Category Archives: Environment

Crow Planet

Posted on October 15, 2023 by Harry Katz

On a recent holiday in Ireland, we encountered several species of birds from the crow family that are quite different from the American Crow we see almost every day at home. The Hooded Crow has a black head but a … Continue reading →

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The Ends of the World

Posted on September 3, 2023 by Harry Katz

You might think a 290-page deep dive into mass extinction would be the most depressing book ever. But The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and Our Quest to Understand Earth’s Past Mass Extinctions by Peter Brannen is … Continue reading →

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Measuring Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Posted on August 26, 2023 by Harry Katz

A lot of numbers get tossed around in discussions about climate change. Degrees of warming, meters of sea level rise, square miles burnt or flooded, and most important, tons of greenhouse gases emitted. I like to know exactly what these … Continue reading →

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Under a White Sky

Posted on August 20, 2023 by Harry Katz

Whether you believe that God gave man dominion “over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth” or that humans have spent the last two hundred thousand years or so winning the Darwinian race, there’s … Continue reading →

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Held v. Montana: A Landmark Climate Victory

Posted on August 15, 2023 by Harry Katz

This is worth celebrating. Yesterday in a Montana district court, 16 youths, aged 5 – 22, won a lawsuit against the State of Montana for violating their right to a “clean and healthful environment” under the state constitution. This trial … Continue reading →

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Life on the Rocks: Building a Future for Coral Reefs

Posted on August 13, 2023 by Harry Katz

I was expecting this book to be full of dismal doom and gloom, but it was surprisingly hopeful. Then again, it was written before this year’s horrendous record-breaking ocean heat waves. More on this later. Coral reefs are under existential … Continue reading →

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Timeline of Climate Change Warnings

Posted on August 6, 2023 by Harry Katz

I’m trying something different in this post: an infographic. Over the last couple of years I’ve been reading a lot about climate change. One thing I’ve learned is that the science of climate change is not new. Scientists have been … Continue reading →

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The Climate Book

Posted on July 30, 2023 by Harry Katz

Climate change is happening now. Record-setting heatwaves, devastating forest fires, intense tropical storms and extreme flooding are no longer distant predictions, they’re daily events. In The Climate Book, Swedish environmental activist Geta Thunberg has gathered the expertise of over 100 … Continue reading →

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Eunice Newton Foote

Posted on July 17, 2023 by Harry Katz

Today’s Google doodle celebrates the 204th birthday of Eunice Newton Foote. You’ve probably never heard of her, but back in 1856, she was the first person to discover that carbon dioxide absorbed and retained heat in the atmosphere. Today we … Continue reading →

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Podcast: What’s next for clean energy and climate mitigation?

Posted on July 14, 2023 by Harry Katz

Back on the 28th of June, I had the pleasure of attending a live recording of the Volts podcast hosted by David Roberts here in Seattle at an event sponsored by Canary Media. Roberts interviewed energy analyst and author Ramez … Continue reading →

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