For the past couple of years, marine research organization OCEARCH has been getting up close and personal with Great White Sharks to learn more about their behavior. Just over a week ago, a crew led by OCEARCH Founder and Expedition Leader Chris Fischer tagged their first Great White of the season, all within eyeshot of Monomoy Island, Cape Cod. Her name? Betsy. Weighing in......read more
For our money, there's nothing like some good satellite or aerial photography to shift our perception of this planet we call home. Looking like abstract paintings, these images offer stunning views of the arid landscapes in Iran's largest desert, the Dasht-e Kavir, or Great Salt Desert. The word kavir is Persian for salt marsh. The essentially uninhabited zone -- covering an area......read more
Merely a dot on the map, Nantucket was once one of the world's biggest whaling ports. Great Point Lighthouse stands proudly at the edge of the island, the first shining beacon leading into the east coast ports. The lighthouse keeper's daughter, lighting the lamp for her father, wrote in 1937 that she felt as though she was "helping God" guide mariners to shore. During an end of summer......read more
Thanks to an introduction last year from 01, we've been keeping an eye on the photographic work of Nich Hance McElroy for a while. Judging from his Flickr-folio, the Seattle-based photographer regularly ventures into the great outdoors to capture shots of wilderness at its most sublime -- and unforgiving. This selection, from his latest series entitled "The Great Divide," looks to......read more
Long the dumping grounds for various types of toxic waste, the Great Lakes have faced no shortage of pollution problems over the years. The latest, while tiny in size, is one of the trickiest and most dangerous issues yet. Scientists have discovered that plastic microbeads, a common ingredient in facial scrubs and toothpastes, are finding their way into the Great Lakes--the world's largest......read more
China's hyper-dense urban centers tend to conjure images of huge crowds, gridlocked traffic, and polluted air. The Great City, now under construction near the city of Chengdu, aims to be anything but that. Designed by Chicago firm Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill Architecture, the Great City is a plan for a sustainability-focused, pedestrian-based satellite city that 80,000 people will......read more
Great Barrier Island, off the northern coast of New Zealand, is an awe-striking natural landscape characterized by wind-swept coastline and Puriri woods. Nestled among the forest is the Great Barrier House, a beautiful piece of sustainable architecture that's enough to make you drool. Designed by Crosson Clarke Carnachan Architects, the elevated home is made from sustainably-harvested timber......read more
Bob Burnquist, the pioneering Brazilian skater (and, incidentally, committed environmentalist), has boldly taken the sport to another new frontier. His latest invention is a floating miniramp in the middle of Lake Tahoe, a project inititated by Visit California as part of its "Dream Big" campaign. And dream big they did. Master rampbuilder Jeff King and his team spent 300 man hours and......read more
Designed by architect Chris Price and his partners at Park City Design + Build, the Treehaus is a beautiful blend of modern mountain architecture and cutting-edge energy efficiency. Nestled into the pines of Summit Park, Utah, the clean lines, stacked segments, and dark cedar exterior create a fine figure, seamlessly integrating the 3,643-square-foot abode into its sylvan surroundings.......read more
When my old friend Trip asked me to join him in a tandem sea kayak for Paddle in Seattle, a kayak flotilla protest against Shell’s oil explorations in the Arctic, my first impulse was a big Hell no. Spending an afternoon with hundreds of people who care deeply about climate change and are willing to brave the polluted waters of Puget Sound to make a statement may sound like a fine......read more