The opossum, which is the only marsupial (pouched animals, like kangaroos, wallabies, platypuses) found in North America, is a native animal that can trace its roots to ancient South America. All of the marsupials that we associate with Australia can actually trace their family trees back to South America. Through processes like plate tectonics (movement... Read More
I found myself standing cold and wet in Times Square on a very rainy Monday afternoon. I was there to witness the November 26th landing of the Insight Mars lander on the Nasdaq screen. Mars is one of our sister planets. Like Earth it possesses an atmosphere albeit a thin one, and similar to Earth,... Read More
Originally published in the Easton Irregular I overheard a conversation a couple of weeks ago. “It’s never been this bad. I need a machete to clear the weeds. I’m feeling defeated. It’s more work than fun!” grumbled one gardener. “That’s exactly how I feel about my garden this year. I just could not keep up... Read More
What do these all really mean? When we want to understand how high our rivers and creeks are likely to rise in the future, or when we think about daily weather forecasts, we often think in thin straight lines – deterministic forecasts that tell us exactly what to expect, and when. For instance, the hydrograph,... Read More
“Start with the soil!” is accepted, time-honored garden wisdom. But … what if you don’t? What if you just accept the dirt you are given and make it work for you—without adding compost or fertilizer, without increasing the Nitrogen content or upping the percent of Organic Matter? And what if that dirt happens to be... Read More
Do you feel connected to the Earth? Do you think you can affect global systems through your local actions? Nurture Nature Center is currently halfway through a two-year NASA funded grant project, entitled “6 Degrees of Influence – Understanding the Interconnectedness of Earth Systems,” intended to educate middle school students about Earth systems and inspire... Read More
Does the way we display information about weather hazards affect someone’s likelihood to prepare? Could communities have better outcomes during flood events if weather forecasts were improved to be more understandable? Does understanding the true wide range of possible weather outcomes during an imminent flood event help people to make better preparedness decisions? These are... Read More
Written for Home Garden Seed Association www.ezfromseed.org Even lifelong gardeners are constantly discovering books, tools, and experiences that will make the job easier, richer, and more rewarding. Here are ideas for holiday—or anytime—gift giving. Books to hold in your hands. Some reading is best done the old-fashioned way, on the page. Here are a few... Read More
Right now, the conversation about communities at risk from flooding and related weather hazards is one of the most important to be had. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria have brought billions of dollars of damage, loss of life, and tremendous disruption and suffering in the past two months, and the path to recovery for these... Read More
2017 has been quite the year for hurricanes and it is only a little more than half over at the time of this blog post (late September). Hurricane Harvey (late August 2017) was the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States since 2005 Hurricane Wilma. It set the record for rainfall, with... Read More
