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 6
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Warmer Than Usual Ocean Temperatures in Northeast Mean Heavier Rain From Hurricane Sandy
Ocean temperatures in the Northeast are 5°F above normal, following the second warmest average ocean temperatures ever recorded for September.
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Photo of the Day: Glacier National Park, Montana
More early season snowfall, from the Sierras to the Rockies, has snowsliders of all sorts chomping at the bit.
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Scientific Panel Recommends 10 Year Ban on GM Crop Trials in India
The recommendations aren't binding, but also call for a removal of government advisors with conflicts of interest over GM crops.
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Malaria's Most Deadly Form Peaks at Much Lower Temperatures Than Thought
New research shows that rising temperatures don't automatically spread malaria. Good news.
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No Impact Man Colin Beavan: Running for Congress, the Future of Green (Interview)
TreeHugger recently sat down with Colin Beavan to talk about bridging personal and collective action, his race to represent central Brooklyn in Congress, the Green Party, and more.
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US May Overtake Saudi Arabia to Become World's Top Oil Producer (Maybe)
So much for the notion that the Obama administration has been anything other than chummy with the oil industry.
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Ocean Geoengineering Experiment May Not Have Broken Laws After All
Because the iron dumped in the ocean off British Columbia wasn't dumped as waste, it didn't violate international law.
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Gulf Oil Spill's Effect on Whales Downplayed by NOAA, New Documents Reveal
Documents obtained by Greenpeace show that NOAA's press release on a dead sperm whale didn't tell the full story.
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Do Well in School, Get a Solar Panel, Pakistani Students Told
$46 million is going to give students who do well their own solar power.
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Global Meat Consumption Falls Slightly in 2011
However, meat production is up, albeit slightly and less than in previous years.
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Lady Gaga Readies Her Own Bottled Water Brand
If suburbia is unashamedly back, I suppose it figures new bottled water brands wouldn't be far behind...
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IKEA Will Grow More Wood Than It Uses by 2020, Touts Clean Energy, Efficiency Commitments
"Sustainability should not be a luxury good. It should be affordable for everyone": IKEA Chief Sustainability Officer Steve Howard
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Pesticide Exposure Killing Bumblebees, Too
It's not just honeybees being done in by neonicotinoids and other pesticides. New research shows worker bumblebees are being killed off as well.
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Energy News: US Wind Power Passes 50 GW, China's Solar Power Industry on Life Support, More
Plus: India gets it's first net metering system; pro-fracking groups astroturf rally in Albany, New York
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4 Tons of Illegal Ivory Seized in Hong Kong
A stark example of the the scale of the illegal trade in ivory, and the financial rewards for doing so.
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Rice Growing Emits More Methane as Climate Warms
Not only that, but crop yields decline with rising temperatures.
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Saudi Arabia to Transition to 100% Renewables
Comments by Prince Turki Al Faisal Al Saud hint at an interesting oil end game for oil producing nations, in an all renewable energy future.
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Local Food Distribution Goes Bi-Coastal With New Partnership
A new partnership links local and regional food producers with wholesale buyers.
