Anthony J. Gerst, is an author/columnist and activist. He resides near the confluence of the Iowa and Mississippi Rivers. His favorite author, Mark Twain, was an editor for the Muscatine Journal near where he lives. Mr. Gerst has offered musings, on whether the massive oaks on his property, were once shade trees for the adventurist and wandering young Aldo Leopold. Mr. Leopold being considered the creator of the modern environmental movement. He started writing letters to the editor in 1983. In this time, he has been printed on five continents and in various papers across the continental United States. "Ghosts of the Erie Canal," is being reissued spring 2016. His second book "The HAARP Letters (A Climate Changing Reality) was released in Feb. 2016. A third book "Sasquatch Must Die" is a short story and acts a preclude to the above mentioned novella. From early childhood he expressed an interest in politics. He currently reads Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy Magazine, The Wilson Quarterly and Scietific American on a regular basis. Since early this century his attention has been drawn toward environmental activism. His column, Earth Line in the now closed Galesburg Zephyr was first created to address the issues of Global Warming and climate change. Many people, who have read his works in various social communities, have remarked upon his philosophy of writing. Writing to Mr. Gerst is a challenge, an art form of expression. However, beyond this, his view on writing is: if he can challenge one reader to question their opinions, then he as writer has succeded. Why? Because he has made them challenge their own comfort zone.