Ecology Series – July 5, 2023

Ecology Series – July 5, 2023

Ecology is the scientific study of interactions among organisms and their environment. It focuses on understanding how living organisms, including plants, animals, and microorganisms, interact with each other and their physical surroundings, such as air, water and...
Heat Domes – June 28, 2023

Heat Domes – June 28, 2023

For the last couple of weeks, parts of the southern US and Mexico have been enduring severe heat, with temperatures soaring to record highs in several cities in Texas. For example, Del Rio, a city on the Texas/Mexico border, has seen 8 straight days with daily record...
Microbial Buffet – June 21, 2023

Microbial Buffet – June 21, 2023

Most likely, we’ve all heard this before: eating a high-fiber diet is good for you. But now a new study published in Nature Communications reveals some potential mechanisms for WHY. In a nutshell, when it comes to calories from high-fiber whole foods versus...
Redcloud and Sunshine – June 14, 2023

Redcloud and Sunshine – June 14, 2023

Redcloud and Sunshine Peaks are 14ers (peaks over 14,000 feet) in the remote San Juan Mountains in Colorado. These are among the largest (by area), most varied and, one can argue, most scenic mountains in the state. Volcanism in this area began about 35 million years...
Carbon Dioxide Climb – June 5, 2023

Carbon Dioxide Climb – June 5, 2023

Earlier this week, scientists from NOAA and the Scripps Institution for Oceanography (at UC San Diego) announced that the carbon dioxide levels measured at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii have peaked at 424 parts per million (ppm) during the month of May. You may...
The Billion-Year-Old Beartooth Mountains – May 31, 2023

The Billion-Year-Old Beartooth Mountains – May 31, 2023

Granite Peak, the highest point in the state of Montana, located in the Beartooth Mountains, is known for its technical climbing routes and, because of this, along with poor weather and the challenging route-finding, it is considered one of the most difficult of the...