News & Commentary

Climate Change, Ahoy!

October 13, 2015 Latest NewsAfricaBrian Palmer

A new study says the Horn of Africa is going to get hotter and drier, driving poverty and piracy.

Unleaded, Please

October 9, 2015 Latest NewsFlintSusan Cosier

Toxic tap water is just not acceptable in 2015 (in Flint, Michigan, or anywhere else).

Putting the “Green” in Green Energy

October 9, 2015 Latest NewsIndiaBrian Palmer

India says it can’t meet its carbon-reduction pledge without help. Any takers?

Locking Horns

October 8, 2015 DispatchAfricaAustin Merrill

As poaching pushes the rhino toward extinction, South Africa considers a radical solution: Legalize the very thing that is killing them. It'd make some people very rich. But would it doom the species?

The Point of No Return

October 8, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesChelsey B. Coombs

A new study shows cacti face high extinction threats, a fact that should poke us into action.

Heat Exchange

October 8, 2015 Latest NewsIndiaBrian Palmer

An Indian public-health official thinks the United States could learn a thing or two from her country about dealing with climate change (and vice versa).

Bird Men

October 6, 2015 DispatchMidwestSusan Cosier

Thanks to falconers, endangered peregrines are flourishing in Midwestern cities.

A Motion for the Ocean

October 5, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesClara Chaisson

President Obama just announced the first two new marine sanctuaries in 15 years.

Just How Bitter Is the Tea of the Sea?

October 2, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesPerrin Ireland

A new study examines the ocean’s ability to store carbon as it gets more acidic.

Batten Down the Hatches

October 2, 2015 Latest NewsUnited States, VirginiaBrian Palmer

The world’s largest naval base is a major flood risk in a warming world.

Invasion of the Body Smashers

October 1, 2015 Latest NewsInternationalJason Bittel

Thanks to warming waters off Antarctica, king crabs are plundering seas they haven’t been able to reach since the Jurassic era.

Played for a Fuel

October 1, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

The fact that corn-based ethanol is renewable doesn’t make it sustainable. When will candidates stumping in Iowa admit as much?

Bring Out Your Dead

September 30, 2015 Latest NewsCanadaBrian Palmer

TransCanada makes a desperate bid to revive the persistently vegetative Keystone XL pipeline.

Hold the Applause

September 29, 2015 Latest NewsArcticBrian Palmer

Shell has left the Arctic for now, but the region isn’t safe from oil drills until the president locks the door.

Man, on the Move

September 28, 2015 DispatchInternationalMelissa Denchak

Experts say climate change will be a growing driver of global migration like the Syrian exodus into Europe.

Climate Got Your Tongue?

September 25, 2015 Latest NewsColoradoPerrin Ireland

In the Rocky Mountains, long-tongued bumblebees are getting licked by warmer temperatures.

Must We Choose Between Clean Air and a Stable Climate?

September 24, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesBrian Palmer

A new study tells us how we can have both.

Das Pollute

September 24, 2015 Latest NewsUnited StatesBrian Palmer

Did Volkswagen expose flaws in our emissions-testing regime?

The Closing of Nairobi National Park

September 23, 2015 Latest NewsAfricaBrian Palmer

As fences spring up on all sides, a great wildlife reserve morphs into a glorified zoo.

Keeping Tabs on the Church’s Power...and Water and Gas

September 22, 2015 DispatchChicagoSusan Cosier

The Archdiocese of Chicago is acting on the pope’s environmental message.