Rachel Hadas: That Patch of Warmth
August. Midday. Look up: flawless sky
until a cloud sprouts; sidles; suddenly
blots out the sun. Wind troubles the trees
Neil Shepard: Mating Behaviors of Storks, Egrets, Humans
We’re out of love again and wandering
with other birdwatchers over the cedar shakes,
spying on spring nesting sites where great
migrations end and settle into familiar patterns
of rearing and weaning.
Lourdes Medrano: Mexican Farmers and Scientists Share a Mission: Saving a Wetland
Once mutually wary, farmers and scientists are working jointly to save a key ecosystem — and an endangered salamander.
Video: Joel Baden | The Bible Doesn’t Say What You Think It Does
Nearly 80 percent of all Americans think the Bible is either literally true or is the inspired word of God. And yet, most Americans have no idea what is actually in the Bible. So we have the paradoxical situation in which we as a culture “have invested the words of this book with amazing authority even when we don’t know what these words are and what they mean.”
Al Maginnes: God in Retirement
A little more wine before the sisters
of the scarlet moon perform their ritual
dance again.
Fiore Longo: The Maasai Are Under Attack in the Name of Conservation | ‘This Is Our Land, and We Won’t Leave’
We can no longer turn a blind eye to human rights abuses committed in the name of conservation.
Dawn Potter: For David
The world is personal,
Dawn says. And what heart-scalded person
would think otherwise
Paul Christensen: What the Heat Demands of Us
We may not make it through this crisis. But no one can say for sure it is too late.
Michael Simms: What Holds Us Together Keeps Us Apart
The dirty child at our border
who walked 500 miles
sharing a pair of shoes
with her brother
Julia Conley: NASA Images of Shrinking Lake Mead Offer ‘Stark Illustration’ of Climate Crisis
“This is not a drought, this is aridification,” said one water law expert. “This is the new world we live in.”
William deBuys: New Mexico’s Megafires Mark a Turning Point
We have entered the Pyrocene, the Epoch of Fire.
Jake Johnson: Climate Crisis Pushes Migratory Monarch Butterflies Onto Endangered List
“Decisive action to tackle climate change and restore ecosystems” is badly needed to rescue the beloved subspecies, experts say.
Frida Berrigan: This Is My Song
What I Can Still Love about My Embattled Country (and World)
Michael Simms: Elderberry Magic
In the Native American tradition, the elder is sacred. The soft whistling song I often hear in the branches has been heard by others as well. Elder’s long association with wind instruments suggests that the magical sound comes not from the wind but rather from the tree itself, as well as any instruments carved from elder branches.
