Temperature tantrum

I see that it was snowing in Colorado and Wyoming yesterday. Imagine that, snow in October. So, there you have it, global warming is a fake. That’s about as deep into the data as the folks who denounce climate change like to go.
One of the favorite ploys of climate change deniers is to claim that [...]

NUMBY Californians

Here’s another reason why carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is not really such a good idea. The basic idea is that we will just capture all the CO2 produced by coal-fired power plants, pump it under high pressure across the country and shove it thousands of feet underground where it will stay for infinity and [...]

People are stupid

That may be a bit harsh. Maybe a better word would be “uninformed“. As we come down to the line on passing some kind of clean energy legislation through the Congress, it has come to my attention that most people don’t have a clue what the hell we are talking about, but are never the [...]

Warming western water woes

We live in Montana so that means that we love to fight over water. It’s a western tradition. Sadly, with the progression of climate change we will likely see more altercations.
We all know the story. You only have to look around to see the effects of climate change in Montana. Temperatures have increased from 1-2% [...]

You’re Excused

Conservatives are going to remove their children from the educational system next Tuesday so they won’t find out that the President is actually a black man. So, let’s see, we don’t want children to be exposed to the idea that they should stay in school, because they might follow that advice. We don’t want children [...]

Don’t Inhale

Do you live in Missoula? Ever wonder what’s in all that brown air you breath all winter? Well, I found a cool site where you can find out. It’s called This We Know and they have an interface to all kinds of government data collected about your community. Just type in the name of your [...]

Montana Psychomotor Reflex

2003 – Khartoum: Foreigners Shake Hands, Make Penises Disappear. “The panic was caused by rumors of foreigners roaming the city and shaking men’s hands, making their penises disappear. The rumors were spread rapidly by text messages on cellular phones, and diverted the public’s attention from a breakthrough in negotiations in Kenya between Sudanese Vice President [...]

I’ll Have The Chicken

A recent USGS study found mercury contamination in every fish sampled in 291 streams nationwide. Mercury concentrations in fish at more than two-thirds of the sites exceeded the value of 0.1 micrograms per gram (μg/g) of mercury  that is of concern for the protection of fish-eating mammals. 27% of the sites exceeded 0.3 μg/g, which [...]

Remembering Lonesome Larry

Back in 1991 a single Sockeye Salmon constituted the entire run of fish to Redfish Lake in the Stanley Basin of the upper Snake River. That fish was nicknamed “Lonesome Larry“. The lake was named for the red spawning colors of these salmon and the species was then considered functionally extinct. Yesterday, biologists trapped the [...]

No Bull

Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) don’t ask much. Clean cold (generally below about 55 degrees), high quality water, clean gravels in which to deposit their eggs, deep pools and good cover. All these are things which Montana rivers used to have in abundance. Not so much any more. Historically, bull trout occurred throughout the Columbia River [...]