Author – The Durango Herald

Taxing carbon would help you, environment

Should we each pay a carbon tax, a fee assessed on the relative carbon content – and therefore the pollution potential – of coal, oil and natural gas? If so, how would such a tax help the en...

DATE: Jan 28, 2015 | CATEGORY: Your Ecological House

The gas glut may add to climate chaos

The price of gas at the pump has dropped dramatically, and that has many folks jumping for joy. Sorry to be a party pooper, but I’m not one of them. The recent tapping of America...

DATE: Jan 14, 2015 | CATEGORY: Your Ecological House

Listen closely for sounds of change

“Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?” – Edward Lorenz, chaos theory pioneer Recently, I’ve reflected on the truism that “nothin...

DATE: Dec 31, 2014 | CATEGORY: Your Ecological House

Doing your part can improve our future

“Marching won’t change anything,” my friend said. “It won’t change anybody’s mind about climate change, or anybody’s habits. It won’t change government policy or the carbon-based economy.” ...

DATE: Dec 17, 2014 | CATEGORY: Your Ecological House

Hollow Days show we have exceeded limits

At the risk of sounding like Scrooge or the Grinch, I often call our season of winter festivities the “Hollow Days” – the time of year when we get busy doing what we “should” but don’t alway...

DATE: Dec 3, 2014 | CATEGORY: Your Ecological House

Be grateful for loved ones, our biosphere

If you’re looking for something to be thankful for as the holidays draw near, consider your own lucky existence. Unless you believe that you were put on this Earth by a conscious...

DATE: Nov 19, 2014 | CATEGORY: Your Ecological House

Escape route from wildfire is best defense

There’s a category of stories I call “What was that guy thinking?” Although these cautionary tales mostly recount the misadventures of people who text while driving and go boatin...

DATE: Nov 5, 2014 | CATEGORY: Your Ecological House

The danger of living on forest’s edge

My wife’s friend spoke of her fear. Her home, in a pleasant development in a hilly, forested Urban Wildlife Interface Zone (UWIZ) at the edge of our town, could have burned down....

DATE: Oct 22, 2014 | CATEGORY: Your Ecological House

The wildfire next time: How hot will it burn?

In my town, there was a fire. It exploded in the middle of the night, burning 86 acres in a hilly Urban Wildlife Interface Zone, destroying most of a park and damaging two homes ...

DATE: Oct 8, 2014 | CATEGORY: Your Ecological House

These zombies are everywhere – and nowhere

Two young women sat down at the table next to mine in a restaurant. They began to talk, then one of them made the “wait-a-minute” gesture with her index finger. She pulled her ce...

DATE: Sep 24, 2014 | CATEGORY: Your Ecological House

Enjoy exercise without a stable of pricey gadgets

I’m not sure just how I wound up taking a semester of rope skipping to fulfill my 1960s-something college freshman physical education requirement. Suffice it to say that once I found myself ...

DATE: Sep 10, 2014 | CATEGORY: Your Ecological House

Divest or desist: Are you doing the right thing?

Praise be to Nero’s Neptune The Titanic sails at dawn And everybody’s shouting “Which side are you on?” – Bob Dylan, “Desolation Row” ...

DATE: Aug 27, 2014 | CATEGORY: Your Ecological House