Food for Thought
“Do we not already sing our love for and obligation to the land of the free and the home of the brave? Yes, but just what and whom do we love? Surely not the soil, which we are sending helter-skelter downriver. Certainly not the waters, which we assume have no function except to turn turbines, float barges, and carry off sewage. Certainly not the plants, of which we exterminate whole communities without batting an eye. Certainly not the animals, of which we have already extirpated many of the largest and most beautiful species.”
Aldo Leopold
Monthly Archives: February 2008
Friday poetry 5: Oh, Earth, Wait for Me
[Editor's note: Few have employed the Spanish language so masterfully as Pablo Neruda. I've often felt that an important incentive to improve my own rudimentary Spanish would be the ability to read and appreciate Neruda's poetry in his native tongue. … Continue reading
Posted in Natural Patriots, Poetry
4 Comments
A climate for conflict
As the evidence for ongoing climate change has grown incontrovertible, there is increasing urgency to the question of what these changes hold in store for us. Some wondered why Al Gore and the IPCC should be awarded the Nobel peace … Continue reading
As Garth would say, “Excellent!”
Top ten list – Excellent! I am honored to have received the Excellent blog award, bestowed after a rigorous screening and review process, and accompanied by a handsome prize consisting of the right to display proudly a small jpeg image … Continue reading
Posted in Blogospheria, Education, Science
7 Comments
Friday poetry 5: The Sycamore
[Editor's note: This past weekend, driving home from the mountains of West Virginia, I saw groves of sycamores lining the river bottoms and along the creeks running down the hollows. This poem, by one of the great American poets and communicants … Continue reading
To ski or not to ski, that is a question
A question that may soon be answered for us, at least in the southeastern USA. Now this may seem like a frivolous question (certainly not, you might argue, worthy of perverting Shakespeare), and in the grand scheme of things, yes, it … Continue reading
The coast ain’t clear
As global society begins to come to grips with the reality of climate change underway, and the James Inhofes of the world fade into obscurity or historical curiosity, the focus is turning slowly to the real work of figuring out … Continue reading
I propose a toast — even at the expense of scientific productivity
And now, as the Pythons say, for something completely different. I realize that this is a bit peripheral to the mainsteam content of this blog but (as another famous person said), “I’m the decider”. In our profession of science, probably … Continue reading
The man who changed the world
199 years ago on this day, the 12th of February 1809, a child was born in the town of Shropshire in the West English midlands, and grew up to change the world. Charles Darwin spent a unique life studying nature, with the … Continue reading
The new flight from Eden
Fresh air, wildlife, purple mountains’ majesty. This country’s national parks have long been considered a jewel in the crown of American democracy – all accessible to anyone for a nominal charge or even for free. And ever since ol’ Teddy Roosevelt … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Biophilia, Education, Politics, Sustainability
Tagged kids, research, soul
3 Comments
Friday poetry 3: The fish
[Note: Few poets, or others for that matter, have captured the essence of our life in the world as Mary Oliver has. How will we live in harmony with the earth? There are no easy answers.] The fish Mary Oliver … Continue reading
Posted in Biophilia, Poetry
2 Comments
