John Pint

2 weeks ago | theguadalajarareporter.net | John Pint

It seems the world is being smothered by microplastics. Our oceans are full of them. Fish are ingesting them. Our clothes are shedding them. And here in Mexico, the ubiquitous leaf blower stirs up clouds of plastic particles for us to breathe. A little of it enters our bodies every time we eat or drink from plastic containers. Didn’t they invent biodegradable bags—and paper cups and plates—to solve this? Well, here’s the harsh truth: those “paper” cups are actually lined or coated with plastic.

2 weeks ago | theguadalajarareporter.net | John Pint

It seems the world is being smothered by microplastics. Our oceans are full of them. Fish are ingesting them. Our clothes are shedding them. And here in Mexico, the ubiquitous leaf blower stirs up clouds of plastic particles for us to breathe. A little of it enters our bodies every time we eat or drink from plastic containers. Didn’t they invent biodegradable bags—and paper cups and plates—to solve this? Well, here’s the harsh truth: those “paper” cups are actually lined or coated with plastic.

3 weeks ago | theguadalajarareporter.net | John Pint

Very few of these senderos are signposted and there is nothing to warn you that the shady tree under which you’re taking a breather is poisonous and not to be touched. Below, you will find descriptions of a few plants and trees you need to recognize before you get too close to them.

1 month ago | theguadalajarareporter.net | John Pint

Throughout history, a few gifted individuals have turned momentous events into epic poems. We have the “Iliad,” the “Odyssey,” the “Epic of Gilgamesh”—and now, “Aztec Rhapsodies.” This remarkable new work explores the fall of the Aztec Empire through Mexican eyes, in a tale arguably more bizarre than the fall of Troy.

1 month ago | theguadalajarareporter.net | John Pint

Many years ago, I stumbled upon a hidden pool fed by a cold spring, the source of a bubbling stream of clear, clean water, all shaded by the most magnificent trees imaginable: enormous, stately, ancient Montezuma cypresses—sabinos in Spanish, though still popularly known by their Nahuatl name ahuehuetes, or “old men of the water.” These majestic trees truly deserve their title as Mexico’s National Tree. Where was this idyllic haven found?