WILD ALASKAN SALMON are a gold standard for American seafood. The long journey from the river to the ocean and back builds the muscle mass that gives the fish their distinct texture and flavor, and the clean rivers of the north produce seafood with very low levels of mercury and other contaminants. Indigenous communities have been harvesting salmon […]
A FEW YEARS AFTER a public-private partnership established the Nature Reserve of Orange County to protect and restore southern California’s rare coastal sage scrub habitat, biologists documented the presence of 35 native reptiles and amphibians on the 37,000-acre site. They also noted two conspicuous absences: the California glossy snake and the long-nosed snake … (READ MORE at […]
Meet “bambootula.” This newfound tarantula lives in northern Thailand. It gets its nickname from the bamboo stems where it makes a home. This spider is a member of a genus — a group of related species — that scientists had never seen before. Its discoverers say it’s the first time in 104 years that anyone […]
ON THE OUTSKIRTS of the northern California town of Grass Valley, a massive concrete silo looms over the weeds and crumbling pavement. Nearby, unseen, a mine shaft drops 3,400 feet into the earth. These are the remains of Grass Valley’s Idaho-Maryland Mine, a relic from the town’s gold mining past. Numerous mines like this one once […]
MILLIONS OF PEOPLE travel to California’s redwood forests every year to marvel at the few remaining stands of old-growth trees. Sequoia sempervirens, or the coast redwood, thrives in the damp climate along the Pacific Ocean. Some are more than 2,000 years old, and the tallest can reach 380 feet. The state is also home to a second […]
Near the northern border of California, straddling an ancient redwood forest and the wild and windswept Pacific coast, Humboldt County is one of the most uniquely beautiful places in the world. (Lonely Planet)
Thousands of underground mines across the state linger in toxic anonymity. In April 2006, 32-year-old Jason Chellew was relaxing in his Alta, California home when the ground opened up beneath him, swallowing him and most of his living room. (Earth Island Journal)
Twenty-four kids and a handful of parents stand on a rocky island on the ambling Yuba River. One of the adults reaches into the chilly water and pulls out a very large, very dead fish. He holds it up with both hands. Eyes widen. Noses wrinkle. (Sacramento Parent)
Nikola Tesla was a lot of things. He was an inventor, a futurist, and a genius. Also he really liked pigeons. And until recently, everyone agreed he probably didn’t invent a death ray. Except that he kind of did. (Grunge.com)
