Three things are pretty central to my hometown, Springfield, IL: the state capitol, Abraham Lincoln, and corn as far as the eye can see. In a way, all three of these central Illinois icons pushed me to where I am today with an abiding love for nature, history, and catty politics. They also combine to make me acutely aware that we occupy a unique moment in history where our actions or inaction will resonate for generations to come.
As for NRDC, I handle communications for a weird mix of NRDC's efforts including energy issues in the Midwest, greening of Chicago, endangered species and western wildlife issues.
When I am not worried about dirty fuels and changes to the Endangered Species Act, play bass guitar, try to keep my 120 year old house on the south side from crumbling and chase around a wee-bitty son, born on … you guessed it … Lincoln's birthday.
Posted April 19, 2013 by Josh Mogerman in Solving Global Warming
One of the things that beguiles people about climate change is that they cannot see it in their day to day. But some striking images made their way into my inbox this morning from a prominent photojournalist documenting an...continued→
Posted April 18, 2013 by Josh Mogerman in Solving Global Warming
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 As I laid out buckets to catch the water dripping down from the ceiling in my new home last night and wet-vacced water out of my soggy basement where it...continued→
Posted February 18, 2013 by Josh Mogerman in Curbing Pollution, Moving Beyond Oil, Solving Global Warming
My Presidents Day weekend was spent in DC, in the shadow of history and amongst folks who share my concerns of its looming implications. 35,000 of them actually, at the Forward on Climate rally just below the Washington Monument...continued→
Posted January 29, 2013 by Josh Mogerman in Curbing Pollution, Moving Beyond Oil, Solving Global Warming
As our energy landscape is undergoing rapid changes in this country, our infrastructure is playing catchup. For example, there is news out of Wisconsin that operators of a refinery in Superior are considering the construction of a facility in...continued→
Posted October 19, 2012 by Josh Mogerman in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
I made a quick stop in to Hong Kong on my way to NRDC’s offices in Beijing last week. But while taking in the sights of the fascinating city in southern China, Chicago was very much on my mind…and...continued→
Posted October 2, 2012 by Josh Mogerman in Curbing Pollution, Moving Beyond Oil
With the proliferation of pipeline incidents in the last year and the ongoing oil contamination of the Kalamazoo River two years after Enbridge’s tar sands mess in Michigan, it is clear to see why disaster preparation drills are essential. But...continued→
Posted September 21, 2012 by Josh Mogerman in Curbing Pollution, Moving Beyond Oil
The folks in Enbridge’s Marketing Department have an unenviable job these days. The Canadian pipeline company that stands as the spear point of a concerted tar sands industry effort to foist more and more of their dangerous gunk through the...continued→
Posted September 12, 2012 by Josh Mogerman in Moving Beyond Oil, Solving Global Warming
There is no shortage of messaging from Big Oil trumpeting efforts to green “the Patch,” which is the euphemistic term applied to Alberta’s tar sands mine and melt sites. They underplay the carbon impacts of what has been termed “the...continued→
Posted August 3, 2012 by Josh Mogerman in Curbing Pollution
In the wake of the two year anniversary of the Kalamazoo River tar sands pipeline disaster and the bruising reports from regulators that followed, you would think that pipeline companies---especially Enbridge, which was responsible for dumping a million gallons of...continued→
Posted July 27, 2012 by Josh Mogerman in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Seen any mermaids in Lake Michigan? The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration took the odd step of announcing that there is no such thing as the mythical half-fish, half-human creature that occupied so much of sailors' fantasy focus in...continued→
Posted July 19, 2012 by Josh Mogerman in Curbing Pollution, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Getting attention at this town’s most high-profile food function, the Taste of Chicago, can be tough. But it’s not every day that folks attending the Taste get free grub. And even less often that they are served one of...continued→
Posted May 22, 2012 by Josh Mogerman in The Media and the Environment
I look at Pitchfork and Midwest Energy News online every day. And before this week, I’ve never seen the same story covered on both sites. But really, that is no surprise. Music nerdery and energy wonkery never cross paths… …until...continued→
Posted May 15, 2012 by Josh Mogerman in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
The effort to ban trade in shark fins is going swimmingly in Illinois! Nick Magrisso just reported from the Statehouse that the Senate has voted overwhelmingly to approve a measure that would ban the sale, trade, distribution or possession...continued→
Posted May 7, 2012 by Josh Mogerman in Curbing Pollution
It is planting time on central Illinois farms where millions of pounds of the controversial herbicide atrazine are being applied to corn fields. But the endocrine disrupting chemical is a bit more highly visible than usual in the region this...continued→
Posted April 12, 2012 by Josh Mogerman in The Media and the Environment
Reality is never as neat and clean as anyone would like it to be. Usually, it is pretty dirty. Look at the banks of the Kalamazoo River where nearly two years after a million gallons of diluted bitumen was belched into...continued→
Switchboard is the staff blog of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation’s most effective environmental group. For more about our work, including in-depth policy documents, action alerts and ways you can contribute, visit NRDC.org.
