A new relationship with animals, nature and each other.

Posts by Michael Mountain

  • Introducing the Whale Sanctuary Project

    This blog is taking a break for the next few months so that I can devote my energies to the Whale Sanctuary Project. Here's why.

  • Is the Sloth Sanctuary a Zoo?

    The Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica was the first of its kind for these wonderfully engaging animals, and it was a model for others that followed. But questions have arisen. And…

  • Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary

    Tafi Atome looks like a typical forest in Ghana. The monkeys have been revered in this village for two centuries. But being “sacred” is no guarantee of survival.

  • The Great Irony of Animal “Rights”

    The great irony of the animal rights movement is there is still only one species that has any rights at all: humans. But the Nonhuman Rights Project is setting out to change that.

  • Why Mass Extinction Is Part of Human Nature

    Why would a supposedly “intelligent” species behave in a way that’s bringing about a mass extinction – one that will likely take us down along with so many other animals?

    An Ape in Heels

    A bishop, running for Congress, portrays the First Family as chimpanzees. Offensive and hateful. But it also tells us something about our fear of being great apes ourselves.

    The “I Am NOT an Animal!” Symposium

    It’s the big question – perhaps the only one that truly matters right now: “Why is it that, despite the continuing work of animal protection, conservation and ecological groups, the situation for most of our fellow animals continues to go from bad to worse?”

    Speaker Bios

    Carl Safina Carl Safina’s writing about the living world has won him a MacArthur “genius” prize; Pew, and Guggenheim Fellowships; book awards from Lannan, Orion, and…

    Session Topics

    Each session lasts an hour and half, divided into three parts: * a half-hour presentation by the speaker; * a half-hour Q&A conducted by an invited…

    Rivers of Blood

    Sounds like something straight out of the ancient Biblical Ten Plagues: rivers of blood flowing down city streets. Except that it was happening last week right…

    Pigs with Human Brains

    Researchers are trying to grow human organs in pig embryos. But if the human stem cells start migrating around the embryo, the baby pig might start growing a human brain, too.