There is a lot of rural New York out there. While rural people are sometime dismissed as simpletons and rednecks, we can learn a lot from their culture and lifestyles even if we live in the big city.
ATVs and the Earth - November 24, 2006
Some thoughts on riding and environmental impacts.
Horseback Riding versus ATVs - September 4, 2005
Horseback riding is a forgotten way to visit the forest, but is elegant and fun alternative to 4x4ing.
ATVs on State Land: A Perspective - July 13, 2004
Debunking false beliefs on ATVs in New York.
Give Up The Burn Barrel - March 30, 2007
Maybe it's bad for the environment, but the alternative is far worst.
Dioxin, Incinerators, and Burn Barrels - July 6, 2006
Activists and corporations work together to push myths on dangers of trash burning.
Spitzer and Wood Furnaces - June 19, 2005
When environmental prosecution comes home to your backyard.
Burn Barrels: The 2004 Perspective - June 5, 2004
Andrew takes another look at Assembly's latest failed bid to ban burn barrels.
Debating a Supporter: The Burn Barrel Bill - January 16, 2003
Andrew debates an email he recieved, disagreeing with his postion on open burning.
The Real People Behind Burn Barrel.org - October 1, 2002
Andrew does some investigative reporting on the people behind the site.
Burn Barrel Debate: The Rural Silent Majority - July 31, 2002
A look at bills not passed, the media and the burn barrel debate, and rural public opinion.
Considering the Burn Barrel Bill - June 1, 2002
Andrew Arthur's thoughts on the NYS regulating open burning.
The Woodstove Saving the World from Terrorists - January 31, 2002
Thoughts on the very warm woodstove, keeping me warm from the cold world outside.
Those Big Bad Burn Barrels - January 1, 2002
An essay about trash burning, and how it is not the big evil that some peoplemake it out to be.
Christmas on the Farm - January 11, 2008
Why working farms rarely have Christmas lights.
If You Move Next to A Pig Farm - November 14, 2007
It's going to smell like pig manure sometimes, so don't complain.
Raw Milk - September 17, 2007
Raw milk is dangerous but shows a demand for more milk diversity.
Old Farmers - September 4, 2007
With so many farmers getting old, what is the future of our rural landscape.
Contempt of Farms - July 20, 2006
Farmers are backwords maybe, but essential definately.
Geographical Differences in Farms - May 12, 2006
Why geography and experience define so much of the farm scene.
Smells of the Farm - February 25, 2006
The smells of farm life while obnoxious can still be quite pleasing.
Farm Metrics - February 10, 2006
One way of trying to tell the difference between corporate, family, and play farms.
Agrian Amazement - January 5, 2006
Somehow the work ethic of farms and Rural America never ceases to amaze me.
Confined Animal Feeding Operations - August 22, 2005
Looking at the pros and cons of mega-farming.
Day My Dad Shot the Dog - March 5, 2005
A story about life and death on the farm and my old dog.
Interest Groups of the Farmer - January 3, 2005
The conflicts and issues that define the contemporary farm.
What About 3% Milk? - November 30, 2001
A review of the different blends of milk, and why there is nothing between 2% and whole milk.
Bad News for Hungry Cattle - March 6, 2008
The lack of snow means more deer surving to the summer.
Can Cows Eat Grass? - February 26, 2007
Grass-fed beef and milk exists but there are reasons why it's not more popular.
Animals as Pets - January 8, 2007
It's good to have companions but not pets.
Humanizing Nature - December 27, 2006
It's dangerous when we proscribe human qualities to non-humans.
Beer and Some Steer - August 18, 2006
Watching cows breed is an amazing process.
Horses - August 11, 2006
Horses are great animals that are important to local agriculture.
Cows Back in Perspective II - November 23, 2004
Further reflections on the large animal that goes moo.
Cows in Perspective - June 30, 2002
Andrew takes a look at dairy farming from several different perspectives.
Why Do People Farm? - September 1, 2006
Looking a psychology behind farming.
5 Reasons To Keep Farms - October 22, 2005
The case for agricultural protection and keeping this sector strong and healthy.
Suburbia: Greatest Threat to the Environment - July 13, 2005
When people are distant from the environment they forget about it.
Irrational Farmers - May 29, 2005
How the irrational nature of farming can be benifical to our lives.
Changing Face of Kenyen Road - November 13, 2004
Development on a beautiful rural and free dirt road.
Weak Economy Protecting Rural Life - November 6, 2004
Why job growth is bad for open space and the environment.
How the West Was Lost - November 15, 2003
A look at the battle for open space in Albany County.
Getting Your Hands Dirty - May 31, 2002
Farming and forestry are dirty but rewarding jobs.
Wide Open Spaces - November 30, 2001
A short essay on the need to protect and enhance our rural areas.
In Exburbia, Suburbia and Urbania - September 30, 2001
While our landscapes are diverse they are all special.
Real Fuel Economy - June 6, 2007
Miles per gallon are deciving, we should improve all vechicles equally.
Ecological Virtues of Truck Camping - October 6, 2006
Thoughts on the ecological virtues of truck camping.
Camping with Cowboy - June 12, 2006
One great spring night in a Schoharie Forest.
Camping with Neanderthals - June 5, 2005
How a nice night in the woods ended with a gun in my face.
Camping with my Pickup Truck - June 1, 2005
It is fun to spend every night in the back of a pickup.
Winter Night in My Pickup - February 25, 2005
Free thoughts, ideas, music, and nature fill my world as in my truck overlooking the back field.
Are You in 4x4 Low? - December 16, 2004
Some ways I've discovered to tell what position your transfer case is in.
Camping Alone: A Story - May 10, 2004
Andrew recalls his Labor Day Camp-Out, and what it feels like to be alone...
Pickup Trucks: An Important Oligopoly - September 30, 2002
For Andrew's Economics II paper, he decided to write about the Ford-GM oligoply in the truck market
Some Thoughts, Stories and Ideas on the Pickup Truck - June 30, 2002
Andrew tells some stories, and gives some of his ideas on pickup trucks. Nothing really signicant, it's kind of just a groovy-type essay, if you know what I mean.
Defending Pickup Trucks - May 31, 2002
Takes a look at the Greens argument against SUVs and pickups.
Small Town, Small Minded? - January 17, 2007
Critiquing the notion that rural people are small minded.
Ban All Urban Guns? - October 11, 2006
A simple solution to gun crime would be a complete ban.
Gross Things - May 23, 2006
Why gross should not be a standard for how we treat things in our lives.
Trailers in the Country - May 18, 2006
What does it mean to live in a trailer in the country.
Working Class Psyche - March 6, 2006
Many people have to work hard to make a living, and how that ultimately effects their psyche.
Red-Baiting Liberals - August 2, 2005
Too many Democrats are being exclusionary towards rural people.
Why Environmentalism Isn't Winning Red America - July 17, 2005
A look at how the dynamics of rural life are different.
Observations on the Rural-Urban Split - December 6, 2004
Polarized politics from an observer from rural Albany County.
The Other America - November 30, 2002
Somehow it seems like the working class world is semi-invisible to the middle class elite.
Solar House Living - April 12, 2007
You can live in the sticks and consume little resources.
When You Are In The Country? - March 12, 2007
Defining the essence of rural life.
Can You Live Outside Society? - August 19, 2004
A look at the free life beyond society and its non-existence.
Freedom and Rural America - March 17, 2004
Andrew wonders what the existential defination of freedom is, and where it exists...
Rural Democracy - August 31, 2002
Andrew has a crackpot dream about escaping today's corprate world to go off and live in the country, and be a farmer.
Free Farm Life - May 31, 2002
Some thoughts on farming and the free life.
Life in the Country, Life in the City. - January 31, 2002
A little comparision for complete idiots. Shows that were all the same in the end.
Copyright ©1999-2008 Andy Arthur.
All mistakes are intentional or otherwise.
Mind where you step in a cow pasture or legal mindfield.