Reynard Loki
Reynard Loki is a co-founder of the Observatory, where he is the environment and animal rights editor. He is also a writing fellow at the Independent Media Institute, serving as the editor and chief correspondent for Earth | Food | Life. He previously served as the environment, food, and animal rights editor at AlterNet and as a reporter for Justmeans/3BL Media, covering sustainability and corporate social responsibility. He was named one of FilterBuy’s Top 50 Health and Environmental Journalists to Follow in 2016. His work has been published by Yes! Magazine, Salon, Truthout, BillMoyers.com, Asia Times, Pressenza, and EcoWatch, among others. He volunteers with New York City Pigeon Rescue Central.
Released for Syndication:
06/12/2026
Bats move through desert night skies with a purpose that is easy to overlook and difficult to replace. As they travel from plant to plant, feeding on nectar, they are also performing one of the most important ecological services in arid landscapes: pollination. For agave...
Released for Syndication:
06/05/2026
If we are to understand the conditions facing vulnerable children, we have to begin with a difficult truth: poverty remains the central force shaping their lives. It is not the only factor, but it is the most consistent one—structuring access to health, education, safety, and...
Released for Syndication:
05/07/2026
In Peoria, Illinois, children living in federally subsidized housing have been getting sick in the very places meant to shelter them. An investigation by ProPublica documented that apartments at the city’s Taft Homes were plagued by mold, water damage, pest infestations, and peeling paint—conditions...
Released for Syndication:
05/06/2026
How often do we talk about oceans, trees, or birds in everyday life? How about glaciers, shrubs, or bugs? Nature-related words like these are easily recognizable now, but researchers have found that they are disappearing from our vocabulary. As natural history writer Patrick Barkham
Released for Syndication:
04/01/2026
Fur has been an essential part of human survival, culture, and self-expression. For tens of thousands of years, humans relied on animal hides for warmth, protection, and practical clothing needs. Over time, fur became a symbol of status, artistry, and cultural identity. Today, it...
Released for Syndication:
03/08/2026
Introduction: When “Protection” Becomes Punishment
Does your community care about children? This deceptively simple question carries profound moral, social, and civic weight. Across the United States, children are too often treated not as developing citizens deserving care and opportunity, but as problems to be managed. Systems...
Released for Syndication:
02/04/2026
For millennia, horses have shaped human civilization. From the chariots of Ancient Egypt and Rome to the gilded ceremonial carriages of India and Japan, these gentle, easily trained animals symbolized power, artistry, and ingenuity. In cities from the grand boulevards of Paris to the bustling...
Released for Syndication:
01/14/2026
The night sky—the silent dark between stars—is a living commons bridging Earth, life, and spirit. As the 13th‑century Zen master Eihei Dōgen taught in Keisei Sanshoku or “The Sound of the Streams, the Shape of the Mountains,” rivers, forests, mountains, and night are not...
Released for Syndication:
12/22/2025
[Editor’s Note: This article is the first installment of “Does Your Community Care About Children?”, a four-part series by Colin Greer and Reynard Loki. The series examines overlapping crises facing vulnerable youth in America—and the opportunities to create systems of care, safety, and empowerment. At...
Released for Syndication:
12/10/2025
On February 26, 1852, the HMS Birkenhead struck a cluster of rocks off the coast of South Africa. With only a few lifeboats for the 638 people aboard, Captain Robert Salmond ordered the women and children to board first while the men stayed behind,...