tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36838500615922481932024-02-07T19:49:10.969-05:00TurnstoneAmy Mathews Amoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16857551645148070119noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683850061592248193.post-59770152851331382862012-01-24T13:29:00.003-05:002012-01-24T13:31:14.481-05:00New website and BlogFor my current website and blog, please go to amymathewsamos.comAmy Mathews Amoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16857551645148070119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683850061592248193.post-75139467953055378922011-08-19T10:48:00.002-04:002011-10-12T19:23:44.853-04:00Not A Shore ThingAs they say, it’s all relative. Assateague Island off the coast of Maryland and Virginia remains one of the wildest seashores in the Mid-Atlantic, as I wrote in this month’s issue of The Observer. The waves pound sandy beaches lined with dunes, not condos, and standing in the right place on a clear day, you can simultaneously admire the crashing surf to the east and the calm Amy Mathews Amoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16857551645148070119noreply@blogger.com1Assateague Island, United States38.0932834 -75.20706439999997937.8870034 -75.352095399999982 38.2995634 -75.062033399999976tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683850061592248193.post-76740865093870381192011-04-18T10:56:00.001-04:002011-04-25T11:34:19.987-04:00Bio BreakA handoff occurred during my first viewing. I was mesmerized by the piercing yellow eyes constantly scanning the surroundings, and the fuzzy gray head of a baby bird poking out from underneath the breast feathers. Suddenly, another eagle entered the frame and landed on the edge of the nest. The dramatic effect doubled: now there were two massive birds and bold white Amy Mathews Amoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16857551645148070119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683850061592248193.post-84563640269626272162011-04-01T18:37:00.001-04:002011-04-18T09:42:11.634-04:00Digging DeepIt must be the primal, hunter-gatherer part of our brain that makes people so wild (so to speak) this time of year. Now that it’s April, it’s ramp season in Appalachia, and rural people throughout West Virginia and nearby states will soon be scouring the hillsides, often in large groups, digging up clumps of smelly, leafy bulbs. Ramps (Allium tricoccum) are wild leeks with tastyAmy Mathews Amoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16857551645148070119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683850061592248193.post-45505704334786319062011-03-29T17:56:00.004-04:002011-04-18T09:44:38.505-04:00Our Time in the SunTalk about backfiring. In our quest for longer, healthier, and more comfortable lives, we’ve removed ourselves so far from our evolutionary history that we’re perversely making ourselves less healthy.
Yes, pollution is an obvious culprit. We’ve known for decades that toxic chemicals used for modern conveniences can cause cancer, birth defects, and reproductive problems.
Amy Mathews Amoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16857551645148070119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683850061592248193.post-7060312317559328472011-03-25T09:27:00.002-04:002011-04-18T11:34:32.577-04:00Not In My BackyardAs they say, denial is more than just a river in Egypt. Apparently, it’s also a fundamental part of nuclear energy planning in the United States. The recent disaster in Japan has renewed fears about the vulnerability of US nuclear reactors to earthquakes or other disasters. In at least one case, the reaction from officials has been a not-so-reassuring “don’t worry, it Amy Mathews Amoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16857551645148070119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683850061592248193.post-91314967555067947042011-03-17T11:29:00.001-04:002011-04-18T11:35:20.894-04:00Speaking of cars and climate change...In a recent piece for my local newspaper, the Shepherdstown WV Observer, I used my harrowing experience in a DC rush hour snow storm to address all-to-common skepticism about anthropocentric climate change. But heavy snowfall wasn’t the only climate-relevant news story this past winter. We saw a fair bit of hype about the new electric car debuted by Chevy, the Volt. The Amy Mathews Amoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16857551645148070119noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683850061592248193.post-28072223188184608912010-09-08T17:29:00.003-04:002011-04-07T17:54:29.691-04:00Obama Enacts Ocean ZoningBy Amy Mathews Amos
Amid the ongoing coverage of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a major development in how we use and manage offshore waters has gone virtually unnoticed. On July 19 President Obama an executive order directing federal agencies to come up with plans to, in effect, zone the oceans within our territorial waters in much the same way local governments zone land.
Before Tea Amy Mathews Amoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16857551645148070119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683850061592248193.post-1245827755911655962010-04-10T17:52:00.001-04:002011-04-07T17:53:54.706-04:00Killing NemoBy Amy Mathews Amos
It’s a true story. Well, not exactly true – clown fishes and blue tangs can’t really talk like they do in Disney’s animated film Finding Nemo. But those beautiful fish inhabiting the aquarium in your dentist’s office or your cousin’s home really are taken directly from tropical coral reefs. And if you found yourself rooting for Nemo, brace yourself.
Each year an estimated Amy Mathews Amoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16857551645148070119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683850061592248193.post-33983132397354190052010-03-12T16:02:00.003-05:002010-03-12T16:07:18.557-05:00Charting Her Course to NOAA“I have real glasses somewhere,” Lois Schiffer laughs as she puts on a pair of red framed eyeglasses missing the right arm. The newly installed General Counsel of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is trying to read a memo from her staff to prepare for an upcoming phone call. “Okay, I’m up to speed,” she says after a few moments, returning her attention to her visitor.
As Amy Mathews Amoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16857551645148070119noreply@blogger.com0