Rick Bass is an American author of more than thirty books, both fiction and non-fiction, on a wide range of topics. An environmental activist, he is also an artist drawn to the beauty of the natural world. The winner of numerous awards, his most recent essay collection, With Every Great Breath, was released this February by Counterpoint Press and includes three new essays along with a selection of eighteen written over nearly three decades.
Counterpoint Press
Bass is based in the Yaak Valley in Montana. “It’s a land of extremes and superlatives,” he says. Through the Yaak Valley Forest Council, Bass and a group of locals work to preserve the valley from logging, and are also trying to convince the U.S. Forest Service to reroute the Pacific Northwest Trail away from grizzly bear habitat, of which there are only 25 remaining in the Yaak. He’s also involved in a campaign to make the Yaak a climate refuge. The following are excerpts from a conversation with him from his home in Montana, as he was making a chili dinner.
What makes the Yaak Valley special?
Its uniqueness, its singularity, is its duality, essentially a paradox. It’s two things – the major ecosystem driver is rocks, and yet because we’re at the edge of the Rocky Mountains, a major landscape driver is also fire. There is an extraordinary amount of biological diversity here. Twenty-five percent of the state of Montana’s list of sensitive species are found in this one national forest a long way up in the northwest corner. It’s the wettest place in Montana, it’s the lowest elevation, it’s the northernmost.
Why should the Yaak Valley be considered a climate refuge? (Bass recently wrote about this here.)
It’s a place to preserve this incredible habitat and diversity to buy some time and try to slow the rate of climate change. That’s where the advocacy for the old forests comes in. Historically, the Yaak was as much as 50 percent old growth, and now there’s only about 10 percent old growth. Old growth is an incredible mechanism for storing carbon for long-term safe keeping. The climate refuge would be an experiment in what that would look like – how would you go about returning the landscape to its historic range of variability of old and mature forest.
The Yaak Valley from Garver Mountain, Kootenai National Forest, on July 9, 2012. U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region
Where does that campaign stand right now?
All campaigns take a long time, but we’re proceeding at the local, state and national level. Everybody we talk to is enthused about the idea, but you know, government takes a good while to enact it. There’s about a hundred million acres of old and mature forests on public land around the U.S., so our quarter-million acre proposal is pretty small.
How do you look at activism now, not only for you but for others, as opposed to 20, 30, 40 years ago?
With the passage of time, as populations grow and resource pressures accrue, it gets harder and harder to feel that one person can make a difference, or that even a group of people can make a difference. As an activist and as an artist, it’s really important for me to try to find means and mechanisms for which people can feel engaged. There’s a lot of donor fatigue out there. It might take more creativity to become a successful advocate now than in the past. That’s my experience, anyways.
The title piece is about the past and the future of pollutants and activism. (The essay discusses the devastating health impact of the mining of vermiculite from Montana.) Where are we headed? Are pollutants getting worse, are the problems getting worse?
When I started working on that, it was hyper-specific and intensely local. One of the least populated parts of western Montana, one of the largest geographic areas and counties in the state of Montana. Again, I guess a common theme was out of sight from the public eye. The elimination of truth that reporting can bring to any issue. Anybody who’s got their head out of the sand and is looking around at the world is, I think, aware of the good and evil battle between the two major political parties in this country, trying to determine whether those things be regulated and accounted and monitored, or not, and it is, along with climate change, the battle of our time.
You write in a new essay, “Who knows how we come to things?” Would you say that you come to things by looking out the window?
When I’m writing, I am looking out the window, but when I’m writing I am engaging with my experience with the five senses, the physical world and my experience in it. I’m really fortunate to live here in such a singular landscape, where a lot of those experiences are singular, so it’s a great place to be a thinker as well as an activist.
You worked as an oil and gas geologist in Mississippi before moving west. When you first moved from those areas to Montana, were you struck by that part of the world?
I did not move to Montana intending to tell people what Montana was like. I moved to Montana because I missed the west. After that first year in the valley in 1987, I realized what was being lost, and the rate it was being lost, and the violence with which it was being lost. And I thought, I’ll stop writing fiction for a little while and I’ll spend some time writing about what’s going on out here. It’s been 37 years.
You’ve written about dogs, caribou, rhinos. What about animals appeals to you as a writer and a person living in the world?
What impresses me about animals, whether domesticated or undomesticated, is the degree of their fittedness to the world. They’ve been here a lot longer than our own species, and they have learned to accommodate with power and grace, the world. And we are still working at it. I am never around them without experiencing amazement, admiration, respect. We have a long way to go. We just got here.
What about the Anthropocene? What is your thought on that?
We have just arrived here. Rather than learning to fit the world and integrate gracefully and with connection to all of the rest of the world, we seem to have skated past that step in development, and are simply attempting to shape it to our desires without the deep engagement of knowledge. And the consequences are writ large in the script of misery.
What do you think the final extraction might look like? When the final drop of oil, or the final piece of coal is taken out of the ground? What would that moment be like?
There’s a line that comes to mind from Peter Matthiessen in his first book of his trilogy, about a poacher in the Everglades. A client was asking where he could procure some rare feather… The poacher studied on it and answered with some regret, Well, I believe all of those pretty little birds have done flown away. I think that would be the response to the last barrel of oil or last turn of coal taken. I believe it’s all gone away. You know, with absolute lack of ownership in the leave-taking.
The post ‘We Have Just Arrived’: Author Rick Bass on Writing and Activism in Montana appeared first on EcoWatch.
https://www.ecowatch.com/rick-bass-interview-ecowatch.html
Thoreau wrote in Walden that “Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in,” which reminds us that life is short and nature fills it beautifully. What are you looking for that can’t be found during an afternoon in nature?
Earth911 inspirations. Post them, share your desire to help people think of the planet first, every day. Click the poster to get a larger image.
The post Earth911 Inspiration: Time Is but the Stream appeared first on Earth911.
https://earth911.com/inspire/earth911-inspiration-time-is-but-the-stream/
Green Living
Classic Sustainability In Your Ear: The Ocean River Institute’s Natural Lawn Challenge for Climate Action
Turn back the clock with this classic interview that will get you ready for Spring yard care planning. A lawn may be beautiful but it can take a heavy toll on the environment, accounting for between 30% and 60% of residential water use in the United States. Rob Moir, Ph.D., is president and executive director of the Ocean River Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ORI works with residential lawn owners to heal damaged ecosystems by restoring coastal areas to lessen the destructive impacts of climate change. The benefits of a natural lawn reach far beyond reduced local water pollution, eliminating chemicals that can contribute to cancers, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and other cellular diseases. Natural lawns are also better for local pollinators and store much more carbon than heavily fertilized lawns. If you considered removing your lawn to play a part in the battle against climate change, this interview may change your mind — a healthy lawn is a powerful carbon sink.
The Ocean River Institute is recruiting Massachusetts communities, town by town, to take a pledge to follow natural lawn practices in the Healthy Soils for Climate Restoration Challenge. You don’t need to live in Massachusetts to participate and learn about the alternatives to the traditional, chemical-intensive lawn practices that use Roundup, a source of glyphosates that kills soil-dwelling fungi and local pollinators, and fast-acting nitrogen fertilizers. You can learn more about the Ocean River Institute at www.oceanriver.org.
Rob has contributed many articles about climate change and the history of environmental change since this interview, including:
- Finding a Northwest Passage to the Sea
- Turning the Tide—How Land and Water Shape Our Climate Future
- Learning from Captain Scoresby’s Ten-gallon Fir-Cask
- Earth Savvy?
- Let the Ground Keep Falling Rainwater
- The Sultans of Swag Versus Looking at Clouds from Both Sides Now
- Subscribe to Sustainability in Your Ear on iTunes and Apple Podcasts.
- Follow Sustainability in Your Ear on Spreaker, iHeartRadio, or YouTube
Editor’s Note: This episode originally aired on May 30, 2022.
The post Classic Sustainability In Your Ear: The Ocean River Institute’s Natural Lawn Challenge for Climate Action appeared first on Earth911.
https://earth911.com/podcast/earth911-podcast-the-ocean-river-institutes-natural-lawn-challenge-for-climate-action/
Choosing your perfect gown can be one of the most exciting decisions for your special day, but for the eco fashionista, it can be a challenge to find a dress that fits your values and style — but these brands have exceptional sustainable wedding dresses you’ll swoon over!
Using earth-minded materials like hemp, cruelty-free peace silk, deadstock recycled fabrics and vintage lace, and producing consciously, either in small batches or handcrafting each individual piece made-to-order, the brands below meet high standards for transparency, ecological sustainability, and fair labor.
[For more sustainable wedding dresses, check out this guide to secondhand wedding dress sites!]
Note that the guide contains affiliate links. As always, we only feature brands that meet strict criteria for sustainability we love, that we think you’ll love too!
1. Christy Dawn
Dreamy dress brand Christy Dawn does not disappoint with their romantic bridal collection! Each piece is more swoon-worthy than the next.
Their three sustainable bridal gowns are made from regenerative silk charmeuse —sourced through BOMBYX, an innovative silk producer using best practices — and colored in a beautiful pearl silk with non-toxic dyes. Each dress is ethically cut and sewn by makers in Los Angeles earning living wages, as with the rest of Christy Dawn’s collections.
The Britta Dress and Fitzgerald Dress are 1920s inspired while the Athena Dress is a more modern (but equally romantic) option. All of these dresses are made-to-order with an estimated timeline of 4 weeks.
Conscious Qualities: Regenerative silk and organic non-toxic dyes, ethically made-to-order in Los Angeles
Price Range: $2,500 – $3,000
Size Range: XS – XL
2. Pure Magnolia
Blending the traditional with the modern, Pure Magnolia designs classic-inspired sustainable wedding dresses with contemporary touches. And each dress is made in their Canadian studio by seamstresses earning fair wages from eco-fabrics, such as organic cotton and hemp silk.
The brand sources recycled fabrics whenever possible as well, and recycles their scrap fabric through FABCYCLE.
Conscious Qualities: Eco-friendly fabrics, locally and fairly made, recycles scrap fabrics
Price Range: $845 – $3,300 CAD
Size Range: 0 – 28
3. Lost in Paris
Lost in Paris crafts each of their creatively designed bohemian-inspired gowns ethically in their Sydney, Australia studio. Unconventional yet undeniably striking, Lost in Paris’ dresses are made from vintage lace and cotton.
Investing in a dress from Lost in Paris is seamless — the brand offers at-home sample try-ons, offers train and sleeve adjustments on several styles, ships their dresses worldwide for free, and even accepts returns. Oh, and, if one of their ready-made sizes doesn’t work for you, you can get a dress designed to your measurements.
Conscious Qualities: Made-to-order model, uses vintage lace, locally made
Price Range: $950 – $3900 AUD
Size Range: XXS – XXL + custom sizing options
For More Slow Fashion Content:
4. Wear Your Love
Wear Your Love creates feminine, effortless dresses in their Northern California studio that are — in contrast to the majority of wedding dresses on the market — actually comfortable! The brand’s free-spirited designs are made with soft, earth-minded fabrics like organic cotton and each dress is made to order for each bride to their exact measurements.
There are also customizations available for each eco-friendly wedding dress such as train or no train, skirt or sleeve linings, back coverage, skirt style, and more.
Conscious Qualities: Eco-friendly fabrics, made-to-order model, locally and transparently made
Price Range: $680 – $1,700
Size Range: N/A; dresses are made to your measurements
5. Larimeloom
Based in Reggio Emilia, Italy, Larimeloom crafts exceptional custom-made dresses by hand in their atelier. The brand creates comfortable minimalist dresses from durable natural fabrics and colors them with natural or non-toxic dyes.
Larimeloom has also implemented zero waste design techniques, cutting their patterns strategically in order to minimize fabric waste.
Conscious Qualities: Made-to-order model, zero-waste designs, natural fabrics and dyes
Price Range: 650€ – 2,650€
Size Range: XS – XL
6. Sister Organics
Sourcing quality earth-friendly natural fabrics like organic hemp and cotton, Sister Organics creates classic, eco-friendly wedding dresses for UK-based brides.
Each dress is made to order in England, so you can select a pre-defined size, customize the length of a size, or get an entirely different dress made for your measurements.
Conscious Qualities: Eco-friendly fabrics, made-to-order model
Price Range: £125 – £390
Size Range: XXS – XXL + custom sizing
7. Indiebride London
Indiebride’s vintage-inspired sustainable wedding dresses are delicate and romantic yet free-spirited, offering a unique collection for the bride that wants to skip the conventional wedding gown and choose a piece that fits their individual style.
The brand’s conscious wedding dresses are handmade in London using majority natural fibers and can be altered or customized to your specifications.
Conscious Qualities: Made-to-order model, uses many natural fabrics, locally made
Price Range: £1,200 – £1,700
Size Range: 8 – 16 (UK sizes)
More Resources For Your Eco Wedding:
10 Secondhand Wedding Dress Sites for the Eco Bride
7 Ethical Lab-Grown Diamond Engagement and Wedding Rings
17 Brands with Conscious Dresses (great options for bridesmaid dresses in here!)
The post 7 Best Sustainable Wedding Dresses for Your Special Day appeared first on Conscious Life & Style.
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