By Dr. Robert Thorson Beware the serpent. This is a biblical injunction to avoid reptiles without limbs. Beware the serpentine. This is my geological injunction to avoid building homes on the banks of meandering rivers, which writhe on their flood plains like snakes in the grass. I refer to the tragic case of Pete and […]
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A Lake or Pond? Culture Muddies Waters
By Dr. Robert Thorson Connecticut, with much at stake, Prefers to call a pool a lake, But in New Hampshire and beyond They like to call a lake a pond. Those lines are from a poem by Phyllis McGinley titled “New England Pilgrimage.” If this sounds like a riddle, then my suggestion is that you […]
California’s Looming Water Disaster
By Dr. Robert Thorson Earth’s most precious fluid is not gasoline, but the tiny fraction of Earth’s water that is neither frozen nor vaporized, low enough in salinity to be considered fresh and free enough of contaminants to be legally potable. By mid-century, its price will be on people’s minds the way liquid fuel is […]
National Survey – Clearly, Lakes Need Help
By Dr. Robert Thorson Living in a coastal region with beautiful hills and valleys, very few residents of southern New England focus their outdoor attention on lakes. But more attention is needed, if only because lakes are an important part of our national freshwater resource. A major boost to that crucial focus is being provided […]
Protecting Water Saves Tiny Town’s Store
By Dr. Robert Thorson I’m on a road trip, blogging my way from Maine to Montana in search of stories about Earth’s most precious fluid – fresh water. I stumbled across something so cool in Eaton, N.H., that I ditched my planned column about the new Connecticut Science Center. (I’ll get back to that one.) […]
Putting Their Water on a Pedestal
By Dr. Robert Thorson Is there a higher power? There is. I found it nearly everywhere west of the Adirondacks during my freshwater journey from Maine to Montana. The higher power I speak of is the iconic water tower of the Midwestern sky. It holds Earth’s most precious substance in its liquid phase. That’s what […]
Live Sustainably Within Your Watershed- Uconn Water Worries
By Dr. Robert Thorson. ‘Unquenchable” is the title of Robert Glennon’s scorching critique of U.S. historical water policy. The word also applies to the University of Connecticut’s seemingly unlimited thirst for water. To ensure the growth of its Technology Park, hedge against drought and deliver on its commitments, the university wants to build a pipeline […]
Leave Barrier Islands to the Wind and Tides
By Dr. Robert Thorson Residents of the Lone Star State and federal taxpayers should think twice before rebuilding the hundreds of homes that were swept away several weeks ago by Hurricane Ike. I realize that Texas pride includes the Alamo where – though greatly overpowered – every man fought to the last. I hope that […]
Earth Blog #4 – Breakthrough to High Schools
Last year was a breakthrough year for the Department of Earth Sciences. Perhaps you noticed the stronger support by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; the addition of two full professors active in paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental research; the dean’s appointment of a new department head (Tracy Frank); a near-doubling of our graduate student group; […]
Colorado Floods Bad, Heavy Rains Worse
By Dr. Robert Thorson Boulder, Colorado. Both of these names derive from torrential river flows. So why the media hysteria about the floods there last month? The city of Boulder was named for Boulder Creek, which was named for the abundance of large boulders. How did they get there? By torrential stream flows giving rise […]