Oklahoma’s Largest Quake Since The 1950’s When you think of seismically active states, Oklahoma probably isn’t the first one that comes to mind. So you could be forgiven for your surprise upon hearing that the recent 5.8 magnitude quake in Pawnee, OK occurred — and that it was the largest such event in nearly 70…
Earth Day 2017 – There Is No “Planet B” Earth Day comes but once a year; and, while the very notion of an ‘invented’ holiday can cause many people to simply tune out or ignore it, Earth Day is actually a critically important chance for our society to stop and reflect. We only get one…
Chances are, especially if you live in California, that you’ve heard the name John Muir before. After all, his name graces parks, schools, trails, libraries, and more all across our great state. There’s a reason Muir’s influence still echoes 103 years after his death: he is largely responsible for much of the conservation and preservation…
California’s Drought If you live in California, there’s no way you haven’t noticed the massive amounts of snow and rain being dumped onto our parched, drought-stricken state. There’s no doubt about it: the recent precipitation has unquestionably eased drought conditions in California, and has brought critical relief to wide swaths of the state. But is…
If you live in California, you’d better get used to hearing about the “Pineapple Express.” That’s the atmospheric current of moisture that forms over the Pacific Ocean and gets pushed north via the jet stream, and it’s what is responsible for birthing some of California’s recent storms. California is experiencing more and more strange, outlier-type…
In 2016, America celebrated the 100 year anniversary of the National Park Service, a government-sponsored effort to preserve and protect the country’s most amazing national spaces, and ensure that they are never sold or exploited for profit or other short-sighted ends. The National Park Service Centennial Act Just recently, President Obama signed the National Park Service…
Yosemite Valley. It’s long been the mecca for rock climbers across the world, due to its perfect, dazzling granite faces caused by glacial erosion ages ago. The Valley is home to some of the most difficult and unrelenting climbs anywhere on the planet, many of which can take weeks or more to complete. There is one…
Scientists have recently published a paper in Science Advances stating that early earth conditions may have been significantly colder than previously believed. Researchers of the earth sciences have often contended that early Earth was very hot. At the time, the first organisms developed around 3.5 billion years ago and the Earth’s oceans were thought to have been…
