In Marfa, Texas, prior to 2017, a house made of adobe bricks was appraised in the same way as any other house made of any other material. Now, following an update by the county tax assessors, inhabitants of adobe structures pay 57% more in taxes than other homeowners. Let’s …
Springtime in Maine is a beautiful thing. The morning air still holds the chill of winter. The faint scent of green and growing life tiptoes around your nose, suddenly bursting into fullness where a patch of afternoon sun has warmed a budding tree branch. When I lived there, I loved …
While I was sitting at home one night, I decided to watch a new Netflix documentary titled “Seaspiracy.” The name was catchy and seemed interesting as I love learning about the ocean and our waterways. Little did I know that I was in for a rude awakening. While watching …
It’s a rainy day and you find yourself staring out the window. The rain hits ground and forms a puddle. The next day is sunny and warm and you forget that there was ever a puddle just outside your window. But what happened to the water from that puddle? To …
We are all connected by our need for water. We rely on water to produce the food we eat, to create the clothes we wear, and to support our daily lives. Yet we don’t all share equal access to clean and safe water. As a part of my Bard CEP …
Do you know what’s in your drinking water? It may be more than you realize. We disinfect our drinking water to protect us from organisms we can’t see. From boiling water to sand filters, water treatment dates back to the 18th century, and treating drinking water has saved countless lives. …
Imagine that you’re walking through a park, breathing the fresh air. The soil right off the path is rich and healthy looking. You get to a water fountain, and you take a drink of the clean, refreshing water. In 2019, we expect this type of scenario. We can safely breathe …
In 1974, Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to create a standard of quality for public water systems and protect citizens from waterborne disease. Faced with the costs of drinking water filtration infrastructure and upkeep, New York City officials chose to instead adopt a watershed management program to …
A new way to view conservation The recent J-term in Oaxaca provided me with a new way of viewing the motivations of conservation. A major part of the conservation in Oaxaca is done in Voluntary Conservation Areas, land that is designated and managed for conservation by communities. In Oaxaca, of …
Journalist and author Jeff Goodell opened his discussion with the National Climate Seminar (hear his complete talk here) by apologizing for the call quality. As he explained, the WiFi signal isn’t reliable in Viequis, a small island off the coast of Puerto Rico, where he is reporting on the region’s slow recovery from …
