Wading into the reality of climate change— one portrait at a time Photographer Gideon Mendel discusses his “Drowning World” series ahead of his upcoming talk at the Palo Alto Photo Forum Ahmed. Khairpur Nathan Shah, Sindh; Pakistan. September 2010. (Courtesy of Gideon Mendel) These days it can be difficult to determine which is more alarming—the increasingly frequent news each year of catastrophic weather-related events, or the denialist viewpoint that nothing unusual is happening in that regard. It is ...
Read MoreHow one of the worst environmental disasters in Bay Area history has led to surprising progress over the past decade A Coast Guard 25-ft small boat patrols the Port of Oakland near the Cosco Busan on Nov. 10, 2007. The vessel struck the Bay Bridge in the San Francisco Bay on Nov. 7, 2007, and spilled approximately 53,000 gallons of oil into the Bay. (Photo by Petty Officer Second Class Prentice Danner, ...
Read MoreTalking photography and environmentalism ahead of Redwood City’s Nat Geo speaker series by Charles Russo At the water line in the Great Bear Sea, British Columbia. (Photo courtesy of Cristina Mittermeier) There are no shortage of quotes about the power of photography, many of them overwrought, but some finely tuned to the nuance and potential of the craft. Speaking with Cristina Mittermeier — contributing photographer, speaker and explorer for National Geographic — I kept thinking of a simple quote, ...
Read MoreHappy chickens, frolicking pigs: Where to buy local humanely-raised meat right here on the Peninsula You don’t have to be an insufferable bore to want boar that didn’t suffer! This little piggy from Root Down Farm is living the dream. Photo by Federica Armstrong. We all know that Portlandia episode where Fred and Carrie pepper their server with questions about the chicken. “How big is the area where the chickens are able to roam ...
Read MoreLove for the locavores at Pescadero’s Fifth Crow Farm How UCSC classmates became converts to sustainability and purveyors of delicious farm boxes for the SF Peninsula. Words and photos by Molly Cornfield Fifth Crow Farm produce is grown on 80 sun-and fog-kissed acres outside of Pescadero. It’s 8am on a Friday morning, and I’ve managed to get myself out of my Mountain View apartment, over the foothills, and to Fifth Crow Farm in Pescadero. The farm ...
Read MoreThis Labor Day, keep it low-stress with an outing to the farm country south of Half Moon Bay. The slice of bucolic heaven that lies on the other side of the Santa Cruz Mountains is one of the best things about Silicon Valley. Goat farms, produce stands and quaint towns turn a trip down Highway 1 into an odyssey to another time. And then there’s the scenery: miles of blue Pacific Ocean ...
Read MoreA Procrastinator’s Guide to Camping in the Bay Area Looking for a last-minute campsite within an hour of the Peninsula? Try one of these places. Matt Dolkas, content marketing manager for the Peninsula Open Space Trust, has a sermon to deliver to all you hiding in your cubicles right now: Get outside. Better yet, go camping. “Not to get too preachy, but that’s exactly what people need to do,” says Dolkas. “They need to feel the ...
Read MorePalo Alto Baylands (Photo by @diaryofatravelgeek) Now that Spring Break is just around the corner, every family needs a plan to keep occupied. What better way than to go hiking with your kids to burn off all that energy and take in California’s natural beauty? With shorter distances, more ubiquitous shade, and the all-important accessible bathrooms, these paths will pry the little ones off the couch and introduce them to the great outdoors. Bluff ...
Read MoreThe climate is changing via IG: sunilgarud Not a Stanford student, but still want to know what hot topics have the campus buzzing? No problem. Stanford professors are offering an array of open talks from video games to climate change geared towards educating and enriching the local community. So come to Stanford campus if you want to hear the newest research, learn about technology, or just need a little bit of inspiration. ...
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