Author: Mark R. Burns

Mark Burns is a playwright and screenwriter whose credits include the screenplays for Married to the Mob and She-Devil. His most recent play, The Club, is a dark comedy about a violent clash of American values at a 13-hole golf course in the rural Northeast. He is currently writing a screenplay about the evolution of the ecosystem on a Texas bison ranch and its fight for survival against hydrofrackers. The father of three sons, he has lived in the Hudson Valley of New York for 20 years. .

A Tree is a Sink

BY Mark R. Burns ON April 23, 2018

Kids love to climb trees. One of the fondest memories of my long-ago childhood is the day I was finally able to pull myself up onto the lowest branch of a towering maple tree in our suburban backyard. Scrambling further on up, I peered through...

TOPICS: Air Pollution, Animals, Carbon Pollution, Climate Change, Colorado, Heat and Extreme Weather, Wyoming

Little Birds Tell Us A Dirty Air Pollution Secret

BY Mark R. Burns ON November 3, 2017

Under a clear blue sky, you watch a little boy laughing as he runs alongside a butterfly in the park. A young girl races across a soccer field to score a goal. They stop to catch their breath. A sparrow flies by. Your thoughts...

TOPICS: Air Pollution, Animals, Coal, Illinois, Ozone, Pennsylvania, Science

Toxic Hurricane: Harvey’s Not Finished With Houston

BY Mark R. Burns ON September 20, 2017

We were all heartened by the scenes of courage and generosity in the midst of the devastating flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey. The people of Houston came together to help each other, simply as human beings, lending comfort and aid to individuals and families, and...

TOPICS: EPA, Heat and Extreme Weather, Social Justice, Toxics

Toasting the Toasting of the Planet

BY Mark R. Burns ON April 11, 2017

In the fossil-fuel-friendly quarters of financial firms and energy companies, more than a few pints of beer were no doubt raised in celebration on March 28th. That’s when President Trump signed an executive order to begin the rollback of America’s Clean Power Plan. And yet, odds are...

TOPICS: Clean Air Rules and Regulations, Climate Change, Coal, Economics, Politics

No EPA Funding = No Environmental Justice

BY Mark R. Burns ON March 27, 2017

Today, in the United States, race is still the most significant predictor of who suffers most from pollution. Communities of color – as well as Latino, Native American and low-income white communities – endure disproportionate exposure to air and water pollution, hazardous waste, and environmental contamination,...

TOPICS: African-American Community, Air Pollution, Asthma, Clean Air Rules and Regulations, EPA, Latino Community, Politics, Social Justice

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