Kristina Schenck's Interactive Media

This is a short film about glassblowing at East Side Glass Studio during the East Side Studio Tour in Nov. 2012. The artist is making Christmas ornaments and invited audience members to participate in the process.

Remember those Christmas trees that are sprayed white with some type of foam that mimics snow? Super tacky, probably full of horrible chemicals, and in no way can they actually smell as good as unsprayed trees.

But I always, for some odd reason, begged my Dad to buy one. Of course, he never did. Thankfully. It probably had something to do with the fact that it doesn’t snow in the Bay Area where I grew up, and until I was about 10, the artificial snow on those defiled Douglas Firs was about the closest I ever got to a white Christmas.

Albino redwoods are a rare but welcome parasite.
Photo credit: Stephen Harpe

Sometimes, going ‘global’ isn’t always a good thing. In fact, globalization wreaks havoc on the natural community.

Recently, a land manager told me that some places in Austin look more like China than Central Texas.

The sad thing is, he’s right. There’s a hoard of invasive species overtaking the landscape in Austin, especially on public lands, and it’s a huge beast to tackle. Plants like Japanese privet, Chinaberry and Chinese privet are all native to Asia, but came here after people decided that they looked pretty in their yards. These plants are known as ornamentals, and people plant them because they look nice. They also thrive in Austin’s winterless and favorable climate.

This tree is probably the great-grandmother of all ligustrum trees within a mile radius or so. It’s huge. It’s hard to tell, but that tree is full of luscious berries. Birds love that stuff.

The university is working to increase academic involvement in and public awareness of Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve, a nature preserve managed by St. Edward’s University in west Austin. Part of the initiative included renovations to infrastructure and changing the name of the building at the preserve to Wild Basin Creative Research Center.

America’s pastime is best enjoyed in the stands with a hot dog in one hand and rally rag in the other, but the most recent World Series has since changed that image of perfection for this baseball fan. A combination of too much homework and no TV left the radio as the only option for following the Giants throughout their second World Series run in three years—and seriously, nothing quite compares.

Sergio Romo celebrates a strikeout during Game 4 of the 2012 World Serives.
Photo Credit: Ezra Shaw, Getty Images

Over the course of the last 30 years, snowmobiles have become a popular sight–and sound–in Yellowstone National Park, perhaps the last place one would expect to see crowds like the one on the picture below.

Wilderness or highway? Photo by Craig Moore / Associated Press

The legal and political battle surrounding the issue of banning snowmobile use in Yellowstone National Park is a prime example of the challenges government agencies face when managing land for multiple use. On the one hand, snowmobiling is the foundation of the local economy in West Yellowstone, Montana, a small town of about 1000 people and a gateway to Yellowstone. There are multiple companies that rent out snowmobiles, give snowmobile tours, and service snowmobiles. However, supporters of the ban cite air and noise pollution as well as wildlife disturbance as reasons for regulating snowmobile use in the park.

Allowing hundreds of snowmobiles to drive freely through a national gem is contradictory to the National Park Service’s mission to preserve land for future generations. However, banning snowmobiles all together is inconsistent with the idea of managing for different users and would hurt the local economy.

If you’re in Texas, the idea of public land may seem like a foreign concept. Ninety eight percent of all land in Texas is private property. However, this is not the norm, and public lands and the American West are inseparable, as much of the land in western states is owned by the federal government.

And this extends way beyond just the National Park system. While National Parks are certainly one of America’s best ideas, and can be considered the poster child of land in the public trust due to the familiarity with places like Yosemite, the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone, there are many other types of public lands managed by different agencies for various uses. Though there is one thing these places have in common – public lands are owned by the taxpayers, managed by the federal government and available for all to use within the regulations of the respective policy that distinguishes the use of the land.

Crazy people BASE jumping off of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park.
Photo Credit: Lyndsey Dyer

The single most important part of land management in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is limiting the impact people have on the resource and making sure there are facilities that encourage users to concentrate their impact in a designated area.

This includes human waste. Over 200,000 people visit the Boundary Waters each year, and it’s a safe bet that all of them have to relieve themselves at some point in time during their stay. Essentially, it’s a wilderness ranger’s job to potty train visitors. No, we don’t hold anyone’s hand, nor do we guard the toilets.

Throne fit for a king. Photo credit: BWCA.com

SXSW is branching out, reaching out to environmentalists, industry experts, conservation buffs, and dreadlock-adorned hippies. The second annual SXSW Eco conference, hosted by the University of Texas at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center, is taking place this week, Oct. 3-5.

The second annual SXSW Eco was held in Austin.