Less work, more time to be a solutionary: An Interview with Veronika Perková

Veronika Perková is a Czech environmental journalist with bylines in BBC, Mongabay, and Earth Island Journal. She hosts a monthly, solutions-focused podcast, Nature Solutionaries, which tackles conservation and population issues. She is also the author of Ask Great Questions, Get Great Answers; a university lecturer on interviewing; and a wildlife illustrator. Zoe Weil: You’re a…

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What I Learned Sitting Next to Bob Dylan

When I was in my twenties, a friend and I went to a Tom Waits performance in Chicago. We had perfect center seats close to the front. But although the theater was packed, the two seats next to us were empty. As the theater darkened and the performance began, two people entered and took the…

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Educating for Sustainability: An Interview with Jaimie Cloud

Introduction: Jaimie P. Cloud is the founder and president of the Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education in New York City. The Cloud Institute is dedicated to the vital role of education in creating awareness, fostering commitment, and guiding actions toward a healthy, secure, and sustainable future for ourselves and for future generations. The Cloud Institute…

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Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation: An Interview with Ariane White, Ed.D., M.Ed.

Introduction: Ariane White began working in education in 2003 as a high school teacher before earning her M.Ed. degree with the Institute for Humane Education in 2010. She earned her doctoral degree in education from Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in 2019. LMU has recently launched a Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Center, which…

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resolutions

Short-Term Resolutions Can Create New and Better Habits

I take a CrossFit class almost every morning. The workouts are often quite intense, but they are usually short. When faced with a movement I don’t like—like “Wallballs” or the “Assault Bike”—I remind myself that I can do anything for 15 minutes. I find my resolve because the ask is limited. I’m able to manage…

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Humane Education Through History, Art, and Inspiration: An Interview with Robert Shetterly

Introduction: After graduating from college and moving to Maine in 1970, Robert Shetterly taught himself drawing, printmaking, and painting, becoming an illustrator at newspapers and of approximately 30 books. After the 9/11 attacks, Rob painted a portrait of Walt Whitman, etching a quote from Whitman on the painting. Thus began his Americans Who Tell the…

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Schools are becoming an epicenter of culture wars, but there is a solution to the conflicts

School board members are receiving death threats. School board meetings have become shouting matches. The national news is regularly reporting about the most local of politics—school board elections in tiny districts. The two primary topics causing all this conflict are COVID-based mandates for masking and/or vaccination and teaching about racism in social studies classes. This post is about…

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Integrating Humane Education into the High School Classroom: An Interview with Mike Farley, M.Ed.

Introduction: Mike Farley has been teaching middle and high school Geography and Environmental Studies for 20 years in the Toronto District School Board and currently at University of Toronto Schools. Over the past decade he has explored animal protection with his students, including running virtual field trips to animal sanctuaries during the pandemic. Mike is a frequent presenter at conferences…

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Be a Solutionary, Make a Difference, and Find Meaning in Your Life

When I observe our dogs, I often envy their seeming ease in the world. Sure, Pippin gets anxious when we leave the house (and the couch cover gets a wee bit more torn up as a result); Poppy cringes when treats are tossed her way (perhaps because she was abused before we rescued her); and Hershel has a pillow…

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We Create Others’ Realities, So Be Careful What You Attend To

In late July, I set out to find baby gray tree frogs. They’re emerald green and (I’ll just say it) incredibly adorable. They are also very difficult to find because they’re well-camouflaged, sitting as they do on green leaves. But because I’m looking for them, I often find them. I see what I’m attending to….

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