This essay, from the introduction to Sandra S. Phillip’s American Geography: Photographs of Land Use from 1840 to the Present, was posted on Lit Hub last December 24, the day before Barry Lopez passed away in Eugene, Oregon. It is a fierce indictment of the destruction of the planet in the guise of progress, the insufficiency of our current response, and a plea to imagine a different future than the one that is fast upon us. It is also reminder that Barry’s voice is needed now more than ever: https://lithub.com/barry-lopez-an-era-of-emergencies-is-upon-us-and-we-cannot-look-away/