Kristina Schenck's Interactive Media

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.

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.

Here’s a nice feel-good story from the NY Times about a new health kick in Oklahoma City, of all places.

According to the article, city officials are promoting healthy lifestyles and especially healthy eating with funds from the Affordable Care Act. In the story, Michael Bailey, a health official who works from the county, drives around Oklahoma City talking to people and convincing them to stop eating pork rinds and chocolate doughnuts.

NPR recently published a story about organic food, and for the first time in a long time (or perhaps ever) I disagreed with the news organization that I trust above all others. In fact, I’m so utterly upset with their coverage that I might even call this the beginning of a break-up.

Here’s why. The writers talked to experts that claim organic food may not necessarily be healthier for you, and that you may not be getting the best bang for your buck if you’re buying organic veggies simply because you think it’s more nutritious. Ok, they’re probably right about that. But they missed several dozen other benefits that organic produce supports.