SKEETERS (2-minute mark). Check with your city and/or county officials to find out if they provide an opt-out to spraying. Better yet, encourage them to pursue other options. To be clear, we SHOULD take action to control mosquito populations when they pose a genuine threat in residential areas. We can do that by removing standing water, putting up bat or purple martin houses, covering exposed skin, and applying eco-friendly bug spray.

URANIUM (25-minute mark). There’s one active uranium mill in the US, and it’s located next to the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe where it poses a major threat to the community’s health, water, land, and heritage sites. I recently learned of the problem from a friend who gave me the November, 2021 issue of High Country News. As is typical with incidents of environmental injustice, public officials have been mostly unresponsive to concerns raised by the Ute people.

MY WINTER IN NOVA SCOTIA (36-minute mark). In my early twenties, I spent a winter in the wilds of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, living alone in a house on the edge of the highlands with no bathroom, running water, or electricity. My lone heat source was a wood stove. A giant sled dog and psychotic horse were my primary companions. Everything about the experience was fantastic — until someone burned down the outhouse. Continue Reading →