education - Through the sandglass

art books coastal education photography sand science travel

Philadelphia sandy news, and a couple of commercials

I’m reporting from the Philadelphia suburbs at the moment and therefore enjoying all the news that’s fit to print in the Philadelphia Inquirer each morning. On...

May 1, 2009 3 min read

art books climate_change coastal education environment geology geomorphology history photography rivers_water sand science travel

Sandstone-making microbes, tafoni - and an extraordinary design idea

I love connections. Those unexpected and wonderful threads of stories that link and flow from one subject to another, subjects that would have seemed to have ha...

April 1, 2009 9 min read

art books climate_change coastal education environment geology geomorphology history photography rivers_water sand science travel

April 2009

Musings and news on the extraordinary stories sand has to tell of our planet and daily lives

April 1, 2009 8 min read

art books climate_change coastal education environment geology geomorphology history photography rivers_water sand travel

Clogged Arteries - natural and unnatural rivers

Rivers are vital but also complex and dynamic systems - vital for the planet and vital for us. Civilization has always had an intimate relationship with rivers....

March 1, 2009 6 min read

climate_change coastal education geology geomorphology history photography rivers_water sand science travel

Rivers again - sandbags in the Red River Valley

Last Sunday was World Water Day, highlighting the global issues associated with this precious resource. But one of those issues is, as with all natural resource...

March 1, 2009 3 min read

art books climate_change education geomorphology history photography sand science travel

March 2009

Musings and news on the extraordinary stories sand has to tell of our planet and daily lives

March 1, 2009 5 min read

art climate_change coastal education geomorphology history photography sand science travel

Building New York - the Long Island Sandminers

You’re standing by the side of the road when a dump truck hauls into view, one of the big ones, filled with sand. It’s closely followed by another, and another,...

February 1, 2009 5 min read

art books coastal education geology geomorphology history photography sand science travel wildlife

From Bogart to Bugs - the Angle of Repose

I try to make a point of watching all movies that feature sand in a significant role (probably the subject of a future post), and my 88-year-old father-in-law w...

February 1, 2009 6 min read

art books climate_change coastal education geology geomorphology history photography rivers_water sand science travel

Magic Crystals - Tales Zircons Tell

The picture on the left is of our oldest earthly possessions. They are sand grains, but special ones, each an individual crystal of zircon, the silicate of the...

February 1, 2009 8 min read

art coastal education environment history photography sand science travel wildlife

Grain-by-Grain (1): worm superglue

We are not the only species that builds homes and condominium complexes from sand. For example, some foraminifera construct shells from sand grains, as does the...

January 1, 2009 4 min read

art education environment geology history photography rivers_water sand travel

Grain-by-Grain (2): the amazing sand bottles of Andrew Clemens

Sand has always provided a medium, a muse, an inspiration in many ways, but the way in which it inspired Andrew Clemens was extraordinary - and unique. Clemens...

January 1, 2009 13 min read

art climate_change coastal education environment history photography sand science travel wildlife

Of Mice and Sand - Evolution in Action

This is the year of the great Darwinfest and, inevitably, sand makes its contribution. The immediate reference would be to the “sand walk” at Down House in the...

January 1, 2009 6 min read