FaCT Newsletters

This column mostly aims to provide practical advice, but once a year or so I need to remind everyone of why we garden. This is particularly aimed at anyone still debating whether to bother with starting—or maintaining—a garden (short answer: yes).

There are several reasons it’s worth the time, effort, and some expense to put in a garden, whether ...

There are several reasons I am starting an irregular personal newsletter. I am starting it now, because I am shifting to a new period in my writing life. I am just about done with my second book on environmental activism, organizing, and social movements locally and regionally.

The first book was Democratizing Cleveland: The rise and ...

The oceans of the world set a new heat record in 2023, the sixth straight year that temperature records have been broken. According to scientists, the temperature in 2023 surpassed the record set in 2022 by .5 degrees Fahrenheit. According to Professor John Abraham of St. Thomas University in Minnesota, this was due to both climate change and a strong ...

Norfolk Southern’s Promises vs. Lobbying Reality

According to a report in the Washington Post on February 3, Norfolk CEO Alan Shaw told local reporters in East Palestine that he wants a response to the catastrophe of February 4, 2023 that he and the community can be proud of. Meanwhile, lobbyists working for Norfolk Southern ...

Some people are lucky enough to have a career that is a calling. They may be well paid to do what they love, to do something that is needed and that utilizes their unique set of skills and talents. But those are a fortunate few.

Most of us are not so favored, and are pushed to find a career that pays the bills, bills that keep increasing as ...

There are many ways to look at environmental issues. Wasteland suggests that we begin with our garbage. Your trash can, your toilet, recycling bin and compost pile can tell you all you ever want to know about our environment, our societies and ourselves. This is a well established fundamental of archeology where entire vanished societies can be described ...

Have you noticed that every oil and gas drilling rig has an American flag anchored to the top? For most Americans, that flag represents freedom. So, it’s ironic that Ohio’s pro-fossil fuel Republicans in the General Assembly usurp many rights and freedoms from Ohio citizens while they cater to the oil and gas industry.

Exemptions ...