Peer-Review Journal Publications:
Keepers of the comments: How comment moderators handle audience contributions. Using gatekeeping theory, this study analyzes in-depth interviews with 13 news comment moderators to understand how these individuals establish moderation routines and define their professional role. This provides new insight into the journalist–audience relationship and the development of new media practices for online news production. (2020). Newspaper Research Journal.
Commenters as a Threat to Journalism? How Comment Moderators Perceive the Role of the Audience. This study uses in-depth interviews with 13 U.S. news comment moderators to understand through a field theory analysis how moderators perceive commenters as possible threats to the profession and, potentially, help to develop quality commenting into a form of journalistic cultural capital. (2020). Digital Journalism
AI / Digital-Social Algorithms:
Ph.D. Dissertation
Mind over Machine? The Clash of Agency in Social Media Environments. Underlying many social media platforms are AI-powered choice recommendation "nudging" architectures designed to give users instant content and social recommendations to keep them engaged. Driven by complex algorithms, these architectures flush people's feeds and an array of other features with fresh content and create a highly individualized experience tailored to their interests. In a critical realist qualitative study, this research examines how individual agency manifests when users encounter these tools and the suggestions they provide. In interviews and focus groups, 45 participants offered their experiences where they reflected on how they perceived the engines, e.g., their Facebook feed, influenced their actions and behaviors, as well as how the participants felt they controlled it to achieve personal aims. Based on these and other experiences, this study posits the Social Cognitive Machine Agency Dynamic (SCMAD) model, which provides an empirically supported explanatory framework to explain how individual agency can manifest and progress in response to these tools.
Refereed-Conference Papers/Presentations
Swayed by the Algorithm or Owning It? Gen Z's Dance with Social Media Personalization Architectures. Presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference, August 7-10, 2023, Washington D.C.
Policy Meets Science: Taming the Algorithm for Collectivist Action. Presented at the International Association for Media and Communication Research conference. July 9-13, 2023, Lyon, France.
To Be the Captain or Steered by the Machine: A Social Cognitive Analysis of Social Media Users' Interactions with Choice Recommendation Architectures. Presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Midwinter conference, February 24-25, 2023, Norman, Oklahoma.
Mind over Machine? The Clash of Agency in Social Media Environments. Presented at the Association of Internet Researchers conference, November 2-5, 2022, Dublin, Ireland.
In Development for Publication
Human interactions with AI-powered social media feeds, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others. Analyzing behavioral outcomes/interactions and agency trajectories. Theoretical framework, Bandura’s agency-focused social cognitive theory.
Expanding findings/framework of study 1. Observation of novel, human agentic transformations as a result of AI-driven feeds.
Assessing government policies regarding AI / digital algorithms, particularly in terms of policy addressing addictive outcomes of AI and algorithm-animated social media feeds.
Evaluating human agency/behavioral outcomes during interactions with ChatGPT. Assessing implications. Psychological framework(s).
Select Newspaper Publications:
The changing of the guards: Bay Minette, election night, "Nearly five years later, the specter of the 2002 Alabama gubernatorial election lives on." Published, 7/2007. Full Article.
Scranton’s burgeoning Indian community putting down roots and sharing culture, "The chanting of a Hindu prayer could be heard faintly on the streets of Petersburg Corners in Scranton." Published, 9/13. Full Article.
Gas driller cited for violation after environmentalist takes photos, "A state investigation sparked by a local environmentalist who rented an airplane to gather photographic evidence has revealed an unreported contaminate release at a natural gas drilling site in Wayne County." Published, 12/09. Full Article.
Violence at federal prison in Wayne County nothing new, some blame staffing levels, "Over the past six months, there have been at least seven violent altercations involving weapons at the federal prison in Wayne County, including two in which inmates attacked prison staff." Published, 3/13. Full Article.
Mystery of Bethany Bones still unresolved, "She was laid to rest in late summer in an old cemetery along the banks of Dyberry Creek." Published, 11/11. Full Article.
Dunmore landfill accepting gas drilling waste that may be radioactive, "Keystone Sanitary Landfill in Dunmore has accepted tons of gas drilling waste that can contain radioactive material and heavy metals, according to documents obtained by The Sunday Times." Published, 2/11. Full Article.
Wealth denied, "Standing on a hilltop above his Wayne County cattle farm, Bob Rutledge surveys rolling hills and a sea of green grass." Published, 6/13. Full Article.
Trash, toxic emissions up at local landfills, "With more trash coming into Keystone Sanitary Landfill in Dunmore, dangerous air emissions are on the rise, a Sunday Times analysis of state records found. The review also found the state Department of Environmental Protection relies upon the landfills to monitor air quality and report problems." Published, 3/11. Full Article.
Carbondale man struggles to rebuild charred family home before judicial sale, "With a hammer and crowbar, Joe Cron puts his back into pulling a dream from the ashes of his worst nightmare." Published, 3/12. Full Article.
Two years later, some normalcy returns to river communities, "Bob Ell built his dream cottage in Exeter Twp. because of the Susquehanna River that usually snakes silently along a bend through this rural Wyoming County community." Published, 9/13. Full Article.
Small town, big pay: Honesdale code officer draws more than $800,000 in seven years, "Honesdale's full-time zoning and code enforcement officer raked in $804,277 in the past seven years, a Sunday Times review of public records found." Published, 12/10. Full Article.
Four state agencies probe misuse of taxpayer money in Starrucca borough, "The state's top law enforcement and ethics agencies are investigating allegations of the abuse of taxpayer money involving the repair of a dilapidated bridge solely benefiting two former Starrucca councilmen, plus other financial improprieties, Wayne County District Attorney Michael Lehutsky and council President Jack Downton confirmed Wednesday." Published, 3/11. Full Article.
NEPA schools preparing workers for jobs in gas-drilling industry, "With the boom in Marcellus Shale natural gas development throughout the region, area educational institutions are growing to keep up with work force demands," Published, 6/10. Full Article.
Point, click, arrest, "Local law enforcement and the courts are turning to social media to help get inside the minds of criminals. While old-school detective work is not fading away, investigators can now scour a vast storehouse of information about people, often without their knowledge, because of the wide use of popular social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter." Published, 4/13. Full Article.
System putting strain on cops, "Sometimes a quiet problem announces itself with a loud bang. When a Dickson City part-time police officer crashed into a utility pole after falling asleep at the wheel of a department-owned SUV in May, it revealed a problem." Published, 5/11. Full Article.
Blaze rips through Dickson City home; 'I don't know where we are going to live,' victim says, "Sherri Branch had hoped to unwrap presents with her daughter Claudia on Christmas Day." Published, 12/11. Full Article.
Mellow case remains secret as plea nears, "As Robert J. Mellow prepares to plead guilty Friday to a federal public corruption charge, much about the government's case against the former state Senate minority leader remains cloaked in secrecy." Published, 4/12. Full Article.
Enterprise/Investigative/Deadline:
Investigators still piecing together events of Thursday's murder, suicide. TAYLOR - Angelo Rizzuto had the one-way trip booked through a limousine service company early Thursday that would take him from his home in Virginia to Taylor.
Texas Twp. taking closer look at the zoning, code enforcement contracts. Following public outcry in neighboring Honesdale, Texas Twp. officials are looking to dramatically alter their building and zoning code officer's contract so he no longer keeps half - and in one case, all - of the fees he collects.
Mother seeks justice after cyber-bullied daughter's attempted suicide. When Lennell Blackwell saw her 16-year-old daughter's suicide note on Facebook, she knew she had lost a piece of her heart that would never come back again.
Auditor general finds misused funds in Starrucca. Starrucca's "bridge to nowhere" has put the tiny Wayne County borough on the map with state agencies sniffing out potential corruption.
Scranton police seek city couple after diaper-clad boy, 7, tells of abuse. Scranton police said they are searching for a city couple after a diaper-clad 7-year-old boy told officers harrowing stories of abuse last week when they found him in a dark, bug-infested basement.
Police investigate possible inmate abuse in Wayne County prison. HONESDALE - State police are investigating allegations that three Wayne County corrections officers repeatedly assaulted a prison inmate in December and January, a county official said.
Out-of-state trash makes Keystone second-busiest landfill in state. DUNMORE - Out-of-state trash has given Northeast Pennsylvania a new distinction: home to the second-busiest garbage dump in Pennsylvania.
NEPA schools preparing workers for jobs in gas-drilling industry. With the boom in Marcellus Shale natural gas development throughout the region, area educational institutions are growing to keep up with work force demands.
O'Brien says guards to blame for Simonson escape; union head fires back. Finger-pointing over murderer Michael Simonson's escape from the Lackawanna County Prison escalated Monday, with the prison board chairman and guards' union president vehemently challenging each other's accounts.
Madison Twp. bridge listed among state's 'worst.' MADISON TWP. - It doesn't span a gorge or a roaring river or suffer the pounding of interstate highway traffic.
Ronning's mother casts doubt on gun's place in prosecution. HONESDALE - Laura Lynne Ronning's mother believes Wayne County District Attorney Michael Lehutsky missed the opportunity to secure justice for her daughter, with the prosecution's case damaged by introduction of a sketchy piece of evidence once regarded as the murder weapon.
Friends, investigators paint portrait of tortured relationship which ended in fatal stabbing. It might have been their last photograph taken together as a family.
The dream of drilling in Wayne is fading. HONESDALE - Four years ago, Hess employees slathered barbecue sauce on ribs and cut a cake adorned with the gas company's logo at the Wayne County Fairgrounds to celebrate the closing of a monumental deal.
187 locations hit by gambling-machine raid. Federal and state investigators seized hundreds of video gambling machines from 187 businesses in an orchestrated crackdown on illegal gambling throughout Northeast Pennsylvania.
Monroe County coroner recounts discovery of teen's body. HAMILTON TWP. - Bob Allen couldn't even see the body at first.
State launches probe of former Throop police officer. A former local part-time cop is under investigation for alleged misconduct while on duty in Throop.
Investigators: Times Square suspect bought fireworks in Pike County. A Connecticut man accused of trying to detonate a car bomb in New York's Times Square was videotaped buying fireworks at a store in Matamoras, about 60 miles east of Scranton.
Cold Case: Who killed the Jenkins sisters? It was spring 1973, when hitchhiking was common practice for young people with somewhere to go and no car to drive there.
Mid Valley school officials probe drug-sniffing dog sweep. THROOP - The Mid Valley School Board is conducting an inquiry into a police sweep of school grounds last week by drug-sniffing dogs, board President Gerald Luchansky said Friday.
Old Forge Police Chief Semenza plans to take case to court. OLD FORGE - In his first public comments since scandal engulfed his department, suspended Old Forge Police Chief Larry Semenza said Tuesday he will fight allegations in court that he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl between 2004 and 2007.
Dunmore landfill accepting gas drilling waste that may be radioactive. DUNMORE - Keystone Sanitary Landfill in Dunmore has accepted tons of gas drilling waste that can contain radioactive material and heavy metals, according to documents obtained by The Sunday Times.
On One-Day Deadline:
Midvalley industrial spill sends 40 to hospital, thousands into lockdown. OLYPHANT - It moved down the valley "like a great, big fog."
Son's urn rescued by firefighters as blaze damages Carbondale apartment. CARBONDALE - Knowing she would likely lose all of her possessions to the flames tearing through her apartment, Deborah Strong made one desperate request of firefighters Wednesday afternoon.
Jessup woman's fire death ruled homicide. JESSUP - Marion Hughes is being hailed as a hero after she died Saturday morning apparently trying to save neighbors from what state police are calling an arson and criminal homicide.
Strong storms strafe Scranton, surrounding area. Maybe it was a tornado, maybe it wasn't. Either way, the powerful thunderstorm that swept through Northeast Pennsylvania on Friday afternoon left a trail of damage and debris across a swath of Scranton.
Pursuit of killing suspect ends in suicide in hired car on I-80, police say. TAYLOR - A Virginia man hired a driver to ferry him nearly 300 miles to Taylor, where he killed his ex-girlfriend's fiance' on Thursday, and then turned the murder weapon on himself after a police pursuit on Interstate 80, Lackawanna County First Assistant District Attorney Gene Talerico and Taylor borough Sgt. William Roche said.
Scranton police file grievance after chief makes off-duty arrest. The Scranton police union has filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the city for an off-duty drug arrest made by Police Chief Dan Duffy in March.
Lackawanna County chief deputy coroner faces arson-for-hire charges. The Lackawanna County chief deputy coroner faces felony arson charges after he tried to pay an undercover trooper $40,000 to set fire to a building so he could collect insurance proceeds, state police at Dunmore said Friday.
Local Yanks could play next season outside Northeast Pennsylvania. The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees may not be playing ball in Lackawanna County next season as the New York Yankees' Triple-A affiliate readies for a planned multimillion-dollar reconstruction of PNC Field in Moosic.
Borders closing all stores, including Dickson City location. Borders Group will close all of its brick-and-mortar bookstores, sealing the fate of the company's Dickson City location, a spokesman confirmed Monday.
Area shelters struggling to house the homeless. While homeless shelters in Lackawanna County have no shortage of warm beds so far this winter, they are operating on shoestring budgets because of less spending on social services in government and a drying up of once-generous private donations.
Slaying highlights gang presence in Scranton. The slaying of a Lackawanna College sophomore highlights an often overlooked issue facing Scranton: street gangs.
Moosic hose company could face tax bill amid arrest of ex-president on theft charge. Greenwood Hose Company 1 officials could have a federal tax bill in addition to trying to recoup nearly $400,000 that the hose company's former president is charged with stealing.
State employee, wife accused of taking $80K in kickbacks. A supervisor with the State Workers' Insurance Fund in Scranton and his wife are accused of taking more than $80,000 in kickbacks from businesses in exchange for reducing workers compensation insurance premiums, according to arrest papers filed Monday by the state Attorney General's office.
Report makes recommendations for guardian ad litem program. An arm of the state Supreme Court issued a stern report of a Lackawanna County court program that was created to protect children in family custody disputes, which also has been under the gaze of the FBI.
Family: Jessup driver high in fatal wreck. A Jessup man was under the influence of synthetic marijuana and marijuana when his out-of-control dump truck went airborne over Interstate 84 in Dunmore last fall, sliced the roof off another car and instantly killed 40-year-old twins, according to a federal wrongful-death lawsuit filed Thursday.
Husband charged with killing his wife two years ago in Wayne County. A New York man murdered his wife and tried to cover up her death at their Wayne County home in 2010, District Attorney Janine Edwards and state police said Wednesday.
Courts/Law:
'House of David' head could face trial in harassment case. HONESDALE - A self-proclaimed prophet and founder of a religious organization will face trial on charges he and other members sent thousands of faxes slandering his daughter and her husband to area businesses.
Dunmore firefighter's claim heads back to court. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Dunmore firefighter's claim that his due process rights were violated when borough council suspended him with pay for eight days over a dispute about Fire Department training, overturning a 2007 lower court ruling.
Methodone treatment firm sues Dunmore, claiming discrimination. A Massachusetts-based company that sought to open a clinic in Dunmore for heroin addiction treatment has filed a federal lawsuit against the borough claiming council's decision to stop the project from moving forward was based on "unfounded, irrational stereotypes" about people suffering from opiate addiction.
Jury acquits Wayne County man in fatal ATV wreck. HONESDALE - Mark Renehan lost a close friend in a fatal all-terrain vehicle crash last summer, but jurors rejected allegations he be held accountable for Jonathon Daniel Byram's death.
Senior U.S. District Judge William J. Nealon reaches a golden milestone. The bang of the gavel still stirs him.
Corrections officers exonerated in inmate beating trial. HONESDALE - A jury acquitted two corrections officers on Friday on charges of assaulting and tormenting an inmate at the Wayne County Correctional Facility last year.
Times-Tribune asks federal judge to make Mellow court records open. The Times-Tribune is challenging a U.S. attorney's request to keep secret court documents that could shed light on the government's case against former state Sen. Robert J. Mellow.
Munchak jailed in North Carolina. A.J. Munchak, meet Bernard Madoff.
PNC cooperating with feds involving probe of employee conduct. Federal investigators are probing whether a former PNC Bank employee shifted money from customer investments into his own account.
Scranton man guilty of setting fire that killed two boys. The first time Lackawanna County President Judge Thomas J. Munley said "guilty," Tyaisha Leary started crying.
Responders recall horrific scene in arson deaths. As Scranton patrolman Eric Lindsay pulled up to the fully engulfed fire, he could hear the screams of a child.
Judge rules for officers in Brenda Williams shooting. A federal judge on Monday tossed a lawsuit against the city of Scranton and four police officers brought by the family of a mentally ill woman police fatally shot after she charged at them with a knife.
Fired Lackawanna County workers get $1 million settlement. A group of fired Lackawanna County workers will share a $1 million settlement, ending a five-year federal lawsuit against the county over politically connected hirings and firings.
John Wansacz sentenced to five months. John Wansacz Jr. could barely say "sorry," choked up by the gravity of the FBI's probe that he pocketed more than $70,000 as head of transportation for Lakeland School District and the weight of his sentencing Wednesday for violating federal law.
State employee admits taking bribes while on the job. James McDonnell did not have much to say in Lackawanna County Court on Friday, beyond a repetitive refrain of "yes" and "yes sir" to Judge Vito P. Geroulo as he pleaded guilty to taking bribes and using his position as a state employee to enrich himself.
Two life terms for arsonist who killed kids. Even after he learned he will likely die in prison, William Robert Woods professed his innocence.
Carbondale veteran awarded $3.7M in PTSD case. A federal judge on Wednesday awarded $3.7 million to an Iraq War veteran from Carbondale who sued the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs after his war-induced post-traumatic stress disorder worsened because the agency prescribed him the wrong medication and treated him over the telephone.
Photos, forensic details dominate day two of trial in 1991 slaying. HONESDALE - Jurors hearing the case of a 47-year-old man accused of killing a camp counselor nearly two decades ago were confronted Tuesday with gruesome pictures of the murder scene: the 24-year old victim's nude body lying face down in a wooded area and the gunshot wound to her left temple.
Experts cast doubt on gun allegedly used to kill camp counselor. HONESDALE - A rifle speckled with blood is not the weapon used to kill summer camp counselor Laura Lynne Ronning 19 years ago, a state police ballistics expert testified Wednesday in the murder trial of Jeffrey James Plishka.
Forensic evidence key in Plishka murder trial. HONESDALE - A speck of blood on the barrel of a .22-caliber rifle and fragments of skin beneath the fingernails of a camp counselor murdered 19 years ago in Wayne County will be key pieces of evidence in the murder trial of Jeffrey James Plishka, attorneys said.
Plishka not guilty on all counts. HONESDALE - Jeffrey James Plishka walked out of the Wayne County Courthouse a free man Tuesday night.
Environment/Energy:
Cabot pulling out of Wayne County over natural gas drilling moratorium. HONESDALE - A major player in the Marcellus Shale drilling boom is pulling out of Wayne County, placing an estimated 9,200 acres secured for development on the block, with final bids due today.
Chesapeake Appalachia files civil complaint over natural gas drilling lease requirements. HONESDALE - A natural gas drilling company with extensive landholdings throughout the region has filed a civil complaint in Wayne County Court against the county recorder of deeds office claiming it has encumbered land leasing there.
Group wants drilling ban along Delaware River. A council of governments along the Delaware River in Northeast Pennsylvania is calling for a natural gas drilling ban near the waterway that is part of the U.S. National Park system because of the sheer "size and scope of today's natural gas development" and the possibility of the "industrialization" of the watershed.
Gas drilling company sues Damascus Township over cease-and-desist order. A natural gas drilling company has filed a federal lawsuit against Damascus Twp. in Wayne County, just days after township officials issued a "cease-and-desist" work order on one of the company's exploratory wells because it didn't obtain a permit.
Wayne landowners hire lawyer to fight gas drilling moratorium. A massive landowners' alliance in Wayne County is considering filing a lawsuit against an environmental regulatory agency that recently placed a blanket moratorium on natural gas drilling in the Delaware River watershed in part because of the potential loss of $220 million in payments to leaseholders.
Philadelphia dives in to gas drilling issue in Wayne County. Philadelphia City Council urged an environmental regulator Thursday to deny two natural gas drilling permits slated for an energy company seeking to move ahead with its stalled operation in Wayne County.
Texas company expanding 128 miles of gas pipeline through NEPA. With an eye set toward growing Marcellus Shale natural gas extraction in the region and throughout Appalachia, a Texas company will expand capacity of an existing natural gas transmission pipeline that crosses beneath Susquehanna and Wayne counties beginning this month.
DEP investigating methane contamination in Susquehanna County. The state Department of Environmental Protection is investigating the possible contamination of drinking water wells in the area of Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling in Lenox Twp., Susquehanna County, including a bubbling pond that was found to contain "combustible gas," the agency said Tuesday.
Wayne County dealt financial blow after gas companies pull up stakes. Two natural gas companies called it quits in Wayne County, dealing landowners a major economic blow they say amounts to a loss of $187 million.
Governor rips DRBC over gas-drilling ban. Gov. Tom Corbett delivered a stinging rebuke to a federal-state agency that has declared a natural gas drilling moratorium in a large swath of Northeast Pennsylvania.
Wayne County on verge of gas boom, but not just yet. While natural gas drilling is well under way throughout the state, including prolific production in Susquehanna County, a large swath of Northeast Pennsylvania still remains mostly off-limits because of an obscure federal regulatory agency charged with protecting the Delaware River Watershed.
Dozens turn out to oppose gas drilling in Matamoras in Wayne County. MATAMORAS - Strong opposition was voiced Wednesday at a public hearing in Matamoras against two natural gas permit applications in Wayne County that would allow a Louisiana company to drill the first Marcellus Shale well there.
Third natural gas chemical spill reported. Make that three substantial chemical spills in less than one week at a natural gas drill site in Dimock Township, Susquehanna County, The Wayne Independent has learned.
Upper Delaware River named most endangered river in the United States. Amid a push by two major companies to become the first extractors of Marcellus Shale natural gas in Wayne County, a national conservation organization today named the Upper Delaware River its most endangered river in the United States.
Hess could be first to successfully tap Marcellus Shale in Wayne County. Although a natural gas drilling ban is in effect for much of Wayne County, one company is lining up permits for what may become the county's first producing wells - in a small area just a hop across the Delaware River watershed boundary.
Gas company slapped with environmental violations. A natural gas drilling company must provide a permanent supply of water to 13 homes in Dimock Township, Susquehanna County along with correcting problems at its production sites that caused methane to pollute drinking water in this small rural community, environmental regulators said.
Pro-drilling groups critical of natural gas drilling moratorium. Economic development organizations and landowner groups in Wayne County issued a stinging criticism Thursday against the Delaware River Basin Commission for enacting a moratorium on natural gas drilling and causing a deep negative economic impact by effectively halting development.
Battle lines drawn over Delaware watershed drilling. The battle lines among pro- and anti-natural gas drilling groups are being drawn in the Delaware River watershed amid the development of new regulations by an obscure federal-interstate agency that has jurisdiction over the industry and has put the clamps on it.
Environmental complaint filed on Oregon Township drill site. A local environmental watchdog has filed a complaint with the state Department of Environmental Protection urging the government agency to conduct an investigation into the “potential” release of pollutants from a natural gas drill site in Oregon Township.
Environmental groups sue Delaware River Basin Commission. The high-stakes fight over whether gas drilling should be allowed to move forward in the Delaware River Basin has escalated again following a federal lawsuit filed against a government agency charged with protecting the pristine watershed that includes parts of Northeast Pennsylvania.
Environmental groups sue Delaware River Basin Commission over gas-industry regulations. A consortium of environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the Delaware River Basin Commission, claiming the federal-interstate agency is failing to protect the watershed by moving ahead with developing regulations over the natural gas industry before conducting a comprehensive environmental study of its impacts.
NEPA filmmaker's documentary garners Sundance award. A Wayne County filmmaker took home a coveted award at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah for his documentary exploring the tribulations of natural gas drilling in the area and throughout the U.S.
Fracturing fluids spill into Susquehanna County stream. An investigation is underway into the spilling of 8,500 gallons of potentially harmful natural gas production fluid that also entered a stream and wetland in Dimock Township, Susquehanna County on Wednesday, The Wayne Independent has learned.
Methane contamination linked to drill site. The state Department of Environmental Protection is continuing its investigation into a substantial methane leak, which may have bubbled into two streams, near a natural gas drill site in Lycoming County.
Creative Work:
Inner, Poetry. North Dakota Quarterly. Published, 2023. Poem.
Op-Ed/Essays:
*contributor on select essays.
North Carolina’s economic boom is wreaking havoc on rivers, creeks and streams near you. “Walk along a stream that slips through North Carolina’s cities, towns and rural communities and you may witness filthy water and suspicious colors and smells.” Published, 3/8/2023, The News & Observer. Full article.
Forget Star Wars; Get Ready for Water Wars. "A great war looms, one that will rise from the most desperate circumstance: our battle over water." Published, 1/20/2016, Huffington Post. Full article.
Bees, Foxes and Hens: EPA's Failure to Protect Our Food Supply. "You would think by now that science would halt the use of chemicals that can threaten life on this planet. " Published, 10/9/15, Huffington Post. Full article.
Give Us the Whole Truth About Fracking. "The facts are slippery when it comes to the great fracking debate in America, where truth, lies, and spin often collide and end up leaving us confused and dizzy." Published, 8/25/15, Huffington Post. Full article.
Climate Change and the True Wealth of Nature and Prosperity. "The world we live in today will not be the world we hand off to future generations." Published, 5/19/15, Huffington Post. Full article.
Bridging the Energy vs. Environment Divide: Colorado's Roan Plateau Case Study. "Can we work together to preserve our nation's bio diverse and increasingly threatened wilderness, and still extract the energy we need to power our economy?" Published, 12/3/14, Huffington Post. Full Article.
Where Profits Aren't Enough. "In developing this commentary on corporate responsibility, I kept thinking about a statement made by one of the most influential CEOs in America." Published, 5/29/14, Huffington Post. Full Article.
Living in a Plastic World. "Grab-and-go, 24-hour quick marts, fast food on the fly, snap open a beverage to quench your thirst in seconds." Published, 4/10/14, Huffington Post. Full Article.
Paradise Lost: Why Our Desire to Protect U.S. Wilderness Should Not Cease. "An old black and white photograph came to mind recently when I had a moment to think about the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, ironically on a gridlocked highway that offers breathtaking views of the Colorado Rocky Mountains." Published, 2/25/14. Huffington Post. Full Article.
Tipping the Scales in Our Favor: Carbon Divest/Renewable Invest. "Let’s be honest: We all know why the U.S. Congress won’t pass comprehensive climate change legislation or enact a regulatory framework that accelerates America’s transition to a clean energy economy." Published, 7/10/15, Huffington Post. Full Article.