Exploring the Writing of
Karen Telleen-Lawton
Exploring the Writing of
Karen Telleen-Lawton
Karen Telleen-Lawton writes to understand the environment around her. Her aspiration is to be persuasive, stimulating, entertaining, and sometimes provocative. Nature is her most influential teacher.
Published Most Recently
November 25, 2024
By Karen Telleen-Lawton
by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist November 25, 2024 | 3:00 pm Read the original in Noozhawk. Youngstown, Ohio, was our first foray into election canvassing. Seeking to support environmental causes in the 2012 presidential election, our…Read the restReading Time: 3 MIN
Canyon Voices - Writings from Rattlesnake Canyon
PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED ARTICLES BOOK: CANYON VOICES THE VOICE
COMMUNITY•ECONOMICS•ENVIRONMENT
Plastic Free July
JULY 13, 2020 BY KAREN TELLEEN-LAWTON NO COMMENTS
By Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist
The ubiquity of plastics made its greatest impression on me five years ago on a visit to Easter Island. Twenty-one hundred miles west of mainland Chile, it is one of the most remote inhabited places on earth.… Read the rest
READING TIME: 3 MIN
COMMUNITY•HEALTH & FITNESS•JUSTICE
The Library
JUNE 29, 2020, BY KAREN TELLEEN-LAWTON NO COMMENTS
By Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist Published: June 29, 2020 4:00 p.m.
The public library was my first love outside the family. My relationship mirrored what Susan Orlean describes in “The Library Book”: “I loved wandering around the bookshelves, scanning the spines until something happened to catch my eye.… Read the rest
READING TIME: 3 MIN
BIODIVERSITY•CLIMATE
EMERGENCY•ECONOMICS•ENVIRONMENT•JUSTICE•UNCATEGORIZED
Triple Emergencies II
JUNE 1, 2020 BY KAREN TELLEEN-LAWTON NO COMMENTS
By Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist June 1, 2020
In the last column, I wrote about the co-incident and related global emergencies of pandemics, climate change, and biodiversity loss. A friend asked me to help her understand the relationship. I struggled a bit to provide a clear explanation.… Read the rest
COMMUNITY•ECONOMICS
•JUSTICE•UNCATEGORIZED
Black Lives Matter
JUNE 29, 2020, BY KAREN TELLEEN-LAWTON NO COMMENTS
By Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist June 15, 2020
Last week, my email teemed with what I feared were mere platitudes about Black Lives Matter from
organizations with which I’m involved. Everyone is “sorry,” no one “has been doing enough.”… Read the rest
READING TIME: 4 MIN
RECENTLY PUBLISHED
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March 27, 2023
By Karen Telleen-Lawton
by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist, Read the original column at Noozhawk.com Migrating wildlife are the incredible drones of the natural world. On the air, land and waterways, they follow arcane instructions through complex landscapes. They face…Read the restReading Time: 3 MIN
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March 13, 2023
By Karen Telleen-Lawton
by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist, Read the original column at Noozhawk.com Sorting through my published clips file, I came across a Santa Barbara Seasons article on Grover Barnes from 15 years ago. Barnes, then celebrating his…Read the restReading Time: 3 MIN
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February 27, 2023
By Karen Telleen-Lawton
by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist, Read the original column at Noozhawk.com Why would an awareness group choose a rare date like February 29 as their special day? It’s the natural choice for Rare Diseases Day, celebrated…Read the restReading Time: 3 MIN
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February 13, 2023
By Karen Telleen-Lawton
by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist, Read the original column at Noozhawk.com My Valentine, whose birthday is on Valentine’s Day, comes from self-proclaimed Good Midwestern Stock. After nearly 45 years of marriage, I still am unclear on…Read the restReading Time: 3 MIN
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January 30, 2023
By Karen Telleen-Lawton
by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist, Read the original column at Noozhawk.com I have been practicing ESG investing since years before the label Environment, Social responsibility, and Governance came into vogue. Previously called Socially Responsible Investing (SRI), ESG made…Read the restReading Time: 3 MIN
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January 16, 2023
By Karen Telleen-Lawton
by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist, Read the original column at Noozhawk.com January priorities include recovering from the holidays and implementing new resolutions. This month also marks the implementation of new laws both state and federal. In…Read the restReading Time: 3 MIN
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January 2, 2023
By Karen Telleen-Lawton
by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist, Read the original column at Noozhawk.com I grouse about how my husband loses things, but he’s also a great finder. He uncovers his keys, his glasses, and his wallet nearly every…Read the restReading Time: 3 MIN
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December 19, 2022
By Karen Telleen-Lawton
by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist (Read the original column in Noozhawk) As Mauna Loa showers the Big Island with spectacular fireworks and lava flows into the North Pacific, I wonder about its effects on the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument around the Hawaiian…Read the restReading Time: 3 MIN
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December 5, 2022
By Karen Telleen-Lawton
by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist (read the original in Noozhawk by clicking here) A bumper sticker I spotted on the freeway the other day gave me a laugh. “Episcopalians — worship like Catholics, think like hippies.”…Read the restReading Time: 3 MIN
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November 21, 2022
By Karen Telleen-Lawton
A couple of falcons are trained to chase gulls away from the landfill by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist (read the orignal in Noozhawk by clicking here) A hot ticket these days is a site visit to…Read the restReading Time: 3 MIN
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November 7, 2022
By Karen Telleen-Lawton
by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist (read the original in Noozhawk by clicking here) One of my new favorite activities is nighttime bird watching. Who knew you could spy on these little modern dinosaurs in the dark…Read the restReading Time: 3 MIN
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October 24, 2022
By Karen Telleen-Lawton
by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist (read the original in Noozhawk by clicking here) Museums these days are interactive, full of surprising bits of knowledge and mind-expanding challenges. On a springtime visit to the Wildling Museum’s Fire and…Read the restReading Time: 3 MIN
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October 11, 2022
By Karen Telleen-Lawton
by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist (read the original in Noozhawk by clicking here) You’d think Babcock Ranch was in California, for all its green prowess. This community, a neighborhood of 2,000 homes in southwest Florida, describes itself as…Read the restReading Time: 3 MIN
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September 26, 2022
By Karen Telleen-Lawton
by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist (read the original in Noozhawk by clicking here) Previous ages have dealt various ways with pandemics and plagues. According to Oberammergau’s story, their passion play — a reenactment of the final week…Read the restReading Time: 3 MIN
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August 12, 2022
By Karen Telleen-Lawton
by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist (read the original in Noozhawk here) My mom was ahead of her time in the ‘60s, contending we didn’t need to wash our hands if we’d been playing outside. “It’s just…Read the restReading Time: 3 MIN
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July 18, 2022
By Karen Telleen-Lawton
by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist (read the original in Noozhawk by clicking here) Revered writers nudge us toward a new way of thinking, an adventure, or an avocation. Some of my favorites include Wallace Stegner, Edward Abbey, John McPhee and Terry…Read the restReading Time: 3 MIN
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July 4, 2022
By Karen Telleen-Lawton
by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist (read the original in Noozhawk by clicking here) In my self-appointed role as an eco-writer, my goal has been to persuade us that our actions on behalf of earth are also…Read the restReading Time: 3 MIN
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June 19, 2022
By Karen Telleen-Lawton
by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist (read the original in Noozhawk by clicking here) You thought I’d never get there. When I returned from Antarctica, the most frequent question asked by friends was, “How were the penguins?”…Read the restReading Time: 3 MIN
Canyon Voices - Writings from Rattlesnake Canyon
PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED ARTICLES BOOK: CANYON VOICES THE VOICE
COMMUNITY•ECONOMICS•ENVIRONMENT
Plastic Free July
JULY 13, 2020 BY KAREN TELLEEN-LAWTON NO COMMENTS
By Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist
The ubiquity of plastics made its greatest impression on me five years ago on a visit to Easter Island. Twenty-one hundred miles west of mainland Chile, it is one of the most remote inhabited places on earth.… Read the rest
READING TIME: 3 MIN
COMMUNITY•HEALTH & FITNESS•JUSTICE
The Library
JUNE 29, 2020, BY KAREN TELLEEN-LAWTON NO COMMENTS
By Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist Published: June 29, 2020 4:00 p.m.
The public library was my first love outside the family. My relationship mirrored what Susan Orlean describes in “The Library Book”: “I loved wandering around the bookshelves, scanning the spines until something happened to catch my eye.… Read the rest
READING TIME: 3 MIN
BIODIVERSITY•CLIMATE
EMERGENCY•ECONOMICS•ENVIRONMENT•JUSTICE•UNCATEGORIZED
Triple Emergencies II
JUNE 1, 2020 BY KAREN TELLEEN-LAWTON NO COMMENTS
By Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist June 1, 2020
In the last column, I wrote about the co-incident and related global emergencies of pandemics, climate change, and biodiversity loss. A friend asked me to help her understand the relationship. I struggled a bit to provide a clear explanation.… Read the rest
COMMUNITY•ECONOMICS
•JUSTICE•UNCATEGORIZED
Black Lives Matter
JUNE 29, 2020, BY KAREN TELLEEN-LAWTON NO COMMENTS
By Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist June 15, 2020
Last week, my email teemed with what I feared were mere platitudes about Black Lives Matter from
organizations with which I’m involved. Everyone is “sorry,” no one “has been doing enough.”… Read the rest
READING TIME: 4 MIN
Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist
ktl@canyonvoices.com
Karen Telleen-Lawton is an eco-writer sharing information and insights about economics and ecology, finances, and the environment. Having recently retired from financial planning and advising, she spends more time exploring the outdoors — and reading and writing about it. The opinions expressed are her own.
A variety of experiences over many (!) decades have influenced her views. Telleen-Lawton holds an undergraduate engineering degree from Stanford University as well as graduate degrees and certificates in environmental policy, economics, business administration and financial planning.
Until her retirement in 2022, Telleen-Lawton was the principal of Decisive Path Fee-only Financial Advisory. She writes regular articles on environmental, economic, and financial planning issues in local, regional, and national publications such as Santa Barbara’s Noozhawk, Stanford Magazine, and a national senior writing syndicate. Her book, Canyon Voices – the Nature of Rattlesnake Canyon, was published by Mission Creek Publishing in 2007. Inspirational writer for her work include John McPhee, Anne, Terry, etc . . . [I’ll look on by bookshelf]
Telleen-Lawton’s volunteer activities include various board and committee functions at All Saints-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, Channel Islands Nationalist Corps, and PSC Partners Seeking a Cure. She was a proud saxophonist with Prime Time Band for seven years before passing her horn to her granddaughter. Her most important influence and best friend for the past 47 years is her husband David.