On the Cusp of Planetary Ruin: Get Radical, Step Outside the System
Something new is now urgently needed and I think the colleges and universities can and should lead in finding it. By James Gustave Speth Editor's Note: The address below was delivered Saturday by Gus Speth who was presented with "The Great Work Award in Honor of...
Queen Butterflies Hatching by Sasha Harris-Cronin
For EarthDesk Sunday this week, a lovely iPhone video of hatching Queen Butterflies (Danaus gilippus) shot by Sasha Harris-Cronin while visiting the Butterflies and Blooms exhibit at the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, which runs until...
“Never Has Our Duty Been More Clear” — Higher Education in a Changing World
Editor's Note: Today I am reporting from the Tenth Annual Conference of the Environmental Consortium of Colleges & Universities, a collaborative of 60 higher education institutions in the Hudson-Mohawk watershed. In her opening remarks, below, consortium director...
Environmental Visionary Gus Speth Coming to the Environmental Consortium, November 8, 9
From adviser to President Bill Clinton, to dean of the Yale University School of Forestry, to jail time for civil disobedience at the White House, James Gustave Speth has blazed a trail like no other. He is a creative and provocative thinker who will enliven even the...
United States Energy Policy
"Let me take this opportunity to outline what has been U.S. policy toward the Middle East and North Africa and what will be my policy during the remainder of my presidency. 'The United States of America is prepared to use all elements of our power, including military...
Redefining Terrorism to Protect Animal Torture
On Thanksgiving Sunday 2006, President George W. Bush signed into law the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA), a breathtaking statute designed to make illegal the exercise of free speech against animal torture, and to brand animal activists as terrorists. It is...
Sustainable Snapshot: Commuters’ Bicycles, Metro North Train Station, Pelham, NY
The Last Voyage of the Bounty
Today is the anniversary of the sinking of the Bounty. As with many tragedies left in the wake of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the Bounty story instructs us that nature will ever challenge how we choose to live at, and beyond, the wet edges of our continents. She sank in...
The Government Shutdown & Wildlife by Taylor Jones
Taylor Jones has been drawing caricatures, political cartoons and editorial illustrations for a rather long time. He does very little else except fidget. In addition to his website, you can see samples of Taylor’s work at CagleCartoons and the Hoover Digest website....
Who Will Pay for Disposal? Drug Companies Lose Against Local Governments in California and Washington
By Brett Walton Circle of Blue Editor's note: Among the many things the outdated 1972 Clean Water Act did not anticipate is massive disposal of drugs into the nation's waters. We include mandatory testing for pharmaceuticals in drinking water in our recent...
Has EPA Given Up on Clean Water?
A meaningful plan is unlikely during the remaining years of Barack Obama’s presidency. Most revealing about the national water strategy announced by recently appointed EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy is its contrast with her “reputation as a straight shooter,” the...
Human Nature by Craig Wilson
Craig Wilson's moving film is beautiful and timeless in the way only hand-drawn animation can be. We asked Craig what inspired him to create Human Nature: The inspiration behind it was to focus the viewers attention on the "small and insignificant" by amplifying the...