There’s an old adage that says you should never be the first one to tell someone their baby is ugly. Yet, someone has to be first. The messaging of the environmental movement is failing. There, I said it. It’s just an observation. I know it sounds like a criticism, [...]
It’s called the basement of time. I am eight miles and five-thousand feet down the South Kaibab trail at mid-day. The temperature hovers close to 105 °F. My knees ache, and my body is tired. There is a rest house on the trail at this point, but it’s at [...]
I am on a journey through the Southwest. Looking for a little solitude in the desert. The solitude is offset by my conversations with strangers. Where are you from? Isn’t the earth amazing? Which eventually leads to… How do you see the environment? Today, I met Ranger Pete. I [...]
Drawdown, Edited by Paul Hawken, is likely the most important book on climate in a decade. While its title sounds slightly self-congratulatory, the book lives up to it. Hawken and his team have created a comprehensive review to answer the question, “What do we need to do in order [...]
I am camped at sunset in the canyons of the Colorado River, surrounded by massive red cliffs, when I look up. It appears I am witnessing a geological event: the first new volcano in millions of years. Volcanoes typically suppress global warming by reflecting the sun's heat back into [...]
The Trump administration is a disaster for Americans who want clean air and water and to reduce global warming. Under his onslaught, it is also easy to lose hope or become cynical. We should worry about Trump’s executive orders, but we should also be concerned with cynicism. If you [...]
Let’s call him Art (not his real name). Art drives a Buick Enclave, I would have guessed a Ford F150. He’s from a small town in southern Illinois, population 3,000. Art’s driving cross-country with his wife. We are trapped in a laundromat watching clothes tumble. He’s drinking a beer, [...]
What’s the life of a single golden eagle worth? It’s an unfair question, but the one I ask, Steve Slater, director of Hawk Watch International (HWI) in Salt Lake City. There are two answers he says. The first, is that there is value in all life. The second, is a [...]
The first day, I drive 850 miles. The second 500 miles. The third day, I ask myself where am I going, and drive 250 miles. It’s hard to slow down, unplug. I am programmed like a pelagic shark to keep swimming. I put my phone in airplane mode. It’s [...]
As I walk the Earth; I promise to preserve, conserve, and defend; our air, land, and water; and all the creatures that live on it; because we are all connected. Take the Pledge, Savor the Earth. If you're on social media - take a video and [...]