Adequate Bird
snippets, thoughts and photography
Evacuation underway at 330 Esplanade
Dec 17th
This post contains the chronology of events since the evacuation of 330 Esplanade, Pacifica due to sea-cliff erosion began at about 7:30 AM December 17, 2009. Police were on the scene and a high surf advisory coincided with high tide, adding to concerns.I update this post with new items at the top, and create and link to new posts as needed.
Scroll down to read the chronology, and click the MORE link for the full story and links to additional detail and photos. You can see all of my Esplanade-related posts on one page here: Esplanade. See all of my pictures on Flickr Evacuations at 330 Esplanade, Pacifica CA.
Related stories:
- Sunday March 7 Esplanade Update- Work to Begin at Lands End?
- Residents expect work to begin toward building a rip rap rock wall (revetment) below Lands End, including the “dog park”, driveway and building 112. We’ve heard that the plan is to remove the remnants of the stairway and possibly use that space to excavate a dirt road down to the beach. I’m not sure what make of this since it seems the result would be awfully steep. It has been mentioned that a road of some sort is needed for efficiency, and that the overall distance from the existing way at the intersection of Manor and Esplanade is too far.
- As a lay observer the length of the road does seem to be problematic. The “road” that exists today starts at the intersection of Manor with Esplanade and is nothing more than boulders covered with sand. The problem is that the sand is largely washed away at each high tide, and without the sand, only tracked vehicles can use it. So each day, before the high-speed, high-capacity dump trucks can use the road, excavators have to get down there and resurface the boulders with sand. For pictures of the process of “rebuilding” road see my post from December 28th Covering the rock road with sand – Image Gallery.
Read on for the history going back to the original dirt fall and evacuation on December 17…
Top 50 Free Open Courseware Classes for Journalists
Mar 9th
The following list of top 50 free open courseware classes for journalists includes classes offered by college and universities. But, it also includes entire Websites sponsored by nonprofit foundations and colleges, which are dedicated to teaching readers about journalism. This list is categorized and listed alphabetically by course name or Web site name within those categories, and the sponsoring college or foundation is listed after each description.
Top 50 Free Open Courseware Classes for Journalists.
(Image credit: Steve Garfield)
Our Blue Marble as of January 2, 2009 – Video
Mar 8th
GEOS-5 Modeled Clouds at 3.5-km Global Resolution:
This visualization shows clouds from a simulation using the Goddard Earth Observing System Model, Verison 5 (GEOS-5.). The global atmospheric simulation ran at 3.5 km per grid cell and covered a single day: January 2, 2009. The model output the results at 10 minute intervals. Since there is only one day of simulation data, the sequence of clouds repeats several times. The white flash indicates the sequence is about to repeat.
Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio, Flickr: GEOS-5 Modeled Clouds at 3.5-km Global Resolution
To view more go to: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/goto?3659
See the original of this item on AdequateBird.com: Our Blue Marble as of January 2, 2009 – Video
GEOS-5 Modeled Clouds at 3.5-km Global Resolution
Work to Begin at Lands End?
Mar 7th
Sunday March 7 Esplanade Update – Work to Begin at Lands End?
- Residents expect work to begin toward building a rip rap rock wall (revetment) below Lands End, including the “dog park”, driveway and building 112. We’ve heard that the plan is to remove the remnants of the stairway and possibly use that space to excavate a dirt road down to the beach. I’m not sure what make of this since it seems the result would be awfully steep. It has been mentioned that a road of some sort is needed for efficiency, and that the overall distance from the existing way at the intersection of Manor and Esplanade is too far.
- As a lay observer the length of the road does seem to be problematic. The “road” that exists today starts at the intersection of Manor with Esplanade and is nothing more than boulders covered with sand. The problem is that the sand is largely washed away at each high tide, and without the sand, only tracked vehicles can use it. So each day, before the high-speed, high-capacity dump trucks can use the road, excavators have to get down there and resurface the boulders with sand. For pictures of the process of “rebuilding” road see my post from December 28th Covering the rock road with sand – Image Gallery.
For a complete chronology and links to many more photos see Evacuation underway at 330 Esplanade:
http://adequatebird.com/2009/12/17/evacuation-underway-at-330-esplanade/
See all of my pictures of the Esplanade crisis:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisd2006/collections/72157622920945823/
In the belly of the mountain at Devils Slide – San Jose Mercury News
Mar 5th
MONTARA — Being inside the tunnel at Devils Slide feels a little like being in an Indiana Jones movie — minus the terrifying killer boulders.
More than 3,000 feet deep in San Pedro Mountain is an eerie, half-lit universe of grinding and pounding as machines scrape and drill and blast the rock apart. Hard-hatted workers carrying flashlights pass by in tall rubber boots and orange construction vests. Sparks punctuate the semi-darkness. Dripping water coats the ground, creating muddy currents that flow toward daylight.
Every day, workers at Devils Slide get 5 feet of rock closer to… [See more photos and read the rest of Julia's Scott's article in MercuryNews.com In the belly of the mountain at Devils Slide]
Video shot and produced by John Green. MercuryNews.com video link.
In the belly of the mountain at Devils Slide – San Jose Mercury News.
NEW FICTION: TUPAC SHAKUR AND THE END OF THE WORLD by Sandra McDonald | Fiction | Futurismic
Mar 1st
Seems like we’re all a little culturally obsessed with impending apocalypse at the moment; a minor flurry of end-of-the-world tales a few years back has grown into an everyman’s meme, with the cinemas full of zombie hordes, desolate wastelands and rugged survivors. That ubiquity has been a bit off-putting, to be honest… I love me a good post-apocalyptic story, but I’ve become a bit bored of them, and didn’t think we’d be publishing one here at Futurismic any time soon.
But Sandra McDonald has managed to prove me wrong, by subverting the cliches and turning the end of the world on its head with some darkly post-modern humour; “Tupac Shakur and the End of the World” is a post-apocalypse yarn for people who are bored of post-apocalypse yarns. Enjoy!
via NEW FICTION: TUPAC SHAKUR AND THE END OF THE WORLD by Sandra McDonald | Fiction | Futurismic.
Erosion at Pacific Skies Estates Mobile Homes Park
Mar 1st
Monday March 1, 2010 – Pacific Skies Estates mobile homes park
- KGO-TV 7 (ABC) Pacifica mobile homes threatened by high waves. A few mobile homes in Pacifica were quickly boarded up after big waves began pounding the beach. One of the houses on 4th Avenue, inside the Pacific Skies Estates mobile homes park, was damaged.
- KRON4 TV (Independent) Geologists Assess Damage to Pacifica Trailer Park. Geologists and other experts are examining erosion damage at a Pacifica trailer park after a weekend surge damaged one mobile home. The resident of the damaged home may be moved to another facility. Pacifica Mayor Sue Degrie told KRON 4’s Yoli Aceves Monday morning:
“There’s been a concern that anytime you have erosion starting, when you have a winter and rains like they were, we’re very fortunate that it’s not a strong El Nino year and that we haven’t had terrible rains but the rains that we did have over the weekend were very concerning because you have rains on top and the high surf.”
“I saw the pier yesterday and they were very high near the pier. This whole coastline is obviously a very serious situation.
For a complete chronology and links to many more photos see Evacuation underway at 330 Esplanade:
http://adequatebird.com/2009/12/17/evacuation-underway-at-330-esplanade/
See all of my pictures of the Esplanade crisis:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisd2006/collections/72157622920945823/
