Slipstream
Writing the Backwash with R. H. Sheldon
Ecology & Environment
Ocean Acidification: We Need to Make It Sexier
About six years ago, I pitched an article about ocean acidification to the editors at several environmental magazines. The article was supposed to explain how the oceans’ pH levels were dropping because the seawater was absorbing more carbon dioxide than it had in millions of years. Such chemical changes, the article would point out, could [...]
Tags: carbon dioxide, CO2 emissions, environment, greenhouse gases, ocean acidification, ocean pH, oceans
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If a Tree Falls in the Forest…
A couple weeks ago, I was up at my house in the Cascades, working on an article with an approaching deadline, the type of article that required a great deal of attention and no small measure of quiet. Sure, birds chattered and trees swayed and water rushed along its rocky riverbed. But such sounds rarely [...]
Tags: clearcutting, climate change, deforestation, environment, forests, global warming, greenhouse gases, logging, National Geographic, Nature Conservancy, slash and burn, timber industry
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Factory Farms, Organic Foods, Giant Donuts, and the High Cost of Eating
On my way to Seattle this morning, I stopped at a bakery in a small town between my house and the city. I needed coffee in a bad way, and that meant something to go with my coffee, having the aging stomach that I do. The bakery seemed the most logical solution. Despite my experience [...]
Tags: chemical fertilizers, commercial farms, eutrophication, factory farms, ocean dead zones, organic farming, organic foods, pesticides, sustainable farming
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Not in My Backyard: Living with America’s Garbage
After nearly eight months on the road, I returned to Seattle. But I didn’t stay long. I moved up to my house in the Cascades, just over an hour from the city. My tenants had vacated—with the encouragement of the sheriff’s department—and the house stood in desperate need of repair. And I was in desperate [...]
Tags: Cascade Mountains, Cascades, environment, garbage, Keep America Beautiful, litter, trash, Washington state
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