The most astute and perceptive among us recognize, indeed celebrate, the profound connections between the survival of diverse plant and animal species and our own destiny as human beings.  How we treat the plants and animals whose paths we cross says in awful lot about who we are as people and about our purpose on this planet.  And this is the compelling message offered by Scott Turner.

In addition to his duties as the director of web communications at Brown University, Turner writes a weekly nature commentary for the Providence Journal.  Turner is a former land manager, park ranger and science writer. He lives in Providence with his wife and two children. 

A fatal boating incident that came to symbolize the problem of teenage drinking in Barrington has come to an end, with the sentencing of Ryan Greenberg. Prosecutors say Greenberg deliberately mowed down a friend with a power boat after a alcohol-fueled argument.  In handing down the sentence, a Providence Judge had unusually harsh words for Greenberg's parents and the Barrington police department. WRNI's Flo Jonic has our story.