Ellie Whitney grew up in New York City and received her B.A. and Ph.D. degrees in English and Biology at Harvard and Washington Universities. She taught at both Florida State University and Florida A&M University, wrote numerous newspaper columns on environmental matters for the Tallahassee Democrat, and coauthored almost a dozen college textbooks on nutrition, health, and related topics, many of which repeatedly reappear as new editions. She spent three decades exploring outdoor Florida and studying its ecology, and then co-wrote PRICELESS FLORIDA: NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS AND NATIVE SPECIES. Now retired, and more concerned about climate change than any other issue, she volunteers full-time for the nonpartisan national nonprofit Citizens Climate Lobby.