Catastrophe in Chile vs. Haiti and the Built Environment

When I was younger I remember feeling the Loma Prieta quake while at an after-school program, and then upon returning home, heading next door to see my neighbor’s swimming pool... Read More

Obama Explains Basic Climate Science

Stay smart America, science is good for you! While we try and avoid overly political content, this brief summary of the distinction between regional weather and global climate trends... Read More

180° SOUTH: Retracing the Seeds of Discovery and Conservation in Patagonia

Photo: Scott MacKenzie In my recent road trippin’ post, I left off en route to Santa Barbara. I spent a little more than six years of my life living in Santa Barbara and every... Read More

Weekly gRound-Up: 2/13/10

China Reveals Extensive Pollution Survey China recently released a comprehensive new pollution survey,  which took two years and 570,000 staff to complete, and puts China ahead of... Read More

A Drive Through Water, Weather, and Erosion in Southern California

Everything always looks a bit brighter after it rains This past week my girlfriend and I headed south through California to enjoy a little retreat together before an extended time apart.... Read More

Recap of Obama’s State of the Union Address: Environment and Energy Roundup

President Obama discussing clean energy during the state of the union. Source: whitehouse.gov Going into his first State of the Union address to Congress, I was curious to see if Obama... Read More

The New Security Climate: Environmental Vulnerability

The recent earthquake in Haiti has highlighted a whole host of issues related to development, poverty, the environment, and security. Countries in which natural resources are mismanaged,... Read More

A Look at Haiti’s Environmental Vulnerability

The following short video from worldfocus was published in February, 2009, but is as relevant today as ever. Prioritizing ecological restoration and supporting environmentally sound... Read More

Building Practices in Port-au-Prince

The following photos were taken during a March 2009 field assignment in Haiti. The purpose of that trip was to conduct a post-disaster environmental needs assessment following the 2008... Read More

Port-au-Prince, Haiti: An Environmental Catastrophe

A view of the dwellings that fill the hills surrounding Port-au-Prince (Scott MacKenzie, March 2009) At 4:53 p.m on January 12th a 7.0-magnitude earthquake centered just 10 miles west... Read More

Welcome to 2010

Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a great holiday season. The two of us rang in the new year here in San Francisco, and then made a quick camping trip down to Santa Cruz with some... Read More

Photo Contest Winner Announced

Paige Olmsted’s photo from Sarawak, Borneo is the winner of the 2009 Project Groundswell photo contest. Her photo captured 23% and a majority of the 273 votes cast. She will be... Read More

UNFCCC/CDM Video Contest Results

Editors Note: these are not the results of the Project Groundswell Photo Contest – there is still time to vote for your favorite photo! The UNFCCC/CDM International Photo and... Read More

Our Mission

To provide a cool and fresh platform for ideas, media, analysis, and insights related to the natural environment and the countless areas with which it intersects: sustainable development, business, technology, science, culture, and so forth...