In a decision this week, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) “deregulated” Monsanto’s genetically engineered “Roundup Ready” sugar beets, meaning that they can be commercially planted in the United States without restrictions. The decision follows several years of litigation and review. It is the Animal...
This coming Sunday, July 29, the third annual Permaculture Design Intensive offered by the University Centers of the San Miguel begins just outside of town. Participating in a design course can be a life-changing, life- enhancing experience. I took my course at the Central Rocky...
Past, Present and Future Isolated 2,350 miles from San Francisco on the edge of the Tropic of Cancer between 16 to 20 degrees north latitude, the Big Island of Hawaii has been blessed with the unique synergy of having a mild tropical climate that facilitates high...
What does the National Onion Association in Greeley have to do with ocean policy? It’s a good question, and even though I tend to repeat “every state is an ocean state” on every possible occasion, it doesn’t seem to make sense that the lobbying and...
What do the sun and schools have in common? This week it’s the EcoAction Roundtable being held Friday the 13th at 8:30 a.m. in the Wilkinson Public Library’s Program room. Farms you say? Yes – of sorts. We are delighted to have Tom Sweeny from the Clean...
Colorado forests, wildlife, and residents have suffered severely in the last month. As of July 4th, numerous forest fires that raged across Colorado have cumulatively consumed 173,000 acres of land, 600 homes, and six human lives. The Highland Park fire outside of Fort Collins, the largest...
People who know I work for Ocean Conservancy, a marine-focused environmental NGO, often ask me, “So what fish can I eat?” Unfortunately, there is no single, simple, easy answer to this question, so my facile (and facetious) “None!” is usually followed by a more detailed...
Bluegrass Makes Black Gold: Compostables versus Trash at Planet Bluegrass Black Gold is a term used by gardeners and farmers for prime compost, a delightful soil amendment that adds nutrients and tilth. EcoAction Partners has been working with the Telluride Bluegrass Festival for several years to...
Glued to the screen spellbound, I watched a person portraying a traditional Native American sitting on horseback staring at something so horrific that tears were painfully running down his stoic, weathered face. Silently, as the camera slowly panned back, the image on the screen revealed...
Disasters do not just happen, and the physical environment is only one of many factors that causes or exacerbates disasters. Understanding the combination of ecological and sociocultural elements that create vulnerability to risk is key to reducing that vulnerability. Power relations, ideologies, and social constructions...
