Author Archives: Harry Katz
State-wide Blackout in South Australia
Yesterday the entire state of South Australia, about 1.5 times the area of Texas, suffered an electricity blackout due to a severe storm that knocked out major transmission lines. Photo: Electranet Network Services Here’s an interesting report on the causes … Continue reading
The Chemistry of Burning Stuff
Whenever we burn fossil fuels, be it gasoline, natural gas or charcoal, one of the byproducts is carbon dioxide ( CO2). That’s a big worry these days because the huge amounts of carbon dioxide we’re putting into the atmosphere is … Continue reading
Swainson’s Thrush
They’re back! Swainson’s Thrush have returned to the North Cascades forests. I’m not a birdwatcher – glasses too thick – so I’ve never seen this bird close enough to identify it by color or markings. But I sure have heard … Continue reading
Agnostic: A Spirited Manifesto
Agnostic: A Spirited Manifesto By Lesley Hazleton Riverhead Books, New York, 2016 Lesley Hazleton does not like the word “the”. At least not when it’s used in discussing matters of religion, faith, or spirituality, such as the meaning of life, … Continue reading
Vibrator People
The Amtrak Cascades from Seattle to Portland slowed to a hissing stop alongside a BNSF freight train somewhere in open country south of Olympia, Washington. Through my rain-streaked window I saw this message painted on the side of the adjacent … Continue reading
Supreme Court puts Obama’s Clean Power Plan on hold
On February 9, the Supreme Court issued a “stay” blocking implementation of the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan rules that aim to cut CO2 emissions from the nation’s power plants until challenges to the regulations can be heard by the … Continue reading
Big World Small Planet
Are we doomed? Have we messed up the Earth beyond all hope? News reports about the environment would sure make you think so. From CO2 emissions to deforestation to species extinction; you name it, it seems like humans are totally … Continue reading
The Court and The World
The Court and the World is about the increasing interplay between the Supreme Court of the United States and the people, laws and courts of foreign countries. And it’s written by an extremely well-qualified expert, Stephen Breyer, Associate Justice of … Continue reading
Unsolicited reflections on 2015
Back at the beginning of last year, I wrote a post Cautious Optimism for 2015. My overall point was about focusing on long term trends as a remedy for becoming overwhelmed by the incessant drumbeat of bad news. Was I … Continue reading
Maps and journeys
I unearthed this cache of old road maps the other day while doing a major cleanup of my office. I’d completely forgotten about them and I was pleasantly surprised by the number of places I’ve visited over the years. As … Continue reading
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