News & Commentary

The Border Wall Is Underway . . . Right in the Middle of a Wildlife Refuge

July 28, 2017 PerspectivesWest, United StatesJeff Turrentine

Trump’s already offensive wall will also endanger an already endangered species.

Don’t Mess with Our National Parks, Zinke! A Message from Purple America

June 30, 2017 Latest NewsUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

The interior secretary’s proposal to hand over park management to private companies has riled up some very unhappy campers.

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.

Still No Approved Route for KXL in Nebraska

June 1, 2017 ExplainerUnited States, NebraskaBrian Palmer

Yes, Trump has green-lighted the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. But Nebraska’s got a slew of public hearings on the calendar, and legal challenges loom large.

Can a Chlamydia Vaccine Save Koalas?

June 1, 2017 Latest NewsInternationalJason Bittel

Australia’s resident cuties are falling victim to a gruesome disease—but habitat loss is the real culprit.

Zinke’s Western “Listening Tour” Light on the Listening, Heavy on the Fossil Fuels

May 19, 2017 Latest NewsUtahJeff Turrentine

As the interior secretary ponders the fates of 27 national monuments, he seems to be hearing some voices more acutely than others.

An Artist Envisions Our National Parks in 2050

April 26, 2017 PerspectivesUnited StatesClara Chaisson

Hannah Rothstein’s grim tourism posters are a call to action, in a time when the president is pillaging our public lands.

He Speaks for the Trees—but First, He Listens to Them

April 13, 2017 PerspectivesUnited StatesClara Chaisson

Biologist and writer David George Haskell discusses his new book, The Songs of Trees, and the importance of tuning in.

Gabon’s Jungle Was Once a Refuge for Elephants—Now It’s a Killing Field

March 16, 2017 Latest NewsInternationalJason Bittel

If the new estimates are correct, Gabon has lost around 80 percent of its forest elephants in just a decade.

What’s It Like to Be the Artist-in-Residence at America’s Least Visited National Park?

March 1, 2017 PerspectivesArctic, AlaskaClara Chaisson

“Awful,” says writer and painter Ben Shattuck―but in the good way.

Good News for Public Lands! (No, Really!)

February 3, 2017 Latest NewsUnited StatesClara Chaisson

When a bill to sell off 3.3 million acres of federal land hit Congress, the public made a big stink—and won.

The Tree Whisperer

January 27, 2017 DispatchCaliforniaElizabeth Svoboda

A Berkeley scientist is studying how climate change is affecting California’s giant sequoias, long considered dependable forest stalwarts.

Ryan Zinke, Tell Us How You Really Feel About Public Lands (Like, Really)

January 25, 2017 Latest NewsUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

Donald Trump’s choice to head the Interior Department says he opposes giving away America’s wilderness. But he voted to make doing so much, much easier.

The Revolution Will Be Tweeted, by Our National Parks

January 25, 2017 Latest NewsUnited StatesClara Chaisson

NPS employees know facts matter. They won’t be silenced.

When This Artist Sees a Blank Canvas, He Gets Out His Snowshoes

January 17, 2017 PerspectivesUnited StatesClara Chaisson

Simon Beck walks in winter wonderlands to create “Snow Art”—and send an environmental message.

This Ancient Place Just Secured Membership in America’s Culture Club

December 29, 2016 NRDC in ActionUtahNicole Greenfield

Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah will protect some of America’s most striking landscape—and its earliest history.

The Four Horsemen of the Trumpocalypse

December 14, 2016 PerspectivesUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

With one week’s worth of appointments, the president-elect has shown all his environmental policy cards. And—surprise!—they’re covered with oil.

Trashing the Gregory Canyon Landfill

December 12, 2016 NRDC in ActionSan Diego, CaliforniaMelissa Denchak

The California garbage dump project would have desecrated sacred tribal lands, destroyed vital wildlife habitat, and put local waters at risk.

What Leonard Cohen Can Teach Environmentalists About Fighting Back

December 5, 2016 PerspectivesUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

When our political system seems irreparably broken, our activism is “how the light gets in.”

When a Balloon Maker Becomes an Environmental Artist

December 2, 2016 PerspectivesUnited StatesClara Chaisson

Doron Gazit travels the world raising awareness of climate change and other environmental destruction—with big, red “balloons.”