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 5
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Huge Antarctic Ocean Protection Deal Fails, For Now
Russa, China, and Ukraine raised concerns about fishing access, scuttling the deal.
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Where Can You Vote For a Third Party and Not End Up Getting the Greater of Two Evils?
There are plenty of places in the US that you can vote your beliefs tomorrow without it just being spoiler vote. But not everywhere.
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Laos Moves Forward With Massive Mekong River Dam
Modifications to the $3.5bn project have been made to address environmental concerns, but it may not deflect criticism.
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Energy News: Solar Panels Wouldn't Have Help You in Sandy, Oil Spills in the Superstorm's Wake
Plus, the effect on neglecting infrastructure on power outages, and how NYU managed to keep part of its Washington Square campus lit through the storm and the aftermath.
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Photo of the Day: Manhattan Blacked Out
For residents of Lower Manhattan, the light-filled northern part of the island has seemed a world apart the last few days.
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NYC Mayor Bloomberg Endorses Barack Obama, Citing the President's Climate Stance
The Republican governor of New Jersey, and now the billionaire independent mayor of New York City, both have turned in behind Obama in Sandy's wake.
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In Power and Water Outages, the World Comes to Lower Manhattan
Let's just remember that when we start talking about the divide between the City of Darkness and the rest of Manhattan which still has electricity that we will be in these conditions for a few days. It is a lifetime for many people.
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"I Apologize." Will We Hear These Words From Politicians and the Polluting Class?
That is the only sentiment I will accept from those in the political and corporate class of the United States right now who've said climate change is too expensive to deal with now.
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Botswana Bets on Tourism, Not Hunting - Stops Issuing Permits to Kill Wild Animals
"Our wildlife control measure through issuance of hunting licenses has reached its limit."
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Maldives' Ousted Climate-Activist President to be Tried on Sunday
Mohamed Nasheed says his conviction is a foregone conclusion.
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Green Party Presidential Nominee Arrested in Texas, Assisting Keystone XL Protesters
Jill Stein had helped resupply tree-sitters in Winnsboro, Texas before being taken in by police.
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Hurricane Sandy Ignites Massive Fires, Too (Video)
Destruction from fire is certainly not the first thing you think off in the middle of a massive hurricane, but here we are.
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London Array, World's Largest Offshore Wind Farm, Begins Producing Electricity
The first turbines have been installed, with the remaining turbines of the 670 MW first phase on track to be installed by the end of 2012.
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Mitt, Privatizing Disaster Response is Immoral, Pathological Even
Mitt Romney's ideas on the role of government in disaster response, in climate change response, is far from a conservative ideal. It's not even consistent. It's nearly pathological.
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What if New York City Invested in Climate Adaptation Like it Has in Combating Terrorism?
New York has turned the NYPD into a small army and spying operation. What if that energy was put into combating a longer term and less dramatic, but more existential threat to the city?
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US, New Zealand Reach Agreement on Massive Antarctic Ocean Preserve
Though it still has to be approved by member states, the agreement would see over 2 million square kilometers of the Ross Sea set aside, with no fishing in over half of it.
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Support for Massive Antarctic Ocean Preserve Divided Over Fishing
New Zealand wants to protect its fishermen going after Patagonian toothfish, and, as a petition from Avaaz and Leonardo DiCaprio points out, several nations just want to keep overfishing in general.
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Energy News: US' First Tar Sands Project Given Green Light, Keystone XL Blockade Enters Second Month, More
Plus, can you believe there have been over 4000 oil spills in the North Sea since 2000, but only 7 fines have been given?
