I took the summer off from PFAS. Did anything change, besides the date? For a year, I worked extensively on PFAS (per- and poly fluorinated alkyl substances, aka ‘Forever Chemicals’) in drinking water, supported by a grant from the Washington State Department of Ecology. At the end of the grant period in June, I decided to take the summer off from PFAS. For a change of pace, I wrote about community and travel. I’m back on the PFAS beat, and I’m curious about what’s changed. Here’s the story so far. In 2016, the EPA found PFAS in larger drinking water … Continue reading 'Forever chemicals' haven't gone away.

Part 4 of a series on land ownership and use In the first three parts123, we came to understand that the dispossession and displacement of my ancestors in Scotland and of the indigenous population of my home on Whidbey Island were connected in a giant feedback loop, and that the institution of the family farm, built on this shaky foundation, is under pressure in both places. In this post, we’ll look at a way forward. An emergency acquisition The Robertson Farm at Lea Bluffs, which we discussed in part one, was one of those family farms feeling the pinch. Falling … Continue reading “I think we’ve found it”

Part 3 of a series on land ownership and use In part 1, we looked at the Highland Clearances and the Highland Potato Famine though the lens of my Scottish ancestors. We came to understand the resulting dispossession and displacement of the population as acts of colonization. You can read part one here. In part 2, we learned that the resulting emigration was a driver of the colonization of the western United States, including my home of Whidbey Island, with the predominant resulting land use being the family farm. We learned too that many of those family farms are struggling … Continue reading "That’s not my people’s way"

Part 2 of a series on land ownership and use In part 1, we looked at changes in land ownership and use and their consequences though the lens of my Scottish ancestors. You can read part one here. For part two, we’re traveling over 4,000 miles west to my current home of Whidbey Island in Washington State. Yesterday was Indigenous People’s Day in the United States, a renaming of what was formerly called Columbus Day to mark the date in 1492 when Columbus first set foot in the Americas. 300 years later, in the spring of 1792, my ancestors were … Continue reading Possession and Succession

Part 1 of a series on land ownership In this series, I’m going to take us from 17th century Scotland to present day Whidbey Island, Washington, to look at the past, present, and future of land ownership and its impact on farming, community, and, of course, water. In this first part, I’m going to look at some major historical events in Scotland through the lens of my own ancestors. Like many others, I was drawn to research my ancestry during the downtime of COVID. Pitsligo Our story starts in Wester Cardno, a farming township in the parish of Pitsligo, Aberdeenshire. … Continue reading Wester Cardno