News & Commentary

When the World Stopped, These Essential Workers Started Their Engines

March 11, 2021 PerspectivesUnited StatesMaudlyne Ihejirika

In Part Three of our “Pandemic at Work” series, a bus driver, airline custodian, and Uber driver reflect on their year “helping to keep the cogs of society rolling.”

Capturing the Climate Crisis—in Song

March 3, 2021 PerspectivesCanadaJeff Turrentine

On her new album, indie-pop artist Tamara Lindeman explores the complicated ways that climate change is changing . . . us.

The COVID-19 Impacts You May Not See

February 11, 2021 PerspectivesUnited StatesMaudlyne Ihejirika

In Part Two of our “Pandemic at Work” series, three undocumented immigrants share their struggles for a paycheck, a future, and simply, acknowledgment.

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.

In a Segregated Chicago, Art Puts Environmental Racism on Display

December 22, 2020 PerspectivesChicagoZaria Howell

If the General Iron plant is too dirty for the city’s North Side, it’s also too dirty for the Southeast Side.

As a Year of Struggle Ends, One of Fearful Uncertainty Begins

December 21, 2020 PerspectivesUnited StatesMaudlyne Ihejirika

In Part One of our “Pandemic at Work” series, a hotel housekeeper, a fast-food worker/drugstore manager, and an elementary school janitor share their journeys through 2020—and anxieties for 2021.

Happy 50th Birthday, EPA

December 2, 2020 PerspectivesUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

We’ve seen you at your best and, currently, at your absolute worst. But things are looking up for you again—just when we need you the most.

The Story of Colonialism and Climate Change Told Through Centuries of Indigenous Artworks

November 24, 2020 PerspectivesNew York CityIngrid Abramovitch

Two exhibits at the Brooklyn Museum explore Native perceptions of nature and themselves.

Environmental Justice in Chicago: It’s Been One Battle After Another

October 29, 2020 PerspectivesChicagoKeith Mulvihill

Cheryl Johnson and Peggy Salazar have been speaking out against pollution and environmental injustice for decades, but the city of Chicago sees their South Side neighborhoods as sacrifice zones. They are demanding change.

In Oklahoma, “Yet Another Broken Promise” to Native Americans

October 21, 2020 PerspectivesOklahomaJeff Turrentine

How Governor Stitt teamed up with the head of the EPA to keep tribes from regulating fracking and industrial pollution on their own lands.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Solar Power After Hurricane María

September 30, 2020 PerspectivesPuerto RicoLaura Virella

We, the colonized of Puerto Rico, declare our inalienable rights to self-determination and survival.

Katrina, Climate, and Justice: A Future in Foreshadow?

August 28, 2020 PerspectivesNew Orleans, LouisianaZaria Howell

After Hurricane Laura hit Louisiana just days before the Katrina remembrance, photojournalism from 15 years ago reminds us that disaster preparation isn’t just about wind and water.

Putting an End to “Colonial Science”

August 27, 2020 PerspectivesInternationalJeff Turrentine

The scientific community is starting to confront internal biases that support social stratification, hinder international cooperation, and—sometimes—impair research.

My Pursuit of Happiness in Afro-Environmentalism

August 11, 2020 PerspectivesUnited StatesZaria Howell

Not wanting to buy into the exploitations of racial capitalism, I find freedom in living with less stuff—but more nature, more time, and more joy.

At 59 Million Tons, Our E-Waste Problem Is Getting Out of Control

July 24, 2020 PerspectivesUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

Every year, we blithely discard billions of phones, laptops, TVs, and other electronics that can end up poisoning communities around the world.

A Place of Freedom and Belonging in the Great Outdoors

July 16, 2020 PerspectivesMardi Fuller

From Jamaica to New Hampshire, a Black activist discusses her wilderness legacy and efforts to create new cultural memories and rituals out on the trail.

The Deadly Chicago Heat Wave Is As Relevant to Racial Justice Today As It Was 25 Years Ago

July 15, 2020 PerspectivesChicagoKeala Uchoa

The documentary “Cooked: Survival by Zip Code” examines the unnatural disasters of environmental and structural racism.

Protests: A Racial Reckoning in Suburbia

July 9, 2020 PerspectivesUnited StatesDan Reed

Most of the country’s Black Lives Matter protests are happening outside of cities—in communities exclusively designed for middle-class whites but increasingly diverse and grappling with policies that foster segregation.

Public Transit Just Helped Save America. Now America Needs to Return the Favor.

July 2, 2020 PerspectivesUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

The Moving Forward Act could put more than $100 billion into our ailing bus, subway, and train infrastructure—promoting equity and strengthening public safety along the way.

Dear Congress: If You Don’t Understand Climate Urgency, Let Us Draw You a Picture

June 30, 2020 PerspectivesUnited StatesCourtney Lindwall

The illustrated letters of hundreds of young artists are demanding action on climate change in the hopes of helping shape the country’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.