Blog - Through the sandglass

books education guest history science travel

Totally off-piste, but I have to say this

I spent twenty years of my life living and working in the US. My wife is American. My kids were born in Detroit and Dallas (and my daughter currently works in n...

March 1, 2016 11 min read

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

It's not just Namibian fairies

Described as one of the last great enigmas or mysteries, the so-called fairy circles of the arid lands of Namibia remain to be explained. Theories abound, and t...

April 1, 2016 6 min read

art books climate_change history photography sand travel

Theeb

“Epic” “intimate” “brutal” “riveting” “spellbinding” “spectacular.” The adjectives come tumbling out of the reviews - but please see this movie for yourself. De...

April 1, 2016 4 min read

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

April 2016

April 2016 Described as one of the last great enigmas or mysteries, the so-called fairy circles of the arid lands of Namibia remain to be explained. Theories ab...

April 1, 2016 5 min read

art books climate_change education environment history photography rivers_water sand science travel

Camels don't fly, deserts don't bloom

Back in November last year, I described how, very controversially, Arizona is exporting its water in vast quantities to Saudi Arabia, via alfalfa to feed Saudi...

May 1, 2016 9 min read

climate_change photography sand travel

May 2016

May 2016 This happens very, very rarely, but right now I am completely, totally, and utterly lost for words. [Screen grabs from [USA Today]( http://www.usatoday...

May 1, 2016 1 min read

climate_change photography travel

WHAT??????

This happens very, very rarely, but right now I am completely, totally, and utterly lost for words. [Screen grabs from USA Today and the U.S. Drought Monitor. V...

May 1, 2016 1 min read

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

A Reverence for Rivers (3): Piling up a heritage of conflict and litigation over water rights

We only have ONE hydrologic system, dammit! School kids know that (it’s in all their textbooks), geologists, geophysicists, geomorphologists, environmental scie...

June 1, 2016 19 min read

coastal history photography travel

I am ashamed of my country

I’m not going to apologise for departing, once again, from the theme of this blog. I am appalled that my country has betrayed its younger generation, insulted i...

June 1, 2016 3 min read

coastal photography sand

It's the silly season

OK, granular materials behave strangely, but I really don’t think this is going to work. [I have no idea where this picture was taken - it’s been circulating on...

June 1, 2016 1 min read

photography sand

June 2016

June 2016 OK, granular materials behave strangely, but I really don’t think this is going to work. [I have no idea where this picture was taken - it’s been circ...

June 1, 2016 1 min read

art books coastal education history photography sand science travel

"No one actually studies sand" - misconceptions and science literacy

For one reason or another (likely to be discussed in a future post), I have been working on an essay that attempts to address cross-cultural aspects of viewing...

July 1, 2016 4 min read