Nature and the Environment

Matt Damon's 'Promised Land' Is a Fracking Film

Gus Van Sant directs Damon and John Krasinski's (and Dave Eggers') message as the message

Santa Margarita Water District Sued Over its Lead Role in Mojave Groundwater Project

Environmental groups are suing Orange County's second largest retail water district over plans to pump water Mojave Desert groundwater. Santa Margarita Water District, which serves more than 155,000 residents and businesses in Mission Viejo, Coto de Caza, Las Flores, Ladera Ranch, Talega and its hom ... More >>

Marbel A. Para Popped for Poaching 42 Spiny Lobsters from Marine Sanctuary

​A Riverside County man was cited Sunday for allegedly poaching 47 California spiny lobsters from Laguna Beach waters within Southern California's new marine sanctuary zone that went into effect Jan. 1.State Department of Fish and Game warden popped Marbel A. Para, 30, of Romoland, off Heisler Pa ... More >>

Pacific Blue Whale Gets Up Close and Personal with Viewing Boat Off Dana Point

​Passengers, a videographer and even the skipper are still shaking their heads over an unusually close encounter with a Pacific blue whale from a viewing boat in the fleet of Captain Dave's Dolphin and Whale Safari Friday afternoon off Dana Point."Dude, that was a miracle," a woman can be heard sa ... More >>

Daniel Moreno Guilty of Pelican Stomping

​A fisherman who stomped on a California brown pelican at Newport Beach pier last March pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor Tuesday and was sentenced to three years' informal probation and 20 days in jail.

OC's Mystery Mammal Heads to LA

​The Orange County Mystery Mammal is coming! No, not the OC housewife with an addiction to plastic surgery. It's a sea creature, also known as Paleoparadoxia, that once foraged for food like an ancient hippo-elephant thing, off the Southern California coast before going extinct some 10 million yea ... More >>

Beware of Bodysurfing Maneaters in the Breaks

​What the freak is happening off our beautiful, sin-kissed coast?There was the giant squid invasion this past winter. There was the rare sighting of Orcas earlier this week (with a giant halibut thrown into the cioppino for good measure). And there's the constant threat by that sea monster the egg ... More >>

Ginormous Squid: It's What's for Dinner

Let's see, there's calamari, calamari salad, calamari tacos, squid sushi, squid burgers . . . Indeed, locals should demand anyone serving the mollusks to lower their prices considering the number of giant squid being pulled out of our waters. It's the law of supply and demand, baby. Call it squid pr ... More >>

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

Honda Center

The Harkeys' Shamu-Size Scandal May Be More Than A Fluke

Let's get the obvious out of the way. Someone over at the Register took my advice. How else to explain that their headlines about Dana Point Festival of Whales have evolved from the predictably punny triteness of last week's "Whale of a Festival" to yesterday's far more excellent "Festival of Whales ... More >>

Fantastic Voyage

Africa: The Serengeti

Ba-Deep Brapp Boop

Monterey Jazz Festival

Tuesday's Headlines

Gore guilty: Al Gore III pleaded guilty Monday to possessing marijuana and other drugs when he was caught speeding in OC earlier in the month, reports the LA Times. This shooter's a giver: "Machine-gun Sonny" has mastered a shooting game at the OC Fair and wins mountain bikes nightly. But he doesn' ... More >>

Saturday's Headlines & Surprises: 'Stinky' White House

777: The Gabrielino-Tongva tribe is coming to Garden Grove with a huge bag of Halloween goodies. What's the treat? $78 million-a-year to city coffers, 10,000 permanent new jobs and college scholarships to every graduating high school student in the city. The trick? Let the tribe--and some guys name ... More >>

'Gaff!'

On deck with weekend warriors angling for the mighty Humboldt squid

Rohrabacher's Appalling Flatulence

In case you missed it, you can find video of Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Surfin') speculating about the effects of dinosaur flatulence here. And no, booze was not involved in the congressman's ramblings. Probing the effects of dinosaur farting is just something Rohrabacher sees as part of his officia ... More >>

The Virgin Birth (Deadly lizard edition)

It's a familiar sounding story this time of year-- a virgin with child. Only this time the natural world is outdoing the supernatural, because this virgin is with children. Seven, in fact. And these virgin offspring will have grow up to have mouths filled with toxic bacteria-- though I'm not sure ... More >>

Flipper Rules OK

Scientists testing/messing with dolphins at Disney EPCOT have taught them to sing the Batman theme song: "The dolphin was reinforced for producing a specific rhythm to a specific object," says Harley. "For example, when we presented him with a Batman doll, he received a fish for producing a spec ... More >>

The Memory Hole Goes Green

Having previously suppressed, ignored, and dishonestly redacted scientific reports that proved politically inconvenient, the Bush administration has taken the next logical step. The Environment News Service reports: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is closing its Headquarters Library ... More >>

Baby, It's Warm Outside

The Inconvenient Truth is on its way to becoming the box-office champeen of documentaries (pound sand, Michael Moore!). Orders are already brisk for the DVDs that won't be out until November. However, because Truth starred Satan's spawn Al Gore, there's a good chance many holy rollers skipped it and ... More >>

Commie Girl

Freedom Costs a Buck-O-Five: Ladies and gentlemen, your Labor Day weekend!

Footprints (Sands of Time Not Included)

In his 1838 poem A Psalm of Life, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (once America's most popular poet, now an item on every high school's forced-feeding menu), wrote We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time Yeah, well, maybe... But what is certain is ... More >>

New Reviews

Mountain Patrol: Kekexili; Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont; La Mujer de mi Hermano; Preaching to the Choir; Scary Movie 4, The Wild

Change in the air?

This is certainly a refreshing development, although the participation of a gubernatorial candidate smacks of political posturing. NEW REPORT ON COMPANIES IN CALIFORNIA, ELSEWHERE TO FIND WIDE DISPARITY IN CLIMATE CHANGE RESPONSES; INVESTORS WILL PUSH POOR-PERFORMING FIRMS TO SHAPE UP NEWS ADVISOR ... More >>

Toll Road Rage

Not So Easy Being Green

Toll Road Rage: Green(back) Alignment

Not So Easy Being Green

Taking Persian Dance Mainstream

Anthony Shays Avaz International Dance Theater

Its Snot Unusual

Im George W. Bush, and I Approve This Destruction

Reality Bites

Friendly sharks, briny visuals and soggy acting diminish Open Waters fear factor

Kill the Cougar

Agency announces bold plan to wipe out dangerous mountain lions: toll roads

Earth Daddy

Denis Hayes organized the first Earth Day, and all he got was this lousy planet

Dear Register Reader

The Lion Speaks Tonight

King of beasts calls for calm, more squirrels

Dear Register Reader

Letters

The Last Bear

Teddy Roosevelt, race suicide and the killing of Orange County's last grizzly

Blood in the Water

San O. sharks bring out the Beast

Ratting Out the Mouse

Is Disneyland a haven for rodents?

Hellooooooo, Mr. Wilson!

Enviros give pro-development supervisor the kid-glove treatment

He Shelves Sea Shells By the Seashore

Dennis Kellys tales of briny woe

Letters

I Was Not a Beaver

This weeks featured NFL game: Philadelphia vs. Cleveland

Its Food, Stupid!

Lapin a la OC Weekly

There Goes Peter Cottontail

Leisure World declares war on wabbits

Rabbitts Split on Offing Thumper

Hares and Bunneys also divided

The Rabbits Are Coming!

Cute woodland critters or sex-crazed maniacs?

A River Runs Beneath It

Santa Ana River toll road elevates eco-fears

Crystal Method

Irvine Co.s Crystal Cove project raises eco-disaster fears

The Bird Question

El Toro Airport Watch No. 115