Alaska’s Year without a Summer
Two-hundred and thirty-six years ago, when Gen. George Washington marched back into New York City as British troops were walking out, a volcano erupted in Iceland. For eight months of…
American Robins not Heading North Quite Yet
While walking the streets of Washington, D.C., last month, a pleasant sound stopped me. A male robin was singing, high in a sidewalk sycamore. It was December, months away from…
Life Recycled on a Wilderness Gravel Bar
At the approach of a canoe, the wolverine tears into the woods, its claws spitting mud. Seconds later, ravens explode from what resembles two branches reaching from a driftwood log…
What’s the Purpose of a Moose’s Long Nose?
A scientist from Ohio once pondered why moose have such long noses. Why, one might ask, does a scientist from Ohio care? It can tell them about evolution, said Lawrence…
Chunks of Northern Coast Fall to the Sea
The frozen cliffs of Drew Point, Alaska, (population zero) are tumbling to the ocean faster than perhaps any other location in the Arctic. The sea has eaten house-size chunks…
