Category Archives: Climate Change

A Postmortem on Dan Brown's "Inferno," and What's That Aron Ralston Dude Up to Now?

So apparently Aron Ralston—the solo rock climber who cut his own arm off when trapped by a boulder, as portrayed in James Franco’s 127 Hours (2010)—has run afoul of the law, to the tune of “domestic violence,” which hopefully did … Continue reading

Posted in Art, books/film, Climate Change | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

On Stephen D. King's "When the Money Runs Out: The End of Western Affluence," With a Nod to Gus Van Sant's "Promised Land"

So I’ve been reading Stephen D. King’s When the Money Runs Out: the End of Western Affluence, which seems like a perverse act. Of all the things to read in the world, why this? It’s mainly about macroeconomics, the global … Continue reading

Posted in books/film, Climate Change, Economics, Politics, The West | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Guest Blog Post on Dan Bloom's "CliFi" Blog

So I have a guest blog post/interview on Dan Bloom’s “CliFi” blog today, here. As I mention in the post, I’m working on a novel set during a catastrophic wildfire, and there’s one going on right now west of where … Continue reading

Posted in Birding, books, Climate Change, The West | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Review of Kent Wascom's "The Blood of Heaven," Plus a Mission Debrief

So my review of Kent Wascom’s impressive debut novel, The Blood of Heaven, appears today in the Dallas Morning News, here. It’s a rollicking book, and I have to say I keep thinking of that Hatfields & McCoys miniseries whenever … Continue reading

Posted in books, Climate Change, Cormac McCarthy, Photography, The West, Weird Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On "The Road," Choking on Smoke

So I’ve owned a house in southern Colorado for ten years, and during that time have seen our summer weather go up and down, some years wet and some years dry, only it always seems to be trending toward hotter … Continue reading

Posted in books, Climate Change, Cormac McCarthy, The West, Water Crisis, Weird Weather | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On Kent Haruf's "Benediction," Fyodor Dostoyevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov" and the Colorado Fires, Again

So this post should be a candidate for some kind of parlor game like “Try to pinpoint the logical connection (though there may not be one)”: I finished Kent Haruf’s Benediction, which includes a scare at the end (I won’t … Continue reading

Posted in books, Climate Change, The West, Weird Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On What We Learn from Birds, as "The Bird Saviors" Appears in Paperback Next Month

So in yesterday’s New York Times there’s a good piece about what birds can tell us about climate, here. I’m definitely a birder, though I prefer the term “birdist,” and have my own style in BirdWorld: I don’t join herds … Continue reading

Posted in Birding, books, Climate Change, The West, Uncategorized, Water Crisis | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

"The Bird Saviors" as an Example of "Cli-Fi": The Hot, New Literary Subgenre—Climate Fiction

So I’m amused to see this piece on NPR books, which defines a new literary subgenre called Cli-Fi, for Climate Fiction, via a good friend (Thanks, Elizabeth!), here. I’ve noticed a number of novels that have elements of Climate Change … Continue reading

Posted in Birding, books, Climate Change, Cormac McCarthy, Economics, The West, Weird Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Brace Yourself for Weird Weather: On Reading "The Year Without Summer" in the Year Without a Spring

So one of the reasons books like William and Nicholas Klingaman’s The Year Without Summer: 1816 have much resonance at the moment is that scientists are warning we’re at the cusp of a period of chaotic and unpredictable weather, due … Continue reading

Posted in books, Climate Change, The West, Weird Weather | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

"The Year Without Summer: 1816 and the Volcano That Darkened the World and Changed History" by William K. Klingaman and Nicholas P. Klingaman

So I’m reading William K. Klingaman and Nicholas P. Klingaman’s The Year Without Summer: 1816 and the Volcano That Darkened the World and Changed History (published just last month), which is billed as similar to Simon Winchester’s outstanding Krakatoa: The Day … Continue reading

Posted in books, Climate Change | Tagged , | Leave a comment