The re-localization of food systems is a movement gaining traction throughout the world, due in large part to the inherent lack of environmental sustainability and social equality found within the dominant, highly corporatized and globalized food system model. My position is that all food systems are most effectively considered as complex adaptive systems and that change is an emergent structure which can be guided toward a more localized, resilient,...

The world has never been more connected -- thanks to the Internet. Most people can't imagine a world without this groundbreaking technology. Inside, find out how the Internet works, and how some of its most important features can be a part of your life, your work, and more. Few areas of human achievement have had a bigger impact than science and technology. Every part of our lives is affected by the discoveries, inventions, and breakthroughs made...

The Long Trail Run was a mission-driven project to raise awareness and help ensure all children have the opportunity to experience the great outdoors. In August 2014, I attempted to break the unsupported speed record on Vermont's grueling 273-mile Long Trail. Throughout the training process, I posted original content (in the form of video and photos) to social media channels to engage viewers and spark conversations about the mental and physical...

There are inspiring efforts being put forth by NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and other groups to confirm, analyze, and communicate the value of their work. As the data surrounding NGO impact is standardized, funders, investors, and other stakeholders will gain a level of transparency into the performance of NGOs that was previously unavailable. As research shows, an NGO's ability to prove value and impact is pivotal to securing funds (Berg...

Biscayne National Park released a draft General Management Plan (GMP) in 2011 that identifies alternatives for future management prescriptions within the park. While these alternatives are focused on enhancing the condition of natural resources, each alternative will impact resources differently. The South Florida / Caribbean Network of the National Park Service (NPS) supported the GMP by quantifying levels of natural resource affected by each alternative...

"Calabria, 1960. Francesca Loftfield, a twenty-seven-year-old, starry-eyed American, arrives in the isolated mountain village of Santa Chionia tasked with opening a nursery school. There is no road, no doctor, no running water or electricity. And thanks to a recent flood that swept away the post office, there's no mail, either. Most troubling, though, is the human skeleton that surfaced after the flood waters receded. Who is it? And why don't the...

The recent decline of a documented population of the Baltimore Checkerspot (Euphydryas phaeton) is a concern for conservationists in the Chicago region. Data collected by the Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network since 1988 show that the population of the butterfly at Bluff Spring Fen, an Illinois Nature Preserve, has been formerly robust. From 2012 onward, no individuals have been sighted. A combination of drought and fire stress are suspected to...