The dry, brown grass crunches under my boots as I walk through our pasture. It’s depressing. All our pastures have dried up except one: the native warm-season grass pasture. It’s thriving. It flourishes in warmer temperatures and can tolerate drought conditions.
Note: This was first published as an oped in the Virginia Mercury on April 22, 2024 Walk Slow, Stand Around My wife and I are cattle farmers in Virginia’s legendary Shenandoah Valley. Early in our marriage, Jeanne gave me a nickname: “Walk Slow, Stand Around.” Yep, that’s me. Sure, it’s...
Note: This article was first published in the Virginia Mercury on 9/21/23 and was written by a real person–me. We are in a wonderful, historic, frustrating, and devastating transition to renewable energy. Solar panels will be on buildings and parking lots and in highway medians, landfills, and brownfields. Utility scale...
Note: This blog was written by a real person–me. The first Earth Day was in 1970; atmospheric carbon dioxide was 325 ppm. Earth Day 53 is April 22; atmospheric carbon dioxide now exceeds 418 ppm. This year’s theme is “Invest In Our Planet.” First, the Good News The best news...
Clouds of soil stir around the hooves of our cattle as they walk through the brown, dried-up pasture. Smoke haze from the megafires out west two thousand miles away permeates the sky. It’s just as the scientists said: The weather is getting warmer and weirder.
Note: The text from this post was published as an oped in the News-Leader on 6/22/21. On June 7 the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that the atmospheric CO2 (carbon dioxide) concentration had reached its highest level since accurate measurements began 63...
There is much to be thankful for on Earth Day 51—way too much for a blog post! But here are some significant and promising environmental developments that occurred recently. Environmental activism and the law are alive and well. Bald Eagle Nesting Pairs Quadrupled I look up from the greening pastures...
Note: the text of this post was published in the Virginia Mercury on 1/25/2021. Virginia is on a path to achieve 100% renewable energy use by 2050, and utility-scale solar (USS) projects are being proposed in many counties throughout the Commonwealth. Energy companies are seeking landowners who will let their...
First Place Award for 2020 Outstanding Column & Blog from Virginia Outdoor Writers Association View All Awards
Bobby’s guide to environmental activism gives us a raw factual analysis of four critical factors that led to the end of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. These factors are true for the majority of citizen environmental endeavors and highlight how a group of committed individuals from diverse backgrounds and experiences can take down Goliath.