Now that the election is over, we can attend to other matters of gravity. Literally. Gravity is so ever-present in our lives we rarely think about it, except perhaps, when we slip and fall. The effects of gravity are well understood, beginnings with Newton's apple... Continue

With the discovery that micro-plastics have been found in human stool samples we can now confirm that the scourge of plastic has thoroughly permeated the world's food chain. It's unknown if the plastic discovered in the human gut has been ingested directly or through eating... Continue

I left the City Council candidate's forum at Andrews Hall last week feeling uncomfortable. It's not that the candidates did not conduct themselves well or acted inappropriately; to the contrary, as a group they were polite, friendly, good-natured, well-spoken and heartfelt. Yet, as I walked... Continue

Sonoma's Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) is performing exactly the way it was intended. Agricultural land and open space beyond the city's borders have been preserved, but preventing sprawl was always the simplest and most obvious intent. The less obvious intent now manifesting is creatively-designed, higher-density... Continue

There are those who believe there are two types of people, wolves and sheep. According to this view, we are divided into two camps: predators and prey. In the animal world, this commonly is true, populations of prey vastly outnumbering predators. These large populations support... Continue

Justice relies upon blame, and blame relies upon declaring effective cause. Effective cause is one of four types of causation, according to Plato, the others being material cause, formal cause and total cause. When to comes to matters of human affairs, effective cause is the... Continue

The soaring melody of a mockingbird's song, the terrible cries of a small child being separated from parents seeking asylum; is it possible to reconcile experiences of such beauty and horror? Openness to and awareness of the world that surrounds us simultaneously exhilarates and wounds;... Continue

Strangely, it seems as if the very forces that could bring us together are tearing us apart. Internationally, the ability to communicate globally and establish common ground is giving way to fragmentation and isolationist policies. Nationally, the values of liberty and equality are giving way... Continue

Is truth real? What truth do we know, and how do we know it? Humankind has been asking these questions for a very long time and, big surprise, we're no closer than ever on agreeing on answers. If anything, our scientific age inclines us not... Continue