As a new iPhone owner, I completely understand the argument that cell phones distract honey bees. I have, in the month since I bought my phone, done lots of stupid things, like sending emails while driving and updating my facebook page while reading stories to my children ("Good night, uh, hold on, damn, wait, sorry. Moon."). A couple of weeks ago, I even got lost walking the baby in the stroller thanks to a particularly engrossing email (good thing there's a GPS app to help me find my way home). Read more
The Beekeeper’s Lament started as an article called “The Silence of the Bees,” which ran in a magazine called High Country News. The article told the story of a beekeeper named John Miller and his dying bees. The piece was well-received, and a few publishers contacted me to ask if I would be interested in writing a book on the subject. At that point, they, and I, envisioned it as a work of environmental journalism: a hard-hitting story about a looming biological crisis that will leave a gaping hole in the natural world. There would be heroes, and villains, and impending ecological apocalypse. Read more
My first book, The Beekeeper’s Lament, comes out in late May. When I tell people it’s about a beekeeper, the first thing they say is, “Oh, is it a novel?” Read more
