Category Archives: Nature

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Tragic waste: some thoughts on the s-word

Posted on March 25, 2011 by Heather

Michael Pollan notes in The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Mealsthat industrial agriculture has taken an elegant solution—crops feed animals, whose manure in turn fertilizes crops—and “divide[d] it into two new problems: a fertility problem on the farm… … Continue reading →

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March Madness: mountain laurels, plastic ducks, and ‘roid rage

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Martin

Jeff Meikle), the changing definition of childhood, the history of American environmentalism, and more. He writes well and often amusingly, but the overall message of his book is dire: we are almost literally drowning in waste, and we don’t really … Continue reading →

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The rising light

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Heather

Although it’s sometimes hard to tell, we’re in the season of rising light. Some of us have a confused relationship with this time of year. The prevailing story, at least in Western culture, has a particular purchase on anyone who’s … Continue reading →

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Of mothers and mountains

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Heather

I’ve just introduced myself to the pleasures of Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac, and Sketches Here and There. Called the father of wildlife conservation in the United States, Leopold heard in the revving of the great American economic and … Continue reading →

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Cleaning out the mental refrigerator: Niebuhr, McKibben, and Band-Aids

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Heather

I’ve been surveying the multitude of leftovers in the refrigerator of my mind. When was the last time this thing was cleaned out? Jeez. Prodded into further examination of my last post by subsequent emails, conversations, and readings, I’ve concluded … Continue reading →

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Double vision: prophets, tribalism, eugenics, and the environment

Posted on July 23, 2010 by Heather

As I dog-paddle through the sea of books threatening to drown not just me but the overwhelmed shores of my bedside table, I found these sentences: “For those who draw near and offer themselves before God, satisfaction of hunger is … Continue reading →

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Made for you and me: thoughts on private property

Posted on July 9, 2010 by Heather

Last week I went to Woody Creek, Colorado, to visit my father, sister, and brother and their posses. Among the many pleasures I find at the family place are my early morning walks up a trail that runs behind my … Continue reading →

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The literary environment (with apologies to the Williams Alumni Review)

Posted on July 2, 2010 by Martin

Confession: I consider myself a loyal son of alma mater, but I usually just skim the quarterly Williams Alumni Review before tossing it into the recycling pile. A story in the June issue, however, caught my eye. “The Literary Environment,” … Continue reading →

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The gift economy

Posted on June 25, 2010 by Heather

Martin’s last post about our entertainingly (or so we hope) ill-prepared entry into the marketplace has got me thinking. (Martin says the most terrifying words in the world are “Honey, I’ve been thinking…” when they come out of my mouth. … Continue reading →

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More on violence: a death in West Austin

Posted on May 21, 2010 by Martin

Last Thursday got off to a grisly start in our West Austin neighborhood, bringing a stark reminder of the violence inherent in the way we humans live on the land. We usually attempt, more or less successfully, to keep this … Continue reading →

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