February 22, 2014 AOL You remember Koko the gorilla, right? Koko was born in the '70s at the San Francisco Zoo. Francine (Penny) Patterson, then a Ph.D. candidate at Stanford, started studying young Koko's linguistics capabilities and eventually taught her a rudimentary version of sign language. Over the years, Koko has become a gorilla celebrity and spokes-ape for global conservation efforts. She…

September 26, 2014 As Solano County enjoys an incredible new flow of water in local creeks after the recent Napa earthquake, experts are speculating what might be the source of this “bonus from nature”. Officials report that at least 200,000 gallons of water per day are flowing from Wild Horse Creek, with many other areas reporting similar phenomena. Water quality tests performed…

By Mike Waters Mon Feb. 15, 2016 Our basic understanding of energy is fundamentally flawed. 100% energy efficiency is not a rational barrier in a universe composed of energy. I use the wind industry as an example because the error we have made regarding the nature of energy itself can be explained using similar logic.  In the wind industry, a simple mistake has…

By Mike Waters Mon Feb. 15, 2016 Crises We now face the greatest convergence of global crises in the history of our civilization. Each is synergistic and complex. The cascading consequences of these threats are beyond our current ability to address with current strategy, science, technology, resources or politics.  Population levels are increasing rapidly while a broad range of finite vital resources…

By Gregory Barber Fri Jan. 29, 2016 Discarded plastic will outweigh fish in the world's oceans by 2050, according to a report from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. That is, unless overfishing moves the date up sooner. The study, a collaboration with the World Economic Forum, found that 32 percent of plastic packaging escapes waste collection systems, gets into waterways, and is eventually…