The standoff of armed ranchers occupying Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is now over. They represent the deepest rift in humanity’s relationship with land. They argue that all lands “belong” in private ownership. On the other hand, the land is currently held in public trust; the public being all Americans including the native Paiute for whom […]
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Grand Cayman’s coral reefs must not be destroyed
Co-authored by Ellen Prager, Steven Miller and Carl Safina (CNN) Once upon a time, on a small island in the Caribbean, there was a picturesque harbor and lovely town overlooking clear emerald-blue waters and spectacular coral reefs. Visitors enjoyed dining at waterside restaurants, diving, snorkeling, glass bottom boat rides and even a submarine tour of the […]
What’s Learned From the Killing of Blaze, the Grizzly Bear
Last month, an African lion known as Cecil was lured out of a protected area and killed by a high-paying sport-hunter, igniting unprecedented worldwide outrage over the killing of a free-living animal. Earlier this month, a grizzly bear known as Blaze (after a light-colored marking on her flank) was killed inside Yellowstone Park. The reasons […]
Cecil The Lion: A Big-picture Guide to Directed Outrage
David Shiffman of Southern Fried Science was kind enough to send me his 11-point thought piece on the killing of Cecil. Here’s my list; I only have four points. 1) Humans are by far the kindest, most compassionate, most creative, most violent, most destructive and most misery-inducing animal in the history of the world. We […]
Tapping Your Inner Wolf
MEN often face pressure to measure up as alpha males, to “wolf up” as it were. Alpha male connotes the man who at every moment demonstrates that he’s in total control in the home, and who away from home can become snarling and aggressive. This alpha male stereotype comes from a misunderstanding of the real […]
Population and Women Under-Recognized in Pope’s Encyclical. Applause Anyway.
In a brilliant blend of distilled science and religious language, the pope has said what many of us have been saying for years: The whole Earth, our shared and increasingly degraded home, now cries out for our respect and reverence. There is no taking away from the remarkable seismic shift indicated by the pope’s encyclical. […]