Online Articles - Chris Woodside

A Deadly Mix for Boaters: Distractions, Alcohol and No Life Jacket

by Chris Woodside | Sep 19, 2022 | Articles, Online Articles

On a warm, slightly overcast Sunday afternoon last August 8, boaters near the Salmon River boat launch on the Connecticut River in East Haddam noticed a personal watercraft drifting without a rider. Less than an hour later, state environmental police recovered a man’s...

The Myth of American Conservatism

by Chris Woodside | Jul 9, 2022 | Articles, Online Articles

Laura Ingalls Wilder was an American farmer and small-town farm journalist who rarely got involved in 20th-century politics. She was not an activist for the vote and only entered in politics in old age, when she ran for a paid local office — and lost. And yet for...

Duffel Bags, the Metaphor for Pandemic Coping

by Chris Woodside | Aug 31, 2020 | Online Articles

My sister Anne Woodside Gribbins and I wrote this article together. Annie (pointebypointe.wordpress.com) is a former ballet dancer and project manager for Tessitura Network. She lives in Titusville, New Jersey with her husband Joe and family. We are sisters living in...

Citizen Scientists Steer Efforts to Jump-Start Black Rock Harbor’s Recovery

by Chris Woodside | Aug 25, 2020 | Articles, Online Articles

This group devoted many early mornings in spring and summer as citizen scientists taking water samples to test the quality. Pictured are: Holly Turner, a teacher at the Bridgeport Regional Vocational Aquaculture School; Lyle Given, and Charlotte Hickey, both students....

Foul Spills at Black Rock Harbor Will Go On for Decades

by Chris Woodside | Aug 25, 2020 | Articles, Online Articles

On the west and east sides of narrow Black Rock Harbor in western Bridgeport, industry, school, recreation and sewage treatment converge. At the most inland tip are Santa Energy’s oil tanks. On the east side stretch asphalt runways at Pratt & Whitney’s test...

Dead Fish, Condoms, Brown Foam: Sewage Has Chokehold On Black Rock Harbor

by Chris Woodside | Jun 15, 2020 | Articles, Online Articles

On April 25, 2018, Patrick Clough walked onto a dock at Fayerweather Yacht Club on Black Rock Harbor in western Bridgeport. He looked down. Swirling around the dock was a brown, foamy slick. Women’s sanitary products and other objects floated in it. He...

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Short fiction debut November 13, 2024
The ever moving river of ideas November 6, 2024
Book Talk October 15 at Bank Square Books August 20, 2024
I’ll be on Hiker Trash Radio June 3 May 15, 2024
Going Over the Mountain reading at Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore October 14, 2023
Launch party on September 10 at Breakwater Books. Reading September 13 at the Norwich Bookstore in Vermont May 23, 2023
Health reporting that made a difference March 1, 2023
Morning person? No. Night owl. December 30, 2022
Writing below a mountain October 31, 2022
New fiction in next year’s Running Wild Press Anthology September 20, 2022
Update, early spring 2022 April 24, 2022
November 23, 2021
Symbols in a personal history July 26, 2021
From endurance to hope June 25, 2021
Tuesday, April 20: How to start a freelance career, 5-6 p.m. April 17, 2021
Beginning my visiting professor year at UConn August 31, 2020
Appalachia’s Accidents report here. Click on link at the bottom. June 25, 2020
Testing Poop is the Future May 27, 2020
Manage public outdoor spaces the way we manage grocery stores: like essential spaces that should never close April 8, 2020
Mountains in a pandemic: a call for submissions March 26, 2020
Announcing a one-day Writing from Nature workshop on February 15 January 2, 2020
The clattering-of-feet landscape December 13, 2019
Remembering a rescue effort November 9, 2019
Sewage Overflows: Legal but Tainted October 4, 2019
The archives of my mountain childhood June 25, 2019
Spring bursts out May 19, 2019
Raining in Arizona May 7, 2019
Shoulder season April 1, 2019
Seven-hour Writing from Nature workshop March 30 January 29, 2019
Fear of rattlesnakes January 27, 2019
The latest November 20, 2018
Wet, wet, wet October 29, 2018
Birds on the Flint River October 5, 2018
SUN Award Day, yay for tutoring writers October 4, 2018
Rock path August 31, 2018
How not to make money: ice-cream vending tales August 20, 2018
Mold concerns rise with the sea level August 15, 2018
Packing up our mother’s things July 16, 2018
Wilderness writing June 10, 2018
Mountain safety stories, two talks this summer May 28, 2018
Possum, passim May 11, 2018
A quick lesson from a musk ox May 2, 2018
Searching for a Lyme disease test February 22, 2018
Moments frozen in memory February 9, 2018
Spontaneous survival projects January 25, 2018
19 inches December 19, 2017
Do we change, how much do we change, and does it show in our writing? October 14, 2017
Gas wells meet wilderness October 9, 2017
Step forward onto the land: starting new writing September 14, 2017
Ideas come from trees September 6, 2017
Studies! August 24, 2017
On paperback prefaces June 16, 2017
The link between walking and creativity May 15, 2017
Appearances for Libertarians on the Prairie May 8, 2017
Danbury, Connecticut and the Little House books April 5, 2017
Procrastination no more March 23, 2017
A misbehaving horse’s lesson December 21, 2016
Laura Ingalls Wilder as a Voter November 17, 2016
Testimonials on Writing from Nature workshop September 5, 2016
Writing Laura Ingalls Wilder’s pioneer life August 30, 2016
Libertarians on the Prairie Coming Soon July 20, 2016
Long 91-Mile Trail July 15, 2016
A slim biography of masterful storytelling June 2, 2016
Nature and the Ghosts of Thinkers May 22, 2016
Observing without a notebook or cell phone May 1, 2016
Why I started a writing workshop, and what happened when I did March 3, 2016
Squatter farmers of long ago February 25, 2016
Fog, night, fear, and writing ideas January 22, 2016
“Writers from the natural world” January 5, 2016
My favorite bits on what the holidays should really mean December 17, 2015
Book is in to the publisher December 2, 2015
Sunday afternoon thoughts September 27, 2015
Retreat over, have emerged September 15, 2015
Back from the Mountains August 21, 2015
Laura Ingalls Wilder devotees follow details July 16, 2015
A Field Guide to a Morning June 29, 2015
Writing From Nature, a wonderful first year June 14, 2015
Meet the Appalachia writers: Elissa Ely June 1, 2015
Getting ready to find new ideas March 24, 2015
Laura Ingalls Wilder died on this day in 1957 February 10, 2015
Laura Ingalls Wilder’s birthday February 8, 2015
Announcing the keynote speaker at my June writing workshop February 2, 2015
New Hampshire circuit December 30, 2014
Laura Ingalls Wilder’s memoirs, and what they reveal December 27, 2014
Testimonials from my writing students December 9, 2014
Looking Back on the Outdoor Season November 12, 2014
Writing From Nature: Sneak Peek, June 12-14, 2015 October 7, 2014
The dark side of the Little House author August 21, 2014
Iowa and Wisconsin July 31, 2014
Save the date: Writing from the natural world, June 12-14, 2015 June 13, 2014
My AT thru-hike May 5, 2014
80 years since the Dust Bowl’s horrible drought March 31, 2014
Daylight acceleration time March 6, 2014
Olympic hosts reject American yogurt February 14, 2014
Coastal towns cope with rising sea January 15, 2014
New work update December 30, 2013
November in Crawford Notch November 15, 2013
Open Letter to Libertarians October 28, 2013
Woodlands: 76 Years of a Powerful Little Magazine October 14, 2013
Raising roads for rising seas September 30, 2013
Desk work, late summer August 22, 2013
Little Libertarians on the Prairie August 15, 2013
Watch for my story about Little House books in Boston Globe August 9, 2013
Mountains, a place to find what matters July 15, 2013
Metcalf Institute science immersion fellowship marks 15 years June 9, 2013
Fan mail May 8, 2013
The Power of Narrative April 6, 2013
When missing letters influence scholars March 25, 2013
History of Daylight Saving Time March 10, 2013
Communication blackout 3: the submerged cell phone February 28, 2013
Communication blackout 2 January 25, 2013
Communication blackout: first in a series January 20, 2013
Happy 2013 December 31, 2012
Not for the holiday wreath November 21, 2012
Climate change makes it into acceptance speech November 7, 2012
Full moon over flooding river October 29, 2012
Lubbock, Texas October 18, 2012
Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike Memory September 26, 2012
Groundbreaking without realizing it September 12, 2012
Actor’s Kilimanjaro quest, etc. August 21, 2012
Alaska anyone? August 10, 2012
Somewhere new July 22, 2012
From a reader of Energy Independence July 14, 2012
It’s all fine for them. They wear ear protection. July 9, 2012
Back on the ridges, three days July 2, 2012
Don’t take the train. That’s a certain train line’s slogan June 21, 2012
Moody skies over Pattagansett River June 4, 2012
Races May 21, 2012
Crediting sources May 16, 2012
Waterman Fund annual dinner April 15, 2012
Shrinking Glaciers April 13, 2012
R.I.P. Peter B. Lord April 9, 2012
A tribute to environmental writer Peter Lord March 30, 2012
Salaries March 26, 2012
The narrower, yet expanding, environment beat March 16, 2012
The wilderness narrative March 13, 2012
Water scientist leaked conservative institute documents February 21, 2012
Little House writing process, redux January 20, 2012
Shutting off the lights at work January 10, 2012
Low snow year (not counting October) January 3, 2012
What to do with the card I sent December 27, 2011
Car, Plane, or Train? December 14, 2011
Most Significant: How Long They Stayed November 15, 2011
Top strange facts learned in Miami October 23, 2011
Rest stops close and cars clog mountain lots October 11, 2011
Nipmuck Trail Marathon October 2, 2011
R.I.P., Bill Hamilton September 16, 2011
Makeup doesn’t matter August 25, 2011
My talk on straight-up trails August 22, 2011
Citizen heroes in Berlin, NH August 19, 2011
Straight up trails in NH and CT August 6, 2011
Buy food from farmers July 27, 2011
Wilds of My Home State July 24, 2011
A forgotten book July 21, 2011
Couch potatoes blame potatoes July 12, 2011
Four Miles Not Beers July 4, 2011
Crashing an author’s dinner June 24, 2011
Big skies of Iowa June 21, 2011
Appalachian Trail reunions June 14, 2011
Where that balloon ends up May 28, 2011
Think Globally, Rain Locally May 24, 2011
Our neighborhood inspiration, Joan Brainard May 4, 2011
Dropping everything to visit your daughter April 29, 2011
Connecticut gobbling power at home April 21, 2011
She browsed the newsstand and found… April 4, 2011
Extreme weather March 23, 2011
Social scientists with the hot potato of climate change March 8, 2011
Think Norwegian February 5, 2011
Obama says end oil subsidies January 25, 2011
Wikipedia, the People’s Misinformation January 17, 2011
NYC’s underground, as inspiring as Everest January 5, 2011
1920 or 2010? December 27, 2010
Thoughts on consumption, part 2 December 9, 2010
Thoughts on consumption November 23, 2010
Junk from the past, all part of trail work November 12, 2010
The last sunset, sort of November 6, 2010
Free water October 26, 2010
A mountain next to your town October 15, 2010
Legs begin to move, thoughts begin to flow September 21, 2010
The mountain I said I would never climb August 23, 2010
A set of expectations punishing to women August 10, 2010
What ignites the outdoor passion of the next generation? July 23, 2010
Flooded swimming area July 15, 2010
Sign at restored prairie, Coralville Lake, Iowa July 10, 2010
Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Dandelion Wine July 7, 2010
Selling the new book at Chester Market, June 27 June 16, 2010
Heading back to the prairie May 11, 2010
Occupational necessity April 11, 2010
Increase our climate change IQ March 22, 2010
Money, Money, Money March 9, 2010
Majority of 1,001 surveyed say they want to conserve energy but don’t February 17, 2010
Kleen Energy, 2 Days Later February 9, 2010
The price of electricity from solar power January 10, 2010
Dogs January 8, 2010
People Using Less Oil December 31, 2009
Against Keeping Chickens December 21, 2009
Flannery O’Connor December 18, 2009
The Neglect of Obituaries December 17, 2009
Buildings Scattered in the Green Spaces December 4, 2009