News & Commentary

The Cli-Fi Genre Gives Us a Peek at Planet Earth in 2040

December 6, 2019 PerspectivesUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

In the latest issue of the literary quarterly McSweeney’s, 10 short-story writers imagine what the world might look like in 20 years without effective climate action.

Think You Know What Water Looks Like? Take a Look at This.

December 5, 2019 PerspectivesArcticAlisa Opar

Photographer Roger Fishman goes airborne to capture a unique perspective on rapidly changing Arctic landscapes.

Fighting the Tide of Watered Down Justice

December 4, 2019 NRDC in ActionFlint, Michigan, Newark, New JerseyNicole Greenfield

Nearly three years after winning a $97 million legal settlement that required the city of Flint to replace its lead water service lines, NRDC is still on the ground holding officials accountable, and using similar tactics as we demand clean…

Parks Are Good—but They Can (and Should) Be Better

November 22, 2019 PerspectivesUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

At their best, urban green spaces have the power to restore our weary souls—and maybe even to curb sprawl. Why do we so often treat them like civic afterthoughts?

The Faces of Trump and Putin, Stenciled in Smog

November 1, 2019 PerspectivesUnited StatesSusan Cosier

From Chicago to Moscow, this artistic collaboration puts climate change on display—and world leaders on notice.

This Researcher Thinks It’s OK to Joke About Climate Change

October 25, 2019 PerspectivesUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

In fact, he thinks laughing about it may help us put an end to it.

These Environmental Artists Do the Mash—the Monster Mash

October 22, 2019 PerspectivesUnited StatesPatrick Rogers

Laura and Gary Dumm reanimate classic horror-flick monsters in bone-chilling scenes of the Anthropocene.

The World’s Beauty and Destruction—Bound Together

October 8, 2019 PerspectivesUnited StatesPatrick Rogers

With thread, plastic, and reams of climate data, textile artist Tali Weinberg displays our dangerous entanglement with the fossil fuel industry.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Climate—and Why It Needs Some Oomph

September 27, 2019 PerspectivesUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

The stories that really reach people are the ones with stirring scenes, suspense, and relatable characters.

Has Climate Consciousness Reached a Tipping Point?

September 20, 2019 PerspectivesUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

We don’t want to jinx it, but with the Youth Climate Strike it sort of looks like . . . yes. (Finally.)

Weaving Beauty into the Borderlands

September 16, 2019 PerspectivesWestCourtney Lindwall

Through wall-size juxtapositions of bright, open flowers and jagged, disjointed lines, artist Consuelo Jimenez Underwood explores the fractured landscape along the U.S.–Mexico border.

This Friday, School Is Out—and the Climate Strike Is On!

September 16, 2019 PerspectivesUnited StatesCourtney Lindwall

In protests around the globe, the next generation is sending a collective message to world leaders to act on climate change. Here, four teenage activists tell us their personal reasons for striking.

Racial Injustice: Why We Need to Act Now

September 10, 2019 PerspectivesUnited States

NRDC’s Dawone Robinson discusses how social, political, and economic inequities lead to environmental injustice.

An Artist Who Finds Uncommon Meaning in Common Trees

August 21, 2019 PerspectivesNew York CityPatrick Rogers

Hugh Hayden’s exquisite wooden sculptures and installations comment on race, immigration, and the American environment.

From Bangladesh to Brooklyn, a Clothing Exchange Inspires Climate Action

August 14, 2019 PerspectivesInternationalCourtney Lindwall

Multimedia artist Monica Jahan Bose is sharing stories about climate impacts through the saris worn by the women of her ancestral village.

Giant Wooden Birds Are Flocking to Broadway

August 2, 2019 PerspectivesNew York CityCourtney Lindwall

Nicolas Holiber’s reclaimed-wood sculptures highlight the threat of climate change to avian city-dwellers.

Bureau of Land Management to D.C. Employees: Go West or Get Lost

July 26, 2019 PerspectivesUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

The forced relocation of hundreds of staffers is seen by many as a precursor to the agency’s dissolution—and a sell-off of public lands to the states.

As Temperatures Soar in India, One City’s Efforts Are Saving Lives

July 23, 2019 NRDC in ActionAhmedabad, Hyderabad, New Delhi, IndiaNicole Greenfield

The western city of Ahmedabad is preparing residents to cope with the longer and more intense heat waves sweeping across South Asia—and inspiring other Indian cities and states to follow suit.

The Conniving at the EPA Has Gotten Kafkaesque

July 19, 2019 PerspectivesUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

The agency aims to stop citizens from challenging pollution permits—while continuing to allow challenges from polluters who want to pollute more.

Watch These Young Spoken-Word Poets Take On Climate Change

July 17, 2019 PerspectivesNew York CityCourtney Lindwall

The Climate Museum’s poetry slam at Harlem’s Apollo Theater was equal parts grief, anger, and hope.