“Cities are the 21st century’s dominant form of civilization — and they’re where humanity’s struggle for survival will take place … Half the planet’s population lives in cities. They are the world’s engines, generating four-fifths of the global GDP … As the economist Ed Glaeser puts it, ‘we are an urban species.’” ~ Robert Muggah and […]
Tag Archives: action
It was probably fifth or sixth grade in my Texas elementary school when they started teaching us square dancing. I believe it was Mrs. Bradley. Not all of us were particularly coordinated, and the idea of holding a girl’s hand was especially gruesome to some of my friends. Skipping was something we all could do. […]
“Every global shore touches the same ocean, and the ocean is rising.” ~ Benjamin Strauss and Scott Kulp Flooding in London has been a problem since the city was first established in Roman times … The barrier protects central London against a storm surge … that can funnel the water up the Thames Estuary and cause […]
“Few serious scientists doubt that climate change is happening, or that it is man-made. But the fact remains that many still have a hard time grasping global warming, partly as a convenient way of ignoring the destructive impact it is predicted to have. “ ~ Frank Jacobs “But for simpletons like me, keeping Earth mostly habitable […]
“The grass kept growing in the hot sun I fought the lawn and the lawn won I fought the lawn and the lawn won A green, thick lawn like my neighbor has I always wanted one But all I got was a pain in the grass I fought the lawn and the lawn won I […]
“When one is considering the universe,” Ella Frances Sanders observed in her lovely illustrated celebration of wonder, “it is important, sensible even, to try and find some balance between laughter and uncontrollable weeping.” “Our life has become so mechanized and electronified,” said the Hungarian journalist and László Feleki “that one needs some kind of an […]
In junior high and high school, I became interested in stories about World War Two and read dozens of books about the war. I got to know Europe and the Pacific in ways that I never learned in my classes. Of course, I had read National Geographic, Kipling, London, Burroughs and Haggard, so I was […]
“Considering that birds provide more than US $1 billion worth of pest control and pollination services annually to US farmers alone, healthy agricultural schemes that promote healthy farmland birds will be essential for securing “wins” for both people and nature.” ~ Christopher E. Latimer and Christina Kennedy Our bird feeder is a joy to watch. […]
“We wipe out whatever is complex and other and difficult to manage, and replace it with nice, easy farms and plantations full of monocultures of pigs and corn and wheat and palm oil. We like things nice and simple and symmetrical and easy to control, that’s the problem.” ~ Bibi van der Zee Reporter Jim […]
“Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word. Benjamin: Yes, sir. Mr. McGuire: Are you listening? Benjamin: Yes, I am. Mr. McGuire: Plastics. Benjamin: Exactly how do you mean? Mr. McGuire: There’s a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it?” ~The Graduate, 1967 Plastics appear […]
Writes of Nature 