How to study a megacity: Metro Manila. Step 1: Go to a megacity. Step 2: Take public transport (and hold on tight). Jumping into a jeepney in Manila sucks the unknowing Joe into the rushing, chortling capillary system that is the transport life blood of the Philippines. Reminiscent of the Dick Tracy gangster-style automobiles, jeepneys are remnants of American occupation […]
After leaving Nyungwe, we headed to Akagera—Rwanda’s savanna park. Before mountain gorillas started making millions for Rwanda, Akagera was Rwanda’s flagship site for tourism. It better fit the traditional model for African tourism, in which people can spot large, charismatic mammals from the comfort of their land cruisers. Today, the park is overshadowed by Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park (and its […]
This blog entry doesn’t say much about the environment and relates very little to my work, but I think it’s a series of stories worth telling. They provide cultural context and a window into the mentality of the local populous. They also answer the questions I’m sure many people interested in my travels here are asking themselves: “What is it […]
June 17 he Land Rover growls and grumbles as we bounce over gullies and ditches, the hum of the engine scattering songbirds when we pass by their perches. Rounding one corner, we skirt so close to the edge of an enormous gaping hole in the ground that I involuntarily lean away from it, as if that will keep us from […]
he next time I am asked whether I can be an advocate for people and places with the least information, access to, and ability to obtain a just, healthy, and resilient future, and have a career, I can confidently answer “yes!” After my first day at Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (ELAW) in Eugene, Oregon, I knew I found the type […]