W. E. B. Du Bois and the American Environment
Du Bois, born 150 years ago, was one of the most important thinkers of the 20th century. But his environmental thought remains underappreciated.
Category: Essays
The Science of Seasons on an Out-of-Sync Planet
Phenology, tracking the comings and goings of species each season, provides insight into the disruptions caused by human-induced climate change.
Queer Camping, Then and Now
A cultural anthropologist explores how queer camping subverts masculine camping culture and supports new queer identities and communities in the outdoors.
Can Green Diplomacy Take Root in the DMZ?
Ecological challenges on a shared peninsula invite Korean green diplomacy. Read how pine trees and conservation matter to North and South negotiations.
When Laundry Detergent Was Edible
Long before Tide Pods, laundry soap was made from organic ingredients with familiar names and smells. When corporations started selling detergents made from synthetic chemicals, they had to redefine what clean smelled like.
The Avant-Garde Meets Ecology in the Open City
Communal living and artistic experimentation have thrived at the Open City for over forty years. In the face of pollution and environmental degradation, the collective of poets, artists, and a lone ecologist are reimagining green design.
How Indigenous Hawaiians Helped Build the Pacific Northwest Economy
When fur, lumber, and salmon ruled the Northwest frontier, Hawaiian labor was at the heart of it all. An environmental historian retells the story of 19th-century Oregon and British Columbia from a trans-Pacific perspective.
Millions of Insects and a Curator at Work
Insects are going extinct at alarming rates. Curators at one of the country’s premier insect collections are working to slow that change.
Is There a Place for Environmental Justice in Global Health?
Environmental justice and global health research collide in the Nicaraguan sugarcane fields over the causes of chronic kidney disease (CKDnt).
Behind the Beauty of Orchids, Centuries of Violence
Following orchids in The Farming of Bones, a novel by Edwidge Danticat, exposes tangled webs of care, violence, and the lasting power of the colonial imagination.
