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By Eugene Simonov and Josh Klemm
Earth Food Life Project and International Rivers
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We’re building a guide for everyday life, where experts will educate you about our world.
Author Spotlight
John Schofield is an author and archaeology professor at the University of York, United Kingdom.
Vanessa Chang is the director of programs at Leonardo, the International Society for the Arts, Sciences, and Technology.
LeesaMaree Bleicher advocates using trauma-informed therapeutic approaches.
Julie Park is a scholar of eighteenth-century England.
Ned Pennant-Rea is a London-based editor and writer.
Eva J. Charalambides is a photographer and vegan advocate.
Kevin Fitzgerald is a veterinarian, author, educator, comedian, and television personality.
Courtney Scott is the Elephant Consultant for In Defense of Animals (IDA), and the founder of Free the Oregon Zoo Elephants (FOZE)
Madeline VanArsdale is a linguist, writer, and editor.
Ruhi Bhasin is a senior journalist and features editor with the Independent Media Institute.
Guides
Birds are among the most diverse, intelligent, and ecologically important animals on Earth. They pollinate plants, disperse seeds, regulate insect populations, and inspire human cultures through their songs, migrations, and extraordinary adaptations. Yet many bird species also face unprecedented pressures from habitat loss, climate change, invasive species, pollution, and other human activities. This guide explores the science of birds, their relationships with people and ecosystems, and the many ways we can better understand and protect them.
editorReynard Loki
sourceEarth Food Life Project
areaThe '''Guide to Factory-Farmed Animals''' examines the conditions, systems, and consequences of industrial animal agriculture. It explores how billions of chickens, pigs, and cows are raised in confined environments, often with minimal legal protection and significant welfare concerns. The guide connects animal suffering to broader impacts on human health, labor conditions, and the environment, including pollution and disease risk. It also addresses how cultural narratives and industry practices shape public perception of meat and dairy. By bringing together reporting, analysis, and ethical inquiry, this guide offers a clear, grounded understanding of factory farming and the forces sustaining it.
editorReynard Loki
sourceEarth Food Life Project
areaHumans have long used language, writing, and storytelling to make sense of the world—and to shape how it is understood. Writing takes many forms, extending from literature and journalism to scholarship, personal reflection, and everyday communication. Together, language and writing help develop our critical thinking, awareness, and curiosity.
The '''Observatory Guide to Language Arts and Writing''' explores how language and storytelling shape the human mind, foster empathy, and serve as tools for understanding ourselves, connecting with others, imagining new possibilities, solving problems, and questioning the status quo. Drawing on literature, history, psychology, neuroscience, and the social sciences, the guide highlights how writing and narrative shape not only expression, but perception, meaning, and action.
editorDanica Tomber and Madeline VanArsdale
sourceThe Observatory
areaThis guide explores the concept, models, and examples of the peace economy: the giving, sharing, thriving, caring economy without which none of us would be alive. A peace economy is the sharing of resources, a culture of care, and the remembrance that there is enough abundance for all of us on this planet. It is the return to a culture that understands true value and wealth come from nurturing life, love, and joy. We call it a "local" peace economy because it operates at the local level, beginning in the commons. This guide also offers ways to divest from the war economy that is destroying life and well-being on this planet.
editorApril M. Short
sourceLocal Peace Economy Project
areaThroughout history, negative human impulses (such as divisiveness, greed, aggression, etc.) have birthed periods of societal crisis. For example, polarizing political agendas and greedy economic policies not only create trauma and suffering, but they also narrow the “we” by destroying community coalitions. Fortunately, we can shift the paradigm in favor of goodwill for all. This guide provides a framework for understanding this toxic societal polarization pattern and demonstrates how we have repeatedly navigated our way out of it. By reflecting on human nature and historical examples, we can create a more inclusive future for the “we” collective.
editorColin Greer and Eric Laursen
sourceHuman Bridges Project
areaAs people live longer and face increasingly complex end-of-life decisions, understanding death and dying has never been more important. This guide explores the emerging movement of death literacy, offering practical tools, knowledge, and community resources to help individuals navigate mortality with clarity and confidence. From fostering open conversations about death to exploring near-death experiences and preparing for end-of-life care, these articles provide insights into how we can approach death as a natural, supported, and meaningful part of life.
editorReynard Loki
sourceThe Observatory
areaWe use language every day—from spoken and signed words to written communication and body gestures—but how often do we pause to consider what drives it beneath the surface? Linguistics, the scientific study of language, seeks to answer this question by examining how language is acquired, how it functions, how it changes over time, and how it connects to both human evolution and society. Its insights reach far beyond the classroom, shaping our understanding of education, politics, technology, identity, and culture.
editorThis '''Guide to Linguistics: The Science of Language''' explores how language both shapes and is shaped by our experiences, values, and identities. Through a diverse collection of essays, it invites readers to rethink the language they use and the assumptions they make about others based on how they speak. It also examines the power dynamics embedded in language—how words can reflect, reinforce, or challenge social hierarchies.
As you move through the guide, consider the contexts in which language is used. Ask: Who is speaking? Where, when, and why? These questions open the door to a more nuanced understanding of what language is, how it functions, and how it continues to evolve. Whether you are a student, a lifelong learner, or simply curious about the forces shaping everyday communication, this guide offers a deeper look at the many dimensions of language.Danica Tomber and Madeline VanArsdale
sourceThe Observatory
areaFood production shapes the health of ecosystems, communities, animals, and the climate. Yet many modern agricultural systems rely on practices that contribute to soil degradation, biodiversity loss, water pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and animal suffering. As concerns about the environmental and social costs of industrial agriculture continue to grow, farmers, researchers, Indigenous communities, and advocates are developing and refining alternative approaches.
This guide explores a range of alternatives to industrial agriculture, including organic farming, small-scale farming, regenerative agriculture, carbon farming, veganic farming, Indigenous land stewardship practices, and emerging innovations such as agrivoltaics. Together, these approaches offer different pathways toward producing food while protecting ecosystems, improving soil health, supporting biodiversity, reducing environmental impacts, and building more resilient agricultural systems for future generations.
editorReynard Loki
sourceEarth Food Life Project
areaThe Observatory’s '''Guide to Companion Animals and Human Responsibility''' explores the complex relationships between humans and the animals who live alongside us. It examines how pet ownership, breeding, and the global pet industry affect animal welfare, biodiversity, and ecosystem balance. From the ecological impact of free-roaming cats to ethical questions about domestication and dependency, the guide highlights both care and consequence. It also considers how human choices—from feeding practices to habitat encroachment—shape the lives of companion animals and wildlife alike. By bringing these perspectives together, the guide encourages more responsible, informed, and compassionate relationships with animals in human care.
editorReynard Loki
sourceEarth Food Life Project
area“It really is godlike,” says Geoffrey Hinton about artificial intelligence. He’s been called the “godfather of AI,” so he should know. “Magical intelligence in the sky” is how Sam Altman, founder of OpenAI, regards AI, while Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and Palantir, warns that AI could bring about the appearance of the Antichrist. In contrast, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei predicts that AI will result in “the defeat of most diseases, the growth in biological and cognitive freedom, the lifting of billions of people out of poverty… a renaissance of liberal democracy and human rights.” Is AI really so transformative, or is it an evanescent trend whose importance has been overhyped?
This guide won’t give you the answers. It certainly won’t tell you whether AI is a harbinger of the Antichrist. What it can do, though, is explore AI’s unresolved issues, which will almost certainly be with us for years to come
editorLeslie Alan Horvitz
sourceThe Observatory
areaNew Additions
At the turn of the 20th century, mathematicians, mystics, and modernists blurred the line between physics and philosophy. Their search for a hidden spatial realm—the so-called “fourth dimension”—transformed art, inspired the occult, and reimagined the very structure of reality.
By: Jon Crabb
From cancer-resistant mole rats to 200-year-old whales, evolution has equipped long-lived species with unique biological strategies.
By: Leslie Alan Horvitz
From journaling to essay writing, the simple act of writing is one of the most powerful tools for improving clarity, creativity, and critical thinking.
By: Ellen Feld and Reynard Loki
Long before modern science warned of global warming, the Founding Fathers believed human activity was reshaping the planet’s climate—and they set out to prove it.
By: Raphael Calel
Humans have long used language, writing, and storytelling to make sense of the world—and to shape how it is understood. Writing takes many forms, extending from literature and journalism to scholarship, personal reflection, and everyday communication. Together, language and writing help develop our critical thinking, awareness, and curiosity.
The '''Observatory Guide to Language Arts and Writing''' explores how language and storytelling shape the human mind, foster empathy, and serve as tools for understanding ourselves, connecting with others, imagining new possibilities, solving problems, and questioning the status quo. Drawing on literature, history, psychology, neuroscience, and the social sciences, the guide highlights how writing and narrative shape not only expression, but perception, meaning, and action.
By:
Throughout history, negative human impulses (such as divisiveness, greed, aggression, etc.) have birthed periods of societal crisis. For example, polarizing political agendas and greedy economic policies not only create trauma and suffering, but they also narrow the “we” by destroying community coalitions. Fortunately, we can shift the paradigm in favor of goodwill for all. This guide provides a framework for understanding this toxic societal polarization pattern and demonstrates how we have repeatedly navigated our way out of it. By reflecting on human nature and historical examples, we can create a more inclusive future for the “we” collective.
By:
Common sense is contested terrain.
By: Colin Greer and Eric Laursen
Our robust Paranthropus cousins thrived in Africa for a million and a half years, making stone tools and sharing the landscape with different <nowiki>''Homo''</nowiki> species at the dawn of human cultural innovation.
By: Deborah Barsky
From hands to feet, voice to vision, our digital tools extend, transform, and sometimes erase the human body.
By: Vanessa Chang
Simple daily practices can help us slow down, notice, and build empathy with the more-than-human world—fostering both personal well-being and planetary care.
By: Bridget A. Lyons
Classics
This 1847 memoir was written by prominent activist and writer William Wells Brown to support the abolitionist movement. It chronicles Brown’s cruel treatment as an enslaved man, the horrors that he witnessed, and his multiple escape attempts for freedom.
''Note: This book is part of a historical collection and may include offensive language.''
By: William Wells Brown