Earth, but not as we know it

Earth, but not as we know it

McKibben with the 350 logo T-shirt, at home in Ripton, Vermont Nature Reports Climate Change In his new book, environmentalist Bill McKibben says we must abandon the notion that economic growth and environmental sustainability are compatible — only then can we prevent...
Return to Blue Mountain

Return to Blue Mountain

Cover page shows the denuded landscape of Blue Mountain near Palmerton, Pennsylvania Written for Appalachian Trailway News Fourteen years ago, in 1987, when I followed the northbound Appalachian Trail up the cliff over the Lehigh River near Palmerton, Pennsylvania,...

Does a Bit of Africa Sit in Deep River?

written for The New York Times WHEN it comes to geographical lessons, Connecticut has two that it doesn’t share with just anybody. Tourists often visit Dinosaur State Park, a spot where fossilized dinosaur footprints are surrounded by an arena. And they know...
Wanted: Austral Summer Workers

Wanted: Austral Summer Workers

A giant petrel watches Ryan Wallace weigh its baby as Wallace assists research scientists on an island off Palmer Station, Antarctica. JEFF OTTEN, NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Appalachia journal Longtime employees of the company that supports the National Science...

Daylight Acceleration Time

Appalachia journal In the mountains, daylight saving time diminishes into the economic gimmick it truly is WHILE HIKING THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL SEVERAL YEARS AGO, I settled into an odd sleeping pattern. I would fall into the sleeping bag soon after sunset after my...
Return to Levittown

Return to Levittown

25 Winding Lane, Levittown, New York, in August 1958. An architectural photography company took this photo for House Beautiful magazine. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, Gottscho-Schleisner Collection written for Blue Ridge Press In the 1960s my three brothers, sister, parents,...