Michael Di Paola

The Cafe du Parc at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington is bustling with D.C. tourists and buttoned-down business travelers.

The meandering trail in the Everglades marshlands was made by alligators, I’m told, so be careful. There’s also poisonwood, fire ants and the recently added Burmese python.

It’s been a terrible week for King Juan Carlos of Spain and, more importantly, for elephants.

The visit starts with a familiar litany: “You have the right to remain silent....”

Smelling gas one morning, a southern Pennsylvania farmer almost passed out when he went outside to check on his bellowing cows.

The approach to the Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary in Dilley, Texas, has an ominous look -- lonely dirt road, padlocked gate, a sign warning “Not Open to the Public.”

Over a pint of Brooklyn Brewery ale at the Half King in Manhattan’s Chelsea district, Pen Farthing recounts his tour of duty in Afghanistan. He was in the U.S. to drum up support not for soldiers, but for dogs.

The Great North Woods were ablaze with color when I visited the Rolling Dog Farm in Lancaster, New Hampshire. Too bad most of its horses and dogs are blind.

Newtown Creek, one of the most polluted bodies of water in North America, is showing signs of life.

Newtown Creek, one of the most polluted bodies of water in North America, is showing signs of life.

Everyone asks the same question about Staten Island’s Fresh Kills, once the world’s largest garbage dump.