The year 2012 might be remembered for many things – the re-election of Barak Obama, the legalization of marijuana, or the downfall of Lance Armstrong. But it also was the year that some of our landmark environmental laws turned 40. Here’s my end-of-year birthday homage to one of them. It’s called: Middle Aged Aquarius: The Marine Mammal Protection Act Turns 40 Laura Lyell carves through … Continue reading Middle-aged Aquarius
When it comes to ecolabeling, a lot. Or not so much. It depends. Ecolabels have become a fundamental part of the green consumer movement, mushrooming in numbers over the past 20 years and encompassing everything from seafood to appliances to houses. But does that seal of approval on your latest purchase really matter? Does certification of a product to some “green” standard really help the … Continue reading What’s in a name?
Summer time is road trip time for many people. But conservation athlete John Davis took a different route last year: He followed the wildest path possible when he traveled from Key Largo Florida to Canada’s Gaspe peninsula, shunning roads for the rivers, wetlands and woods of eastern North America to complete his cross continental trek. I wrote about Davis’ journey in this blog when he … Continue reading Are we there yet?
Speaking of bird brains, how’s this for train of thought: last week’s story in the New York Times about bird migration made me think of a quote from a local pastor, which made me think of comedian Lewis C.K. Trust me, it makes sense. Really. The Times story reported how researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have identified specific neurons in pigeons’ brains that fire … Continue reading Acknowledging the amazing
Some things are just a given – until they’re not. And thanks to author Emma Marris, many of us will never look at the world in quite the same way again. In her recent book, Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World, Marris upends some of the most cherished assumptions in ecology and conservation. In doing so, she skillfully maneuvers through the immediate resistance … Continue reading Our wildest dreams
