Continued from Part I – New England Forests “A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” —Lao Tzu Highstead New England’s grassroots conservation organizations continue to innovate around individual challenges. Those …
On a crisp fall day some several years ago, I left my house in rural Connecticut for a contemplative walk in the woods. My restless teenage legs were matched by my curiosity about the world around me. Down a wooded path with no houses in sight, I stopped to rest along …
On November 15th, the Land Trust Alliance brought together leaders in land conservation across New England recognized for their outstanding performance. Twenty-five people from ten land trusts gathered at the Alnoba Lodge (Alnoba comes from an indigenous word for “Change”) for a day of high-level discussion and peer-to-peer learning as …
The past decade has brought with it sweeping changes to energy in the United States. State and National policies have opened the door for alternative energy. Advancements in solar, wind, advanced energy storage, and electric vehicles are making a cleaner, renewable energy future more than just a pipe dream. The …
When one considers the interdisciplinary nature of Bard CEP’s curriculum, Jennifer Phillips’ arrival at Bard seemed almost predestined. Having completed her PhD at Cornell University in Soil, Crop and Atmospheric Sciences and subsequently researching El Niño and climate patterns at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society at Columbia …
Libby Zemaitis is one of the few who have experienced the full spectrum of Bard’s Graduate Programs in Sustainability. She is a dual-degree graduate, earning both her MBA in Sustainability and MS in Climate Science and Policy. When talking with Zemaitis, one can easily see how dynamic and driven she …
Each morning I walk out my side door and amble a few hundred feet to a kiosk that marks the start of public trails. The land is conserved by the Town of Concord, Massachusetts and provides access to White Pond, proximal to Walden Pond and also frequented by Henry David …
Here it is, folks. We are standing at the crossroads of a remarkable energy transition in the United States. Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar are dropping in cost seemingly every day. The monumental agreement at COP21 in Paris last December and the falling price of oil and …
We met Señor Juan José Consejo, Director of the Institute of Nature and Society of Oaxaca (INSO ), again on a cool morning in the mountains above the central valley. Upon stepping out of the van I immediately noticed the contrast between the urban center of Oaxaca de Juarez and …
The city of Oaxaca de Juarez in southern Mexico and the surrounding communities in the Central Valleys are facing a serious water crisis. As a result of sprawling urban development and the degradation of mountain forests, croplands, and pasture, rainy season precipitation has become fast water, washing away topsoil, flooding …
