“Green spaces are not an amenity, they are a necessity.” The biophilia hypothesis, first advanced by Edward Wilson in 1984, states that human beings have a genetic tendency to seek out nature; therefore, we feel less like ourselves without it. Research bears this out: simply spending time in nature is beneficial …
It’s a sunny summer day, and you’re looking forward to some local shopping in your sleepy Southwestern town. You soon realize, though, that it’s easier said than done—traffic is backed up to the outskirts, and the general store’s been replaced with a hotel bar. You’re outnumbered 500 to 1 by …
What’s your mental picture of the impacts of climate change? Starving polar bears, prolonged drought, rising sea levels, inundated cities, melting glaciers? But have you ever thought about the loss of cultural components because of climate change? If your answer is “no”, you’re in the same boat as most people. …
An estimated 10 trillion gallons of untreated stormwater runoff, containing everything from raw sewage to trash to toxins, enters U.S. waterways from city sewer systems every year, polluting the environment and our drinking water supplies. The EPA describes stormwater runoff as one of the fastest growing sources of pollution in …
I grew up in a fairly industrial urban area, where most meals came in a box or a can and fast food was a frequent go-to. My experience may be familiar if you, too, live in an urban community, which tend to lack access to fresh, local food. A …
All over the world, from Mexico to Pakistan to right here in the United States, millions of people in the coming decades will be forced to leave their homes as their communities become uninhabitable. Why? Because of climate change. Up to 200 million people will be displaced by 2050 due …
In February, 2023, sixteen youth will present their case in the first youth climate trial to go to hearing in the United States. Their claim? That Montana’s energy policy, which buys heavily into fossil fuels, threatens the clean and healthful environment to which they have a constitutional right. Montana’s youth …
I’m in a classroom giving a lesson on the ecology of the Hudson River. As I always do, I start the class by asking the students: “How many of you have been down to the River?” And as usual, only about half the students raise their hands. I don’t probe …
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 …
Pictured here are two groups of relatively similar cattle who are experiencing drastically different living situations. Briefly imagine life as one of the cows pictured here—where would you rather be living? If you are a beef-consuming individual, which of these sets of cows would you rather eat, or drink milk …
