One of the main effects of traveling to, and working in, dozens of nations worldwide is that we get to experience the natural environments of the world directly. To be blunt, we are in great peril. From forests to deserts, oceans to prairies, jungles to mountains, we are badly damaging or completely destroying natural environments at a rapid and escalating rate. Deforestation is not getting better; it is getting worse. The oceans are becoming increasingly polluted. Our carbon emissions increase steadily. Virtually every known parameter of environmental monitoring indicates decline.

It is as though we are sitting in our living room watching TV, while the kitchen, dining room, bedrooms and bathroom are on fire. We are not only causing great and lasting harm to the natural environment, but we are also endangering the future of the human race. As time goes on, we will share information from the environmental frontlines, so you can have a better sense of what is happening to our fragile planet.

Traveling the world, we get a sense of how far out of balance things really are. The rapid urbanization of our planet means more dirty, polluted cities, fewer people living in rural areas, and detachment from the natural environments that sustain us. Increasingly our natural areas are under siege by extractive industries – timber, mining, petroleum, grazing – that only take from the environment without giving back. In the process of extracting valuable resources, these same industries pollute earth, water and air, killing countless species in all classes of life, and rendering environments unsuitable for life.

Our efforts to forestall widespread planetary environmental devastation are modest by any standard. But at Medicine Hunter we remain committed to environmental protection efforts whenever possible, for however long they can endure. We engage in projects that help to maintain robust and dynamic natural places, and to ensure that soil, water, air, wildlife and environments large and small will remain healthy and will support life far into the future.