Connecticut (and the rest of the world for that matter) looks so different from above than from the ground. I spend a good deal of time looking at aerial imagery of Connecticut including different color combinations, times of year (leaves or no leaves) and different years to see change. There are many places that I […]
Ruminations
Ponderings, rants and raves.
What We Don’t Know We Don’t Know About Climate Change
With a Shout out to Donald Rumsfeld “There are known knowns; there are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns; that is to say, there are things that we now know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns – there are things we do not know we don’t know. ” […]
When it comes to Climate Change— Money Talks
It is generally accepted by climate scientists that New England will experience a trend of increasing intensity and frequency of storms resulting in an increase in flooding and coastal erosion. Recent storms have raised our collective awareness of the damage, both fiscal and physical, that these storms can cause. Consider that Sandy wasn’t even a […]
Of Witch Hazel and Wood Frogs
Here at CLEAR I don’t think anyone would claim to be a naturalist, at least of any skill or repute. But that doesn’t prevent our collective and individual enjoyment of the natural world, including the signal events that mark the turning of the seasons. For me (forgive me, crocus fans), there are really three signature […]
Celebrating World Water Day at Home
Today, Friday March 22, is World Water Day. Most of us have heard quotes like “the next war will be fought over water” (generally attributed to various U.N. diplomats). And, on the other side of the water quotation spectrum, there is the oft-repeated but unsubstantiated quote by comedian W.C. Fields, who supposedly said “Water, I […]
Do "We" Believe in Climate Change?
Over the last year and a half here in Connecticut, we have certainly seen our fair share of extreme weather events – Irene, the Halloween nor’easter of 2011, Sandy, Winter Storm NEMO (no relation to our NEMO), etc. These events have certainly had a big physical and financial impact on our state, but may have also […]
Dietz Gets Sappy About Water
It’s funny sometimes how seemingly unrelated events help to congeal an idea in your head (or in my case remind you of an idea that you had thought about before, and then forgotten…I am 40 after all!). Earlier this week I finally checked out the NPR story that Don Waye from EPA had sent, that […]
Oh the App it is awaitin’!
With apologies to Bob Dylan, & more abject apologies to Bob Dylan fans (in fact, apologies to everyone) [ References for those under 40: audio historical ] Come gather ‘round people, wherever you’ve been And admit that the runoff is up to your chin. Well it looks like that soon you must learn […]
What’s 30m land cover good for, anyway?
This week CLEAR unveiled the updated and expanded version of our Changing Landscape (CL) project, which uses remote sensing imagery to look at changes in our landscape over time. Formerly called “Connecticut’s Changing Landscape,” the project now includes the NY portions of the lower Long Island Sound watershed, and boasts a whopping (not to mention […]
Cool websites
Does anyone actually use the word “cool” anymore (it seems at least to have outlived “groovy”)? Anyway, here are two very cool websites that have very little to do with CLEAR, except that they are focused on the natural world. Give ’em a try. National (real-time) Wind Map The Scale of the Universe 2