![The Ecological Importance of Folklore](/assets/image-cache/images/features/Folklore and Conservation/Photo_8.2f9bad62.jpg)
by Jessica Schmonsky
Folklore, religion, mythology and other belief systems have a considerable effect on how various cultures think about the natural world and their role in its use or protection. In some cultures, folklore…
Read more![Our Imminently Threatened Coral Reefs](/assets/image-cache/images/wpImages/2012/07/800px-Coral_Outcrop_Flynn_Reef.4194a5b7.jpg)
by George Stevens
Coral reefs provide food to millions of people, unique chemicals for use in medicine, protect coastlines from erosion and storms, and are a major part of the thriving global tourism industry. In all, it…
Read more![Preservation of Wild Places May Help Protect Human Health](/assets/image-cache/images/wpImages/2012/06/Little_Red_Flying_Foxes.46980fe9.jpg)
by Kathryn Dixon
In eco-immunology, a young new field of scientific research, the main goal of researchers is to understand how the spread of disease in wildlife is exacerbated by human and environmental elements (like…
Read more![Ethnobotany and Ethnocide: an interview with Wade Davis](/assets/image-cache/images/interviews/Interview with Wade Davis/Photo%204.7603d9d1.jpg)
by Danielle Vilaplana
Loss of biodiversity and cultural diversity are inextricably linked in a developing world. While genocide is widely condemned, ethnocide – the complete destruction of entire cultures – is tacitly accepted…
Read more![Just Another Species](/assets/image-cache/images/wpImages/2012/01/woman-kissing-salmon_32772_990x742-300x225.df55dde7.jpg)
by Narisa Bhanji
We humans like to think of ourselves as superior beings that have control over the fates of other species. We have given ourselves the power to define how the environment and other species around us live.
Read more![The Wayfinders](/assets/image-cache/images/features/Book Reviews/The Wayfinders/Photo%202.1d00087f.jpg)
by Julia Osterman
Inside all technology-addicted Westerners is the capability to adapt to some of the world’s most desolate landscapes and to transcend their own worldviews to open their minds. Join author Wade Davis as…
Read more![Q&A with Spencer Wells, author of Pandora’s Seed](/assets/image-cache/images/interviews/Spencer Wells/SW%20Interview%20Photo%202RTP.8ef4999f.jpg)
by Julia Osterman
Izilwane interviews eminent population geneticist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Spencer Wells to discuss his most recent book, Pandora’s Seed. He talks about the need to consider the long-term…
Read more![Pandora’s Seed: The Unforeseen Cost of Civilization](/assets/image-cache/images/features/Book Reviews/Pandoras Seed/Pandoras%20Seed%20Photo%201.1d00087f.jpg)
by Julia Osterman
In this stirring study of how civilization has strained the human relationship with the natural world, author Spencer Wells examines issues such as obesity, global warming, the rise of mental illness,…
Read more![A Conservation Conversation with Dr. Stuart Pimm](/assets/image-cache/images/interviews/Stuart Pimm/Pimm_4.7603d9d1.jpg)
by Julia Osterman
Stuart Pimm discusses the ethics behind conservation and the importance of involving local peoples in protecting their own local biodiversity.
Read more![Monster of God](/assets/image-cache/images/features/Book Reviews/Monster of Gods/dreamstime_16702390.1d00087f.jpg)
by Jami Wright
In Monster of God David Quammen, author of Song of the Dodo and a writer for National Geographic Magazine, takes his readers around the world and simultaneously delves into the human psyche probing the…
Read more![The Human Animal and Biodiversity](/assets/image-cache/images/features/Impressions/Biodiversity/IMG_2430ZuluWeaving.b6567f6c.jpg)
by Tara Waters Lumpkin
Tara Lumpkin explores how we can protect biodiversity by becoming aware of our "humanness" -- both good and bad -- and thus change our relationship to the environment and other species.
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