geologists have already decided humans are having a dramatic effect on the earth, which reinforces efforts to give the current geological period of the earth a separate classification, the Anthropogene. I find this kind of science disturbingly self-serving. A few days after the talk after I wrote Dr. Zalasiewicz the following letter: Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Climate change, Gaia theory

Grandfather oak – April 2011 update

15 05 2011

Last April I reported on the progress being made in helping ‘grandfather oak‘, a very old and diseased coast live oak on King Mountain in Marin Open Space. I returned this past April along with a small contingent of volunteers to continue the efforts we started 3.5 years ago. We cleared the genista, poison oak, and small bays, fertilized with Azomite, oyster shell flour, and soft rock phosphate, and applied a lime spray to the trunk. Below is a photo of all the volunteers. They are (from left to right) Kathleen Cannon, John Furnas, Roger Diehnel, Greg Reza (Parks & Open Space Volunteer Coordinater), Dick Gale, Donna Shoemaker (project leader), and Carl Thoelicke.

Volunteers caring for Grandfather Oak

Our efforts for Grandfather Oak are not about treating any disease or pests. Indeed, the oak is probably well past being cured of sudden oak death. This is an attempt to give this oak a fighting chance to extend its life and live out the remainder of its years in a healthier, more nourishing state.

The photos below show that, indeed, our efforts seem to be helping. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Case studies, Fire mimicry, Oak health, Repeat photography, Sudden Oak Death

Acid rain in Big Sur – April 2011

15 05 2011

Big Sur coast, April 2011. Photo by Lee Klinger.

April 2011 was a relatively dry month here in Big Sur, with just 0.66″ of rain at my station, ~750 ft in elevation. There were 3 rainfall events sampled for pH. As shown below all three readings are fairly acidic, compared to what one would expect for ‘pristine’ rainwater (~5.6).

Rainfalls amounts and pH readings in Big Sur for April 2011

It is raining here in Big Sur at the time of this posting (May 15), so I’ll have some May numbers to report before summarizing the 2010-2011 rainy season. For previous seasonal summaries see my posts, Acid rain in Big Sur, and Acid rain in Big Sur – 2009-2010 rain year summary.


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Categories : Acid rain, Big Sur