Category Archives: Environment
Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid
We know that climate change is having a devastating impact on our planet: rising sea levels, more intense forest fires, more frequent and more powerful storms. We also know that many plant and animal species are going extinct or suffering … Continue reading
Mozart’s Starling
On the 27th of May 1784, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wandered into a Vienna pet shop not far from his home and heard a starling singing a near-perfect imitation of a theme from his Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major … Continue reading
Bewilderment
In Richard Powers’ latest novel, Bewilderment, astrobiologist Theo Byrne is a single father struggling to raise his nine-year-old son Robin. Robin himself struggles with emotional turmoil for which there’s no clear diagnosis. “So far the votes are two Asperger’s, one probable … Continue reading
Ever Green
Forests are special places. Walking through a forest — I don’t do this often enough — makes me feel calmer and more alive at the same time. My senses seem more alert or maybe more receptive. And I know they’re … Continue reading
The Ministry for the Future
It’s the year 2024. After most nations fail to meet their commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement, delegates to the annual Conference of the Parties (COP) create a “subsidiary body” to defend and protect future generations of citizens and all … Continue reading
A World on the Wing
I’ve been reading some pretty heavy stuff lately; books about the rise of tyranny around the world and some godawful decisions coming out of the US Supreme Court. I needed to take a break, read something a little more uplifting. … Continue reading
West Virginia v. EPA: Major Questions, Major Troubles
Just one week after striking down the right to abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the US Supreme Court has now severely restricted the government’s ability to fight climate change. I think the Court’s decision in West Virginia … Continue reading
How the World Really Works
Global climate change is an unprecedented challenge for the world. To meet the challenge, we need to make unprecedented changes in the ways we live, work, produce, and consume. In a new book called How the World Really Works: … Continue reading
Greenwood
I was on vacation last week and took one of my periodic side trips into fiction. Greenwood, by Canadian writer Michael Christie, is a novel about family and trees and the relationship between them. It spans four generations of the … Continue reading
Entangled Life
When the author of this book about fungi started describing his participation in experiments involving LSD, I wondered if it was going to be a different sort of book than I was expecting. The author is Merlin Sheldrake, a biologist … Continue reading
Unsolicited Feedback 