By Tina Clarke
A growing number of influential people in industry and finance are warning that the supply of cheap oil is in serious decline. This spring, a group of British business leaders advised their government to take action to prevent social, political and economic havoc from the coming “global oil supply crunch and price spike.” The insurance consortium Lloyds predicted that a cost of $200 per barrel for oil is not far away, and urged businesses to “global oil supply crunch and price spike.” The insurance consortium Lloyds predicted that $200-a-barrel for oil is not far away and urged businesses to “transition to a low carbon economy” for financial reasons. “Failure to do so,” the report warned, “could be catastrophic.”
By Rebecca Reid
It’s a cool July morning, very early, and I’m sitting on my screen porch watching the birds—not bird watching, just watching the birds. As the little bird dramas unfold, I realize how much more there is to learn besides their names and songs, and how I could spend a lifetime at it and hardly scratch the surface. Why do they do what they do? What do they communicate to each other?
By Audrey Barker Plotkin
A wrench and an irrigation fitting clatter from a jeans pocket into the washing machine, and I sigh. Being married to a farmer has its price, but most of the time I feel extremely lucky to live on a farm and witness the work and magic that goes into producing food.
By Elizabeth Farnsworth
Ah, spring in New England: an 80-degree day following a chilly night. After a long winter of hibernation, I am ready to emerge from my den, go for a brisk walk on a favorite trail, breathe the invitingly warm air, and … take a nap! I love to engage in a peaceful, leisurely celebration of the first balmy days of the season by stretching out in a warm ray of sunshine and drifting languorously off to sleep. Perhaps that sounds under-achieving: Shouldn’t we be cleaning out winter’s cobwebs, mowing the lawn, or planting seedlings? But there will be time for all that activity, after … (yawn) …
By Michael Dover
It was a warm, sunny May day last year and I was enjoying a bike ride at the Belchertown end of the Norwottuck Rail Trail when I heard it: clear and bright, my first wood thrush of the season. My first thought was “All’s right with the world.” That’s the effect this song has on me.
By David Spector
Want a good laugh? In May or June, head for the nearest extensive hay field and look for a bird with “upside-down” plumage of black below with patches of white and buffy yellow above. (Most birds are colored dark above and lighter below.) Watch and listen for such a bird to sing, while fluttering above the grass, a burbling, gurgling, inimitable, several-seconds-long cascade of song. This creature, in clownish plumage performing his clownish song, is the male bobolink.
By Michael Dover
I use a sport-utility vehicle that burns no gasoline. It doesn’t run on diesel or ethanol or electricity. It doesn’t emit greenhouse gases or any other pollutant. And I can park it almost anywhere.
By David Spector
Among the earliest birds to move north as the days lengthen in winter are common grackles, members of the New World blackbird family. Here in western Massachusetts, we often see noticeable increases in their numbers as early as February.
By Ted Watt
One of my favorite spring wildflowers is the jack-in-the-pulpit, a common native perennial in deciduous woodlands throughout our area. Although it’s not showy, it has some of the most interesting adaptations of any plant you’re likely to come across while on a spring woods walk.
By Michael Dover
The spring equinox is upon us, daylight saving time has already begun, and our thoughts are turning toward the growing light and warmth. We’re opening the windows, clearing out clutter and preparing the ground—and ourselves—for this year’s lawn and garden work. This would also be a good time to take a hard look at the hazards that may be lurking in your basement, closet, shed or under the sink: chemical pesticides.
Hitchcock Center for the Environment
at Hampshire College
845 West Street | Amherst MA 01002 | 413.256.6006 | 413.253.2809 fax