Scott Dodd: OnEarth Editor

Scott Dodd is the news editor for OnEarth.org. As a newspaper reporter for 12 years, he covered everything from hurricanes to highways to homeland security. In 2007, he completed a yearlong science journalism fellowship at Columbia University, where he now teaches as a adjunct professor. His freelance work has appeared in The New York Times, Scientific American, Grist and more.

Follow him on Twitter: @scottdodd

Show full profile

Q&A: Documentary Filmmaker Ken Burns on National Parks

Filmmaker Ken Burns has explored baseball, jazz, the Civil War and more. Now, in a six-part series that premieres Sunday on PBS, he turns his lens on our national parks -- "America's best idea." He spoke to OnEarth about his motivation for the documentary, what he learned about wolves and other wildlife, and his concern that global warming could destroy some of America's treasures for future generations. The interview has been edited for brevity.

Why were you interested in telling the story of America's national parks?

I've always been interested in how my country ticks, and that's what I try to explore in my films. The national parks are the first time in human history that land has been set aside -- not for kings or noblemen or the very rich -- but for everybody, and for all time. We invented it. It's an utterly democratic idea. In a way, it's the Declaration of Independence ...read full post

Comments (6) | September 25, 2009