Bycatch is destroying seabird populations — and that includes penguins
A recent study reported on in the New York Times found that 400,000 seabirds are getting killed each year by gillnets — those long nets used by fishing vessels. And you can add roughly 160,000...
View ArticleHave you visited EcoLit Books?
We’ve assembled an excellent group of contributors. If you’re looking for your next great book to read, check it out. And subscribe to the newsletter so you stay in touch.
View ArticleWe are not pirates
It’s a shame what the US government is doing on behalf of the Japanese whalers. Paul Watson was forced to testify in Seattle yesterday to, hopefully, avoid criminal prosecution. Link
View ArticleAmong Animals — A collection of stories that everyone should read
I’m biased, of course. I’m the editor. But I’m also a reader and I’ve consistently been frustrated over the years by the lack of novels and short stories that truly “get” the complex (and often...
View ArticlePenguins vs. climate change
We all know or should know by now that polar bears are suffering from reduced ice up north. But few people know about what’s happening to penguins down south. If you have a spare 10 minutes, listen to...
View ArticleSharks need protection. From humans.
If you’ve seen the movie Sharkwater then you know that sharks around the world are suffering. Despite the media’s obsession over those rare shark attacks against humans, the reality is that humans are...
View ArticleJapan must halt whaling, court says
This is great news: An international court has ordered Japan to revoke whaling permits in the Antarctic and stop granting new ones. The country’s government had argued that hunting whales was part of a...
View ArticleThe Siskiyou Prize: A new award for a new wave of environmental writing
As readers of this blog know well, I’m a passionate believer in the power of “eco-fiction” to change hearts and minds. So Midge and I have announced a new book award, The Siskiyou Prize for New...
View ArticleRod Coronado speaks
I was living in San Diego during the federal trial of Rod Coronado about six years ago. I witnessed part of the trial, and it opened my eyes to the risks Rod and so many others have taken to defend...
View ArticleAn Open Letter to Ashland Area Restaurants
Below is a letter I wrote to encourage Ashland, Oregon restaurants to serve veg-friendly meals. Some already do (and we’re regulars there) but most restaurants do not. This letter was published in the...
View ArticleThe beginning of the end for zoos
Animals in zoos get depressed. Kinda obvious, I know. Still, it’s nice to see The New York Times covering this issue. The article is about a man who helps captive animals cope better with the trauma of...
View ArticleAnd now some good news about penguins
The Adélie penguin has long been viewed as in rapid decline, largely because of the number of shrinking and abandoned penguin colonies around the Antarctic peninsula. But it appears that the penguin...
View ArticleLittle Red House
I am very happy that the literary journal Mason’s Road has published my one-act play Little Red House. You can read it here. It’s just ten minutes long. And, yes, it does have an animal rights theme. I...
View ArticleJoin me in Greenville, South Carolina for a free staged reading of Meat the...
I’ll be headed to Greenville, South Carolina in a week to participate in the Centre Stage New Plays Festival. It’s an honor to be included and I’m particularly excited to see what people think of my...
View ArticleThe (necessary) evolution of environmental writing
I want to see “environmental writing” evolve, and quickly. Here’s what I mean.
View ArticleRod Coronado speaking at Resistance Ecology
I wanted to share this video of Rod speaking at length about his life as an activist. As many of you know, he inspired part of The Tourist Trail. Rod Coronado Keynote from Burning Hearts Media on Vimeo.
View ArticleAmong Animals 2: Now accepting submissions
So we’re in the process of publishing a second edition of the highly regarded anthology Among Animals. We’re about 1/3 of the way to having a full collection, so if you’ve got a short story in you,...
View Article