Mosquitoes and Zika Virus: "We Don't Have to Live in Fear"

By Emily Monosson / On February 24th, 2016
Mosquitoes, along with their disease-causing hitchhikers like West Nile, Equine encephalitis, Dengue, and now Zika, are on the move, finding new habitats and naïve populations ripe for infection. Just as Lyme has made tick experts out of us all (no, that one is just a dog tick), we are on a first-name basis with mosquitoes like Aedes and Culex.

Disaster assistance (finally!) takes nature into account

By Laurie Mazur / On February 23rd, 2016
If a tree falls in the forest, what does it cost? From the perspective of federal disaster assistance, the answer traditionally has been “not much.” But now — thanks to improved number-crunching — the federal government is taking nature into account when it tallies the cost of disasters.

Using DDT to Control the Zika Virus: "A Pandora's Box of Problems"

By Andy Dyer / On February 22nd, 2016
The proposal to bring DDT out of the retired arsenal of chemical weaponry to control mosquito vectors carrying the Zika virus is a Pandora’s Box of problems.  And these are not hypothetical problems.  The mosquitoes and the virus are biological threats that have emerged because of disruptions to the broader environment, all of which are connected to human population growth and simplification of the ecosystems humans live in.  While the Zika virus is a very real threat to human health, the answer to this threat is not DDT.

#ForewordFriday: Human Ecology Edition

By Katharine Sucher / On February 19th, 2016
How do we shape our urban landscapes so that both nature and humans thrive? In the age of climate change, we must think creatively about how to design resilient landscapes.

#ForewordFriday: North of the Border Edition

By Katharine Sucher / On February 12th, 2016
Americans are increasingly demanding more walkable and transit-friendly neighborhoods that provide a higher quality of living. Despite pockets of revitalization, however, most US metros continue to follow old patterns of sprawl and central city decline. 

On Interning at Island Press: Valued and Included

By Samantha Hansen / On February 8th, 2016
I first applied to Island Press in the midst of a job-hunting fury that surrounded me like a cloud of smoke. Island Press stood out from the rest because not only was it a publisher, but also a non-profit. I loved the idea of being able to work at a place that combined the two types of organizations that I was most passionate about. I’ve always believed in the power of books and the impact of good non-profits, and after reading the Island Press mission it really did feel like the perfect fit.

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