Whatever Trees

There’s a quote I’ve seen attributed to Ram Dass about why we should turn people into trees. When we look at people (or ourselves), we judge. We compare. We criticize. But for trees, Ram Dass says, it’s different. “Some of them are bent, and some of them are straight, and some of them are evergreens, […]

The Last Word

February 12-16, 2018 The Tesla/SpaceX launch left Rebecca exhilarated—but she knows not everyone felt the same way. Plenty of people didn’t like it because they argue we have enough to deal with here on Earth. Some people were unhappy because they don’t like Elon Musk, who owns the rocket and the car. And some people […]

The Last Word

February 5-9, 2018 Jessa starts off the week by writing about a Canadian researcher on an Arctic icebreaker who tracks radioactive material released after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. The atmospheric release took eight days to reach Cullen’s home in Victoria, British Columbia, and most of it ended up in the North Pacific. Ultimately it […]

The Last Word

January 22-26, 2018 Emma has sage advice for ditching your phone, which may be one of many things that’s making you miserable. Give your phone to your children and ask them to hide it. A fun game for the whole family! Tell them they can’t tell you where it is, even if you start to […]

The Last Word

January 8-12, 2018 Michelle reduxes a post about a word she made up to describe daffodils that bloom during false springs—and wonders what other words the world needs these days. Honestly, all the Snowpocalypses and Snowzillas of recent years are starting to run together. If we’re going to keep naming nature in the Anthropocene, we need to branch out. Erik snorkels on […]

The Last Word

December 25-29 The People of LWON took a short winter’s nap this week and revisited a few favorite posts from years past. On Monday, Erik writes about pilgrimages, both his own and others’. I believe in the open road and the open air and people together on a journey and sore legs and a rejuvenated […]

The Last Word

December 18-22, 2017 The People of LWON start the week with our recommendations for holiday binge-watching. You’re welcome. Guest Mary Caperton Morton tells a story about hiking in Bears Ears National Monument, which had its acreage cut by 85 percent earlier this month. As the canyon opened up, our side canyon nearing the confluence with […]

Redux: Fired Up

Two years ago, I wrote a post about learning how to make fire with a bow drill, and how it was one of the many frustrating things about fire: that it’s hard to make when you need it, and hard to get rid of when you don’t want it to burn. Now yet another California […]