Make No Impact, Leave No Trace

Those of us that enjoy hiking through the woods, kayaking down rivers, and general spending time in nature hold one philosophy above all others: Leave No Trace. It’s a simple concept; while you are enjoying wilderness without signs of human presence, take steps to ensure that those who come after you can enjoy nature in … Continue reading Make No Impact, Leave No Trace

A wind turbine and petroleum pump, side by side

The Epitaph of NIMBY

"How dare you stick your liberal-loving, clean-energy-producing, scenic-view-destroying wind turbines on my prime oil land!” Or something like that. I think that’s what I was expecting to hear anyway. For the past year and a half I have been wrestling with an idea that I have come to call energy identity. Having gone to grad … Continue reading The Epitaph of NIMBY

Denton’s Struggle for the Individual Voice

“It’s stressful and it makes it to where I can’t sleep at night,” Sergeant Scott Jenkins’ voice cracked through my phone late on a Friday night, “But for someone in their thirtieth year in law enforcement, this has been a really important assignment.” An undeniable sense of pride shone through the accumulated exhaustion of his … Continue reading Denton’s Struggle for the Individual Voice

For Want of a Favorable Reality

The coal industry of West Virginia had found themselves in a crisis. Coal had become unimportant to the economics of West Virginia. Well, that really wasn’t the crisis; exports could take care of that. The real crisis was that the people living near their operations were starting to know just how unimportant the industry really … Continue reading For Want of a Favorable Reality

When the Facts Cease to Matter

This is part two in a three part series of social factors on fracking in Oklahoma. Read part one here. Anybody who follows national politics will know that there are many, many times in which facts do not matter. Emotions and dogma often carry the day more than evidence and reason. In other words, often … Continue reading When the Facts Cease to Matter

On Humanizing Climate Denial

Imagine you worked at a men’s shirt store, making the world’s most luxurious and stylish shirts. Day after day you stitch together, by hand, plates of fine Egyptian cotton for your clients. Your father did this, as did his father, and his before him; countless generations of clothiers perfecting the art of the dress shirt. … Continue reading On Humanizing Climate Denial