Photo Essay: Geopolitical pawns, the fishermen of Lý Sơn, Vietnam
for MongabayPublished: April 17, 2015
Vietnamese fisherman caught between massive political and environmental forces.
An Homage to Teotihuacan
for SapiensPublished: July 5, 2018
One modern Mexican artist is making souvenirs that shed light on the ancient peoples of this city and continue their aesthetic traditions.
Birth Of The World’s First Underwater Museum
for The Last Word on NothingPublished: September 2013
A few months ago, I got my dream assignment. Well, okay, it wasn’t really an assignment – I cajoled an editor into letting me write about Cancun’s famous underwater museum, Museo Subacuatico de Arte, or MUSA.
Saving the survivor: China scrambles to keep the finless porpoise from extinction
(For the full story click here)
On the morning of July 14, 2002 Qi Qi ate breakfast as he always did. As the world’s only captive baiji – or Yangtze river dolphin (Lipotes vexillifer) – Qi Qi was something of a celebrity in China and his caretakers kept a close eye …
Conservation isn’t winning. Extinction is.
for The Washington PostPublished: July 13, 2018
An opinion editorial about how desperate small wild populations have become the norm in conservation.
First-Aid Snakebite Drug Could Save Thousands of Lives
for Discover Crux BlogA decade ago, Joe Slowinski of the California Academy of Sciences went into the jungles of Myanmar in search of new species of snakes and other vertebrates. One morning, he groggily reached into a bag of vipers he thought to be harmless and when he pulled his hand ou
Donald Trump Is the World’s Greatest Performance Artist
for The Last Word on NothingPublished: September 2014
My (relatively) serious theory that Donald Trump is not who he says he is.
This Man Spent 30 Years Solving A Rare Bird’s Murder Mystery
for National GeographicPublished: August 2018
The Attwater prairie chicken has been on the verge of extinction for decades. Now it has one more chance.
Searching for the World’s Worst Glass of Water
for The Last Word on NothingIt takes a few days to adjust to life at 13,300 feet in Potosi, Bolivia. As soon as I touched down in the tiny airport, I remembered the time I climbed Mt. Whitney and got desperately sick in camp at 13,000 feet. Whitney is the highest point in the lower …