News & Commentary

Performance Art Worthy of 2020—the Hottest Year on Record (Wrapping Up the Hottest Decade on Record)

January 14, 2021 PerspectivesFloridaClara Chaisson

Watch these wax sculptures melt under the Florida sun to reveal important messages about climate change.

One City’s Trash Is This Museum’s Treasure

December 18, 2019 PerspectivesNew York CityClara Chaisson

A collection of 45,000 items gleaned from New Yorkers’ garbage sends a powerful message about our consumption habits.

Ethereal Fog Sculptures Are Rolling Through Boston’s Parks

September 11, 2018 PerspectivesBoston, United StatesClara Chaisson

Fujiko Nakaya’s vaporous creations respond to wind, humidity, temperature, and dew point, making visible the invisible forces all around us.

This Spring, Fish Will Migrate Up This Massachusetts River for the First Time in 200 Years

April 30, 2018 DispatchMassachusettsClara Chaisson

The dams on Mill River are gone . . . Run, herring, run!

When It Rains, It Pours Raw Sewage into New York City’s Waterways

December 12, 2017 DispatchNew York CityClara Chaisson

The Big Apple’s combined sewer system is 150 years old—and in desperate need of improvement.

A Hospice for Hemlocks? An Art Installation Wrestles with the Loss of an Iconic Tree

November 9, 2017 PerspectivesEast, United StatesClara Chaisson

Massachusetts’s Harvard Forest is in mourning as invasive insects kill eastern hemlocks all along the Atlantic Seaboard.

New Haven Is for the Birds—and the People

November 7, 2017 DispatchConnecticutClara Chaisson

This partnership is bringing bird-friendly “urban oases” to underserved neighborhoods in Connecticut.

After 40 Years, Will GE Get a Pass for Polluting the Housatonic River?

August 28, 2017 DispatchMassachusettsClara Chaisson

Under the Trump administration, the decades-long battle to get the company to clean up its PCB mess looks more uncertain than ever.

In Philadelphia, Climate Change Can Take Your Breath Away

July 11, 2017 DispatchPhiladelphiaClara Chaisson

But plans to cut local carbon pollution might help this asthma capital shake its wheezy reputation.

Forests, Just Like the Ones Mother Nature Used to Make

June 12, 2017 DispatchEastClara Chaisson

New forestry techniques that create the look of old-growth habitats can boost biodiversity—with extra carbon storage as a bonus.

New Yorkers, Meet the Neighbors You Never Knew You Had

June 8, 2017 PerspectivesNew York CityClara Chaisson

A public photography exhibit at Brooklyn Bridge Park introduces city dwellers to the amazing marine life of the New York Bight.

The Northeast Is the Fastest-Warming Region in the Lower 48

May 4, 2017 DispatchEastClara Chaisson

Another win for New England! Oh, wait . . .

Thar She Blows! New England Harnesses the Power Gusting Over the Atlantic

January 10, 2017 DispatchMassachusetts, United StatesClara Chaisson

The U.S. offshore wind industry got spinning in 2016. Will 2017 keep it going?

These 17th Century–Style Still Lifes Find the Beauty in Unwanted Food

December 16, 2016 PerspectivesNew York CityClara Chaisson

A photographer combats food waste by cultivating old-fashioned respect for what’s on our dinner plates.

If You Want Tons of Public Health Data, Dive into the Sewer!

December 13, 2016 DispatchMassachusettsClara Chaisson

Don’t worry, there’s a robot for that.

The Great Thicket National Wildlife Refuge Is Available for Delivery! (Some Assembly Required)

November 8, 2016 DispatchEast, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New YorkClara Chaisson

To protect a massive swath of crucial habitat in New England, locals will use their own shrubland to fill in the blanks.

President Obama’s National Monument To-Dos Before He Leaves Office

July 27, 2016 ExplainerUnited States, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Maine, Arizona, CaliforniaClara Chaisson

From undersea coral canyons to deep northern woods, these seven places deserve to be part of the president’s legacy.

Extreme Exhibitry

August 24, 2015 Latest NewsNew York City, United StatesClara Chaisson

New York City is getting a museum entirely devoted to climate change.

The Silent Killer

April 17, 2015 ExplainerUnited States, International, New YorkClara Chaisson

Extreme heat kills more often than we think, and climate change is only going to turn it up a notch.

Let's Get Wasted!

March 30, 2015 DispatchNew York CityClara Chaisson

A pop-up restaurant gives trash-bound food a place at the table.