Mark Hertsgaard

@markhertsgaard

Mark Hertsgaard is the environment correspondent of The Nation and the executive director of the global media collaboration Covering Climate Now. His new book is Big Red’s Mercy:  The Shooting of Deborah Cotton and A Story of Race in America.

Two men row a boat on a flooded street in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, on October 4, 2015.

The Invisible Snakes of Climate Change The Invisible Snakes of Climate Change

Tony Bartelme’s new book shows how great storytelling can wake people up.

Aug 21, 2025 / Mark Hertsgaard

Climate activists march across the Brooklyn Bridge to demand that New York Governor Kathy Hochul stop the construction of the Williams Pipeline in New York City on August 9, 2025.

What’s Next for Covering Climate Now’s 89 Percent Project What’s Next for Covering Climate Now’s 89 Percent Project

An overwhelming global majority supports stronger climate action. Who are the people behind the numbers?

Aug 14, 2025 / Mark Hertsgaard

Can Solar Energy Save Us?

Can Solar Energy Save Us? Can Solar Energy Save Us?

Bill McKibben’s new book argues that sun power can displace fossil fuels.

Aug 7, 2025 / Mark Hertsgaard

The director of the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change, Vishal Prasad (2nd R), speaks to the media in The Hague on July 23, 2025. The world’s highest court on July 23 declared that states have a legal obligation to tackle climate change and that failing to do so was a “wrongful act” that could open the door to reparations.

The World Court Adds Muscle to the Climate Fight The World Court Adds Muscle to the Climate Fight

After a “landmark” ruling from the International Court of Justice, journalists can expect more lawsuits against fossil fuel companies.

Jul 31, 2025 / Mark Hertsgaard

Premature babies receive care in an incubator at Al-Helou Hospital, where they are at risk due to fuel shortages, in Gaza City, on July 17, 2025.

Desperate for Fuel in Gaza Desperate for Fuel in Gaza

An extraordinary eyewitness report reveals that food isn’t the only thing Palestinians are starved of. Fuel is almost as scarce.

Jul 24, 2025 / Mark Hertsgaard

A car is seen part submerged in floodwater in England, 2019.

Americans Are Concerned About Climate Change—but They Should Be Afraid Americans Are Concerned About Climate Change—but They Should Be Afraid

Americans still don’t comprehend how imminent, dangerous, and far-reaching the threat is—and journalists are partly to blame.

Jul 17, 2025 / Mark Hertsgaard

Trump victory rally in Washington, DC

Trump Is the Confederacy’s Revenge Trump Is the Confederacy’s Revenge

A mass shooting in New Orleans eerily foretold the return of white supremacy to the White House.

Jul 15, 2025 / Mark Hertsgaard

US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat from Rhode Island, speaks during an interview on Capitol Hill on July 8, 2025, in Washington, DC.

Has the Climate Movement Been Too Polite? This Senator Thinks So. Has the Climate Movement Been Too Polite? This Senator Thinks So.

US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse called on Democrats to stop enabling the fossil fuel industry’s “malevolent propaganda operation.”

Jul 10, 2025 / Mark Hertsgaard

Children's clothes hang on the branch of a tree on the bank of the Guadalupe River near Camp Mystic on July 6, 2025, in Hunt, Texas.

Summer Camp Kids Did Not Have to Die in the Texas Floods Summer Camp Kids Did Not Have to Die in the Texas Floods

The deadly consequences of Trump’s National Weather Service budget cuts.

Jul 7, 2025 / David Dickson and Mark Hertsgaard

Amsterdam climate protest

People Want Climate Action. This Data Shows It. People Want Climate Action. This Data Shows It.

It's an extraordinary popular mandate that extends across partisan divides and national borders.

Jul 3, 2025 / Mark Hertsgaard

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