This Month’s Featured Articles…
Roger Miner & today’s Supreme Court: The Columbia County native’s principled stances still echo across America’s judicial landscape
By Jim Calvin In November 1987, as President Ronald Reagan prepared to try again to fill a Supreme Court vacancy after two misfires, Second Circuit US Court of Appeals Justice Roger Miner stood among three final candidates for the nomination. It was the penultimate step in the remarkable legal career of Hudson, New York’s favorite son, a journey illuminated by a phrase reverently spoken by his immigrant grandparents: “Only in America.” Yet, despite impeccable credentials – and intense behind-the-scenes campaigning by his politically savvy wife [...]
Aesthetics and Ecology Align at Innisfree
It’s rare to find the peace one gets from walking through a garden on a perfect day. … Lester Collins, famed landscape architect of the 20th Century responsible for Innisfree Garden in Millbrook, NY, probably understood the sense of tranquility and calm that can only be gained from God’s green Earth and a beautiful bloom. Raised a Quaker in New Jersey, Collins found like minds in the husband-and-wife/artist-gardener duo of Walter and Marion Beck. The Becks commissioned Collins in 1938 while he was still a [...]
Environmental economist, eco-consultant, and sustainability strategist Pamela Peeters’ remarkable path to becoming a true Eco Hero
Photo above: Pamela speaks at the "Dubai Innovation Center" during COP28 on her educational projects. Photograph taken by Martin Nweeia. “My mother told me I was always pointing at the sun and trees. I always found great joy being in nature. When I was 12, that joy grew so large that I created my first environmental magazine with my best friend,” environmental economist, eco-consultant, and sustainability strategist Pamela Peeters remembers. It was from a very young age, then, that the Belgian-born Sharon, CT, resident learned [...]
The Loeb and lunch: A stay-cation with profound benefits
Photo above: Two of four pieces from the Springside collection by British artist Henry C. Gritten. Springside was Matthew Vassar's estate. Paris. Rome. London. Barcelona. Even New York, Boston, Philadelphia, or Washington, DC. All are great escapes for lovers of culture, and all should be visited. Often. But when time is tight and you don’t want to mess with planes, trains, and Ubers, why not visit the first-rate offerings in one’s own back yard? The Hudson Valley is loaded with them – museums, galleries, theaters, [...]
Modern farming: Talking environmental changes, adapting to challenges, and connection to the land with four farms in the region
Above photo courtesy of Maitri Farm It’s no secret that farming is becoming harder and harder. It’s never been an easy job, but between climate change, the unprecedented environmental changes that come along with it, and constant changes in funding and grant availability, farming seems to be increasingly difficult in recent years. According to the US Department of Agriculture, in 2022, nearly 22.1 million full- and part-time jobs related to the agricultural and food sectors – 10.4 percent of total US employment. But direct on-farm [...]
