Mat McDermott
Mat edits the Business and Energy sections of TreeHugger, as well as writing about resource consumption, animal welfare issues, and the response of religious communities to our current environmental problems.
Driving his work are two main convictions: 1) Our current environmental problems—climate change, biodiversity losses, peak fossil fuels, natural resource over consumption—are but symptoms of the greater problem of fetishizing material economic growth; and 2) only by first changing our minds, recognized the literal and metaphorical interconnected nature of all life, will we make the lasting external changes required to create an ecologically sustainable civilization.
In addition to his work with TreeHugger, Mat is an Advisor for The Bhumi Project, "a worldwide Hindu response to the environmental issues facing our planet...faciliated by the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies."
Beyond writing, Mat's creative output consists of documentary photography and filmmaking, with photographs appearing in a number of national and international print publications, as well as being exhibited in solo and group shows in the United States, France, and the United Arab Emirates. His last film, for which he was cinematographer, was Above Brooklyn and examined the dwindling but passionate pastime of pigeon fancying in New York City and Long Island.
He holds a Masters degree from New York University's Center for Global Affairs, where he concentrated in environment and energy policy. His Bachelors degree from Burlington College (Vermont) is in Writing & Literature, with research focused on the work of Rabindranath Tagore, Bengali devotional poetry, and the Beat Generation.
Mat currently lives in New York City. ૐ
In addition to Twitter and RSS below, you can also follow Mat on Facebook, and Flickr.
Latest Stories from Mat McDermott - Page 16
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Germany, Too, Considers Tariffs on Chinese Solar Panels
The German environment minister has said that anti-dumping measures against Chinese-made solar panels are being considered.
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Trees Communicate With One Another, Connected by Fungi (Video)
The best 4 minute, 23 second video I've seen in a while. Prof Suzanne Simard from the University of British Columbia explains how trees communicate with one another, helping each other survive.
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In Defense of Sodastream, If Not So Much Kool-Aid
Is Sodastream's partnership with Kool-Aid ideal from an environmental perspective? Not really. Is it a major strike against Sodastream's prime purpose of waste reduction? Not hardly.
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There's No Such Thing as Sustainable & Profitable Logging in Rainforests
Even low-impact logging brings about negative changes in tropical rainforests; and to take trees in ways that won't do so means it wouldn't be financially worth it.
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China's Per Capita Carbon Emissions Solidly Reach Developed Nation Levels
In fact, for 2011, they are just slightly below those of the European Union as a whole.
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Ditching the Tie is Just the Start: Let's Redefine Hot Weather Dress
There are plenty of places in the world where traditional dress evolved in far different ways than European clothing in response to historic heat.
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A Tale of Two Geoengineering Experiments: Ocean Iron Fertilization & Injecting the Atmosphere
The first field test of injecting sulfate particles into the atmosphere is proposed for New Mexico; ocean iron fertilization experiment shows more promise than previous ones.
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75% of New York's Active Oil & Gas Wells Go Uninspected Every Year
As the number of oil and gas wells increased in New York by roughly 1000 in the first decade of this century, inspections fell by a similar amount.
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Denmark Ups Its Wind Power Ambition to 50% by 2020
On the way to that, Demark generated 26% of its electricity from wind power last year, an increase of six percentage points over the year previous.
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How Not to Convince People to Go Green: Throw More Facts At Them (Video)
Simran Sethi's recent TEDx talk offers some powerful advice on how to and how not to create environmental and social change.
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Majority of Tibetan Plateau Glaciers Retreating Increasingly Rapidly
Though there is significant regional variability, the most comprehensive study to date finds that the majority of glaciers on the so-called Third Pole are indeed in rapid retreat over the past 30 years.
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Big Oil Hacked by Anonymous Over Arctic Drilling
"Our shared concern for the planet we leave our children transcends all borders that divide us and makes us - together - the most powerful force today." - Anonymous statement.
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Rupert Murdoch Needs Some Schooling on Shale Gas & Climate Change
Rupert, shale gas is absolutely not a climate-friendly fuel, nor is climate change happening slowly.
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56% of US Now in Drought - Worst Since 1950s
Over 1000 US counties are experiencing drought conditions, with June 2012 being the 10th driest on record.
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74 UK Shell Stations Shut Down by Greenpeace; Arctic Drilling Ship Slips Anchor
A bad omen before Shell even gets to the Arctic? Perhaps. Will actions just increase against Arctic drilling? Definitely.
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Record Highs Outpacing Record Lows 9:1 in First Six Months of 2012
That ratio will balance out over the year some—the past two years have been roughly 2.4:1—but it's both grossly out of whack compared to the historic rate of new record, as well as sign of things to come.
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Snow Leopards May Lose 30% of Himalayan Habitat Due to Climate Change
As emissions keep rising, treelines are likely to rise as the Himalayan climate becomes warmer and wetter, squeezing out the iconic cats.
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Shell Asks EPA to Bend Air Pollution Rules So It Can Drill in Arctic
Several of Shell's ships grossly exceed EPA requirements to limit air pollution, so Shell asks that the rules be changed for them.
