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Mrill Ingram

A writer and an independent scholar, I'm dedicated to an empowered environmental citizenry! I celebrate art, science, and stories about animals, plants, soil, and even microbes. I'm a mom of two teenagers and I commute by bike. I'm on Facebook and Twitter.

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He offers an incredibly refreshing take — because he works from experience that few other scientists have.

What were you taught about drugs?

GIF via Partnership for a Drug-Free America.

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Is it wrong to feed wild things?

Over 11 million people liked what he did, but some say it was wrong.

Is this man making a mistake?

João Silvestrini from São Paulo, Brazil, posted a video on Facebook of one of his daily visits from a young swallowtail hummingbird. It's a totally heartwarming scene — he calls from his kitchen window, and the bird slips inside and darts around a feeder. All the while, the gentleman keeps up a string of chatter — to us and to the bird.

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Heroes

She helped unlock mysteries of one of earth's most remote, beautiful places.

Even as a girl, she dreamed of flying.

Reading this is almost enough to make you dizzy:

"The Cessna wheels over a blowing whale. My passengers, both marine mammal researchers, peer down a wing at her. She blows again. Twisting the airplane's control, the horizon wobbles in the windshield and then suddenly tilts sharply. ...

Next to me, the researcher hangs farther out the open window, her hair lifted like Medusa's snakes. 'Oh look!' she says, pointing. The blue whale gives one last blow, kicks up her fluke, and dives. ... The researcher jots something down in a notebook and then quickly reaches into the backseat for a plastic bag. Few people have the stomach for this kind of flying and I carry a supply of zip-lock plastic bags. ... Opening an Oxxo bag instead, she turns to me and politely asks,'Would you like a cookie?'"

— Sandy Lanham

Wildlife pilot Sandy Lanham wrote this about her work flying over one of earth's most remote, dramatic places.

Thanks to her, we know a lot more about the incredible creatures that live there.

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Mrill Ingram

This is one crazy life cycle.

Nothing better than singing in the bathroom.

But next time you're in there, take two minutes between songs to look at what you might be using on your face...

...or your teeth.

A lot of personal care products contain itty bitty pieces of plastic.

Surprised?

The good folks at the Story of Stuff did a bit of investigating. What they found might make you think twice about what you're rubbing on your body.

Those little plastic beads become tiny toxic bombs.

Ban the beads!

He offers an incredibly refreshing take — because he works from experience that few other scientists have.

What were you taught about drugs?

Remember hearing about how even just trying an addictive drug once would mean you were hooked for good?

Well that's what Columbia University professor Carl Hart learned in school too.

Most drug users are not addicts, Hart says. Not even close.

So, why do people keep taking drugs, even when side effects are so damaging?

This is the kind of thinking — and science — that U.S. drug policy really needs.

The challenge to improve is coming even from some of the most repressive countries in the world.

Every four years, each one of the 134 member countries in the United Nations gets a human rights review. The U.S. just had its turn.

Guess what? The United States did not get a glowing review.

There's something deeply disturbing about countries often considered to be repressive or violent holding up a human rights mirror for the U.S. to look into.

OK, so maybe it's a bit ironic to have personal freedom protections questioned by North Korea. But country after country echoed the same concerns:

It's a bad report card to say the least. The rest of the world is saying to the "home of the free": You can do a whole lot better. Don't you agree?

It all started with a jaguar's butt.

"We got cats!"

This pic of a jaguar's butt, taken by a motion-triggered camera over a decade ago, told a group of wildlife conservationists exactly where they could find jaguars.

Cameras continue to be really important. The group pays ranchers near the reserve in northern Mexico for photos of live jaguars — the same amount they used to be paid for a dead jaguar.

The motion-triggered cameras have also captured all kinds of animal shenanigans. (Be prepared for jaguars getting it on.)

Like, since when do skunks chase foxes?

And what exactly is that mountain lion going to do with that gourd?

Hey, handsome!

On a more serious note, the conservationists' work is incredibly important for us here in the U.S.: We pretty much no longer have jaguars.

Thanks to the Northern Jaguar Project, at least some people are keeping an eye on the big picture.

Until that border wall comes down though, they're working with local people to create a beautiful, biodiverse home for some of the most gorgeous (and occasionally goofy) creatures on earth.

Sometimes hearing is believing.

We usually learn about climate change from things that look like this:

and this:

But what do a hundred years of temperature change sound like?

A geographer, a composer, and a group of musicians have given us a way to comprehend a changing climate through our ears.

He shows us how art and science work together to beautifully communicate about climate change. Take a listen.

Over 11 million people liked what he did, but some say it was wrong.

Is this man making a mistake?

Some people sharing the video judged him by declaring, "leave wildlife alone." The argument for this is that feeding and taming wildlife sets a bad example and likely does more harm than good.

So, was he wrong?

It's true, feeding animals can be dangerous — and mostly for the wild things:

But feeding them is often our easiest way of making a connection. And as humans, we crave that connection in a big way.

We physically share their space and our lives are really interconnected.

So how should we interact with wildlife? The best answer is "Do it mindfully."

Sharing the world with animals does involve stepping back, but it takes stepping forward too. Thanks for the inspiration João!

Even as a girl, she dreamed of flying.

Reading this is almost enough to make you dizzy:

Wildlife pilot Sandy Lanham wrote this about her work flying over one of earth's most remote, dramatic places.

The Sea of Cortez (aka the Gulf of California) is chock-full of sea life. But for a long time, no one knew what all that marine life was doing.

Then The Nature Conservancy contacted her. They desperately needed a pilot to fly a wildlife recon mission. It changed her life.

In 1991, Sandy founded Environmental Flying Services to get scientists up in the air, flying after the wildlife they so much wanted to understand and help.

Sandy helped unlock many mysteries about Baja's wildlife.

As one researcher put it, "without her, we don't fly."

Hats off to you, Sandy!