Friday, May 22, 2020

Environmental Studies At Augustana - My recent interview with Lori Walsh on SD Public Radio

We have just launched a new major in Environmental Studies here at Augustana University. This week I had a chance to talk with Lori Walsh about this on South Dakota Public Radio.

The Augustana Outdoor Classroom, designed by an Environmental Philosophy class.
Prairie states are often (literally and figuratively) overlooked as "flyover country," but these states are the breadbasket of the nation. We need serious, broad, and interdisciplinary study of this place where we live so that we can sustain it for the long haul and become better ancestors to those who come after us.

Aldo Leopold wrote that "there are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm." Those dangers both add up to this: losing touch with the land and so with the very things that sustain our lives. 

You can hear the full interview here.

Strawberries in spring bloom. Do you know where your food comes from?

My thanks to Lori Walsh for being such a patient and thoughtful interviewer. In the past I've been interviewed while sitting with her in her studio. Phone interviews are new for me, and there's a little lag that has me talking over her unintentionally at the end. She rolls with it, unflappable and brilliant as always.