I have four books underway.  The sequence will depend on fellowship time, an advance offered by a trade publisher, or an agent interested in representing the project. 

1. Sickly Green

I reckon I decided to write this book the day I learned that recycled toilet paper had hazardous amounts of bisphenol-A (BPA, an endocrine disruptor).  Is nothing sacred?  Does the solution for one environmental problem have to beget another?  

The environmental justice movement rightly denounces this as NIMBYism within countries (“not in my back- yard”).  But what about the international problem of NIOCism (not in our country)?  These concerns began back in 1993 when I was living in "Atelesdale" village in Guatemala (same place as the ant stomping ritual that opens my book, Kernels of Resistance).  A Conservation International consultant came in from DC to collect forest leaves to be dipped in gold to sell as Christmas ornaments.  I asked him, "doesn't gold mining harm the Amazonian forests and people?" He replied, sure, but that's not this forest. 

Planned chapter would talk about greenwashing of different environmental problems.  Indigenous people often suffer the consequences of “green” solutions — whether lithium for batteries, hydroelectric dams, nuclear testing and more…. Other chapters would trade commodity chains and hazardous waste around the world. Last but not least, one chapter will talk about the tradeoffs between indoor air quality and energy conservation….and the curious case of carpet at the EPA headquarters in 1987-88.

Beyond critique of simplistic or tunnel-visioned environmental solutions, I would hope to offer some "forest green" cases studies -- where diverse constituents came together to create alternatives that simultaneously support environmental justice, climate resilience, and human health.

2. Charismatic Chemicals

Nonprofits like World Wildlife Fund have successfully promoted pandas as “charismatic” megafauna.  As a child, I remember joining Greenpeace to “save the seals.” Although my environmental journey started in a simplistic way (concern for a cute species), it catalyzed me to learn more about biodiversity.  I learned that if you protect these large keystone species, then by default, all the other flora, fauna, and insects that keep ecosystems running can also be conserved. 

Toxicology can make for dry material. In trying to teach myself how to avoid the chemical soup of acronyms, BPA, PBDE, PFAS, etc.. I remember how hard it was for me to sort them out -- my mind glazed over until I took a year to study toxicology. 

So this book would tell social stories about those chemicals. I would argue that DDT was the first “charismatic” chemical that broke mid-century U.S. enchantment with “better living through chemistry”.  Rachel Carson’s lyrical storytelling in Silent Spring (1962) made it common knowledge that DDT caused baby eagle eggs to break. Today, almost any school child still knows that story.  That emotional tale was powerful enough to persuade the U.S. Congress to establish the Environmental Protection Agency and start regulating DDT but also other pesticides....

My other inspiration for this book is the humor that Sandra Steingraber in Raising Elijah or Bruce Lourie and Rick Smith in Slow Death by Rubber Duck bring to the dry topic of toxicology.  In my own writing about toxics, I have tried to blend self-deprecating humor and human stories to raise awareness about a topic most of us would like to avoid . . . until we get cancer and start retrospectively thinking about causes.

3. The Real Survivors 

I admit I got hooked on Survivor after watching season 14 filmed in the tropical forest where I had lived for seven years.  I was upset how the crew trashed the local site and refused to engage or highlight Indigenous issues.  A group of anthropologists wrote the producers offering to train the contestants in cultural sensitivity, jungle survival skills, and even medicinal plants, but they responded “thanks but no thanks.”  The irony is that a burly football player was evacuated the first day after he grabbed a spiny broom palm. Inside the trunk was a gauzy material that could have stopped his bleeding and kept him in the game.

In most seasons the representation of local culture has been stereotypical or cringe-worthy.  As a professor of Native American and Indigenous Studies, I would l like to edit an anthology for the general public (hard core Survivor fans) about “real survivors” of colonialism and corporate plunder in the countries where Survivor has been film.  In 2023, more than 196 land and environmental defenders (most of who are Indigenous) were murdered for trying to protect their homelands. 

4. Canary Cures

Making lemonade from life’s lemons, I would like to share hard-earned wisdom and tips for surviving cancer, environmental illness, and Long Covid.  I've been a "canary in the mineshaft" of three “incurable” conditions and have lived to tell the tale.  Inflammation is an underlying driver of all three.  Many of the herbs and dietary changes I learned for cancer survivorship helped me survive the next two challenges.  Beyond neoliberal "self-help," my twist is to help people navigate the health system to avoid medical gaslighting for idiopathic illnesses but also put pressure on Congress and public health authorities to address these problems collectively.