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Benjamin Franklin’s battle against water pollution
Benjamin Franklin / portrait by Benjamin Wilson, 1759 Some time ago I came across a web page that claimed Benjamin Franklin as America’s first environmentalist. To begin with, Franklin petitioned the...
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Remembering Earth Day: Rectifying Remissness in References
Earth from space Earth Day is always April 22. April is often observed as Earth Month. Being more historian than reporter, I am in no position to observe it by calling attention to this year’s upcoming...
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Phony Fear-Mongering and Environmentalist Excess
No one is listening to the howling chorus of dire warnings about climate change. Lots of environmentalists find that very frustrating, but we have heard more than enough about climate change....
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Our Costly Neglect of Drinking Fountains
Drinking fountain in a botanical garden Have you thought much about drinking fountains, or even seen one lately? They used to be everywhere—in all kinds of public buildings and in parks. Building codes...
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Cannibalism? Really?
. . . but not by eating each other! You may have seen news reports that a Swedish scientist advocated cannibalism to combat climate change. It would be more accurate to say that he made a hypothetical...
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George Washington Carver as environmentalist
Statue of George Washington Carver at Missouri Botanical Garden / John W. Schulze via Flickr George Washington Carver was once one of the most famous men in the US. Now, we remember him mostly as the...
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How did the US become the most wasteful country in the world?
m01229 via Flickr “A penny saved is a penny earned”? Not anymore. The US has become the most wasteful country in the world. Waste in America is driven by consumerism. Supposedly, that term means...
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The history of sustainability is longer than you think
Most of us probably think the idea of sustainability began around the 1970s. In fact, its basic outlines can be traced back to the beginnings of sustainable forestry in the 1660s. Deforestation had...
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Stockholm Conference 1972: the 1st focus on global environmental issues
Presentation of design for the Stockholm Conference 1972 poster. Left to right: Keith Johnson (Jamaica), Chairman of the Preparatory Committee; U Thant (Burma), UN Secretary-General; Maurice Strong...
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Understanding temperature and how we measure it
Ambernectar 13 via Flickr Understanding weather and what’s happening to the climate requires an understanding of temperature. In turn, understanding temperature requires a definition, a device to...
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