National Parks

The Obama Family's Best Nature Moments (PHOTOS)

Huffington Post | Eve Solomon | Posted 11.02.2009 | Green


As part of HuffPost's One Year Later series where we take stock of what's happened since Obama was elected, we've complied this fun slideshow of the O...

Single-Eyed Vision

Robert Koehler | Posted 10.29.2009 | Politics


Robert Koehler

For all our material progress, for all our ability to dominate just about anything or anyone we encounter -- this is our history, our manifest destiny -- things are falling apart in every sector of society.

America's Best Idea

Edward J. Murray | Posted 10.20.2009 | Entertainment


Edward J. Murray

Few things attract people to move to a new community like beautiful parks. If there is such a thing as "secular religion" in America, our parks are its chapels.

Tell Your Senators to Save Our National Parks From Global Warming

Frances Beinecke | Posted 10.08.2009 | Green


Frances Beinecke

Glacier National Park could lose all its glaciers, Joshua Tree National Park all its Joshua trees and Saguaro National Park all its saguaros, according to a new report on climate change from NRDC.

Tell Your Senators to Protect Our National Parks From Global Warming

Frances Beinecke | Posted 10.07.2009 | Green


Frances Beinecke

But despite our country's valiant efforts to protect these iconic lands, the national parks are now facing the most powerful threat in their history -- global warming.

9 National Parks In Danger (PHOTOS)

Huffington Post | ThienVinh Nguyen | Posted 10.07.2009 | Green


In light of Ken Burns' documentary The National Parks: America's Best Idea and a recent report that lists "National Parks in Peril," we're featuring 9...

Ken Burns' National Parks: What's Your Favorite Rocky Mountain Park? (PHOTOS, VOTE)

Posted 10.05.2009 | Denver


Ken Burns has created yet another cinematic masterpiece with "National Parks: America's Best Idea" which chronicles the history of the United States n...

Reflections on The National Parks Series and Reform

Wayne Pacelle | Posted 10.01.2009 | Green


Wayne Pacelle

Over time, I am confident that most of the people who stand in the way of moral progress will be forgotten, just like most of the individuals who stood in the way of John Muir and Steven Mather.

A Desperate Need for Nature

Maria Rodale | Posted 10.05.2009 | Living


Maria Rodale

Snuggled under all my soft and comfy organic bedding, I am feeling all warm and wonderful, while the air in the room is sweet, cool, and so refreshing. It's an elixir that is priceless.

Green News Report: September 29, 2009 (Audio)

Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen | Posted 10.02.2009 | Green


Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen

In today's audio report: The long, long road to Copenhagen; An end to government support for fossil fuels; your national parks, 'America's Best Idea.'

Vilsack Indicates Openness To Colorado Exception To Roadless Rule

The Colorado Independent | John Tomasic | Posted 09.29.2009 | Denver


DENVER -- U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday gave the strongest indication to date that the draft of Colorado's roadless rule, which all...

Best Government Dollar Spent: The National Park System

Chris Weigant | Posted 09.29.2009 | Politics


Chris Weigant

I encourage everyone, no matter what part of these United States you live in (or even if you live elsewhere), to take a "trip out West" at some point in your life. Get in a car, and go explore everything west of Denver.

Q&A: Ken Burns on Climate Change, Wolf Hunting and Why Yellowstone Isn't "Geyser World"

Scott Dodd | Posted 09.28.2009 | Green


Scott Dodd

"The national parks are the first time in human history that land has been set aside -- not for kings or noblemen or the very rich -- but for everybody, and for all time," Burns said.

What a Wonderful Week!

Carl Pope | Posted 09.28.2009 | Green


Carl Pope

The Sierra Club is devoting this entire week to helping use America's Best Idea to build a new generation of activists for the national parks.

Best Idea: See for Yourself What's Worth Saving

Susan Smartt | Posted 09.25.2009 | Green


Susan Smartt

Instilling in our children a strong personal connection to our National Parks can be a catalyst for life-long conservation and stewardship.

Burns' PBS National Parks: Wonders For All to Behold

Bill Mann | Posted 09.25.2009 | Entertainment


Bill Mann

Burns' 12-hour, 6-part series, aptly named, The National Parks: America's Best Idea, starts Sunday night on PBS and runs all next week. You should try to watch it in hi-def, but do watch it.

National Parks: America's Best Idea

Allison Rockefeller | Posted 09.25.2009 | New York


Allison Rockefeller

Welcome to your American inheritance: 84 million acres comprising 58 national parks, with 333 historic monuments, seashores, and battlefields.

Ken Burns' "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" Documentary For PBS

nytimes.com | MIKE HALE | Posted 09.25.2009 | Green


Ken Burns's new opus for public television, a six-night history of America's national parks, contains quite a bit of contemporary footage -- more than...

Burns, Baby, Burns

Kathryn McGarr | Posted 09.25.2009 | New York


Kathryn McGarr

At the concert in Central Park Wednesday night, Ken Burns was inspiring -- and used words like "apotheosis" and "inexorable," just to see if we were paying attention -- and was his usual energetic, charming self.

Ken Burns' New National Parks Documentary Starts Slowly, But Gets Better

Levi Novey | Posted 09.24.2009 | Green


Levi Novey

I suspect those who only watch the first few episodes will be teetering on the edge of boredom. Those who stay around longer, or just cherry-pick an episode to watch among the later ones will end up much more excited and satisfied.

Unfinished Business in Our National Parks

Will Rogers | Posted 09.24.2009 | Green


Will Rogers

"America's best idea" still isn't complete. If we don't grow the system, we risk loving to death the parks that we have.

America's Best Idea

Carl Pope | Posted 09.21.2009 | Green


Carl Pope

How cool is it to be watching a special one-hour excerpt from Ken Burns's 12-hour PBS special on the National Parks in the White House screening room with President Obama?

Decades Later, Public Land Fund Still a Great Idea

Will Rogers | Posted 09.16.2009 | Green


Will Rogers

As a former developer myself, I'm not against growth, but there are special places we all love that should be kept open and wild and not be developed.

Obama and the Gun Lobby: A Policy of Appeasement?

Dennis A. Henigan | Posted 09.15.2009 | Politics


Dennis A. Henigan

Is it a stretch to envision President Obama as the Neville Chamberlain of the gun issue? Consider the record so far.

Why the West Must Be Won

Gary Hart | Posted 09.15.2009 | Denver


Gary Hart

Starting about 35 years ago, I've argued the political importance of the Western United States, especially in my own Democratic party.