Butterflies declined by 22% in just 2 decades across the US – there are ways you can help save them
If the joy of seeing butterflies seems increasingly rare these days, it isn’t your imagination.
Environment featured
Restoring watersheds and fostering communities of practice in Baja California Sur
This is about more than just Rancho Los Alamitos, it’s about food security, climate resilience, and ensuring that future generations can thrive in a rapidly changing world
Meet the Passionate Advocates Trying to Save Western Monarch Butterflies
While replanting habitat — including both milkweed and the nectar plants that adult butterflies need — will likely not by itself save the monarch, it’s a critical piece of the puzzle and something nearly everyone can do.
The Muskovites Are at the Gates: Is the Republic Doomed?
The tectonic truth is that Donald Trump and Elon Musk could stop their chainsaw rampage through the federal government, foreign alliances, and the US Constitution immediately, and it would take years to undo the cumulative damage they’ve already wrought to democracy, the federal government, and the reputation of the US as a reliable ally.
Some academic actuaries say we are not overestimating climate and biodiversity risks
Why the huge discrepancy between what the IPCC and IPBES have assessed as risks, and what the actuarial professionals conclude? Given that the issue is the capacity of earth systems to support a complex civilization, this is a question of considerable importance.
Just Plant Trees? It’s Not So Simple
A self-sustaining forest ecosystem includes not just a mix of trees but the understory of smaller trees, shrubs and groundcover plants, the animals, the soil and its biota, and all the dead matter lying on the forest floor.
On the need for radical honesty
The climate crisis is not only an extreme case of a collective challenge, but also an extremely complex one. Conventional notions of expertise and specialisation are therefore failing. The essence of radical honesty is to recognise this failure of our conventional ideas and to draw lessons from it.
The Gauntlet. Where is Thrutopia?
One conceptualisation of this new narrative is as a ‘Thrutopia’. This is the middle passage between utopia and dystopia. The hour is too late to avoid reaping the destruction we have sown, but neither is complex human civilisation beyond hope.
Listening to Earth: A Reflection on John Francis and My Journey to Jamaica
There are moments in life when we are called to listen—not just to words, but to the silence beneath them. To listen not just with our ears, but with our whole being.
Protecting the Climate (documentary film review)
While I generally hold Deutsche Welle documentaries in high regard, this one falls disappointingly short of its potential. Don’t watch it if you’re looking for an in-depth exploration of cognitive and neurological barriers to climate action.
The Intricate Connection of Birdsongs to Human Language
Birdsongs have inspired poets and lovers, becoming one of the philosophical focal points in ancient Greece and Rome. They have also led to several long-ago debates about the relationship between birdsong and human language.
Nothing But Flowers
It’s hard to change, and to accept that the life to which we have become accustomed has shortchanged us and the entire community of life in the long run.
