Nature Notes Previous Episodes

In broad strokes, the impacts of climate change on West Texas are known. Average temperatures will rise at least 4 degrees by 2050 – and, if global emissions continue apace, 8 degrees by the end of the century. Annual rainfall … Continue reading →

The central reality of climate change – that gases from the burning of fossil fuels are creating a “greenhouse effect,” warming the planet – has been known for decades. It’s been 40 years since the first World Climate Conference. The … Continue reading →

Science confirms what visitors intuit: Big Bend National Park is a singular place. At 1,200 square miles, it’s the largest protected Chihuahuan Desert landscape in the U.S. The diversity of desert life it contains is unparalleled. It’s not only a … Continue reading →

Sweeping prairies, mountain meadows, river canyons – there are places in rural West Texas that feel timeless. And indeed, such places often retain much of their primordial character. Yet no place, however remote, is untouched by the environmental changes humans … Continue reading →

Limestone mesas dominate the foreground, the pale strata angling skyward above what, even by West Texas standards, is a rough dirt road. Above the mesas, higher still, is the Sierra Vieja, red mountains, molten in appearance, though the volcanic eruptions … Continue reading →