Exotic garden plants can wreak unexpected havoc with indigenous species and ecosystems. Originally published in National Wildlife. AMONG THE BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA, few are as elegant as cedar waxwings, with their black costume-ball masks and yellow tail tips. “Whoever once gets within a good view of them and notes the exquisite coloring of the […]
Reclaiming Native Ground
Can Louisiana’s tribes restore their traditional diets as waters rise? Originally published by The Lens and the Food & Environment Reporting Network. Click here for the companion episode of the Southern Foodway Alliance’s Gravy podcast. WHEN THERESA DARDAR WAS GROWING UP in Houma, her mother used to take her to visit relatives in the Pointe-au-Chien Indian […]
Republican National Convention, Day 1: “There Will Be an End to the Earth”
Originally published in Indyweek. ON THE EVE OF THE REPUBLICAN National Convention, the Cleveland 2016 Host Committee threw a welcoming party for several thousand delegates and guests. It was held at the North Coast Harbor, a recreation area—closed to the public for the evening and heavily secured—between downtown and Lake Erie. The Rock and Roll Hall of […]
‘Nowhere to go but up’
Don’t blame the recent flooding along the Mississippi River on the rain. We created this mess. Originally published in onEarth. TWO DAYS AFTER CHRISTMAS, Jamie Nash-Mayberry received a text message from one of her students during a rare out-of-town vacation. “When u get time,” it said, “check out the river stages.” After heavy rainfall, the […]
The Inside Story of Shell’s Arctic Assault
A months-long investigation shows how the energy giant pressured the Interior Department during the company’s gung-ho Arctic push—and got most of what it wanted (except oil). Originally published in Audubon Magazine. LAST MAY, FOUR MONTHS BEFORE THE OIL GIANT Royal Dutch Shell suspended exploration in offshore Alaska, Christopher Putnam needed to get something off his […]
Earthquake Nation
There’s a whole lot more shaking going on in the Midwest lately—and humans are causing it. Originally published in Popular Science. MARK CRISMON AND I WERE SITTING OUTSIDE his Oklahoma house, looking at the day lilies that lined his pond, when our conversation was interrupted by a distant boom. “Did you feel that?” Crismon asked. […]
A Watertight Argument
J Nichols believes we’ll better understand the value of ocean conservation if we think about our emotional connection to the sea. Originally published in Duke Magazine. ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON THIS PAST MARCH, Wallace J. Nichols took out a cloth drawstring bag and distributed its contents: oversized glass marbles the color of a tropical sea. […]
The Algae that (Almost) Ate Toledo
A year ago, a massive algal bloom shut down drinking water for 500,000 Midwesterners. It will happen again if we don’t take action. Originally published in onEarth. BRENDA SNYDER WASN’T SUPPOSED TO BE to be at work on August 1, 2014. The chief chemist at the Collins Park Water Treatment Plant in Toledo, Ohio, was taking […]
Keeping the Lights On
Susan Kennedy stops blackouts by storing energy. Originally published in Popular Science as part of its New Faces Of Energy feature. SUSAN KENNEDY PULLS HER BLACK BMW into a winery in California’s Sonoma County. She steps out, strides past the stainless-steel fermenting vats, and stops at a concrete pad. There, contractors are installing what appears to […]
Beach Wars
Who owns America’s coastlines? How much access does the public deserve? Communities from California to Maine are struggling with these issues, which are rooted in almost 1,500 years of legal history. Originally published in Saturday Evening Post. BEN ADAIR PARKS ON THE NARROW shoulder of a residential street in Malibu, California. We get out of […]
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