Energy
Running on Empty
For eight years oil and gas companies have had their way in much of the American West. Has the drill-everything approach helped solve our energy problems? And can it be called a policy? The next president will have to decide.
By Daniel Glick/Photography by Joel Sartore
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Politics
Face-Off
Both John McCain and Barack Obama claim to have the better environmental record. We take a look at their performance, and separate the rhetoric from the reality.
By Andrew Lawler

On the Record
In an Audubon exclusive, the two presidential candidates tell, in their own words, how they would tackle ten issues of vital importance to our readers.
Q&A: John McCain
Q&A: Barack Obama

Global Warming
A New Leaf
In Washington, politics has preempted any serious attempts to confront global warming. Fortunately, in the less gridlock-challenged states, bold and innovative efforts are showing the feds the way to meaningful action.
By Bradford Plumer
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Photo Essay
Shock Troops
Deep in wild Oregon, a group of determined protestors man the trenches in defense of venerable and vulnerable old-growth forests.
Photography by Christopher LaMarca/Text by Julie Leibach

Green Travel
Mountain High!
Camp Denali, a trailblazing ecolodge in the shadow of North America’s mightiest mountain, offers rustic luxury and unparalleled access to one of the world’s greatest remaining wildernesses.
By Jeff Fair/Photography by Joao Canziani
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Editor's Note
The message of our Election 2008 package: Informed voters make the best conservationists.
By David Seideman

Contributors

Audubon View
Yes, we need to drill for oil. But not in our most precious places.
By John Flicker

Letters

Field Notes
Coastal drilling: offshore and off-base; a sweet deal in Florida means hope for the Everglades; good news from great places: Alaska, Wyoming, the Outer Banks, California; more.
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Q&A
King of Scream
As a condor-loving director shows, you can’t judge a filmmaker just by his movies.
By Graham Chisholm
 
Green Guru
Green flooring—or are we being bamboo-zled?; school bus exhaust: an idling threat?; plumbing the mysteries of LEED ratings.
By Starre Vartan

Incite
Turning the Tide
If anything positive came out of the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, it was a new outlook on flood control and the value of coastal wetlands. Still, for those who live in harm’s way, old attitudes die hard.
By Ted Williams

Earth Almanac
Rockchucks and a hard place; sweet-singing sparrows; late-talking frogs; touch-me-nots; bountiful butterfly; nature’s candy.
By Ted Williams
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Journal
Slings and Arrows
They’re smart and expressive and exquisitely beautiful. So why, for so many, is the blue jay a boo bird?
By Les Line
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Reviews
On the Brink
A new book argues that our technological prowess has outpaced our culture’s ability to adapt to it. The result: We’ve evolved ourselves right to the ecological edge. 
By Hillary Rosner
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One Picture
Crows’ Feats
A photo to caw about.
By Raymond Meeks/Text by Les Line

On the cover: A pumpjack on a coal-bed methane well near Aztec, New Mexico. The pumpjack is removing water from an underground coal seam, which allows the natural gas to come to the surface. Photo by Joel Sartore