The most widely used class of insecticides in the U.S., neonicotinoids (“neonics” for short), will “jeopardize the continued existence” of more than one in 10 endangered species in the country, according to a recent analysis.^{1 2} If that doesn’t surprise you, perhaps this will—although the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted the analysis, the agency believes the most commo

“Why should we tolerate a diet of weak poisons…?”
— Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

Dear Earth Watch Readers,

We’d like to close out another year with a review of positive happenings involving people and the planet. May we all be inspired to do the best we can with what we know, and nurture hope rooted in action and evidence!

On a quiet street lined with tidy homes and manicured lawns lives a friend of mine. But Maria's front yard is unlike any other on the block. Hers is a riot of color and texture, a wild garden buzzing with life. And when I follow her out back on a warm Texas afternoon to sit beneath a vine-covered arbor, we're surrounded by an even greater variety of plants, birds, and insects.

Ode to October—

Once upon a time in October, the air smelled of apples and cinnamon and the garden's long goodbye to summer. And, although the world had seemingly gone mad, we sat on the porch and watched the sun fade into hazy, fall dusk. We drank herbal tea and had conversations, both frivolous and profound. The topics didn't really matter—the non-digital connectedness did.

Is maintaining the status quo of "cheap food" the entry fee to the next pandemic?

“As engineers, we were going to be in a position to change the world – not just study it.”
 — Henry Petroski

“The future of our planet lies in indigenous ways of living on the Earth.”

— John Waterhouse, National Geographic¹

It was August 2015; the leafy red romaine glistened under magenta light.

If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water. 
— Loren Eiseley

Biodiversity… it’s the millions of organisms in a handful of soil, the magic of the Amazon Rainforest, it’s the reason some of us love cilantro, and others find it tastes like soap.^{1 2 3} It’s the variation of all life on earth and essential to our planet’s survival.^{4 5} Now, it’s facing its greatest crisis in human history, but biodiversity is beautifully resilien

If we were told that April 2024 was the last Earth Month we would ever have to “save” the planet and that it all depends on breakfast, lunch, and dinner, what would we do differently?