I took the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) out of curiosity. Yes, that’s right, curiosity. Curiosity about the test. Curiosity about the law profession. Curiosity about whether I had something in me that would click with this test. Maybe it was because I’d recently done well on a 4 hour professional certification exam. I jumped into the land of LSAT and got a glimpse into a field that I didn’t know much about. And I liked it, somewhat. Here are my thoughts on the test, the logistics of the test, preparation, and dipping my toes into the world of law school admissions. Continue reading
Tag Archives: environment
The Return of Front Range Ski Life
Front Range Ski Life is a series that highlights a group of Colorado skiers and snowboarders living along the Front Range. In non-Coloradoan terms, that means we live at the base of the Front Range Mountains in Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, or Colorado Springs. I created Front Range Ski Life during the 2008-2009 ski season. It was a lot of fun making episodes like Resort Slackcountry and Zen and the Art of Skiing. But I let it go into hibernation for the past decade. The time is right wake it up and again share the Front Range Ski Life. Continue reading
Yogurt vs. Oatmeal for the Environment
Do you eat oatmeal or yogurt for breakfast? Is your choice dependent on taste, diet or another factor? Is that other factor the environmental impact? I recently swapped out my yogurt for oatmeal to try something new. Then I looked into the comparisons of yogurt versus oatmeal beyond taste. First, the health impacts and then the environmental impacts. There’s a plethora of information on the health debate of yogurt versus oatmeal. I provided links at the bottom for you to make your own health choice. So who wins the environmental impact battle of yogurt vs. oatmeal? Continue reading
Top 5 Environmentally Influential Places in the US
Teddy Roosevelt said, “I have always said I would not have been President had it not been for my experience in North Dakota.” I would not have my environmental perspective had it not been for these 5 places. As an environmental professional, I work to create a balance between a clean beautiful natural environment, human health, useable land, and productive facilities. Therefore, my Top 5 environmentally influential places are the following.
1. Southwestern and Central Pennsylvania, for its geology and geography. The old rocks, rolling hills and valleys, the landslides, the coal. It’s where I developed an appreciation for earth sciences. First, on my own spending time in those hills and valleys and second. Second, it’s where I studied geology at Penn State University.
Oktoberfest with Green Drinks Bozeman, MT
Green Drinks is a great example of living the environmental professional lifestyle. It is a group of people who work in the environmental field that meet monthly for a happy-hour style gathering of food, drinks, and conversation. The environment of beer (or other drinks) is just the thing this blog is all about. In their own words, Green Drinks includes a lively mixture of people from NGOs, businesses, academia, government and the local community across political and economic spectra who enjoy the opportunity to chat and network under a broad umbrella. Continue reading
Environmental Predictions Using Klosterman’s “But What If We’re Wrong?”
Yes, the book cover is deliberately upside down.
But What If We’re Wrong? Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past by Chuck Klosterman looks at present issues as if they were being viewed in the past. Explaining how we live now as if now was then is a fun and somewhat ridiculous exercise. He writes about gravity, time, rock music, television, and more. If you’re familiar with Klosterman’s work, it fits with his interesting writing. One area he doesn’t touch on is the environment. In fact, he states he’s not going to touch on the environment. I can think of many reasons he chose not to address the environment. For one, he may not have wanted the issue to become politicized. Unfortunately, this happens too often with environmental discussions. That’s what I’m here to do. I’ll play this game and make environmental predictions about the issues of today as if they were in the past. Continue reading
The Dilemma of Environmental Twitter
Environmental Twitter is the community on Twitter used to share an environmental message. This is everything from someone posting about their compost, a city promoting recycling, environmental activism, businesses promoting their projects, and the endless tweets about climate change. Twitter is a great tool for all of these. But if you spend more than a little time there, you’ll get the good and the bad and the ugly. That is the dilemma of Environmental Twitter. Continue reading
Heavy Seas Beer and the Clean Water Fund
“Without clean water there is no beer.” That’s a great slogan for a brewery that supports clean water. I was drinking a Winter Storm Imperial ESB from Heavy Seas Beer when I saw, “Can’t make great beer without clean water!” printed on the label. I don’t remember seeing a brewery that was this open, direct, and to the point with its commitment to an environmental cause. The Clean Water Fund logo and information was right there on the back label. I was curious to know more about Heavy Seas Beer’s support of the Clean Water Fund.
I enjoy the environment of beer and reached out to them to learn more. Fred Crudder, Director of Marketing & Hospitality, responded and was happy to tell the story of their support of the Clean Water Fund. Thanks also to Christine Shaffer, PR & Communications. They invited me to the brewery to meet. Unfortunately they are in Baltimore and I’m in Denver. If you’re in Baltimore or the mid-Atlantic and want a good beer that supports a good cause, stop in for a pint. Have one for me, too. Continue reading
Top 5 Worst Things You Do To the Environment
Coal on its way to be burned to power and cool your home and office.
What are the worst things you do for the environment? I’m not referring to deliberately dumping oils or toxins, or hunting the last of a species. I’m referring to those activities that you may take for granted. These are actions you take due to a combination of choice, comfort, convenience, and necessity, such as heating your home with fossil fuels. Even though I work in the environmental field, there are several day-to-day actions I take that I know are not environmentally friendly. So this post was both for me and you.
Below I identify the five worst things I do to the environment, plus five more that you might do. There is one action you can take, or may have taken, that is beginning to stand above the rest for its potential negative impact on the environment. That is to vote for and/or support an elected official who opposes environmental protection.
The top five worst things I do to the environment. I discuss the impact of each below.
Is Science Gone From the Environmental Field?
What would science know about designing wind turbines?
A friend of mine, a hydrologist doing actual hydrology, simplified something I’ve been thinking about. He said when his work crosses over to the environmental field it’s like a vacation. There’s no charts or data to analyze. It’s simply check-the-box, compliance, and explaining. “There’s no real science anymore.” That’s the line that hit me. Although I refer to myself as an environmental scientist, I’d been thinking about how I do little actual science. Then he said it. “There’s no real science left in the environmental field.” Bam! He’s right, from a certain point of view. Is science gone from the environmental field? Continue reading