May Classic of the Month: Letters to a Friend by John Muir

With spring finally here, Cosimo is proud to present Letters to a Friend by John Muir as our classic of the month. 

Perhaps the most important of the founders of the modern conservation movement and an immense influence on animal-rights philosophies, John Muir was a champion of the preservation of unspoiled wilderness. His studies and surveys of Yosemite Valley and the Sierra Nevada mountains in the late 19th century-and his love of their untamed beauty-led directly to federal protection of vast ranges of virgin Western lands. This collection of letters Muir wrote as a university student in the 1860s and '70s to his "spiritual mother," botanist Mrs. Ezra Carr, offer a fascinating look at the legendary naturalist as a young man. Dispatched mostly from Yosemite Valley, where he was working as a sheepherder, they reveal the shaping of the philosophies that would later dominate Muir's work. A legend of the American West and the careful guardianship of the environment––as well as the freedom the natural world represents––Muir's writings are a must read for anyone who appreciates the wild splendor of our planet.

Letters to a Friend is available in hardcover and paperback at leading online bookstores, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

About the Author:

Scottish-American naturalist, explorer, and writer JOHN MUIR (1838-1914) helped found the Sierra Club in 1892, and served as its first president. He wrote numerous articles for such publications as Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, and the New York Tribune; among his many books are The Mountains of California (1894), Our National Parks (1901), The Yosemite (1912), and Travels in Alaska (1915).

EcoHealth Alliance on Ebola

A few years ago Cosimo joined the "1 % for the Planet" network of  businesses dedicated to supporting the environment.  Among the organizations Cosimo is proud to support is EcoHealth Alliance, which in recent months has quickly become a trusted source of expert research, knowledge, and advice on the most recent Ebola outbreak.

Parviez Hosseini, a mathematician and ecologist at EcoHealth Alliance, was mentioned in an article in Mother Jones about flight patterns. Kevin Olival, a disease ecologist and evolutionary biologist, was interviewed in an article for Wired about disease carrying animals. Jonathan Epstein, a veterinarian and epidemiologist, was quoted in articles on Public Radio International about deforestation, on Aljazeera about border control, as well as on CCTV.

"Right now, we are facing the worst Ebola outbreak in history, as a result of mankind's continued destruction of our environment and wildlife habitats worldwide. EcoHealth Alliance is the only organization working to protect human health from emerging infectious disease outbreaks, like Ebola, and we are already fighting to prevent the next infectious disease outbreak from happening while millions of dollars are now being devoted to contain this current Ebola outbreak," said Shari Sampson, the director of corporate and donor relations at EcoHealth Alliance. To learn more about the actions EcoHealth Alliance is taking against Ebola, visit their featured story page, or their programs section.

About EcoHealth Alliance
EcoHealth Alliance is a global, nonprofit organization dedicated to conservation, wildlife protection, and the control and prevention of disease. Using research, education, training, policy initiatives, and global partnerships, EcoHealth Alliance fights the effects of damaged ecosystems and human-wildlife interaction. Headquartered in New York, the organization works in more than 20 countries worldwide.

About 1% for the Planet
1% for the Planet's mission is to build, support and activate an alliance of businesses financially committed to creating a healthy planet.