Out of the Forest, Into the Streets

  • Advice to the Distressed

    Advice to the Distressed

    Yesterday, the amazing Exterminating Angel Press Magazine came out with its latest issue, Advice to the Distressed, and I’m proud to have a short story of mine included in it. I wrote this piece, “A Field Trip to the Dark Woods,” this past summer while reflecting on some formative experiences I had in Montana years

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  • The Wonder of Amphibians

    The Wonder of Amphibians

    I’m preparing to teach a class for Whatcom Community College on the amphibians of Northwest Washington–and in preparing for it, I’ve been reminded of what a fantastical group of creatures the class Amphibia represents. They may not be as large and physically impressive as mammals, or as readily visible as birds, but amphibians have some

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  • Will Washington’s Most Important Climate Law be Repealed on Election Day?

    If you live in Washington State and you pay any attention to climate politics, you probably know about the state’s Climate Commitment Act. Passed in 2021, it’s a “cap-and-invest” law that’s designed to gradually ratchet down emissions from most major pollution sources in line with the state’s goal of cutting carbon pollution 95 percent below

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  • West Coast climate activists battle the false ‘solution’ of forest biomass

    In this piece for Waging Nonviolence, I describe the growing grassroots movement to save our forests from being turned into wood pellets. “Who will own the forests? Who will own the sky?” sang dozens of umbrella-wielding protesters as rain drizzled outside the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon on Sept. 25. Inside the building, timber

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  • Why is Washington DNR Logging So Many Old, “Legacy” Forests?

    Protecting the Pacific Northwest’s last ancient forests has been a priority for the region’s environmental movement since at least the 1980s. In the late 20th century, the lines of this major battle over natural resources seemed starkly drawn and unmovable. Activists staged tree-sits to stop logging of some of the last centuries-old trees in western

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  • Bringing Grizzlies Back to the North Cascades

    At almost 10,000 square miles, Washington’s North Cascades ecosystem is one of the largest truly wild landscapes left in the contiguous United States. I’m fortunate to have spent quite a bit of time in this remarkable place; I spent a year living in the remote North Cascades National Park, and have backpacked extensively in the

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  • The Beauty of Alpine Lakes Wilderness

    I recently made the hike to Kendall Katwalk in Alpine Lakes Wilderness–a spectacular day trip into one of the most beautiful wilderness areas in the Pacific Northwest. From glacier-carved mountain peaks, to high-elevation wildflowers, to old-growth mountain hemlock forests, to the lakes from which the wilderness gets its name, this protected area showcases so many

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  • The Private Pillaging of Public Lands

    What’s the most significant thing we could do to protect endangered species, allow ecosystems to regenerate, and remove countless tons of carbon from the atmosphere? It might just be ending grazing on public lands. For decades, livestock interests have been allowed to profit off public lands, where they’re allowed to graze cattle and sheep for

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  • Why the climate movement is actually close to winning

    Photo credit: Zero Hour In January, U.S. climate activists prepared for one of the largest direct action protests against fossil fuels in years. The plan was for people to descend on the Department of Energy headquarters for three days of sit-ins protesting a series of massive liquefied natural gas, or LNG, terminals up for approval

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  • Do Europe’s Elections Offer Glimmers of Climate Hope?

    For people who care about the fate of the planet (and humanity), it’s easy to feel hopeless right now. Another summer of record-breaking temperatures around the world show the effects of a changing climate aren’t letting up. Meanwhile, much of the progress made toward addressing the crisis in the US and other countries in recent

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