The World Below the Brine

The world below the brine,
Forests at the bottom of the sea, the branches and leaves,
Sea-lettuce, vast lichens, strange flowers and seeds, the thick tangle,
openings, and pink turf,
Different colors, pale gray and green, purple, white, and gold, the
play of light through the water,
Dumb swimmers there among the rocks, coral, gluten, grass, rushes,
and the aliment of the swimmers,
Sluggish existences grazing there suspended, or slowly crawling
close to the bottom,
The sperm-whale at the surface blowing air and spray, or disporting
with his flukes,
The …

by Walt Whitman | May 22, 2015

The Canyon That Houses Deep Cuts From My Family’s Past

Forty Miles South of Tucson, Madera Canyon Echoes With Memories of Marriage, Divorce, Loss, and Growing Up

by Paulina Pineda | May 15, 2015

The rustling of the leaves broke the silence as we sat on top of a giant boulder less than a mile up the trail. The rock appeared as if it …

The California Drought Crisis Is Everyone’s Fault

It’s Easy to Place the Blame on L.A. and Agriculture, But the State’s Water Deficit Goes Back to the 1950s

by Richard Goode | April 26, 2015

My grandfather used to tell the story of traveling from Bakersfield to San Francisco by boat as a boy in about 1910. First up the Tulare Lake, then up the …

I wish I were a killer whale

by Kevin Patrick Lee | April 24, 2015

Sure, you would have to look beyond my 5-ton physique,
understand that a washboard stomach is only a dream,
and that I will always be hairless.

I could no longer open …

Of Mice (Murder) and Men (With Cowboy Hats)

Photos Show Urban Californians the Rural Parts of the State They Can't Glimpse From the Freeways

April 23, 2015

Judging from the cars in the background of the photograph, you can tell it’s the 1960s. From a dusty patch of ground just outside a fenced enclosure, Renée, 13, is …

The Colorado Mountain Town That Owns My Heart

The One Constant in My Nomadic Childhood Was Crested Butte

by Stacia Affelt | April 8, 2015

I roamed the country in my youth, but Crested Butte, the charming mountain town that owned my heart, kept me from straying too far.

Despite living in six different states over …

nature

The World Below the Brine

The Canyon That Houses Deep Cuts From My Family’s Past

Forty Miles South of Tucson, Madera Canyon Echoes With Memories of Marriage, Divorce, Loss, and Growing Up

The California Drought Crisis Is Everyone’s Fault

It’s Easy to Place the Blame on L.A. and Agriculture, But the State’s Water Deficit Goes Back to the 1950s

I wish I were a killer whale

Of Mice (Murder) and Men (With Cowboy Hats)

Photos Show Urban Californians the Rural Parts of the State They Can't Glimpse From the Freeways

The Colorado Mountain Town That Owns My Heart

The One Constant in My Nomadic Childhood Was Crested Butte

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Don’t Gnash Your Teeth Over Shark Week, Shark Lovers

Yes, Our Chomp-Prone Ocean Friends Get Demonized, But Let’s Take Advantage of Public Interest and Set the Record Straight

Where I Go: The Biting Cold of Open-Water Swimming

When the Ocean Temperature Plunges in the Winter, There’s Nowhere to Hide

Rising Sea Levels Will Leave California With Fewer Beaches—and More Hard Decisions

In the Decades to Come, Some Coastal Homes, Highways, and Ecosystems Will Be Saved, While Others Will Surrender to the Ocean

Saving Nature, One Plastic Bag at a Time

Armed With Heavy Gloves and Trash Pickers, Salton Sea Residents Are Cleaning up Their Own Backyard

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