Running in the city is one of the best ways to learn a neighborhood, and the surrounding neighborhoods and then the whole borough… and then the whole town and then the county. As day by day I grew stronger, running further and further, New York City seemed to shrink under my feet, bridges and parks, that once seemed so far away now seemed close. I ( Read more... )

←- more to come ...History is, of course, far more than books describe. Histories are carried by people in many ways, and they change over time. Our understanding of the past is continuously revised by our experience of the present. Hence, history is under constant revision and rarely in agreement with itself. When I say history, I do not mean " ( Read more... )

←- →Trains are holy. Majestic, other worldly. I think it is because somewhere in the national consciousness for Americans there is this faint memory of what rail travel once was, before it vanished, become impractical except for hobbyists and dreamers ( Read more... )

←- →When I'm jogging, that's when it really hits me. I get road rage. The traffic, the thousands of cars plowing through my neighborhood, over the bridges and around the corner, barley stopping for red-lights, almost knocking me over. Filling the air with dirt, and I don't need to read a scientific paper about the impacts of pollution to know it, ( Read more... )

←- →All Rosa Parks ever wanted was a chance to ride on the bus like everyone else. The bus took protesters to Washington for numerous marches. The bus is the vehicle of everyman, but more specifically the poor and disenfranchised man. If you live in the US your local bus service is probably mostly for poor people and old people and especially old ( Read more... )

←- →The first time I came to New York City it was by jet plane. Flight remains, I think very futuristic, taking a plane ride is bound up with all kinds of symbolism, freedom, the future, finding new beginnings ( Read more... )

Humans are competent to do many things. But I do not think we are competent to run a global ecosystem. Something has been irretrievably lost by the time we begin to believe that we can manage nature for people. The essence of nature is that it is not “for people.”

The 17 Percent Problem and the Perils of DomesticationBy VERLYN KLINKENBORG ( Read more... )

Environmentalist Suzuki to quit spotlight for simple lifeI don't know much about Suzuki, but he sounds like a pretty great guy. He's one of the people who championed environmentalist ideas back when they were much less popular. And for that I commend him ( Read more... )

Seattle has a new slogan to boost tourism: metronaturalUnfortunately, they picked the name because of "the nature surrounding the city," rather than in some kind of recognition of the natural qualities of vibrant urban landscapes... but, I'll take what I can get ( Read more... )

←- →Burnt-out buildings, dreary overpasses, the rust-stained walls of desolate parks, underground passageways, rail yards, the least loved and lest visited subway terminals and neighborhoods all of these places collect the lively scripts of graffiti. Like hieroglyphic weeds the names of the artists call out in bright and surprising color. On the ( Read more... )