Travelling through a 40 degree summer looking for relief

Travelling through a 40 degree summer looking for relief

This summer I visited two coastlines: the western shore of Oregon and California by motorcycle, and the south coast of Spain. During both trips I experienced 40 C-and-higher temperatures, but the two countries dealt with the heat in different ways. The Oregon Trail and California coast are famous for spectacular seaside cliffs and long sandy … Read more

New NASA climate satellite will keep eye on plankton, clouds. Here’s why

New NASA climate satellite will keep eye on plankton, clouds. Here’s why

NASA’s newest climate satellite rocketed into orbit Thursday to survey the world’s oceans and atmosphere in never-before-seen detail. SpaceX launched the Pace satellite on its $948-million US mission before dawn from Cape Canaveral, Fla., with the Falcon rocket heading south over the Atlantic Ocean to achieve a rare polar orbit. The satellite will spend at … Read more

Calif. city Lancaster chose people over cars in its downtown. Did it work?

Calif. city Lancaster chose people over cars in its downtown. Did it work?

Not many California downtowns feature an idle F-4 Phantom supersonic jet tilted on a cement perch, but that’s exactly how the east end of main street in Lancaster begins.  The jet is in Boeing Plaza, at the mouth of a central boulevard in the Southern California city. From there, the road diverts into two slow … Read more