Environmental Issues

Greenpeace activists

People Will Remember Shell Oil As a Symbol of Planet-Destroying Greed People Will Remember Shell Oil As a Symbol of Planet-Destroying Greed

On the day the heat index in an Iranian city broke world records, Shell Oil moved forward with its plan to drill in the Arctic.

Jul 31, 2015 / Bill McKibben

Paradise Fire

The Wettest Rainforest in the United States Has Gone Up in Flames The Wettest Rainforest in the United States Has Gone Up in Flames

When fire can eat a rainforest in a relatively cool climate, you know the Earth is beginning to burn.

Jul 30, 2015 / Subhankar Banerjee

Letters Icon

Letters From the August 17-24, 2015, Issue Letters From the August 17-24, 2015, Issue

Bad weather, useful idiots, the oily truth, telling privilege…

Jul 30, 2015 / Letters / Our Readers

NYC garbage trucks

Zero Waste Remains a Dirty Business Zero Waste Remains a Dirty Business

New York and Los Angeles are reforming their waste-management systems, but there’s still a ways to go to clean up the sanitation industry’s labor standards.

Jul 27, 2015 / Michelle Chen

ISIS Member with Flag

Did ISIL Arise Partly Because of Climate Change? Did ISIL Arise Partly Because of Climate Change?

Martin O’Malley was ridiculed by the right for correctly noting the role of climate-induced drought in causing Syria’s instability. The bad news is that this is only the beginning.

Jul 24, 2015 / Juan Cole

Tom Tomorrow cartoon

Climate Change, Alien Invasions, and Other Conspiracy Theories Cooked Up by Scientists Climate Change, Alien Invasions, and Other Conspiracy Theories Cooked Up by Scientists

If it’s not in the Bible, Republicans aren’t buying it.

Jul 22, 2015 / Tom Tomorrow

Can Living With Long-Term Drought Cause Trauma?

Can Living With Long-Term Drought Cause Trauma? Can Living With Long-Term Drought Cause Trauma?

While climate scientists warn about the dangers droughts pose to the natural world, Dr. Irwin Redlener worries about its effects on minds and bodies.

Jul 20, 2015 / Sarah Goodyear

Chris Christie drinks water

Chris Christie Is Turning Tap Water Into a Private Commodity Chris Christie Is Turning Tap Water Into a Private Commodity

A new law pushed by the governor makes it even easier for towns to sell their public utilities to private corporations.

Jul 16, 2015 / James F. Kelly

In Flint, Michigan, Overpriced Water is Causing People’s Skin to Erupt in Rashes and Hair to Fall Out.

In Flint, Michigan, Overpriced Water is Causing People’s Skin to Erupt in Rashes and Hair to Fall Out. In Flint, Michigan, Overpriced Water is Causing People’s Skin to Erupt in Rashes and Hair to Fall Out.

As the nation’s infrastructure falls apart, water is becoming more expensive and less safe.

Jul 16, 2015 / Curt Guyette

Smokestacks

The Government May Already Have the Law It Needs to Beat Big Oil The Government May Already Have the Law It Needs to Beat Big Oil

A document revealing Exxon knew as early as 1981 that carbon emissions drive climate change adds weight to suggestions that fossil-fuel companies be prosecuted under a racketeering...

Jul 15, 2015 / Zoë Carpenter

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