How to Rewrite History

A year ago on Thanksgiving Day was the eve of when everything changed for me. Things were stirring for a while before that. As my family went around the dinner table to say what we were all thankful for, I could think of nothing I was more grateful for than the generosity that I was…

The Cutest Community Science Project

Did you know that there are islands all over Los Angeles County? In fact, Debs Park is one of them. (So are Verdugo Hills, Baldwin Hills, and Griffith Park, just to name a few.) “Debs Park is an island within the sea of urbanization that is Los Angeles,” says wildlife biologist Tom Ryan. This hidden…

Pics or It Didn’t Happen?

Around 4 a.m., Jeff and I crept out of our open-air bungalow. Our little stray jungle cat with the crooked tail and orange fur—we called her Naranjica (small orange)—scuttled around our feet along the gravel path to our rented Montero. The phrase “It’s always darkest before the dawn” seemed so true  as we jounced over…

People Power Will Save Mother Earth

Mother Earth has been calling me for many years. I haven’t always been able to decipher her messages. A few years ago I started to understand a little bit better. I traveled to the far reaches of Southern Patagonia where I learned the story of the aboriginal Yaghan people, and it was the first time…

A Direct Update From the Oceti Sakowin Camp at Standing Rock

The Oceti Sakowin Camp has been flooded with emails for months. Here are some key updates addressed in an email I received from them today. At this point they’re only really requesting monetary donations and FIREWOOD. Firewood is a priority since it’s not easy to find and transport in the northern plains. If you can…

The Revolution is Happening at Standing Rock

The Oceti Sakowin Camp looked like the promised land after a grueling 25+ hour drive. The terror I felt about coming to a place depicted as a war zone on social media had already started to dissipate, and then I saw a beacon: a massive tipi with a large turtle emblazoned on it. This was…

Everything is Vegan: Vanilla Mini Sheet Cake

One day I found a cake on the kitchen floor, partially eaten, with two little paw prints indented into the heavenly frosting. It was disappointing and adorable all at once. Adorable for obvious reasons, and disappointing because there was my favorite cake in all the world, wasted. But this is how irresistible it was—even my…

10 Things I Didn’t Know About Being an Omnivore

When I was 18 I started listening to Morrissey and Strike Anywhere—starkly different in their musical styles but similar in their stances on animal welfare—and went vegetarian. I wasn’t really thinking hard about politics or even the environment; I just didn’t want to eat animals because I didn’t support ending their adorable lives in the…