What does turn-of-the-century “Change of Air” travel reveal about the role of vacationing in U.S. culture and society today? Alexis Schmidt examines the historical transition of Change of Air from a legitimate medical prescription into a commodified and efficient vacation on the coast—a cultural attitude that persists in “health” vacation narratives to this day.
Climatotherapy was a popular treatment for respiratory disease in 20th century Peru, but José Ignacio Mogrovejo shows how its history reveals structural inequalities in the country’s healthcare system.
Mollie Holmberg takes crip lessons from philosopher Val Plumwood’s experience of being prey to a crocodile, pointing toward strategies for collective pandemic survival and resistance to environmental violence.
In Portage County, Wisconsin, 95 percent of the nitrate in groundwater comes from agriculture, and it’s having major health consequences for residents. Ground Truths editors Ben Iuliano and Carly Griffith find out how community members have used scientific and legal advocacy to fight for cleaner drinking water.
Kangatarianism is a growing food movement in Australia that purports to be more ethical and climate-conscious than other meat-eating practices. Sophie Chao uncovers the politics of “eating roo” in an age of climate change.
In this written correspondence, emery jenson talks to Dr. Traci Brynne Voyles about how ableist and racist thinking along with a narrow conception of “environmentalism” have propped up the anti-vaccination movement.
Herbalist Asia Dorsey reflects on a pandemic year when life and death cycles were especially present and describes Yellow Dock’s role as the grief worker of the plant world.
Leah Marie Becker looks into the ways nineteenth-century domestic manuals portray homes as public infrastructure. This expansive and inclusive notion of infrastructure can inform how we approach environmental health in and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic is an international event, but we still think of it in national terms. Juan Meneses outlines the limits of pandemic nationalism and imagines a way forward.
Ready for a diagnosis? Jennifer Ladino distinguishes between our daily emotions and explains how pandemic panic can help us face the climate crisis.
