Environment and climate

Science & Nature

The Death and Life of America's Waters

From the Great Lakes to the Flint River, we have devastated our waters through negligence, lethargy, and good intentions.

Meghan O’Gieblyn

Science & Nature

The Seed Vault Flooding Is Only the Start of Our Problems

Biodiversity should be maintained by using it, not by storing it under ice.

Jack Heinemann

Reading Lists

Haiti, Disaster, and Revolution

Suffering in Haiti is a manmade, not a natural, disaster.

Gender & Sexuality

Queer in Rural America

Many see gayness as inseparable from city life. But many LGBT Americans—particularly queer black folks—live in rural places. Their invisibility to the gay rights movement is a problem.

Hugh Ryan

Global Justice, Politics

Blood in Honduras, Silence in the United States

The U.S. turns a blind eye on the murder of environmentalist Berta Cáceres.

Lauren Carasik

Education & Opportunity, Science & Nature

Get Carbon Off Campus

How fossil-fuel divestment can be an effective strategy for environmental change.

Benjamin Franta

Education & Opportunity, Science & Nature

Carbon on Campus

University fossil-fuel divestment is a well-meaning, but misguided, enterprise.

David G. Victor

Law & Justice, Science & Nature

The Struggle for Accountability in Flint

Michigan law shields decision-makers from public scrutiny.

Anna Clark

Forum

The New Nature

It is impossible to divorce nature from human influence. Can that influence be democratic?

Jedediah Purdy

Science & Nature, War & Security

Weaponizing Syria’s Water

For anti-Assad rebels, a southern spring has become a kind of suicide bomb.

Alisa Reznick

Class & Inequality, Science & Nature

Toxic Tourism

Photo: Tom Barry According to Mexican tourism officials, magical experiences and eco-adventures

Tom Barry

Science & Nature

GMOs Are Safe—So Let's Label Them

Genetically engineered foods are safe, but there are still good reasons to label them.

Simon Waxman