Pacific Standard March-April 2013 Cover

Species Disappearing Faster Than We Can Count

July 17, 2012 • By • Leave a Comment
Green Bottle Blue Tarantula

In 2012, a sneezing monkey, a spongy mushroom, and a blue tarantula became official earthly inhabitants alongside more than 15,000 other new discoveries. Some of these species are more than just wondrous creatures, their existence could have broad implications. A wild rice species discovered in the 1970s was hybridized, and increased the world's rice production nearly fourfold. To this day, that rice provides food in places where it would otherwise be scarce. Every time we discover a new species, it could be a link to health, food, medicine: something that can help what ails us. Over ... Read More

More like this: Environment
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Could Water Bring Jobs Back to the U.S.?

May 8, 2012 • By • Leave a Comment
Waterpic

Have you gotten the memo yet? You can stop worrying about peak oil: the United States is sitting on centuries of natural gas and Canada is full of tar sands. But then there is water. No less than Morgan Stanley Smith Barney declared “peak water” the challenge of the century last December in a report upholstered with authoritative graphs showing the heating of the world and the shrinking of water resources. Words almost failed report writers as they declared, “Water may turn out to be the biggest commodity story of the 21st century, as declining supply and rising demand combine to create ... Read More

More like this: Business & Economics
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The Balance of Evil-Doing: Kiri’s Impacts

August 30, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment

Let an admission of hypocrisy herald the end of my three-month voyage from California to southern Mexico: I used a lot of petroleum. The V8 Ford van that I drove, also known as El Hippo (why the name? see side note), had a hunger that was hard to contain. It got a pathetic 12 miles per gallon. Here I am, exploring the effects of climate, advocating solutions to improve the resilience of coastal communities, yet I'm also part of the problem. Nevertheless, as economics teaches us, the true cost depends on the alternatives. So, as an aspiring do-gooder, I'd like to know, "What is the balance ... Read More

More like this: Environment, Voyage of Kiri
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The Barricades of Michoacán’s Bandito Alley

July 28, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment
mmw_kirimapSMALL0728

Location: At Rio Nexpa, in the southern end of Michoacán, where muddy water from recent rainstorms dirties the turbulent ocean. Under coconut trees, palm thatch huts line the perimeter of the riverbank. Conditions: The northerly breeze covers everything in salt spray. The air is pleasantly cool after the sporadic downpours. Discussion: As I drove south, the landscape kept changing in surprising ways. Around Puerto Vallarta, the dense jungle and verdant coastal mountains rising out of Banderas Bay is like a perfect capsule of the tropics. It inspired Hollywood producers to shoot movies ... Read More

More like this: Environment, Voyage of Kiri
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Solar’s New Dawn, With Applicator Brush

July 8, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment
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The lone photovoltaic panel, perched like a pterodactyl on a suburban rooftop, is an ungainly reminder of the stillborn response to the 1973 oil crisis, when energy self-sufficiency was an all-too-brief national priority. Back then it all seemed simple: sunlight was free and abundant and solar panels looked like an obvious energy solution. But solar energy never quite caught on with Americans. The oil crisis passed, while panels were costly, bulky and not very efficient at converting sunlight to electricity. Most people decided hooking up to the electrical grid was both easier and ... Read More

More like this: Environment
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Observatories in a Remote National Park

June 1, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment
mmw_kiriobservatory

High above two coastlines, Kristian Beadle looks for clues about the climate. Location: Sierra San Pedro Martir, an alpine national park in the middle of the Baja peninsula, at a campsite surrounded by pine trees and chunks of snow, 8,000 feet above sea level. Conditions: Cold! The sun just set behind the trees and a chill is setting in. The open-air fire is keeping our feet warm. Discussion: From the top of the astronomical observatory, we could see the outline of the Sea of Cortez to the east and faint glimmers of the Pacific Ocean to the west. "It has been a little hazy these ... Read More

More like this: Environment, Voyage of Kiri
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Perhaps We’ll See Peak Bunker Oil, Too

May 6, 2010 • By • 3 Comments
Return of the Jet Set

The last few years haven't been kind to the shipping industry. First there was the chaos of summer 2008, when the cost of oil rose to nearly $150 per barrel. Prices eventually dropped, but only because of the onset of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Today, things are looking up. Shipping has increased by a third since last year, and the amount of cargo coming into the U.S. is predicted to grow by nearly 20 percent this year, which would bring imports close to where they were in 2008. But the future of transoceanic shipping is cloudy. Cargo ships use diesel that's ... Read More

More like this: Environment, Science, Science & Environment
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The Frontier and the Two Countries

May 3, 2010 • By • 1 Comment
The binational meeting to establish a network from both sides of the border to protect the watershed. (Kristian Beadle)

The Voyage of the Kiri is moving along and has reached the Tijuana River watershed before even leaving the U.S. city of San Diego. Location: at the reserve for the Tijuana River Estuary on the U.S. side of the border. Conditions: Windy and cool, 6 p.m. Representatives of different nonprofit organizations from both U.S. and Mexico are meeting to establish a binational network to protect the Tijuana River watershed and estuary. Discussion: I never thought about it, but Mexico actually starts in San Diego County. Not because a big Mexican flag can be seen flying on clear days in ... Read More

More like this: Environment, Science & Environment, Voyage of Kiri
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A Water Exhibit and Aztec Art

April 29, 2010 • By • 1 Comment
Voyage of Kiri

As the overland Voyage of the Kiri commences, I approach the Mexican border but on the way south learns about the Aztecs and water in separate Los Angeles exhibitions. Location: At a friend's cottage near Point Loma in San Diego. From the deck, they point out the fuzzy hills of Tijuana in the distance. Conditions: Clouds dissipating after a light rain this morning. Discussion: We climb a hill and BAM! We can see Mexico far away. We are in San Diego on the brink of the journey. "We" being El Hippo the silver Ford van, my sweetheart, Alyssum, who is joining us for a month, and ... Read More

More like this: Environment, Science & Environment, Voyage of Kiri
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Balancing the Power of Offshore Wind

April 29, 2010 • By • 3 Comments
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Despite the buzz this week from Interior Secretary Ken Salazar approving the controversial Cape Wind project off Cape Cod, the United States has yet to construct any offshore wind farms despite a slew of ideas blowing around and 11 specific proposals on the table. Europe, meanwhile, has taken a lead in offshore wind, and is looking at more. While those U.S. projects inch forward, researchers see a wealth of wind being wasted. Willett Kempton, a marine policy professor and offshore wind expert at the University of Delaware, calls the wind off the Mid-Atlantic coast "a huge resource. ... Read More

More like this: Environment, Science & Environment
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