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I’ve never really been a wildlife policy person. While a desire to protect as much of Earth’s endangered biodiversity as possible is a major driving force behind much of what I do, my focus first as an activist, then an educator, then a writer has been largely within the spheres of climate, energy, and forest…
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Whenever I visit an alpine environment I’m struck by the degree to which these ecosystems seem like a whole different world from the one that exists below. Once you climb high enough on a mountain that you emerge above the tree line, you enter a landscape with a set of plants and animals not found…
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While working on my latest piece for Columbia Insight, I had the privilege of speaking with an activist involved in an ongoing tree-sit whose goal is to stop the Parched legacy forest timber sale on state lands on the Olympic Peninsula. While a vibrant movement to protect legacy forests has been growing in Washington for…
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We’re all familiar with the idea that very wealthy people buy themselves access to power with presidents and members of Congress. There’s a good reason for that; the blatant corruption of the U.S. political system has become more visible than ever in recent years, and the ways in which money can equal access and influence…
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Recently, I had the chance to visit one of the oldest remaining forests in Whatcom County, WA. The Bessie Sorts stand, as this special place is called, is part of an expanse of “legacy forest” near the south end of Lake Whatcom, just outside the city of Bellingham. The protection of legacy forests–forests that were…
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Image: protests across the country on April 5. Credit: Nick Knudsen via Bluesky (cropped from original image) There’s a natural tendency among activists–understandable, though not always fair–to criticize the media. We don’t like how they cover our protests, how they portray our movements, or how gullibly they seem to swallow the arguments of our opponents.…
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Image: a view of Burrard Inlet, just north of Vancouver, Canada The first time I saw the US-Canada border, I found myself looking at a gash in the forest. It was the early ’10s, and I was in Montana’s Yaak Valley, with other members of one of my grad school classes and our professor. We…
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Banner image: A photo I took in Missoula, MT years ago that helped document the growing resistance to coal train traffic. Being an activist in the United States is more dangerous than it used to be. The expansive growth of social movements for racial justice, climate action, gender equity, and much more has provoked a…
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Above: watch the official teaser for These Sacred Hills I’ve dedicated a lot of time over the years to fighting for renewable energy. If we are going to have any chance at avoiding the worst effects of climate change, a rapid, massive buildout of clean energy sources all over the world is our only hope.…
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The explosive growth of the plastics industry is a crisis our society is ill-equipped to address. The flood of plastic waste pouring into the global environment threatens the climate, human health, and myriad other species–and yet, there seems to be no end to the tide in sight. It’s essential that we take action to curb…
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Nick Engelfried 