There are many famous names in the history of conservation. But there are also some not-so-famous ones, especially outside the United States. Nature’s Allies: Eight Conservationists Who Changed Our World highlights eight major players in conservation. Some are exceptionally well-known: Rachel Carson, Aldo Leopold, John Muir. Others you may never heard of before. John Muir
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The National Park Service officially began with the passing of the Organic Act of 1916. After 100 years, and 400 plus “units”, the park service remains as one of the nation’s best source of recreation and natural ecosystem protection. But what do we have to look forward for the next 100 years? The National Park
E.O. Wilson’s premise in Half-Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life is as straightforward as it is daunting: we must preserve half of the Earth in order to stop a path towards complete, irreversible failure and the “sixth extinction”. According to Wilson we have, or will shortly, entered the Anthropocene period; the Epoch of Man. This
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How much nature do we need? Nature is all around us in varying degrees. The amount or value of the nature around us is largely subjective. But with near certainty we can understand what valuable nature is or isn’t. Universally, more natural surroundings is preferable to less. Also nearly universal is the idea that having
Continue reading How Much Nature Do We Need? Review of The Nature Fix
Roosevelt’s life as a naturalist began like many naturalists: with a carcass. Specifically, a seal carcass he discovered in a grocery on Broadway in New York. He was 8 years old. Darrin Lunde’s The Naturalist: Theodore Roosevelt and the Triumph of American Natural History covers our 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt, from the lens of an
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The concept of bird migration is far from new to even the most casual backyard birder. Many birds come and go as the seasons change. On the surface, migration, or why birds would bother to migrate, is quite obvious. Food sources change as the time of year changes. The decision to stay put or travel
Somehow it happened. 10 years ago the Birdfreak Blog started. In those years our lives changed a lot. We grew and our kids grew. But through all the change, we feel we’ve stayed the same. We didn’t always stick to a plan. Our posting schedule was sporadic, the look of the site was spasmadic, and
Vitamin N is the short title for Richard Louv’s latest book about getting people, especially kids, back out into nature. The extended title is a long one: Vitamin N: 500 Ways to Enrich the Health & Happiness of Your Family & Community* (*and Combat Nature-Deficit Disorder). On the cover is also the statement “The Essential
