-
Rachel Carson’s name is legendary in environmental circles–and for good reason. Carson’s 1962 book, Silent Spring, sounded the alarm about the hazardous effects of pesticides such as DDT, and is widely credited with helping spark the modern environmental movement. The book came out at a time when Congress and the White House were far more…
-
The Samish Flats in Skagit County are one of Northwest Washington’s premiere destinations for seeing birds in winter and early spring. Thousands of snow geese, mallards, pintails, green-winged teal, American wigeons, and both tundra and trumpeter swans spend the winter in the wetlands and fallow farmlands of this area, in some cases feeding on leftover…
-
We often think of wild nature and magnificent animal life as things that can only be seen by travelling far away to remote places. However, nature abounds all around us. I was reminded of this reality yesterday, when I was on the beach of Lummi Island with a group of students. One of the spotted…
-
There is so much bad news about the state of Earth’s climate that sometimes it’s important to focus on the good. And, while the news of record-breaking temperatures and extreme weather from around the world certainly is devastating, it’s also true there are real encouraging trends. Not many years ago, almost no country with a…
-
As someone who’s been following international climate politics for years, I’ve long been familiar with UK company Drax, which at one time operated the largest coal plant in Western Europe. Over the last couple decades, Drax has tried to brand itself as a “renewable energy” company while phasing out its use of coal and replacing…
-
Back in the ’00s, a huge and relatively new threat to biodiversity and the global climate began catching the attention of activists. The palm oil industry was expanding plantations as never before–particularly in Indonesia and Malaysia–to meet rising demand for both food oils and biofuels in countries around the world. This juggernaut seemed unstoppable, and…
-
This post is part of an ongoing series where I’ll periodically highlight a particular plant, animal, or other living thing, with an emphasis on its unique adaptations and prospects for its survival. Usually, these will be species with whom I have personal experience. The lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) is almost unique among Northwest conifers in…
-
Not many eras in modern U.S. history have been as turbulent for activists as the last 18 months. Grassroots organizers have had to contend with a lingering pandemic, increasingly unstable geopolitics and signs that Earth’s ecological systems are finally paying us back for decades of abuse. For the climate movement in particular, it’s been a…
-
Photo credit: Fabrice Florin There’s a pervasive idea in our society that protests are largely pointless. Standing around with a sign doesn’t accomplish anything, the thinking goes–it’s a useless way of venting anger, a naive attempt to participate in the democratic process, or a pointless gesture in a world where the rich and powerful control…
-
Photo: Forest slated to be logged as part of the Breaking Bud Timber Sale. Credit: Universal Wildlands One of the biggest challenges of a grassroots campaign that involves submitting public comments to a decision-making agency has to do with quantity vs. quality. In general, it’s much easier to get large numbers of people to submit…
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Nick Engelfried 