Category Archives: Environment
Dirtbag Billionaire
Can you run a successful global corporation without harming the planet? Few have tried harder than Yvon Chouinard, founder of the outdoor clothing company Patagonia. Dirtbag Billionaire by David Gelles tells the story of Chouinard’s life and the company he built. Continue reading
Climate Surprises
There’s an interesting opinion piece in today’s New York Times summarizing the current state of climate change forecasting. The picture is … cloudy. Continue reading
Why Carbon Taxes Failed
Economists say the best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is to tax carbon pollution. But carbon taxes are not working well enough or fast enough. Why Carbon Taxes Failed by Daniel Driscoll explains why they haven’t delivered and how to make them more effective for fighting climate change. Continue reading
The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything
Carbon dioxide has been called the “master control knob” for Earth’s temperature. It’s also the source of carbon for all living things. Peter Brannen explores CO2’s outsized role on our planet and in our lives in his latest book The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything. Continue reading
The Water Remembers
The Water Remembers by Amy Bowers Cordalis tells the story of her Indigenous family’s fight against the US and California governments and powerful corporations to save the Klamath River, its salmon runs, and themselves. It’s an inspiring multigenerational memoir of perseverance in the face of injustice, betrayal, violence and genocide. Continue reading
Undammed
Most books about the environment or climate change catalog the disastrous state of our world but dangle a morsel of hope at the end. Undammed, a book about dam removal in the United States, describes real progress, genuine restoration, and actual healing of the land and its people. Continue reading
Braiding Sweetgrass
Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass weaves Indigenous wisdom, western science, and autobiography into a compelling vision of humanity’s relationship with Nature. It’s a relationship based on reciprocity, respect and gratitude, where we can begin to heal the land and heal ourselves too. Continue reading
Notes from the Energy Transition
In defiance of Donald Trump’s disastrous climate and energy policies, the world is steadily transitioning away from fossil fuels towards clean energy. In this post, I want to highlight some recent reports and articles examining this trend. First, Ember, a … Continue reading
When the Forest Breathes
Back in 2021, I read and raved about Susanne Simard’s wonderful book Finding the Mother Tree. Her new book, When the Forest Breathes: Renewal and Resilience in the Natural World, is a great follow-up. It’s an urgent call to save our forests and, in the process, save ourselves. Continue reading
Wild Law: A Manifesto for Earth Justice
Wild Law: A Manifesto for Earth Justice is a radical rethinking of law, governance, and humanity’s place in the natural world. It challenges assumptions that have shaped centuries of environmental destruction and suggests a new way of governing ourselves, one that aligns with Earth’s own systems of self-governance. Continue reading
