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Prairie dogs are the eyes of the community.
- Terry Tempest Williams

Groundhog Day is most famously celebrated in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where almost always, Phil retreats, forecasting six more weeks of winter. But it is west of the Mississippi where Phil’s cousins, the prairie dogs, may well be offering a more dire prediction—about the fate of humanity. This is why there have been efforts to establish Prairie-Dog Day to bring attention to the plight of these creatures, under attack by ranchers and developers who consider them pests. Read on…

Like many who are caught in the jaws of the economic downturn, I’ve had to cobble together several small jobs to bring in a modest income. One source piggybacks on the industry that currently comprises around 17% of the US gross domestic product: healthcare. I provide transportation and interpretation services for patients who receive medical attention through workers’ compensation. This exposes me to people I might not otherwise meet in my day-to-day orbit. Often, patients are not interested in ecological issues. Sometimes they associate negatively with environmentalists. Read on…

According to my Buddhist friend, the Buddha said that people learn the things they really need to learn in four different ways, similar to four types of horses.

For the first kind of horse, you need only whisper in its ear whatever you want the horse to learn. The second kind requires that you pull on the reins to teach it to go where you want. For the third, you need to show the whip to incite it to move. With the fourth and fnal kind of horse, you must actually use the whip. This is analogous to the type of person who usually requires a tragic loss in his or her life in order to change course. Read on…

Most would view Bangladesh—one of the most densely populated countries in the world—as an unlikely innovator of practical ways to fight global warming. Besides establishing floating communities to cope with increased flooding, they recently banned business suits for government employees. Officials are encouraging all professionals to dress in casual, un-tucked shirts and pants from March to November so they can turn down the air conditioning. They hope this will relax the urgency to build more power plants, which have not kept pace with the country’s 6% population growth for the past five years. Read on…

I’ve never made New Year’s resolutions. They can end in feelings of guilt and drudgery. Sometimes they lead to consuming more, like buying exercise equipment—when getting outdoors for regular walks might have a more lasting effect.

I propose a different strategy for next year: Be less ambitious and, in Carlos Castaneda lingo, practice “not-doing.” This will shrink our impact on the resources and ecosystems that make it possible for us to survive. Read on…