Kelp forests are the most complex and abundant ecosystems on earth, exceeding when they are healthy even tropical rain forests in both the diversity of species and the abundance of individuals. Enormous kelp forests once extended the length of the pacific coast to Alaska stretching out as much as three miles into the ocean. The little fish hide, the big fish lurk and the total ecosystem is extraordinarily diverse complicated and abundant. A kelp forest is a biological miracle.
Posts published in “Essays”
Since the election of Donald Trump, I have been haunted by aphorisms. Nothing happens in a vacuum. Everything is connected. There are no accidents. Life is but a dream.
In 1994 I called the Anderson Valley Health Center from a phone connected to a Redwood tree stump. I was in the third year of clearing land, milling wood, and building our house. I was…
If you have been paying attention—and if you haven't, shame! There will be a quiz at the conclusion of this installment — you know that around this time last year I wrote an epic poem…
For many it remains an open question whether the tricentenary of one of J. S. Bach’s most famous tunes—or, to be more precise, the work that eventually spawned that tune—should be a moment of celebration…
State Assemblymember Jim Wood has told the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors that the presidential election of Donald Trump has brought “uncertainty” to California, with health care and marijuana regulation being two main aspects. Wood…
Humboldt County has set its state and federal lobbying priorities for the coming year and one of the top-ranking items identifies a significant obstacle to collecting marijuana grow taxes. The county’s Board of Supervisors considered…
MaryLynn Mathre chaired a panel on “Medical Access for Veterans” at the Emerald Cup in Santa Rosa on Sunday. MLM was a lieutenant in the Navy Nurse Corps during the Vietnam War era. She married…
London — ‘Tis the season to think about the next season. Before letting the wave of Christmas gifts crash of over their heads and/or into the digital stockings, and before undertaking their own yuletide retail…