An Array of Utopian Flowers
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Pauline Oliveros and her Beautiful Canopies of Sound
Posted on April 15, 2019 | No Comments -
Los Angeles Steps Up Transition Toward 100% Renewable Energy
Posted on February 21, 2019 | No Comments -
12 Reasons to Try Elliott Abrams in the International Criminal Court
Posted on February 15, 2019 | No Comments -
Ecological Amnesia: Life Without Wild Things
Posted on February 9, 2019 | No Comments -
Coup Redux in Venezuela: ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’
Posted on February 3, 2019 | 1 Comment
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forests Archive
Confronting Wildfire: Retrofit Communities, Not Forests
Posted on September 17, 2018 | 1 CommentAs California continues with massive wind-driven, high-intensity wildfires that often turn deadly, the governmental and institutional response has been to thin forests and "grind up vegetation" to fight fires. Naomi Pitcairn points to a movement by plant community and wildfire experts led by the Richard Halsey of the Chaparral Institute to focus on protecting vulnerable communities rather than trying to control nature, which now faces extreme heatwaves and droughts from an unpredictable greenhouse-gas-warmed climate.
An Orangutan’s Journey Though Palm Oil Killing Fields
Posted on December 8, 2014 | No CommentsThe film "Green" documents deforestation and orangutan extinction in the Indonesian rainforest. It is a silent film (without narration) presenting the treasures of rainforest biodiversity and the devastating impacts of logging and land clearing for palm oil plantations.
Yosemite: An Ecosystem Nourished By Wildfire
Posted on May 25, 2014 | 5 CommentsThough the Rim Fire of 2013 was the third largest conflagration in California's history, it improved the ecological health of the forest and the majority of the iconic landscapes of Yosemite National Park remained unscathed. A salvage logging plan approved by the US Forest Service put in danger the regenerating effects of the fire.
Honduras: Narcotrafficking Leads to Native Dispossession, Deforestation
Posted on February 7, 2014 | 3 CommentsIn the isolated region of La Mosquitia, Honduras, narco-traffickers act as shock troops in the assault on native Miskitu, Tawahka, and Pech homelands, ruthlessly dispossessing residents and rapaciously converting forest commons to private pasture primed for sale to multinational corporations.
Asian Rosewood: Soaked in Blood
Posted on November 23, 2013 | 1 CommentDeep in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia grows a rare and beautiful tree whose wood is so highly prized that men will kill to possess it. In Thailand, environmental organizations and park rangers are fighting back against organized crime syndicates bent on logging it and smuggling it to the burgeoning Chinese market.
Genetically Engineered Eucalyptus Plantations Threaten US South
Posted on March 22, 2013 | 1 CommentArborGen, has applied to commercially sell hundreds of millions of freeze tolerant genetically engineered eucalyptus trees annually for vast plantations across Texas, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina.
Papua New Guinea: Rainforest World of Sustainable River Guardians
Posted on January 9, 2013 | 4 CommentsThe Sacred Land Film Project captured a revival of a canoe ceremony with feasting, dancing and carving, honoring their sacred Ramu River. The region is part of the third largest intact rainforest ecosystem left on earth, where sustainable agriculture and forestry practices have allowed societies to thrive for thousands of years, now threatened by multinational logging interests and corrupt governmental entities.
Who Bombed Earth First! Organizer Judi Bari?
Posted on November 29, 2012 | No CommentsOscar-entry documentary chronicles the unsolved mystery of the car bombing of Old-Growth Forests Activists and their later arrest by the FBI for their own injuries. The film also illustrates the Redwood Summer movement to save the Headwaters Forest of Northern California and Judi Bari's victorious 1st Amendment lawsuit.
Howler Monkeys Among the Maya: Divine Patrons to the Artisans
Posted on November 15, 2012 | 1 CommentJohn Lloyd Stephens, who documented important Maya sites in Central America in 1839, described howler monkeys found at the ruins of Copán as "grave and solemn, almost emotionally wounded, as if officiating as the guardians of consecrated ground." Today, in sites such as Tikal, they remain standing guard over the ruins, sharing space with hundreds of tourists.
Ecuador: Battle Between Living Systems and Oil at Yasuní National Park
Posted on September 4, 2012 | 2 CommentsEcuador abandons a plan to preserve the most biodiverse region on Earth from oil exploitation, putting Yasuni national park at the frontline of a global battle between living systems and fossil fuels. Unable to raise sufficient financing, President Correa plans to move forward with oil drilling in this wild Amazonian region, putting wildlife and willfully uncontacted tribes at risk.
Tantoo Cardinal on Tar Sands: No Energy More Powerful than Natural Force
Posted on July 7, 2012 | 1 CommentThe Earth has a voice. And the fact that any native people have survived on the planet should be a clue that there's a way that does not include money and politics. We have survived by our relationship with natural force. Water is sacred. Air is sacred. If the tar sands isn't stopped, we are going to have a whole new set of problems.
Do Forests Drink Water Meant for Humans?
Posted on May 9, 2012 | 1 CommentWesleyan University academics argue "unnatural" forests, resulting from fire suppression policies, deplete water supplies and should be cut back. We disagree.
Santa Ana Mountains: Vestige of Wild Coastal Southern California
Posted on May 5, 2012 | No CommentsFollowing the footsteps of Willis E. Pequegnat, a biologist from the 1930s who explored the wild Santa Ana Mountains in Orange, Riverside, and San Diego Counties, this video field journal logs the wonders and threats to this thriving resource.
Elephants in Borneo: Need Lowland Forest Range
Posted on March 9, 2012 | 2 CommentsForest fragmentation and destruction is imperiling the Bornean elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis), according to a new paper published in PLoS ONE. Using satellite collars to track the pachyderms for the first time in the Malaysian state of Sabah, scientists found elephants sensitive to habitat fragmentation from palm oil plantations and logging.
Mountain Lions Manage Ecosystems: Not Sport Hunters
Posted on March 6, 2012 | 4 CommentsCalifornia Fish and Game Commish's mountain lion sport hunting, contrary to the assertions of many "sportsmen" does not provide a service of managing wildlife habitat. It typifies the senseless need for (usually) white men to shoot thriving wild animals for "fun."
Honduras: World Heritage Biosphere Trafficked Toward Destruction
Posted on December 12, 2011 | 8 CommentsDeforestation, the proposed damming of pristine rivers for hydroelectricity, and destruction of indigenous communities threatens the wildest and most biodiverse corner of tropical Central America: The Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve
Rainforest Wilt: Drought in the Amazon Has Long-Term Effects
Posted on April 20, 2011 | 2 CommentsThe Amazon Rainforest experienced a devastating drought in 2010, increasing its emission of greenhouse gases, endangering its role as a global climate balance.
