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| Prairie Dogs at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge |
I've decided to steer the blog back in the direction I'd originally intended for it: discussions (in non-sciencey English) of the environment, climate, ecology, sustainability, and how human history and culture fits in. I might delve in to some other science and history topics too, as the Spirit moves me. Since western North America has been my home for over 20 years and I know it pretty well, the articles will focus on issues and topics from the Great Plains, west to the Pacific, and south into the deserts and jungles of Central America. That's a big area, but it leaves me a lot of room to play with ideas and topics.
I'll still talk about places to visit from time to time, but will fit those travels in to the broader discussions I outlined above.
I'm excited to be making this course correction: while I love my new career as a full-time artist, part of me misses being a science writer and teacher/trainer. Now I have the chance to do that again, but this time on my own terms. I can write about my thoughts and opinions on controversial topics and not have to worry about what my employer might think :-)
Some of the topics I have planned so far include (in no particular order):
- What's an Ecosystem?
- What's a Keystone Species?
- Beavers and Stream Ecosystems
- Prairie Dogs and Prairie Ecosystems
- The Buffalo Commons
- The Importance of Predators
- The Issue of Wild (feral) Horses
- The Issue of Feral Cats
- Why Everything is Sacred
- Ancient Trade Routes in Western North America
- The Cacao Trade in Ancient North America
- Why I don't Like GMOs
- Why I Buy Organic
- Why I Buy Locally-grown Foods
- Intro to the Carbon Cycle
- Intro to Climate Change
- Climate Changes through History
- Why the Current Climate Change is Worrisome
- Scientists are Only Human: Biases vs. New Ideas
I'll start out with a few articles on ecosystems, since that is really the basis for everything that will follow.
