Saving mangrove forests

 Mangrove ecosystems provide habitat for a wealth of marine life, protect coastlines from storms, and store significant amounts of carbon. But rising sea levels and continued removal by humans could do them in. Read more in this piece for The Revelator. 

Saving Endangered Marine Species

Iconic ocean animals are disappearing as Earth faces a sixth major extinction event. Read about how people are working to protect them, and ways you can help in this piece from Scuba Diving. 

Remembering Grandpa's Motel

I have fond childhood memories of the roadside motel owned by my grandparents and run by my aunt and uncle near Lake Buchanan -- and of the slower, simpler times when such motels were common.

Mapping urban heat islands

Three Texas cities are part of a nationwide project this summer to map urban heat islands and help communities deal with the effects of increasing heat waves due to climate change. Read about it here. 

Bees and Diving in the Bahamas

Exuma island in the Bahamas may owe its clear waters in part to honeybees.The Exuma Foundation and Savannah Bee Co. helped bring the pollinators to the island. Read more in this article for Scubadiving.com. 

How whales avoid the bends

Beaked whales can spend two hours beneath the surface. Dolphins descend down to 1,000 feet and ­routinely make as many as 20 dives in a row to 300 feet. Research shows how these mammals avoid getting hit with decompression sickness. Read more in my piece in Scuba Diving magazine. 

John Howard Griffin, author of Black Like Me

John Howard Griffin, author of Black Like Me, was born on June 16, 1920 and died in 1980. This story in the June 2020 issue of Texas Co-op Power marked the 100th anniversary of his birth.