In His (Ecological) Footsteps

Click here (jesustrail.com) to browse a relatively new and popular trend in Holy Land tourism...

Your thoughts about this kind of enterprise? Are there benefits? Drawbacks?

Spices of the Galilee

Click here (virtualnazareth) for a quick virtual tour of a famous spice market in Jesus' boyhood home of Nazareth...

Any favorite flavors?

A Real Primeval Flood

Click here (SBS Australia) to learn about the catastrophic geological events that gave (re)birth to the Med Sea 5-million years ago...

Jesus' Hometown

Click here (Guardian) to read about how archaeology has uncovered evidence about what Nazareth looked like when Jesus lived there, two millennia ago...

Park-ing Zones

Click here (HaAretz) to learn about the benefits (and costs) of greenery in modern Israel's cities...

Why do you think urban residents crave parklands? Ecology? Scenery? Equity? Other?

Suppressing Sprawl

Click here (Atlantic) to read about ecological tensions between urban cores and their suburban surroundings...


Which cities (in America and/or elsewhere) do you think strike a productive equilibrium between the center and the periphery? Which ones don't?

Parched Lands

Click here (Economist) to read about this summer's scorching continental drought...

How might these ecological disruptions end up affecting Americans... including Alaskans?

Swarms!

Click here (NewYorkTimes) to read a blurb about a devastating locust swarm in the Levant a century ago...

And click here (YouTube) to watch a video that explains the swarm instinct (and its ecological repercussions)...


Even NASA (click here) keeps an eye on these munchers...


Has civilization met its match (time and again) with such critters? 

Levantine Flora

Click here (flowersinisrael) to browse examples from an exhaustive(!) compilation of the land's assorted plants and trees...


Any particularly eye-catching examples?

Desert Tourism

With a distinct scriptural edge: click here (YouTube)...


In what ways does this video leverage the Biblical lands to advance the political and nationalist interests of Modern Israel? 

Environmental Stewardship (or not?)

Click here (ThePalestineChronicle)...


What are your thoughts about modern day entanglements between ecosystems and politics (in Israel-Palestine, or elsewhere)?

Pinpointing the Sites of the Bible

Click here (biblewalks.com), and follow the links, to browse an outstanding website that features pictures and descriptions of numerous ancient sites and their environments...


Any favorites?

Saving the Jordan?

Click here (ynetnews) to lean about the latest efforts at revitalizing the endangered Biblical river...


Do you think that modern farmers, industrialists, and religious pilgrims can unite to save the waterway that is crucial for them all?

Levantine Geography

Click here (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs) for all kinds of handy reference info...


What catches your eye, in terms of the land's character?

Drilling the Dead Sea

Click here (NewYorkTimes) to learn about what things look like, down under... 

The 19th Century Biblical Environment

Click here (Medinaarts), and follow the links, to view the remarkable Near Eastern lithographs of Scottish artist David Roberts (1796-1864)...


What are your observations/thoughts about how he portrays the ancient lands?

Does Earth Fight Back?

Click here (NewYorkTimes) to read about how human expansion into new ecological niches can trigger a host of unintended consequences...


Are there any lessons here when it comes to humanity's expanding 'footprint' across the planet?

The Great Rivers

Click on the following links to gain overviews about the river valleys that spurred and sustained the 'hydraulic civilizations' of the Ancient Near East:


Tigris-Euphrates (Mesopotamia)
Nile (Egypt)

Chicken or Egg?

Click here (NatGeo) for an article and pictures about a fascinating archaeological site in Turkey which is revolutionizing traditional theories about the origins of religion...


Is religion a cause or a consequence of civilization??

The Psychology of Ecology

Click here (NewYorkTimes) to read about the interface between mind and environment...


Do you think we are hard-wired to respond emotionally to our environment? Is there any validity to the notion of "solastalgia", in your opinion? Why/why not?

Whence Came Civilization?

Click here (ArtLine) to learn more about the likely origins of human urbanization...

Why do you suppose that cities, more than 5000 years after their invention, remain humanity's premier mode of cultural expression? What are the ecological benefits versus the costs?