Name Name
titledescript
Jonathan Franzen is the author of the acclaimed recent novel, "Freedom," and an avid conservationist and bird watcher to boot. In a weekend op-ed for The New York Times, Franzen takes us on a fascinating exploration that finds unlikely links between consumer technology, love, and environmentalism. [T]he ultimate goal of technology, the telos of techne, is to replace a natural world......read more
Environmental advocates and allies have achieved plenty since the first Earth Day forty years ago: the creation of the EPA, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act, are just a few of the legislative highlights that come to mind. But, as John Kerry warned today, the U.S. has yet to confront the biggest environmental problem of today: climate change. In......read more
Graffiti has long been used to make political statements, but they're rarely as clever as this. Working under cloak of night, an anonymous band of artists recently threw up this "cut here" piece on a controversial California dam. The message is simple -- bring the damn thing down. Writing in the LA Times, Steve Chawkins provides the background: Matilija Dam was built in 1947 for flood control......read more
In September of 1962, the first edition of Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" hit bookstore shelves. Fifty years and two million copies later, the book is widely regarded as the catalyst of the modern environmental movement. In "Silent Spring," Carson wrote in eloquent and sometimes sentimental prose about effects of manmade pesticides on the natural world -- and on humankind. A scientific......read more
(via The Wall Street Journal) Photos: Bryan Derballa/The Wall Street Journal...read more
The danger of slipping off the fiscal cliff has thankfully abated for now, but there's another, even more serious danger ahead: the climate change cliff. Yesterday, nearly 70 environmental and health organizations sent a letter to President Obama [pdf] urging the president to take bold and decisive action against climate change. “Dear Mr. President,” the letter begins. “Thank......read more
Aerial photography and environmentalism go hand-in-hand. What better way to witness human impact on the planet than through panoramic shots from the sky. Yann Arthus-Bertrand is maybe the world's the best known aerial photographer, a man whose art is inextricably linked to ecological consciousness. "My fondness for nature goes back to childhood, but it was as an adult that I became an......read more
Looking forward to checking out this book from the controversial cofounder of the Rainforest Action Network and Earth First!. In the realm of radical environmentalism, Mike Roselle has done it all, from blocking timber roads and nuclear sites, to helping put a gas mask on Mount Rushmore and draping a banner from the Golden Gate Bridge with Woody Harrelson. Sure to be a rollicking read. Buy the......read more
Several people have asked me if the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics will be the greenest games yet. The answer may be yes—if we’re talking about the abundance of greenery and lack of snow brought on by record high temperatures during one of the earliest spring seasons the city has experienced. With respect to environmental impact, all Olympic Games leave a very large footprint. Thousands of......read more
Many years ago I visited a magical place in northern California called the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center. It was founded in the 70’s as a think tank for environmental innovation (cum heirloom seed bank) and one of its founding directives was to promote the arts as a means for exploring the natural world and visioning a sustainable future for humankind in which prosperity and......read more
