Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “San Francisco”
Over 3.2 million families in California, one of every three households, struggle every month to meet basic needs. The state’s economy would be considered the world’s eighth largest if it were a country, with a GDP of $2.312 trillion. Although they create this massive amount of social wealth through their labor, workers in the state find themselves in desperate living …
Guest // David George Haskell, PhD
Host // Louise Kuo Habakus
forest unseen jacketThe #1 ranked high school in the country is requiring this book, The Forest Unseen, as summer reading for all incoming freshmen. I picked it up and was hooked. The premise is simple — what can we learn by closely observing the same square meter of forest over a one year period?
It’s no surprise that the forest can teach us biology. But does it also hold lessons about social connections, social responsibility, and our essential humanity?
Yes.
Imagine a contemporary biologist who writes like a poet — giddy with delight about the surprises and secrets that Nature will disclose to anyone who cares to take a closer look.
We know that our kids need to spend more time outdoors. For this to happen, maybe parents need a dose of inspiration, too. This isn’t a quick read; you won’t (and shouldn’t) knock it off your list in a weekend. I’m reading it with my boys, individually. Each is drawn to different ideas — the brutal parasitism of the horsetail worm… stripping naked in -20F weather to experience winter as the chickadees do — but it feeds curiosity and spurs some terrific conversations.
If you’re headed to the lake or mountains — or wish you were — this is the perfect summer read. The chapters are short and the insights are unexpected. It’s no wonder that this book was a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize and received numerous awards, including the National Academies’ Best Book Award for 2013, the 2013 Reed Environmental Writing Award, and the 2012 National Outdoor Book Award for Natural History Literature. A profile in The New York Times said that Haskell “gives the natural world the kind of open-minded attention one expects from a Zen monk rather than a hypothesis-driven scientist.”
david haskellDavid George Haskell, PhD holds degrees from the University of Oxford and Cornell University. He is Professor of Biology at the University of the South, where he served as Chair of Biology. His scientific research on animal ecology, evolution, and conservation has been sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the World Wildlife Fund, among others. David serves on the boards and advisory committees of local and regional land conservation groups. His classes have received national attention for the innovative ways they combine science, contemplation, and action in the community. David was born in England, raised in Paris, educated at Oxford and Cornell, and now lives in Tennessee where he helps his wife run a CSA called Cudzoo Farm.
The encroachment of self-help kiosks and grocery store scanners has led doomsayers to suggest automation threatens the workforce of the future. A new report argues it will create new business sectors and new jobs as well. By studying large companies in various industries, from Delta Airlines Inc. to Whole Foods Market Inc., as well as many startups, analysts have forecast …
Last November the National Center on Family Homelessness at American Institutes for Research (NCFH) released a report exposing that 2.5 million children are homeless in America. The report analyzes each state in four different areas: the extent of child homelessness, child wellbeing, the risk for children becoming homeless, and the policy efforts undertaken to address homelessness. Child homelessness is endemic in the …
Actions are taking place in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle on Tuesday decrying a controversial U.S. immigration program that unions and immigration advocates have dubbed “immigration reform for the 1%.” “If Congress renews the ‘$500,000 green card’ EB-5 program without any comprehensive solutions for immigration reform, they’re sending a clear message: the American Dream is for sale …
As Labor Day looms, more Americans than ever don’t know how much they’ll be earning next week or even tomorrow. This varied group includes independent contractors, temporary workers, the self-employed, part-timers, freelancers, and free agents. Most file 1099s rather than W2s, for tax purposes. On demand and on call – in the “share” economy, the “gig” economy, or, more prosaically, the …
Kermit Heartsong is an empirical scientist, political author and the creator of several award wining word games. For the past 25 years, Kermit has investigated the macroscopic developments of social, economic and political systems to identify disturbing trends in both the US and around the globe. He is currently the managing editor of Tayen Lane Publishing in San Francisco. He has appeared on CNN International and many radio stations and has been featured in a variety of magazines and publications. Kermit is the author of several books on America’s dystopia and illusions and recently published “Ukraine: Zbig’s Grand Chessboard and How the West was Checkmated.” His website is TayneLane.com
Part I: Matthew Liebman, “Ag-Gag” Laws
Matthew Liebman is a senior attorney in the litigation program and works on all aspects of ALDF’s civil cases, including investigating reports of animal cruelty, conducting legal research, developing new legal theories, and appearing in court. He has litigated cases including ALDF v. Conyers, which resulted in the rescue of more than 100 dogs from a North Carolina hoarder; ALDF v. Keating, in which seven horses were saved from starvation; and Animal Place v. Cheung, which seeks justice for 50,000 hens abandoned without food by egg farmers. Matthew’s writing has appeared in the Animal Law Review, the Journal of Animal Law, the Stanford Environmental Law Journal, and the Animal Legal & Historical Web Center. With Bruce Wagman, Matthew co-authored A Worldview of Animal Law, which examines how the legal systems of different countries govern our interactions with animals.
Before coming to ALDF, Matthew clerked for the Honorable Warren J. Ferguson of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Matthew graduated with distinction from Stanford Law School in 2006 and with highest honors from the University of Texas at Austin in 2001 with a degree in philosophy. While a law student at Stanford, Matthew co-founded a chapter of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund and was an active member of Animal Rights on the Farm, where he worked on campaigns against factory farming and vivisection. He lives with his human companion and their five feline companions Kitty Kitty, Ollie, Emma, Spider, and Niecey.
Part II: Robin Lamont, The Trap
Broadway actress – private investigator – Assistant DA – and now novelist. Robin Lamontworked as a Broadway actress and singer, playing lead roles in Godspell, Grease, and Working. Her original cast recording of “Day by “Day” and her film version of the song have drawn fans from around the world. Utilizing her acting experience she became an undercover investigator for a PI firm in New York City that specialized in investigations into counterfeiting. During that time she went to law school and later practiced as an Assistant District Attorney in New York. More recently, while continuing her writing Robin volunteers for animal welfare organizations, trying to raise awareness about the plight of animals throughout the world.
From any perspective other than the robust prosperity of the 1%, San Francisco is a city in crisis. In the past five years, reported evictions have increased 54.7 percent. The number of homeless children has doubled since 2007. A recent study compiling data through 2013 reports that black people are 7.1 times more likely to be arrested in San Francisco …
Michel Nischan is a three-time James Beard Foundation award winning celebrity chef with over 30 years of leadership experience advocating for a more healthful, sustainable food system. He is Founder, President and CEO of Wholesome Wave, Co-Founder of the Chefs Action Network, as well as Founder and Partner with the late actor Paul Newman of the former Dressing Room Restaurant. He and his Wholesome Wave team were successful at influencing legislative language for the recently passed Federal Farm Bill, supporting affordable access to healthy, locally grown fruits and vegetables for low income consumers. He’s also the author of three cookbooks and a variety of articles focused on sustainable food systems and social equity through food. A lifetime Ashoka fellow, Nischan serves on the board of the Amazon Conservation Team, and The National Young Farmers Coalition.
