A Study in Green:
My national I.D. card, your civil liberties

February 2002

I

Late last September, amid a newfound preoccupation with “homeland security,” our nation’s leaders publicly discussed the possibility of issuing national identity cards to U.S. residents. The proposal has since stalled, but for roughly 13 million of U.S. who are permanent legal immigrants its underlying premise is our daily reality. At all times, I am required by law to carry this, my Alien Registration Receipt Card (or “Green Card”). Unlike a driver’s license, this Green Card does not allow me simply to engage in some specific activity; rather, my possession of it is a precondition for my mere presence in the country. As would be the case with a national I.D., the card’s purpose is quite explicitly to monitor me, and it serves, furthermore, as a visible badge of the constriction of my civil liberties. If you are curious to know what your rights may come to look like in twenty-first-century America, ask me; in many respects, I already live there. (more…)

Posted in Harper's, Magazines

Edge of the World

May 2, 2001

PICTURE NEVADA:
high jagged mountains, dry air, and a hell of a lot of sky. Now imagine it without any good roads. Add to that a drought and the knowledge that the people who live where you used to herd your goats want to kill you. (more…)

Posted in Newspapers, SF Bay Guardian

It Isn’t Easy Being Green

August 22, 1999

WHAT’S NEW DOWN ON THE FARM?

Ever since high-tech agribusiness started tinkering with the DNA of crops, genetically modified foods have been a battleground for environmentalists (who have called them ”frankenfoods”). Americans can buy genetically modified corn, potatoes and papayas, though in Europe, groups like Greenpeace have blocked the importation of some altered produce. But with the latest innovations, producers are betting they can beat the greens at their own game, casting their test-tube advances as the environment’s last, best hope. (more…)

Posted in New York Times Magazine