The trajectory of Daniel McGowan's life is a familiar one: A young man from a conventional background finds meaning in a cause greater than himself. Thanks in part to overreaction by the authorities, he gradually becomes radicalized, dedicating himself to violent resistance — a course of action that grabs attention but ultimately backfires on him and his movement. An Islamic radical? White supremacist? Perhaps an anti-globalization anarchist? None of the above. McGowan was one of the key figures in the eco-terrorism of the 1990s, a man who used arson as a weapon in the fight to ... Read More
Botanist Brings Trees to the Israeli Desert
July 21, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
The desert sky was an odd brooding gray as we pulled into McDonald's, the arches looming bright and preternaturally yellow out of the dusty landscape. By the time we'd finished our McKebab sandwiches — much better than you might expect — it was raining: a steady, drumming, respectable rain. It almost never rains in Israel's Arava Valley, the driest, hottest and southernmost part of Israel. I was about to meet a desert botanist, Elaine Solowey, so I was anxious to hear what she'd say. I assumed she'd be excited about the rain and wax rhapsodic about making the desert bloom and all ... Read More
The History and Frightening Future of Forests
January 4, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
The United Nations has declared 2011 the International Year of Forests, an interestingly ambiguous title that can be read as either celebratory or cautionary. Our review of recent forest-related research is similarly mixed: It seems that for every paper that warns forests are at risk from climate change, another suggests that, if well-managed, they could help mitigate its impact. Playing the role of victim and savior simultaneously is a lot to ask, but then forests have always played a dual role in the lives of man. In literature and folklore, they represent both the terror of the wild ... Read More
Pine Beetle Infestation Under the Presidents’ Noses
October 30, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment
Here, on the western flank of Mount Rushmore, from the vista that highlights George Washington's 60-foot profile, a few Ponderosa pines are showing signs of autumnal shedding. Nothing indicates anything amiss right under the immortalized presidents' stony noses. Yet not far from where Crazy Horse and Custer once rode, South Dakota's historic Black Hills are again rife with warfare, that of the dread mountain pine beetle's assault. Since the 1997 onset of this latest beetle epidemic, several million Ponderosa pine trees have been killed; a third of Black Hills National Forest's 1.2 million ... Read More
The Tree That Changed the World
March 29, 2010 • By • 1 Comment
The author of A Forest Journey: The Story of Wood and Civilization, begins a series of articles on the world’s first energy crisis: peak wood. Part I: The Tree That Changed the World Part II: Wood and Civilization Part III: Peak Wood and the Bronze Age Part IV: Peak Wood Brings on the Industrial Revolution and the Age of Fossil Fuels Astronomers for the longest time have regarded Venus as the planet most resembling Earth. Having almost the exact size as Earth and being almost as close to the sun has led many to call it Earth’s twin. The clouds always covering the Venusian ... Read More
Tree by Tree: Reforesting Haiti
January 27, 2010 • By • 1 Comment
The Marines, the Red Cross and countless other charity organizations are getting their boots on the ground to offer tangible, immediate aid to quake-stricken Haitians. Relief may come as simple as a dry biscuit and water delivered by the U.N. World Food Program or as complicated as surgery performed by Doctors Without Borders. Amid the tremendous effort to stave off hunger and slowly repair the tattered nation, another nonprofit, Trees for the Future, is continuing to do what it has done in the country for eight years: plant trees that produce much-needed fuel and food for rural ... Read More
