by Jennifer Fontaine - The Interior Department announced yesterday that it wants to allow drilling in nearly all U.S. waters, the single largest expansion of offshore oil and gas leasing ever proposed by the federal government. The agency said it will hold 47 lease sales in every region of the outer continental shelf but one between 2019 and 2024. The updated five-year plan, … [Read more...]
Saving the Outdoors: Scholarship Awardee Giving Hope For the Future
by Melynda Harrison - Anyone who has spent any time recreating outdoors has seen the effects of pollution, climate change, or neglect on one of their favorite places. As users of outdoor space, we have an obligation to take care of them and wild lands for the next (many) generations. Jessica Casey is taking that obligation seriously. She grew up on the shores of St. Albans … [Read more...]
The Great Outdoor Clean Up: Getting community involved and connected
by Jennifer Fontaine - From the bustling cobblestone streets of old-town Brussels to the seafood-filled air of the Louisiana bayou villages, the world's communities are constantly shaping and changing, welcoming and growing. With this growth comes great opportunity and responsibility for residents of our shared space to assume ownership and clean up of the important swath of … [Read more...]
Young Trail Volunteers Learn Value of Sweat Equity
by Erin Kirkland Washington state is well known for a wide range of recreational opportunities. From the dry desert in its eastern corners to dense rain forests of the far west, Washington is home to thousands of miles of hiking, biking, skiing, climbing, and water trail systems. On any given weekend, crowds of outdoor enthusiasts take to the hills, eager for a day or two … [Read more...]
Seven “Cool” Facts About Arctic Sea Ice
by Kimberly Hatfield At its simplest, sea ice is frozen ocean water, a force of nature. It covers nearly 10 million square miles of Earth's polar ends, and plays a critical role in regulating ocean currents and climate balance. Arctic sea ice is the pillar for life above and below the water, and is an important barometer of climate change. FACT: Arctic winter … [Read more...]
Make Earth Day an Every Day Investment
by Kelsey Ivey From bubbling brooks to thundering waterfalls, rainforest pathways lined with moss to desert highlands scattered with sagebrush; we live on an amazing planet. Earth is a colorful whirlwind of inspiration and recreation, and a practical parent for shelter, food, and air. It?s our home and provider, as naturalist Wendell Berry stated so well. ??The earth is what … [Read more...]
Going Green All Year: St. Patrick’s Day suggestions for sustainable living
by Mae Kiggins Even simple holidays can teach kids the value of giving back. Take St. Patrick?s Day, for example. This year, my children and I are learning how to be ?green? in an effort to live a more sustainable life, and we started with the basics: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Reduce.?In our consumer-driven world, parents often feel the need to give their children … [Read more...]
Nature Stewards: Four Fun Ways to Let Kids Participate
by Matthew Treadwell Fracking. Climate change. Mountaintop removal, overfishing, shark finning, oil spills, poaching, poisoned water, toxic air, deforestation, extinction. We're constantly bombarded with bad environmental news, and it's easy to become despondent, to feel helpless, hopeless. What do we do? What should we do? Besides living an environmentally conscious … [Read more...]
