Notes, Sketches & Maps from the Road

Roam

Roam is my online travel journal. This is where I keep my maps, sketchbooks and journals, and lists of things I've learned while on the road.

The Far Roads

Long-form essays, interviews, investigations and photo collections on subjects that turn up everywhere.

all of the far roads →

An abstract close-up of melting ice shapes glowing against an orange and blue sunset.

the cover story →

Polar Bears

Chris Dorsey’s Polar Bear ArgumentReheated Denial

A Forbes column revived an old claim that polar bears are booming. The data, and the people who study them, say otherwise.

With sea-ice scientist Dr. Julienne Stroeve and photographer Kiliii Yuyan.

Read the story

↑ the polar bear files, and a hurricane

Polar Bears

Why Jon Miltimore’s Polar Bear Argument is Stinky Fish

Miltimore misuses data and fallacies to mislead on polar bear populations and climate change — something doesn’t smell right.

Hurricanes

Hurricanes and the Art of Denial

Why storm counts mislead, and how climate change is making hurricanes more dangerous through intensity, rainfall, and rapid intensification.

A photographer’s long shadow stretching down an empty Nevada highway at dusk, the moon above distant mountains

Essay · Award Winner

The Places Between

Asked to name my favorite place in the world, I had no answer. Twenty years later, I do.

Ink and watercolor sketch of an eastern hellbender

Open Letter

Bob, About That Hellbender

A viral video showed a hellbender lifted from its stream. Why biologists warn that handling these giant salamanders can harm them.

Doors & Windows of the World

Doors, windows, gates and knockers I’ve photographed around the world, from island shacks to Korean palaces.

the whole collection →

A yellow and white facade with blue doors and barred windows

A Photo Collection

Doors and windows describe the aesthetic tastes of people in different cities and towns around the world. I've been photographing doors and windows for as long as I can remember.

The Case Files

Rebuttals to climate deniers and bad science, from the Patrick Moore series to letters to the executives and columnists who get it wrong, plus a few fights for wildlife.

all of Shifting Sands →

Watercolor caricature of Patrick Moore scowling beside his book "Fake Invisible Catastrophes and Threats of Doom."

Case File · The Series

Patrick MooreFake Invisible Catastrophes, Fact-Checked

Patrick Moore’s climate-change denial book is a chapter-by-chapter compilation of misinformation and pseudoscience. Notes from the Road fact-checks his credibility and every chapter, one by one.

open letters & other rebuttals

Watercolor collage of tropical species, including a southern lapwing, parrotfish, angelfish, cacti, frogs, lizards and hummingbirds.

Open Letter to Katie Tubb on Climate Change

In an open letter to Heritage Foundation climate change denial author Katie Tubb, Notes from the Road walks through her argument, and uses a walled city siege to illustrate the weaknesses of her arguments.

Bruce Haedrich EV Battery Article Fails on Facts and Logic

Notes from the Road walks through the indefensible EV battery, wind power and solar power claims made by MAGA sci-fi author Bruce Haedrich.

A row of wind turbines on a dark hilltop under a stormy purple sky.

Ross Rant Climate Change Claims Refuted

In an open letter to the author of the Ross Rant, Notes from the Road challenges the underlying falsehoods of his claims.

Ink and watercolor illustration of the cover of Michael Crichton's "State of Fear," spattered with red paint.

Pseudoscience vs. Science: A Review of State of Fear

10 years after its publication, I review the enduring climate change denier's muse.

A smiling protester in a knit hat holding a cardboard climate sign at a march.

Coal Lobby Argument against US Bank Divestment Rebuked

A Coal Lobby Opinion piece asks the Trump Administration to punish US Bank for divesting in coal. I rebuke the author for his illogical conclusions.

Watercolor illustration of a coal power plant with cooling towers pouring gray smoke above green trees.

Erik Crucifies ACCCE CEO Mike Duncan

In a response to a vile climate change piece by clean coal hack Mike Duncan, Erik strips him down and crucifies his logic.

Open Letter to Darren Bearson

A philosophical basis for coal lobbyist Darren Bearson to quit his support of the coal lobby.

Field sketch of a hellbender salamander, illustrating the sensitive amphibian at the center of a debate about wildlife handling videos shared on social media.

Bob, About That Hellbender

A viral hellbender video and the larger problem of wildlife handling turned into social media content.

Watercolor illustration of a blue elephant walking amid bright splashes of yellow, orange and red paint.

Greg Sheehan: Reinstate Ban on Elephant Ivory and Trophies

In this open letter to Acting Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, I argue the definitive case for reinstating the ban on elephant tusks into the United States.

Gold and black-and-white illustrations of shorebirds in flight against a white background.

the Vikings Stadium and Migratory Birds

I weigh in on the bird-glass issue at the new Vikings Stadium, challenging a sports writer.

Dispatches

Essays and reporting from closer to home, and a few stories that fit nowhere else.

all of Fault Lines →

A woman holds red carnations high above a vigil crowd

Minneapolis

Memorials for Renée Good & Alex Pretti

A visual record of Minneapolis vigils following two fatal immigration enforcement shootings.

The Record

Trump-Inspired Violence and the Toll of His Policies

A timeline and analysis of Trump-inspired violence across the United States, examining why his record of incitement and division makes him unworthy of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Protesters in inflatable unicorn and shark costumes

Portland

Portland vs. ICE

In the fall of 2025, the president sent troops. Portland sent unicorns, and won the battle.

Travel

Airbnb Nightmare

What should we do when we run into problems with our Airbnb host? My crazy story about one Airbnb rental gone bad.

A fish tattoo drawn from one of my sketches, underwater

Interview

Interview with Marine Biology Artist Alison Atchia

An interview with marine biology student and artist Alison Atchia. The first in a series of interviews with artists who asked for permission to use art from Notes from the Road.

Sketchbooks & Journals

They’re my alternative to guidebooks and itineraries—small, rugged, and built for travel.

inside my sketchbooks →

“Since the late '90s, I've filled dozens of Moleskine notebooks with field notes, hand-drawn maps, illustrations, travel plans, species lists, and story ideas.”