Catastrophe’s Harvest

Weather events have posed significant challenges to communities around the world this year, and they attest to the magnitude of the climate crisis we’re facing. While these events are certainly not new, the rate at which they’re happening signifies an urgent problem across the country and around the world.                                                 ~ Irene Huhulea Climate change […]

The Myth of Peak Stuff

“Scientists say the weight of human-made objects will likely exceed that of living things by the end of the year.”                                                 ~ Helen Briggs A good friend warned me years ago about peak oil, when the production of oil from the Earth reached its peak, and the amount of oil remaining would continuously decline, exacerbating […]

There’s a Kind of a Hush

When we have learned how to listen to trees, then the brevity and the quickness and the childlike hastiness of our thoughts achieve an incomparable joy.                                                 ~ Herman Hesse Our young dog makes a mad dash out the back door to surprise the crowd at the bird feeder. The birds explode in a shower […]

Should We Get Under Our Desk?

Is It Safe?”                                                 ~ Laurence Olivier, Marathon Man It was a terrifying scene that haunts to this day anyone who saw the film. Thomas Levy (Dustin Hoffman) is strapped into a chair by the evil dentist Dr. Christian Szell (Laurence Olivier) who hovers menacingly with his dental tools. “Is it safe?” Szell asks. The […]

Back to Nature

“Bury me not, on the lone prairie.”                                                 ~ The Cowboy’s Lament It was a lonely grave, no other markers or structures nearby. An old board, with flaked paint almost obscuring the message, stood upright in the desert at the base of Utah’s Book Cliffs. Maybe it had been some cowboy riding the lonely range […]

Refuge

“I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”                                                 ~ Wayne Gretzky My mail, email and Facebook feed are deluged this season with fundraising requests from a variety of environmental and social groups showing endangered species and abused animals that need my money to be saved. Obviously, […]

Immigrants

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,With conquering limbs astride from land to land;Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall standA mighty woman with a torch, whose flameIs the imprisoned lightning, and her nameMother of Exiles. From her beacon-handGlows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes commandThe air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. “Keep, ancient lands, […]

Let The Sunshine In

I don’t get many phone calls, but for the third time in two days, I just received another sales call from some solar company. I support solar power and had actually looked into getting it for our house at one time. I went through the calculations and talked to a salesperson. But we live in […]

Idle Lands, Idle Hands

Idle hands are the devil’s workshop                                                 ~ Proverbs 16:27  The pandemic seems to have exacerbated a whole raft of social and economic problems. Personally, as a retiree, I find myself limited in the things I normally would do, such as shopping, travel, eating out, visiting friends, and even my volunteer activities. I can’t imagine being […]

Better Cities

At the same time that we’re solving for climate change, we’re going to be building cities for three billion people … If we don’t get that right, I’m not sure all the climate solutions in the world will save mankind, because so much depends on how we shape our cities: not just environmental impacts, but […]