Naturally Imperfect

Usually, I try not to use social media to personally insult another commoner. Famous people, maybe--their name or promise becomes more than the person who wakes up in the middle of the night to use the toilet and finds out there's no paper on the roll. But someone else like me, just grinding through their...

Giving It My Best Shot

The approach of the autumnal equinox seems to usher a familiar feeling. I haven't totally figured myself out yet, but fall always has some power over me. For one thing, my childhood ensconced September as “back-to-school”. That's one thing I thought I had moved away from...but this year, I have summoned it back. Of course,...

When It’s Better to Laugh it Off

Around this time last year, I was still reeling from a major incident at work. A diluted blend of crude oil had hit the river, and I was part of the scramble to keep it from making too much of a mess. Of course, it did make a whole lot of mess. And it's still...

Cosmetic Dissonance (Parabens, Nuclear Bombs, and Alarm Fatigue)

I’m no psychologist or sociologist…but as a human being who pays attention to their body, mind, and emotions, I think it’s fairly obvious that there has to be some kind of fatigue associated with all the menacing shit we hear on the news. After waking up panicked about whatever new horror looms, numbing would develop...an...

Keys, Shellfish, and Vikings (A Newfoundland Travelogue)

There was a blur preceding the steering wheel. I had been awake nearly thirty hours, with a toddler no less, and I was in and out of airport terminals and darkened airplane cabins from Alberta's sunset to Newfoundland's sunrise. There isn't a chance for me to do anything more than just sit in an airplane...

God is Whoever Will Recognize Your Sacrifice (A Spring Poem)

When the heat rose It brought the ants out with it--- The bedrock slumbers under the shivering topsoil, All winter huddled up--- Now comes the tilt of the earth--- Now comes hibernation hangovers--- The creak in your elbow Only you can hear--- Now comes the sun again--- Now the snakes sun on gravel roads--- God...

Taking a Trip Through Love Canal: The Residuum

About 2.5 years ago, I heard Lois Gibbs speak. Her story, as a resident affected by the environmental disaster at Love Canal, NY, served as a touchstone for the work I do IRL—as an environmental scientist, a large part of what I do is contaminant remediation. As I mark five years of doing my best...

Somewhere Up Meander River Way

For the past couple weeks, in my part of the world, there has been a disheartening deep freeze. That damn “polar vortex”. Or for those whose memories stretch past this decade’s latest fad, or don’t care about feigning a peripheral knowledge of meteorology, it’s more cozily known as a “Canadian winter”. Nationalities aside, we are...

On Where to Stick Your Free Parks Canada Discovery Pass

WARNING: This blog entry contains unapologetically elitist opinions. Reasonable arguments are included, but I'm going to make you read through my opinion first. About a week ago, Canadian news reported that the Parks Canada website had crashed when traffic overwhelmed its servers. The reason for the traffic? The free Discovery Pass up for grabs in...

Archaeological Preamble (Found Poem)

Environment has always provided the parameters within which human cultures may develop by providing both opportunities and limitations.   As a result, elements of the regional environment are important considerations in the understanding of cultural development, as they influenced not only the types of activities that could be conducted, but the ways in which they...