On the winter solstice I chased a retreating moon over western Greenland and the Canadian arctic. On this long westward journey the sun appeared to set two times, and the earth sat in pale twilight glow. Coastal mountains rose up in the darkness, and sea ice filled the fjords that were not yet frozen. In…

A common sight along the roadsides and logging gaps of the lowland forests of Borneo is the slender gray trunk of a sun-loving tree with long, up-curving branches naked except for a few large leaves at the tip. These trees belong to the genus Macaranga, in the Euphorbiaceae family. They seem quite unremarkable, but working…

The experience of field ecology is not as glamorous as one might imagine. Fieldwork is mostly about carrying heavy things into and out of the forest. Curiosity, brilliance, creativity – they are are present, but far less important than sweat and sometimes blood and very rarely tears. Here are a few examples from Malaysia. Some…

Palm oil is the villain of Western markets. It appears as an ingredient in all sorts of processed foods, but comes with a bad reputation – environmentally unfriendly at best. Buying only products that don’t include it is nearly impossible, though a growing number of manufacturers are now tapping into a demand for such items.…