I’m not one of those road warrior romantics that gushes over our Interstate Highway system. It’s a means to an end. And considering the focus of my work as a journalist, at least on this trip, you’d think I take in the National Parks and the wide open spaces of this great land of ours. Or maybe I should be dropping in area restaurants to sample their sustainably produced freshly harvested local produce. I’ll do those things to but sometime you just have to drive for driving’s sake.

I suppose what I enjoy is the solitude and contemplation of life at 70 miles an hour with limited access to phone calls, email or Facebook. I’d save plenty of time and sometimes a little money when I fly instead. But somehow this slower pace of travel, in this seated position for 8 hours a day relaxes my mind and body in ways that usually only yoga can for me. It’s like Travel-Asana.

The pace and stress of air travel can just be too much. Standing in line with equally frantic, harried travelers just adds to the anxiety. And then there’s the question of whether or not that bag you paid $25 to check will even arrive. While most people scoff at these so-called flyover states of the middle-west I much rather set the cruise control on the Jetta and my mind and just let the car drive through it.

My sun salutation is a bright yellow sign over black asphalt. A stable orientation of my spine over my sits-bones sets my steady gaze over the steering wheel looking off into the distant horizon. My core is engaged. Slow steady breaths in through my nose out through my mouth my thoughts focused on the intention I’ve set for this day.

500 miles  Namaste.

Field producers for Assignment Earth arguably have the coolest job in the world. Reporter Rebecca Huntington blends exploring wild places, her favorite pastime, with storytelling to educate the general public on events and issues at the forefront of environmental conservation.

Born in Billings Montana, Rebecca, 38, now lives in Jackson, Wyoming. With a degree in Spanish and Journalism from the University of Montana and as a Ted Scripps fellow of the Center for Environmental Journalism at the University of Colorado Boulder she, brings a wealth of knowledge and training to her production work. Reporting for Assignment Earth since 2007 Rebecca connects with researchers and activists to offer viewers an on-the-ground perspective of efforts to protect and preserve the natural world.

What follows is a Q&A interview conducted for Assignment Earth

AE:

What made you decide to become a journalist?

Huntington:

While working on a story about a boarding school on the Blackfeet Indian reservation for the University of Montana’s innovative Native News Project, I realized I could be engaged in the moment and make a difference. The young girl I followed to school, who had been teased in the past, gained some new respect among some of her peers just by having a journalist follow her around for a day. Sometimes just being there is enough.

AE:

But why an environmental journalist?

Huntington:

My parents taught me to love the outdoors. I also love attempting to bridge the gap between what scientists know, what policymakers do and what the general public understands about being stewards of our environment.

AE:

Do you have a journalistic hero, a mentor, or anyone in particular who inspires your work?

Huntington:

Too many to name — but my first newspaper editor, Diane Pettit, would bring my stories back bleeding red with her editing mark-up and yet still leave me feeling inspired and even confident! She was a real teacher.

AE:

What is the most interesting story you’ve ever reported on?

Huntington:

A proposed copper mine in the cloud forest of Peru.  “Peruvians sue former British mining firm over shootings” for the London newspaper, The Independent, published May 9, 2010.

AE:

What is was it about Peru that made is this area so compelling?

Huntington:

You have world-class cultural and ecological resources overlapping with world-class minerals and oil and gas in a place that is extremely vulnerable to climate change. Tension is brewing given the weak environmental regulation; extreme gap between haves and have-nots (rural v. urban populations); and ever-increasing demand for resources ranging from copper to oil.

AE:

What are you working on now?

Huntington:

Zombie subdivisions and pikas.

AE:

Say what?

Huntington:

Zombie subdivisions — subdivisions that aren’t quite dead, but they’re the walking dead. We are looking at how one rural community in southern Idaho is coping with blight from the housing bubble that burst and has so many vacant lots, experts project it could take anywhere from 70 to 300 years to absorb them all. Some in this community are striving to be a case study for how to rein in rural sprawl and rebuild after the bust in a way that protects natural resources and amenities that could protect land values and attract buyers in the future.

AE:

And the pikas?

Huntington:

Separate story. How will climate change affect pikas, which already live at high elevations so can’t move much further up slope to escape the heat. Reporting from talus slopes in western Wyoming.

AE:

What is the most important thing you want people to know about you as a journalist?

Huntington:

Like the Assignment Earth series, I let the facts tell the stories and the viewers draw their own conclusions.

“Our son Ryder was born with gastroschisis,” Phillips said. “That’s a condition where his small intestine is sticking out of the side of his body.”

With good prenatal care a routine ultrasound discovered a small tear in Ryder’s umbilical cord five months into gestation. A biophysical profile revealed his distended intestine protruding through the opening. Insured through Group Health Cooperative under her mother’s policy Kassandra was hospitalized two weeks in advance of her due date. Despite his serious condition Ryder was getting the care he needed for a successful delivery.

“But when he was born we went to all three hospitals in Madison within 48 hours,” Phillips said. “And with all that going on I got the first bill for something like $180,000.”

To put it mildly, access to quality health care is complicated. The intricate details of insurance coverage can often pose an impenetrable barrier between patients and the medical treatments they need to survive. Even those who currently have insurance can find it nearly impossible to effectively navigate their way through the convoluted system of benefits to which they are entitled.

Some in our community forgo seeking timely medical care out fear of their inability to pay. While others incur expenses out of pocket that would otherwise have been covered by insurance. But in Madison a non-profit public interest law firm called ABC For Health works to simplify the claims process. With services available to ailing state residents at all levels of income, the group provides free benefits counseling, a kind of check up, that eases navigation through the system, facilitates the delivery of care and speeds healing.

ABC for Health attorney Bobby Peterson

Kassandra gave birth at St. Mary’s Hospital on December 23^rd. Ryder was immediately transferred to UW Hospital for emergency surgery. He was then sent to the neo-natal intensive care unit at Meriter Hospital. During this frantic ordeal Phillips believed all the while that Ryder was covered by insurance with his mother. But on January 1^st when Kassandra’s mother changed carriers through her employer from Group Health to Physician’s Plus everything fell apart.

“They said they wouldn’t cover his treatment because it was a pre-existing condition,” Phillips said. “With everything it was going to cost us between $250,000 and $500,000.

But on the suggestion of a nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital Phillips contacted ABC for Health. Erin McBride, an attorney and insurance benefits counselor, came to the rescue.

“She was like an angel sent for us,” Phillips said. “She was really helpful and was really nice. Erin made it so we could worry about our son and not a hundred questions from the billing department.”

McBride became Ryder’s advocate. While maintaining the quality of his care, the attorney quickly cut through the red tape to find a coverage alternative. “Badger Care Plus was the perfect plan based on their income and the serious nature of Ryder’s condition,” McBride said. “Our job is to put the interest of the child first so the burden is on us to find a solution and not on the family.”

Attorney Bobby Peterson founded ABC for Health was in 1994. An offshoot of the now defunct Center For Public Representation, the non-profit firm operates out of the former storefront of the Mifflin Street Co-Op at 32 N. Bassett in Madison. Several lawyers offer a variety of services to help people, mostly low-income families and individuals, navigate through both public and private insurance programs.

“Oftentimes when you’re sick or you’re caring for a loved one who’s sick getting through it is difficult,” Peterson said. “And when you don’t make it through typically the consequences are you start getting bills. Medical debt mounts. And the end result sometimes is bankruptcy.”

ABC for Health specializes in providing information that will help avoid that worst-case scenario. Offering courses and training seminars throughout the state Peterson said his firm also aims to create a standard of practice in an emerging profession: the health benefits counselor.

“There are pockets of assistance out there, but it’s scattered across several different positions,” he said. “A social worker may do it. Patient billing might do it, maybe someone in (hospital) admissions. But there’s no collective place for this kind of expertise. ABC for Health has it.”

Currently St. Mary’s is the only Madison area medical center directly affiliated with ABC for Health. Hospital president Dr. Frank Byrne said despite a generous charitable treatment program, $7 million in 2008, he prefers getting his patients directly into an insurance program.

“If we can get them qualified for health benefits we then give them access to a system of care,” Byrne said. “There they can get ongoing assistance for their chronic conditions like asthma, diabetes, arthritis, and Parkinson’s disease.”

Byrne said studies conducted by the non-profit Rand Corporation show that people with health insurance are more likely to seek medical care before their cost of treatment escalates.

“In the long run that saves us money,” he said. “And the patient enjoys a much better outcome.”

Though in direct service to the interest of patients Peterson said ABC for Health helps to mitigate the costs of healthcare for providers as well.

“We’re trying to promote a change in what has always been considered provider responsibility and patient responsibility,” he said. “But when the two don’t meet up we miss an opportunity to help. They both loose, because the provider doesn’t get the bill paid and the patient slides into medical debt.”

But what really matters is the best delivery of care. After almost a month in the ICU and the intervening surgeries Ryder was discharged from the hospital, his medical fees covered by insurance. “He’ll have a little scar,” Shane Phillips, his father, said. “But other than that he’ll be just fine, a happy normal kid with the rest of his life ahead of him.”

This story originally appeared in the April issue of the Capital Region Business Journal philanthropy feature “Good Works”

The Sage Grouse is a candidate for designation as a threatened or endangered species. As the Interior Department considers the bird’s fate, several research projects are underway across the west to study its behavior, movements and nesting patterns.

Wildlife biologist Bryan Bedrosian locates the birds at night. Sage Grouse sleep out in the open so they can see predators coming. But this also blows their cover.

“The way we see them is by a really powerful spotlight we bring out,” Bedrosian said. “And through binoculars we can pick up the shine, the reflection of their eye.”

Using this common technique researchers can spot a group of sleeping grouse for 800 meters. To capture them Bedrosian deploys rock music and what looks like an over-sized butterfly net.

“We go up to them playing loud music so it distracts them, covers up our foot steps, disorients them a little bit to what’s happening,” he said.

With almost 44 percent of Sage Grouse habitat lost to agriculture, urban development, road construction, energy production and other causes, scientists like Bedrosian are providing vital information that may help this chicken-sized desert bird from going extinct.  What researchers discover could restrict future land usage, especially in Wyoming where sagebrush, the birds’ primary environment, covers more than half the state.

Assignment Earth features compelling video reports from the front lines of major environmental news stories across the globe. These reports are brought to you by the Environment News Trust.

People constantly ask me: “Do you ever run out of story ideas?” Actually I don’t. There’s always something to write about. The hard part is keeping it fresh and interesting. Typically I write about people I meet who do good in the world, selfless individuals who work tirelessly to improve the lives of those around them. Over the last few weeks in fact I’ve been inundated with dozens of amazing stories about people doing great things on behalf of the environment or for the benefit of others. The hard part as journalist is to pick the stories that are most engaging and compelling.

Unfortunately what happens is that when so many people are doing so much good the cynic in me becomes a bit jaded and I’m left to wonder which stories are truly worth exploring further, to write about and share with a broader audience. Even Everest climbers and ultra-distance runners raising money to cure cancer or end hunger are becoming cliché. We’ve been there, done that, another tired phrase. Suddenly I understand why the nightly news is always full of murder and mayhem. These are exciting isolated events that draw a person’s interest because they’re unusual. Deeds of common good are, well…boring.

But lucky for me no good deed goes unpunished. And there are many of us out there who still struggle to do good. I’m looking for stories of people who are challenged by doing the right thing. What prevents you from doing good? Have you ever tried to help someone out, raise money for charity or sponsor a noble cause only to get burned in the process? Or are you simply overwhelmed by literally thousands of opportunities every day to give of yourself only to stand by and do nothing? Have you ever been sucked into a philanthropic project either as a donor or a volunteer only to wish you had never bothered? Share your experience. Or if you’ve found a solution to donor fatigue let me know how you’ve learned to cope. Personally I know how hard it is to walk with angels and they say the road to hell is paved with good intensions. Well guess where this Joy Trip is heading. Be in touch.

This new video by rap artist Odub and singer/songwriter Misty Murphy celebrates the life and enduring legacy of the late climber Todd Skinner

“Float” -Odub and Misty Murphy from Kris Hampton on Vimeo.

The truths discovered in documentary films often reveal far more than meet the eye. In his Oscar winning movie “the Cove” photojournalist Louie Psihoyos takes us on an adventure that perhaps shows us more than we want to see.

“I lead an elite team of activists to penetrate a secret cove in Japan to reveal a dark secret,” Psihoyos said.

The Cove, part action thriller, part nature film is the exciting story behind a covert operation to document one of the most horrific atrocities of the 21^st century, the systematic slaughter of dolphins.

“They kill more dolphins than anywhere on the planet right there at this cove, which incidentally is in a Japanese national park, a marine sanctuary,” Psihoyos said. That’s the irony of this whole thing. But it’s also the scene of the captive dolphin trade. Most of the captive dolphins in the world come from this little cove.”

Louie Psihoyos

Ever since I was a kid I’ve loved dolphins. These smiling marine mammals are the very image of fun and freedom. Growing up in Southern California I used love to see the dolphin and killer whale shows at ocean theme parks like Marine Land and Sea World. But I never really gave any thought to where these animals came from. The captive dolphin industry was started more than 50 years ago by a man named Rick O’Barry.

“Rick O’Barry is the guy who captured and trained the four dolphins who collectively played the part of Flipper, the popular 1960s television series ‘Flipper’,” said Psihoyos. “And (he) spent about 10 years building that industry up and he’s sent the last 40 tearing it down. The turning point for him was when Cathy, the primary dolphin that played the part of Flipper committed suicide in his arms that he realized that they are more sentient, more intelligent than anyone realized including himself and really turned himself around after that, and he’s probably become the world’s best known dolphin advocate.”

One of the greatest ironies in nature is the dolphin’s smile. In captivity that characteristic grin masks a deep sorrow of intelligent creatures that are rounded up and put on display for our amusement. And in the Cove those less suited for the marine mammal sideshow are killed and butchered to be eaten.  But here’s the greatest irony. With high levels of mercury in the world’s oceans brought on by industrial pollution dolphin meat is toxic.

In this interview with Louie Psihoyos recorded at the Mountain Film Festival in Telluride  the Joy Trip Project brings you this incredible story.

New music this week by Chad Farran from his album Another Ride. Find more of his work online at www.chadfarran.com.

This podcast is brought to you thank to generous support of our sponsor Patagonia. We don’t take money from just anyone. Sponsors of the Joy Trip Project support our mission of an active lifestyle through outdoor recreation and community involvement. Support us by supporting them.

Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this podcast help spread the word by posting a link to it on your Facebook page. Or send it as a tweet to your followers on Twitter. Social media is vibrant exchange of ideas join the conversation by becoming engage. Post your comments the Joy Trip Project blog or send us an email to info@Joy Trip Project.com.

Share your stories. share your passion for outdoor recreation, environmental conservation, acts of charitable giving, and practices of sustainable living. You just might inspire our next Joy Trip together. But most of all don’t forget to tell your friends. Until next time take care.

For millennia, water has spread across the broad expanse of the Florida Everglades. But in the last 100 years or so man has blocked its path with roads and dug canals to drain and reroute its course. Now some parts of the Everglades have too much water and some have too little.

“The problem is the Everglades are our water supply.” said Eric Buermann of the Southern Florida Water Management District. “And there’s only 40 percent of the natural Everglades left after man’s drainage and decimation of the natural environment.”

Investing almost $1 billion the state for Florida has instituted a research program to correct the growing problem. Engineers hope to apply what scientists learn to get water running again where there’s too much of it and let it flow into places where there’s much too little of it, like the Everglades National Park.

My good friend adventure filmmaker Dominic Gill is in a tight spot and he needs your help. Just when he was about to embark upon another epic transcontinental bicycle trip his partner Ernie Greenwald has taken ill. The 76-year-old cancer patient suffered a bout of pneumonia after a round of chemotherapy  and simply can not peddle along the 4,000-mile journey as planned from California to New York. But Dom still hopes to make the ride. And in the classic fashion of his award-winning film of the same title he hopes to find a few people across America to “Take A Seat” and cycle their way across the country in Ernie’s place. There’s only one catch. You have to be disabled.

• Do you or a friend have a disability that prevents you from getting outdoors as much as they would like? (These could be people in a very early stage of cancer, amputees, older persons who find it difficult to exercise, blind people or those suffering from breathing difficulties etc.)
• Do you live anywhere approximately on our route from West to East across the States?
• Would you be excited about the prospect of taking part in a cross country bike tour on an ultra comfortable tandem bicycle?
• Would you be happy to talk to a camera on the bicycle (not a big intimidating one, just a small one wielded by Dom on the back!)
• Would you be prepared to camp if all equipment was provided by way of a support vehicle (that can also be used to travel should a problem arise).

If the answer is yes to all of the above, Dominic would love to hear from you!! Being fit or strong is not necessary (Dom can take up the slack), but being prepared to cycle for between 2 and 20 days (depending on the leg of the journey – see green pins on this interactive route map) and being up for the challenge is. The Dom and Ernie team is currently sourcing funding to ensure the riders have return travel to their start point or home.

You may have listened to the Joy Trip Project interview with Dominic earlier this year:click here>> http://joytripproject.org/blog/2010/02/16/take-a-seat-2/ He’s not only a true adventurer, but he’s a funny guy with a great sense of humor and just an all around wonderful human being. It would be a shame for him to make this next ride. This journey (with an almost confirmed departure date of Wed July 3rd 2010) has the potential not only to make an incredible story, but to provide an inspirational example to those who are striving to get out and achieve something in the face of adversity.

We are all hoping that Ernie, the inspiration behind this project, will be well enough to undertake a stage of this journey, but for the time being will be relieved as and when he makes a full and speedy recovery. In the mean time, help us find others willing to give adventure bicycle touring a try – no previous experience necessary! Get in touch with Dom today! Send an email to domgill@hotmail.com

“I was recording songs in a studio in a bad neighborhood in Cincinnati. I was the only white that recorded in the studio,” O-Dub said. “And I came out of the booth one day to record a song…the song “Off-Widths.” And these thugged-out guys with white T-Shirts down to their knees are all staring at me like I’m an idiot. Like what is this guy talking about?

“They understood the spirit of the song, but they didn’t have a clue what I was talking about. So they caught onto the word off-width and started using it like ‘off the hook’ or ‘off the chain’ like ‘Man! That was off-width.’ So they used it all week while I was in there recording. And they started calling me off-width and then someone shortened it to O-Dub and it just went from there.”

With topical lyrics and bouncy jams authentic to his own experience Kris O-Dub Hampton brings the art of song writing to the sport of climbing. Through his rap songs he’s creating new anthems to both inspire and chronicle the life of adventure but with a modern twist that still’s reminiscent of the poets and ballad writers in the classic style of the mountaineering tradition.

O-Dub (right) raps in collaboration with artist Jeremy Collins at the New River Rendezvous

The Joy Trip Project is brought to you thanks to our  sponsor Patagonia. We don’t take money from just anyone. Sponsors of the Joy Trip Project support our mission of an active lifestyle through outdoor recreation and community involvement. Support us by supporting them. Find a link to their web sites on ours at JoyTripProject.com

Special social media coverage of the New River Rendezvous comes courtesy of Osprey, Prana, Trango, Sterling Rope, Evolv, Chaco, the New River Alliance of Climbers and Waterstone Outdoors.

Social media is a vibrant exchange of ideas.  Join the conversation by becoming engaged.  Send us an email to info@Joy Trip Project.com. Or find us on Facebook or Twitter