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Deep ecology is a term coined in 1972 by Norwegian eco-philosopher Arne Naess to describe an environmental ethos... built around the central idea that every species has intrinsic value whose worth cannot be measured by its usefulness to mankind. It is a philosophy of biotic egalitarianism: “The right of all forms to live is a universal right which cannot be quantified,” says Naess. “No single species of living being has more of this particular right to live and unfold than any other species.” Read on...

Founded in 1847, the American Medial Association (AMA) set out to “promote the art and science of medicine for the betterment of public health.” But the benevolent veil is wafer thin. The AMA has relentlessly hounded alternative medicines and therapies, forcing them out of business or keeping them at the margins. It has ignored good health and prevention in favor of pushing less safe and less effective—though more profitable—treatments, primarily surgery and drugs. And some startling facts show that it has done all of this at the expense of our health and that of the environment. Read on...

It’s the kind of thing that seems exciting. Scientists with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in Denver, Colorado, have just released the news that gas hydrates—a form of frozen natural gas that bursts into flame at the touch of a match—might be a new and abundant form of clean energy. Read on...

As a child, I could read Where the Wild Things Are in an infinite loop without boredom.

When I was in high school, I came across these words by Henry David Thoreau: “In wildness is the preservation of the world.” I secretly carried them in my pocket for a decade. Read on...

On behalf of Italian citizens and the environment, the Italian Environment Minister bid ciao to polystyrene shopping bags on January 1, 2011. Italian consumption of the convenient but bedeviling sacks peaked at about 330 per person annually, totaling 20 billion bags, a fifth of the total used in Europe—although Italy accounts for less than 8% of Europe’s population. Many Italian retailers complained they had too little time to prepare for the ban, but environmentalists hailed it, citing that the ubiquitous bags use too much oil to produce, take too long to break down and are eyesores. Read on...