Voyage of Kiri
Pushing Past the Taboo of Climate Adaptation
Shunned in the past as trumping mitigation, the issue of climate adaptation is now receiving serious attention.
Chiapas Coffee: Price, Politics and Precipitation
High prices, crazy politics and crazier weather threaten to wreck the symbiosis of shade-grown coffee in southern Mexico, as our Kristian Beadle explains in the second half of his look at Chiapas.
Chiapas’ Coffee Growers: Accidental Environmentalists
Kristian Beadle steps off a rickety bus in southern Mexico and finds a traditional coffee-growing culture that suits modern sustainability efforts admirably.
Micro-Reserves Renew Life in Oaxacan Agriculture
Peasants in Mexico's jungle state of Oaxaca show that conservation need not take a back seat to development.
Day of the Dead Reflections: Renewed Life in Oaxacan Forestry
While visiting Oaxaca's forestry cooperatives, Kristian Beadle considers the link between remembering the dead and managing living resources — including new climate policies to reduce deforestation.
People Power Can Drive Climate Action
Abandoning sticks and taking up carrots, those concerned about climate change got a little sweaty on Oct. 10. Ecologist and blogger Kristian Beadle argues their Global Work Party had genuine results.
Mexico Celebration: Cutting through the Doom and Gloom
Walking the streets of Mexico’s capital on the occasion of the nation’s 200th birthday, Kristian Beadle sees both chest-thumping and hand-wringing.
The Real Revenge of Montezuma: Voyage Conclusions
Our blogger looks back at his voyage through coastal Mexico and sees that the problems, and solutions, there are mirrored throughout the globe.
The Balance of Evil-Doing: Kiri's Impacts
Having completed his 5,000-mile voyage, Kristian Beadle weighs his trip's carbon use and examines whether the benefits balance the costs.
Sustainable Tourism en masse: Huatulco's Attempt
A master-planned and ecologically sound tourist mecca meant to learn from Acapulco and Cancun has not nailed the concept yet.
Artists of Restoration at Playa Viva
In the spirit of lighting a single candle rather than cursing the darkness, the innkeepers at Playa Viva are shining a light on 'regenerative design.'
Making Sense of Collapse
The various data points collected so far in the Kiri's voyage demonstrate how environmental decisions affect the resilience of human habitats and ultimately their cultures.
The Barricades of Michoacán's Bandito Alley
Tales of bandits lead our Kiri blogger to reflect on the environmental causes of poverty and poverty's relation to crime.
The Big Friendly Giants of Escuinapa
Big projects — one to preserve and one to promote coastal Mexico — bring with them both dreams and nightmares.
The Drug Destruction of Mexico, Part II
Beyond the human carnage of Mexico's drug conflict, another innocent bystander — the environment — has long been a victim.
The Drug Destruction of Mexico, Part I
Arriving in Mexico’s mainland, our ecological blogger is brought face-to-face, almost literally, with Mexico’s cartel-driven politics.
The Pearls of La Paz
At the tail end of Baja California, our Kiri blogger learns the perils of attacking global environmental issues as if they exist alone.
Sustainable or Sick: the Growth of Loreto
Our Kiri blogger asks if a master-planned monstrosity, perhaps with a bit of greenwashing to hide the problems, is better or worse than an unworkable city that arises higgledy-piggledy?
Childhood Dreams in Playa El Coyote
Taking a vacation from the Baja sojourn, our Kristian Beadle reflects on how his boyhood idylls led him to want to conserve coastlines.
Are We Making Bigger Hurricanes?
Fresh from surveying the detritus of storms past, our Kiri blogger reviews the case for and against human action making tropical storms bigger and more destructive.
The Great Floods of Mulegé
A picturesque Baja town has been hammered repeatedly by the escalating tempo of flooding from tropical storms.
The Wealth and Decline of Mangroves
Forests of trees that live in the salty and submerged tropical coastlines provide a wealth of benefits, although humanity is spending that wealth recklessly.
The Success of Vizcaino's Fishing Cooperatives
Dependency and balance, two attributes that aren't immediately associated with human fishing, prove their value on a remote corner of Baja.
Whales and Angels in Marine Protected Areas
Mexico’s Sea of Cortez has always had a wealth of whales, but even protected areas can’t stave off other pressures on the leviathans.